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TreyAllDay

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The things about the book you've highlighted that you don't care for are precisely why I like the book.

Your thinking that it may not be the best for a new entrepreneur is ironic given the "Zero to One" title. I think it is fantastic for an truly sold out entrepreneur. Now maybe the "I'll just set myself up for 80k per year in passive income" crowd need not read it. But are people like that truly entrepreneurs? That thinking doesn't come from someone who eats, sleeps and breathes building exciting and amazing businesses. It comes from folks that want to retire.

Entrepreneurship isn't a corporate ladder and a lot of folks sometimes are a bit rooted in that thinking even after they make the switch to self employment. No one says you have to build something "small" or "manageable" first.

I think the entire point of the book was START big. Don't just think big or dream big. You don't get to where Thiel is without setting out to build something with some real horsepower.

I just don't understand how you can go on to creating these huge dominating businesses when you can't even support yourself on your entrepreneurial activities on a small scale first (like many of my friends)- but obviously Peter Thiel knows more than I do lol.

And maybe it just depends on what's important to said individual too? I want to build these huge, dominating businesses. But first and foremost, I need a business that gives me freedom, passivity, and security. I have a friend who's told me he'd rather be poor and building something interesting than comfortable and building something boring.
 
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TreyAllDay

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I think the entire point of the book was START big. Don't just think big or dream big. You don't get to where Thiel is without setting out to build something with some real horsepower.

But I did want to point out - I might be reading too far into the context. I do 1000% agree with this part - similar to MJ's "scale" rule. If people are realizing through these concepts that they aren't going to build a huge company by starting a local yoga studio - I think it's important people learn these lessons.
 

million$$$smile

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Currently listening to: Measure What Matters by venture capitalist John Doerr. It details OKR's (Objectives & Key Results) and how it has helped some of the largest tech companies achieve explosive growth. An interesting read. The application of OKRs in a business makes much more sense to me than mere goal setting just for goal setting' sake.
There are so many books on goal setting and yet most seem to me rather unrelatable due to vagueness to the reason 'why' we want to attain a particular goal. This book goes a bit further and helps one to formulate the 'why' of setting a particular goal with Objectives coupled with Key Results.
A good read.
 

Olimac21

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Don't feel bad. Like I said in my post, that thing is a behemoth.

I'm a fast reader. Literally, I'm the fastest reader I know (I should befriend more readers, really).

It took me quite some time to get through the book. It's actually a bit easier if you think of it more as a trilogy (because it's got the length to be one) and take the "Book 1, Book 2, Book 3" literally. Read the first book and take a break.


I'm down for a book club for Atlas Shrugged if you ever want to discuss it.
I liked Atlas Shrugged but I believe for an Ayn Rand first time reader I would recommend reading "The Fountainhead" first. What do you guys think?
 

Invictus

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I liked Atlas Shrugged but I believe for an Ayn Rand first time reader I would recommend reading "The Fountainhead" first. What do you guys think?

Can't say, I've only read Atlas Shrugged. I think someone on this forum mentioned it was the better of the two.

I might read The Fountainhead, but I haven't decided. If it explores the same themes and Atlas Shrugged is the better of the two, I'm unsure if I'll pick it up.
 

Kak

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I liked Atlas Shrugged but I believe for an Ayn Rand first time reader I would recommend reading "The Fountainhead" first. What do you guys think?

I don't think you necessarily should read them in any certain order. They aren't a series.

I will say I liked AS way better than FH.
 
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Argue

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The Obstacle is the Way

The Art of Thinking Clearly
 

Olimac21

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I don't think you necessarily should read them in any certain order. They aren't a series.

I will say I liked AS way better than FH.
They aren´t, the only thing is The Fountainhead is applied more to the individual and is shorter than Atlas Shrugged, therefore easier to read/finish. Also because The Fountainhead was written first so you can see some maturity in Atlas Shrugged about the ideas presented from the author ( not 100% sure but both books have a 20 years differences more or less).
 

Fotis

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Not actual books but Terry Dean's and Ben Settle's print newsletters. I've made it a goal to read the good ones up to 10 times since this seems to give you depth and not only width of knowledge
 
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andyhaus44

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I'm reading The 30 Day Sobriety Solution by Jack Canfield -- I am a social drinker and trying to stop altogether. Also I just stopped drinking coffee today
 

Kak

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They aren´t, the only thing is The Fountainhead is applied more to the individual and is shorter than Atlas Shrugged, therefore easier to read/finish. Also because The Fountainhead was written first so you can see some maturity in Atlas Shrugged about the ideas presented from the author ( not 100% sure but both books have a 20 years differences more or less).

Personally, I think you are overthinking it. Read em both. Both are worthwhile.
 

Leo Hendrix

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4 Steps to the Epiphany.

Next: SPIN Selling, Breakthrough Advertising, Unscripted and War of Art.

* Anyone read War of Art and other Pressfield non-fiction books?

I actually slowed down on reading unless Im using the info etc for specific action.
 
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Kak

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Currently listening to: Measure What Matters by venture capitalist John Doerr. It details OKR's (Objectives & Key Results) and how it has helped some of the largest tech companies achieve explosive growth. An interesting read. The application of OKRs in a business makes much more sense to me than mere goal setting just for goal setting' sake.
There are so many books on goal setting and yet most seem to me rather unrelatable due to vagueness to the reason 'why' we want to attain a particular goal. This book goes a bit further and helps one to formulate the 'why' of setting a particular goal with Objectives coupled with Key Results.
A good read.

This one wasn't holding my attention and I stalled out, but I'm definitely going to give it another try on your recommendation.
 

therealmark

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I just read Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers. He created CD Baby.

Interesting book - I would recommend if anyone is looking for a short 1 hour book for a plane-ride or whatever. The advice is a bit spotty but some good stuff in there.

Anyone else read this?

I just read it a couple weeks ago after learning about Derek from the forum.

I would definitely recommend it because it has some really great substance on providing customers with a personal experience. I also really liked his focus on helping people and how little things that can make huge impacts.

His overall business advice and general perspective on how to run a business didn’t resonate with me but it was still a great read I would recommend.
 

therealmark

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I just started reading the 4 hour work week. It has been on my maybe list for years and I finally decided to give it a read after reading all of the one star reviews on Amazon. All of the one stars were slowlaners complaining about how the book was rediculous and presented ideas that could not be achieved while building a career. So that intrigued me... clever marketing perhaps.

So far about 1/5 through it and not enjoying it. I haven’t gotten anything of substance. I’m hoping that somewhere in the book I will get a couple nuggets of value. So far I’m just getting a vibe that the book takes a very selfish perspective to entrepreneurship where my success has always come from the exact opposite... focusing on helping others.

I’m going to go against the authors advice and finish the book even though I’m not enjoying it.
 
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Michael1359

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Facing Violence by Rory Miller, and reading Unscripted for the second time. Just finished 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson (for the 2nd time).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Andy Black

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Listening to “Ask” by Ryan Levesque (chapter 12 onwards).

I studied Dr Glenn Livingston’s course years ago that Ryan based his Ask Method on. I believe Ryan’s developed and systematised it further.
 
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LightHouse

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Listening to “Ask” by Ryan Levesque (chapter 12 onwards).

I studied Dr Glenn Livingston’s course years ago that Ryan based his Ask Method on. I believe Ryan’s developed and systematised it further.
Curious, why start at Chap 12?
 

Andy Black

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Kak

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I am currently reading "Always Think Big" by Jim McIngvale

I already know it's going to be one of my favorites.

First of all for those of you who aren't familiar with Jim, let me tee this up for you. He is "Mattress Mack" of Houston's Gallery Furniture. He is VERY well known in Houston circles for his philanthropy and his business acumen. The guy is a walking talking marketer.

I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at my middle school about entrepreneurship when I was growing up. He was inspiring to me.

Later, I had the pleasure of meeting him when I bought some furniture from his store. Before he had several stores, he would stand at the door and greet every single customer and thank them on the way out. I think he did this several times a week and it just so happened that he was there that day.

His trademark saying is cheesy as hell, but everyone in houston knows who it is when he's on the radio. Gallery Furniture SAVES YOU MONEY! His single store, before he expanded back in the early 2000’s was doing 200 million per year. There was talk about him buying the Houston Rockets before Landry’s Firtida got them. I’m sure he is worth 10 figures.

Last year those watching the news about Hurricane Harvey probably saw his name come up a few times. He opened all of his stores up as a shelter for flood victims. He also gave millions of dollars worth of furniture away. The dude is a legend. Probably the most customer service centric CEO on the planet.

So... I buy this book used on amazon and it has spent the last 6 months on my shelf. Imagine my surprise when the book is signed by him. Knowing the kind of guy he is, I bet he took every book from the publisher and sat down to sign every last one of them. I don't know this, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Highly reccommended!

"Be persistent. Success is a marathon not a sprint."

20180822_154432.jpg
 
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Last edited:

Andy Black

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I am currently reading "Always Think Big" by Jim McIngvale

I already know it's going to be one of my favorites.

First of all for those of you who aren't familiar with Jim, let me tee this up for you. He is "Mattress Mack" of Houston's Gallery Furniture. He is VERY well known in Houston circles for his philanthropy and his business acumen. The guy is a walking talking marketer.

I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at my middle school about entrepreneurship when I was growing up. He was inspiring to me.

Later, I had the pleasure of meeting him when I bought some furniture from his store. Before he had several stores, he would stand at the door and greet every single customer and thank them on the way out. I think he did this several times a week and it just so happened that he was there that day.

His trademark saying is cheesy as hell, but everyone in houston knows who it is when he's on the radio. Gallery Furniture SAVES YOU MONEY! His single store, before he expanded back in the early 2000’s was doing 200 million per year. There was talks about him buying the Houston Rockets before Landry’s Firtida got them. I’m sure he is worth 10 figures.

Last year those watching the news about Hurricane Harvey probably saw his name come up a few times. He opened all of his stores up as a shelter for flood victims. He also gave millions of dollars worth of furniture away. The dude is a legend. Probably the most customer service centric CEO on the planet.

So... I buy this book used on amazon and it has spent the last 6 months on my shelf. Imagine my surprise when the book is signed by him. Knowing the kind of guy he is, I bet he took every book from the publisher and sat down to sign every last one of them. I don't know this, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Highly reccommended!

"Be persistent. Success is a marathon not a sprint."

View attachment 21033
Thank you.

It's good to hear that people do things by hand still.
 

Andy Black

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I am currently reading "Always Think Big" by Jim McIngvale

I already know it's going to be one of my favorites.

First of all for those of you who aren't familiar with Jim, let me tee this up for you. He is "Mattress Mack" of Houston's Gallery Furniture. He is VERY well known in Houston circles for his philanthropy and his business acumen. The guy is a walking talking marketer.

I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at my middle school about entrepreneurship when I was growing up. He was inspiring to me.

Later, I had the pleasure of meeting him when I bought some furniture from his store. Before he had several stores, he would stand at the door and greet every single customer and thank them on the way out. I think he did this several times a week and it just so happened that he was there that day.

His trademark saying is cheesy as hell, but everyone in houston knows who it is when he's on the radio. Gallery Furniture SAVES YOU MONEY! His single store, before he expanded back in the early 2000’s was doing 200 million per year. There was talks about him buying the Houston Rockets before Landry’s Firtida got them. I’m sure he is worth 10 figures.

Last year those watching the news about Hurricane Harvey probably saw his name come up a few times. He opened all of his stores up as a shelter for flood victims. He also gave millions of dollars worth of furniture away. The dude is a legend. Probably the most customer service centric CEO on the planet.

So... I buy this book used on amazon and it has spent the last 6 months on my shelf. Imagine my surprise when the book is signed by him. Knowing the kind of guy he is, I bet he took every book from the publisher and sat down to sign every last one of them. I don't know this, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Highly reccommended!

"Be persistent. Success is a marathon not a sprint."

View attachment 21033
By the way... Blaise Brosnan (a hero/mentor of mine) said that "You can't break tackles at marathon pace."

I did a thread on it:


Why do I like the "do it by hand approach"?

I've PM'ed over 2,000 people in TFLF. Every - Single - Person in the last 4 years who's followed or rep'ed me.

I've mailed every single person by hand who's taken a free trial of my AdWords course.

I've mailed every single person by hand who's signed up to my new, free, newsletter.

I'll keep doing it till I can't.

Because every single follower and signup and user and click and piece of "traffic" is a real live person, with hopes and dreams and fears and worries.
 
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NewManRising

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I recently listened to the audiobook The One Thing (great book). I also have Cashvertising or Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords on my read list next. You guys should check Youtube before buying the book because sometimes some great books are totally free on there as audiobooks. Sometimes some of these great books have videos where people break them down into a condensed video somewhat like a synopsis that breaks down the main points. So, sometimes you can get the value/message of the book without having to buy or spend the time reading the whole book.
 
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Olimac21

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I recently listened to the audiobook The One Thing (great book). I also have Cashvertising or Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords on my read list next. You guys should check Youtube before buying the book because sometimes some great books are totally free on there as audiobooks. Sometimes some of these great books have videos where people break them down into a condensed video somewhat like a synopsis that breaks down the main points. So, sometimes you can get the value/message of the book without having to buy or spend the time reading the whole book.
Great idea, I personally do this all the time also to make sure the main message sticks for a long time.
 

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