Book Report

I haven't blogged in a long time--sorry. Things have been busy, I took a vacation, blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, because it's the summer I started to take up some summer reading to put me to sleep and take my mind off of Collegeboxes. My three most recent books have been:
-"4 Hour Work Week"
-"E-myth"
-John Grisham's "The Broker"

All three books were excellent. I know what you're thinking, they're not exactly literature, but heck doesn't a man deserve some fun?

In short, the best book by far was the "E-myth." If you are reading this and you own a small business, do yourself a favor and buy the "E-myth." It is brilliant. Michael Gerber, an ex-stoner/poet turned small business consultant, is 100% on the money. His premise is that most small businesses are created by technicians. This is, for example, a car mechanic who opens their own garage. Once open, the mechanic quickly becomes overwhelmed and discouraged when he is now not just the mechanic but also the bookkeeper, salesman, receptionist, and customer service agent. As Gerber says, the mechanic finds himself working "in" the business as opposed to "on" the business. In other words, Gerber believes a business is not the product delivered (in our case shipping and storage) but rather the process in place that delivers that product. Once entrepreneurs work "on" the business, they gain power, scalability, flexibility, and most importantly sanity. He uses the franchise revolution as the text book example (and proof) that systemization is the answer.

"4 Hour Work Week" -- This book is like taking your mind/job/and everything you hate about life on a field trip. Destination...freedom. Timothy Ferriss, a self-proclaimed vagabond and princeton grad, advocates for automating your life (personal and job), setting up a basic internet business that yields you a modest income, and then going to live around the world. Awesome, but not that practical.

John Grisham's "The Broker" -- I love John Grisham. His "The Firm" was the first novel I ever really "couldn't put down." I even remember exactly where I read the book--on a beach. In "The Broker" Grisham pretty much writes the same book as all the others over again. But, like anything in life you've had a good amount of (ice cream, music, etc.) it's good every single time. I won't bore you with the details of his book (ex-lawyer is on the run from evil, ex-lawyer falls for sexy lady, ex-lawyer escapes evil in the end), but just know that if you like Grisham this book will not wow you, but it won't disapoint.

josh