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The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth, by Chris Brogan

The Freaks Shall Inherit the EarthChris Brogan’s latest book is a call to action for people who want to turn their back on the idea of working in a traditional job and launch their own business. It addresses one of the biggest challenges of the new business owner: suddenly having all this freedom and flexibility, and not knowing how to handle it effectively.

In that sense, I see this more as a personal productivity book than a business success book. Of course, for individual business owners, those two concepts are tightly connected anyway. But I think you will get the greatest value from this book if you read it as a book about you, not your business.

For example, the word “Freaks” in the title is way off the mark. This is not just a book for freaks (or “weirdos, misfits, and world dominators”, as the subtitle states). Brogan just says that to get attention. You won’t find any wild, outrageous ideas or strategies for changing the world or disrupting your industry. No, the content of this book is far more prosaic: time management, defining personal success, being disciplined, facing fear, setting income goals, and so on.

There’s nothing wrong with all of that, of course! Just don’t expect an earth-shattering book about business success.

I found it a bit difficult to read the book from start to finish. But when I returned to the Table of Contents and clicked on specific things that looked interesting, it was much more useful to me.

The other insight for me was that a lot of the book is about Chris Brogan’s own practices, and they don’t necessarily apply to me. However, they serve as a useful starting point to ask how I could make them work. So even if his specific advice isn’t useful for you, it can serve as a checklist of things to consider. That said, if you’re just starting out in business and do want some initial advice, you could do a lot worse than just following Brogan’s advice.

My friend and colleague Terry Brock has created a video book review here:

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