The famous scene in the Matrix where Morpheus offers Neo the choice to take the red or the blue pill has become a popular metaphor for a certain type of person to use, and the book I am currently reading was written by one of them. So far the book has managed to make me feel more successful than I did before reading it as it is all about breaking out of the rat race and I haven’t worked in an office or had a daily commute in 14 years.
The problem is I have three kids and inflation has turned our business into a survivable income for two people into an adequate income for one person. In other words we need more business, and like I always do when I have a problem I turn to books. The problem with the book I’m reading, which I’m not going to bother to name because I’m not sure it deserves it yet, is it has done nothing but speak in platitudes yet.
Some of the best non-fiction books I have read over the past few years have been by people like Adam Grant, Malcom Gladwell, and Daniel Kahneman. The thing about all their writing is they give examples and tell stories.
Take for example the part in the book I’m now reading when the author decides that what he has been fed in school is a load of BS. It is a nice day and he sees a young man driving a $250K sports car and asks him how he got the money for it and the guy tells him he’s an inventor and entrepreneur. That is all. Not what he invented or what business he runs. Nope. Just vagaries.
A book can’t claim to be a how to guide to unlocking the secrets of running a successful business is there is no how to in it. So far it has read more like a manifesto of a nut-job than a book on business, and that is how so many of them are, and people will suggest these books telling you they changed their life and mindset.
A good brownie recipe doesn’t need the right mindset to churn out delicious brownies. It simply needs to be followed. A person following it with passion and optimism is going to put in a better effort in making the brownies, but as long as every i is dotted and t crossed the brownies will turn out whether they were made by Ms. Sunshine or Captain Grumpy Pants.
Telling someone that work-a-day drudgery is BS and then selling them a different bill of goods isn’t helping. It is like that old spiderweb I’ve written about before. The truth is, the secret to success is how you measure success. There are always going to be more expensive cars, bigger houses, nicer clothes, and more exotic vacations. What there is never going to be is more time, and that is where I have success. I can go to Busch Gardens on a random Tuesday or join my wife and kids at the traveling petting zoo at the library on a Thursday morning. What I lack in money I have in freedom.
David Huzzard Writes 