The Book That Broke My World

I never used to read.

Like, at all. The only times I went to the university library were to study for exams or take a nap. Books just weren’t part of my life.

So the fact that reading ended up changing everything? Yeah, I didn’t see that coming either.

Everything Stops

I ran track from middle school all the way through university. My dad and older brother were both track athletes, and both of them were really good. National champion level good. I was never anywhere near that, but I loved the sport and it was basically my whole identity. In high school I made it to nationals, but that was about as far as I went. I was never the standout.

Then in my third year of college, I got a herniated disc. My third one.

If you’ve ever had a serious back injury, you know it doesn’t just stop you from training. It makes almost everything uncomfortable. Sitting hurts. Standing hurts. Sleeping becomes a negotiation.

But the physical pain wasn’t the worst of it.

The worst part was having nothing to do. No practice. No meets to prepare for. Just sitting around, watching my teammates train without me.

And in that stillness, a thought crept in.

Who am I without sports?

What have I actually been doing with my life? If you take away track and field, what’s left?

Those questions kept circling. But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer. Nothing that made me feel okay. And that scared me more than the injury itself.

The Library

I needed to do something. I just didn’t know what.

So I came up with the most basic plan ever: read a book.

I’d barely read anything in my life. But I figured, if I read, maybe I’ll get smarter. Maybe I’ll find something that helps me deal with all of this. Sounds kind of funny, I know.

I walked into the university library and just started wandering. I had no idea what I was looking for. I ended up picking up a book by a well-known professor. It wasn’t anything complicated. It was about why reading is great, how to read, and how to enjoy books. A book about books. Perfect for someone who was just about to start reading.

I borrowed that one book and went home. I finished it that same day.

And when I was done, I just sat there.

Not because the book itself was life-changing. But because of everything it mentioned. Other books. Other authors. Entire worlds of thought I didn’t even know existed. The professor referenced dozens of works, and I recognized almost none of them.

That’s when it hit me.

I don’t know anything.

Not in some deep, philosophical way. Literally. I had spent over twenty years on this planet and knew almost nothing beyond sports. It was honestly embarrassing. And kind of terrifying. What had I been doing with my life? Had I been making a huge mistake this whole time?

But at the same time, I felt excited. Because I realized there was so much out there I hadn’t even touched yet.

So I made a decision. I’m going to read. A lot. Every day.

Two Hours a Day

My commute to campus was about two hours round trip. So I made that my reading time. Every day. No exceptions.

This meant some awkward changes. I started taking different trains from my friends. Different cars. Different times. All to avoid getting pulled into conversation. I put my phone away completely. Turned it off.

The first few days were rough, honestly. I’d open a book and get sleepy within minutes. Reading took forever. My brain just wasn’t used to it yet.

But I’m the type of person who, once I decide to do something, goes all in. Not gradually. I change everything at once.

So I kept going. Every day.

And slowly, something started to shift. I could read for longer stretches. I got faster. The focus got deeper. Then one day, I forgot my book at home. And my first thought was, “No way. This is the worst. I wanted to keep reading.”

That was the turning point. The moment I realized I’d become someone who actually wanted to read.

It had gone from something I forced myself to do to something I genuinely looked forward to. I started visiting bookstores everywhere I went. Wandering into sections I never would have touched before. One book would mention another, and that became the next thing I read.

I wasn’t a fast reader. I wasn’t a particularly smart reader. I just read. Every day. Until it became as natural as eating.

A New Antenna

Reading changed something I didn’t expect. It changed how I noticed things.

I’d be walking down the street and spot something I’d read about. I’d watch the news and actually understand the context. I’d be in a conversation and suddenly have something to say beyond sports.

It was like someone had installed a new antenna in my brain. Signals that had always been there were finally getting picked up.

My conversations changed too. I used to be the one doing most of the talking. After reading became a habit, I started listening more. Asking more questions. Getting genuinely curious about other people.

I think that’s because reading is fundamentally an act of listening. You’re choosing to sit with someone else’s words. To receive their ideas on their terms. That skill carried straight over into real life.

And naturally, my world got bigger. I met people I never would have crossed paths with. I got interested in things I never would have cared about.

But here’s the thing.

Once your world gets bigger, you can’t make it small again.

No Going Back

There’s a Japanese expression: 知らぬが仏. It roughly means “ignorance is bliss.”

And honestly, there’s some truth to that.

Before I started reading, my life plan was simple. Become a PE teacher. Work until retirement. That’s it. If I’d never walked into that library, I probably would have followed that plan without thinking twice. And it would have been fine.

But once I saw how big the world actually was, I couldn’t stop looking.

Reading led me to investing. Investing led me to English-language financial news. That made me want to actually speak English. And wanting to speak English made me want to go abroad.

One thing just kept pulling the next.

And the whole time, a feeling was quietly growing. Not unhappiness. Just a sense that my life, as good as it was, might not be the only option.

Some people can ignore that feeling. I couldn’t.

Still Reading

I still read every day. That hasn’t changed since that first week in the library.

If that book hadn’t caught my eye on the shelf that day, FDTW probably wouldn’t exist. I’d probably still be teaching PE at a high school somewhere. And honestly, that would have been a perfectly good life.

But that’s not what happened. One book led to another, which eventually led to me quitting my job, leaving Japan, and starting all of this.

It’s kind of wild when I think about it.

How something that small can change everything.