The book by that “Thankyou” guy
I just spent a weekend in Melbourne, one of my favourite cities, relaxing and drinking coffee. I love the coffee in Melbourne, I feel it sets the bar for Australia and is always onto the next trend at least a year before the other states catch up. We stayed at a hotel just around the corner from the Queensberry Pour House , I love the simplicity, excellence and overall vibe of that Cafe. While there I had the chance to sit down and read a book called Chapter One by Daniel Flynn , this book seemed quite unique in how it was packaged and sold.
I noticed the book sitting on a bench at a local coffee shop (shout out to my current favourite in Brisbane – Blacksmith Specialty Coffee ), my wife mentioned it was by the Thankyou guy. I saw it again that daysitting on a prominent shelf at an airport cafe / bookstore called Watermark (by the way, their prices and combo store makes for a great model, the Campos coffee was reasonable also). The layout was landscape with the words written top down like you were holding an ancient scroll and it got me interested.
Since I have not bought a physical book for many years – aside from Ready Player One I purchased IRL in February – I went to Google and found that they had a ‘pay what you want model’. I found this the most interesting, after Radiohead’s In Rainbows and the Indie Humble Bundle I thought it was cool but maybe not that new, then I read that the physical actual book (real ink on paper) was being sold in that model also.
My interest was piqued, I had heard snippets of the story if Thankyou over the years as a friend of a friend was related to the CEO and Thankyou water was always the cheapest option at my local 7/11. I purchased the digital version at a reasonable $20 price point, emailed the .mobi file to my Kindle and got started.
Key Highlights
The book was an incredible and inspirational read, here are my three favourite highlights / quotes.
1. Stepping out of your comfort zone
What is important is that once you get out of your comfort zone, you begin to actually ask questions – and you start thinking and challenging what you’ve always accepted as the norm.
This is a challenging one for me personally, my default is to keep things predictable and safe, looking forward to stepping out more.
2. The game will change
Some people don’t think the game will ever change. But it always does.
This is incredibly true, and the byproduct of this truth is that we can be the people who get surprised when change comes or the ones making the change (or at least embracing the change as it happens).
3. Celebrate the wins
… there will always be more to do. Before you go again, you must enjoy [celebrate] the win.
This is another one that challenged me, I so easily look to the next thing and feel that I have not achieved, completed or done enough but rarely take the time to look back to celebrate and be thankful. It is even better to celebrate the wins with others in a practical way.
Closing Thoughts
I really think this book is worth your time and beyond a doubt your money. Reading through Daniel’s story and his passion for what they are doing is overwhelming at times but like anything worth doing it takes courage and commitment.
Firstly, this book will actually make a difference in you and also in what this company aims to achieve.
Secondly, you will be investing in a unique way, kind of like a Kickstarter where the end product is a seed fund for this enterprise to grow. My favourite wallet was from a Kickstarter project, I even bought their second one – it took a while for me to get it but I felt a part of the journey in a small but exciting way. You can be a part of the Thankyou journey which is way more exciting IMO.