I am so proud to announce that my wife has signed a deal to have her book Seeing Cinderella published by Aladdin M!X. I just wanted to share this great news with you because this is a huge cause for celebration in the Lundquist household right now. Gary Vaynerchuk talks about “crushing it” and living out your passion. Well, my wife is a good example of that, and I am inspired. In her own words:

For the last five years I’ve been writing fiction whenever I could squeeze the time in—before the kids woke up, nap time, while I was waiting for the chicken to roast, when I should have been cleaning the house (which, sadly, gives you a pretty good idea of my housecleaning abilities). I am happy to announce that I have accepted an offer from Aladdin M!X (an imprint of Simon and Schuster) to publish my middle grade novel, Seeing Cinderella, in the spring of 2012.

Check out my wife’s website if you wish at www.JennyLundquist.com. Thanks for celebrating with us.

This is an inspiring video by Gary Vaynerchuk. He is the author of the book Crush It and I think he has some good points to consider for business and the way things have changed in recent years, not to mention his encouragement to follow your passions and do what you love. Today is actually the first day of my Crush It book club too, so I am very excited. Anyway, I’m sitting here typing up an appraisal report and listening to this in the background. Yes, there is a VERY long list of potty language, but putting that aside, what do you think? What stands out to you about what this guy is saying?

I mentioned previously that I was planning to get together a group of local business-minded people to read through the book “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk, so I wanted to update you on the details. Right now there are 4 members in the group and since we can accommodate 8 or so there is still room for you to join. We’ll be meeting at Rancho Cordova City Hall in the Chamber of Commerce board room on Tuesdays in August from 2:30-4:00pm. This is not an open meeting once our capacity is reached, but I wanted to give you specifics in case the time and place work for you. Thanks Barbara for working out the meeting place.

If you are interested in being a part of this group, let me know ASAP. I’d love to see a diverse group to help foster great conversation. Call 916.595.3735 or email me at ryan@LundquistCompany.com. This is about growing in business, building relationship, and thinking through ideas together.

Would you be interested in reading through the book “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk? I put together a little business book club earlier this year and I’d like to take a stab at Round 2. The main idea is that during one month local business-minded people get together at a coffee shop once a week for 60-90 minutes to talk about a few chapters of a book. This is a short commitment, but good on a few levels. It helps us bounce around ideas, grow, learn together and form stronger relationships. This book is very well liked too, so I’m looking forward to absorbing the content together.

The last book we read was Trust Agents. Depending on our meeting location, we might just do locals only (I’ll keep you posted Bryan & Tom since you guys joined last time from Georgia & Alabama). We’ll see on that point.

I don’t have set times yet, though I’m thinking we can start in later July or the beginning of August on Tuesdays or Thursdays from 2-3:30pm. Let me know if you’re interested or if a different time works for you. I’d like to meet somewhere near the Rancho Cordova area or Sacramento. The best group size will be 8 or so people – and from different types of businesses. If it turns out that August is too busy for us based on vacations and such, then we’ll just make it happen in September when things theoretically slow down.

I’ve asked a few local business owner friends to read through a book called Trust Agents starting next month. So far our book readers consist of several real estate appraisers, a photographer, editor of a local online publication, real estate agent and hopefully a broker. I should mention we do have an appraiser from Georgia too who will be reading along with us (he just won’t be at the meetings in CA).

This is a low-key gathering and not a networking meeting. Like I told everyone, this is an informal get-together and a social opportunity to grow in business with other locals. The goal is to openly ponder this highly recommended book and think out loud together about the content. It should be fun, and I have a feeling we’ll learn a lot and sharpen each other’s business skills too. 

If this group goes well, maybe I’ll put together a couple more since I’ve been meaning to read Crush It and The 4-Hour Workweek. Do you have any books to suggest? Has there been a particular author who has formed your thinking for business or life? Also, if you’ve read Trust Agents, what did you think?