Are Free PDFs Worth It?
There are thousands of topical self-development books that you could read to try to get a leg up in a specific area. Then there are free PDFs from bloggers and influencers that boil down ideas from dozens of these books, and create an actionable plan. So why is it still more effective for people to buy the books and do all the reading on their own, when the lessons are out there for free?
Because investment and ownership are what drive real change.
I could get the best financial advice from Warren Buffett himself, but if it wasn’t tailor-made for me, and I didn’t have any investment in that advice, I would have a hard time taking it. People need to connect the dots on their own for things to stick. People need to feel like they have some skin in the game before they’re motivated to make real change.
I saw this firsthand when I ran photo + video workshops of students with Jacob Riglin and Jeremiah Davis. Students paid thousands of dollars to fly across the world to sit and listen to these guys talk. But the funny thing is, Jacob and Jeremiah both have a lot of free resources online–enough for a new videographer to really learn and turn their career around. But people don’t. Investment is what drives change in our lives.
PDFs, guides, and how-to videos can be helpful, especially as a starting point or as a review. But most people I know who have made real change in their lives have taken the time to read the books and make the connections for themselves.
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