"the person consuming the content they enjoy never sees it as something that's self-indulgent."
"In my opinion the reasons you're seeing people shell out money to all kinds of startup-assistance services and sites is NOT because they are receiving some terrific value from them"
I think you have to also look at the entertainment factor. People are spending money because they enjoy reading this the same way they might watch a sports game or go to a movie. I guess the only issue is that (like education, religion or health) they feel the time (wasted?) is more justified because the intentions are somehow of a higher level than what is traditionally considered entertainment.
Definitely agree with you larrys. It's about satisfying that innate curiosity that we all share. Some fiction books help the readers explore the inner emotions and other personal dynamics; information on how to scale your business/stack/team/product/whatever is just another channel for us to explore about the human potential (and thus, our own personal potential).
Being a curiousity junkie, I'm learning to remember that there's a subtle but large difference between undisciplined curiosity and disciplined curiosity -- which is the difference in confusing activity with results.
Most definitely. The one thing I try to be constantly aware of is whether I'm trying to learn too much at the same time, and whether what I'm learning is applicable to what I'm trying to achieve. Occasionally, I'll reward myself with something else that I'm interested in that isn't "pragmatic" per se. All about finding your personal happy balance between learning something applicable vs satisfying that insatiable curiosity .
"In my opinion the reasons you're seeing people shell out money to all kinds of startup-assistance services and sites is NOT because they are receiving some terrific value from them"
I think you have to also look at the entertainment factor. People are spending money because they enjoy reading this the same way they might watch a sports game or go to a movie. I guess the only issue is that (like education, religion or health) they feel the time (wasted?) is more justified because the intentions are somehow of a higher level than what is traditionally considered entertainment.