If you want to be a great consumer, throw away nearly everything and fill your life with books.

Why do I write? Why bother? Writing is really important because it helps men understand what their deeper thoughts are. Writing is something that preserves your legacy. Writing is proof of your work; people can scrutinize it and they can criticize it and they take it apart and say you’re a dumbass or they can say, “wow” this guy is really brilliant. The other thing about writing is, just like the plays and books such as Agamemnon, or The Rape of the Lock, or Candide, it’s a way to entertain. Writing equips us with the communication skills and thinking skills that we need to fight against other people in debates and it expresses who we are as a person. I have my own style and you have yours. Our styles might be different, and we might come at a problem differently but we arrive at the same conclusion perhaps; but it is the expression of our style that is interesting. The other thing about writing is it helps us refine our ideas. Write. Whether it’s good or bad, just write. Create a book.

Journals are great for: 1. Tracking your personal patterns of behavior. 2. Remembering who you were. 3. Exploring your thoughts. 4. Find a quiet place to create. Read what you wrote and improve it.

Read My War Gone By, I Miss It So by Anthony Lloyd.