Looking for a good kick up the ass when it comes to getting the work-life you want?
Need some hard-hitting, no bullshit, tell-it-as-it-is motivation?
Want to grow your business/career into something you love but are stuck?
Then Crushing It! is THE book you need to own!
Through 2017, Gary Vaynerchuk (a.k.a. Gary Vee) was undoubtedly the person who had the most influence on my personal development.
If 2016 had been all about spirituality, the quantum universe, discovering the power within, 2017 was all about taking decisive action, foot firmly in reality and getting the hands dirty – and there’s no one out there currently, in my opinion, who encapsulates this message better than Gary Vee.
If it weren’t for him, I quite possibly wouldn’t have even started this blog – I certainly wouldn’t have grown it as much as I have. And I DEFINITELY wouldn’t be going to Thailand next month! Because without him saying we should never be afraid to tap up influencers, even when we are just starting out, I would not have got in touch with Brett Moran for months or even YEARS!
As he says in the book:
“Reach out, make an offer they can’t refuse, and get to work producing something that doesn’t make them regret giving you a chance.”
Instead, I contacted Brett within the first month of starting this blog – and a few weeks later, I was incredibly being invited to come to Thailand and spend time with him!
BIOG
I’ve already done a review of his YouTube channel, so won’t repeat myself here, but to briefly sum up: Gary Vee came to the US as a Belorussian immigrant in his early years, built his Father’s wine business from £3 million to £60 million mostly due to being an early adopter of YouTube and now is best known for his social media marketing and personal brand building expertise.
He now owns a huge social media marketing company, has his own vlog where he is filmed during his daily business life (The Daily Vee), a podcast, does countless motivational talks and writes the occasional book.
Crushing It is the follow-up to 2009’s Crush It!
It focuses on real-life stories of ordinary people who actually were inspired after reading Crush It! and went on to create successful careers based on the teachings in that book.
If you’ve followed The Daily Vee and Ask Gary Vee Show, as I have for the past year, Crushing It! holds no major surprises. There’s not a great deal new here. But what you do get, is his core messages condensed into one handy place and a few good ideas on what to do with each social media platform, based on what others have actually done.
I think the best way to review Crushing It! is to give you some of the quotes which sum up the Gary Vee ethos best.
Don’t be fooled by the often brutal, brash, even coarse tone; yes, he is all of those things! But what sets Gary Vee apart from most is, he also has immense compassion, emotional intelligence and genuine altruism. That’s what makes him so unique and why EVERYONE should be listening to his message because he is going to be an even bigger star in years to come:
“When I looked closer, I’d see that they were still golfing or tweeting about the previous night’s Walking Dead episode: let me make this as clear as I can: when you first start out, there is no time for leisure – if you want to crush it.”
“You are better off being wrong ten times and being right three, than if you try only three times and always get it right.” (i.e. you will learn from the 10 times you were wrong).
“Eat shit for as long as you have to. That means you don’t take vacations, maybe for years. That means the customer is always right. That means be a bigger man or woman than everyone around you. That means put your employees ahead of you.”
“If your nature is at least 51% altruistic, 49% selfish, you have a real shot at breaking out because the vast majority of people are 70 to 99% selfish.”
“With entrepreneurship becoming so trendy, a lot of people are calling themselves entrepreneurs who really aren’t. They should call themselves wantrepreneurs instead.”
“Perfection doesn’t exist, it’s totally subjective. We earn people’s respect and loyalty when we let them see us up close and dirty.”
“Put your stuff out in public so you have to live up to it. As long as it’s valuable and you know it’s true, don’t judge it. Let the market show you whether you’re good or not.”
“Misogyny, racism and bigotry are very real problems, but they are not the reason you are not crushing it yet. You are the reason you’re not crushing it yet.”
“Short of self-destructive behaviour or a complete lack of self-awareness, there is very little you can’t recover from.”
“Has it ever occurred to you that the people you’re insisting should get 8 hours sleep, are so unhappy with the sixteen they are awake that they’re willing to invest this many hours to change their lives for the better?”
One of the big things I take away from this book, is the idea of getting into new technology early. Trying out something to see if it has promise, in order to be an early adopter. Because that gives you a chance to get ahead of the game and be a pioneer on the platform.
Coming from the trading world, this is something I understand well – catching a trend before it actually becomes a trend. Gary Vee did this with YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat in particular. It’s one of the reasons he’s so successful.
It’s why I’m so bullish on Bitcoin and getting into Steemit.
Whilst not one of the first adopters of the technology, I’m still an early adopter – I’ve used and bought Bitcoin when less than 1% of the population had even heard of it. I’m investing in it now, when a larger percentage are aware of it But still less than 1% actually own it. I believe that’s how the really successful people make it; by taking a chance before everyone else does.
So if you are umming and ahhhing about your line of work, procrastinating on starting that company, working from home, jacking in the 9-5, or want a side-hustle, Crushing It! is the book you need to start with.
Because social media has levelled the playing field and now ANYONE can build a brand with zero money – hell, just look at yours truly!!
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I’ve had a couple of friends tell me I need to get on Gary V – now I’m def gonna read. Could do with that ass kicking!! Hahaha!!
We all need that ass whoopin’ at some point Laura! Mine was a year ago, when Mr. V told me I needed to start doing and creating – and now you are here commenting on the fruits of that. And thank you for doing so – get reading (and get on his YouTube channel too)!