Reading is slowlane

[458]

I see a lot of readers and reading threads on the forums. Guess what? Reading is slowlane. Why? Because it's an easy trap that makes you think you're accomplishing something.

You should read because you have problems within your daily fastlane actions, period. You're searching for an answer to an execution problem, not searching for the next rush of enlightenment that leads to no action.

So to all of you reading books right now, put it down and start executing.

 

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[Waspy]

Of course, wrote the title to get everyone to click.

But by doing that you encouraged people to read. Which is slowlane!

#Slowlaneception

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Not sure how "reading" can be classified as Slowlane.

The Slowlane is the presumption that penny pinching $$ from your job timed with 50 years of faithful investing with Wall Street will make you rich.

Not sure how reading fits in here.

However could reading be action-faking?

Absolutely.

In fact, I tend only to read what is pertinent to the problem that sits before me. If OBSTACLE X is in front of me, I'll likely be reading material pertaining to OBSTACLE X.

While I do random reading, it is less likely. I tend to gravitate to things where I'm deficient, in hopes to improve that particular area.

 

[Vigilante]

I have encouraged people that work for me to be voracious consumers of anything and everything written about business, about industry, and about their interests.

Reading expands your intelligence.

In the interest of full disclosure, my daughter who many of you heard on our Podcasts is in the final stages of her Masters in Library Science.

I think reading and applying your learned knowledge to new paradigms is the only way to change lanes. Becoming an intelligent consumer of media is a requirement for personal development and advancement.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I disagree with your title, but agree with your sentiment...

I'll add more later...

 

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[ApparentHorizon]

Reading + No Action = No forward momentum
No Reading + Action = Average momentum (with a few exceptions)
Reading + Action = Fast...

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I posted this is another thread, but I'll post it here...

You are presented with a problem. Fixing the problem will get you started in a business, maybe make you a fortune.

The problem you have is this: What is 6 X 3? Or 6 multiplied by 3?

Assuming you don't know the answer, should you continue reading books? And if so, which book should be read next?

1) Think and Grow Rich
2) The Millionaire Fastlane
3) Zero to One by Peter Thiel
4) Arithmetic: The Basics
5) Build a Killer Business by Killing Social Media

 

[MJ DeMarco]

One of the most common things here at the forum in our new member introductions is this...

Just read TMF , it was great! What's the next book I should read?

Hmmm... if "what do I read next?" is your default response after reading TMF , you have failed at comprehending TMFs meaning, and I have failed as an author in delivering it.

Just some food for thought...

 

[RyHi]

From Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, all the way to Mark Zuckerberg all are active readers, and have been before and after becoming wealthy. Certainly reading for mere entertainment and not taking action will lead to no results, but efficient reading is hardly slowlane. There is a reason why CEOs read dozens of times more than all their employees. Replacing action for reading is dreamer-status activity.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

 

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[G-Man]

I took the time to learn Excel macros so I could automate time consuming tasks and move one tiny step closer to separating my time from my money. I got inspiration to think about automating that shit, and spend a few hours on a Saturday learning to macro by reading a book... a book that I've already read.... TMF .

So, approximately 10-15 hrs reading TMF , another 6 or so learning macros, and I've cut a task that takes two full days every month down to something that takes 1 morning per month. What if I had said "I need to be executing" instead of exposing myself to new ideas that made me question HOW I was executing? It reminds me of something a buddy of mine always says that I'm pretty sure he stole from somewhere "spend more time working on your business than in your business"

I get what OP is driving at, but I've always found time spent learning to be the most worthwhile time I've spent.

 

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[McFirewavesJr]

I see a lot of readers and reading threads on the forums. Guess what? Reading is slowlane. Why? Because it's an easy trap that makes you think you're accomplishing something.

You should read because you have problems within your daily fastlane actions, period. You're searching for an answer to an execution problem, not searching for the next rush of enlightenment that leads to no action.

So to all of you reading books right now, put it down and start executing.

As much as I agree with you, I think a small distinction should be made. I believe reading some material in any field is useful initially until you grasp the concept, but past a certain point one must recognize the difference between education and entertainment.

I love @MJ DeMarco 's book because it's PACKED with educational material, but too many books out there are watered down to the point of being a complete waste of time.

 

[Vigilante]

BTW James Altuchers new book Reinvent Yourself is awesome

 

[JWelch]

"Interest reads a book. commitment applies the book 50 times."
The Millionaire Fastlane

 

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[458]

Let me clarify what I am saying, everyone on here should only read inside the pool, AFTER jumping in. Reading will never take away that feeling of taking the first step, I don't care how many books you read, it's impossible. That's how it's possible for people to get rich in America with a 3rd grade education, there all action, all they know is hustle.

 

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[458]

I disagree with your title, but agree with your sentiment...

I'll add more later...

Of course, wrote the title to get everyone to click.

 

[Raoul Duke]

I see a lot of readers and reading threads on the forums. Guess what? Reading is slowlane. Why? Because it's an easy trap that makes you think you're accomplishing something.

You should read because you have problems within your daily fastlane actions, period. You're searching for an answer to an execution problem, not searching for the next rush of enlightenment that leads to no action.

So to all of you reading books right now, put it down and start executing.

 

[jsk29]

To me, saying 'reading is slowlane' is like saying 'working is slowlane'.

What's important is:

• Who do you read (or work with)?
• What do you read (or work on)?
• How do you read (or work)?
• Why do you read (or work)?

 

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[Ultra Magnus]

I don't get your analogy. Breathing and eating are both necessary to live (well, there are people who think it's possible to live without food: Inedia - Wikipedia ... )

That's exactly the point.

If you want to make a million bucks by running a business and you think you'll be able to avoid either, then you're in for a nasty surprise.

You have to read AND you have to take action on what you read, or your big dreams will become roadkill. Business isn't easy. Unless you can tell me you already know everything you need to know to start and run a company (legal, fiscal, operations, sales, management of your own people or those to whom you outsource your stuff), then you're gonna have to get that knowledge from somewhere.

Who cares if in the process you read a whole bunch of unnecessary shit, and at what point you'll read it? There is no reading list that was specifically composed to outline the path of your success. You gotta compile one on your own, and most likely you're going to make more than a few wrong choices. Who knows which exact idea, strategy or tactic will net you the biggest profits? You have to find out for yourself, even though it means sifting through a pile of useless info (that might've been just what others used to succeed).

Likewise, you will take action and it will lead you nowhere most of the time. Most of the time you'll be correcting your mistakes to find the path that works FOR YOU. Is sales a great event that will make you rich in an instant? More likely it will be a small, irregular trickle of orders, that grows and eventually becomes a river, maybe even a flood. The actions you take to make it grow will be varied, and most of them won't work at all. Does that mean you shouldn't take any action?

Is researching important aspects of your business reading or taking action?

What's the point of juxtaposing the two? It's a false dichotomy. They're both sides of the same coin that builds your financial wealth. In the saving account of your success, it will be accompanied by other such building blocks:

- Rejection (by vendors, manufacturers or prospects)
- Long hours
- Tedious work
- Ridicule and criticism from people who don't like what you're offering and feel the need to tell you all about it on the Internet
- Financial risk (which you might be able to justify to yourself, but which might be a hard sell for your spouse)
- Explaining yourself to the relevant authorities (e.g. justifying business expenses for the purposes of VAT refunds in the EU)
- Paying taxes on your paltry newbie profits
- Spending less time goofing around with your best buddies
- And more!

I could go on, but I hope you can understand the motivation for my previous sarcasm.

 

[G2TS-Man]

I see a lot of readers and reading threads on the forums. Guess what? Reading is slowlane. Why? Because it's an easy trap that makes you think you're accomplishing something.

You should read because you have problems within your daily fastlane actions, period. You're searching for an answer to an execution problem, not searching for the next rush of enlightenment that leads to no action.

So to all of you reading books right now, put it down and start executing.

Sometimes I think like this too but Reading also give motivation, tips and inspiration to actions !!!!

 

[Choate]

I agree with you that people do mistake reading for accomplishment, and one can get caught up reading business books or the forum instead of taking action.

I do want to note that I've seen a lot of anti-reading sentiment on this forum lately, people saying that you should only read to progress your business, about specific problems, read -> immediately take action, etc. I've also seen people advocate against it because it encourages "consumption" instead of producing or saying you should only read 1 book / year. Citing "facts" like you forget 99% of what you read anyways. As if reading for leisure is the devil.

Whether you read for leisure or read to accomplish specific goals, I think to say the least its beneficial to have a set time and place to read. There are a lot of benefits to reading to simply say scrap it altogether, such as improving effective communication, bettering your vocabulary, enhancing your memory, to the potential cognitive benefits such as aiding against Alzheimer's.

But you should set aside a time and place for it. Whether that's an hour a day, or 20 minutes in the morning or before bed, or whatever, know when you're going to read and have a nice little reading spot as well so you aren't distracted. You read for the overall benefit of the long haul, understanding that there might not be immediate benefits to it, but it might give you a 0.1% progress that day.

Where it becomes a problem is when people dedicate time that would be better off to their business, mistake it for making progress, or just get distracted and lost in a sea of overwhelming information.

Ideally, I read 2 news articles a day from different sources, read a chapter or two from two different books each day, and spend a little time on the forum... this might amount to an hour or an hour and a half of my day, which to me is a small price to pay. But its controlled, and I don't lose sight of my overall goals, whether I'm reading a nice fiction book or a meaty, grind it out business book (Like the one I'm on now, "Competing on Analytics" - dry as hell and hard to finish).

 

[458]

It is good to know that I should not be spending my time reading useless articles and books, but what about the books that are meant for teaching a subject? I can learn a lot from reading these books.

Everyone learns today, learning is great but life is short, get to the doing.

 

[Karri]

Dan Pena once said "Reading is an excuse for not pulling the trigger"

That quote was a wake-up-call for me. I've read hundreds of books
- mostly self-help, business, science, classics etc. A few years ago I noticed
that although I had read all these books, there was no forward momentum in my life
where I was using the information. I was really caught in an analysis paralysis,
and had a false sense of accomplishment because of reading.
Reading probably got you into the fastlane.

And dont get me wrong, we should all be grateful for living in this era of information.

BUT our society overvalues readers, "dont watch tv, read a good book" "read the news" is what
you're told. Like reading a fictional story is any better than watching a soap-opera.
Thinkers and those who can hold an intelligent discourse are seen as top tier in our hierarchy -
Doers not so much..

Despite the fact that those who dirty their hands and put in the work - provide the basic foundation for this
kind of infrastructure to even exist. Knowing too much, or thinking that you know - can be a hindrance too.
Believing in something firmly makes the mind rigid - and makes it harder to think outside the box. Questioning your
own beliefs creates cognitive dissonance.

Henry Ford's engineers said to him that it's impossible to build an engine
with the eight cylinders in one block. Ford said "Produce it anyway"..the rest is history. This is a prime example where the engineers who "knew" better because of their education and booksmarts that something was impossible. So reading can also limit you.

One of the best experiments for a book-junkie like me has been the "not reading the news" experiment, coined by the serial entrepreneur Peter Sage.
I've not read any news for a year now, and it has been one of the best decisions in my life. If something is worth knowing, people will discuss about it anyway..
"How do you know what's happening then", well everything's happening anyway - I don't need to fill my mind with war zone news from around the world. News rarely benefit your sphere of reality, or business. This experiment has made my focus even more action-oriented, since there's no useless clutter in my mind.

I highly recommend audiobooks, since you can listen to them almost anywhere. Nowadays my life is 80% action, 20% reading, and I can guarantee its way more impactful than the 80% reading 20% action way which I used to live...

Reading and constantly growing as a person is a virtue, but only if you apply what you know in the real world - and bring value to those around you.
So please remember to pull the trigger!

 

[lowtek]

I see a lot of readers and reading threads on the forums. Guess what? Reading is slowlane. Why? Because it's an easy trap that makes you think you're accomplishing something.

You should read because you have problems within your daily fastlane actions, period. You're searching for an answer to an execution problem, not searching for the next rush of enlightenment that leads to no action.

So to all of you reading books right now, put it down and start executing.

By chance, do you read the wall street playboys blog ?

when you're not executing, of course

 

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[QueueQueue]

I think a lot of people fall victim to the trap of "I'll keep educating myself until I come up with my 'winning' idea". The premise to this thinking is that when you eventually do get that perfect idea, you will have all the knowledge needed to execute perfectly. In practice, this doesn't work as the best way to perfect execution is simply to practice the process of execution over and over.

 

[Vigilante]

What's the name of your podcast?

It's defunct now but on the backburner for a relaunch when I have time to rustle up some advertisers. I will post if/when we get it back up. - Dave

 

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[G-Man]

Hmmm... if "what do I read next?" is your default response after reading TMF , you have failed at comprehending TMFs meaning, and I have failed as an author in delivering it.

The dark side conditioning is so strong it may take a while to break. I just finished TMF for 2nd time, and I can definitely tell a lot of the old outlook crept back in during the last 6 mos.

I got the book and joined the forum a full 2 years I think before I actually finished the book. It took a lot of personal pain and disgust to make it all the way back round. Life can break a person's conditioning in a way that a book or internet forum can't. Unfortunately that's what's necessary for some people. At least it was/is for me.

 

[jlwilliams]

TV is slow lane.

 

[TTG SS]

My day starts with a cup of coffee and 20 mins of reading as a warmup before getting to work.

I agree though reading can be an easy action fake if you're not careful.

 

[V8Bill]

Life is short - get to doing...good point.

I like reading and I make money to have a good life, part of that good life is being able to take time out to read something that interests or fascinates me. Or to do other things I like It's a pleasure. It might not be doing while I'm reading but often (for me) it's the pre-cursor to doing. So I'm pro-reading as long as it doesn't interfere too much with doing.

 

[Argue]

One of the most common things here at the forum in our new member introductions is this...

Just read TMF, it was great! What's the next book I should read?

Hmmm... if "what do I read next?" is your default response after reading TMF, you have failed at comprehending TMFs meaning, and I have failed as an author in delivering it.

Just some food for thought...

But in the book it's said that, "the fact is, most people-whether they agree with Fastlane strategy or not- will do nothing with the information.

"It's one thing to possess the treasure map; it's another to get out of the house and follow it."

In my opinion it's 100% comprehension failure.