You already knew that, right? Right? I've been reading Guy Kawasaki's Enchantment and this is the conclusion I'm forced to draw: I am enchanting. (Or at least I was until you read that statement!) Well at least my mom thinks so... and I passed a test to prove it. (This is going downhill already isn't it?)
In the interest of full disclosure, and in deference to Kawasaki's 3rd chapter, I received the book in exchange for reviewing it here on my blog. Why would writing this blog earn me a free book? Because my blog is listed on Kawasaki's Alltop (halfway down the page somewhere between Eric Bryant and Ragamuffin Soul, two very enchanting guys whose blogs you should be reading way before this one), which puts me on an e-mail list for the offer of a free pre-release book. Why is my blog on Alltop? Because I submitted a form and someone at Alltop deemed my blog sufficiently stocked with content to warrant inclusion on their site, I guess, but this is getting way off track - we'll be taking no more questions at this time.
The point is this: If you want to hone your skills in "the art of changing hearts, minds, and actions" this book has some great content. It's not a ministry specific book; in fact, some ministry minded readers will probably be ticked off by a few things, but it is very applicable to ministry, where changing hearts, minds, and actions is definitely our hope. And if you get so ticked off by something like this that you can't get anything out of it, you're probably not very enchanting, so you should probably read the book so you can learn how to be less prickly.
I've been told that I'm really good at talking people into doing things they don't think they can do. (There are mountain peaks with teen footprints, and cliffs where their fingers clutched granite to attest to that.) And in a sense, that's Enchantment, or at least my own spin on it - helping someone see a potential they didn't see before and helping them find a compelling reason to step into it.
Kawasaki's stature in the business & finance world (Apple, Alltop, Garage Tech Ventures... and a whole bunch of other stuff he's got a pulse on) affords him access to a lot of great stories from enchanting people and places all over the globe. He shares these often in the book as examples of the principles in action. Similar in theme to Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People", Enchantment is the attempt of one guy who's winning to help other people win, too. And in the process, he'll make a lot of money and do good things with it... right, Guy?
In all seriousness, this is a pretty good book if you're in any kind of position (like living & breathing) to influence action. Read it.
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It occurs to me that I have one more thing to disclose. Not only did I get the book for free in exchange for reviewing it, but if you buy the book from the Amazon links I've provided in this post, I'll receive about 53 cents or something as an Amazon affiliate! I'm not enchanting at all... I'm a paid shill. Oh, man...
Seriously... the positive nature of my review has not been influenced by the fact that I'm about to get rich by telling you to buy the book and read it. I promise.
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