Everyone seems to have an opinion about the best selling Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain, an autobiographical business book by Ryan Blair (with Don Yaeger)
which recounts Blair's personal success story of How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur. It was by far the most commented upon book on our site in 2011; and not all of the comments were benevolent despite the book's best selling status and rave reviews. This bias is something Blair addresses upfront in his book:Some of you reading this are judging me and saying, 'Why should I listen to him when he's made bad decisions in his life?' For those of you having a hard time getting over the fact that I haven't had a squeaky clean life, I say take any middle-class kid whose family is in shambles - torn apart by drug addiction and abuse - throw him into a gang-infested neighborhood when all he wants is a male role model, and he will find males to follow but they won't be role models. That's why I've made bad decisions, but that's also how I got my nothing-to-lose mind set. And those things you are judging - my poor decisions - those are my assets...But a mind-set isn't enough; you're going to need to get smart - book smart and street smart... Read on.
That is what Nothing to Lose has to offer: yes, it's a story of survival and success told in an unflinching manner, but it is also a lesson in turning negative circumstances into smart choices and positive action in the future. We are not our past selves, Blair's story assures us. And what a relief!
Amidst the story, Blair offers sound--also often unflinching--advice to entrepreneurs who are trying to find a niche of their product or service while facing often larger and more ruthless competitors. But the book isn't all aggression. Blair admirably commits to showing that respect and personal pride are elemental to success, not only as a businessman, but as a person.
"You can tell a lot about a person by his or her prized possession. Besides the artwork that I own, the items I collect are not what would fetch a fortune at Sotheby's. Rather than things intended to impress someone else, my collection reminds me of the people who taught me to be a better businessman, employer, philanthropist, and person. [....] These are the things I surround myself with. Their purpose is to remind me to ask myself daily whether or not I am living up to the lessons learned from each person along the way."
And as we said in an earlier review of Nothing to Lose in reply to Ryan's challenge in the quote toward the top of the page:
And "read on" is something we'd recommend. It's a compelling story from an interesting person who's seen more in his life, negative and positive, than most of us will ever see. And through his experiences, shared here, we too can learn.We are giving away 20 copies of Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain this week on inBubbleWrap!
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