Passion, hard work and hustle
These are some of the lessons that are packed in to the superb Gary Vaynerchuk book “Crush It!”
In “Crush It!” Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) reveals that we can all cash in and make a living by building a business around our greatest passion or hobby. He enthusiastically explains that the rising power of the Internet has enabled anyone to build a highly profitable business if they are truly passionate about it. For those with enough hustle and determination, there is also the opportunity to go beyond making a living and really “Crush It!”
It is a book full of bitesize, practical business and social media guidance which really shows how ones dreams can become a reality. Gary Vaynerchuk did it himself in turning a $4 million dollar a year wine retailer into a $60 million dollar a year retailer, predominantly by utilising the Internet and social media tools and a whole lot of passion and hustle.
The energy and enthusiasm that comes across in Gary’s writing is truly inspiring and I have no doubt that if you have a passion that you have a dream of turning into a business, this book will push you beyond your nagging doubts and lead you on the path to accomplish it.
Despite the motivational lessons in building a business around your passion, there are other, more relevant lessons that have had an impact on me as well. I am fortunate that I work in a job that I love and for a company that I am passionate about. Above all else, right now, I want to make a difference in my job. I have dreams of building and running my own business in the future, but that isn’t for me right now.
The main lesson I have personally taken from “Crush It!” is the importance of finding the one area you are really passionate about and focussing on it, so you can reach the top of the game and become the most knowledgeable in that area. Even though I don’t use this blog as a platform for monetizing or building a business, I agree that having a narrower focus could be beneficial.
Up to now I have used this blog to air some thoughts on a variety of subjects and have learnt a lot along the way. A lot of the enjoyment has come from being able to talk about a variety of subjects at varying levels of expertise. I have found this a brilliant way to learn because putting ideas out there has allowed others to add their expertise and being either corrected or validated can be very enlightening. However, from now on I am going to narrow the focus and spend more time on an area that I am passionate about and which really fascinates me: issues relating to the customer experience and how it impacts on long term business sustainability. My next post will explain why I have chosen this are of focus, but for now thinking about all of this has left one question playing over in my mind:
Is it ok to be a jack-of-all-trades master-of-none blogger?
Bloggers – I would love to hear your views on this question.
To summarise, “Crush It!” really is a book for everyone, whether you have a passion that you want to cash in on, or simply for a lesson in the power of passion, commitment, belief and hustle. Whatever you want to use your blog, Facebook or Twitter accounts for I really recommend that you read it, and check out Gary Vee’s blog at http://garyvaynerchuk.com.
To get an idea of the passion with which Gary speaks in his book, check out this Ted talk:
