Review of "Driven - How to Succeed in Business and In Life" a book by Robert Herjavec
The Book - Why You Need to Read The Book If You Are Thinking Of Starting A Business
Robert Herjavec describes his life story starting with his arrival in Canada in an immigrant family and the financial struggles of the family.I found the book to be instructional as an entrepreneurial book. Robert Herjavec describes in more detail than many books the specific steps that he took to rise to a very successful businessman. You really need to read the book to develop your own insights into the steps he took.
Key points in his success include how he is able to get by with limited sleep and still function normally. In the reference portion of this article I supply a book title as a reference that might contain more information on the ability for some people to sleep less. In the book Mr. Herjavec emphasizes that an entrepeneur should have the ability to deal with crises as they arise and for new business owners many can arise.
I was impressed with Mr Herjavec developing his own sales pitches that worked for him in the difficult area of collections early in his career. Mr Herjavec's superior sales techniques and his self described ability to foresee years into the future products that will be in demand are other parts of his success. His superior sales ability allows Mr. Herjavec to recruit employees that excel in their fields. The detail in the book is concrete with 50 principles outlined in 50 chapters. Some books are merely motivational books but I think of this book as much more because it is an insider book of an entrepreneur that keys in on 50 areas that will help you as an entrepreneur. Buy the book if you want to succeed as an entrepreneur or at the very least ... read it! Mr. Herjavic gives many examples of how he worked very hard to be successful. And how his beginnings in sales and customer-oriented jobs help him to read people and tailor pitches to those people.
As an aside there is no indication that Mr Herjavic procrastinates. He is on top of things and does not shy away from difficult tasks such as the need to fire things.
I recommend the course "Learning How To Learn" which is offered by Coursera which will help you master procrastination and avoid putting off difficult tasks if you tend to procrastinate. ( I was guilty of this before I recently took the course - changed my life! You can take a free version of this Coursera course if you want. This course offers a specific, effective technique on how to avoid procrastination. It also explains in video form why people procrastinate. Also in video form Dr. Barbara Oakley (in the Coursera course) explains that you should "eat the frogs" in the morning - meaning handle difficult things in the morning. Along with Mr. Herjavec's broad-based instructions on how to succeed as an entrepreneur , the Coursera course and your ability to thrive on limited sleep you might have a distinctive advantage over your sleep-headed competitors.
REFERENCES
Genetic Basis of Sleep and Sleep Disorders
authors Shaw P,Taft M, Thorpy M
"Learning How to Learn" a course at Coursera.org with Professors Dr. Barbara Oakley and Dr. Terrence Sejnowki
Driven - How to Succeed in Business and In Life - written by Robert Herjavec -co star of Dragons' Den
