On Words & What They Might Tell Us.

I’m not the first to write about this.

But it’s worth bringing up: reading is awesome.

Reading is awesome for a variety of reasons: the escape it provides, the knowledge it offers, the laughs it can cause, the time it can pass, the conversations it can help start, the perspectives it can inspire.

Reading requires effort. That effort can provide us lessons.

The easiest thing to say about sci-fi or comic book readers is that they’re geeks or nerds. But sci-fi and comic books involve the creation of universes. Universes are vast, complex, and held together by rules.

Then there are the business books. There’s the classics and must reads like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or anything Malcolm Gladwell punches out. There’s also the newly released business books telling us what now means for tomorrow or what we can learn from a specific moment in time if said moment is viewed under an unconventional light.

There’s the romance and adventure tales. Each provides an escape. Each asks for the reader’s empathy. Perhaps each asks the reader to see a bit of themselves in the main character.

Many more genres exist. And not all genres are for everyone. So when a genre is for someone doesn’t that offer a picture of who that someone might be?

Might the sci-fi and comic book lovers be more than geeks? Might they be detail oriented with strong memories — memories where entry is earned through a rich, detailed story with diverse and minute aspects that someone can attach themselves to, care deeply about, and do so over and over again?

The business books are not just a sign of how serious someone is about their career or an indicator of the field they are in. Business books are an outline of the language an individual thinks they need to have in order to communicate successfully in their field among their peers. How might that help with B2B work?

Romance and adventure lovers are not just looking for an escape or good cry or a hero to root for. Perhaps they’re optimists? Perhaps they believe great moments can be made by anyone and should always be cherished and shared? Perhaps they cry openly since they’re proud of their emotions and know they don’t need to be hidden? Perhaps rooting for the hero through all of its ups and downs tells us something about what drives loyalty within the reader?

As I said earlier: there’s an effort to reading.

There is also an effort to writing. And perspective exists within that effort.

Planning, strategy, whatever you want to call it requires perspective. You need a view of the world and how the consumer (aka the reader) interacts with it.

Perspectives should be uncommon.

Perspectives should be detailed.

Perspectives should be molded out of challenging biases since not all comic book geeks are created equal.

But all of that takes time. And it really should require teamwork. That’s why I asked this:

What if we put aside the beaten to death anecdotes of Warren Buffet and his 500 pages per day or the fact Bill Gates reads 50 books per year?

What if we just embrace the awesomeness that is a variety of interests being shared so our perspectives stand taller and inspire greater?

Words can be one helluva tool.

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Thanks a lot for lending my words your time. I appreciate it. If what I've tried to weave together interests you please let me know here.