BOOK SUMMARY 248 The Power of Broke

BOOK SUMMARY 248 The Power of Broke

·         Summary written by: Justin Gasbarre

“The choice of whether to succeed – or not – is all mine.”

- The Power of Broke, page 5

Daymond John, the founder and CEO of FUBU and star of ABC’s Shark Tank, shares with us his own life and business experiences in his book The Power of Broke.  “The People’s Shark”, as he is often referred to as, shows us how to leverage the “power of broke” mindset, which led him to be one of the most successful entrepreneurs and business influencers of his day.

Throughout this book, the author interviews 14 other successful people (who come from all different fields) to learn how they’ve leveraged the power of broke throughout their lives. Among others, Daymond interviews Steve Aoki, Rob Dyrdek, Jay Abraham, Tim Ferriss, and Mark Burnett.

Each interview covers its own unique topic but each is an important ingredient of success. This book is an easy and engaging read. I’ll bet if you’ve ever seen an episode of Shark Tank with Daymond, it won’t feel like you’re reading, it will feel like he is talking directly to you. You will walk away with some simple principles that will help you to maximize your current position and go after the things you want most in life.

The Golden Egg

The Power of Broke

"THE POWER OF BROKE is a mindset. It exists in all of us, whether we have money, opportunities, or advantages."- The Power of Broke, page 1

The author starts us off by explaining what exactly the Power of Broke mindset is and how he developed it throughout his childhood and early adult years. At a high-level “the power of broke is all about taking that shot”. No matter what your situation is, you dig down deep to pursue what it is you want out of your life, because when you operate out of that mindset, you have everything to gain. As Daymond puts it, “Sometimes it takes having your back against the wall, leveraging your last dollar, and having no place to go but up, up, up if you expect something to happen”.

So often, when we try to improve, we work to build or add skills to our repertoire. Skills are certainly necessary to success, but what I love about the book is that the author always brings us back to this mindset of the power of broke. Everything starts and is built upward from there.

Gem #1

Sharpen Your SHARK Points

"The idea is to get audiences to start thinking like a shark, the same way we do on the show as panelist-investors."- The Power of Broke, page 20

As we move from the power of broke mindset, the author then shares with us his action planning process to get your dreams started and off the ground – he calls them his “SHARK Points”. “SHARK Points” are the principles he shares with the many businesses and students he works with. 

They are simple, tangible, and easy to follow. Here they are at a high-level:

·         Set A Goal

·         Homework, Do Yours

·         Adore What You Do

·         Remember, You Are The Brand

·         Keep Swimming

These five steps provide for you a framework to follow as you begin any business or personal journey.

Gem #2

The Power of Humility

"If you’re nice to people, if you go out of your way to be helpful, then good things tend to happen."- The Power of Broke, page 163

The author has a great interview/discussion with Tim Ferriss, best-selling author, podcaster, and investor that I found powerful. During the interview Daymond talks with Tim about what it took to get his first book The 4-Hour Workweek published. It was not an easy process and after much rejection and adversity, Tim attended a trade show where he was hoping to connect with a popular blogger that may be able to help him out. As Tim was checking in, he struck up a friendly, innocent conversation with the lady that was checking him in who was coincidently married to the blogger who Tim was hoping to meet. From there, the rest was history, The 4-Hour Workweek has been on the best sellers list ever since!

Now, Tim didn’t know the lady was the bloggers wife, but it’s amazing what being friendly and nice can do for you and your career!

“Well, the bottom-line message beneath each mega-success story is that broke only breaks you if you let it.”

Through the shared experiences of Daymond John and the 14 amazing people he interviewed, The Power of Broke shows us that no matter who we are, what we do or where we start, we’re all capable of achieving great wealth and success if we have the right mindset and execute the right plan. I am a big Shark Tank fan and through the show I feel like I know Daymond.  The book helped me better understand how one can start from humble beginnings and really change the world.