I'm an information addict.
I have a regular pattern I follow every few months. I want to learn a new skill or a new hobby, so I instantly head over to Amazon and buy 3-4 books on that topic. On my bookcase right now, I have books on the basics of HTML, card magic, golf, screenwriting, motor racing, meditation, weightlifting, and about 10 other topics.
I usually subscribe to a bunch of blogs and podcasts too. I read all the most popular posts, and listen to the best expert interviews. If I'm felling really productive I might even make some notes in Evernote, or bookmark some pages in Delicious.
And yet, there's always one thing missing: actual output.
I've coded very few websites. I know maybe 3 card tricks. I've never written a screenplay or competed in a real car race. I don't know the exact number of times I've ever meditated, but it's definitely less than 50.
Finding and consuming information is easy. It's interesting. And for someone as curious as me, it's usually pretty exciting too.
But it doesn't actually accomplish anything. It's pseudo-work. Intellectual masturbation.
It's much more effective to create. To get stuck in and start making things -- websites, golf shots, screenplays, whatever -- and then one of two things will happen. You either realise that you're not that interested in it, or you love it, and go really deep on it. That's worth doing. Mindlessly consuming surface-level information is not.
Which one are you doing?