What Are Your Reading Habits?

[OmnivoreInk]

I'm a reader. I read for information, I read for relaxation. I read for work - I do reviews for my various websites.

My question here is, for each of you, what books, if any, did you read before you started up your business - that you chose because you were doing research, etc.

Did you do any research beforehand?

And today, now that your business is established, what books do you read? Are you actively in search of new books on ways to do things better, or now that your business is successful, do you no longer bother to keep up with the current fads in management, etc. etc.

[Kevin Lee]

Hi OmnivoreInk,

Before starting my business, I read the following books as research:
-"The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki
-"The AdSense Code" by Joel Comm
-"Don't Think Pink" and "Mind Your X's and Y's" by Lisa Johnson

And since then I've continued my "research" by reading (in this order):
-"Technical Tennis" by Rod Cross
-"For One More Day" by Mitch Albom
-"The Twits" by Roald Dahl
-"Little Black Book of Connections" by Jeffrey Gitomer
-"The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne
-"The Profitable Retailer" by Doug Fleener
-"Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
-"Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude" by Jeffrey Gitomer
-"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" by C.S. Lewis
-"Little Green Book of Getting Your Way" by Jeffrey Gitomer
-"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

And I'm currently reading and am in the process of finishing the following:
-"There's No Such Thing as Public Speaking" by Jeanette and Roy Henderson
-"The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
-"The Book of Tells" by Peter Collett
-"Little Red Book of Sales Answers" by Jeffrey Gitomer
-"Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience" by Jonathan M. Tisch
-"The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity" by Julia Cameron
-"The Inner Game of Tennis" by Timothy Gallwey

[litekepr]

I'm a reader. I read for information, I read for relaxation. I read for work - I do reviews for my various websites.

My question here is, for each of you, what books, if any, did you read before you started up your business - that you chose because you were doing research, etc.

Did you do any research beforehand?

And today, now that your business is established, what books do you read? Are you actively in search of new books on ways to do things better, or now that your business is successful, do you no longer bother to keep up with the current fads in management, etc. etc.

I read a lot for fun, research and to learn new things - but almost all of my business know how has come through hands on experience. After getting the nuts and bolts info and knowledge through work, there have been some books that I read to hone the knowledge, but that's for writing and promotions.

I do highly recommend The Artist Way by Julia Cameron.

Shri

[janie]

Hmmm, if only.

Before I set up the business the only books I read were on learning the trade and passing exams. Having self employed parents I 'assumed' that was all I needed to do, that clients would just come to me because I was good....

These days reading is rare treat, I listen to tapes in the car and my productivity is directly linked to how much I have been listening to them.

[OmnivoreInk]

Before starting my business, I read the following books as research:
-"The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki

Speaking of Kawasaki, I see he started a new site in May that was dubbed "the worst on the Internet"


http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7059903?s ... ck_check=1

Venture funding: The stupidest idea ever?
VC WAS DISSATISFIED WORKING ON SMART IDEAS, SO HE WENT THE OTHER WAY
By Elise Ackerman
Mercury News
Article Launched: 10/02/2007 01:35:04 AM PDT

The first few paras - (see link for complete article):

As managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, Guy Kawasaki funded all the really smart ideas he could find. None hit it big.

So earlier this year the guru of Silicon Valley start-ups decided to fund a really dumb idea that cost as little as possible.

In May, Kawasaki started Truemors, a site specializing in what it calls "true rumors" submitted by readers. It cost less than $13,000 to launch and was almost immediately dubbed "the worst site ever" by a leading European technology news site.

Why would a respected venture capitalist and author of bestselling business books make a site like Truemors his next act? Because Kawasaki, 53, wanted to get firsthand experience with a user-generated, Web 2.0, social-media Web site.

He also felt that starting the site would illustrate what he saw as a problem with venture capital - these Web 2.0 sites did not need lots of funding, and even if they did it was becoming harder for VCs to pick the winners.

[litekepr]

Hmmm, if only.

Before I set up the business the only books I read were on learning the trade and passing exams. Having self employed parents I 'assumed' that was all I needed to do, that clients would just come to me because I was good....

Wouldn't it be nice if the quality of our work was all we needed to guarantee a steady stream of work

Shri

[Kevin Lee]

I do highly recommend The Artist Way by Julia Cameron.

Hi Shri,

I haven't gotten very far in "The Artist's Way", so I was just wondering what makes it such a popular/inspirational book for creative minds? And more importantly, how is it any different than your typical "run of the mill" self-help books in the market today?

And I know it's going to sound silly, but I actually decided to pick up that book because I read somewhere that it's Nicole Scherzinger's (i.e. the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls) favorite book.

[litekepr]

It was recommended to me by a total stranger who heard I wanted to get serious about my writing. It helped me to look deeper into myself, identify self doubts, work through the things I didn't realize were holding me back. I didn't do many of the exercises in the book, although I did morning pages in the evening to vent about the daily frustrations

I don't think I know why it worked so well, but by the time I finished reading The Artist Way and The Vein of Gold, I was mentally ready to tackle writing in a whole new way.

To be creative and successful, I think we need to tap into our inner self in a deeper and more thorough and honest way. These books helped me do that

Shri

[Kevin Lee]

Thanks for the elaboration litekepr! You've definitely convinced me to finish reading "The Artist's Way". At the moment, whenever I have "writer's block", the only thing I really do is go out for a walk or wear my lucky red Nike shirt, haha

[litekepr]

Thanks for the elaboration litekepr! You've definitely convinced me to finish reading "The Artist's Way". At the moment, whenever I have "writer's block", the only thing I really do is go out for a walk or wear my lucky red Nike shirt, haha

I used to worry about writer's block, but at this point I have parts of 5 books series floating around in my mind -- I wonder what's the opposite of writer's block? Maybe, idea overload Maybe I should've only read the book once instead of twice

Shri

PS - Let me know what you think when you finish the book. By the way, there is an awesome exercise in Vein of Gold where you create a detailed timeline for your life. That was very revealing too