Most bucket lists start off with swim in the world’s largest swimming pool or fly in a hot air balloon over the Loire Valley or run the New York Marathon, etc. I guess these are great ideas. But for me, my list is very much a “Geek’s Bucket List.”
Kiss Carrie Fisher(obviously this is never going to happen)- Meet John Carmack
- Have dinner with Kevin Mitnick (unfortunately, Kevin passed away July 16, 2023)
- Challenge John Romero to a Quake deathmatch
- Pitch my business plan/idea to Mark Cuban
- Organize & promote a Billy the Fridge and YTCracker charity benefit concert
I’m an older geek, and as such, I remember when AudioNet became Broadcast.com. And I also remember when Cuban purchased the Dallas Mavericks; which to me, an avid fan of professional sports (I’m only 90% geek), thought to myself (long before it was popular), “And the geeks shall inherit the Earth.”
I mean come on, a GEEK owns a pro basketball team? Nerds and geeks in high school have always been the favorite targets of the jocks, the popular kids, the “in crowd.” Yes, I am well aware, Paul Allen bought the Portland Trailblazers and the Seattle Seahawks before Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks; however, Paul Allen, while an O.G. (Original Geek) having left Microsoft in 1982, never really registered on my radar.
Needless to say, I have admired Mark Cuban from afar for years. As a HUGE Shark Tank fan, I was thrilled when he joined the show (though a bit disappointed he was filling the vacancy left when my favorite Shark, Kevin Harrington, exited the Tank).
I made it a goal to read 300 books in 2018, and included Cuban’s How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It on my list, making it book number four. I’m glad I did.
How to Win at the Sport of Business is written just as Cuban states in the prologue, it is a collection of blog posts. Much like reading my posts here, as you read, you get a sense of who the author is and what they have done; and even insight into what they will do in the future. Not really an autobiographical book, nor is it a self-help book, How to Win at the Sport of Business is a book about life-experiences.
Where most books of this type only highlight the highs of success, and only speak in terms of business; I really enjoyed how Cuban shares the details that other authors might sweep under the rug; not just the highs, but also the lows, telling us more of his life story.
While Cuban didn’t actually say it in his writing, I don’t doubt that Cuban believes the words of my new favorite motto: The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.
For a short, entertaining read full of great business advice, I recommend How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It.
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