By Daymond John
This was actually one of the better “Self Improvement/Motivational” books that I’ve read. Daymond John is the mastermind behind the famous brand FUBU as well as one of the stars of Shark Tank. I didn’t know much about him before reading this book but his writing style was easy and his anecdotes were entertaining. Daymond did a masterful job of weaving in his “autobiography” (which most people actually don’t give a shit about) with valuable and key business lessons learned along the way. And of course it is always good to learn Entrepreneurship from someone who has actually built a successful company. He also does a number of interesting case studies about how famous entrepreneurs harnessed there “Power of Broke” or tough life situations to overachieve and become successful. He interviews successful people such as Kevin Plank of Under Armour and Tim Ferriss of the 4 Hour Work week. All in all a very easy and entertaining read.
1. 69 percent of successful entrepreneurs have worked over 10 years as employees at other companies. Get much needed experience on someone else’s payroll.
2. Connections are invaluable. Build and cultivate them over your life and you never know who will help you out when you need it the most. Exercise humility at all times.
3. 8 out of 10 new businesses fail within the first 18 months. Execution is key so if you aren’t ready to slug it out for 18 months then don’t even begin.
4. Stephan King got 30 rejections and threw his novel in the trash. His wife retrieved it and urged him to keep going. Now he’s sold 350 mm copies.
5. “If people aren’t laughing at your dreams, then you’re not dreaming big enough.”
6. Time is the one thing money cannot buy. Figure out how to sell it back to people and you will be rich.” (Uber)
7. People between the ages of 55 and 64 have the highest rate of entrepreneurship in America. It is never too late.
8. 97% of the entrepreneurs who give up become employed by the 3% who never quit.
9. Be authentic in everything you do
10. You will be rewarded for solving other people’s problems or helping others reach their desired goals. Figure out how to do something better, faster, easier, and more efficiently than anybody else.