"Crushing It"

Happy Friday everyone! I'm thankful we had Monday off for Columbus Day, so this week really seemed to fly by.

I wanted to share this inspiring book I'm currently reading called Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk.  I received a copy of the book at a seminar my company put on recently and have been reading it intermittently since. The title refers to the author's idea that anyone can take their passion and make money using social media networks (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogging, etc.). His main idea is that social media outlets help an individual build a personal brand. This book contains valuable information on how the Internet is changing people's everyday interactions with one another and how virtually anyone can use social media to start a business and expand their brand.

Vaynerchuk goes into great detail using his own successful company, Wine Library TV as an example. Basically, he took his knowledge and love of wine to YouTube and started stating his opinion to the public. Love him or hate him, people were tuning in and subscribing to his channel. From there, he built a platform for himself in the online business world and started making money talking about wine. Who wouldn't like getting paid for that?

As I've stated in a previous post, I would love to make a decent living as a writer. The author has a section discussing journalists and how they can use social media platforms to jump start their careers making considerably more money than what the usual poorly-paid journalist currently brings in. Of course this immediately sparked my attention and got me thinking how I can use the Internet to make my dream a reality.

I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a change in their life and who wants to make a living doing what they love most. I liked the fact that the book is a quick read and the concepts are easy to grasp. It was definitely written to appeal to the average Joe. You can pick this book up at Amazon.com or local retail bookstore such as Borders. Here's to "crushing it!"