Book · Non-fiction, memoir and self-help
What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence
by Stephen A. Schwarzman
Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.
- Pages
- 411
- Reading time
- ≈ 7 h 30 min
- Checkpoints
- 12
- Genre
- Non-fiction
Free on iPhone and Android.
How long does it take to read What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence?
At 411 pages, What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence is a fairly long book. Expect about 7 hours 30 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.
At 30 minutes a day, that is about 15 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 6 reading days. For a book of this length (400 to 599 pages), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 5.3 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).
- 30 minutes a day15 days
- Vread median pace (72 pp./day)6 days
Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.
Prove you read it
The Vread challenge: 12 checkpoints
- Checkpoint 1, page 34
- Checkpoint 2, page 69
- Checkpoint 3, page 103
- Checkpoint 4, page 137
- Checkpoint 5, page 171
- Checkpoint 6, page 206
- Checkpoint 7, page 240
- Checkpoint 8, page 274
- Checkpoint 9, page 308
- Checkpoint 10, page 343
- Checkpoint 11, page 377
- Checkpoint 12, page 411
In Vread, What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence is split into 12 checkpoints, one every 34 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.
The challenge: validate all 12 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.
Also available in French on Vread.
Illustrative example
What a checkpoint looks like
A short, precise question about the pages you have just read: a character, a place, a choice.
The answer is in the text: reply in the app.
This is not a question from What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence: to avoid spoilers, the real questions stay in the app.
Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.
Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions
How many pages is What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence?
How long does it take to read What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence?
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Where can I find a summary of What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence?
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Read What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence with Vread
Add the book to your library, read at your own pace in whatever format you use, and validate each checkpoint. Vread is free on iPhone and Android.
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