I had a good text exchange with a friend about my book project. It got me thinking. He said that because I’ve read so many biographies about entrepreneurs, in media at least, the wisdom is natively engrained in me and it will be hard for others to compete with me. Here are a few thoughts on this comment and our text conversation:

• I love it when people give me unsolicited feedback and ideas. It usually gets me thinking about things from a different perspective.
• Lots of entrepreneurs have read significantly more biographies about entrepreneurs than I have. True, I’ve done it at a rapid clip this year, but others have been doing it for years or decades and are far ahead of me. Consistent execution is the difference maker in something like this, especially when considering knowledge's compounding nature. If I can maintain this pace for years or decades, then I might have a shot at having an edge over others, but I’ve got a lot of ground to make up and I’m not doing it to get some title or prize. A big positive from this project is habit formation. I can comfortably read at least one book a week, and I think maintaining that pace for years is doable.
• To make something really stick in my brain, I have to do extra work. Reading doesn’t, by itself, ingrain in me the wisdom from an entrepreneur’s story. Creating the digest for a book forces me to understand their journey clearly and make connections (i.e., insights). Writing blog posts and creating a podcast series to share what I’ve learned forces me to get crystal clear on the strategies and ideas that propelled that entrepreneur. This entire process helps ingrain the wisdom and insights from each book. It’s time consuming, but it’s helpful. Doing it all manually isn’t sustainable, though.
• I don’t have a photographic memory. What I’ve learned is pretty fresh in my mind now, but to keep it at the forefront of my mind, I need to begin reviewing my highlights and digests regularly. Developing that habit will be painful—but a game changer, I suspect. Thirty minutes a day reviewing takeaways from biographies will be enough. I just need to cut out something that wastes thirty minutes a day to make room for this new habit.
• I want to lean into helping more entrepreneurs benefit from the valuable lessons in these biographies, but I don’t want to be the product. I want to share the information so others can use it as they see fit. I don’t want people to come to me to help them apply what I’ve read to their situation. I’m only one person, and that isn’t scalable. I want maximum impact; therefore, I can’t be the product. Figuring this out is top of mind.

Thanks to my buddy for initiating the text conversation that got me thinking!