Reading on the living room floor

People recommend books to me all the time. I usually read them, especially when they come from someone I respect.

And almost always, the reaction is meh.

You know the feeling. You hop on Amazon, order the book, dig in with gusto. The enthusiasm dies about as fast as it began.

The book sucks.

Or maybe it doesn't suck. You just don't get why your buddy was so moved by it.

So you put it on the shelf and forget about it.

Time passes. Seasons change. Life goes on.

Life. That's everything right there. Things change. You change.

One day you're sorting through books during a house cleaning. Which of these should I donate? Which are worth keeping?

Then you see it. The sucky book your buddy recommended.

Something about it catches your eye. So you sit down. Right there in the middle of the floor.

And you start devouring it.

This time it makes sense. This time you were ready.

Life has you in a different season. You see the world through different lenses.

This isn't always the case. Sometimes books are just bad.

But sometimes. That precious sometimes. You just weren't ready.

Not for the book. Not for the ideas. Not for the change.

It's a wonderful thing. I've had it happen on more than one happy occasion.

And inevitably, one of the first reactions is regret. Why couldn't I have seen this sooner?

Life, man. You weren't ready. You couldn't have been.

You're ready when you're ready. There's no way around it.

I wish I'd been ready sooner in a lot of respects. But where's the fun in that? Being ready only comes from all the screwups and sidesteps.

I can't tell you how many 50-somethings come to me with some version of this story. They all wish they'd done more, sooner.

They wish they'd started saving sooner. Focused on love sooner. Had kids sooner. Started the business sooner.

Get in line, bub. You're ready when you're ready. That's just the way it is.

Me?

I wish I'd taken Bitcoin seriously sooner.

But you're ready when you're ready.

Next time someone recommends a book and you think it's trash, it might be.

But don't donate it yet.

You just might not be ready.

Best,

John Montgomery

P.S. What's a book you weren't ready for the first time? Hit reply, I'm collecting them.