I was going to print up #9 and read it over a nice casual lunch sitting outside at a table in the sun. Now I get to re-read "Don't" 2000 times. Thanks Marc, ya bastard!
Read your favorite of the others again. There's nothing like repetition!
"How can you internalize all of that knowledge?
I can give you two hacks.
First, use repetition. Download the audio versions of Paul Graham's essays, burn them on a CD, and listen to them over and over again. Read books once, identify the ones you like, and then read those again and again, every six months."
Yeah, you're totally right about re-reading. It helps a ton. That's actually what I did today. Still, it's always more enjoyable to read something new.
One problem is that I've re-read (and re-listened) to everything PG and Pmarca have ever posted on the damn internet, many times over. Now I just re-read the best ones for the 20th time. I read/listen on the train, at lunch, and at the park so my appetite is insatiable. Need. More. Content.
Beyond repetition, actually regurgitating, in your own words, what you've read is pretty helpful. I've found that, in doing summaries for my site Squeezed Books (http://www.squeezedbooks.com), that I've digested some things a lot more than if I had only read them. Anyone and everyone is welcome to try their hand at summarizing some business books for the site - absolutely free;-)
I've had some thoughts about ways to include essay/non book summaries, but so far I haven't bothered - stuff that's free on the internet is usually short enough to read, because it hasn't been inflated with fluff in order to make a book out of it.
I bought High Stakes No Prisoners and never got around to reading it. Then I gave all my precious books away when I moved (big mistake). Thanks a lot for mentioning it! I have to buy it again. I can't wait to read it.
(I'm no one. Just Another Startup Hacker. Not a YC founder or anything.)
