Successful people read a lot, and many owe their success to the knowledge they gained through reading.
I’m an avid reader. I started young and never stopped.
For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in personal development and over time I built an impressive collection of books.
But then an opportunity arose which meant Sheena (my partner) and I travelled to the other side of the world, moving from the Isle of Man to Perth, Western Australia.
Prior to my travels I proudly displayed my large collection of books on my bookcase in my home office (well I say office, in reality, it was a small space below the staircase 😉
Visitors to our house were suitably impressed.
But not apparently Sheena especially when it came time for us to pack when we went to move to Australia – “You’re not taken all of them with you, are you?” was a question that was like a dagger to my heart.
I did manage to smuggle a few in my bags 😉
And the rest?
I took the rest of my book collection to a charity shop gave them all away – I hope they have proved enlightening to those that have since read them.
Since then I have come to realise that knowledge and experience is what’s inside of you, not what’s on your shelf! I figure the insights are either inside of me or if all else fails, I’ll buy the book again.
Recently, I came across the term anti-library, which was coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. The idea is that your personal library is normally a collection of books that you’ve read.
And that there is little value in retaining these books unless you are going to refer to them from time to time.
A better idea is a collection of books one owns but hasn’t yet read – these represent a body of potential learning.
In his book The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, he states that:
[pullquote align=”normal”]A private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones.
The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allows you to put there.
You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly.
Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an anti-library. [/pullquote]
So don’t feel frustrated by that towering pile of books on your bedside table. It represents curiosity, potential learning, and inspiration.
And that’s a good thing!
Here’s the collection of books I’ve purchased in the past couple of years that I’ve not yet read or that I plan to re-read.
The One Thing by Gary Keller
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E Gerber
Start With Why – Simon Sinek
Bananas About Marketing – Franziska Iseli & Christo Hall
It’s Not About You – Bob Burb & John David Mann
Oversubscribed – Daniel Priestley
The Automatic Customer – John Warrilow
Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki
The Thank You Economy – Gaty Vaynerchuk
Made To Stick – Chip and Dan Heath
The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes
Dotcom Secrets by Russell Brunson
Built To Sell – John Warrilow
The Prosperous Coach – Steve Chandler & Rich Litvin
Hustle – Neil Patel
Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi
The Pumpkin Plan – Mike Michalowicz
Adversaries Into Allies – Bob Burg
Jab, Jab Jab Right Hook – Gary Vaynerchuk
I’m curious what YOU have read in the past 12 months or added to your anti-library for the rest of this year?
Help me grow my pile of books small business owners should read by letting me know in the comments below
If this post has resonated with you but you still have some questions and might be in need of help of suggestions of books small business owners should read, then why not take advantage of a free strategy call? You can book one by clicking here
