Do you ever see those tabloid-shriek business books about how to work less and become a billionaire by using the internet, and think 'oh puh-lease'?' Or get a bit fed up with the self-promote-merchants who scream about how much they LOVE their work, how GREAT their business is doing, etc etc? Or, when you do give in, buy their book/seminar/product you then feel short-changed?
Happily, this blog post is not about that kind of experience. I've just finished reading Gary Vaynerchuk's 'Crush it! Why now is the time to cash in on your passion' and loved it.
Not because it delivers plenty of good, solid advice and ideas based on what Gary has done and learned in the process of building his business, although it does.
Not because it echoes a number of my own core beliefs, such as the internet being as transformational as the printing press, although it does.
Not because it's to the point, easy to read, witty, and written just as Gary speaks, although it is.
The real reason I loved it, and what made it stand out for me was that it seems an honest book. By that I mean not just authentic, but really walking the talk, and what's more it's in the moment. Just as Gary claims not to ever do a second take on his Wine Library TV, this book seems to have benefited from inconspicuous editing. He admits he dictated the entire book, and that is undoubtedly a major part of its charm.
There are moments of thinking aloud, such as the section on Flickr - "It has a ton of passionate users, although I'm not one of them.. photographs don't speak to my DNA," admits Gary, but by the end of the paragraph he's starting to change his mind. "In fact, now that I think about it, it's insane that I haven't done this already. Anyone who cares about wine should be able to find me on Flickr, so I'd better get onto that."
Crush it! is inspiring, uplifting and great fun. It reminded me of all the things I plan to do but haven't yet. I'd better get onto that.








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