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You Read it, You Like it, What Are You Doing About It?

Guest post by: Troy Harrison

Article Overview: As you can imagine, as an author, I have people recommending books to me all the time (or, just as commonly, asking me, "Have you read?". Most of them are business books; the "flavor of the week" phenomenon is alive and well. I seldom read them, to be honest. If I read every business book someone recommended to me, I wouldn't have time to make a living. However, I recently made an exception.

You Read it, You Like it, What Are You Doing About It?

As you can imagine, as an author, I have people recommending books to me all the time (or, just as commonly, asking me, "Have you read?". Most of them are business books; the "flavor of the week" phenomenon is alive and well. I seldom read them, to be honest. If I read every business book someone recommended to me, I wouldn't have time to make a living. However, I recently made an exception.

Several people, whose opinions I respect, recommended a book called "The Four Hour Work Week," by Tim Ferriss. Because of the quantity and quality of recommendations, I decided to take the time to read it, and I'm glad I did. Not because I'm devoted to the lifestyle Ferriss recommends (more on that in a moment), but because there are some great ideas and resources in it.

When I finished, I called three of the people that recommended the book. I wanted to get more of their feedback, and more specifically, I wanted to know what they had done differently based on the ideas in the book. I should point out at this point that I have implemented three of the ideas within, and was already in progress with two of them. All three of my friends said, "Well, to be honest, I haven't done anything with it." That surprised me - but then again, it didn't.

Not to give away too much of the book - Ferriss is a good author, and deserves his money - the book is devoted to the idea of work minimization and enjoyment maximization. Ferriss' perspective is that of someone who does not particularly enjoy work (or perhaps just never found a type of work he could really sink his teeth into). He was smart enough to create an entrepreneurial environment that supported his lifestyle. Some people might have a lot of trouble relating to the book because of this; I think more of us enjoy what we do than Ferriss thinks.

Still, within Ferriss' techniques to minimize inputs (i.e. work), there are some really good ideas, for those who are inclined, to maximize outputs (i.e. productivity). If your inclination is to get the most value from the work hours you devote, there's some great stuff in those pages. And it's from that angle that I began implementing a few strategies. My point is that my friends COULD have implemented advice, but had at this point chosen not to - even though they enthusiastically recommended the book. Why?

Well, this is a common syndrome. There's a real tendency to attend seminars, read the latest books, etc. without letting it affect your life - even when you know it would be a help. The reasons, in my opinion, are:

Pride: We all like to think we're pretty good, and we tend to read books and gather information academically, not practically. We may think a particular book is "great," but when it comes down to work time, we feel our methods are better.

Laziness: Self explanatory. Making changes involves work, and we find it easier to stay within our current habits.

Fear: I think fear of change is perhaps the main reason that change doesn't happen - EVEN WHEN WE BELIEVE THERE IS A BETTER WAY. Change always involves risk. "I may not be great right now," the thought process goes, "but I'm doing OK. If I change, it may take me time to get used to the new methods and reach the higher level of success. I'll stay where I am."

Now, none of this is really a sin. If we authors had to depend only on those readers who were ready, willing, and able to implement what we say, let's just say that the business book industry would be a lot smaller. But - and this is big - I think most of us get enjoyment from seeing our stuff implemented and working for the better. And no business book idea works unless it's implemented.

So, here's an idea: The next time you read a business book, and get ready to recommend it as "great," look for at least one concrete idea you can AND WILL implement. If you work on a process of self-improvement, one good idea at a time, you will continually raise your game. And if you're wondering, I do recommend "The Four Hour Workweek," whether you're looking to go off the grid or not. It really is a great book.

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Article Tags: business book, business books, implementation, recommending books



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