The Secret to Investing in Yourself

Over the past several weeks, Scott Ginsburg, whose brilliant blog I've come to appreciate very much, advised others to never, ever lend their books to other people (not even their moms). Mark them up, he says. Study them. But the book is an investment. Thus, they should be guarded carefully like all other investments.

His advice to summarize the books' key points in writing is laudable. This exercise, if you have the time to do it, will greatly aid in the retention of information. However, I do have a major issue with his directive to never loan books to others.

The way I see it, the best investment you can make is in what you do for or with respect to the aid of others.

One one hand, when you buy and read a book -- particularly a business book -- presumably it is to become better at something. This makes you a more productive member of a society that you help to enrich, so there is ample justification to leave it there. On the other hand, think of how much society could improve if everyone could benefit from what you learned by reading the same book that had such a positive impact on you! The effects could be exponential.

As it happens, the greatest investment you can make in yourself is to not only become someone other people want to be like by reading a bunch of books, but also to show them how to get there and sharing with them the means. While it makes your current expertise obsolete when everyone attains it (not everyone will have this same drive to achieve it, though), it also gives you reason to keep pushing yourself -- to continuously learn and improve.

Not everyone is going to want to read the books you're reading. You are going to have to accept that, no matter how much you want them to, your friends aren't going to want to read the self-improvement book you think will do them so much good, even if you give it to them as a gift. You can't force them.

You can and should, however, be someone worth imitating by constantly seeking out new ideas, putting them productively to use, and then sharing those useful ideas with others so they know how they can become better people, too.

Unapplied knowledge is useless. Unshared knowledge is stagnant and makes ignorance more difficult to overcome. Freely share what you know. Make available the means to acquire the knowledge. Proliferation of a truly great idea is more important than safeguarding the investment you made to acquire it. In fact, for you, that is already a sunk cost, and if you followed Scott's other advice, you will have already adopted the idea as your own.

Above all, keep learning and encourage the same in others by your own example. If you do nothing else, yours will be a life well spent. - Cam Beck

Comments

[Karen Hegmann]

Cam

As an avid book lover, I agree with what you are saying. It's best to share your thoughts and ideas, as you never know who can benefit. I recommended books to friends on several occasions, but never once did I insist that they read them. The choice was theirs.
One of the great things about technology is the fact that it's so easy to share information. What used to be done through more traditional methods, can now be done instantly through the click of a mouse.

[Jim Stroup]

Cam - great post, great take take on the subject - and great conclusion! (great tip, too, about Scott's site!)

Thanks!

[Lisa Braithwaite]

Scott always has great ideas on his blog, and I enjoyed reading his thoughts on how to read a book, because I realized that I might retain more if I actually did more than just bookmark pages I liked.

My only problem with lending books is that they are rarely returned, and if I had taken thoughtful notes and highlighted sections, I'd be much more dismayed about the loss.

Here's an alternative: paperbackswap.com. You can list books that you want to give away, and create a wish list of books you want. When books are available in the system, you "trade" with the owner for credits. One book (not necessarily paperback, btw) equals one credit.

It's a great (automated) system and I've gotten some great books so far. You pay the shipping cost to send your book to its new owner and receive a credit in your account once the book has arrived.

So if you're not big on the lending and borrowing, try trading!

[Cam Beck]

Lisa - Thank you for the tip. I've seen this before (since you referenced it once on your blog) and I appreciate the idea.

I've heard that a lot of people are afraid that if they lend a book they won't get it back. I've never had a problem.

At work, we implemented a lending system that allows people to check out other people's books and track their own (or videos, if they wish) throughout the agency. The system allows us to get peer reviews and share in diverse knowledge sources without committing to buying something they may not like.

People still buy books they've read, if they think it has some value to them.

[Daniel Sitter, Idea Seller]

All of these are great points Cam, and I am a big fan of Scott Ginsberg. I believe however, that people need to have a vested interest in their own education and personal development.

I have noticed that the lending of books and audio programs seldom results in the other party actually reading or listening to them, at least in a timely manner. However, when I hearily and personally recommend and endorse a work, it encourages them to purchase the items for themselves, thus reaping the benefits sooner, at least in part because of their investment.

The other benefit is that it helps the author/speaker with a sale. It works the same as in the music industry where the artists deserve to be paid for their work.

It sounds a bit corny, but I believe this strategy works well for everyone!

[Cam Beck]

Daniel - Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I agree with most of it. People who aren't interested in buying their own books can't be counted on to read what you lend them. HOWEVER, if you set up a collaborative environment where people can bring what they've bought to the collective table, everyone doesn't have to buy everything to benefit from what others have already bought. Those who won't make use of the opportunity won't bother to borrow the books that are available, and that works out fine for everyone. You can't force anyone to take interest in something they have no inclination to be interested in.

I'm all for authors earning money -- gobs and gobs of it -- for what they can sell, but I have yet to meet one person (who isn't an author) who buys books to help the author out with a sale. If the book is worth buying, the person who borrowed the book can buy it.

I've observed that people buy and read books because they feel the book will benefit themselves. I wouldn't have it any other way.