Most books are idea books (15/30)

I'm writing 30 posts in 30 days. This is number 15.

Most of these books are idea books. You’re not supposed to do anything with those ideas, right? And they are supposed to be for a good time. Like you read it and go yeah! Start with why, man. Yeah.. that’s what I gotta think about. My why… Umm. And that’s it! Then you put it away and never think about it again.

— April Dunford

Yes, another youtube video inspired post today. And yes, please watch the youtube video. This was Rob Fitzpatrick interviewing April Dunford about her experience publishing her own book, Obviously Awesome. That part I quoted her on idea books is pure gold.

Hi, My Name is KimSia, and I’m Addicted to Ideas

I hold my hands up and say I have always loved ideas. And I also love idea books of all kinds. But the problem is exactly what April pointed out. I have read so many idea books and put them away and never think about them again.

Reading those books did not move the needle in my life.

Honestly I cannot actually point out anything in my life I can proudly say was due to a book or article I read. Maybe the only exception was this contract template I copied and tweaked from Alan Weiss Million Dollar Consulting. I used that to get my first serious paid custom software contract. Yeah, that was it.

The rest are exactly what April talked about. The books made me feel good when i read them. I felt good when I talked about those ideas in those books with friends and people I want to impress.

Other than that? Zilch. Absolutely worthless. It would have been more honest to say I read books for the entertainment even though they are categorised as non-fiction. Once I am done with this 30 posts in 30 days exercise, I have to really rethink how I want to restart my writing output.

Even in my previous sporadic writing on wordpress, my most popular post by a distance was a simple how to do this article. I should be more ruthless and throw away anything not useful or keep them as my own private journals. Who’s got time to read about my thoughts anyway?

(Edit: as I was writing this, I literally just received this comment about my one useful how to article.)

How Shall I Proceed with this Newfound Realization?

The ironic thing, I’m well aware of, is that all of my posts so far have been ideas. None of them would fit in the “prescriptive non-fictions” model — a term I learned from Rob Fitzpatrick.

The good and bad thing about writing “idea” posts, is that it’s a low bar. Just have verbal diarrhoea would be my flippant definition to writing “idea” posts. Writing proper prescriptive non-fictions on the other hand is harder to get started.

I seriously have no idea how to crowbar prescriptive non-fiction into my remaining 15 posts. I definitely would be looking at doing prescriptive non-fiction after my 30 posts in 30 days are over. For now, I think I would continue with idea posts for the rest of the 30 posts. Unless, my dear readers, you have a better idea for me?