I’ve been having a hard time actually admitting to the world that I picked up Donny Deutsch’s book, The Big Idea. His show is not my cup of tea. And most of the time, I pass on those books filled with generic, full-of-zest pep talks about how to succeed by making green tea and just dreaming big!
To my surprise, Deutsch’s collection of success stories was inspiring. From Alton Brown to Miley Cyrus to Martha Stewart to Spanx’s Sara Blakely, he succinctly writes about the biggest names entrepreneurial success stories. But he does so in a way that does not distance these superstars’ stories from our own. Deutsch turns each of them into real people and actually had me making notes like, “how to get Tarte Cosmetics‘ distribution” and “change the world like TOMS Shoes.”
I did spent the last two months reading through about 20 different business books — and while it still pains me to write it, this book was one of my faves. Read through the hokey bits to the real life stories and tell me if they inspire you, too.
(By the way, kudos to Catherine Whitney whose name is on the cover and who I’m guessing co-wrote the book–I don’t know who she is but further proof that behind every great man is a greater woman.)
The beauty of participating in the OfficeMax/Peter Walsh webcast was that I thought I was the only one participating! Perhaps that’s really because I was alone in my office watching and asking questions.
Peter was his very helpful self and went through the sample products I received in the mail from Officemax, how I should utilize them, and answered questions from a number of women. (Why all women? Men don’t need to organize?)
Of course, I expected to be completely bored halfway through the chat; that is, until Peter stood in front of a very messy desk telling viewers that they’ve “lost” if their desk looks like that one. I looked down at my own desk. Thereafter, I was wrapped up in Peter’s every word…and I think I’ve been saved.
Today I received new, free goodies from OfficeMax and their new guru, organizer and Oprah-certified consultant Peter Walsh. I’ll be joining a webcast tomorrow during which time Peter and OfficeMax’s Julie Krueger (who?) will demonstrate how I can explore my new tools.
Let’s see…I got the new InPlace System Kit that includes 5 clip tabs, 1 erasable marker, 1 post-it cube, 1 document wallet, 3 durable file folders, 1 document envelope and 3 document sleeves.
As an organizing junkie, I am beside myself with all these new tools. But the package’s slogan says, “Clearly, a better solution.” But with this pile of stuff, it’s not quite clear to me how this is a better solution. To what? And how?
Stay tuned. I’ll be back after the webcast to discuss.
How dare I post a video that does not feature a momtrepreneur?
Please forgive me. This video is too inspiring not to post it.
Watch MIT grad student David Merrill’s live demo of Siftables at the TED 2009 Conference. Siftables are toy blocks that think. As you see them in action, you will be amazed at the technological advancements we’re making for our children–”we” being David and partner Jeevan. The tech blocks are an example of “a new ecosystem of tools for manipulating digital information.”
The last bit of the video is mind-blowing, particularly if you are a live music fan.
Apropos Amber’s interview, I took out a pile of library books on the topic of The Website Owner. If you publish a website-related book, by the time it hits stores–let alone the library–it’s dated and no longer applicable…to much of anything.
