Donny Deutsch’s The Big Idea: The Book.

I’ve been having a hard time actually admitting to the world that I picked up Donny Deutsch’s book, The Big Idea.  His show is not my cup of tea.  And most of the time, I pass on those books filled with generic, full-of-zest pep talks about how to succeed by making green tea and just dreaming big!

To my surprise, Deutsch’s collection of success stories was inspiring.  From Alton Brown to Miley Cyrus to Martha Stewart to Spanx’s Sara Blakely, he succinctly writes about the biggest names entrepreneurial success stories.  But he does so in a way that does not distance these superstars’ stories from our own.  Deutsch turns each of them into real people and actually had me making notes like, “how to get Tarte Cosmetics‘ distribution” and “change the world like TOMS Shoes.”

I did spent the last two months reading through about 20 different business books — and while it still pains me to write it, this book was one of my faves.  Read through the hokey bits to the real life stories and tell me if they inspire you, too.

(By the way, kudos to Catherine Whitney whose name is on the cover and who I’m guessing co-wrote the book–I don’t know who she is but further proof that behind every great man is a greater woman.)