I’m a voracious reader of books and prolific consumer of training content.
First and foremost, it’s because I’m looking for breakthroughs in my own work.
And second, I’m always looking for material I can adapt and bring back to my readers, listeners, viewers, and students.
You never know what might produce a breakthrough for yourself or another, given that what’s obvious to you isn’t always obvious to another (and vice versa).
And I know I’m not the only one that’s wired this way.
But in our search for content that’s going to help us, we sometimes forget:
- We’re usually not invested in what we don’t pay for
- We don’t spend enough time upfront assessing the applicability and utility of the content before consuming it
- If we don’t have a specific end in mind, we’re more susceptible to meandering aimlessly and wasting time that could be better allocated
- There are teachers who are disproportionately better at teaching and relaying the material we need right now
If we want to make the most of our reading or learning time, then, it stands to reason we’d be better served adopting a simple strategy for choosing input that’s going to offer the best value now.
This is easier said than done, and like me, you might be stubborn and insist on finishing books you started, regardless of their relevancy, but that journey is paved with less breakthrough and excitement overall because it’s generally coming from a place of duty and obligation.
Choosing your input isn’t just about being choosey, though. It’s more about identifying which creative wells are worth drawing from at any moment. Which water will in fact nourish your being and fill you with inspiration?
In summary, we need to go straight to the source. But we’ll need to endure the hard intellectual work of determining what we need to learn now, why we need to learn it now, and how it’s going to apply to our work. Only then will the input have a lasting impact on us.
