Knockout Entrepreneur [With Nelsonfree]

George Foreman, a two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, and successful entrepreneur with The George Foreman Grill, shows readers how he transitions successfully from one career to another. With his book everybody has a fair fighting chance. Foreman offers advice from his book like: Find a need and fill it - the secret to success is doing something that fills a need. Listen to Your Corner - Every successful boxer has at least three people in his corner, helping him to be his best. Most importantly, never, ever allow a negative person to be in your corner. Never Listen to the Crowd - Usually the crowd doesn't know what you are really about. Make It Good - Some people say being successful is all about luck - being at the right place at the right time. However, Foreman found the opposite to be true, "The harder I work, the luckier I get." Foreman closes his book with a chapter on celebrating your success. Interestingly enough, he immediately gets to the heart of the matter. He says, "You have achieved enough of your goals that you can kick back and enjoy." What this great boxer, this great social entrepreneur stresses is that everything you set your mind to is achievable, with goals. So, this new year's resolution...no matter what it is you want to achieve in the new year...make it your goal. Forget resolutions. Set an achievable goal and create the game plan around it. I thought this was a great, easy-to-read, and detailed book on how to make your greatest wishes come true. At the end of each chapter, there is a section, "Knockout Ideas to Stimulate your Success" with questions to get you, the reader, to think about what success means to you.

Okay, I'll admit it. I wasn't expecting this book to be that great. I always wonder about books that are written by celebrities, (with a ghostwriter no less), and this book was no exception. But I was really surprised. This book is UPLIFTING, and it has heart. I don't know how else to put it. I smiled through most of the book. George is often self-disparaging, and gives his family and friend a great deal of credit for his success. He credits his wife with the blockbuster success of the "George Foreman Grill" because she is the one who tried the grill and convinced him that it was good. Foreman was actually going to "take a pass" on the product that made him a mega-millionaire! Foreman talks about his last fight, where he went against Shannon Briggs, a much younger man in better shape. Foreman lost-- but barely; the crowd actually booed the judges decision. After the fight, Foreman wasn't upset. He was thankful-- and he plugged his new grilling machine. And people remember that plug at the end of the fight-- they don't remember that he lost. Foreman had finished his boxing career, but the Universe had opened another door for him to support himself and his family, even better than before. I think that the main point of this book is that there are opportunities at every turn, if you just have the heart to recognize that they are there. I recently had a death in my family, and I was really pretty upset when this book showed up in my mailbox. This book made me feel good, which I think everyone needs sometimes. That's why I'm giving it five stars.

George Foreman defines a "Knockout Entrepreneur" as someone who truly wants to succeed in life and is willing to do the hard work necessary to make it happen. I think we've all known someone who defines this...a person who defies all odds of what should "knock them down" and goes on to win and achieve greatness in their career by focus and hard work. Yet sometimes what seems like "luck" can actually be great inspiration, will, and principles. I think if you need that fire lit beneath you, the book is an excellent match ready to strike. The chapters provide inspiration for anyone in any career in my opinion...with titles comprised of such thoughts as "When One Dream Ends, Dream Another". (Sometimes we stare so long at a door that was closed that we don't realize, for example, a better one has opened right in front of us.) or "Find a Need and Fill It" and why "Money Matters, But Not Much" in success, or why you "Must See it Before You Can Be It" etc. Such principles may sound common sense, but the examples given are not and the motivation garnered behind each chapter is where the real "punches" land. Foreman provides ideas to stimulate your success which are easily read, interesting, and make up the true "meat" of the book...and yes, he also has many analogies that relate to boxing. While I am not a boxing fan at all, I did enjoy the book and feel strongly that it can provide motivation to many. There are times, I'll be honest, when I skimmed ahead during boxing analogies but whether boxing fan or foe, the book is about success, business, and how to achieve both. And, in that regard, it's a winner and a "knockout".

In his book, "The Knockout Entrepreneur," George Foreman, perhaps known best for his boxing career and self-named grill, focuses on successful tactics for enhancing one's career, mixing practical advice with anecdotes from his own life and that of other famous people. At the end of each chapter, there's a questionnaire for applying the strategies discussed. Some of the tips included seeing what a product can be rather than what it is, avoiding listening to the crowd, maintaining close relationships with partners or associates, and be willing to break deals if they take away from the bigger picture. A lot of the advice included was broad, and George Foreman's opportunities certainly are nowhere near that of the average person, but nevertheless the read was entertaining and inspirational, occasionally coming across as Donald Trump-esq. Nevertheless, George is a sympathetic character and certainly wasn't born with the connections he now enjoys. Perhaps his most valuable advice is to stay open to whatever opportunities come your way--the more established you become, the more opportunities. After posing for various food related commercials, a company offered George to put his name on their grill and to split the profits. Although George was hesitant, he agreed if for no other reason than a free grill. It was his wife who noticed it's cooking potential. That's how the successful George Foreman grill franchise came about, and just one of his many entrepreneur experiences mentioned in the book. Overall, an interesting read with a good message.

I think George Foreman is an amazing, multi-faceted man who used his 15 minutes of fame as a boxer to launch his successful career as a serial entrepreneur. He writes this book with Ken Abraham to give us a peak into his life as he built his business. In Knockout Entrepreneur, Foreman reveals key principles in being successful, which includes fining a passion and pursuing it, fining a need and filling it, and doing what you love but doing it better than anyone else. He also encourages the reader to look beyond the money, because, ultimately, money alone doesn't produce life-long satisfaction. This book is a mixture of biography and success tips where Foremen combines all he has learned in the sporting arena as well as in the business world. The book is easy to read with plenty of tips to encourage the entrepreneur at heart. Worth the read.