Steve Jobs is one of the most fascinating individuals of our time, therefore, this is one of the best books I have ever read. Walter Isaacson does it Pulitzer Prize style in delivering the true colors of Jobs. You know the saying, “the truth hurts”, absolutely, but the truth is what made Apple what it is today.

From his very first beginnings to his final breath it’s truly an inspiring and fascinating tale. I’ll leave the guts for you to read. Here are just a few highlights to dissect.

Apple is Steve Jobs.

The DNA of Steve Jobs poured into everything Apple – from employees to product design to the architecture of Apple properties to running and leading a business to advertising. He simply was Apple and he could con anyone into becoming a believer in his vision. He had a way with words and people.

Seeing the light with LSD.

Jobs credits taking psychedelic drugs for making him more enlightened. “Taking LSD was a profound experience. One of the most important things in my life”. It allowed him to gather a sense of what was truly important in life. It was ultimately a catalyst for his deep passion in changing the world. It wasn’t about getting rich, it was about making great products that would put a ripple through a lot of industries. It was about making something you believe in and creating a company that will last. There’s an admiration for those whose drive is to change people’s lives for the better – and not to mislead by just wanting to cash in. The green will follow.

A perfectionist to the Nth degree.

At a very young age Jobs’ father taught him that a drive for perfection meant that caring about the craftsmanship of the parts unseen. Jobs instilled this into everything he could put his hands on. From Apple to his living room – Jobs went with no furniture in his home for months because nothing suited his perfectionists drive. But it’s fairly easy (but mostly extremely difficult for a lot of people) – simplicity. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” This shows from Apple hardware to software. The amazement that non-techies (young children!) can pick up an iPad and fully comprehend how to use it. It’s a matter of instincts and it’s path from simplicity.

Reality distortion field.

Jobs would stare at his employees (or anyone for that matter) without blinking until they basically took a sip of his kool-aid. This notion of his reality distortion field is essentially summed up like this: “you did the impossible, because you didn’t realize it was impossible.” People found it empowering as Jobs believed it truly inspired and motivated his team. He would change the course of computer history with a fraction of resources Apple’s competitors were working with. Why? Because of this notion of belief. He would slash a 3 month ship date to 2 with his employees working tirelessly. In the end – they did the impossible and shipped in 2. In addition to this inspiration for his employees, he believed that the rules simply didn’t apply to him. He had this sense that there are few people who are truly special, that are the chosen ones, the enlightened ones. He believed he was one of them.

Jobs had a way with words and a way of luring people into this distortion field. During board meetings the others had signals for when someone was being caught up in Steve’s world and needed to be tugged back to reality.

A true knack for business

One of Jobs greatest strengths was his ability to focus. “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” When he was invited back to Apple he simply came in and slashed 70% of the products Apple was creating at that time. Apple simply lost focus on the core product and was competing too much with its own self. It’s amazing the vision this man had and his intuition for operating a successful business, but yet, he had to sell himself (and his vision) during each one of these episodes.

Even to this day you see companies changing their model, features, systems, spending millions on market research to meet consumer demands. Jobs didn’t believe in market research because he knew that customers don’t know what they want until they’re shown. By having “A” employees and those with a real drive and passion for what they’re doing, they built products they wanted to use.

Apple products are truly revolutionary – they are the intersection of technology and creativity. Apple will go down in history as one of the greatest companies and brands of all time – turning many industries upside down.

Conclusion.

1.) He definitely was the chosen one and 2.) read the book for yourself. You’ll be in awe. Enjoy!

Artists are indispensable linchpins.

When I first started reading Linchpin by Seth Godin, I went to work the next morning angry. I was angry I had to work on someone else’s terms, angry I had to abide by authority, and angry I had to be there in the first place. I honestly had a bad day and I couldn’t stop thinking about what Seth was saying. Later that evening I picked up where I left off and continued reading, and realized I was angry for the wrong reasons.

I don’t wake up to do my job, I now consume my work with my art.

I finally realized the 9 to 5 gig isn’t the underlying issue. The problem is allowing the resistance to continue doing your job. Instead you need to ignore your lizard brain (the voice that encourages you to give in to resistance, to feel content, play it safe) and do the work. Part of the valued art, that everyone has within, is emotional labor. Most people go to their job and tackle their daily tasks. The tasks someone of authority told them to do, the processes to follow, and the lyrics to read. When emotional labor is involved, it brings humanity into your job. It brings the things that make up you into your work. When you can bring your humanity into your workplace you will find passion for your work you never knew you had.

It’s easier said than done… But it’s just as easy to do it too, you just have to do it.

It’s already within just express it. Seth describes it like this: “If you reserve your emotional labor for when you are off duty, but you work all the time, you are deprived of the joy you get when you do this labor. Now, you’re not giving gifts on duty, but you’re not off duty much at all. Spend eight to ten hours a day at work, and there’s not a lot of time left for the very human acts that make you who you are and who you want to be. So bring that gift to work.” This creates value, and when value is created, you’ve gained respect, and most importantly you’ve become irreplaceable. You’ve become someone who is making a difference, a game changer. Indispensable.

It’s as simple as being your authentic self and not being afraid to stand out.

This book isn’t solely about enriching your professional career, it also implies to your personal developement. Quit going through the motions the system told you to do. Instead, do things off the beaten path. The paved path is safe and you feel pretty content, when you veer off into the tall grass, this is where innovation occurs, this is where you make a difference, and this is where you give your gift. You’ve become valuable.

This is truly a must read. There is so much value between the covers you will be in awe. I was constantly writing notes and bookmarking. Whether you’re looking for a personal pick me up or need to find some drive for your work, this book will get you to do both.

Vocabulary you’ll find throughout the book: Lizard brain. Cog. Linchpin. Art. Work. Emotional labor. Resistance. Thrashing. Indispensable. Gifts.

Gary Vaynerchuk, author of Crush It!, is definitely a unique breed. In this book he tells his story, almost as if this were his business autobiography, which I really enjoyed. I like to get a feel for the individual on where he came from and how he got to where he is today.

His journey is inspiring and the foundation of his success relies on passion.

Everyone wants to be successful and to be making lots of money but most are chasing success in the wrong places and for the wrong reasons. He emphasises on how everyone has to be passionate about something, once it’s found turn it into cash. It may or may not make you a millionaire but the point is to be living your passion.

He is able to paint a very powerful message in only 140 pages. This book is essentially a detailed transcript of one of his speaking gigs with a little more emphasis on his background and the tools he uses (check out this video).

His tools first start with passion, and with the help of technology and the web 2.0 movement you can bring your passion’s business to extraordinary heights. You may  not be able to ’hustle’ the way Gary does, but if you have the drive, determination, and the hard work mentality there aren’t too many things that can get in your way. You may already have a passion, but your success relies within you.

Before picking up the book I would suggest to watch a couple of his speaking events, it made my reading experience feel much more connected to Gary. When reading, every word, I could hear the passion in his voice, I could see the enthusiasm in his step and the excitement in his eyes.

I would suggest this read to those who feel lost or unhappy with their current employment or for those who have just recently lost a job. Spend a few hours reading this book and you will find the motivation and message you have been seeking. It will help nudge you to turn your passion for night crawlers (or whatever it may be) into a fulltime gig.

Sometimes when one door closes a brighter and bigger door opens.

When I first purchased this book, ‘The Power of Less’ by Leo Babauta (blog Zen Habits), I was extremely excited and eager to start reading. The concepts and ideas in the book are things I always think about but never take the time in achieving them. I wanted to read this book to sort of nudge me to get out of this ‘winter is almost here’ rut, and to view these ideas in a new light.

The first part of the book was disappointing for me.

Not because it was bad writing or the content wasn’t valuable, but because the excitement and hype I had created going into this book suddenly dissipated. It was gone. I had lost interest in the topic and got to the point where I almost shut it down.

I gave it another shot…

Upon picking back up where I left off I quickly became enriched in his advice and ideas. I suddenly began to feel motivated and driven in certain parts of my life where it was definitely lacking or non existant all together.

I am a runner and I watch what I eat and it seems every year this time when the air starts to get colder and the days are much shorter, I start to lose focus on what it is that makes me happy. I came to a point in the book where my motivation was at new heights and I took a break from reading to go on a short run. It felt great!

This read encourages you to eliminate the nonessential that takes up your life.

By eliminating, or at least reducing, the nonessentials in your life you are able to give 100% focus and attention on the essentials. It really forces you to focus on what makes you happy and what feeds your passion in both your personal and work life. For me it was eating healthy and just running because I liked the way I felt after successfully accomplishing both.

There are things he touches on to eliminate or cut back on that just aren’t doable for some, but the message he is portraying is crystal clear.

If you are in a rut in finding what makes you happy in life or it is was put on the back burner, this read will reignite that flame. It will encourage you to set personal and professional goals and it lays out a sketch of how to achieve them by simplifying your life, by breaking down goals to sub goals, by breaking down projects to manageable tasks, etc. Concentrating on the important items fully with no distractions or multi-tasking, results in higher productivity.

“If we’re always in a hurry to get places. when will we get to our destination and finally be happy?”

“Life is a journey — make it a pleasant one.” 

Marketing is getting people who have a specific need or problem to know, like, and trust you.

This is the definition John Jantsch uses for small business marketing. John is the author of  “Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide“. This is the type of book where you read it once and ideas flow, then you read it again filling in your own marketing strategy. It really gets you excited about communicating your business.

Everyone is in the marketing business.

John refers to this statement over and over again. Regardless of your product or service, your in the marketing business. Small business owners get overwhelmed in even a simple thought of implementing any kind of marketing on top of running their day-to-day business operations. If you, as a business owner, use just one core ingredient to start out with your  plan, your business will reap benefits. But, the outcome lies in being consistent and true to that one ingredient. When your ready, grab some more duct tape and put its sticky system to use.

Before you can implement anything there are two elements that must be answered:

1.) Identify your ideal client.

What does your most loyal customer look like?

2.) You don’t sell goods and services, you sell solutions to problems.

What are you really selling? (click here for further thoughts)

After some soul-searching and really understanding who your client is and what they’re really purchasing, this lays down a solid foundation to build a successful campaign.

John really emphasizes on creating a group of extremely loyal customers (influencers), and then utilizing his referral system. This group of influencers can take your profits from a flat line to a steady upward slope.

Not only did I read this book with  a mindset of marketing a small business, I also read it in terms of marketing my own personal brand. I think there are a lot of relevant elements in doing so… I want to dig a little deeper into this thought and will post something soon.

This book definitely needs to be in the hands of anyone doing any kind of business. It’s a thought-provoking read in the way you view your own business image and how you can get your customers to see it the same way, if not better. The short review tips at the end of each chapter are excellent refreshers and the examples are idea generators.

Is this a two thumbs up read? If you’ve read it, let me know what you thought?

Is there anything you would add?