Wise Guy Kawasaki – Swiss army life knife

Wise Guy is not just another book, it”™s a Swiss army knife for your life. Guy Kawasaki shares his wisdom about life, love, Apple, tech, startups, Jackie Chan, surfing and so much more. Steve Jobs”™ quote about “denting the universe” will forever float through our universe and Wise Guy could be the manual for it ”” the “how-to dent lives with value”.

Yes, one person can make a difference and Guy definitely is one of them. I did not expect to learn so many personal things about him through Wise Guy. We travel with him on a journey from his ancestors changing home from Japan to Hawaii, funny, sad and inspiring stories about his youth, education and the Silicon Valley. Change was ”” and still is ”” a constant element in his life. I mean ”” who starts surfing in his sixties? Respect!

“When you surf Mavericks with a grin, it”™s time to give back” from Wise Guy.

Book cover of Wise Guy by Guy Kawasaki.

While reading Wise Guy, I slowly got the picture, what Guy Kawasaki wants to share with us in his new book. It”™s the love for life and being brave enough to shape Yourself until you surf the tides of life in balance ”” with a smile. You”™ll need a lot of training, be curious, listen to advice, the right tools and invest in your education. But it does not stop there.

Create opportunities for others, help people, be generous and stay humble. Of course we can find out most things on our own but why not use compressed and proven wisdom to shorten our learning curve? Think more data is better than less and embrace people who want to help you. Think Yin and Yang ””  the world isn”™t black and white only ”” giving and getting help is the engine to keep the circle moving.

It”™s hard to believe Guy Kawasaki made it already to his v.6.x ”” his eyes still have this Bruce Lee “laser-like focus”. “Never consider yourself a victim because then you”™ll start acting like a victim.” ”” an insight Guy got from Condoleezza Rice. What do you think if you hear “victim”? What about all those emails, meetings and packing of tasks we must cope with at work these days?

“So what?”

… is one of the numerous tools Guy provides in his Swiss army knife-book Wise Guy. The question creates a gap in your mind to reflect and put the “crisis” into perspective. For the email dilemma, Guy developed a (morbid) pattern which saves him lots of (surfing) time. How? Read chapter #06 ”” Values.

Talking about values ”” one of my favourite wisdom in Wise Guy is

Thank the people who helped you achieve results before they are gone.

Guy Kawasaki

I have seen way too many people pass away too early, family, friends, teachers, advisors, colleagues. Eat when served, thank when due.

Finally ”” do what”™s right ”” and remember: making everyone happy is impossible.

Namaste

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