Disrupt You by Jay Samit
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
Morning Readers & Happy Monday!
When I first started this Blog in May I was supercharged with inspiration, I was ready to read everything I could get my hands on and was positive that I could compete with top book-reviewers. Needles to say, any new venture you take on is going to be hard work, and it might even take some time to catch, and I’ve been constantly re-evaluating my process and technique. So when I realized that this book was unread & in my Audible library, I knew I had to listen to it.
Throughout Disrupt You, digital media innovator Jay Samit explores how to harness disruption as a tool for growth. Drawing on his own experiences in the tech industry, Samit shares strategies for identifying opportunities, challenging conventional thinking, and turning obstacles into advantages. The book combines practical advice, case studies, and motivational insights to help readers reinvent themselves, launch innovative businesses, and thrive in an era of constant change. Ultimately it drives home the idea that Disruption isn’t about what happens to you, it’s how you respond to what happens to you that defines who you are and what you are capable of creating.
I was about half way through when I realized I absolutely had to buy this as an actual book, I needed the ability to read and absorb the words, the time to truly review and soak them in. Jay does an absolutely beautiful job of following a narrative storyline, presenting case studies and encouraging the reader (or listener) to continuously challenge not only the status quo, but their own way of thinking as well.
So many quotes that I loved, again it was a matter of which ones do I leave out as opposed to which ones do I include… :
“That night, thinking about who I was and how desperate I was to make my mark in the business world, I began what I would later come to call self disrupting. I analyzed all the pieces that came together to form my identity, I began to define what unique experiences and knowledge I had that would set me apart from my peers. I thought about the way I made decisions, how I processed and responded to information, how I approached problems. I thought about the way I presented myself to the world and how I communicated my abilities to potential business partners and clients. And I thought about how I was spending my time and energy. If I was going to find opportunities to make a name for myself in the world, I was going to have to change something about my approach.”
“I’ve realized that businesses, whether they make dog food or software, don’t sell products, they sell solutions”
“With the presence of the pistol, the sword was made obsolete…for a product or a process to be truly disruptive, it must create a new market and transform an existing business model””
“There is a difference between failing and failure. Failing is trying something that you learn doesn’t work. Failure is throwing in the towel and giving up. I refused to be a failure”
“Being a successful disrupter is to be apply your unique experience and viewpoint to find opportunity…Disruption isn’t about what happens to you, it’s about how you respond to what happens to you… the ability to look for opportunity in every obstacle, to respond to every setback as a new beginning… Deconstruct the problem and solve for the new opportunity””
“Our lives and careers are determined by our acceptance or rejection of our perceived limitations.”
“Are you devoting the time and energy necessary to achieve your dreams…the most successful people have the same 24 hours in a day as you day, the only difference is that they take control of their time.”
“Now that I am on the wrong side of 40, I realized that the problem I faced back then wasn’t senior management not getting it, but rather my inability to communicate my vision in a context that they could comprehend… It is not incumbent on the world to conform to your vision of change, it is up to you to explain the future in terms that those living in the past and present can follow”
“Data is the most rational and productive member of any startup team… data may disappoint but it never lies”
“So many entrepreneurs have tried to build a better mouse trap that the US patent and trademark office has issued over 4,400 patents for mousetraps”… in our interconnected mass-market world, even the smallest incremental improvement in design and manufacturing efficiency can yield billion dollar results… Design is crucial to how products are perceived by consumers, it determines how users feel about a product. Poor design presents a world of opportunity.”
“100% of nothing is nothing, but 50% of something can be worth millions.. I’d rather own half the Pacific ocean than own half of Lake Eerie.”
Alec Brownstein is also quoted saying, “don’t be afraid to put yourself out there in an interesting way, the people you want to work for can’t hire you less than they already are so shoot for the moon”. While Robin Matthew is quoted, “Design is where science and art break even”
I absolutely can not wait to re-read this book and think that so many of its point apply not only to business, but to everyday life, and learning how to build one’s character as well.
They say we have the same 24 hours in a day as Beyonce, how are you taking control of your hours today? What’s one step you’re taking today that is building towards forward movement?
-Anna R.
*As always if you purchase through any of the links in this post, or throughout this blog, a small commission comes back to help support the page & what I do here!
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
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