Our friend, Peter Han, had a book reading/signing at the University Village Barnes & Noble this eveing, and it was really fantastic. The name of the book is Nobodies to Somebodies: How 100 Great Careers Got Their Start, and he’s been touring the country promoting it. He spoke with the crowd for ~45 minutes, and talked about his motivation for writing the book (he and his best friend both felt confused about how they’d make their dreams a reality), the process he went through to get the book’s contributors (ranging from Senator Bill Bradley to the CEO of Best Buy, Brad Anderson) to offer their stories and advice (he essential cold-emailed a massive number of people and worked his way tenaciously through the response rate!).
It was very compelling for a number of reasons:
1) Peter is an incredibly busy full time employee at a local software company, and he found the time to not only pull of this book, but also has been filming and producing an upcoming film, called What It Takes, covering world-class triathletes — where does he find the time?!?
2) The book’s topic is a very solid one — many younger people wonder how, or even if, they’ll make the transition to greatness. Peter’s approach yielded very concrete advice and stories from people — I think this will be an inspiration for young readers.
3) His list of contributors was so impressive… included Fortune 1000 CEOs, Nobel Prize-Winning Scientists, Senators, Governors & Cabinet Members, Emmy, Tony, Oscar & Grammy-Winning Artists, Pulitzer Prize-Winning & Best-Selling Writers, and Non-Profit Leaders