Wise Guy

Lessons from a Life

By: Guy Kawasaki

Narrated by: Dan John Miller

Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Silicon Valley icon and best-selling author Guy Kawasaki shares the unlikely stories of his life and the lessons we can draw from them.

Guy Kawasaki has been a fixture in the tech world since he was part of Apple's original Macintosh team in the 1980s. He's widely respected as a source of wisdom about entrepreneurship, venture capital, marketing, and business evangelism, which he's shared in best-selling books such as The Art of the Start and Enchantment. But before all that, he was just a middle-class kid in Hawaii, a grandson of Japanese immigrants, who loved football and got a C+ in ninth-grade English.

Wise Guy, his most personal book, is about his surprising journey. It's not a traditional memoir but a series of vignettes. He toyed with calling it Miso Soup for the Soul, because these stories (like those in the Chicken Soup series) reflect a wide range of experiences that have enlightened and inspired him.

For instance, you'll follow Guy as he...

• Gets his first real job in the jewelry business - which turned out to be surprisingly useful training for the tech world.
• Disparages one of Apple's potential partners in front of that company's CEO, at the sneaky instigation of Steve Jobs.
• Blows up his Apple career with a single sentence, after Jobs withholds a pre-release copy of the Think Different ad campaign: "That's okay, Steve, I don't trust you either."
• Reevaluates his self-importance after being mistaken for Jackie Chan by four young women.
• Takes up surfing at age 62 - which teaches him that you can discover a new passion at any age, but younger is easier!

Guy covers everything from moral values to business skills to parenting. As he writes, "I hope my stories help you live a more joyous, productive, and meaningful life. If Wise Guy succeeds at this, then that's the best story of all."

©2019 Guy Kawasaki (P)2019 Penguin Audio

fast-paced rapid fire delivery of sage advice

an awesome book that will force you to master rewind and bookmarking capabilities....that and listening to it more than once is a given. Simple and revealing in its delivery.

New Oregon Fan

I have to admit I vaguely knew of Guy’s work but saw a recommendation from fellow surfer Bob Pearson and was intrigued to learn the connection.
I loves Guy’s outlook on life and principals he lives by. I am definitely a new fan and looking forward to reading more of his work.
Guy, thank you for the hard work of putting this book together. You’ve not only earned a new fan but a new friend in the lineup. If you ever find yourself in Oregon I’ll have a spot saved for you right next to me🤙.

Great Professional and Personal Wisdom

I came across Guy as I was working out and perusing different Ted Talks. Guy was vibrant and his message resonated with me. I actually purchased a book about influence via his recommendation during his talk, finished it, then thought I would Google whether Guy had any material published. Yes. Yes he does :). I appreciated the way he shared vulnerable stories that enable us to connect and grow ourselves. Being a busy human, I also appreciate that he concluded each story with a “wisdom” follow-up. It meant that if you had been passively listening, it’s time to tune in for a nugget of knowledge. In the simplest terms, this book made me better. Guy being hardworking and super successful yet never missing his children’s games is something that I aspire to achieve. Many, many lessons here, it would be a disservice if you did not check this out.

Cheers,

Warren

Wise indeed!

Great lessons on life, work and family! I highly enjoyed it and would recommend it!

Wisdom from one Wise Guy - Don't miss this one!

Guy Kawasaki worked with Steve Jobs at Apple and was an Apple Evangelist during his second stint in Cupertino. Therefore, if you are an Apple fan or historian, you will love this book and the stories and wisdom inside. That is a given. He has obviously done a lot more than 2 stints at Apple but that is probably his most well-known role. He has performed in many others and you will learn about some of them inside Wise Guy.

However, even if you are not an Apple fan, and your only apple device is an iPod 4th and 7th generation, like me, there is a good chance you will still love the stories and wisdom inside of Wise Guy. I know I did. I have read and learned from some of his other books, APE, The Art of the Start, The Art of Social Media to name a few.

I not only am not an Apple fan, but we are also from opposite sides of the political thought spectrum. So you might ask why I would buy and read a book written by someone so obviously different than me? Aren't you just supposed to buy and listen to books written by people with which you agree? I think not. This wise Guy Kawasaki is a master storyteller and has much wisdom gained over his lifetime that I can learn from so I would be silly not to take advantage of his decision to share that with me. Although sometimes my wife and kids say I am silly, in this regard, I am not. I like to read books that entertain, educate and motivate and this one does all three. So don't be silly and get your copy today.

One of his pearls of wisdom inside is, "people are more similar than they are different," and the fact I am writing this review recommending this book is proof of that maxim. There are many more pearls inside including,

1) Old people rule - you are going to become your parents.
2) To be a writer, you need to be a reader (also advice Stephen King gives aspiring writers) and the book that helped him most in writing his 15 books.
3) The toughest teachers are the best.
4) There absolutely are absolute rights and wrongs.

I could go on, but I hope something here has piqued your interest enough to get your copy of Wise Guy today. You will be glad you did.

Guy is The Guy !

I was recommended of this book by a business associate whom I’ve done business with from way back.

Guy has a great way for story telling, I love his no nonsense, get to the point, totally honest style of sharing on not just business experiences but also great life tips. I would totally recommend to anyone who is looking for a bit of direction re-alignment in life (like me) not because one is lacking of, but a new and honest view from a different angle that may yield unexpected surprises.

Great job Guy - I really hope this will not be your last book, as I’m sure you still have so much more to offer to the world 😁

It’s more interesting in the beginning

The first 1/3-1/2 is much better than the rest.

If you know Guy Jawasaki from the early days of the Internet, you will most probably like it.

It's all true

Having just met Guy and his family on NYE, I can attest to the fact that he is a standup guy. Always smiling and seemingly always kind and supportive of his family. Guy if you're looking to adopt another child, I volunteer myself. :)

Good overall lessons but not mind-blowing!

I enjoyed this book on the surface, but found it to be lacking in any real advice. By his own admission Guy has fallen or stumbled into most of the triumphs of his life. I found it humorous and I appreciate the stardust that he's made out of. For many people this just doesn't happen no matter what they do. I personally will take a few gems from the book. I guess that's all anyone really needs is a few gems anyway.

Great book with inspiring messages and lessons

I've had this book on my Audible wish list since I saw Guy post a note about it on LinkedIn. My exposure to Guy came from a link to one of his TED Talks, which was my gateway into following him. There are several instances in this book where he touches on topics he discussed in previous forums. I found this enjoyable because I could tell those moments or topics made an impact on him since they kept coming up.

The narrator is Dan John Miller and I was pleased to find his pace, tone, cadence matched the content of Guy's words perfectly. Guy is a noted public speaker so I would have enjoyed hearing his stories and learnings in his own voice. This is not a criticism of Miller. His narration was great for this book.

The pace of the book is easy to follow. I listen on my commute to and from work. I have found myself sitting in my car in the driveway waiting to go inside because I want to finish a section. Each section ends with words of wisdom, which is great. You get the story and then the takeaway to apply in your own life.

Wisdom: Learn from those who you consider successful and never stop learning. Now I have to go double check my review for double spaces, passive voice, adverbs and correct usage of "which" and "that".