Book Review - Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk
Category Book Review Gary Vaynerchuk Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk is one of those books I see coming up repeatedly on blogs I follow and with people I follow on Twitter. So, in order to find out why this book is so popular, I got a copy from our local library and gave it a quick read. And at only 142 pages, it *is* a quick read. But what Vaynerchuk has to say can, if taken to heart and practiced, make a significant difference in your life, career, and passion.
Content:
Passion Is Everything; Success Is In Your DNA; Build Your Personal Brand; A Whole New World; Create Great Content; Choose Your Platform; Keep It Real... Very Real; Create Community - Digging Your Internet Trench; The Best Marketing Strategy Ever; Make the World Listen; Start Monetizing; Roll With It; Legacy Is Greater Than Currency; Conclusion - The Time Is Now, The Message Is Forever
Vaynerchuk makes his case that due to the rise of social networking tools like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and vidcasts/podcasts, anyone can take their passion and share it with others. You can establish and build a personal "brand" that is uniquely yours. Let's say that you are a cashier at a clothing store, but your real passion lies in photography. When you start talking to others about that topic, your eyes light up and you could go on for hours. If you are willing to take that passion and work very hard to share what you know with others, you can "crush it" in that area and draw an ever-increasing audience who are interested in the same thing. And once you get an audience and traffic, dollars in the way of advertising and sponsors can shortly follow. It's not a matter of just sticking a blog entry out every four or five days, though. Vaynerchuk uses his own examples with his Wine Library TV site to show how passion, branding, and honesty translate into a community that looks to him for truthful and entertaining information about the world of wine. While he does sell wine, the videos and writings are not all designed to sell his own merchandise or a particular brand. Instead, he's looking to share his passion for the subject, knowing that people who come to him *will* likely come back again when they *do* want to buy something.
From the technology side, Vaynerchuk does a good job in showing the power of the social media tools that are out there for you to use. It costs nothing to set up a blog, a Facebook account, or a Twitter account. The cost of entry to start this is nearly non-existent. To create podcasts or vidcasts is almost as cheap, as the tools you need to get started can run you less than $200. Once that's all in place, the only thing left is you. He's the first to admit that the type of passion he's talking about is something that keeps you up until the wee hours of the morning, but it's something that you are ready to jump back into as soon as you wake up. If you're willing to work that hard for something you love, you can turn your passion into your livelihood.
Is this all realistic? Yes, in my opinion it's all very possible. Will *everyone* who attempts this be able to quit their day job and become wealthy doing what they love? No, but Vaynerchuk would argue that true happiness and passion isn't measured by a six figure paycheck. Yeah, it'd be nice, and it does work that way for some. But if you're doing something you love to do, you *can* make a big difference in your life and the lives of others.
Crush It! is a bold statement, and Gary Vaynerchuk is a passionate, outspoken proponent for what you can do to turn your passion into your career. You may not agree with him fully, or you may begin to see the seeds of your own rise from a job to an avocation, a life centered around something you're passionate about. Either way, you'll have plenty to think about after reading his book.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed
Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk is one of those books I see coming up repeatedly on blogs I follow and with people I follow on Twitter. So, in order to find out why this book is so popular, I got a copy from our local library and gave it a quick read. And at only 142 pages, it *is* a quick read. But what Vaynerchuk has to say can, if taken to heart and practiced, make a significant difference in your life, career, and passion.
Content:
Passion Is Everything; Success Is In Your DNA; Build Your Personal Brand; A Whole New World; Create Great Content; Choose Your Platform; Keep It Real... Very Real; Create Community - Digging Your Internet Trench; The Best Marketing Strategy Ever; Make the World Listen; Start Monetizing; Roll With It; Legacy Is Greater Than Currency; Conclusion - The Time Is Now, The Message Is Forever
Vaynerchuk makes his case that due to the rise of social networking tools like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and vidcasts/podcasts, anyone can take their passion and share it with others. You can establish and build a personal "brand" that is uniquely yours. Let's say that you are a cashier at a clothing store, but your real passion lies in photography. When you start talking to others about that topic, your eyes light up and you could go on for hours. If you are willing to take that passion and work very hard to share what you know with others, you can "crush it" in that area and draw an ever-increasing audience who are interested in the same thing. And once you get an audience and traffic, dollars in the way of advertising and sponsors can shortly follow. It's not a matter of just sticking a blog entry out every four or five days, though. Vaynerchuk uses his own examples with his Wine Library TV site to show how passion, branding, and honesty translate into a community that looks to him for truthful and entertaining information about the world of wine. While he does sell wine, the videos and writings are not all designed to sell his own merchandise or a particular brand. Instead, he's looking to share his passion for the subject, knowing that people who come to him *will* likely come back again when they *do* want to buy something.
From the technology side, Vaynerchuk does a good job in showing the power of the social media tools that are out there for you to use. It costs nothing to set up a blog, a Facebook account, or a Twitter account. The cost of entry to start this is nearly non-existent. To create podcasts or vidcasts is almost as cheap, as the tools you need to get started can run you less than $200. Once that's all in place, the only thing left is you. He's the first to admit that the type of passion he's talking about is something that keeps you up until the wee hours of the morning, but it's something that you are ready to jump back into as soon as you wake up. If you're willing to work that hard for something you love, you can turn your passion into your livelihood.
Is this all realistic? Yes, in my opinion it's all very possible. Will *everyone* who attempts this be able to quit their day job and become wealthy doing what they love? No, but Vaynerchuk would argue that true happiness and passion isn't measured by a six figure paycheck. Yeah, it'd be nice, and it does work that way for some. But if you're doing something you love to do, you *can* make a big difference in your life and the lives of others.
Crush It! is a bold statement, and Gary Vaynerchuk is a passionate, outspoken proponent for what you can do to turn your passion into your career. You may not agree with him fully, or you may begin to see the seeds of your own rise from a job to an avocation, a life centered around something you're passionate about. Either way, you'll have plenty to think about after reading his book.
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed
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