Here’s the secret: if you change RSS to mean “Reading Simplified for Success” you can effectively use it to steer your success.
A bit odd, I know, but consider the wisdom that says “you become the people you surround yourself with” or “if you want to be successful, surround yourself with successful people.”
Do you see where this is going?
Limit Your Reading
In this age of content free-for-all, it takes an incredible amount of care and discipline to limit and filter our reading.
Take an inventory of your RSS subscriptions—are you personally attuned and captivated by the content? Does it add qualitative value to your personal version of success?
Just because most content is free and potentially interesting doesn’t mean you need it. Don’t be a content glutton. I’ve noticed that any more than 7-8 subscriptions tend to mute my vision and productivity.
Hand-Pick Your Allies
Now, look at your authors: who are these people? What do they represent to you? In what context do they fit into your evolution?
Since good content is relative, I suggest you take your major goals and match them with an author who understands and supports them. If you can’t do this, then drop them and don’t look back.
For example, Johnny B. Truant is a tough and scrappy but squarely inspirational writer. If you pay attention to Johnny’s recurring personal story, you’ll know that his once desperate situation left him no choice but to strike out and trailblaze his own success. I can strongly empathize with this.
The Heart of the Matter
An author’s style and character can give us major boosts of empathy, inspiration and genius beyond the words and info they publish. This holistic value rises above the day to day content we consume.
It’s not about trying to be like them, but rather extracting the best parts of their essence to help boost yours. When you practice Reading Simplified for Success, you extract the deeper layers of human meaning that catalyze the change we require to grow and thrive.
And, while you’re at it—maybe give some thought to your blogroll?
Photo by jurvetson.
I currently have 24 blogs in my ‘must read’ folder in google reader. It may indeed be too much. But it’s not as much as many others. Moreover, many of the blogs I subscribe to don’t publish often.
Also, I must admit, I read a few blogs I’m not totally enamored by, but realize they’ve reached such success that I want to understand what they’re doing that generates it. That said, most blogs I read, are ones I enjoy.
In the future, I may cut down the amount of blogs I read. Though, I try not to spend any more than 30 minutes a day reading blogs. I think books and magazines are far more important for a blogger’s success.
While there are many blogs in the internet, only few of them are really worth reading. My attention span is very short when I encounter blogs that does not engage the human aspect of me. Indeed blogger must realize this fact. 🙂