I used to avoid books.
Not a great trait for someone headed to law school, but I endured it.
Then ATIS happened.
Building something that grew that fast, with that many people counting on us, exposed how much I didn't know.
So I started reading. A lot.
Good to Great. Traction. The 100 Percenters. The 4 Disciplines of Execution. The Energy Bus. Everybody Matters.
Business books for business problems.
Lately the stack looks different: A daily devotional. Stoic letters. Harold Kushner on living a life that matters. Nietzsche.
I'm clearly still working things out.
And confession: I never read just one and rarely finish cover to cover. ADD doesn't read in a straight line.
Every book in the stack has a bookmark somewhere in the middle, so I made the bookmarks count. Each one is a photo. My daughter. And my mom, when she was about the same age. Every time I open a book, I'm reminded why I'm reading it.
One idea from my most recent read, Darius Foroux's Focus on What Matters, stuck with me:
When you find yourself in the inevitable funk, seek wisdom. Pick up a book.
Simple. Almost too simple.
But a funk shrinks your world down to you. A book makes it bigger again. And when the book is marked with the people you love, it's hard to stay small for long.
Two of these books tell me to focus on what matters. The bookmarks show me what that is.
What's on your stack right now?