Before the release of his new book Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion, I had heard of Garry Vaynerchuk as the host of Wine Library TV, but I really didn’t know anything about him. Understand, I don’t drink wine, not for any moral reason, I just never got into it.

With a title like "Crush It" I couldn't resist

In any case, I started to hear lots of positive thoughts about this new book, so I went audible.com and downloaded the audio book. Audio books are my preferred way of reading almost everything, but in this case I strongly recommend you get the audio book even if that’s not normally your preference. I will get to why I say that in a minute.

This book is about passion. Of course the subtitle tells us that it’s about making money from our passion, but more importantly, it’s about how living from your passion is the way to be happy. Gary himself as the ultimate example of this. I found his passion both enjoyable and contagious, now some will say that he’s over the top, and he is over the top. The thing is, this is the real Gary. I have no doubt about it in my mind, it’s who he is. He talks about this in the book, and how important it is to be genuine to you are and your own style.

The book is really about how to create a brand around yourself, who you really are and your passion, mostly using social media. This is illustrated very well by Gary’s own story, and examples from other people who have been successful. As I read this last sentence, I realize that “creating a brand around yourself” can sound like something a used car salesman would do. This couldn’t be further from the truth. What Gary teaches is all about real honesty with yourself, and with everyone you relate with. It’s about being genuine at the deepest level.

So, why do I recommend the audio book rather than the print version?

When Gary went to record this book, he was so passionate and so into what he’s talking  about that he couldn’t stay on the script. For me, many places where he riffs off of what is in the printed text are some of the best parts of the audio book, it gives you everything that’s in the printed book plus bonus insights.

For me though, the single best part of this book, particularly the audio book, is the power with which Gary’s passion comes through. I found this really inspirational, it was really helpful to me at a time that I was a little bit down about what I was doing online. Now as I say, Gary style is over-the-top and this will bother some people. But, it’s who he is and though it took me a little while to get into it, I ended up really loving it and loving him.

So, if this sounds appealing, check out Garry Vaynerchuk’s Crush It, either in audio or print.

What do you think about Garry, and Crush It?  I’d love to hear in the comments.

Note that the Amazon links in this post are affiliate links, and I get a tiny commission from Amazon if you decide to buy through one of them.

It’s amazing for me to think that just over a month ago, November 24, 2009 to be specific, I first started posting regularly on this blog. It feels like forever ago.

I consider myself a pretty technically hip guy, I’ve used all sorts of computers essentially my whole life, from the Apple IIs to early versions of DOS (I first worked on DOS version 1.1) to the many iterations of the MacOS and the endless saga of Windows, not to mention occasional forays into Linux. I did a little bit of web design, mostly to help friends over the years. And there’s always been a list of people for whom I am their unofficial tech support department.

I truly didn’t understand how much another world exists on the web, particularly in social media. As I’ve gotten me into this whole “web presence” thing I have at times felt like I’ve fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole. There’s a whole new language, Pingbacks and TrackBacks and WordPress and inbound links and outbound links and follow links and no follow links and on and on and on…

I’m learning, and having a great time, and meeting so many amazing people who I would’ve never met otherwise. Getting to know all of you through twitter and Facebook and your blogs and your comments here is really wonderful.

So I’m learning, I hope that I never stop learning, not as long as I’m alive. Even though there were times when I feel overwhelmed by it all, it’s expanding my world view, my map and my perception. And all of that is a wonderful thing.

Thank you for being a part of my online world, and joining in the conversation.