Are business/self-help books a waste of time?

[MJ DeMarco]

If I gave 10 people a detailed map to a hidden treasure, ONLY ONE would go use it, follow it, and start digging. The other 9 would let the map sit on their desk, only later to ask, "was reading this map a waste of time?" Hence why most of the world will never start a business, never quit their job, never succeed, never lose weight, never accomplish a dream, never do x, and never do y.

Human nature is to do nothing and to seek the comforting path of least resistance.

 

[broswoodwork]

Millionaire Fastlane to get started with your unique basic framework. E-Myth Revisited once you're off and running to start systemizing all the awesome, but not necessarily organized/ structured, action you took up front; then, some books, or better yet, threads here to refine the skills you've started learning through trial and error from above (copy writing, etc).

Reading is consuming; action is producing. You can't really consume your way to where you want to be in life.

 

[Tubs]

So today I was looking at my bookshelf with over 80+ books on it, and was thinking to what I've learnt from it and I look at it and think I haven't really accomplished anything from all this reading. Sometimes I think because these books are not tailored to your situation they won't help you, thus pointless reading them. What was your guys opinion on it?

They're a waste of time if you don't apply what you learn. If you do, then they're one of your biggest assets.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

I'm the other extreme. I'm up over 1,200.

I whole-heartedly believe the knowledge I gained help put me where I am today -- and the knowledge I gain next will help put me where I want to be tomorrow.

Reading books compresses decades into days.

If someone spent their whole life trying to figure out how to do something (build a business, write copy, get in shape, etc.) and they can explain that entire experience in a book? It's cutting years off my learning curve.

But I also read for enjoyment, too -- even if it is a business book. I love to learn.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[TreyAllDay]

I'd say after a while self-help books are a waste. I love a good book to get me motivated which is why I like Grant Cardone, the guy's energy is amazing- but after a while if you're looking to these books for motivation exclusively then you need to rethink your strategy.

A good example: UNFU*K YOURSELF. Everyone was telling me I needed to read this book so I listened to the audiobook on a 5 hour drive to a conference. It was honestly just hours of shit I already knew "stop blaming others, positive self talk is good, etc". I feel like scripted people LOVE LOVE LOVE these books for some reason.


Motivational books can be good but I don't go out of my way to read them. Again, I like Grant Cardones stuff in audio books even though I'm not learning anything new I like his energy.

As far as "technical" books. These are never a waste of time as long as you're reading the right stuff. Reading is great for your brain - get in an hour or so a day, so you may as well learn a new skill while you do it. I've found the best ones I've read are about habit building, scheduling, finance.

 

[Primeperiwinkle]

“Reading is consuming; action is producing.”

When you see an overweight person gorging themselves on Diet Pepsi and Twizzlers, with a bowl of nachos in their lap, at the movie theater you are seeing gluttony at work, destroying that person’s potential chip by dripping chip.

Your mind consumes ideas though. It eats and gains energy on stories. You need brain food to have mental energy to think deeply and make connections with firm foundations.

We all need to be as careful with the books, media, and conversations we “consume” as we are with our actual diet. Gluttony is not attractive.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[AllenCrawley]

GOLD! - The absolute BEST book you MUST read!

A reader emailed me last week and asked the following question: I've read all three of your books and I can't thank you enough, you've changed my life. [Redacted] What other books do you recommend to help me get started on my Fastlane? While I appreciate the compliment, there are two mental...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[Fox]

No way you can remember 80 books worth of content in your mind.

So even if they were good or bad if you weren’t talk notes and taking action it’s totally pointless.

80 meals don’t make an athlete but an athlete needs to eat. Books are only as good as what you apply them to.

 

[broswoodwork]

We have a to book or not to book thread once every three weeks on a forum that most of us found through a book. Life is stranger than fiction.

 

[Tourmaline]

So an excellent novel that stretches your imagination and grows your perspective on the world.. is valuable.

Absolutely. I find that a lot of our current situation is people not having read enough novels. Novels, especially the classics and great ones, expand the realm of possibility and teach how the world is without making one memorize theoretical/philosophical gobblygook.

No way you can remember 80 books worth of content in your mind.

So even if they were good or bad if you weren’t talk notes and taking action it’s totally pointless.

80 meals don’t make an athlete but an athlete needs to eat. Books are only as good as what you apply them to.

Perhaps one won't remember ALL of the 80 books. But we tend to remember key points, or overarching themes and stories.

I don't know what the limit to how much a human can remember is. I doubt there is one.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[daniel_m]

Strongly disagree with the notion that education is a waste of time. Unless you are "speed-reading" or just skimming through pages, there's no way that you can tell me that you were a smarter individual before reading those 80+ books. And at the end of the day; books don't promise to make you rich or change your life. The sole purpose of books is to make you a smarter, more complete individual and that in turn puts you in a better position to succeed in life.

Yes, I will agree that you can reach a point of diminishing returns. After you've read the think and grow rich's, fastlane millionaire's, how to win friends & influence people's along with the other staples that everyone recommends - you pretty much learn everything you need to know.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kevin88660]

So today I was looking at my bookshelf with over 80+ books on it, and was thinking to what I've learnt from it and I look at it and think I haven't really accomplished anything from all this reading. Sometimes I think because these books are not tailored to your situation they won't help you, thus pointless reading them. What was your guys opinion on it?

My experience is that the more you read the higher chance that you will find something useful to you.

Sometimes it is not even books it is podcast of business people talking about their past experience.

No matter what concepts you have learnt there is no escape in picking an industry and grind for the next 5-10 years. The only thing you have a lot of control is to compound your own “growth” in that game. Once you stop expecting that one concept or book can elevate your business result overnight you can treat books as what they are supposed to be.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[broswoodwork]

Your mind consumes ideas though. It eats and gains energy on stories. You need brain food to have mental energy to think deeply and make connections with firm foundations.

Sure, but how much is too much.

I humbly suggest, 80 books is too much, although if you took one suggestion from each book, and incorporated into the daily plan, you'd be an unstoppable killing machine.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Vadim26]

I've read maybe 5-10 of them and it surely set me on a good path..
but I am probably not going to read them in a while for now.

With this type of books, every new one that comes out is just a rehashed information of what's already out there.

Remember, that self-help is huge billion dollar industry, and it's relatively easy to write about motivation.

Whoever can create a cool cover with a word "F*CK" and promise the dream - will gain a good chunk of that $$$.

Another point is that it's addicting. You read the book about becoming millionaire, you get high, you feel good. The feeling goes away. Now you are looking for another book to get high again. You get the point.

So to answer your question.

Self-help books are not a waste of time if you just started reading them, but ROI you get quickly diminishes after you've read a few.

 

[David Fitz]

Did anyone see Bill Gates on Netflix?

He reads about 10 books a week and I mean these are fat books, about 500 pages.

He's one of the richest men that ever lived. So yeah I think reading is really important.

I read a lot of biographies. All the great people from the past were big readers.

Readers are leaders, that's what Jim Rohn used to say.

 

[LiveEntrepreneur]

So today I was looking at my bookshelf with over 80+ books on it, and was thinking to what I've learnt from it and I look at it and think I haven't really accomplished anything from all this reading. Sometimes I think because these books are not tailored to your situation they won't help you, thus pointless reading them. What was your guys opinion on it?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MaxKhalus]

Finally, somebody notices it!
Of course, books have no application. They show you the direction to take, but never move you to the actual destination. As long as you have a clear plan, you can spend little time with books.

I read TMF , Unscripted , and other business-finance books from time to time. But only because I have fun reading them. I don't spend more than 15 minutes a day reading.

It's like buying a business info-product, thinking you will be rich in a few months.

 

[Tourmaline]

A book is a waste of time if you don't need what it offers and/or do not gain value from it.

Books are invaluable if they help you gain skills and experience in an area that you need to grow in.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[daniel_m]

Honestly, there aren't any books worth reading for an entrepreneur.

It's not like, when you are faced with a difficult decision, you are going to look back at some book you read and know what to do. People don't behave the way they do base on what they read in books, but based on experience. The best thing to do would be to take the time that would have been spent reading a book and instead get experience - start a business, work at a business, whatever.

Perhaps the only slight exception would be motivational books... but if you need to read a book to get motivated, you've already failed.

I know people will probably hate this reply because nobody likes to ever hear anything but positive BS about how everyone can be an entrepreneur and everyone can learn it, etc, etc. Fact is - that ain't true. Some people have it, some don't. Whether they do or not is more about their personality, character traits and life experience than anything else. You can't change who you are or what your actions and reactions are from a book.

Man, you are wrong on so many levels. Life is more than just motivation and facing difficult decisions (even though books can help with both of those). And it has nothing to do with 'positive BS about how everyone can be an entrepreneur'. It's about education - and yes, experience is one of the best sources of education, but don't be so quick to say that books can't change who a person is or what their actions are. It's just wrong. Just because they haven't done anything for you or you have nothing to learn from books (which would be a lie), it doesn't mean that books are as meaningless as you paint them to be.

It's sad to see negative comments about books/education on a forum or community that would cease to exist without.... you guessed it - a book.

 

[PapaGang]

So today I was looking at my bookshelf with over 80+ books on it, and was thinking to what I've learnt from it and I look at it and think I haven't really accomplished anything from all this reading. Sometimes I think because these books are not tailored to your situation they won't help you, thus pointless reading them. What was your guys opinion on it?

My library documents my progress from a lost loser to someone who has a firm direction, is making money, and is doing things that are in alignment with my values and my goals as a person. There is no way I would be here without my library.

Warren Buffet still puts in hours every week reading.

But I'm sure there are others on the forum who don't read and are killing it.

 

[Jonathan Hoch]

I guess bottom line is my "WHY" isn't strong enough. Just curious on what some peoples "why" is to get some ideas. Maybe make my own.

I've read and listened to more than 60 business books over the past year. Every one of them is based on my own personal desire for a SPECIFIC type of information. And they're all wildly different, if you randomly pick two from the list.

To resonate with the others before me: books are not going to do anything for you unless you put them into action. With that logic, you should be seeking books that can help you immediately affect a weak point of your business plans.

As a copywriter looking to hone my skills, I did a bit of reading in the fiction writers world, seeking out books to help describe scenes and emotions. Why? Because this knowledge can be immediately translated into describing the current pain points of potential consumers, and describing a better future to imagine. With this skill, I'm able to subconsciously play mental pictures in potential consumers, to help them avoid pain or seek pleasure.

Recently I've gotten sick of using bloated plugins with wordpress that over-complicate shit and always seem to break mobile viewing for reasons unknown. So I've been devouring books on HTML5 and CSS3 to help me avoid having to use these plugins. My recent sites are loading faster than I could ever imagine. Fastest so far is 223ms as recorded by gtmetrix!

The point is, without a direction, you can read an entire library and not get anywhere. Otherwise, if you are looking for specific knowledge, there is no better way to boil down a decade of experience (I love that analogy!)

Even @MJ DeMarco talked about just RECITING his book for audible took almost a year to complete, while it takes us just a few hours to consume.

A book I recommend to everyone, "fanatical prospecting." A book about setting emotional excuses aside and ... prospecting your a$$ off to keep your sales flowing, while doing it in a systematic way that helps to avoid emotions getting in your way.

On the opposite spectrum one book I don't recommend, "the prosperous coach." While it was narrated wonderful due to the soothing and gentle voices of the coach/author, the advice was pure and total garbage. I won't go into it because I don't feeling like ripping it apart again. Buuuut.... one of the biggest red flags, was the stance AGAINST advertising. "If you want to be successful you need to be exclusive and out of reach to most." Okay, noted. I'll keep that idea with the book: in the trash.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[broswoodwork]

Did anyone see Bill Gates on Netflix?

He reads about 10 books a week and I mean these are fat books, about 500 pages.

He's one of the richest men that ever lived. So yeah I think reading is really important.

I read a lot of biographies. All the great people from the past were big readers.

Readers are leaders, that's what Jim Rohn used to say.

I love reading. It's actually my passion, and I have a list of to-read's a mile long from all over the world.

Actual question: how many books per week or day was Bill reading when he and Paul approached Altair about buying their BASIC compiler that they hadn't even started working on yet?

Is there any data on that? If he was reading 10/week back then, while street hustling bleeding edge technology, he is truly remarkable even beyond what we all know about him.

 

[GoodluckChuck]

I have over 100 books on my shelf and of ally belongings, they are my most treasured. I've read 20% of them cover to cover, some multiple times. 50% or so I have skimmed and spent time pondering the words on the pages. It's like hanging out with the author.

The other ones sit and wait for the day where I pull them off the shelf and blow the dust off to see what's inside.

A lot of business and self help books are very similar. That's great! Part of learning is repetition so I don't mind reading the same ideas over and over because each author has a different spin and I get to think about things in a new way.

Recently I have developed a system for getting more out of my reading. It's a brand new idea that's never been done. Just kidding, it's flash cards.

There's a sweet app called Anki that is open source and perfect for taking notes. Since recalling information is how your store it in long term memory, I make flashcards for the ideas I want to remember and review them until I have them memorized.

I also use a technique called a memory palace to organize visualizations and mentally walk through them daily so I can spend time with these thoughts in mind.

My biggest issue with not only books, but life in general is that life moves so fast that I don't spend adequate time with new ideas before they are replaced with newer ones only to be forgotten. I think this is the issue OP is noticing.

The cure is to spend more time with ideas you think are worthwhile. If you consume half as many books but get 1000% more use out of the ones you do read ... Well, that's what I'm after.

Books have helped me change the person I am down to the core, and it only took a couple years. I wouldn't trade that for any TV show or seminar.

 

[SEBASTlAN]

Some books help in certain situations when you remember a quote or experience someone went through. In that moment, you will realize the value of having read it.

Other books shift your mindset ever closer to a new line of thought. Some have a stronger impact, but they all compound on each other.

80 books could be good or bad, depending on what titles you've been consuming. After reading 600+ books, I can say only around 30 of them are amazing (in my opinion). But you'll need to read a lot of 'crap' to get to the gold. Just like digging through dirt.

 

[Primeperiwinkle]

A book is a waste of time if you don't need what it offers and/or do not gain value from it.

Books are invaluable if they help you gain skills and experience in an area that you need to grow in.

So an excellent novel that stretches your imagination and grows your perspective on the world.. is valuable.

 

[Fox]

Perhaps one won't remember ALL of the 80 books. But we tend to remember key points, or overarching themes and stories.

I agree to a point but I stopped reading books without taking notes and writing out extra thoughts. I found I get about 10 times more out of anyone book.

But ya I do think the mind retains everything - but without putting content into action it can quickly jam up your decision-making skills with way too much theory and no practical experience.

 

[Process]

I strongly recommend audio books about whatever You're struggling with in the back of your mind. (Your highest priority issue, ex. lack of marketing, systems, employees, etc.)

Listen to the books while you do your paperwork that you keep putting off so the back of your mind hears it and comes up with new insights.

For example, when I sell a solution, there’s work that goes into telling my team what to do. I listen to a book about something that is right in front me and holding me back.

 

[yaponchik]

Honestly, there aren't any books worth reading for an entrepreneur.

It's not like, when you are faced with a difficult decision, you are going to look back at some book you read and know what to do. People don't behave the way they do base on what they read in books, but based on experience. The best thing to do would be to take the time that would have been spent reading a book and instead get experience - start a business, work at a business, whatever.

Perhaps the only slight exception would be motivational books... but if you need to read a book to get motivated, you've already failed.

I know people will probably hate this reply because nobody likes to ever hear anything but positive BS about how everyone can be an entrepreneur and everyone can learn it, etc, etc. Fact is - that ain't true. Some people have it, some don't. Whether they do or not is more about their personality, character traits and life experience than anything else. You can't change who you are or what your actions and reactions are from a book.

 

[WJK]

Agreed 100%.

How can anyone succeed without being curious, then seeking out ways to absorb someone else's knowledge & experience and learn? This is how anyone becomes useful in the world.

I agree. Why re-invent the wheel when you can obtain that knowledge from other people? I read, listen and ask questions all the time. Sometimes I'll get a "snatch" of information from one person or source that I can put together with something else -- all to come up with something new.

I believe that genius is taking ordinary elements and putting them together in a new way. And we're in a rich moment. Anyone can publish a book, a blog, an article, or a video today. The old gatekeepers, AKA publishers, are pushed aside. We're only limited by our time and attention to take in the avalanche of information.

It's wonderful. I listen to my audiobooks while doing chores, driving, exercising or my bookkeeping. My emails are full of new ideas and links. I Google my random questions for a whole range of answers. I have given myself permission to just absorb the information. I don't have to act on it. Not every idea I turn over is relevant to my current day-to-day needs. That's OK. I don't hoard physical things -- just ideas and information...

 

[James Klymus]

I can understand how you feel. I have 150+ books and dozens of audio books I've collected over the years. I'll be honest, part of this is action faking. It feels like you accomplished something when you buy a book, even if you don't read it.

Another part of it is I like to read sometimes when I have free time. I just like to learn. I think you should stick to reading books that pertain to your current situation, or that help you learn things you'll need to know for future projects.

There are some self help books on my book shelves, but you have to be careful of getting addicted to self help. Again, it's action faking, you learn all these things and you never apply them.