I recently read the book Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh.  I thought it was an excellent read that touched upon many of his businesses and ways of thinking about things. Here are 10 lessons I learned from the book…

  1. Do things that you enjoy doing– this sometimes takes time to figure out, but when you do figure it out everything gets easier.  For Tony, this was entrepreneurship.
  2. Try experiments always– experiments is just a way of testing something out and getting feedback.  Try this for many areas of your life. Also, for experiments related to business, don’t be afraid if your money goes up and down.  The key is to learn something from each experiment or endeavor.
  3. Always be meeting people.  Put yourself in a position to help others and receive help from others.
  4. Ask for what you want.  When you do meet people, don’t be afraid of asking for what you want.  Most people don’t know what it is you are looking for until you tell them.
  5. Take risks.  Taking a risk is a way to get a return so take chances.
  6. Read a lot of books and always be learning.  Leaders are readers.
  7. Organize people.  Be the leader.  This could be organizing a meet-up, a project at work, starting a business, organizing a community group, or whatever.
  8. Be productive– Tony wrote the book in a weekend.  With focus and hard work, there is no limit to what you can accomplish.
  9. Figure out what table you want to sit at– Tony plays a lot of poker and he describes that you have to think about what table you want to play at in regards to industry or business.  This can also apply to where you live as well.  And if it is not what you are looking for, it is never to late to change tables.
  10. Finally, happiness is the core of everything– only do things that make you happy because happiness is the secret to success and the secret to fulfillment. Trading things for happiness is not a good trade.

Hope these help!  Now go put them into practice.