If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you dream it, you can become it. ~William Arthur Ward
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh's book, Delivering Happiness, has hit bookstores. I received advance copies of the book to review, and one of those books will be raffled off to a reader - details at the end.To be honest, I didn't know that much about Zappos when I started the book - all I knew was that it was an online shoe store and a coworker raved about how great they were after she got her order. I thought her excitement was a little odd since I know she's ordered things online before. I also knew a little about Tony since I follow him on Twitter. He's Taiwanese, around my age, and a gazillion times more successful than me, which predisposes me to hating his book.
I reviewed the book because it's about happiness, and that's what MindfulEats is about - getting healthier and happier. All I knew about the book was that it had a cool title, and when I got it, it turned out to be a business book! Not what I like to read in my spare time. It's a combination of memoir, Zappos history, and organizational theory. And I'm glad I read it.
I used to aspire to borderless work - being so passionate and fulfilled by work that it blends into your life. There's no separation between "work life" and "real life". You are delivering on your mission and you have purpose. You're in the zone. Delivering Happiness reminded me that it's possible. And that made it worth reading. Zappos is Tony's passion (he even refers to it as his calling), and he's created borderless work for himself and others.
The first part of the book is about Tony's early life and how he got to Zappos. I was ready to quit reading during this part. It reminded me of fake Asian humility, where parents brag by saying things like "It's amazing that little Johnny got selected to play a guest spot with the New York Philharmonic since we can hardly get him to practice" when Johnny's practicing the violin the six hours a day that he's not studying. You can skim this part of the book. Tony basically becomes a hugely successful internet guy in his 20's, then invests it all into Zappos. This is where it gets interesting. Zappos is constantly on the brink of failure, and he and his partners pull it through, all while building a quirky company culture. Their goal is extraordinary customer service, and they live it with their customers, their employees and everyone they come in contact with. They start out trying to create "wow" experiences for everyone, and eventually evolve to today, where they just want to make people happy. That's a pretty sweet mission.
Tony delivers a couple messages. First, culture is the most important factor for what your company (or neighborhood or family or tribe) will deliver and be about. Second, people are constantly seeking happiness, and the only way to find a constant state of happiness is to live a higher purpose and be part of something bigger than you.
In terms of getting me thinking (one of the way I judge books), Delivering Happiness gets 3 out of 4 stars. I also judge books by how well they are written. 1 star our of 4, but it definitely captures Tony's slightly annoying voice. If the book pushes me into finding the borderless work I used to dream about, it will have delivered happiness and will receive 5 stars (1 more than possible!).
Want the book? For the paper version click here. Kindle version here.
Want more info in general?
CONTEST: to win a copy of the book, leave a comment with your ideal job that will make you happy. The winner will be randomly chosen among entries (except for lame answers - no dealers or strippers or stuff like that) on June 15.
What I ate: 2 lattes, Fage yogurt + ground flaxseeds + strawberries, 1/2 coffee, (full day of eating out) Palm soft shell crab flour wrap + avocados + greens, 4 bites molten chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream; Yelp event of mini-tastings: Luke's shrimp roll, swedish meatballs + mashed potatoes + lox + cucumbers, lobster mac and cheese, Indonesian noodles, kimchi noodles, lingenberry soda, 40 oz. water
Exercise: none
