These are three books that gave me insights as an entrepreneur and helped me move forward step by step.
This article was originally published in the Boekbazen newsletter.
💬 You probably know the paper map (or information board) in a nature area with routes and interesting places. We make that digital.
Wolf Maps is a tool for organizations to create beautiful, interactive, and shareable maps.
Just like discovering a map, I also see myself as a kind of explorer.
From design agency to landscape photographer and then to a digital product. At heart, I am a digital maker who occasionally also acts as an entrepreneur.
👇 Certain books helped me a lot with that journey.
I have always loved structure. My co-founder once told me: structured on the outside, chaotic on the inside. So if a book can help me create structure, I am in.
A few years ago I went all-in on landscape photography and wanted to make it my profession. I read Atomic Habits by James Clear. It helped me build habits on my own.
For example:
Honestly, I find this much harder alone than in a team.
What I like about this book: James is very structured and builds his argument on solid research, with practical actions.
Especially in the early stage of a company, that is very valuable because habits give you grip. And yes, the book also covers breaking bad habits. 😉
My co-founder Tim and I restarted a company together in January 2021 after both doing different things for five years. Just before that we read It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work by the Basecamp founders.
The book argues you do not have to follow the madness of 60-hour weeks. It can be different. Think of tools like Slack or Teams where you are expected to always be available and respond quickly.
The book explains the consequences well: you lose focus, have less time for actual work, and then feel busier. They also prefer JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out) over FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).
In short, it is about building a healthier company culture with:
Useful for teams, but also for solo entrepreneurs.
Because of examples around us, you can feel like you must constantly push yourself as a solo founder. For me this book is an important reminder, especially after experiencing burnout and struggling between pushing hard and recharging.
Years ago I went through burnout, stopped my company, and my 10-year relationship ended. Tough period. I was overthinking all the time:
Around that period I had the insight that I was addicted to thinking. I literally Googled “addicted to thinking” and found Jan Geurtz’s book. Bought it immediately and read it twice.
The book is not about functional thinking, but about identification with thoughts. The issue is that we think we are our thoughts. But we are not. Thoughts are more like your heartbeat: you cannot stop them, only notice and observe them.
It is a spiritual book. But I think it is interesting for anyone, because it helps you look critically at your own mind instead of taking it for granted.
The Meaning in the Making by Sean Tucker is written for makers, but in my view every entrepreneur is a maker.
The book covers themes such as:
A great chapter is about “shadows”: we often try to skip the difficult phases in life, while those phases can also produce the most creative insights. Sean argues we should embrace our shadows.
As an entrepreneur I recognize those phases very well. His book helps me accept them and use them better.
I see a pattern in the books I read: they often help create calm. Not only books that demand more from you.
I think one of the biggest challenges is finding calm in busyness while still creating meaningful work. Apparently that is exactly what I keep looking for.
Usually I do not search for books directly; they find me through:
I read every day, even if briefly. In quieter periods I consume many books, often several at once, both fiction and non-fiction.
I would love to write fiction myself someday. I have enough ideas and stories, but writing itself is still hard for me. In the future I want to build small habits (as in Atomic Habits) to write daily, keep learning, and meet other beginning writers.
Everything in its own time.
For now: focus on my family and Wolf Maps 😉
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