I just finished reading a book that a good friend gave to me last week (you know, one of those “you’re going to love this book because I did…” offerings you get nine a week of?) that I once I picked it up in earnest, I couldn’t put it down!
The funny thing is that I really doubted that this persons taste in literature and mine would be able to find common ground as she is a couple decades older than I am and hates to read.
But then she said the magic words…”It was too techie for me, so most of it went over my head, except at the end.”
So she handed me a paperback copy of “Me, Myself, & Bob: A True Story About Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables,” Phil Vischer’s autobiography about how he created VeggieTales, BigIdea Productions and how he handled its ultimate downfall and bankruptcy…one look at the cover and I laughed and said “Ok, I’ll give this a shot, as soon as I can.”
I now have only two regrets: (1) That I waited over a week to crack it open; and, (2) that I’m finished reading it.
Publishers Weekly hit the mark saying “Hilarious even when describing his headlong plunge into bankruptcy.”
Not wanting to “give to much away,” let me just say this in the hopes that you too might latch onto a copy of this book and then spread it around to friends and family: Until I read this autobiography of the rise and fall of the VeggieTales creator, Phil Vischer, I had no idea that either VeggieTales or Big Idea Productions was ever in any kind of financial trouble, nor that the company was no longer owned by its founder and being run, by 2003, by a media outfit that had bought the company in a bankruptcy sale!
Reading this book I found the answer to several other deep thinking questions as well…like, who is the voice of Larry the Cucumber?
And of Bob the Tomato?
Just what kind of a nutcase could think up all those wonderfully quirky, absolutely uplifting and morally encouraging videos?
Anyway, it goes without saying…EVERYONE should read this…it’s about business and how to, how not to, approach and run a company.
It’s about a little boy who becomes enthralled with Walt Disney and animation after his first trip through Disneyland.
It’s about heart, courage, drive, ambition, unparalleled success, and yes, utter failure…but it doesn’t leave you at that point with a “oh well, life goes on…” ending.
So, what’s any of this have to do with IT and technology?
Well, it could be all the ‘cool stuff’ that Phil discovers from 1980 to 2003, how technology changed his life, made his dream come true, outfitted his business.
Or it could be about how important it is to keep current on trends, be fiscally sound in your decisions.
About how to, and how not to, pick your business partners, leaders and co workers and employees; the benefits of solid training…’cuz it’s all in there.
But hey, I say, read because you’ll be fascinated by living the dream vicariously through Phil; laughing, shouting, cheering, even crying…and only Uber Geeks can interact with a BOOK that way.
So how about it? Are you Uber enough for this book? Get a copy and find out.
Until next time…
