This Week’s Must Read Articles From Around the Web

Each week we scour the web for insightful articles to share with the FI network.

This week's top articles include advice for staying sane while starting up, becoming the master of your field, and tips for saying 'no' to distractions.

Here are our must read articles for the week of March 31st - April 6th:

1. You don’t have to make yourself miserable to build a great company by Andrew Wilkinson of PandoDaily

One entrepreneur comes clean and explains how he manages to get away with doing the unthinkable in Silicon Valley. 

2. When Is the Best Time to Write Your Business Plan?by Tim Berry of Entrepreneur Magazine

If you're serious about starting your business -- even if you don't have anything down in writing -- you've already started to plan. So how do you find time to write a business plan? You don't. You are always planning. Your plan is never done, but your planning process is your key to good management.

3.  Don’t delay your first Startup to get an MBA degree by Martin Zwilling for The Examiner

I don’t have an MBA. I used to fear that this would put me at a disadvantage in starting my own company, but now I’m convinced that it may be the other way around. In some reputable surveys, as many as two-thirds of entrepreneurs felt that their entrepreneurial spirit was more ingrained than learned, so a specific education level is at least irrelevant.

4. Stop Searching for 'The Next Big Thing:' Tips for Building the Best Business for You by Mike Brooks of Entrepreneur Magazine

As driven as you might be to launch the next Google, Apple or Facebook, the process of identifying a great idea can be intimidating. Many would-be entrepreneurs become so concerned with creating “The Next Big Thing” that they become paralyzed and can’t progress.

5. A scientific guide to saying “no”: How to avoid temptation and distraction by James Clear for Buffer

Learning how to say no is one of the most useful skills you can develop I found, especially when it comes to living a more productive and healthy life.

6. 20 Hour Workday: 4 Ways to Survive a Startupby Gary Whitehill for ReadWriteWeb

Gary Whitehill (EIR at Startup Weekend) suggests 4 ways entrepreneurs can keep calm and carry on throughout the tumultuous process of starting up.

7. Dominate Your Industry: How to Become the Best in Your Field by Catherine Clifford of Entrepreneur Magazine

The notion of a miraculous genius being born smarter and more capable than the rest of us mere mortals charms our curiosity. Robert Greene, author of the popular The 48 Laws of Power (Penguin, 2000), would disagree. The fascination we have in prodigies, he says, is "bogus. It's completely bogus." Exceptional talent is about hard work, he says. Read on for Greene's tips on becoming the next Steve Jobs.