The Go-Giver
The Go-Giver is a great reminder that the key to success is giving. I know it sounds paradoxical. It certainly does to the main character in the book. He is a go-getter and he is chasing success, but not quite finding it. He is under a lot of pressure to meet his quarterly sales goals. He hears about some guru who he thinks can help him, so he sets up a meeting.
Immediately he is overwhelmed by the generosity of this guru. The guru immediately agrees to share his secret to success. He takes him on a series of lunch dates to meet various entrepreneurs. Each one illustrates one of the five laws of stratospheric success. They are all related to generosity. It has a profound impact on the young man.
Aside from the 5 laws, the book also has another lesson. That it is not enough to simply read about some new idea or be told about it. You have to actually go out and practice it. One of the guru’s conditions is that the young man must go out and practice each law the same day he learns it. The young man does that and realizes some profound results.
For me, reading the book for the second time, the real takeaway was the last one. I tend to read a lot of books. I’m pretty good about implementing all of the things I read about, but not always. It was a good reminder that intellectual knowledge is cheap, what really matters is getting out there and using it.
Reviewing the five laws was a good refresher. The real challenge for me deals with a point made in the book that any good business principal should also apply to all areas of your life. I feel like I have done a good job of implementing the 5 laws in my business, but I could probably do a better job of implementing them in my personal life.
To tie everything into the current situation with the corona virus, I think it is easy to get caught up in our own needs. If you can find a way to help others meet their needs right now, I think you will see very big results come from that. Of course don’t do it just for the results, that misses the whole point and will not lead to success.
