Writing Books for Their Own Sake, Not Just Speaking Gigs

How do evangelism and business go hand in hand? Well, for today’s guest, evangelism is the purest form of sales. 

Guy Kawasaki is the Chief Evangelist at Canva and former Chief Evangelist for the Macintosh Division at Apple. He’s a prolific author, speaker, and podcaster, with hit books like Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference, Wiser Guy: Life-Changing Revelations and Revisions from Tech's Chief Evangelist, and Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions.

Guy and Greg discuss his evolving career path, why his work’s focus has shifted over time from how to succeed in business to how to succeed in life, the practicalities of sales, evangelism, and the overlooked necessity of these skills in business education. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is evangelism the purest form of sales?

42:25: I believe that sales is a very necessary and important skill. I would say that maybe evangelism is the purest form of sales. The difference between evangelism and most sales is that in evangelism, you have the other person's best interests at heart, not just yours.

Remarkable doesn't mean reach and famous

24:45: Remarkable does not mean rich or famous, although you can be rich or famous and remarkable. But it's really about the impact you've made on the world. And I don't mean you have to sell 300 million iPhones or 300 million computers; it's really what have you done?

Stop chasing passion, start pursuing interest

14:15: So the bar is so high for a passion. So a lot of people are saying, oh my God, I'm 22 years old, I haven't found my passion yet, what's wrong with me? I'm an underachiever. And what I think you should do instead is have your eyes open, you should have your brain open, i.e., a growth mindset. And whatever interests you, you should pursue it until you can discover if you really like it; maybe then it'll turn into a passion. But to look for Passion, capital P, out the gate is doing yourself a disservice.

The three general qualities of remarkable people

27:29: I've noticed that remarkable people have three general qualities. First of all, they have the growth mindset of Carol Dweck. If you have a growth mindset, you better back that up with a grit mindset of Angela Duckworth, because if you have a growth mindset, you're going to try things like surfing and hockey that you're not good at for years. So you need to persevere and have grit. And then the final thing you need is a grace mindset. So it's growth, grit, grace.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

• Dr. Robert Cialdini | Remarkable People podcast 
• Dr. Robert Cialdini | unSILOed podcast
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition by Robert Cialdini
• If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland
• Carol Dweck
• Angela Duckworth

Guest Profile:

• Professional Website
• Remarkable People podcast

Guest Work:

• Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference
• Wiser Guy: Life-Changing Revelations and Revisions from Tech's Chief Evangelist
• Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
• The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
• Rules For Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services
• The Macintosh Way

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