Check out the interview, here.

And while you’re there, be sure to check out the rest of Tim’s blog. Amazing interviews with impressive folks such as Dennis Crowley, the founder of Foursquare, Jason Sadler of iwearyourshirt.com, David Hauser, the co-founder of Grasshopper, and much, much more.

Thank you, Geoff and Andy, for a wonderful interview! I come in around the 10:30 minute mark. Click here to check it out.

Thanks, also, to Silicon Prairie News for the write-up about the interview!

I was approached the other day for the very first time by an entrepreneur pitching his business in an attempt to attract investors. First, it was flattering. I mean, me? Like, really? ARE YOU SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GETTING INTO. Then later, it was fascinating. How interesting to learn such specific, inside details about someone’s business; to hear their personal goals and struggles and dreams, and experience a snippet of what their business looks like on a day-to-day basis.

I have no idea if we’ll invest or not – many discussions will be had on the subject – but I just thought this was interesting and wanted to share it with you.

What does Zig Ziglar say? You will get all that you want in life if you help enough other people get what THEY want? Sounds about right.

Throw out your thoughts on this. Do you invest your time in others? Your money? Do you believe what Ziggy says?

Objectively, the book takes up an average-in-size 241 pages, not including the Epilogue and Online Resources. I found the cover art, frankly, kind of cluttered and annoying. And the quality of the writing? It was…ok. Pretty terrible in the beginning when Tony’s describing his childhood and early business ventures, improving a smidge later on when Zappos comes into the picture. Generally, it’s pretty fluffy reading. I read the entire book in two medium-ish sittings.

On the surface, Delivering Happiness gets an “ehh” rating.

But – and this is a BIG but, as in, MASSIVE and THEY DON’T LIE – upon closing the back cover and setting the book down, I wanted to be a better person.

I wanted to be a happier person.

In other words? Read it.

And that’s all there is to say about that.

P.S. The awesome folks on the Delivering Happiness Book Team graciously sent me 2 pre-release copies of DH. Thanks, DHBook team! I can only hope to have a team with a fraction of the excitement, caring, and connectedness when I release a book someday. (ahem) Cheers!

We CAN have it, you know. Because those successes? They all started somewhere. They all made the decision, at some point in the past, to take action. Your success, just like theirs, lies within your ability to decide to take a step.

Do it. Like, right now. How will you ever know if you don’t?

Fact: When business is complicated and activity unfocused, growth does not occur. When business is simple, focused, and to-the-point, it grows.

I know that makes succeeding in business sound like it’s easy, or that it should be easy. It’s not. Succeeding in business – succeeding in any area of life – is hard. But it doesn’t need to be complicated. See the difference?

Whenever I hit a rough patch with a project and find myself frustrated, I tend to step back to take a look at the situation from a higher level. The vast majority of the time I find that things are getting frustrating because I’m making them too complicated. In fact, I’d venture to say that complication is ALWAYS the reason why I’ve fallen off track. Be it the track of bringing in new business, the track of sharing a product, the track of keeping up with my reading, whatever.

Back-up, review what’s really important, identify your main purpose, and then do it. Don’t let your core purpose (sharing a product, producing content in your niche, providing a specific value, etc) get lost in the shuffle of paperwork and busy schedules or the distractions of technology and trends and well-I-should-be’s.

Are you so busy building your business that you’re not able to build your business?

Don’t over-complicate. Keep things simple. Keep honed-in on your core purpose. Aren’t able to focus the majority of your time on that simple purpose anymore? Too much other “stuff” that has to be taken care of? Too many bumps in the road keeping you from smoothly moving forward? Then maybe a few things need to change.

Consider it.

Your thoughts? How do you keep your focus on your core purpose when life and admin threaten to get in the way?

Powerful, eh? Immediate reactions?

Answering the question confuses me, too, to be frank. Responding with, “Hmm, well, I work for myself, I’m growing my website and blog, and launching a podcast soon, oh! and I consult small businesses and individuals on marketing and branding online, and I also distribute a nutritional supplement and am writing a social media book for the members of that company, and then I have a few one-off projects like my recent partnership with a healthcare marketing consulting company to launch a social media webinar series this spring, oh geez, uhh, well I also read and review books pretty regularly, umm, and a bunch of other stuff!” doesn’t really roll off the tongue as easily as, say, “I’m an accountant.” or “I wait tables.”

Typically, the questioner’s response is something like, “Oh, umm, so, you can work on any of those projects you want? Whenever you want? So you must sleep in everyday!” To which I naturally respond, “Ha, yes, I TOTALLY sleep in, right after I spend three hours a day networking online to build my brand, connecting with my audience, two hours reading something new, and ten hours developing content and relationships and making phone calls and appointments. And then don’t forget the research. Or the coaching calls! OR THE LAUNDRY.”

At this point the questioner is confused or annoyed or confused OR CONFUSED and either walks away not believing me or dares to ask the next question in the series, “How do you, umm, make money doing any of that?”

I’ll spare you the rest of it, as you know how it goes. I try to explain, don’t do a very good job, the poor questioner leaves and, when asked the next day by another curious soul, still says “Uhh, I don’t know, she does online stuff or something.”

*sigh*

After a few months of this, it hit me pretty hard when I read Tim Ferriss mention in the recent edition of his book* that one of the (many) reasons he wrote a book in the first place was to finally be able to answer the frustrating “What do you do?” question with his dream response – I’m a writer.

Ahh, how wonderful that would be!

One of my dream responses would be similar – to be able to say I’m a published author – but I think I’d also love to say that I’m a volunteer.

After all, I’d so much rather answer the question with what I love to do, rather than what makes me money and supports my lifestyle. You see?

“What do you do, Annie?”
“Well, I’m an author, and I volunteer full-time.”

Ahhhh. It sounds nice, yeah?

So, what would your dream answer be? Share ‘em in the comments. Let’s go after it, ok?

P.S. In the mean time, let’s just say that we do this!

*Amazon affiliate link

So, to narrow things down a bit and considering that the holiday season is upon us, here are my:

5 Book Recommendations for Curious, Open-Minded, Personal Development Newbies

1. The Slight Edge
It’s simple and profound – which, isn’t that what we want with ANY book? – and easily applies to any area of business or life. A great book for beginners.

2. The Go-Giver
Before, being a Go-Getter was a celebrated personality trait. Not anymore. An eye-opening and educational read.

3. How to Win Friends and Influence People
A classic read. Sales is everything and everything is sales, and the key to selling? Whether it’s a specific product or just yourself? People that know, like, and trust you. Have a grasp on how to develop those three things and success is yours.

4. Outliers
Complete honesty – this one’s still on my To Read shelf. However, I’ve learned enough about it to know that anyone with a curiosity about the psychology of success would enjoy it. A necessary and fascinating read into what affects – and what does NOT affect – your chances of success.

5. Trust Agents
Yes, we live in a digitally connected world, but the concepts in this book can truly apply to being an agent of trust online or off. Not only is it one of the few books I’ve read this year that keeps me thinking months after turning the final page, but the more I think about it the more I’m fascinated by it’s application to newbie entrepreneurs and experienced veterans alike.

Disclosure: All links are Amazon affiliates.

So, what do you think? What books would you recommend to a budding entrepreneur? What would you recommend to an experienced business expert? Is the list the same? Do you plan to give any books as gifts this year?