I’m Sorry, But I Don’t Read…

Why Convenience Is Killing Business Growth — and What We’re Missing

I’m sorry, but I don’t read.
Well, that’s a lie. I do read — I just didn’t for a long time.

It started when I couldn’t sleep. I picked up a book, then another. Now it’s a habit. I squeeze it in wherever I can — in bed, in the bath, 15 pages a day. That’s my rule. Any less and I never finish. Any more and I fall asleep.

I even have this dream: one day, behind my desk, there’ll be a shelf filled with every book I’ve ever read. A mini library. One I can pull from when someone comes to me with a problem — “Here, this one helped me. It might help you too.”

Because really, I’m just a collection of all the thoughts and solutions other people had the decency to write down before me.

But here’s the thing…

Convenience Over Solutions

Something’s broken.
There’s a huge gap between the wisdom of the past and the modern reader. Why? Because books take time — and time, it seems, is too expensive.

We now live in a world where people won’t read a whole book to solve a problem that’s been draining their life or business for years. They’ll sit with the pain instead. Waiting for a TikTok, a podcast clip, or a 30-second YouTube short to fix everything.

A Familiar Conversation

Let me paint a picture:

Friend: “I’ve got this problem with my business. I don’t think anyone’s ever faced it. I’m doomed.”
Me: “Actually, yeah — that’s common. There’s a brilliant book that covers it. You should read it.”
Friend (a week later): “Still struggling. It’s not getting better.”
Me: “Did you read the book?”
Friend: “Nah, I don’t really read.”
Also Friend: Still has the problem two weeks later, but now also a brand new excuse.

I’ve even bought people the book — handed it to them, ready to go. But if it’s not instantly digestible, it just collects dust. All that knowledge, sitting right there, unopened.

The Decline of Curiosity

I grew up in a time where the only way to learn something was from a textbook. If you didn’t understand something, you looked it up. Now, if the answer doesn’t appear in a Google snippet or on ChatGPT in five seconds, people give up.

We’ve normalised impatience.

Ask someone why they haven’t read the book and you’ll get:
“I just don’t have the time.”
But they’ve watched every episode of their favourite show.
They scroll social media for two hours a day.
The average UK adult spends more time on their phone than they do sleeping.

TV Over Solutions

What baffles me is this: people have the problems, know the problems are hurting them, and have access to the answers — but still won’t do the work.
Why?

Because the latest Netflix episode feels more urgent than progress.

Convenience now trumps happiness.
Comfort is king.
We’d rather complain than commit.

It’s why 80% of businesses fail.
Not because the problem is unique, but because solving it feels like too much effort. We’ve become bosses of businesses that run us, not the other way around. So we sit in that pain, owning our own misery.

The Yellowstone Way

That’s why we started Yellowstone.
Cowboy hats aside, we built something to help people who do want to make a change — who just don’t know where to start.

We give people back their time.
We help them solve their visibility problems.
We help make their businesses work for them, not the other way around.

But here’s the catch: we can only help the people who want to be helped.

Final Thought

Reading might feel inconvenient in the age of instant everything — but it’s still one of the most powerful tools we have.

And if someone hands you a book with your solution in it?
Take the time. Read the book.

Because if you’re not willing to read the answer, don’t keep complaining about the problem.

Will Ryles

Entrepreneur & Founder | Yellowstone Accounts

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