The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be. And so one day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by his many devotees simply as the Chairman.
Over the next week, Pindar introduces Joe to a series of “go-givers:” a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial adviser, a real estate broker, and the “Connector,” who brought them all together. Pindar’s friends share with Joe the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success and teach him how to open himself up to the power of giving.
Joe learns that changing his focus from getting to giving—putting others’ interests first and continually adding value to their lives—ultimately leads to unexpected returns.
Imparted with wit and grace, The Go-Giver is a heartwarming and inspiring tale that brings new relevance to the old proverb “Give and you shall receive.”
- Axiom Business Book Awards (Gold Medal)
- 2017 Living Now Book Award – Evergreen Medal for Personal Growth
- Wall Street Journal bestseller
- BusinessWeek bestseller
- #6 on Inc./8CR Bestsellers List for 2017
- #10 on Inc.’s Most Motivational Books Ever Written List
- HubSpot’s 20 Most Highly Rated Sales Books of All Time
Since the book’s publication the term “go-giver” has become shorthand for a defining set of values embraced by millions of people around the world. The expanded edition (October 2015) includes the text of the original business parable, together with a foreword by Arianna Huffington, a new introduction, a discussion guide, and a Q&A with the authors.
In December 2015, we released A Teacher’s Guide to The Go-Giver: A Curriculum for Making a Difference.
The Go-Giver — Over One Million Copies Sold!
First, what is “expanded” about this edition? Since the story stays exactly the same, here is what we added to bring more value to you:
- Discussion Guide. After the book concludes, there is now a series of thoughts and questions for discussion in order to help the reader (and groups of readers such as book clubs, sales/leadership organizations, religious organization study groups, schools/classes) to go deeper into the lessons contained in the story. So many groups such as the above are studying The Go-Giver already, we thought we’d make it even easier and more valuable.
- Author Q&A. John and I are continually asked questions regarding both the “back-story of the story” as well as to provide deeper explanations (and, even clarifications!) of the advice and suggestions in the story. Because the Laws themselves are somewhat counterintuitive a lot is left to one’s own interpretation. This is fine. However (and surprisingly enough) ☺ John and I are often asked to provide our clarifying explanations. We absolutely do that in this section.
- Introduction. John and I very briefly look back at the last 8 years of The Go-Giver movement and share our thoughts with you. There were a number of very pleasant surprises we wanted to share with you regarding the types of people and organizations that have embraced the book. And, where we think it can go from here in terms of making an impact on the world.
- Foreword by Super-Entrepreneur, Arianna Huffington. Yes, the founder and publisher of The Huffington Post herself provided a wonderful foreword for us and encourages the entrepreneurial spirit utilizing The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success from the book. How very kind of her to do that!
All in all, we feel this will provide even more value to those of you who have already bought the original version and would like the new one with these added elements.
And…
It will provide even more value to those who are purchasing it for the first time, or those to whom you are giving the book as a gift.
Foreign Language Editions
Now also available in these foreign-language editions: Afrikaans, Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese simplified (modern: mainline China and Singapore), Chinese complex (traditional: Hong Kong, Taiwan, most other Chinese communities outside mainland China), Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Ukranian, Vietnamese, and the UK edition (not pictured). (Clicking on any cover will take you to the site where you can order that edition.)
The Go-Giver Reviews
Excerpt from The Go-Giver
Pindar nodded. “Most people have that reaction. In fact, most people just laugh when they hear that the secret to success is giving.” He paused. “Then again, most people are nowhere near as successful as they wish they were.”
Joe certainly couldn’t argue that point.
“You see,” Pindar continued, “the majority of people operate with a mindset that says to the fireplace, ‘First give me some heat, then I’ll throw on some logs.’ Or that says to the bank, ‘Give me interest on my money, then I’ll make a deposit.’ And of course, it just doesn’t work that way.”
Joe frowned, trying to parse the logic of Pindar’s examples.
“You see? You can’t go in two directions at once. Trying to be successful with making money as your goal is like trying to travel a superhighway at seventy miles an hour with your eyes glued to the rearview mirror.” He took another thoughtful sip and waited for Joe to process this thought.
Joe felt as if his brain were going seventy on the highway—in reverse. “Okay,” he began slowly, “so you’re saying, successful people keep their focus on what they’re . . . giving, sharing, whatever,” he saw Pindar nod, “and that’s what creates their success?”
“Exactly,” cried Pindar. “Now we’re facing the same direction!”
“But . . . wouldn’t an awful lot of people take advantage of you?”
“Excellent question.” Pindar set his cup down and leaned forward. “Most of us have grown up seeing the world as a place of limitation rather than as a place of inexhaustible treasures. A world of competition rather than one of co-creation.” He saw that Joe was puzzled again. “Dog eat dog,” he explained. “As in, ‘Oh, sure, we all act polite on the surface, but let’s face it, it’s really every man for himself.’ That about sum it up?”
Joe admitted that it did about sum it up indeed. That’s certainly what he believed, anyway.
“Well,” said Pindar, “it’s simply not true.” He noted Joe’s skeptical look and continued. “Have you ever heard people say, You can’t always get what you want?”
Joe grinned. “You mean, the Rolling Stones?”
Pindar smiled. “Actually, I imagine people were saying that well before Mick Jagger’s time. But yes, that’s the general idea.”
“You’re not going to tell me that’s not true, are you? That we actually do get what we want?”
“No,” said Pindar, “that one is true. In life, you often don’t get what you want. But,” he leaned forward again and his voice grew softer with emphasis, “here’s what you do get—You get what you expect.”
Joe frowned again, trying to mentally test out the truth of this last thought.
Pindar leaned back and sipped his coffee, watching Joe. After a moment’s silence, he continued.
“Or put it another way: What you focus on is what you get. You’ve heard the expression, ‘Go looking for trouble and that’s what you’ll find’?”
Joe nodded.
“It’s true, and not only about trouble. It’s true about everything. Go looking for conflict, and you’ll find it. Go looking for people to take advantage of you, and they generally will. See the world as a dog-eat-dog place, and you’ll always find a bigger dog looking at you as if you’re his next meal. Go looking for the best in people, and you’ll be amazed at how much talent, ingenuity, empathy and good will you’ll find.
“Ultimately, the world treats you more or less the way you expect to be treated.”
Pindar paused for a moment to let Joe absorb that thought, then added one more.
“In fact, Joe, you’d be amazed at just how much you have to do with what happens to you.”
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