Dear Friend,

Today, I want to introduce you to a metaphor that I came up with yesterday.

The Man In The Library

Imagine a man in a library. He is surrounded by 10 open books. The man goes from one book to the next, reading a few sentences here and a couple pages there. Just as he is building up momentum and becoming interested in the material, he stops and switches to a different book on a different topic. He cycles from book, to book, to book, never going deep enough into any of them in order to learn anything meaningful.

Frustrated, he goes home and vows to come back the next day and only read one book at a time. He returns and picks up the first book that seems interesting. He starts reading it and realizes that although it is a good book, it isn’t very relevant to him at this point in his life.

He looks around himself to all of the incredible books lining the shelves of the library, unsure of whether he should spend his valuable time reading the first book that he chose.

He closes the book, recognizing that although it is good, it isn’t the best for him. He knows there are better ways to spend his time, so he begins searching through the shelves of the library. He commits to searching until he finds a book that is far more than interesting to him - he is seeking an irresistible book that he can’t help but read.

And after digging through every book available, even asking the librarian for help, he finds it. A book that fits into his interests and passions like a long lost puzzle piece.

Breaking Down The Metaphor

Just like the man in the library surrounded by ten books, when we juggle multiple projects or ideas at once, it just leads to inefficiency and frustration because our focus is spread thin. Focusing on one task at a time greatly enhances our interest, momentum, and understanding.

The man's decision to read one book at a time mirrors the importance of dedicating our full attention to one task or project. It's about prioritizing and investing our time wisely to get the best out of our efforts.

Even though the first book he chose was good, it wasn't relevant to the man at that time. This shows that not every good idea or project is the right fit for us at every moment. You only have two eyes, a limited amount of time, and a finite amount of energy. Effectiveness comes from aligning your activities with your highest goals, not just with the ideas that seemed interesting at one point.

When the man put the book back on the shelf, it didn't mean he was discarding it completely. We can set aside good ideas that aren't serving us right now without feeling guilt or regret. These ideas aren't lost; they can be revisited when the time is right.

The man's search through the library for a book that truly interested him signifies that it's worth our time to seek out projects or endeavors that resonate with us. The act of searching for the right project, is far more important than simply working on a project just because it seems like a good idea at the time.

Why I Am Bringing This Up

Well, you see, I’ve felt like that man in the library a lot, especially recently. I have so many good ideas and many skills that I am ready to put to use, but sometimes I get trapped by decisions that I previously made, unable to pivot because of the “sunken costs“.

The idea of “discarding good ideas“ has been a BIG challenge for me, because I feel like I need to justify the time that I spent working on an idea, but I need to pause and reflect on how limited my time, energy and other resources are, while acknowledging that a previous version of myself didn’t have the full picture at the time. I need to remind myself that just because I am putting an idea back on the shelf, doesn’t mean that I am tossing it in the garbage.

With how fast the world is moving right now, I need to be okay with disregarding good ideas for great opportunities. I need to be okay with taking a step back, drawing a big X through some of my biggest projects and pursue more compelling ideas with a laser like focus.

Which brings me to this newsletter.

Honestly, I don’t know what the future holds here. This weekly newsletter is a “good” idea but is it preventing me from pursuing a “great“ opportunity?

Stay tuned, because although this newsletter has been a “good book”, I might be shelving it, so that I can pick up a great one.

Thank you for joining me today. Remember, the right book (or task, or project) is out there, waiting for you to pick it up.

Until (maybe) next week,

Cliff