ME, INC. Build an Army of One, Unleash Your Inner Rock God, Win in Life and Business
Author: Gene Simmons
Publisher: Harper Collins / Dey Street

“I refuse to sit on my thumb all day and talk about yesterday.  That’s for wimps.  I’m a today and tomorrow kind of person.”– Gene Simmons

I LOVE it when I read a book and it totally AMPs me up that I want to tell everyone I know about it.

When I first heard about ME, INC., I was IMMEDIATELY drawn to it. Not only was it written by Gene Simmons of the band KISS (who himself is both a rockstar AND an astute business man), but being a solopreneur myself (and a career coach, at that!) I was incredibly INTRIGUED  about the stories and wisdom Gene had to share that I could apply not only to my OWN business and life, but to my clients as well.

Never mind that part of the book’s title and mantra is ‘Unleash Your Inner Rock God’, while I’ve been empowering my own clients to ‘Unleash (their) Inner Rockstar’. The synergy was UNCANNY and so I anxiously DIVED into ME INC., head first.  I was NOT disappointed.

Whether you are just launching your career, planning a big career transition, starting your own business, or  just looking to AMP up the speed, direction and dimensions your career takes, ME, INC. dishes out SOLID, no BS advice and strategies that are practical and applicable in real, everyday life. And if you DO the work (and work HARD, as Gene regularly reminds us), and actually APPLY these principles with the right MINDSET, you will begin to see them working FOR you.

ME, INC. encompasses TWO parts; ME (Gene’s own personal life story, which was eye-opening, humbling and inspiring) and YOU (13 reader -focused strategies accompanied by 13 ‘The Art of More’ Principles).   And while all 13 principles are equally as important as the other and need to be applied in TANDEM with each other, some of the most POWERFULLY relevant messages within ME INC include:

Business is life and your life is your business.

You have an inferred fiduciary duty to yourself. No one else holds responsibility for your career as a whole but YOU; no excuses. Invest in YOU and educate yourself, whenever and wherever as needed, do not expect anyone to do it for you.

Know who you are selling to.

Do your homework and know your industry/sector well from the inside out and be FLEXIBLE and open-minded enough to REINVENT and position yourself in a way that empowers  and accelerates your entry and ascent from within. After all, as ME, INC.  reminds us, “rockstars reinvent themselves head to toe” everyday.

Your brand and your reputation precede you.

YOU are your ‘brand’. These days, people often form a first impression in their minds of you, often times BEFORE they even meet you. BE the YOU that you want the world to see [In my world: resume, cover letter, LinkedIn, plus your image, presence and interview acumen].

No one creates a successful business by themselves.

Pick the RIGHT people to surround yourself with and be open to constantly learning from others who have already paved the way.

Fake it til you make it.

Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from trying in the first place. Keep your priorities straight and your eye trained on what is most important to you. Self-confidence is your greatest business partner [“have an enormous, almost delusional sense of self-confidence”], as your feelings and thought are what drive you to action [or inaction].

Ladies! (Yes, a chapter segmented out just for us): “No more rules neatly laid out for you to follow”, Gene exclaims, encouraging us to step up to the plate, kick out-dated stereotypes to the curb and “Become enormously successful and then make all those simplistic, cro-magnon cavemen work for you.” [who cannot chuckle at that?]

Besides being chock full of ‘the proof is in the pudding’ examples from Gene’s own life experiences, ME, INC. kept me totally ENGAGED the whole time with its candid, conversational-like style , that left me feeling like I was sitting face to face with a brutally honest , wise friend and mentor.

While a lot of ME, INC. may seem like common sense…well, it IS…but how many of us actually WALK our talk and PRACTICE what we preach? IMPLEMENTATION is what makes all the difference .

“If you’re alive, you’re in the game” Gene reminds us, encouraging us to “Go big or go home”….and if something doesn’t have the anticipated result we expected first time around? Learn from it, adjust your course and start again (until it does work). “You can always start again. You cannot fail”, he stresses.

Lest we forget, everyone starts out from the beginning and, “Every CEO starts out without any qualifications. Then they jump in the deep end and start swimming.”

Run out. Read this book. And then ROCK it’s lessons (and Your Inner Rock God) into mega ACTION.

Me? I’ll be at soundcheck  😉

You can also read my review at Amazon.com.