3 Books that Kick Butt

Last year business was good, but I wanted it to be great. If you’ve known me for a while, you know there’s been some big changes (new name, site, services, and more hours to do cool stuff) around here. If you’re new here, welcome! Exciting things are on tap 2014.

I wanted to share some of the catalysts in all this change.

3 Books that Kick Butt – Specifically mine into following my dreams

I love books and I love to read. If I have a challenge or a problem, usually the first thing I do is look for a book to help me tackle it. I have shelves of books on inspiration, business, design, self-help, etc. I also have a bit of “book ADD” and have been accused of having a shopping problem when it comes to books. But that is another post.

The book that started all of this change was, Do Cool Sh*t: Quit Your Day Job, Start Your Own Business, and Live Happily Ever After. I mean that title says it all and who doesn’t want all those things. I do! That is probably the number one reason I love Web design and development…doing cool sh*t. I started Design by Thauna a few years ago but this book helped me to believe that quitting my day job really was a possibility. Miki Agrawal’s writing style is cool and fresh and oh so inspiring. A couple evenings on the patio with the book and I was ready to take on the world. Well almost, but the wheels were turning.
Packing Light: Thoughts on Living Life with Less Baggage. I have baggage. I want to eliminate a goodly portion of it. So when I read Brian Gardner’s post on Allison Vesterfelt’s new book I immediately had to take a look. (side note: Brian is one of my design hero’s and the guy who created Studiopress, we are an exclusive Studiopress design studio around here and think Brian is pretty awesome, he writes some great stuff on his blog.) I popped over to check out Allison’s blog (which Brian had just redesigned with the Beautiful theme) and her message immediately resonated with me. I have been carrying around a good deal of baggage and I’ve been working on dumping it for a while now. Some baggage I’m just starting to identify. Living with less baggage? Yes I’m interested. The book is not just about carrying around less baggage, but it’s about following your dream and doing what you feel led to do. And finding the guts to follow that dream wherever it leads you. Following your dream? Heck yes sign me up now! I had the book on my iPad in less than a hour of reading Brian’s post. Ok, maybe within 15 minutes. I also recommend reading Allison’s blog, some days I think she is writing it just for me.
Book Yourself Solid is great a great book for any type of service professional, from hair stylist and massage therapists to photographers and designers. If you serve people and want to grow your business the book is a worthwhile investment in both time and money.I bought this book about a year ago when a designer I admire recommended it, but then I was quickly distracted by some other shiny book and forgot about it. A couple of weeks ago I saw Michael Port on CreativeLive.com and O.M.Gee that man is inspiring! For me sometimes finding time to read and really get through a book timely is a challenge, so I purchased the book on audible and listened in the car during my commute. The audible version was amazing.Heartfelt, honest, useable business tactics and Michael’s enthusiasm is infectious. I felt like I had a cheerleader in the car with me each day (but not in an obnoxious way).