The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living

Rating:
Summary: Not just silicon
Review: While this book may appear to be a period piece from the glory days of Silicon Valley, I think that the author's main points are important in any business environment. His distinction between "passion" and "drive" was helpful: too many of us mistake the latter for the former, assuming that our level of commitment and work ethic equates to "passion," and pouring our energies into sustaining a business or a job that doesn't sustain US.

Having been there and done that, I wholeheartedly agree with his criticism of the "deferred life plan." If you start out to earn a living based on your passion, you may fail at a particular business, but you'll learn a lot that will help you with the next one, and you'll still have the passion to sustain you. But if your ambition is to make a lot of money from a business that doesn't engage you so that you can quit and follow your passion, then if it fails you'll be no closer to following your passion; if it succeeds but doesn't make you a billionaire overnight (like most businesses), you'll be stuck running a business that diverts you from following your passion.

The book is well-told and amusing, and I felt it was well worth reading. (My answer to the monk's riddle was: drop the chicken before it lays the egg. I guess I'm not Zen enough.)