I found Gary Veynerchuk’s site a couple of years ago and on first visit was impressed. His short, engaging and punchy talks to camera always made perfect sense and the guy obviously had charisma by the boat load.
I shot him an e-mail to ask him something or other one time and within a couple of days received a short reply answering my query. What a lovely fella I thought to myself, I bet he’s kind to his mum and cute puppy dogs too.
Fast forward to fall of last year and Gary is looking for reviewers of his new book ‘Crush It’ and I threw my hat into the ring via the e-mail he was giving out.
I heard nothing.
A few weeks later I ‘saw’ Gary on Twitter and mentioned this. In the full glare of the Twitter he told me to e-mail him my mailing address and he’d send me one toot suite . So I did.
I heard nothing.
Last week I saw him on Twitter again talking about the launch of the audio version of his book. I playfully called him a tight wad Jet fan and said I was still waiting for my copy from a few months prior. He tweeted that he’d mail me a signed copy if I e-mailed him my address.
By then however I’d already bought the audio version. So I replied that it would be cool if he could give it to somebody who couldn’t afford to buy it. I also told him about the How To Be Rich and Happy project to give away a million copies and asked if he’d like a manuscript.
I heard nothing.
Several times in Crush It Gary gives his e-mail address out inviting listeners to e-mail him any questions. What for?
I actually think he’s being genuine in the offer. In fact, it doesn’t strike my like there is a disingenuous bone in his body, so why is he setting himself up for a fall. After all as more of his books sell his e-mail volume is only going to rise?
Surely he knows it’s wisest to under promise and over deliver? Yeh, of course he does.
As you probably know if you read this post on our HUGE goal, I had a meeting with John Strelecky to discuss our plans for How To Be Rich and Happy last week.
You may think that the thing most likely to cause us to give up on our goal would either be the $1m we needed to raise or the problems that distributing 1,000,000 books may cause. You’d be wrong.
John was very honest and up front in saying a lot of the work would be on my shoulders in the early stages.
Is it because John is booked solid with speaking engagements all over the world? Or that he has a book deadline of his own to meet that demands his full attention? Or maybe he’s just bone idle and likes nothing better than to wonder around all day in his jim-jams?
Actually it’s none of those. It’s because he wants to spend a lot more time with his family. He is concerned that his young daughter is growing up too quickly and he wants to be around to see as much of it as he can.
In other words, he’s doing what he wants when he wants.
Not only that, but he’s living in complete alignment with his values as family is at number one.
GV says in the book that everybody should put family 1st, 2nd and 3rd. He then repeatedly talks about the importance of hard work which seems somewhat counter-intuitive to me. Which is it?
Firstly let me say this. The belief that we should all have family at #1 is just that, a belief. I see plenty of clients that either have no family or don’t like their family. And there is nothing wrong with that, even if it does seem weird to people who believe family is everything.
However, if your family are 1st, 2nd and 3rd, then by default your work must come in at number 4. Ok, maybe there has to be some juggling because most of us have to work to pay the bills, but you get the message.
I have no idea how much money GV has, but I suspect he doesn’t have to work as hard as he appears to and when he tweets from airports about how much his family mean to him he could actually be telling them face-to-face rather than via the Internet more often.
It’s obvious he loves his work and family with a passion and I’m glad I bought the audio version because that bursts through in every paragraph, but I think there is a danger, no matter how unintended, of appearing a tad inauthentic.
If you want people to e-mail you, reply to them. If your family is so far above everything else then demonstrate that by spending every moment you possibly can with them. On the other hand, if the reality is that both work and family are equally important to you, that’s cool, just admit it.
There’s an easy way to assess what’s most important. If you had 24 hours to live would you go to work…AT ALL? Also, would you have ANY regrets about not spending more time with your loved ones?
One of the big issues I had with The Four Hour Work Week was the ridiculous notion that’s it’s possible for anybody that isn’t already independently wealthy or prepared to live in a tent, to work only 4 hours per week and be successful .
‘Crush It’ does a volte face and heads in the opposite direction. GV insists hard work is the real key to success.
The reality is there is no key to success, it’s different for everybody. One of the precepts of How To Be Rich and Happy is defining what success means to you up front.
As I posted here once:
“Nobody can tell you how it is, they can only tell you how it is for them”
That’s what ‘Crush It’ does. It tells you how it is for a guy that has a strong ingrained work ethic that loves to work his bollocks off and build businesses. It also tells you how it is for somebody that has found their passion perfectly.
Sad though it may seem, some people go their entire lives without finding their true passion. Even sadder than that, some people have their passion knocked out of them as children when they aren’t exposed to the the kind of positive upbringing GV was fortunate to have. It can be rekindled of course, but more often than not it isn’t.
To be fair to GV though he does say things may be different for you, but way after he goes to great pains to tell you your eye balls will be bleeding by the amount of work you’ll have to do and finishing at midnight will become a luxury as 3.00am will be the norm.
This sounds like I’m panning ‘Crush It’ and GV, yet nothing could be further from the truth.
I like Gary Vaynerchuk, in fact I like him a lot. After all, what’s not to like? He wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s fun and he’s passionate. If only he were a Rams fan too instead of the Jets, I’d probably have a man crush on him.
I also really, really enjoyed ‘Crush It’ and to be honest I wasn’t at all sure I would.
If you’re a budding entrepreneur I think it will give you some real value because GV has been there and done that. He’s definitely on the cutting edge when it comes to business development and online marketing, even if the latter isn’t really what he does.
‘Crush It’ contains is a lot of practical advise that in their impatience newbies can miss completely in their eagerness to get going and live to regret.
If there were any gaps in Jonathan Fields ‘Career Renegade’ then ‘Crush It’ certainly fills them and is well worth the investment.
NOTE: If you have the book and enjoyed it, get the audio version too. One thing I really loved about the audio version is the way GV goes off script a lot of the time and ad libs. He updates some material that’s already outdated (that’s the power of the Internet people, this book was only published in October!) and expands on other areas from the book to make his point clearer.
Not only that, but you get the Vaynerchuk delivery style that will definitely pump you up and get you ready to kick some business ass, if that’s what you want to do of course.
Tim Brownson is a Certified Life Coach and has been unsticking people and helping them reach their true potential since 2005. If you would like to know how he can help you
Hey Tim.
Cool review here.
That sure is something to take note of about not hearing back.
On the point about family vs. hard work for Gary, I’d say that he is working so hard for his family so they can continue to have more, still putting them first. They would probably tire of seeing him all day, as any of us would with anyone.
Good point about underpromising and overdelivering still being the winning method. It takes a strong-willed person to maintain it, but the results from that are real appealing.
Tim, I admire your style of writing. It is very down-to-earth. You are not a crazy evangelist who supports all the NEW BIG THINGS and talks like sales-maniac just to get more subscribers and RSS readers because of posts like “how I made $100,212 in eleven months blogging”.
You mentioned something really great here: “some people have their passion knocked out of them as children when they aren’t exposed to the the kind of positive upbringing GV was fortunate to have”. This is what it is all about in many, many cases of people who have a great hunger in their hearts to change the world but their childhood is still killing them. They are still in a cage and sometimes it takes years to go out of it, or sadly they never go out. GV is a really lucky guy!
I like Tim Ferris, GV and many others who bring me a lot of motivation and inspire me with their visions of a lifestyle. But, like you, Tim, I don’t take everything for granted.
I am big fan of your blog as each post is tailor-made. I hope you stick to it and inform us how is YOUR BIG GOAL doing.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by TimBrownson: @garyvee A review of Crush It. Kind of. http://snipurl.com/u2k46...
Tim, you claim that: one of the big issues you had with The Four Hour Work Week was the ridiculous notion that’s it’s possible for anybody that isn’t already independently wealthy or prepared to live in a tent, to work only 4 hours per week and be successful .
This suggests that you link being ‘successful’ with making lots of money; however, for many this is simply not the case. Success can mean lots of things to lots of different people. I’ve been inspired by The Four Hour Week and can tell you that some of the principles do work. I work about three to five hours a week. You don;t need a huge investment to do this but I think that you should build your business before leaving your current position.
Tim you also suggest that: GV says in the book that everybody should put family 1st, 2nd and 3rd. He then repeatedly talks about the importance of hard work which seems somewhat counter-intuitive to you. It’s still possible to put your family first and work hard. It’s about being with you family at the right time and when you are with them being totally present.
BTW please could you email me and let me know what you think of this comment:)
Thanks
Tim, a great article w/ carefully balanced arguments! I too found Gary’s work-life balance idea a tad unrealistic. When I heard GV’s EXPO speech (http://bit.ly/6Uxz4W), my first thought was – “there surely is a price to pay” and “Gary must have an understanding, loving family”. Still, I respect what he is doing. I hope he’ll not only find the time to write back, but also enjoy #1, #2 and #3.
Thanks for the food for thought! I’m looking forward to your posts!
Great review, Tim.
I haven’t read Crush It!. I am glad to see your down-to-earth critique of the book. So many people claim to lay out a path that you can follow to recreate their success. But they usually fail because so much is assumed and taken for granted.
That doesn’t mean you can’t learn from it. But the hype surrounding these book launches is so thick it’s hard to realize that most of the “in-depth analysis” and “case studies” are just anecdotes resulting from a lot of luck and prior hard work.
These kinds of books often backfire with me. I tend to get discouraged when I see how much effort they have put in.
Keep up the good work.
Tim, GV doesn’t sit well with me at all. I wanted to say I think he’s a bit of a knob, but that would be rude and unfair as I don’t actually know the man. So I’m not going to say I think he’s a knob, I’ll just say he doesn’t sit well with me.
I get the impression from your write up (and elsewhere) that he’s very much in the work harder not smarter camp. Going to bed at 3am is just stupid. Doing this short term is fine but as a long term strategy it’s suicide. That’s assuming he doesn’t get to sleep in until midday everyday?
Clearly the guy has talent but when the hell does he sleep? If going to bed at midnight is a luxury and 3am is the norm I think I’d rather poke my eyes out with shitty sticks if that’s what being rich and successful entails.
I don’t mind working hard as long as it doesn’t make me one of the living dead.
I’m in no position to critise the guy as I’m hardly the epitome of success, but then I didn’t have the advantages the GV enjoys – like inheriting a business that you are also passionate about.
I’m not bitter about that, but on some level I resent my father for not owning a chain of lap dancing clubs.
Tell me GV is not a bullshitter and I’ll believe you.
I don’t typically read these types of business books. Sure, they’re full of great stories. Sure, they can get you all excited. But I prefer to spend my time actually doing rather than reading about someone else. Or reading a bunch of advice that sends me down a different path, only to lose my way, then read another business/self-help book and start down a different path … it’s a vicious cycle, and nothing actually gets accomplished that way.
My reading time (of the paperback or hardcover kind) – what little there is of it – is spent reading novels. Wonderful stories that I can get lost in. I learn about new business practices, trends, and case studies by reading online – blogs, news clipping, online magazines – nice bite-sized chunks that I can either put into practice, file away for future reference, or discard altogether.
I’m sorry Gary hasn’t responded to any of your emails, particularly since you actually had a mini-conversation about it. But my advice to all those people spending their time reading about starting or growing your business is to go out and actually do it! Then you can write your own book if you want.
@ Armen – I agree up to a point I’m sure many business people convince themselves that is true, but when is enough, enough?
@ Paul – What can I say? I agree with everything you say. It’s all about balance and taking away what works best for us.
@ Steve – I’m guessing this is your first time here because I certainly do NOT link success with money. I am about as un-money motivated as its possible to be. I even wrote a post recently titled ‘I Only Earned $30k Last Year’.
In regards to what I said I was talking in context of the book and apologies if I didn’t make that clear
If you started up with no money behind you and you are doing the kind of things TF talks about and only working 3-5 hours per week, e-mail me because I’d like to talk.
And no imho, it’s not possible to work 100+ hours per week and put your family first. There is only 168 hours per week and we all have to sleep. To spend 100 hours doing the thing you love 4th most and maybe 15-20 hours with the top 3 doesn’t make much sense. And btw, I have no idea how many hours GV works, I plucked those figures out of my ass as an example.
I have coach enough burned out business people (and yes, even ones that loved what they did) to know 99.99% of people cannot pull that off.
What I will say though is people don’t usually start see this burn out until they get well into their 40′s.
@ Lech – Thanks! I have seen Gary talk a few times online and he really is a powerful talker with a lot of stage presence.
@ Eric – Thanks man and yeh, if you don’t want to work your tits off Crush It aint for you.
@ Selfish Man – LAMO, oh man that really made me howl as I read it in the gym. I don’t think of him as a knob at all. He is very in your face and reminds me of an intelligent version of Del Boy, but I don’t think he’s a bullshitter.
@ Mary – I’m not sure I agree to be honest, I think there’s a balance. I have read 100′s of self development and sales books and they have helped me tremendously.
Having said that I also agree it’s wise to pick up a novel from time to time, something I haven’t done recently I have to admit! Mind you I love reading what I read.
Seems to me as though Gary could perhaps use someone to help identify and mitigate any inefficiencies in his business. Gee, if only I knew someone like that… ;-)
Tim I have emailed you and I am so sorry to have let you down! As I said in the email based on your last tweet- between going to Cinci for the JETS game and my sister having a baby a few days ago and spending time with her before the birth and my own 7 month old, I guess its been hard.. I am so sorry to let you down…I traveled so much for the crush it tour and I have answered 100+ emails a day every day of my life but getting 1000 is a bad ratio, I jump on twitter and do tons of @ replies and I do a ton on the facebook fan page, I also always stay after at ever talk I do and jump on Ustream all the time, but if i missed it for you than that is the reality of it and I apologize, I hate to face the fact that the sheer volume of whats going on and the fact I am spending more and more time with family is making me drop the ball and I guess I have to rewrite my story to allow people to understand I will never give up, will always try and will give 110% to interact but that still at times may not be enough :(
@Selfish Man I really hope we can meet and u can see who I am, I am not selling bullshit or am a bad person, I am trying like heck here!
Man oh man.
You touched a subject close to my heart.
At first I thought and still do think the same thing about GV. He is real. He is passionate. He loves people and surely does want to meet them. He gives random interviews to people all over the net, at least pre-book era.
So I said why not me. I am the type to find the big shots and ask them questions. What do they think about so and so. How would they approach it. Right now the person I am trying to get is Donald Trump. Any tips?
I gotten through many people and am developing relationship with them (something I am noticed that Tim Ferris is a fan of, middle of reading the book). Heck, I just emailed Seth Godin and got a response later that then and a few reply emails between us.
GV is another story. He encourage emails but admits that he might take him months to answer them. He said to me he will answer my email the morning of New Years eve and I got nothing. Do I blame the man? NOPE. He is a human being and he really means what he says. It’s like the person who speaks very slow or way too fast because his brain works differently than most.
Just last night someone on Facebook commented in GV’s page and said this page “f-ing sucks and you GV do not care about us”. Forgot the exact wording but he did use the F bomb. Right away GV answered that this time this man spewed off in a time when Gary is in the middle of family matters etc. Some others came to the defense saying there is only so much one can do when you have so many running after you.
I did noticed that GV answered immediately if you do not like his books or comment something about him in a negative way..he will jump on it and apologize.
It is a scary position to be in. Telling everyone to talk to you but not realizing you are not in the position to do so anymore. I think the world would be OK if he said it straight up that he wants to be in touch with everyone but at the moment he just can’t. I think the people want closure.
It’s like this marketing guy I once hired a year ago when I just started out in network marketing. He kept on claiming to be able to do wondrous things and maybe he can but he never did it for me. And all I wanted from him is closure. I did not want money back or anything…just a simple note saying he can’t.
I think it is hard for GV to come to that reality but he will need to face it.
For now, let us do whatever it is for our success.
@Lech Ambrzykowski thnx for your comments and yes there is a balance issue, but I go hard as I can and in both directions it works for me, not for everyone but I am not trying to get people to do it my way, i want them to do it their way, but to just realize that you can have what you want business wise in this new world a lot easier than our parent or grand parents did
One more thing….Gary Vaynerchuk is freaking AWESOME. In no way does my above post do I mean to say something negative, I just wish he gets some extra help that he needs. I know he is extremely busy and he is going to get busier as he loves the hustle.
@Roy Naim and others its not saying I cant that scares me, it’s saying I wont try…. I will…and thats it, is it practical or does it work for everyone, no, but through pure effort I hope I can come close to make it work, you know? I don’t think you should just stop trying because the #’s beat u down, I will keep trying, why not? the alternative is to just pick the biggest or most “important” people or opportunities and that SUCKS! Will I make a video for my email that says I can no longer guarantee that i can answer every email, maybe…but I will also say that facebook.com/gary or twitter or especially a new scheduled Q and A on ustream will hopefully replace or help it…
I just want to keep trying, forever… its all I know
thnx Roy Naim for the 2nd comment, the issue is I dont want to out source ME… u know
That’s is why I respect you Gary and why I think you have the following.
Because you truly do try. You really really do. As I was writing that post about that maybe you should recruit help, I started laughing and said there is no way you would want that because it would hurt you as a person. You really want to be able to answer everyone.
Looking forward to the new Q and A.
Thanks for the follow on Tumblr. I choose that platform though still learning to use it properly.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by TimBrownson, TimBrownson, Charlie Gilkey, Naomi Niles, BobPoole and others. BobPoole said: RT @TimBrownson Is Gary Vaynerchuk Biting Off More Than He Can Chew? | Life Coach Blog: The Discomfort Zone : http://tinyurl.com/yaqrc55 [...]
Gary, you had to do it didn’t you? You had to spoil it for me. That was possibly the funniest thing I’ve written in two years of unsuccessful blogging, and you had to turn up and see it.
As well you know, writing things in poor taste about people you don’t even know isn’t funny if they actually see it. So it’s your fault that I feel bad.
So it looks like I’ve got two choices here. I can climb down and apologise for my remarks and look like a knob for doing so. Or I can continue as before and look like a knob for doing so. Either way I’ll end up looking like a knob.
The irony is just too sweet.
Gary, I’m sorry. I wrote that as much for comedic value as for putting across a point (BTW how much sleep do you get?). And if we ever did meet I’d let you have a free punch. But not the face – I’m far too pretty (in a rugged kind of way).
Perhaps I am envious of you? You possess something I don’t, and it’s not just that you put family first or that you’re willing to work hard. I’ve done both of those things for years but have yet to achieve the kind of success you enjoy.
I can’t believe that the answer is I need to work harder, somehow that doesn’t seem quite right?
I guess I’d need to read the book to find out. :)
And for what it’s worth, I don’t believe you are a bad person or a bullshitter.
Thanks for replying.
Dave (the knob).
@ Gary – If I can step in between the love-in with you and Roy ;-) I just wanted to say, what a classy response.
I know you know I was in no was, having a go at you and the book is worth anybodies money.
I may even throw in a cheer for the J E T S this weekend.
@ Roy – Nice mate, thanks for the input!
@ Dave – You’re a knob mate, but I love ya!
Dave (the knob) I love u already, u have a clear sense of humor and I appreciate that and when I punch u in the balls when we meet I will enjoy the cold beer we drink afterwords :)
Oh come on…I had a thing going here…kidding.
Now…hmmm…Tim can you post something about Donald Trump so I can get a hold of him here too??
Hi Tim,
Thanks for your honest post which touched on the point that I struggled with Gary’s book. I have enjoyed his vlog & book… admire his passion, hustle and for being genuine.
The balance of work / family time is something that only we can determine what is right for each of us. He is walking the talk and it appears being there when it matters for his family, but there are only so many minutes in the day to go around.
His recent book launch I imagine has increased his volume 10 fold (at least) of e-mails, calls and commitments and his response rate to return e-mail appears to have suffered as a result. He is only one man & hasn’t yet delegated that responsibility of screening communication. (perhaps that is the solution).
I can understand how you felt considering one of the foundations of Gary’s personal brand is responding to every e-mail. As he demonstrated here he will respond when situations like these arise and I think he is genuine with his responses.
I don’t know Gary nor have I ever e-mailed him (didn’t have a reason too) yet I was fortunate to attend 2 events in Toronto in November with his book launch & I have to say I was impressed with my experience with him.
After a public talk he patiently signed copies of his book and chatted with people while being pressed for time to get to the next event. I was near the end of the line and yet he still was calm, friendly and took a moment to ask me “so what’s up?” which caught me off guard. He gladly paused for a sec for a photo then rushed off to the next event.
At the next event he stopped into the cocktail area before it started and chatted with attendees and took some more photos with people before a taping of his show. I thought to myself… most people would what to take a break from the public for 30 mins of quiet time before a 3 hour event… but not Gary.
He did the “live” wine tasting event and even with technical problems with the camera crew that would have stumped or at least pissed off the host… he never missed a beat or did his demeanor or tone ever change… he just rolled with it. In fact he still had fun with the crowd with the gift draw and threw in some of his own cash money when people in the crowd started to add giveaway items to the pot.
After the show he sat and signed another 50 or so books and again I was one of the last people in line and had a second book signed for a friend. He happily signed it & graciously took another pic as the first one didn’t turn out too good.
Later that night he did a impromptu to show from his hotel room… which was full of energy and passion… it was quite a full day for Mr. Gary V.
I submit this comment not to defend him… he did that quite well for himself! But just to share my brief yet inspiring personal experience where that it appeared to me that he gives all he has.. when he can and when he is in the room with you or chatting… he is present there in that moment and seems genuinely grateful for your time and support & I think that is something everyone can appreciate.
Thanks for everyones points, honesty and class… this has been the most interesting blog post I have read anywhere in a while which prompted me to contribute. (I am mostly a lurker lol)
Keep being real Tim, Gary & everyone :-)
PS.. Gary if you ever decide to have your e-mail’s carefully handled like they where their own… I dont sleep much or have many family commitments so I would have your back covered dude ;-)
I couldn’t resist lol
Safe journeys everyone & keep on “crush’in it” in “the discomfort zone”!! :-)
Salviss
@Sal – If a had a comment of the year, you would have just won it and we’re only in January!
It cements what I was already thinking about the man I call GV.
Good work fella!
I love Gary and he’s totally inspirational. At the same time, imagine if Oprah tried to answer every single email.
Gary, that sounds just like the way my first date went. Except for the bit about the beer. There was no beer, just a punch in the balls.
Thanks for being a good sport!
Dave.
That doesn’t make much sense to me. Sorry if I’m the exception here, but putting family at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place is something that works for him, but it may not for others.
It’s not bad as an idea if you already have the necessary business to support your priorities. 1,2,3 place means that you almost always choose to stay with your family over doing other things.
I personally think that putting values into a specific order is not effective because each situation is unique and you can rarely apply your priorities list.
Having said this, it’s extremely useful to define the areas of life where you want to see improvements, as you can work on each of them in the long term.
I hope I’ve not misunderstood his message and I’m sure that’s an awesome book, I just don’t buy that specific sentence :)
@ Michael – We ALL do it would seem ;-)
@ SM – You’re still a knob.
@ Oscar – I personally think that putting values into a specific order is not effective because each situation is unique and you can rarely apply your priorities list.
That’s fighting tal ;-)
Ordering values is critical imho. Does that mean that we always put #1 first for every minute of the day? Of course not, but knowing what is at our core is sooo important to me as a Life Coach.