Literature contains a deep cultural wisdom that concerns all aspects of life: the political, the economic, the emotional, the intellectual, and it is key in the formation of an entrepreneur ...
Yes, yes, I know what you are thinking. "Who has time to read?", Is not it? For many businessmen and entrepreneurs in the financial world, high literature has no place but, at most, as a leisure object for Sunday afternoons. They prefer to read technical texts, applied to the area of their business, or perhaps biographies of entrepreneurs they admire. And in that they are terribly wrong .
Literature, that power
Such contempt for artistic reading can only show ignorance . Literature, much more than home entertainment, involves deep cultural wisdom that concerns all aspects of life: the political, the economic, the emotional, the intellectual, and precisely for this reason it is key in the holistic training of an entrepreneur successful, whose thinking cannot be confined to the four walls of his office .
Think about it. The great writers have not only anticipated profound changes in their societies or in the world, but they have motivated them , they have channeled with their intuition and their symbolism the thinking of their contemporaries. Dante founded modern Italian culture. Cervantes did the same with the Spanish. Behind every nation there is always a poet who knew how to name things. ¿ Why deprive yourself of such power ?
Literature for Entrepreneurs
Far from restricting your interests to the specifics of your endeavor, read literature . It will help you think "outside the box" and envision things in much larger dimensions than you would consider. It also reduces stress, will help you discern important information from supplementary information , polish your verbal and creative skills, and also nurture your public speaking. Does it seem little to you?
To guide you through those first steps toward reading, we offer you a quick guide to the best works of fiction for businessmen .
A Reading List for Entrepreneurs
1. Hopscotch, by Julio Cortázar
The best-known work of the famous Argentine author, it is ideal to overcome the limitations of too conventional thinking. This book can be read in various ways, through different reading paths, and it also tells an exciting story that all of us who were teenagers will get hooked on.
2. The Great Gatsby, by Scott Fitzgerald
You may have seen the film version and know more or less what it is about. In addition, it is a mandatory reference in contemporary American culture. The truth is that the story is set in financial America in the 1920s, before the Great Depression, and is a sharp and exciting critique of the system , which will undoubtedly give you a lot to think about.
3. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
Although it is not a fiction book, but rather a treatise on the war of the 4th century BC. C., in this work you will find strategic thinking unparalleled in recent history. Its military and political considerations will be of enormous help if you manage to make the transfer to your areas of interest and understand that it is much more than a simple manual of warfare strategies.
4. The Prince, by Nicolás Machiavelli
Similar to the previous case, this treatise on politics and strategy is a masterpiece written in the 16th century. His considerations pertain to Italian Medici society, but they are perfectly and cleverly applicable to any system of hierarchies today. A must-see book to defend yourself in the financial jungle.
5. Essay on blindness, by José Saramago
Published by the Portuguese Nobel laureate in 1995, this fast-paced story will catch you from the start: a worldwide epidemic of blindness. The twists and turns of its characters and the philosophical situations it explores are ideal for understanding many of the social dynamics of the contemporary world .
6. The rebellion of the masses, by José Ortega y Gasset
Translated into more than twenty different languages and initially published in a facsimile way in the newspaper El Sol , this interesting sociological essay deals with modern relations between man and the masses with an incomparable style, with a view to the latter coming to power. Far from being as arid as it sounds, it is a fundamental reading to understand the western society that we built throughout the 20th century , and of which the contemporary one is a direct heir.
With these six books you will have enough to start your entrepreneur library and get out of the rigid scheme and the easy solutions that many entrepreneurship manuals propose. The world is vast and complicated, and literature has been there since time immemorial to help us think about it . It is convenient for you to understand it as something valuable: the lack of readings, like bad breath, is noticed as soon as you know the person.
see also finance and business knowledge
