Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life By Guy Kawasaki

Alison Jones

I've read lots of Guy Kawasaki's books, and I've interviewed him for my Extraordinary Business Book Club podcast. I'm fairly familiar with his philosophy of life and much of his career. But reading this book was like sitting down with the man over a leisurely beer in the sun. It's not so much an autobiography as collection of anecdotes and reflections. They're not tightly organised, and occasionally the link between them escaped me, but he's walking his own talk:

'Always tell stories. Use them to illustrate your key points. Stories are ten times more powerful than bullshit adjectives such as “revolutionary”, “innovative” and “cool”. I believe in stories so much that this book is a collection of stories.’

From each story, he extrapolates nuggets of ‘wisdom’ – the lessons he’s learned along the way, many of which are familiar from earlier books, but gain emotional weight from this personal context. They’re a mix of the profound and the practical, like Guy himself.

So many business books are instructional or fist-pumpingly upbeat and inspirational. This leisurely anecdotal approach is a welcome change, though I’m not sure many writers could get away with it. What’s interesting too is that some of the most impactful lessons come not from the stories of his years with Apple or Canva, or even his experience as a social media god, but from his attitude to his family. At the age of 62 he took up surfing to spend more time with his daughter, a passionate surfer, and stuck it out despite a lack of natural aptitude to become passably good. As he says, ‘there are plenty of people who are more talented than me and plenty of people who work harder than me, but very few who are both.’

It’s not a tightly structured book, and many of the lessons are motherhood and apple pie (‘Don’t mistreat others, because you’ll be mistreated, too. As the saying goes, “What goes around, comes around.”’) – but they take on a resonance that rescues them from triteness because they’re grounded in personal stories. After all, clichés only get to be clichés because they’re true.

As a publisher who believes that reading and writing good books are among the most important things any business person can do, Kawasaki is an inspiration. This is his 15th book, and here’s his advice to anyone who wants to emulate his success:

‘Read to write. Great writers are great readers. The writing of others can inspire, motivate and challenge you.’

And here’s the proof.

Peg Fitzpatrick

A different kind of book from Guy Kawasaki - the stories you've been dying to know about his start in Silicon Valley and how he's created his entrepreneurial life from the ground up. It's like a personal chat with Guy behind the scenes of his amazing career working with Apple, writing fifteen books, and keeping his family at the center of everything he does.

Guy covers everything from moral values to business skills to parenting. As he writes, “I hope my stories help you live a more joyous, productive, and meaningful life. If Wise Guy succeeds at this, then that’s the best story of all.”

AlinaG

Povestea lui Guy Kawasaki este cel puțin interesanta. Omul a prezentat cu toată sinceritatea parcursul lui prin diferitele funcții pe care le-a deținut, eșecurile și "lecțiile învățate într-o viata".
I-am acordat acest rating pentru ca pe alocuri au fost repetiții de fraze, citate etc.,si pentru ca mi s-a părut a fi o carte scrisa pentru liceeni, studenți.

Karen_RunwrightReads

Wise Guy is a collection of lessons that Guy Kawasaki, Silicon Valley icon and renowned author, learned during this two stints at Apple (he was a part of the original Macintosh team in the 1980s during the Steve Jobs' years) but more so, the wisdom that prevented him from taking the job when it was offered a third time, and instead made his mark in other aspects of the business world.
In each chapter, Guy shares vignettes from his life, followed by a few paragraphs tabbed Wisdom, with little nuggets that he has taken from those moments, and which he hopes to pass on to the reader. Stories range from in scope from the teachers who challenged Guy during his childhood in Hawaii, to having his shoes shined by Virgin Atlantic billionaire owner Richard Branson, to trying and failing to forge an association with Hilary Clinton's 2016 Presidential campaign to taking up surfing at age 62.
I found Wise Guy easy to read, humorous in parts but also deliberate in providing meaningful content. I appreciated the book recommendations that Kawasaki shares - books that have influenced him over the years, as well as what he hopes the reader (and aspirating writer) might glean from that book and it's author. I enjoyed the multiplicity of presentation styles included in the book ranging from photographs of Guy's family and his 9th grade report card to speech transcripts from his 2012 commencement address, to bulleted lists of lessons learned at Apple. The variety kept me interested and is a testament to Guy's mastery of social engagement, proven in his earlier books.
I received a free electronic Advanced Reader Copy courtesy of Netgalley and the publishers. in order to complete this review however this did not influence my opinion of the book.
Having read other books by Kawasaki before, I would recommend this one for its motivational tone but also for the practical lessons it communicates as well as Guy's riveting delivery which means the anecdotes and their meaning will resonate even after you've closed the pages.

Annarella

I've been following Guy Kawasaki on the social media for ages and was happy to get this ARC.
This book is amazing, full of food for thought and reflections.
It's an engaging and entertaining read, well written and full of hindsights.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Portfolio and Netgalley for this ARC

Noah Kawasaki

The number one thing that stood out to me while reading Wise Guy was the accuracy every story told illustrates who my dad is. I've always looked up to him as a role model, and have always known him as a great man. But something about reading super specific examples, one after the other of the knowledge he learned over his life confirmed my belief and expanded my understanding of his character. His writing tone and the stories told embody his hardworking mindset and this lighthearted, funny, and kind attitude I've come to know over the past 23 years. These traits really are true to who he is in real life as a business partner, friend, and father.

Some of my favorite parts of the book:
- Don't worry about what motivates you, as long as you ARE motivated
- Learning more about my dad's childhood, earlier career, and how he got to where he is now
- All the stories about my siblings
- Helping me pass my third drivers test so I didn't have to wait another 6 months before having freedom

Gabriel Pagan

Reading preview copy!

Stan Stinson

Wisdom from a Wise Guy - Don't miss this one!

Guy Kawasaki worked with Steve Jobs at Apple and was an Apple Evangelist during his second stint in Cupertino. Therefore, if you are an Apple fan or historian, you will love this book and the stories and wisdom inside. That is a given. He has obviously done a lot more than 2 stints at Apple but that is probably his most well-known role. He has performed in many others and you will learn about some of them inside of Wise Guy.

However, even if you are not an Apple fan, and your only apple device is an iPod 4th and 7th generation, like me, there is a good chance you will still love the stories and wisdom inside of Wise Guy. I know I did. I have read and learned from some of his other books, APE, The Art of the Start, The Art of Social Media to name a few.

I not only am not an Apple fan, but we are also from opposite sides of the political thought spectrum. So you might ask why I would buy and read a book written by someone so obviously different than me? Aren't you just supposed to buy and read books written by people with which you agree? I think not. This wise Guy Kawasaki is a master storyteller and has much wisdom gained over his lifetime that I can learn from so I would be silly not to take advantage of his decision to share that with me. Although sometimes my wife and kids say I am silly, in this regard, I am not. I like to read books that entertain, educate and motivate and this one does all three. So don't be silly and get your copy today.

One of his pearls of wisdom inside is, "people are more similar than they are different," and the fact I am writing this review recommending this book is proof of that maxim. There are many more pearls inside including,

1) Old people rule - you are going to become your parents.
2) To be a writer, you need to be a reader (also advice Stephen King gives aspiring writers) and the book that helped him most in writing his 15 books.
3) The toughest teachers are the best.
4) There absolutely are absolute rights and wrongs.
5) Adverbs are for wimps.
6) Email doesn't matter.

I could go on, but I hope something here has piqued your interest enough to get your copy of Wise Guy today. You will be glad you did.

Arianna Suduc

Văd că are multe păreri pozitive cartea asta, și mie mi-a plăcut așa, per total, referindu-mă strict la informația din ea. Dar de tip nu mi-a plăcut. Am înțeles, e cool, a lucrat la Apple, a lucrat la Canva, dar mi s-a părut chiar arogant pe alocuri și de multe ori m-am trezit zicând „nts, nts”. Altfel, cred că unui adolescent i-ar plăcea mult de tot sfaturile din cartea asta.

Lis Carey

This is Guy Kawasaki's fifteenth book, and this one is about his life--from Hawaii to California to Apple, to his own software company, other companies, back to Apple for a while. It's not a straightforward autobiography; he's conveying the lessons he's learned in an active life that has gone in many different directions.

For instance, before he connected with Apple, he had worked in the diamond industry. Sorting diamonds, and selling them.

Which makes a certain kind of sense.

A lot of what he has to say is, on the surface, basic. Work hard, pay attention to details, pay attention to people. Make connections. Follow your passions.

His telling of it is a lot better than mine, and comes to life in his stories of his life.

Some of it, on the other hand, is less immediately obvious, and less commonly heard. Help people when you can--because you can, not because they'll pay you back. Accept help when you need it and it's offered. Don't be afraid to reach out; you might make a friend in addition to getting the help you need.

Of course, this is easier for some of us than others, but I can't help being reminded of my mother, who was nothing like Guy Kawasaki at all, whom you could set down in a crowded room where she knew no one and didn't want to be, and she'd come out with half a dozen stories of people she'd talked to.

I don't understand it, but it can be kind of fun to watch.

Guy is married and has four kids, three sons and a daughter, and while many parents want their kids to follow them, in their enthusiasms, the things they loved doing or the things they wish they'd been able o do, he took a slightly different approach to being an involved parent. As much time as he spent traveling on business, he was a all his kids' school games. But he wasn't content o just watch.

His two older kids played hockey, and Guy took up hockey, so that he could truly understand what they loved doing. Then his two younger kids took up surfing, and so did he, so he could truly understand what they loved.

And he has great stories about those experiences, and about the people he and his kids met because he was both really interested, and also both well-known and genuinely friendly.

This book is just a lot of fun, along with having useful life lessons to take in and use as suits you best.

Sadly, there is one problem, and no, it's not anything Guy wrote. I read an e-arc, and this may not apply to the published ebook, but the type font is both tiny, and not adjustable. This meant that despite the content and Guy's writing, this was a slow, painful read for me.

And with ebooks, there is quite literally no reason a all for that. Adjustable font size is one major reason to read ebooks. It's a basic accessibility issue. It's not acceptable to disable that functionality.

My most common response to this when I encounter it, is that the ebook goes straight in the bit bucket. I don't waste my time on books that the publisher has intentionally chosen to make harder for me to read. Because of my considerable confidence that I would enjoy Guy's new book, I persevered, and have merely read it slowly and painfully as I struggled with the font size.

And so my backup rule comes into play, on sites that include star ratings, I deduct one star for the publisher being idiots who don't have two or three brain cells to spare for the reader whose money they want.

Nevertheless, it's a very good, enjoyable book, and I do recommend it.

As stated above, I received a free electronic galley from the author, Guy Kawasaki, and I'm reviewing it voluntarily.

Shreekant

Disclaimer: I received a free kindle copy as a part of an early review program.

I have been a massive fan of Guy Kawasaki since almost 12 years, when I started my entrepreneur journey. This was a time of no social media and no entrepreneurship bubble, atleast not in India. Nobody had a clue what an investor deck looked like and Guy's 10/20/30 rule of deck creation revolutionized every entrepreneurs life. 99% of the entrepreneurs who were not funded using Guy's rule atleast got a verbal praise for how cool and coherent the deck was. That was the Golden nugget from "Art of Start", "Art of Start 2.0", "Enchantment"

Fast forward to the "Wise guy". The title might give you a hint that it will be a memoir and it is but with a few additions that make it a memoir + self help book. I love Guy and his work and I was excited to read about his life and "Wise guy" doesn't disappoint however his "points of wisdom", in short the "Self help" sections in between his life stories seem a little bit mundane and sometimes patronising. He covers a whole spectrum of topics and points from moral values to business skills to parenting, of course, he has done this by taking the reader through his younger years to mid career to the present. I liked the narrative but would have been super happy if this read more like a simple memoir.

Overall, I suspect being in well into my 30s and quite settled in adulthood, I may not be the target audience here. It may be possible those words/nuggets of wisdom are meant to target a young entrepreneur in his early to mid 20s who is still only about to figure out many parts of adult life and values every pointer he/she can get

Read the book if you are a hardcore Guy Kawasaki fan (like me). Mahalo!

Bianca Smith

This review was first published at
Mass Consternation.

I received this book for free from Net Galley and Guy Kawasaki in exchange for an honest review. If you've read my other reviews, you'll know that if it's bad, I'll say so, regardless of how I received the book.

Did you read Guy’ Kawasaki’s The Macintosh Way? It’s his first memoir written just after he left Apple. It’s filled with confidence and arrogance that’s kind of amusing. In my review on Tap Dancing Spiders I even commented on the tech bro dating advice. This latest book, Wise Guy, has the same confident arrogance. I’ve realized it wasn’t the result of Guy’s time at Apple. It’s just Guy. Confident arrogance isn’t bad. Guy is an excellent marketer, and his confidence encourages and inspires me. We just define humble and humility differently.

If you’re a fan of Guy’s marketing and social media books, you should be warned that Wise Guy is his latest memoirs. By his own declaration is an odd bod collection of the wisdom he’s gained through his life and career. He drops lots of names from his experiences. It would be impossible not to when he’s worked in such high profile roles. While the book starts with him in school, it’s not a linear story. I read an early ARC and I assume it was tidied with editing to make it easier to understand and follow.

While I appreciate the anecdotes in Wise Guy, I do prefer his marketing books. If you’re a fan of Guy, I recommend you read Wise Guy.

Ana

The book embraces positivity and joy of life, together with good deeds for others. How else, when living in Hawaii and on the sunny beaches of California. Without it, would be just an average writing with frequent bragging.

Mas

A collection of stories from Guy’s life and work, and the lessons he’s learned from his journey so far. Some stories are familiar, like those when he worked at Apple. What I like best is how he gives importance to his family. You can sense his pride when he talks about his parents and his children. What also struck me was how he seized the opportunities that came his way, and how grateful he was for those opportunities.

A good, quick read, to be inspired by someone who continue to do well in life.

Advance review copy from Netgalley.

Frederick Wysocki

Guy Kawasaki lived through an amazing period of technological growth. Since the timeline of his journey was close to mine, I found ‘Wise Guy’ very interesting. It is a series of vignettes peppered with mostly useful advice.

Michael Huang

Personal journey of an immigrant from Hawaii to Stanford, to Apple, and so on.

Maria Irina

Mi-a plăcut, dar nu mi s-a părut ceva deosebit. Guy a avut norocul să fie de multe ori la locul potrivit în momentul potrivit. Nu contest munca, sigur nu i-a fost ușor ca emigrant.
Structura cărții mi s-a părut însă interesantă, cu acea serie de învățăminte la final (unele nu mi s-au părut trase din context, ci puse doar ca să fie) și despărțirea pe capitole in funcție de tematică. Per ansamblu e o lectură okay, rapidă, dar nu mi se pare ceva revoluționar. Mă bucur însă ca are o listă serioasă de recomandări literare pe care abia astept să le descopăr.

Andrew

I’ve known of Guy for many years, but have never heard him speak nor read any of his books or blogs. I found Wise Guy to be a good way to get to know the person behind his voice and words. I’m Japanese too, though I grew up in the Bay Area, and I felt a many values, and a certain sensibility about the world in common with him. His personal and business experiences are interesting in themselves, but his informal and friendly descriptions of events and their context, along with simple summaries, lessons learned, and advice made what could have been a trite how-to book Into a surprisingly comfortable way to pick some great advice about life and business. Well done, Guy. And you’ve made me want to check out your other books and catch one of your speaking engagements!

Samir Madhavan

Easy good read

Chapters can be consumed in any order. There are some good wisdom in the book. Gifted it to my brother in law and he liked it too

Karen

Disclaimer: Received an ARC.

Pros:
- Lots of interesting stories and reminders of things to keep in mind in life
- Distilled lessons at the end of each story

Cons:
- Seems like a hodgepodge of stories
- Some lessons are based on anecdotal evidence

Joan Eisenstodt

Is there anything that Guy Kawasaki writes or says that doesn't make me think, laugh, smile, cry ("I laughed, I cried...") and rejoice that he puts his thoughts in print? (Well, I read only in print.) Full disclosure: I did receive a signed copy of the book. I would have purchased one had I not _and_ I've now given new copies to people so they can find the wise lessons from Guy, his spouse and children.

What I've always liked about Guy Kawasaki and his writing is how accessible it is - meaning, I may not, in the case of this book, ever surf of any kind or do all he's done. What I do is feel better about myself and what I do when I read his words. "Wise Guy" has wise lessons from which to extract. Read it!

José Antonio Lopez

Guy Kawasaki returns with a book about life lessons that is entertaining, fun and yes, wise.

Wise Guy is a very personal book since he uses personal stories to give context to his pearls of wisdom. From the beginning Kawasaki clearly states:

"Before you ask, or wonder, this is not my autobiography or memoir. It is a compilation of the most enlightening stories of my life. Think personal lessons, not personal history."

Wise Guy is a collection of life lessons. We can learn from our own experience or vicariously from other people's experiences and this is what Guy has to offer: "my goal is to educate, not to awe you".

I'm not sure the order the author followed to write the book. He could have thought about a lesson to share and search for an anecdote to enhance or he could have remind a life event and search for lessons in it. Either way Wise Guy is a book loaded with nuggets of wisdom.

Some of the favorites ones are:

"Be a hard-ass if you are a teacher, manager, coach, or someone who influences people. You’re not doing anyone a favor by lowering your standards and expectations in an effort to be kind, gentle, or popular. The future cost of short-term kindness is great."

The world is full of PC-ness and being blunt and clear can be a risk worth taking. None wins from hypocrisy.

"Don’t consider yourself a victim... If you believe you’re a victim, you’ll truly become one.Take responsibility for your fate. You still may not succeed, but at least you’ll try."

This is a nugget consistent with other authors like Fred Kofman, Joseph Campbell and others. The victim has the benefit of not having to take responsibility but at a great cost, impotence and lack of freedom.

"Make your personal interests known. This provides “hooks” to develop additional and deeper relationships. These relationships have led to friendships, adventures, and financial rewards. My life would have been a lot less interesting if I had not “opened the kimono” and unveiled my personal interests."

"Cultivate relationships with people you would run to see. Anyone who doesn’t pass the Shopping Center Test may waste your time, and life is too short. Second, be the person other people run to see. This is a useful test for how you treat others."

Living in a connected world is an opportunity to expand and grow. People are more than their jobs and sharing what you love can be a glue to support more and better relationships. But also the myriad of relationships can be overwhelming, Guy's advice is prioritize and spend your time wisely.

"If you provide value, you can ask for— and receive— reciprocation. This is the glue that holds society together. You may not care about reciprocation, but the important concept is to help people so much that they would gladly reciprocate."

Adam Smith (and others before him) stressed the value of social cooperation. The division of labor works only in a cooperative environment. It is a mistake to think that competition is the opposite of cooperation, competition is the freedom to provide more value than others.You can't get value from society if you don't provide value, unless you are a parasite.

"Smile. The more you smile and laugh, the more you will smile and laugh. The more you smile and laugh, the easier life gets. You can never go wrong being nice, and there’s no such thing as being too nice."

This is one of the best ones. People live such dull lives that being playful seems as a sin or a crime (as Bernie DeKoven used to say). Believe in humanity and enjoy life more.

I found one of the last chapters, Ohana, quite special. Guy was humble and brave enough to ask his family and close acquaintances to share a pearl of wisdom they acquire from interacting with him. They share nice personal stories and what they learned form them.

Everybody should take the time to do what Kawasaki did with Wise Guy. Reflect on your life and what you learned, thank the people who touch your life and gave you a lesson, and ask those around you how you have made their lives better.

Michael Cohn

Guy Kawasaki’s Wise Guy Is Truly Wise and Engaging

When I started reading Wise Guy, by Guy Kawasaki, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I understood that it is a personal book but I didn’t really understand how much it comes from the heart until I actually started reading the book. Some of Kawasaki’s lifetime experiences in the book have obvious lessons and some are more subtle and require some reflection. All of them are relevant.

Kawasaki discusses his heritage and how it shaped who he is. Every person needs to gather as much personal history as possible because that truly defines who the person is and how and why that person is motivated. Kawasaki’s roots are fascinating and after reading about his heritage, the reader has a sharpened insight into who he is today. Kawasaki advises, “Document your family’s history while your parents and grandparents are alive."

The book is a very personal, warm, touching, relatable account of some memorable, personal experiences of Guy Kawasaki. I have considered him an influencer for a long time now and I have often turned to his wisdom to give me guidance in my own business. Wise Guy really shows just how human he is and that is relatable for business people everywhere.

Throughout Kawasaki’s career at Apple and other ventures, he has always emphasized the importance of building relationships and proactively helping others without necessarily eyeing the compensation. His advice: “…force yourself to interact with people because more exposure increases the probability of finding commonality, developing empathy, and building relationship.

I learned a lot about the man and about the technology evangelist. For example, his experience early on in his career in the jewelry business made me think about the training aspect of business and how important it is to train thoroughly from the beginning. Otherwise, struggles follow over time.

In the details of Kawasaki’s passion for various sports, he emphasizes the importance of acquiring and developing new skills and advises: “Keep trying new stuff. It’s never too late to acquire a new skill or improve a current one. The acquisition of skill is a process, not an event, and the process itself can be the reward. When you pursue something passionately, if not obsessively, it makes you a more interesting person.”

Wise Guy is a great read and I am very happy that it has a place on my bookshelf.

Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life

Guy Kawasaki

Ghada ALamoudi

عندما تود أن تقرأ كتابا يحوّل كل ما في الحياة إلى دروس وفوائد، بما في ذلك ما هو عسير على التغير ؛كالماضي، والجذور، والمعاناة، وحتى الطبائع غير المنقادة، فمن المؤكد أنك في حاجة لقراءة هذا الكتاب. يضع غاي كاوساكاي خبير ريادة الأعمال والسفير التقني والمتحدث الجماهيري لعدد من الشركات العالمية في قطاعات الأعمال والتقنية، يضع حياته في سلسلة قصيرة ومركزة من القصص التي يُلحق كل واحدة منها بحكمة أو درس مستفاد
إن التناول المتنوع لجوانب الحياة الواحدة يجعلها مهما كانت ضيقة تبدو غنية، ذلك أننا نركز البصيرة على استنباط العظيم من البسيط، وهذه بالضبط الفلسفة التي أيدها غاي في كتابه، فهو يرى أن البساطة، والأشياء الصغيرة، هي التي تصنع السياسات الكبيرة على كل مستويات الحياة في العمل والعائلة.
إن الأهم من المعرفة هو اكتساب المهارة، هذا درس أفرزته ثقافة التقنية ، وقد ساعدنا على تثمين المشروعات الصغيرة والناشئة التي تعتمد على الكادر المهني بما لا يقل أهمية عن الخلفية المعرفية، ولكن هل ندرك أن غاي كاواساكي الذي كان السفير التقني لشركة آبل قد دخل الشركة وهو لا يعرف شيئا عن الحواسيب غير أنها صفوفا في جداول لضبط الأسماءوالحسابات! ومع ذلك فقد استطاع بحبه المستمر للتعلم أن يصبح علامة تسويقية بعد ستيف جوبز لشركة آبل.
اجعل عائلتك في مقدم كل اهتماماتك الأخرى حتى عملك،، اختبر كل شيء بنفسك ولا تستمع إلى النصائح الجاهزة،، كن بسيطا ومبتسما وصادقا،، شاهد الحكمة
في كل شيء يمر بك حتى في الظروف التي عاشتها عائلتك الممتدة قبل أن تأتي أنت إلى الحياة
إن الكتاب يقدم لنا سياحة ممتعة بأسلوب سلس ومركز ليس لكيف نعيش الحياة وحسب، إنما لكيف نفكر فيها، ثم كيف نكتب كتابنا فيما لو أردنا أن نؤلف كتابا
يوما .. إن غاي كاواساكي لم ير نفسه يوما كاتبا ، ولكنه اليوم يدشن كتابه الخامس عشر ، وكل كتبه تحقق قراءات عالية. شكرا جزيلا أيها الخبير أن قدمت لنا الحياة أجمل وأبسط مما كنا نعتقد
فهرس الكتاب:
اللجوء، التعليم، الإلهام، آبل، الأعمال، القيم، الأبوة، الرياضة، ما هو مضحك، المهارات، العلاقات، ثم فصلا حول تلخيص لأهم الدروس المستفادة
الكتاب باللغة الإنجليزية
كتاب الفتى الحكيم، دروس من الحياة، غاي كاواساكي، الصادر عن داربنجوين رادوم هاوس، 2019.

Jyoti

I really didn't think of this book before reading it. Because I hardly knew anything about Guy Kawasaki. But come on I would have never called him "are you Jackie Chan?". Lol does he really look like him? NO. Being the humble person he is, he added this with humor. As someone suggested in LinkedIn I looked it up, and couldn't stop reading it. And I loved it :D

The writing is so neat and straight forward with point to point explanations. Makes it easy to remember. Inspirational and motivational. There are so many things that I want to mention that he wrote which makes sense but the review will get so long so I will keep those in me :)

There are so many things I got to know like when Hillary's own team didn't do enough help her win nor accepted help from anyone. Arrogance or what I don't know.

"If you don't have anything positive to say then just shut up and scroll" :D

"Whenever drama comes the way always ask 'So What?'"

My favorite chapter was the 'Parenting'.

"My friend’s response, though well-meaning, was, “You do know that adopted children tend to have problems, right?” My unspoken reaction was twofold: First, what kind of asshole are you? We have already adopted a girl, and I told you we are adopting another child, not thinking of adopting again. And your comment is that he’s likely to have problems? Second, are you telling us that kids who are raised by their biological parents never have problems?

And the emotional part was the sections which were from his kids who wrote about him.

"Now go forth and dance to your own music. This isn’t carte blanche, but two indisputable facts are that life is short and you can’t make everyone happy. The logical conclusion is to dance to your own music before the music stops"

Book is full of wisdoms. Lifetime wisdoms. Loved it :)

Neenz Faleafine

When I received my copy of Wise Guy, I dove right in devouring chapter after chapter.

I could have written a raving review after the first six, however it was the final chapters, specifically Parenting and Ohana that I was most interested.

And even though my review is weeks later after starting the book (I got busy), I am very grateful that I finished the entire book because those two chapters really shine a light on the life of a man that has changed my life.

Guy is wise that's very clear.

It's how he weaves in his experiences growing up in Hawaii + his parenting + his inclusivity of Ohana + all of his knowledge gained in business, marketing, writing, speaking, and for me, surfing + hockey -- all of it, is how this book earned the honors of "second bible" for me.

The first "bible" is his book, The Art of the Start -- "make meaning" has been my driving force since I first heard him speak and he asked the audience if we were making meaning.

While Guy has written for entrepreneurs and leaders of all levels, he describes his greatest startups as his four children (not sure about the "13 grandchildren" he "once" had, if you want to understand -- read the book) and he not only weaves in transparency, his children also contributed to this book. And, as a parent too, Guy has once again inspired me to be a better human being.

Read it, you'll gain wisdom.

On a personal note, Guy and his entire family has changed my life.

Al Doyle

Confession: I've been a Guy Kawasaki groupie since the early days of the MacIntosh. He won both my heart and mind to stand up for what it right: the MacOS and Apple equipment, against all else. I got so adamant that I made a rule in our office stating I was not to even SEE a non-Apple device when I walked through our Fusionhappens offices. My web developer made a humble plea to please let him have a Windows machine to he could teast his Graphic Interface and functions across all platform. To his credit he kept the monster hidden away under his desk. I never laid eyes on it.

Now you know my bias it will not surprise you that Wise Guy had be totally enthralled and amused. Guy is above all else, passionate, followed quickly by extremely experiences and well-versed in the world of business, and a very compelling communicator. In Wise Guy he uses his lifetime of inside expsure to some of the word's most successful companies to provide real-work anecdotes that he translates into simple wisdom any of can use in our business, community and family lives. The stories are compelling. The conclussions and moral take-aways are thought provoking and useful in helping the ready see a new kinder-gentler paradigm for gettiing through both business and life.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I hope a can learn to practice what Guy is preaching.

Title	:	Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life
Author	:	Guy Kawasaki
Rating	:
ISBN	:	0525538615
ISBN-10	:	9780525538615
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Hardcover
Number of Pages	:	272
Publication	:	Published February 26, 2019

Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life by Guy Kawasaki

Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life Reviews

Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life Reviews

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