Love your work, work for what you love, and change the world—all at the same time.
What matters most to you? Should you focus on earning a living, pursuing your passions, or devoting yourself to the causes that inspire you? The surprising truth is that you don’t have to choose—and that you’ll find more success if you don’t. That’s the breakthrough message of TOMS’ One for One movement. You don’t have to be rich to give back and you don’t have to retire to spend every day doing what you love. You can find profit, passion, and meaning all at once—right now.
In Start Something That Matters, Blake Mycoskie tells the story of TOMS, one of the fastest-growing shoe companies in the world, and combines it with lessons learned from such other innovative organizations as method, charity: water, FEED Projects, and TerraCycle. Blake presents the six simple keys for creating or transforming your own life and business, from discovering your core story to being resourceful without resources; from overcoming fear and doubt to incorporating giving into every aspect of your life. No matter what kind of change you’re considering, Start Something That Matters gives you the stories, ideas, and practical tips that can help you get started.
Why this book is for you:
• You’re ready to make a difference in the world—through your own start-up business, a nonprofit organization, or a new project that you create within your current job.
• You want to love your work, work for what you love, and have a positive impact on the world—all at the same time.
• You’re inspired by charity: water, method, and FEED Projects and want to learn how these organizations got their start.
• You’re curious about how someone who never made a pair of shoes, attended fashion school, or worked in retail created one of the fastest-growing footwear companies in the world by giving shoes away.
• You’re looking for a new model of success to share with your children, students, co-workers, and members of your community.
You’re ready to start something that matters.
Start Something That Matters
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Book Description
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A Letter from Author Blake Mycoskie
People often ask me what I consider my goal to be at TOMS. The truth is that it’s changed over the years. When we first began, the goal was to create a for-profit company to help the children that I met in a small village in Argentina. And that objective to give new shoes to children in need continues to be a powerful driver for me and everyone else at TOMS. But recently my personal mission has changed. Today, I would say that my goal is to influence other people to go out into the world and have a positive impact, to inspire others to start something that matters, whether it’s a for-profit business or a nonprofit organization. I feel a deep sense of responsibility to share everything that we’ve learned from TOMS, so that others can learn from both our mistakes and the counterintuitive principles that have guided our success. I would also like to share the stories of other social entrepreneurs, from all walks of life, who are taking that wonderful and courageous step forward, who are moving from thinking about doing something to actually doing it. Among many others, the leaders profiled in my book include Tony Hsieh (founder of Zappos), Scott Harrison (founder of charity: water), Lauren Bush (founder of FEED Projects), Eric Ryan & Adam Lowry (co-founders of method) and Tim Ferriss (author of The 4-Hour Workweek). Like me, all of the people featured in the book faced insecurities and fear when first starting out. All of us bootstrapped with limited resources, and made countless mistakes along the way. After reading these stories of success, I hope that you’ll realize that you already have everything you need to get started. You don’t need a lot of money, a complicated business plan, or a great deal of experience to get your idea off the ground. What you absolutely must have, however, is the courage to take that first bold step forward…. For me, the ultimate success of this book will be measured not by how many copies it sells but by the number of people whom it inspires. Are you ready to start something that matters? Carpe Diem,
Blake
About the Author
In 2006, Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS Shoes with a simple business model: “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One.” In 2011, TOMS launched its second One for One product, TOMS Eyewear, which with every pair purchased helps give sight to a person in need by providing medical treatment, prescription glasses, or sight-saving surgery. Mycoskie will be using 50 percent of his proceeds from this book to create the Start Something That Matters Fund, which will support inspired readers in their efforts to make a positive impact on the world.
When Blake isn’t working at TOMS, he spends his time reading, writing, fly-fishing, and participating in just about every board sport.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book For Business Newbies,
This review is from: Start Something That Matters (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
If you find you have a bookshelf crammed with inspirational business books - you probably don't need to make room for this one.
Though if you are just starting on a road to self discovery, finding your niche, and need some motivation, this book is most definitively for you. I love Tony Hsieh (Zappos) but found his book long, flat, bland - and I found Blake's book to be short, flat, bland (for someone that has a shelf of books crammed with business inspirational books). I've come to the conclusion that brilliant founders of successful upstarts are much better at doing than writing. If you've read Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Tom Peters, - doubtful you'll feel satisfed after reading this. If you aren't familiar with any of the authors I mentioned, then I think buying/reading this book is money and time well spent!
33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring, Encouraging,
By John Chancellor "Mentor coach" (Spring Hill, TN) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Start Something That Matters (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
It is not necessary to be a serious student of current affairs to realize that most of the institutions in our society no longer work. Our governments at all levels are dysfunctional, spending more than they take in, more concerned with the welfare of government bureaucrats than the citizens they are supposed to serve. A close look at many of the larger charitable institutions reveals that administrative cost far exceed the money spent on the stated purpose of the organizations.
It is very easy to become discouraged and disillusioned with our society and the direction it seems to be heading in. But then I read Start Something That Matters and at least I think maybe there is some hope. The story of TOMS is very inspirational. Starting with very little money but a lot of dedication and a vision for creating a dual purpose business - offering a unique product and providing free shoes to underprivileged children, the success has been exceptional. The book uses the story of TOMS as a blueprint to inspire others and to show them how to go about starting something that matters. The book does not dwell on how inefficient most government and large organizations efforts are. Instead it focused on what worked for TOMS and a few other examples highlighted in the book. At the heart of the TOMS model is transparency. There is an honest desire to help others. They did not use their charity as a means to gain free and/or favorable publicity. They kept the program simple, sell a pair of shoes, give away a pair of shoes. The book gives some general guidelines for how to model your own program that matters. The book is extremely short and very easy to read. I would have loved some more real life stories about the "shoe drops". But in keeping with Blake Mycoskie's philosophy, he kept the book short and simple. The book is meant to inspire and awaken you to the possibilities you that you can do more worthwhile things with your life. The value in this book is not so much the TOMS story but the idea that we as individuals can make a difference in the world. I believe part of the message is implied - what we have been doing does not work. There is more to life than accumulating material possessions. Trying to accomplish aid programs through government and large organizations is fraught with mismanagement, misuse and in many cases diversion of the aid. The real message is that if we want to bring the world closer together, to really help those in need, we need to do more ourselves. We should not rely on others. We are capable of starting something that matters. If you want more fulfillment in life then find some way to help others, find a cause that you believe in and then do something to bring that cause to life. Use the concepts outlined in this book and Start Something That Matters.
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love, Love, Love This Book!,
By
This review is from: Start Something That Matters (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
As a parent, I have believed that there are two jobs I had other than providing the necessities for my children and that is to teach them that there are consequences to their actions and that they can make a difference in the world.
This book is all about that way of living. It's completely entrenched in Blake's life and in his corporate culture. He donates one pair of shoes for every pair of Tom's shoes he sells. And he has made a huge difference in doing so. He will show you how with plans large or small, you can make a difference in at least one person's life, and hence the world. Every business leader, entrepreneur and thoughtful person should read this book. It forces you to look at ways you can and should do more. It certainly gave me the push I needed to change how I was running my business. I loved this book. You will too!
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