Since I was 25, I’ve read business books.

I stopped last year.

A decade of reading them. Over 100 of them. Zero plans to read another one.

There’s a distinction here I want you to understand.

And it’s not…

Business books = bad

That would be the advice of a thick person.

The caveat is this…

Business books = someone else’s plan/skills/beliefs

And so, they aren’t bad, but as someone who was looking to a business book for answers for a long time…I’d rather you do something else.

Because someone else’s answers are only useful if you trust your own judgment.

Most don’t. And so, they read a business book for the surface reasons:

• You feel like you should
• People seem to love them and you want to join in
• You’ve been told they’re a key to self-improvement

And it’s these kind of pathways that make us think the business is the true asset.

But a simple question tears that down:

How did the business start?

As in, did it start of itself? Or did you start it?

Duh, right?

But still. The obvious answer means we need an order.

And for business books to achieve maximum helpfulness, this is the order I believe:

1. Know thyself
2. Know thy business
3. Improve thy business

Business books are useful for number 3.

Many people are using them having not established 1 or 2.

So, until you’ve checked those first two boxes, I wouldn’t have you read another business book again.

And having had this backwards for a decade, I’ve got better advice on what you should be reading instead.

I put it in this video:

I hope it helps.

-C

P.S. If you vibed with the video, subscribe. I’ve got a bunch more headed to the channel shortly.