Category: Education

TL;DR Don’t read for consumption, read to create.

Although it’s a lot of fun to read books like Four Hour Work Week and dream up the things we’d do with that kind of free time. A lot of Tim Ferris’s advice is centered around a few assumptions. (1) You have a business that has a client base (2) You have stumbled through the entrepreneurial journey (3) You have processes that can now be optimized.

I’m Not Singling Out Tim Ferris

I love Tim’s writing and think he has a TON of valuable insight. My issue with it is he actually writes for a very small niche — those that fall under the three assumptions I outlined above. All authors of business books speak to a niche as well. Even if you think it’s generic business advice, it’s not. Every author has their strengths and weaknesses. Someone with a marketing background might be able to speak to the marketing side but could be terrible with financials.

The most successful copy writing books/blogs teach others how to copywrite/blog. That’s a great value but not all that it takes to run a business. Every time you read an article, you’ll add a little bit more knowledge to your archives but that doesn’t mean it needs to be using space in your brain hard drive.

Business books are always for a specific niche. Finding the right book for your given problem is key. Nothing else matters.

Build Your Own Thing, Then Read Applicable Books

I’ve heard it called many things but my favorite is just-in-time learning. Kylon Geinger, host of The Successful Dropout has an excellent recording on the topic. The premise of just-in-time learning is the complete opposite of what we were taught in school. Instead of putting away information in our brain, as soon as a problem arises, we look for a solution. Never sooner. There’s no need to fill your brain with empty thoughts.

By putting challenges in front of me, and trying to build things, business books are 100x more valuable. Not only do I get nuggets from the greatest minds in the world, I have an action item right away. For example, I started Growth Hacker Marketing to gain insight while writing content for a business and read The End of Jobs to help curate a newsletter involving the future of work.

Giving myself projects has allowed me to apply just-in-time learning regularly and my value derived from books has increased exponentially. Next time you’re looking for a business book to read, combine it with a business project. The amount of applicable insights will increase and you’ll be able to put lessons into practice immediately.

Even though you’re the average of the five people you’re around the most, that doesn’t mean you need new friends. Today, from the power of the internet, I’ve communicated with people across the globe, listened to podcasts of people from all over the world, and have read blog posts from many authors all over the world. And it’s only 7:30 am.

By reading, listening, and interacting with people all over the world, I’ve surrounded myself with thought leaders, peers, and great thinkers all from my phone. The power to improve yourself is in the hands of 2.5 billion people.

Friends of Do-ers

I have written before about having few Facebook friends. A hidden benefit of that is when I login to my account I only see posts from peers who are doing a lot of stuff. They provide me a friend group, without meeting many in person, that I could never have cultivated 5-7 years ago.

The people I follow are all striving for a better tomorrow: Growing their businesses and creating change in the world. When you surround yourself, even if only virtually, with people doing impressive stuff everyday, it’s hard not to join them. Becoming the average of the five people I follow, read, and listen to would make me a high level doer.

Not using the tools at hand, like the power of the internet, to better yourself, will keep you from becoming the person you want to become. Make some virtual do-er friends!