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• ISBN13: 9780061914171
• Condition: New
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| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Gary Vaynerchuk | | Hardcover:
| 160 pages | | Publisher:
| Harper Studio | | Publication Date:
| October 01, 2009 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0061914177 | | Package Length:
| 8.3 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.8 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.9 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.45 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 456 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Which Review Should You Choose?Aug 30, 2010
CRUSH IT
By Brian Harris [...]
Which Review Should You Choose?
With customer reviews on "Crush It" approaching 500 (and possibly more by the time this is posted), how does one decide which review provides the most accurate overview of this book? After all, the author talks about the need to be honest, so which review in fact be the most honest?
Although I must confess that I haven't read all the reviews posted here I did attempt to scan as many as possible at each star level. As I read a 1 star review I find myself agreeing with the reviewer that the reviewer's comment that "success has as much to do with the strategy, the team, and preparation as it does the desire to crush it." In looking at a 2 star review, I also find myself agreeing the reviewer's thoughts that Gary Vaynerchuk started his "crush it" journey by tapping into his father's already successful wine merchant business. Yes, most people who might read this book and have a desire to "crush it" simply do not have a successful family business to build on.
Moving on to a 3 star review, I find one reviewer who notes that although this book is inspiring, it lacks detailed information to help readers "become successful using the methods he promises". Once again, I think this is an accurate comment to describe the book "Crush It".
Next, I looked at the 4 star reviews (and I also immediately noted that there are more 4 star reviews than all the 1, 2 and 3 star reviews added together). Here, I note a reviewer who quotes "The promise of Crush! is that technology has disrupted the historical boundaries of business, making it possible for anyone with knowledge and passion to build a business that capitalizes on that experience." The reviewer then states that he supports this quote (and the reviewer also notes that he has personally started five businesses that seem to provide some credence to his thoughts). I think it is also significant to note that the same reviewer talks about the expertise that is required to crush it and perhaps this is one weakness of the book. I agree.
Finally, I come to the 5 star reviews (which is abundantly clear comprises the greatest number of reviews). From these reviews, one of the words that I see mentioned frequently is "inspirational". One reviewer in the 5 star category states this slightly differently by using the word "catalyst". It would seem to me that anyone who wants to be successful in any endeavor needs some inspiration or a catalyst to take action and if the content of a book provides that catalyst then I would think that in spite of any other weaknesses, this book would deserve a high rating.
So, the reader might now wonder, " How many stars would I award Crush It!?"
In responding to this question, I think my overall star scoring for the book is directly related to how it might help me to be a more successful as an author and as an entrepreneur? After all, $[...] is a small price to pay if there is just one practical idea or resource in the book that can make a professional difference in my life (and I wouldn't necessarily rate this book in terms of personal growth because we can all enrich our lives by living our passions without ever "cashing in" on them. Living our passions and the resulting happiness does not have to be tied to money).
In reading Crush It!, I first of all noted that the author defines passion as: "It means that when you get up for work every morning, every single morning, you are pumped because you get to talk about or work with or do the thing that interests you the most in the world." As a professional career counsellor for more than twenty years I agree with this statement, and happiness might come a little easier to a lot more people if you could identify and live your passion (even if your passions don't relate to your job or earning money). The flip side of this though is that some people get so caught up in the adrenalin rush of their passion that their relationship with others suffers.
In looking at the next comment I highlighted in this book, I note Gary's words "EVERYONE needs to start thinking of themselves as a brand." While this may be very important for some people in, I can't agree that everyone needs to think of themselves as a brand (unless we expand the notion of "branding" to being "the best parent", or "the best friend", etc.). From my experience in working with people, some people are quite comfortable (and it is okay for some people to be comfortable) being followers or going to work each day and following instructions. Along the same line, I disagree with the author's comment that "Learn to live your passion, and you'll have all the money you need plus total control over your own destiny." How many parents are there whose passion is their family, and who will never have all the money they might need because their family comes before ungodly hours at work? Are there many people who lived their lives more passionately than let's say someone like Vincent Van Gogh? And yet, if history serves me properly, Van Gogh's passions never led to personal wealth.
So how then was Crush It! useful to me? While Gary's comment that "you gotta be you" is not earth-shattering advice, none-the-less, it is advice that we all need to be reminded of from time to time, and I include myself as someone who needs to be reminded of this. For me, most important of all (and yes this is a theme in some other books) is the emphasis that the internet is providing an opportunity for anyone (with the right expertise as we have already noted) to market their product or business in a manner that didn't exist just a few years ago. As an author who has sold many books ("The Millionaire Lifeguard, my newest book)with a great deal of money and time spent on traditional advertising, this "new" way of doing things has the potential to make a significance in my success as an author. I appreciate Gary's passion in talking about this and his practical thoughts about various platforms to user in promoting a product. This was useful advice for me and although simplistic, for someone who was resisting using platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, it led me to read more in-depth books about Wordpress, Facebook, Twitter, etc. (in other words Crush It! was a catalyst).
Finally, one word I read a several times in the book is "hustle". While this is a word that sometimes has a negative connotation, overall I think the author's emphasis here is passion will not lead to success unless this passion translates into action (work, hustle, however you want to say it). In fact, the author states "Expect this to be all consuming". From my experience this is very true (although I do feel the need once again to point out that it is okay if your passion is your family or a hobby that never leads to the gaining of wealth or the growth of a business).
In conclusion, I give Crush It! 5 stars. This is a book that as others have said is inspirational (in spite of any other shortcomings). For me, I was inspired to read more in-depth books on some of the topics that the author briefly touched on. I believe that any book that actually motivates to take some kind of action that contributes in a positive way to achieving my dreams deserves to receive 5 stars.
So which review should you choose? As Crush It! points out, you should be true to yorself and choose your own.
 It's okayAug 28, 2010
The ideas behind this book make sense, but the examples are too ambiguous for the average person to execute. This book can get the reader all excited to go out and live their passion, then they have no direction on exactly how they should accomplish it. For me, a total waste of money.
very passionateAug 25, 2010
I received this book as a gift and just finished it yesterday. I found the writing to be very real and very motivating. It was fun to read and I finished the book feeling like I know Gary.
It is also a good resource for social networking and business. It's nice to read about Gary's success while being so authentic and true to what he calls his DNA.
I'm looking forward to his next book.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Absolutely awfulAug 23, 2010
Whoever said this book and author rocked should be shot ! Absolutely the worst book I've read in years! The author has no heart and his message is about his own selfish greed and how He used it to become wealthy. He is desperately seeking accolades and more money from his used car salesmanship methods. Not interested in his "beg,borrow,and steal" method since it is void of all integrity.
 A Great Resource for Creating an Online PresenceAug 22, 2010
While it probably isn't time for me to create a video blog on YouTube, the book is definitely a solid resource for creating an online presence. Vaynerchuk has very effectively done his homework and built a brand around himself.
The book is a little self indulgently biographical, but it keeps the reading interesting. Vaynerchuk's description of why he is an expert harkens back to Malcolm Gladwell's writing (10,000 hours to mastery); and certainly hints that we need to develop an expertise that adds value before trying to sell "something".
The book brings out some, I think, very important points about using technology to sell yourself as a brand as well as products. We live in the middle of a very noisy e-commerce market square, and selling our own wares (and ourselves) is going to take some polished and unique messaging.
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