DBC - "The Power of Starting Something Stupid" by Richie Norton

Druid’s Book Club

Quick Take: Most concepts won’t be revelations to the reader, but an excellent pep-talk for the aspiring entrepreneur.

Longer Take:

I just finished reading “The Power of Starting Something Stupid” by Richie Norton.

The premise of the book is that most great ideas are initially labelled as “stupid.” Many successful companies were initially told their ideas were stupid. Think Spanx, Uber, Airbnb, Amazon. All of these were terrible ideas until they weren’t. Norton uses the term “New Smart” to describe those who recognize that the best ideas are those that initially seem stupid. He then uses the balance of the book to convince the reader that now is the time to start their stupid idea.

I enjoyed the positive and encouraging vibe of the entire book. Norton tells lots of stories and works hard to get the reader to believe in themselves. An excellent pep-talk for the aspiring entrepreneur.

My only complaint is that most of the ideas in the book are in every other self-development book. Maybe he wasn’t writing for the person who has read tons of these books, but I would have liked more novel material.

But, I would absolutely recommend “The Power of Starting Something Stupid” for someone thinking about starting an entrepreneurial journey.

Some of My Favourite Quotes:

“People wait. They wait for that elusive day when they’ll finally have enough time (guess what?—you never will), enough education (there is always more to know), enough money (no matter how much you make, someone will always have more). They wait until the children are grown (news flash: just because they’re grown, it doesn’t mean you’re rid of them) or until things settle down at work (they never will). People wait until . . . until . . . until . . . They wait, and they wait, and they wait, until that fateful day when they wake up and realize that while they were sitting around, paying dues, earning their keep, waiting for that elusive “perfect time,” their entire life has passed them by.”

“How many ideas, opportunities, businesses, and lives are squandered because we mistakenly suppress those so-called “stupid ideas.” We all want to make the best decisions in life possible. Don’t allow life to pass you by because you are afraid of stupid.”

"The bottom line is that people with high aspirations are going to experience a proportionately high level of fear. … Here’s the real kicker: If high aspirations are equal to high fear, then the flip side to that truth is that overcoming high fear is equal to achieving high aspirations.”

“Leaders are readers.”

“Your life should consist of more than commuting, working, eating, surfing the Internet, sleeping, and watching TV. Your life should be filled with purpose-driven experiences and projects that bring excitement, passion, energy, and authentic meaning and joy into your life. I hope that as you start something stupid, you will find real meaning in your life…”

Druid’s Top Entrepreneurship Lesson: Don’t let the criticism of others prevent you from chasing your dream.