The Go-Giver: A Surprising Way of Getting More Than You Expect

"You like to read..."

Giving and loaning books is hard if you actually want the receiver to get what you hope out of a book. People that introduce their offering with the above words are the worst. These are people so unaccustomed to reading they seem to think reading is something some people just like to do. If that were that case I wouldn't laugh like an idiot every time Alec Baldwin declared that The Handbook for the Recently Deceased "reads like stereo instructions!" I've read me some shit books and thankfully many more awesome ones. This is the kind where I can't stop wondering just how stupid the author thinks I am.

The Go-Giver is a business self-help fanasy novel apparently written for people for whom conventional self-help books show more are too challenging. Unfortunately it's the self-help that's fantasy and the book is entirely void of wizards and unicorns.

In a way the book is sort of an anti-Prince. The Prince has long served as a manual for cold machination and ruthless strategy for dictators, business men and stone cold bastards. The Go-Giver, on the otherhand, preaches selfish selflessness. To put it simply, the revolutionary secret to "Stratosheric Success" is just be a good person. Except, how good can you really be if you're only good because you think you'll get something out of it? The two authors (it took two dudes to write this crap!) actually came up with "Five Laws of Stratospheric Success" but it's equal parts lame and depressing. The laws fall into two categories. The first category is just do the things that any decent person would do because they've got a baseline of human compassion. The second category is stand back and wait for your good behavior to be rewarded richly. Failure to be properly rewarded indicates a lack of "receptiveness" according to the shameless authors.

On the one hand I like that this book is essentially saying, "don't be a dick". But ultimately the complete message is "treat other people with decency and kindness with the expectation that you will get something out of it." That's a sociopathic take on ethics. To make matters worse the book takes the tacit view that success and money are a manifestation goodness, effectively sainting the wealthy. Certainly there are good people that are also wealthy, but there are also an awful lot of very not nice people that are wealthy and successful. It sticks in my craw that the book sets up an implied scale that equates goodness with status and wealth. It also irks me that these two grinning yahoos are no doubt transforming the publicity garnered from their undeserving bestseller into traffic for their consulting business. show less

When you start to read this unassuming little fable, your own sense of fabulousness and swagger will try to convince you that it's too simplistic and corny to be worth your time. Fight through that urge and read on. This short read -- it will take all of two hours to finish -- brings a kind of zen quality to the sales career; it teaches you to embrace generosity and abundance. In the world of the Go-Giver, those who clutch and claw and protect ultimately lose. This one might not only make you a better seller, it may make you a better person.

Not bad for a business parable - dialogue a bit stilted, writing a bit contrived, and an ending that reminded you that this book had an obvious target audience to appeal to. But, it didn't feel like a waste of time and had some good insights. If only people actually used these books instead of reading them to fulfill a requirement or appease their boss.

This book seems cheesy at first but several months after reading it I still refer back to the lessons it teaches. Like a good parable, the book does an amazing job of teaching a wonderful principle.

They call it the 'Little" Story - I think that's an understatement. I've read a lot of 'good' inspirational books in my time and I've read some that should have been, but weren't. "The Go Giver" is a book about things we should have already learned, but have a tendency to forget in our day to day hectic life styles and interactions with others.

It doesn't really matter what you think you know about 'giving', and if you think you are missing something in your life, you need to read this book because you probably are.

Anyone who passes "The Go Giver" by because they think it is just about 'business' is missing a lot. The lessons inside can be applied to every single minute of our lives.

If you don't have "The Go Giver" in your personal show more library, BUY IT. When you get the messages and 5 laws from your head to your heart, your life and the lives of everyone you come in contact with is going to change.

It may be a "little" book, but it's got a HUGE message. Get it, read it, LIVE IT. show less

This is an engaging and relatively easy read that takes you into the fictional experience of "Joe" who transforms from a 'go-getter' to a successful business person with the right mentorship. The laws of success are revealed, which he must implement daily to realize his own success. Adding value for others, being authentic, and serving more people well are key points mentioned.

(Read 2nd time in 2020)

Simplistic idea and writing but a good overall message.