… according to Einstein:

“Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits.  Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” ~ Albert Einstein

My initial reactions to this observation:

1.  What would Einstein think of modern-day TV viewing habits as opposed to reading?

2.  Or Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.?

3.  Reading is good.  Focused action is better.

4.  Guilty.  Personally, I am guilty of using reading and studying as an excuse to not get stuff done.

5.  What’s the cutoff point of having learned enough to stop (or cut way back) on reading?

Next, I reviewed the 100+ blogs that I tried to keep up with on Google Reader and cut that number down to about ten blogs from which I get some benefit on a regular basis.

Finally, I re-committed myself to actually get some writing done.  So, my blog?  Please keep reading.  ;-)

[Image Credit: qisur on Flikr]

Construction = creation, fabrication, invention… “stepping stone.”  Obstruction = obstacle, hindrance, impediment… “stumbling block.”

Construction requires work.  When someone calls for help, creating a solution, fabricating a win-win, laying the stepping stones, requires effort.  But it’s rewarding.

Obstruction requires work too.  It’s just a different kind of work:  Blame the policy.  Point to the obstacles, the stumbling blocks.  Hide behind the machine.  But it’s draining.

“Perfect is the enemy of good enough. When your product or service is good enough, get it out, because cash flows when you start shipping. You’ll also learn what your customers truly want you to fix. It’s a trade-off: your reputation versus cash flow, so you can’t ship pure crap. But you can’t wait for perfection either.” – Guy Kawasaki, quoted on Inc.com

The evolution of every product we know and use today is based on this premise.

We had the iconic 1957 Ford Thunderbird, and now have the latest Ford Mustang only because Henry Ford first built and sold the Model A in 1903.

We have the iPad 2 only because Apple introduced the first iPod about a decade ago.  Actually, going back even further, we really only have the iPhone / iPad / iPod series because Apple introduced the Apple (Newton)Message Pad in 1993.

The Newton platform was far from perfect…  Speaking from personal experience.

But now that the hardware has finally caught up with the concept, Apple is far ahead of its competition.  That’s at least partly the case because of the products based on Newton.

Introduce your product or service.  Generate some cash flow.  More importantly, generate some feedback so you can improve.

(Note: Guy Kawasaki expounds on the quote from above and provides practical examples in his book, The Art of the Start, which is one of my favorite business books.)

[Image credits: (1903 Ford) LaertesCTB on Flikr, (1957 Ford) RUD66 on Flikr, and (2011 Ford) latemodelresto on Flikr]