Shake the World: It's Not About Finding a Job, It's About Creating a Life

by James Marshall Reilly

Overview

James Marshall Reilly set out to capture the insights of today's brightest business and nonprofit leaders. He conducted in-depth interviews with Tony Hsieh (Zappos), Blake Mycoskie (TOMS), Shawn Fanning (Napster, Rupture, Path), and Jessica Jackley (Kiva, ProFounder), among many others. And he learned that despite their different fields, they're all using similar tools to seize opportunities and redefine success. Embracing a shift in generational values, these young people share a passion for driving powerful global change while creating sustainable organizations that often blur the old boundaries between business and philanthropy.

To really "make it" these days, according to Reilly, you need to break the old corporate mold, ignore the "rules," and create your own opportunities. The true game changers are the men and women starting their own businesses, inventing jobs that didn't previously exist, and committing themselves fully to attaining astonishing success, however individually defined.

Shake the World reveals the meteoric rise (and the occasional stumbles) of a new generation of business leaders. Reilly brings their stories to life and, along the way, offers clear lessons that you can apply to your own pursuits. For example, you'll learn firsthand how:

• Doug Ulman followed his passions to become CEO of LIVESTRONG.
• Blake Mycoskie of TOMS responded to ordinary events in an extraordinary way and created a sustainable organization that changed the face of giving and the lives of millions.
• Bobby Chang used counterintuitive thinking to build the global brand Incase and applies the same techniques to problem solving in everyday life.
• Jessica Jackley of Kiva and ProFounder harnessed technology in unprecedented ways to build a powerful network and enact palpable, transformational change.
• Elizabeth Gore took a small risk during college that altered the trajectory of her life and ultimately led her to become the executive director of global partnerships at the UN Foundation.

  The role models in Shake the World define themselves not by money and title but by fulfillment and happiness. This book will light your path to greatness if you too want to shake the world. This is not just a book about finding a job. It's a book about creating an inspired life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101553749
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/29/2011
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	726 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James Marshall Reilly is an entrepreneur, a journalist, and the founder of The Guild Agency Speakers Bureau and Intellectual Talent Management. His expertise lies in the branding and marketing of cutting- edge thinkers and connecting them with audiences worldwide. He is twenty- nine years old and lives in New York City. Visit www.shaketheworldbook.com

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

1 Landing in a New Place

The Experience MBA, a Knowledge-Based GPS, and a Lifetime of Extraordinary Responses 9

2 Playing Risk

Naked Shorts, High-Beta Decisions, and Generation "Why Not?" 34

3 Finding The Right Company to Work For

New-School Capitalism, Containment Booms, Symbolic Superheroes, and Very Important Carrots 53

4 tRunning The Table

Shoot from an Angle, Lose the Training Wheels, and Focus on the Process 77

5 Sourcing The Crowd

Curate Connections, Engage Community, and Breathe Your Fire 99

6 Becoming A Disrupter

Subvert Power Structures, Raze Barriers, and Sit at the Wrong Table 128

7 Cultivating The Twenty-First-Century Polymath

Accelerate Possibilities, Incubate Ideas, and Embrace the Landscape of a Renaissance 152

8 Channeling Passion

Fly High, Live Strong, and Respond to Extraordinary Circumstances 181

9 Harnessing Capitalism For Good

Why Companies That Generate Direct Philanthropic Dividends Will Be the Trademark of This Generation 202

10 Leveraging Failure

The Ultimate Drop Test and Finding the Shoe That Fits 225

Conclusion 247

Acknowledgments 257

Index 259

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A powerful blend of inspiration and action, Shake the World offers a life-and-career plan handcrafted for the new millennium. Read this book, then head out to set the world on fire.”
—Jonathan Fields, author of Uncertainty

"At Zappos, one of our core values is to 'Embrace and Drive Change.' This book is for anyone interested in inspiring their own life to change for the better, both personally and professionally!"
— Tony Hsieh, NY Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness
 
"A new generation wants work to be about far more than making money - they want their jobs to make a positive difference to the world. James Marshall Reilly has written a compelling and optimistic first-hand account of what it means to put this excellent goal into practice."
— Matthew Bishop, New York Bureau Chief of The Economist and co-author, Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World
 
"Reilly is part of a cohort of young entrepreneurial leaders who will change this country over the next few years. Their fascinating stories and his insights will inspire and guide you as you invent your career and life while making a BIG difference."
— Peter Sims, author of Little Bets and cofounder and director of FUSEcor
 
"Charity: water was founded out of a desire to inspire a new generation of givers to solve the water crisis. In this book, Reilly introduces you to many of our friends who had the fearlessness to break the mold, and think incredibly big. Prepare to be inspired, and then to act!"
— Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of Charity: Water
 
"In this ever complex, dynamic and demanding world everyone needs to design their lives and James Marshall Reilly shows how. If you want a principled, consequential and successful life, read this book."
— Don Tapscott author of Macrowikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World
 
"This book shifts the mindset for anyone who reads it. Define your own success and then do what the best have already done to achieve it. Reilly has uncovered the secrets of the most hyper successful people of this generation. If you internalize their lessons you will accelerate the rate at which you achieve the success goals you have for yourself."
— Cameron Herold author, Double Double and Former COO 1800GOT JUNK?
 
"Forget triple bottom line companies, James Marshall Reilly documents triple-bottom line individuals-a cadre of brilliant business adventurers devoted to building a better world and-just as importantly- finding a better way to live in that world. With great storytelling and penetrating insight, Shake the World adds an entrepreneurial twist to the quest for the meaning of life."
— Steven Kotler, author of Abundance, A Small, Furry Prayer and West of Jesus

Editorial Reviews

A powerful blend of inspiration and action, Shake the World offers a life-and-career plan handcrafted for the new millennium. Read this book, then head out to set the world on fire.”
—Jonathan Fields, author of Uncertainty

"At Zappos, one of our core values is to 'Embrace and Drive Change.' This book is for anyone interested in inspiring their own life to change for the better, both personally and professionally!"

— Tony Hsieh, NY Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness

"A new generation wants work to be about far more than making money - they want their jobs to make a positive difference to the world. James Marshall Reilly has written a compelling and optimistic first-hand account of what it means to put this excellent goal into practice."

— Matthew Bishop, New York Bureau Chief of The Economist and co-author, Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World

"Reilly is part of a cohort of young entrepreneurial leaders who will change this country over the next few years. Their fascinating stories and his insights will inspire and guide you as you invent your career and life while making a BIG difference."

— Peter Sims, author of Little Bets and cofounder and director of FUSEcor

"Charity: water was founded out of a desire to inspire a new generation of givers to solve the water crisis. In this book, Reilly introduces you to many of our friends who had the fearlessness to break the mold, and think incredibly big. Prepare to be inspired, and then to act!"

— Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of Charity: Water

"In this ever complex, dynamic and demanding world everyone needs to design their lives and James Marshall Reilly shows how. If you want a principled, consequential and successful life, read this book."

— Don Tapscott author of Macrowikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World

"This book shifts the mindset for anyone who reads it. Define your own success and then do what the best have already done to achieve it. Reilly has uncovered the secrets of the most hyper successful people of this generation. If you internalize their lessons you will accelerate the rate at which you achieve the success goals you have for yourself."

— Cameron Herold author, Double Double and Former COO 1800GOT JUNK?

"Forget triple bottom line companies, James Marshall Reilly documents triple-bottom line individuals-a cadre of brilliant business adventurers devoted to building a better world and-just as importantly- finding a better way to live in that world. With great storytelling and penetrating insight, Shake the World adds an entrepreneurial twist to the quest for the meaning of life."

— Steven Kotler, author of Abundance, A Small, Furry Prayer and West of Jesus

From the Publisher

A mixture of job-search recommendations, self-help advice, anyone-can-succeed-in-business inspiration and mini-biographies of young entrepreneurs. Reilly is president of The Guild Agency Speakers Bureau and Intellectual Talent Management, where he brands and markets individuals with reputations as cutting-edge thinkers. While reflecting on his own youthful success, the author decided to interview other young outside-the-box entrepreneurs, most of whom have found a way to combine philanthropy with for-profit capitalism. Interview subjects include Blake Mycoskie of TOMS, Jessica Jackley of ProFounder, Chad Troutwine of Veritas Prep, and Tony Hsieh of Zappos. The insights are mingled in chapters whose themes are sometimes difficult to discern. While Reilly touches on the occasional early-in-life failures of his interview subjects as a demonstration of how failure can build character, he is primarily uncritical of those subjects and sometimes seems starry-eyed as he chronicles their generosities. The author makes the obvious but worthwhile point that none of the subjects was born to greatness, and he posits that their humility in the wake of success might have been a lifelong quality that contributed greatly to individual success. The book is especially relevant because, as Reilly notes, economic recessions can accelerate entrepreneurial ventures as those out of work seek fresh paths into the capitalistic culture. The pursuit of graduate and law degrees often makes sense during economic downturns. However, those credentials are not an automatic ticket to success--sometimes what has been conveyed in classroom settings stifles innovative thinking. Abstract, sometimes cryptic platitudes studded with inspirational gems.

Kirkus Reviews