Every two or three years I like to prune my personal library. Currently I've been doing just that, and I'd recommend that others do the same as well. When I first started my business I had almost every business book written in the 70s and later all the business books from the 80s and 90s. Most of those I have given away because the buzzwords have changed, and that knowledge is so common it almost doesn't make sense to reread them.
Further, many of the so-called great companies which were written about have been merged out of existence, filed bankruptcy, fallen on hard times, or later we learned the truth, as much of what had been written had been done so perhaps for promotion, or used as an example by the author to promote his own fame as a writer.
Let me give you another example. This morning, I got an interesting e-mail from someone in Australia who wished to discuss some of our mutual readings, apparently he had read some of my book reviews. One of the authors he mentioned was Robert Kiyosaki who wrote "Rich Dad Poor Dad," it's a book I read because it was on the New York Times bestseller list for so long, and came out around the same time period as "The Millionaire Next Door," although, at the time I didn't really like "Rich Dad Poor Dad," because much of the advice which was given seemed to be less than what I would consider ethical, and realize I have a pretty high bar.
Later in the day, that evening on the news, it turns out that the author of that book and filed for bankruptcy owing some $24 million to those that helped make him famous and promoted his book tours. Although he had been worth some $80 million, his attorneys probably advised him to file for bankruptcy so he could get out of the debt. It seems to me that someone writing a book explaining how to become wealthy might go about their own business affairs in a slightly different matter if you see what I mean. Therefore, today this is one of the books which I discarded, and it will surely end up at the local thrift store, it's a decent charity, and they have a used book section.
You probably have many books on your bookshelf where things have changed, and where your life has grown, and you no longer need these books, nor would you wish to display them on your shelf. This especially occurs with nonfiction books, and that's just one of the reasons I advise you to prune your personal library every few years, going through each book, on each shelf and deciding which ones you might donate, give to friends, or throw out. Please consider all this and think on it.
Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Many Topics. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net
Further, many of the so-called great companies which were written about have been merged out of existence, filed bankruptcy, fallen on hard times, or later we learned the truth, as much of what had been written had been done so perhaps for promotion, or used as an example by the author to promote his own fame as a writer.
Let me give you another example. This morning, I got an interesting e-mail from someone in Australia who wished to discuss some of our mutual readings, apparently he had read some of my book reviews. One of the authors he mentioned was Robert Kiyosaki who wrote "Rich Dad Poor Dad," it's a book I read because it was on the New York Times bestseller list for so long, and came out around the same time period as "The Millionaire Next Door," although, at the time I didn't really like "Rich Dad Poor Dad," because much of the advice which was given seemed to be less than what I would consider ethical, and realize I have a pretty high bar.
Later in the day, that evening on the news, it turns out that the author of that book and filed for bankruptcy owing some $24 million to those that helped make him famous and promoted his book tours. Although he had been worth some $80 million, his attorneys probably advised him to file for bankruptcy so he could get out of the debt. It seems to me that someone writing a book explaining how to become wealthy might go about their own business affairs in a slightly different matter if you see what I mean. Therefore, today this is one of the books which I discarded, and it will surely end up at the local thrift store, it's a decent charity, and they have a used book section.
You probably have many books on your bookshelf where things have changed, and where your life has grown, and you no longer need these books, nor would you wish to display them on your shelf. This especially occurs with nonfiction books, and that's just one of the reasons I advise you to prune your personal library every few years, going through each book, on each shelf and deciding which ones you might donate, give to friends, or throw out. Please consider all this and think on it.
Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Many Topics. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net
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