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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Small Business Corner newsletter!
Do you read because you’re stalling and don’t want to start building? This is what Steven Pressfield calls resistance in his book The War of Art. The goal of this impersonal, universal force is to prevent us from doing any creative work we set our minds to.
Do you read because you want to tick a book off your to-read list? But what if the book you’re reading is boring, dragging on, or not inspiring you in any way, shape, or form?
I had a to-read list. I used to go through it almost religiously. I needed to finish the book I was reading to feel like I had accomplished something, even when I wasn’t getting new ideas, feeling inspired, or even enjoying the read.
A couple of years ago, things changed. I decided I was going to read more intentionally. Before I decide to read a book, I ask myself whether or not I’m interested in the topic and why I’m reading it.
The reason doesn’t have to lead to any clear action. If I’m reading fiction, my goal is very different than if I’m reading non-fiction.
But I’ve noticed that when I force myself through a book of any type or genre, when I torture myself to finish a certain book, I don’t really learn anything. I forget everything I read shortly after, and it’s as though I never really read the book in the first place.
I’ve been thinking about this for some time now. This is merely a brief reflection. I’m thinking out loud, attempting to clarify some thoughts and bounce ideas off you.
Why do I read? Yes, there are classics everyone reads. They’re supposed to make you a better writer, thinker, novelist, person, you name it.
But wouldn’t it be better for me to read something that I truly enjoy, am excited about, and learn something from?
Let’s focus on non-fiction here because fiction can be a bit more complicated to discuss.
I’ve been slowly developing what seems to be a process before I jump on a new read, and it’s really not that complex. I either have to be directly interested in the topic, or the topic has to be part of a problem I’m exploring or wrestling with.
I’ve noticed that when the issue is relevant to what I’m doing, not only do I benefit and retain more of the information, but I’m also quicker to take action.
It’s easier to relate to the subject being discussed, and I can connect the dots between different subjects.
In my case, this approach applies to both non-fiction and fiction. The books that have truly stayed with me are those that connected directly to something I was experiencing at the time. Whether it was a personal challenge, a new idea, or an emotional journey, these books resonated with me and inspired me.
When I come across a book that addresses these themes, it helps me see my own situation more clearly. I not only gain a deeper understanding of what I’m going through but also find new perspectives in the experiences of the characters or the ideas presented in the book.
One recent example was Cal Newport’s Slow Productivity. I don’t even recall how I stumbled on his book. It popped up on my radar when I was thinking about productivity, efficiency, and knowledge work. So I checked it out. I had never read any of his books before. I liked his style of writing. The book seemed interesting. So I started reading.
But I digress.
Where’s this reflection heading?
Well, what I’m trying to say here is the following: When it comes to any project we undertake, we are going to enjoy the ride and build interesting things that scratch our own itch.
When you want to start a business, you look for a list of how-tos, read up on all available manuals from marketing to operations, do market research, and identify your target audience. But if you’re not scratching your own itch, at least early on, the journey might end up being arduous.
So the next time you’re picking a book, a project, or a new business idea, ask yourself if it truly resonates with you. If it excites you, challenges you, or speaks to a problem you’re eager to solve, then you’re more likely to enjoy the process and create something meaningful.
In knowledge work, when you agree to a new commitment, be it a minor task or a large project, it brings with it a certain amount of ongoing administrative overhead: back-and-forth email threads needed to gather information, for example, or meetings scheduled to synchronize with your collaborators.
This overhead tax activates as soon as you take on a new responsibility. As your to-do list grows, so does the total amount of overhead tax you’re paying. Because the number of hours in the day is fixed, these administrative chores will take more and more time away from your core work, slowing down the rate at which these objectives are accomplished. At moderate workloads, this effect might be frustrating: a general sense that completing your work is taking longer than it should.
As your workload increases, however, the overhead tax you’re paying will eventually pass a tipping point, beyond which logistical efforts will devour so much of your schedule that you cannot complete old tasks fast enough to keep up with the new. This feedback loop can quickly spiral out of control, pushing your workload higher and higher until you find yourself losing your entire day to overhead activities: meeting after meeting conducted against a background hum of unceasing email and chat.
Eventually the only solution becomes to push actual work into ad hoc sessions added after hours—in the evenings and early mornings, or over the weekend—in a desperate attempt to avoid a full collapse of all useful output. You’re as busy as you’ve ever been, and yet hardly get anything done.
― Cal Newport
Bloom or bust: what James Joyce can teach us about economics, by David McWilliams
It should not surprise us that Joyce the artist was also Joyce the entrepreneur. Artists and entrepreneurs are blessed with similar convictions. Both are innovators. They see possibilities where others see limitations, bringing the previously unimagined into being. Both have skin in the game, living in the theatre of risk, performing on the public stage of jeopardy. Failure can be brutal and success is often a prelude to future disappointment but they are driven ever-forward by self-expression; it’s in the DNA of these independent, slightly unreasonable, regularly difficult people. Cussed mindsets have no alternative. Both the artist and the entrepreneur suffocate when shackled by a boss, a wage or an insurance premium.
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