You flip on the TV, skip through a couple channels, you’re bound to land on a reality TV show of some fashion. Between finding the next greatest chef to matching bachelors to bachelorette to wilderness survival…it’s a pretty “real” world. Actually, it’s not necessarily as real as portrayed but what is it that keeps us coming back for more? Why does someone else’s experience draw us to be entertained?

There’s one thing I know for a fact; you’re not getting any younger. Is there really enough value in watching reality TV shows that you spend a few hours (or more) in front of the television? Now of course some of the shows can be informative but the majority? Definitely not worth the time.

Instead, I challenge you to take an hour, grab a book, and read. I’ll be the first to admit that reading is not my thing. Heck, if I could have everything in video or audio form, that would be sweet! Let’s not kid ourselves – somethings are better in text form anyway. But lately I’ve began doing the unthinkable – picking up a book and swallowing up the content. And I must say that I’m actually enjoying it.

You’re probably wondering what exactly it is that I’m reading, right? As this probably isn’t a shocker, I’m not really reading for “fun” per say but instead for motivation, keeping up my drive, staying connected with other entrepreneurs, and trying to remain up-to-speed.  A couple months ago the book I picked up and read through in a couple days was Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk, and you can read my Crush It review if you’re interested in hearing about the book. Currently, I’m reading Rework by the co-founder of 37Signals, Jason Fried, and Partner, David Heinemeier Hansson. Seeing as I’m only about 50 pages into the book thus far there isn’t a whole lot I can share, but what I’ve read up to this point is awesome. For the early entrepreneur, the enthusiastic go-getter, the type of person who loves making this happen and seeing the results, this book is  a perfect fit. Generally speaking it’s a testament to those who are trying to build a product, service, and/or business with little money, a team made up of 1-3 people, and even those who think spending 80 hours a week working is crazy. If you fit any of those molds…get this book and then let me know what you find most interesting.

Spending that extra 2 hours a week, flipping open those pages in a book such as Rework or Crush It can absolutely change your life. It’s not about some grand ole’ plan to determine your path but instead get your off your butt, moving towards what you want to accomplish. Life is short and the TV can certainly be put aside.

By human nature we get frustrated easily. It’s a quite common characteristic of being human. Each of us has goals (at least I sure hope you do) which we strive to achieve in a certain time of our lives. Maybe it’s buying a fancy car, paying off your credit card debt, road tripping across country. Whatever your goals are, keep pushing forward to reach them.You will hit obstacles, challenges, bumps and road blocks but if you act like a cockroach (as Diane Hochman explained), you’ll find a way around to get to the destination. And, Diane has also helped teach that you don’t have to make it complicated or have it perfect to get it started.

The main point I want to make is ‘Don’t give up before you start’. What I mean by that is to realize your business, goals, dreams and success take time, plain and simple. You could work for 24 weeks on your website, spreading the word about the service for sale only to make a handful of actual sales. Do you give up? No. All that time you’ve spent for 24 weeks would be a waste, right? How do you know the success of the site is not simply 2 weeks away because you haven’t advertised on a certain website yet? You don’t.

Someone I’ve loved listening to, Gary Vaynerchuk, spent a couple years building his internet-based Wine show before it picked up steam. Now…he’s doing extremely well with a huge book deal, thousands and thousands of fans, speaking at events, and so on. You see, all the hard-work he continually spent on his brand for those initial years is and will continue to pay off for the rest of his life and business.

That being said, please make your own judgement calls. Maybe a certain business is simply not worth spending 2 years trying to build – that I can’t tell you without knowing lots of details. However, do not give up too easily or too early. There is no doubt in my mind that Gary smiles when he goes to sleep thinking to himself “I knew my hard work would pay off”. OK, maybe not that thought exactly…but you get the picture.

Personally, I’ve seen some great things happen with my business. Had I given up after a few months of trying to grow them, I’d continue to struggle and struggle…and struggle. Whatever you do, be passionate and ready to give it plenty of time, and hard work. Set your mind. Focus. Do whatever you can to make it happen.

Before you even finish the book Gary has you thinking, and deeply. There are some profound thoughts he puts in your head but nothing vast majority of readers can’t understand or figure out.

Those who know me the best will certainly agree that I don’t read often or even a book a month, or 6 months for that matter. Honestly, reading isn’t my “thing” – it’s not for me, I feel it’s not productive, but that’s who I am. Having me sit down for about 3 hours total was hard enough for me but I’m glad I did it.

Several months ago, maybe 8 – 10, I somehow landed on winelibrary.com but for some reason I did not stick around. A couple months later I believe I was on Twitter and heard about Gary again so I went back and checked it out. It was at that time when I saw one of the videos with the appearance on the Ellen Degeneres show and Conan O’Brien – I was impressed and entertained. From there I stuck around and have watched MANY more of both his Gary Varynerchuk AND WineLibrary videos.

Continuing to listen and pay attention to Gary has been somewhat inspirational but certainly motivational. Starting with an idea that had no guarantees on the success, it has flourished into a huge following on several platforms such as twitter, facebook and of course the winelibrary AND Gary Vaynerchuk websites.

The book isn’t a 300 page, bloated read that takes several chapters just to get into anything useful. Instead it gets to the point, nearly immediately – after the first couple pages of gratitude and thanks to his family, friends and contacts. In fact, the book is about 135 pages that really stand out past the common fluff you find in many other books about business and marketing.

One great part of the book is that Gary talks about his experience – how he basically went from nothing, hustled, and got to where he is today. Now, to be entirely honest, it may have been easier for Gary to do this as there was already revenue flowing. For people who have nothing to start with, they may find it harder to tackle a similar model to what Gary did…but there are creative ways to go around that of course.

While you learn about Gary’s experience he also tells you what to do (at least what worked for him). Some of you may be struggling to find that magical formula or maybe you’re keeping your fingers crossed it will fall into your lap. Whatever it is your thinking, if you’re ready to hustle, Gary will lead you down that path. And when I say hustle, you’re probably underestimating what that means.

Learning how hard Gary worked between creating content, traveling, connecting with people, having online discussions, etc., it was eye-opening. Personally I’ve learned that my work ethic needs improvement if I compare myself.

So what do I suggest?

- If you’re stuck at a job you don’t like…
- If you’re unhappy with your work situation…
-If you want a better lifestyle…

…and you are ready to work for it…

…pick up “Why now is the time to Crush It! Cash in on your passion” by Gary Vaynerchuk. Read it through, absorb what he says, and drop the excuses.

And no, I have no affiliation with his book.

Right off the bat I know you’re probably curious and that’s great, but you should also be thinking “Yes, Matt’s right” without even reading more than the title of this post.

Success doesn’t come from luck. Well, sometimes it can but generally speaking it does not. Some lucky cases might be those where business decisions are made without much logic or analysis, yet the results of the small actions are excellent. You might be the type of individual who plays the lottery – you’re lucky if you win but you also wouldn’t have won had you not taken the action of playing in the first place, right? I don’t consider the lottery completely luck because of that pure fact.

Anyway, the reason I know you’ll be successful is simple; you WANT to make it happen and you WILL make it happen. Those are primarily the only two factors that you need to have engraved in your mind. You first need desire, without it there is no reason for success in the first place. Secondly you need to make it happen by putting forth the effort and accomplishing the tasks which will lead you up the ladder. This may sound very simple, and you’re right – it is.

I’ve been involved in internet and network marketing for many years. When I look at the people I met when first starting out or even simply a couple years ago, I see them not much further ahead than they were back then (if at all). In my eyes, it’s because they’re not being as productive as they should be…