I've got a pretty colorful past.
I got my first job when I was fourteen-years old, working behind the counter of a fast-food restaurant at Northbrook Court shopping mall in Northbrook, Illinois.
After all, I needed to save up money to buy a TRS-80 Model I computer from Radio Shack!
Once I acquired my driver's license, I worked in the health & beauty department at Venture. Yes, I was a stockboy.
At the age of seventeen, I was fortunate enough to get hired for one of my best jobs ever, a "grunt" at a video store in Deerfield, Illinois. Surrounded by Apple computers, big-screen televisions and Atari video game cartridges, I was almost in heaven!
After several years of nightclub DJing my way through college at the University of Illinois, I moved to Dallas and eventually began my sales career.
You know the commercials with the old woman who says "I've fallen and I can't get up"?
Yes, I sold emergency alert systems for a time. Don't laugh. I did pretty well.
When I was at that job, I remember striking up a business friendship with a man by the name of Phil Fisher.
Phil was a seasoned salesman. He seemed like the kind of guy who had made a profession out of selling whatever he could to make a living. And he appeared quite knowledgable, gaining my respect in short order.
One of the things Phil taught me is that the world's best leaders are almost always readers.
Well, since I already had a love for books, I guess I wasn't surprised at this theory and I still enjoy reading quite a bit to this day.
I've just created a new video to discuss five books which I believe are essential for all Internet marketers and entrepreneurs. I think you'll enjoy these and I highly recommend picking them up at Amazon.
Top Business Book Recommendations
What are some of YOUR favorite books for business? Please be sure to let me know in the comments section of the site.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
March 24, 2008 09:21 PM
Good story of your past Joel! Reminds me of my days DJing to make extra money to buy my Commodore 64. I also worked at a Carl's Jr. restaurant which gave me great customer service exposure. And your video store experience sparked the memory of my wife and I when we first got married in the mid 80's, we used to rent videos at a local shop here in SoCal. The guy we knew behind the counter used to tell us he was writing movies and someday he would have his videos in stores. We used to laugh and tell him he was crazy. Turns out, his name is Quentin Tarantino. Go figure!
Keep up giving great information that we can actually use.