The Go-Giver Book Review
When I sat down with Dr. Robin Hickerson for our interview in the November issue of Texarkana Magazine, we hit it off instantly. It was baffling to both of us that we had never met yet shared a common ground bonding over our morning routines, circle of friends, and our love of books. As I do with most people, I asked her what she was reading, and she told me she had just finished The Women and was working through The Go-Giver with her new team at the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce. If you know Billy Power, he has likely mentioned The Go-Giver book to you as he encouraged Robin to read it and sent me the PDF of the book years ago. Truthfully, I never made time to read the PDF, but after meeting with Robin and having it brought up a second time, I made the time and listened to it in one sitting.
If you are a reader of growth and development books, I believe that you will enjoy The Go-Giver. It tells the allegorical story of Joe, an ambitious salesman who is looking for his next big sales "get," and the characters who are put on his path to remind him that it is better to give than receive and how you can apply that mindset to every facet of your life. Joe meets with Pindar, a world-class business consultant, who introduces him to the "Five Laws of Stratospheric Success."
- The Law of Value: "Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment."
- The Law of Compensation: "Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them."
- The Law of Influence: "Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first."
- The Law of Authenticity: "The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself."
- The Law of Receptivity: "The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving."
The Go-Giver is a book that sticks with you and is hard to get off your mind once you've heard the laws. I had a few important takeaways that I continued to ruminate on after I had finished reading.
- Reorient your mindset from taking from others to giving to others.
- Prioritize creating value for other people.
- Foster joy and fulfillment in others' lives.
- Nurture genuine connections and relationships.
- Don't be afraid to embrace authenticity and self-awareness.
- Assume accountability for your own success.
And the most important takeaway of all that my brain keeps coming back to was one that Dr. Hickerson had mentioned in her interview with me. It's a lesson so simple and one that I believe fully sums up the main idea of The Go-Giver. "The more you give, the more you have." Isn't it so true?
