Mementum

In college, I tried to read many of the classic business books.  I could never finish them.

Late last year as I was getting our new Hookah site and sales copy off the ground, I ripped through Seth Godin’s Permission Marketing and Ben Mack’s Think Two Products ahead, followed shortly by Tim Feriss’ Four Hour Work Week.

I was riveted, and every day scrambled home from the day job to knock out another 8 hours on my own business. 

I pondered what had made the difference. Why couldn’t I finish anything in college, yet rip through these three books in mere days?

In college, I wasn’t learning the right things, from the right people, at the right time. Tom Peters and Good to Great were best-sellers sure, but is that what a college student in a start-up should read?

I didn’t need to know how to keep a team happy; I didn’t have one.

And how to manage change? Every day is a change for a start-up with one product.

What I needed was how to best build and sell shitloads of product to a receptive community that trusts me with their money.

My learning in those early day had been completely untargeted. But once I found relevant material and teachers, I devoured the knowledge at light speed. It inspired and drove me to achieve more, work longer, and feel better about what I was doing.

Best seller lists and classic authors are great sometimes, but finding the right authors at the right time is critical all the time.