Customer Reviews

First A Dream

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jim Clayton's story is an inspiration to us all. My good friend and mentor gave me this book, which proves that hard work pays off. Many lessons can be learned from Clayton who, like other great men, worked hard, worked smart, and overcame hardships to become a success in his business and in life. Clayton's story is the quintessential `American Dream' chronicle that follows a man from his humble beginnings on a cotton farm to becoming one of the most successful businessmen in America. I recommend this book to anyone who is striving to make a dream a reality--Clayton's story is just the inspiration you need.

First a Dream, by Jim Clayton


Any book that would make Warren Buffett spend billions to buy a company after reading it needs to be read ASAP. As soon as I heard that Warren bought Clayton Homes after reading about how Jim Clayton built and ran the company I bought and read the book without delay. I have a long list of books that both Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger mentioned and recommend on my blog: www.bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston

This book made a huge impression on me, in fact I ordered it for several friends and business associates to read. It really gives you the insight and motivation to build and grow a company. There are many parts of the book that I made copies of and keep in my scrap book, such as Jim's mission statement and his company's growth history. Jim Clayton is refreshingly honest about his business successes as well as his blunders. He openly talks about bankruptcies and investigations which many would have avoided.

As with many of the books I have reviewed both on Amazon and on my blog you read about and experience what it take to be a winner in business, what kind of attitude you need and how optimism plays such an important part in any business success. One might think that fate and fortune were just waiting for Clayton to come along and take them by the hand, but you can see from this book the tremendous drive, motivation, will to succeed, optimism and foresight that went into his increasable career. If you really contemplate what it take to shake off a bankruptcy after giving a business everything you have and get right back in the game and do it all over again, it's very encouraging for anyone that has had a few tough times in business.

By Kevin Kingston, author of: A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate


My Blog:
http://www.bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston

I got the reference to this book from one of Warren Buffett's letters to the shareholders. Warren Buffett got a copy of this book from the interns at his company, and he got interested with the company and management, then bought Clayton Homes.

This book is Jim Clayton's life story from being a sharecropper's son to banker, philanthropist. First few chapters about his childhood and school are boring, and you might get interested starting from his used car dealer business. And then all the chapters about his life as an entrepreneur, evolution of this cars and home businesses. The story ends with Clayton Homes being bought by Berkshire Hathaway and his banking acquisitions and philanthropic activities. This book is good read for anyone with business mind or entrepreneurship qualities.

This book is an inspirational story of rags to riches. It is a confirmation that hard work, strong moral values and perserverance are the tools needed to succeed in business, but for this reader, "First A Dream" has a spirtual element to it as well.

Jim Clayton has had many "Happenings" in his life and his gift to others via this book was sharing them. He remembers and appreciates each person who has participated in his journey. When you read this book, you not only learn some valuable business lessons, you learn that it's important to be in the moment (or you might miss a Happening)! Reading his book was a "Happening" for me.

T.McCoy
Tennessee
Sept. 2009

I was inspired to buy this book after hearing Jim Clayton speak at a conference to Mobile Home Investors. I was encouraged by his talk of integrity in the workplace with employees and customers. However, in the book I was saddened by the fact that he was divorced TWICE because of both his wives being neglected. He explained in the book that if a Clayton Home customer had a problem they would do whatever it takes to make them a happy customer. I guess that does not apply to his personal life. I realize that he could have omitted the divorce details from his book and to his credit he did not say anything negative about his ex-wives except that the divorces were expensive.

I give this book 3 stars because I believe a business owner could learn alot from Jim Clayton but we all need to make sure our wives and children are held in higher esteem than our careers.

Jim Clayton is nothing short of a hard working, motivated individual that should inspire us all to "be our best selves" and realize our full potential in life. This book is filled with whimsical stories and anecdotes along with sound business advice and motivational words for success and longevity. It's a great read for anyone who needs to be convinced that the "American Dream" ideal is alive and well in this country. A big round of applause for Jim Clayton...and he's a great entertainer, too!

I found First A Dream to be a tremendoulsy depressing read. After the first 200 pages the story begins to transpire into a modern day Shakespearean tragedy. One after another marriages ends in divorce.

In regard to his personal life, family members are only mentioned if they are employees at his local "Hee Haw" show or at Clayton Mobile Homes. Each businessman or major employee that Mr. Clayton came into contact with over a forty year period in his professional career is painstakingly described in depth.

After nearly 350 pages of in depth descriptions of "Joe the Mechanic" and "Dave the Banker" ther reader is given the opportunity to find out about the people that were truely behind the success of Jim Clayton, his family. Unfortunately, each of his children is provided with only a 3-4 line paragraph on the last two pages of the book.

This is a very easy book to read and gives experiences that are easy to relate to. An interest to anyone who is in business or wants to go into business. The story of an entrepeneur's entrepeneur. It not only relates the many varied experiences, but briefly describes the lesson it taught the author and how it impacted his development as one of the American success stories. It's great for anyone that knows this man and lessons learned for anyone else. I suggest it as an illuminating read.

This was a good book for anyone to read. A true story of the "American Dream."

Being a Knoxvillian, I enjoyed this book and admire Mr. Clayton's perseverance through the tough times.