Someone smart told me this the other day:
“Writers are always watching people. In order to have output, we need to have input.”
I love people who observe their surroundings and try to make sense of it. I love people who load up on input (people, books, ideas) and then process it, analyze it.
A similar thing could be said about entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurs are always looking for problems. Always looking for things that can be done easier / cheaper / faster. They look at the world through the lens of improvement.
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Add to that –
Writers and entrepreneurs are also a crazy bunch. The former chose to write, when it’s easier to read. The latter chose to build, when it’s easier to buy.
Ben,
I would argue that anyone — be they an entrepreneur, a writer, a politician, a scientist — trying to have an effect must also have an engaged mind. He who looks for data points to confirm to a preestablished ideology is not only foolish, but dangerous.
Ben,
Absolutely. I would further contend that the secret to life is figuring out how to live life your own way – to figure things out for yourself and yourself alone. We do this by actually living life – through investigation: experimenting and interacting and observing to determine what works for us and what doesn’t.
Good post.
David
Ben, there’s a reason I visit your site frequently — this is it. Now, if only I had more time to dedicate to collecting all that input…
Krishna, you make an excellent point. We are a strange bunch, we writers and bloggers.
Charles: how incredibly centrist of you — you could’ve stolen those words right from my mouth! (I’m pulling your leg, of course.)
David, you also have a great point — and what is college if not one great experiment of the mind?
I’ve found business opportunities inside of the various businesses that I’ve had over the years. One even turned into a nice profit center than lasted for four years.
ahh.. i like that.. a good thing to say… someone asked me the other day why I don’t talk some time and I told them I needed to be able to watch so I could then write…
thanks for always inspiring Ben!!!
cheers
lace