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Not a single great person became great by reading books. On the contrary, most of the great people I learned about were focused on producing, rather than consu

Not a single great person became great by reading books. On the contrary, most of the great people I learned about were focused on producing, rather than consuming. Books too. Even though some great people (like Franklin) emphasized the importance of reading and self education, barely I saw any particular books recommendations.

al_borland 4y ago
We stand on the shoulders of giants. It seems foolish not to learn from their experience. What took them decades to learn through trial and error can be read in days. That isn’t to discount action. Reading books alone won’t make a person successful, but taking some time to read and then put the lessons into practice can greatly increase a persons chances of success and speed reaching the goal. Bill Gates basically created the idea of a software company and has been hugely successful. He is a big reader, has a blog dedicated to the books he is reading, and gives yearly recommendations of the best books he’s read from the past year. He reads a few hours each day and takes a vacation each year to just get away, read, and think. I’m pretty sure he did this while he was still at Microsoft as well.
- aristofun 4y ago
  Don’t cargo cult reading by using Bill Gates example. Because I can make even better case for ping pong or some other hobby some famous dude is known for. >> What took them decades to learn through trial and error can be read in days. Outside of domains of specific professional knowledge — there is nothing new to learn about human nature for the past couple thousand years. And it’s usually not the goal of a decent memoir (not to teach you something). It doesn’t mean of course you can’t learn anything from such books, or reading them is worthless. But it’s naive and ignorant to expect some miracle breakthroughs or sacred knowledge found in memoirs of the greatest. Most of the time they just work as a good inspiration to go and do something about your life, make your share of mistakes and learn your own lessons. If the authors character and values resonate with yours.
rg111 4y ago
There are so many problems that people of present face, and it is so obvious that people must have faced it before. And they did solve it. That's why the search for the books.

al_borland 4y ago

We stand on the shoulders of giants. It seems foolish not to learn from their experience. What took them decades to learn through trial and error can be read in days. That isn’t to discount action. Reading books alone won’t make a person successful, but taking some time to read and then put the lessons into practice can greatly increase a persons chances of success and speed reaching the goal. Bill Gates basically created the idea of a software company and has been hugely successful. He is a big reader, has a blog dedicated to the books he is reading, and gives yearly recommendations of the best books he’s read from the past year. He reads a few hours each day and takes a vacation each year to just get away, read, and think. I’m pretty sure he did this while he was still at Microsoft as well.

aristofun 4y ago
Don’t cargo cult reading by using Bill Gates example. Because I can make even better case for ping pong or some other hobby some famous dude is known for. >> What took them decades to learn through trial and error can be read in days. Outside of domains of specific professional knowledge — there is nothing new to learn about human nature for the past couple thousand years. And it’s usually not the goal of a decent memoir (not to teach you something). It doesn’t mean of course you can’t learn anything from such books, or reading them is worthless. But it’s naive and ignorant to expect some miracle breakthroughs or sacred knowledge found in memoirs of the greatest. Most of the time they just work as a good inspiration to go and do something about your life, make your share of mistakes and learn your own lessons. If the authors character and values resonate with yours.

rg111 4y ago

There are so many problems that people of present face, and it is so obvious that people must have faced it before. And they did solve it. That's why the search for the books.