John_Maxwell comments on Is it worth your time to read a lot of self help and how to books?

[John_Maxwell]

not oscillate looking for the highest value task at the time (a mindset I’m trying to let go of).

Interesting, I used to have that mindset and I wish I had it back. :/​

More narrowly, even the most trivial platitudes of texts can be effective primers for good ideas.

Yeah, I’d expect so… to the extent that this is the optimal method, picking words at random out of an dictionary could be useful.

[adrienne]

Interesting, I used to have that mindset and I wish I had it back. :/​

What made you lose the mindset? For what reasons do you wish you had it back?

Yeah, I’d expect so… to the extent that this is the optimal method, picking words at random out of an dictionary could be useful.

I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic here.

[Richard_Kennaway]

Yeah, I’d expect so… to the extent that this is the optimal method, picking words at random out of an dictionary could be useful.

I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic here.

Neither can I, but it is a technique (one of many) suggested by Edward de Bono for coming up with ideas.

[TheOtherDave]

Picking words out of the dictionary works IME, but not very well… I find I need prompts with more internal structure than that. But picking clusters of words (like, 5 words at random) can work OK. Opening books to random sentences works better, and some books work better than others. That said, I find that generating “random” sentences works better for me.

[John_Maxwell]

What made you lose the mindset? For what reasons do you wish you had it back?

Went through a difficult period in my life. I wish it had it back ’cause I ran my life better then.

I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic here.

Nope.