Crush It! UnReview

Another month has almost passed and that means it’s time for another UnReview!  I’m sure you’re as excited as me.  If you missed last month’s UnReview of Scott Stratton’s Unmarketing, you missed the beginning of the future, be sure to check it out and see how it all began.

This month I chose to re-read and UnReview Gary Vaynerchuck’s (@garyvee) Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion (Amazon Affiliate Link) not only because it’s an amazing book, but also because I’ve been talking to a lot of people about it recently and it seemed appropriate.

Reaction1:  The first thing you notice about the book when you get it is how small it is.  You may think, “How could I possibly get a lot out of a business book that’s less than 200 pages?”  Well my friend, you would be gravely mistaken.

Once I tunneled back from China, rescuing many Vaynerchuk fans while I was there in heroic acts that cannot be depicted here, I got back to reading.  I had only made it through the first three chapters when I ended up on the other side of the world, you see.

Reaction 2:  I decided to give my hands some rest and watch a few minutes of one of Gary’s Winelibrary TV podcasts, just to see if this guy really had the gumption he talks about in his book.

I was maybe a little hooked.  Not only did this guy Type-the-Type, he Podcasted-the-Podcast.  At that point I was sold and I dedicated myself to learning as much from him as I possibly could.  But first I took a shower.

Reaction 3:  There were things in the book that I took notes on and mapped out strategies for, but a lot of the most helpful advice were things I could implement immediately: like finding my passions and dedicating my work to them.

My boss was none too pleased, but changed his tune when we saw me rock it out to Carry On Wayward Son on expert.  I would not recommend doing this at your job, though.  Find your passion and start on your own.

Reaction 4:  So I finally finish the book and all I want to do it go out and Crush It.  Gary talks a lot in the book about finding people with skills you don’t and helping each other build something great.  That’s what I really wanted to do: find others that wanted to Crush It like me.

Now I had my crushers and I was ready to tackle the world. There was just one thing left that was bugging me…

Reaction 5:  Gary had claimed multiple times in his book that he loves talking to his fans, but I was a disbeliever.  “There’s no way,” I accused accusingly, “he has too many fans to notice if I send him an email.  So I decided to put him to the test.

Needless to say he answered. While I possibly exaggerated the meanness, if any, of my email and the violence of his response [none], he did in fact respond.  Therefore solidifying his awesomeness in my mind.

Crush It! is an amazing book and I do and have suggested it to all my friends.  If you haven’t read it, Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion.  Using this link will get me some cash so I can buy new pens for the UnReviews to come.  Gary Vaynerchuck would be proud.

I hope you enjoyed this month’s installment of the UnReview.  Be sure to look for my upcoming email newsletter that will include each month’s UnReview and maybe some extra surprises, but Shhhhhh, it’s a secret.

Leave your comments below and feel free to add suggestions for upcoming UnReviews, I have some in mind, but am always looking for books to be mailed to me to draw shitty comics about.

P.S. I have it on good authority that if you don’t press the Facebook “Like” button below, Gary Vaynerchuk will come to your house and punch you in the face, and he’s bringing Bam-Bam.

Tags: blogging, comics, Crush It!, Gary Vaynerchuk, unreview, Winelibrary TV