That’s my notebook shelf behind me on my desk and those are the notebooks I purchased in the last six months.
I’m not going to count them because that would be embarrassing. But, it’s a lot.
I’m constantly searching for the best notebook and note-taking system. I have yet to find the perfect notebook (or system) but I keep looking and I’m sure I’ll buy a few more notebooks by the end of the month.
The paper is too yellow, the lines are too wide, the binding is too stiff. Every notebook I’ve ever purchased has come up short in one way or another.
Sidenote: If Moleskine ever made the Evernote notebook with brighter white paper (but the same weight as the current paper), I think it would be darn close to perfect.
I don’t know if I’m never going to find it. Sometimes I wonder if I should start a notebook company and build my own pages of perfection.
I think if I just find the perfect notebook, my daily notes would suddenly be so awesome that every goal, to-do and follow-up would magically happen.
The brutal truth is the notebook doesn’t matter a damn bit. I need to just stop buying notebooks and just use one at a time until I’m all out (that may take a lifetime). Deep down, I know this.
I tell you about my notebook obsession because I see this type of thing every day with people who are trying to find the perfect:
– email list service
– WordPress template
– funnel autoresponder series
They spend days, weeks, months, YEARS (yes, years) trying to find the perfect setup before they start their business.
After a while, the research becomes the business and the real business never launches. Two years from the day they started their “research,” nothing has happened and nothing probably ever will.
Perhaps it’s out of fear of failure (this is most common) or perhaps they just never truly make it a priority.
Pick an email list service and START.
Pick a webhost and START.
Pick a wordpress template – the ugliest one you can find, even – and START.
I’m never going to find the perfect notebook and you are never going to find the perfect set of tools to start your website.
Let’s agree to just be satisfied with “good enough” and begin.