What if you read non-fiction once in a while?

02 November 2013

I am terribly shy and awkward but I love meeting new people because I'm a big nerd who loves learning new things in every way I can. I'm thankful that my line of work allows me to interact with a lot of interesting people who are all very passionate in their fields while also helping me develop my social skills somehow in the process. One of the nicest and smartest persons I met is Alvin of Business What Ifs, a business blog for short attention spans. I'm a fan of how he delivers his message using the least number of words as possible; his posts are always clear, concise, and cohesive, whereas I go on and on and on. I really enjoy talking to him both online and offline because he's very fun and easy to talk to even though he hasn't read any of The Hunger Games books nor watched even the trailer. He agreed to write a guest post for my blog and I thought this is a nice deviation to mix things up, especially for me who prefers fiction over non-fiction. Because, you know:

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I talk too much, sorry about that. Before I digress to another topic again, let me present to you some words of wisdom from Mr. Short Attention Span himself.

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Howdy, fellow book lovers! Do you read non-fiction books from cover to cover?

I used to, but not anymore. My short attention span won't allow me.

I still consume books (both physical and digital versions), but I only digest portions that interest me.

Imagine eating a succulent pork chop... it's perfectly fine to cut off the juicy fat.

Because of this, I realized that I don't have a favorite book, but I do have a long list of favorite lessons. Here are the "classics" from the first books I read over a decade ago...

1) Rich Dad, Poor Dad:
Responding to criticisms about his "mediocre" writing skills, Robert Kiyosaki said, "I'm a best-selling author, not a best-writing author."

2) Make Millions Marketing:
Roger Konopasek practically required entrepreneurs to answer these questions: What clients do I want for my business? How do I want them to treat me? What does my business look like to my clients?

3) Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway:
The title itself is pretty motivational, but I like the way Dr. Susan Jeffers emphasized the flawed logic of people who stay locked in awful situations simply because they've invested so much and it would be a shame not to continue. We must take a U-turn when we discover that we're going the wrong way!

4) Don't Sweat the Small Stuff:
Again, the title alone is self-explanatory. It has become a personal reminder when little things don't go my way.

What about you, what lessons have you extracted from your favorite books?

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Ladies and gents, seeing how the introduction is longer than the post itself is proof of how concise yet effective his writing is. Whether you have a business or not, or interested in putting up a business or content with being a consumer maybe, I'm sure you'll enjoy Alvin's bite-sized posts. Visit his blog for more. 

Grab a copy of the one-page (yeah, just one!) resource guide:
"Five Time-Saving Tools That You're Probably Not Aware Of ... And They're FREE!"

1 comment

  1. I think reading, be it fiction or non-fiction, has a lot to teach us. While I can't pinpoint a particular lesson that sticks with me, since there are so many, I love how all the books I've read only contribute to how much I can imagine and the worlds I can lose myself in time and time again. :)

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