“Give me a one-page bullet-list of exactly what I should do. That’s worth more to me than a stack of books that I have to dig through to get to the good stuff. I may give you 50 bucks for the books. But I’ll pay you $5,000 for the one page.”
—Alwyn Cosgrove, fitness coach, trainer, entrepreneur
Out-of-context quotes can get us in trouble.
This quote sounds good on the surface, but I think it defines reading as an inconvenience.
Because of the ease of accessing knowledge (Google, YouTube, Infographics), we get a bit lazy. We accept a page full of bullet points,
- hook
- line
- and sinker.
I think there are things I’d like to know about for which a page full of bullets might be satisfying. Quantum physics, Chaucer’s greatest hits and Murphy’s laws might be interesting fields of study. But I’m not seeking knowledge in those fields. A page of bullets might be a half-page too long.
But when I want to study to gain knowledge, I prefer one bullet that will include a list of 10 books to read for deep study.
Knowledge rarely offers speed or convenience.
