You won’t find the answer in a book, or a blog, or….

I read a lot.  Books, blogs, magazines, newsletters.  Learning is a daily discipline for me, both to scratch my curiosity itch and to try and make myself a better marketer, better seller, better manager, better business leader, better husband and father, better cook, etc.

Unfortunately, as great as those sources may be, they don’t answer all of my questions.  And it seems the harder the question is, the less likely I’m going to find the answer in one of those books or blogs.

Want to add more order to the chaos that is your life, or your job, or your family, or your career?  Reading can help, but it won’t give you your personal, correct answer.  That’s gotta come from you.

Want to drive more consistent growth for your business?  I can recommend a bunch of great authors, coaches, bloggers, consultants to learn from.  But they won’t have the answer you seek.  That’s gotta come from you.

Want to quit your job and finally start that dream business?  I can share a thousand best (and worst) practices.  Tell you which books and guides were most helpful for me.  Introduce you to countless people who have been on that path and will generously share their stories.  But they won’t have the answer you seek either.  That’s gotta come from you.

You get the pattern.

Just like Ben Horowitz said early in his great book The Hard Thing About Hard Things, nobody is going to be able to give you the precise guidebook for your situation, in your moment, for your objectives, based on your experience and desires and morals and situation.  The very hard thing about hard things is that the answer will be unique to you, and likely to come only from you.

For some, this is demoralizing.  For others, it’s electrifying.  For many it’s both exciting and terrifying.

Either way, keep reading.  Keep learning.  And keep shipping.  That’s the hard thing, and the only thing.