kb123

Hey guys. I was interviewed on a popular podcast. We discuss strategies for getting more reading into a busy schedule, landing the mentor you want, and starting a business. I also mention Alex Epstein, Ryan Holiday, Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/76-kirk-barbera-paradoxical/id1022041617?i=356136047&mt=2 Feedback is much appreciated!

This is awesome! Thanks for putting these up. I'm going to use them myself now!

I'm totally confused!

That's interesting. So you think that reading has caused you not to take action when you should have?

One chief value of college is the opportunity to take action and find what you want to do. I think if you have an interest you should attend. Perhaps you'll find it boring or just silly, or perhaps you'll find young adults trying to understand ideas. Only one way to find out. My rule is if you have an interest, an inclination and the time to join something then go for it. Too much time is wasted in ethereal thoughts disconnected from what it would really be like to walk over to the local meeting and start talking to people.

There’s a cliche you’ve probably heard: Leaders are readers. As with all cliches, there is a nugget of truth and a mountain of misconception. By leaders I do not mean men and women who are in charge, but men and women who change things, who stand out in front, and people follow. By readers I do not mean men who escape the necessities of action and living to walk around in a fantasy, but I mean men who take the knowledge contained in great books and utilize it in their daily actions, which is known more broadly as wisdom—the application of knowledge. Great statesman like Alexander the Great who shaped the ancient world and founded libraries that have stood for centuries was a reader; men like Caesar who forged Rome into the powerhouse it would become was a reader. In more recent times men like Napoleon Bonaparte when on military campaign would bring an entire library with him; men like Lincoln and Churchill, the greatest orators of their times, were immense readers. Benjamin Franklin had a personal decree that no matter how broke he was, he would always spend money on books. The Wright Brothers were immense readers, extremely well-read in history, literature and most importantly, aeronautics and ornithology. This is true in modern business, too. Bill Gates has a "Think Week" when he does nothing but read. It is the essential ingredient he attributes to his success. Tony Hsieh, billionaire founder of Zappos.com believes in reading so much that he ties employee raises to the amount of reading they do. And it is no coincidence that Amazon.com’s founder, Jeff Bezos, opened his little online store in order to sell books. In every industry the men and women who move it forward do not rely on a four year education to gain their “book knowledge.” Many dropped out of college or didn’t bother. They understand that to have a clear picture of their industry and their world is the only way to know in what direction things are moving, and how they can move it in the direction they choose. A reader is like that visionary person who climbs a tree in the famous parable about leadership. A group of adventurers are out in a jungle searching for the city of gold, Eldorado. Some men stand apart from the others. These men run efficiency workshops to help the workers cut through the jungle faster. They create schedules to maximize efficiency. They hold knife sharpening seminars. These are the managers. But the leader is the man who climbs the tallest tree, surveys the jungle, and shouts to his team: “WRONG JUNGLE!” Think of the tree as the Tree of Knowledge. It is not so simple to climb that tree and survey an industry. It can only be achieved by a wisdom which comes only from reading and acting. There are thousands of books out there and not enough time to read even a small portion of them. We have a new aid to help. We extract the best stories from popular books. In only 1-2 pages you can read the stories of great men and thus some of their experience becomes your own. Sign up today for Book Tales and get the following 4 books sent to you immediately! The Obstacle is the Way: The TImeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday Springboard: Launching your Personal search for SUCCESS by G. Richard Shell Creativity Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull Becoming Steve Jobs by Brent Schlender

Ha! Nice that was awesome.

Sorry for taking so long to respond. Been working on some projects and a move. I'll post something as a blog and if you think it needs to be taken down that's fine. I'm looking to see if these business tales I've written are of use to anyone here. Kirk

Ah man. I'd better calm down before I post something

Ok I have a question. Can anyone just post to the blog? Are there rules there? I saw some rules for posting Articles, but not on the blog. I might have missed it. I wanted to post a few of the business tales that I've written up. For instance, "How a Windy Day Defeated Steve Jobs." They're meant for business professionals. And any feedback is definitely desired!

It all worked out.

His best interview yet!

Good building blocks. Did you connect the folks interested in objectivism/Ayn's works and the libertarian community. I know a few folks in Colorado libertarian/freedom movements which is why I ask. A... Yeah I did! I helped Amanda Muell (used to be Teresi) start her Liberty on The Rocks movement. I also helped Brad Beck in founding the Liberty Toastmasters group. I did some talks at libertarian events, and I helped out with some of the local Tea Partiers at the time. This was 08-12.

Thanks Selene. I think one of the reasons it worked was that I was consistent in advertising and always providing a fun and engaging atmosphere. Also, since I built relationships with the school administration, it was very easy for me to gain funding from the University to bring on Objectivist speakers. Doing that was extremely helpful in building the club. Especially since we would all get together and promote the club, further bolstering a sense of community. Another thing was I utilized the local Objectivist clubs as much as possible. I brought them into our club to talk or just participate, and this further created a sense of a broader community.

Thanks It was an understandable issue. I didn't clearly state who I was! One day hopefully I won't need to And I don't even have my real name up either. Not that that would change anything! It has been a while since I've done any online community chatting. My name's Kirk Barbera by the way.