#100DOLM Day 3 – A Favorite Book That You Own

Posted by Jack Smith in Featured Posts, Living Social | View Comments

OK, so I am a little behind with my photos.  I’ll get the hang of this soon!

I know that this isn’t the actual book itself, however it is probably one of my favorite books of all time so I had to use the image for my #100DOLM Challenge image.   If you haven’t read this before, it is not for the faint of heart as it has small print and it’s a lot of pages!  To that point, it was Ayn Rand’s fourth novel and her LONGEST – however, it was worth EVERY PAGE.  For more on the book, here is the Wikipedia entry.

I love this book for several reasons.  First and foremost, I really like the way Ayn Rand writes.  The way she can communicate the level of raw truthfulness regarding human nature and the expressions and reactions between characters can be both refreshing and unsettling. She writes the kinds of books that make you ponder life, sincerity, morality – and then look more deeply into your own relationships and desires.  They are also making a movie from the book that is set to release on April 15th though I would highly suggest reading the book first!

And specifically, in Atlas Shrugged she is looking at business and the political situation that surrounds the main

characters.  As an entrepreneur, this book has been one of the most influential reads on how I view business.  Everything from how I run my business, the products I want to create, the other businesses I want to work with and how government should and should not be.  Very impactful.

I have actually bought a Liberty Bracelet (shown in the photo=) as a way to show my support of personal freedom, innovative business, and sound monetary policy.

And while we are on the topic of business and entrepreneurship,  this video was shared with me this week.  I found it both difficult and inspiring to watch.  There are so many places of joy and tragedy, hard work and celebration, risk and reward that I could personally identify with that were all very moving.  Whether you read the book, watch the video or both, I think you’ll find new ways to be a better business owner, better employee and most importantly a better person.  If this world and economy is going to change, it is going to take all of us.  Enjoy…

 

 

SHINE: The Entrepreneur’s Journey from Dan McComb on Vimeo.

 

SHINE is a collaborative film project produced by BIZNIK.com, an online networking community for micro business owners and solopreneurs. The project began on May 6, 2009 when 12 video crews and over 400 entrepreneurs gathered in Seattle’s largest film production studio to share why they work long hours, for low pay, facing great uncertainty.

The film combines compelling stories from the event, and interviews with academics, celebrated researchers (like Scott Shane author of Illusions of Entrepreneurship), and entrepreneurial superlatives (like Bruce Livingstone, founder of iStockphoto, acquired by Getty Images for $50M).

The result presents the larger story about entrepreneurship in an economy where 90 percent of all new jobs are created by small, entrepreneur-driven businesses.