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The doorbell rang.

“What the hell?! Who could this be early in the morning? None of my friends even know morning exists.”

It was the Delivering Happiness book.

The advanced copies.

Now let me explain something to you. I’m in Canada. Yes, Canada. And I had signed up for these advanced copies about two days ago. Which thus means I received something I ordered from America in two days.

Now, all you American people probably don’t realize just how freaking amazing this is. But, I have to tell you, it’s pretty f**king amazing.

So, I was already impressed. And, it wasn’t just one copy, but two. TWO! Two free books. It felt like my birthday.

Guess what I did next?

I set aside my whole day to read the book. Yup, the whole day. Friends? Screw them, I had a book to read. Professional phone calls from people wanting to give me money? Screw them, I had a book to read. Girl coming over basically offering herself. Well… Screw her. Get it?

Now, where were we? Oh yeah, the Delivering Happiness book.

I licked my thumbs and started reading (yes, I’m one of those people- the thumb lickers).

The book began with Tony (Tony Hsieh) talking about why he wrote the book. Always a safe way to start a book. On top of saying that he wrote the book himself (thus all the typos are his), he explained that the book was divided up into three sections.

1. “Profits,”
2. “Profits and Passion,”
3. and “Profits, Passion, and Purpose.”

So, I might as well structure this whole book review like that.

Profits

It began on a worm farm.

Apparently, Tony had dreams of being unbearably rich since he was nine years old (who doesn’t). I can reveal all the hair-brained plans he came up with as a kid in order to be rich, but I won’t ruin the book for you. And, I won’t lie, I liked this section.

Tony writes about his childhood, his parents, his education, and his friends at that time. He’s not a spy kid or something unbelievably amazing like that, but his childhood does strike a cord with me. He and I had similar questions about life while growing up, and he too (like many of us), had immigrant parents that pushed him to do the whole best grades, best university, doctor, lawyer thing, and he too quiet didn’t go that way.

Less I be self-centered, let me say that I am sooo not as accomplished as Tony Hsieh. As the “Profits” section talks about, Tony Hsieh became a millionaire in his twenties. He was happy at first, but then he found himself hating his company, to be precise, he disliked it’s “culture”… And then Zappos happened.

…Read the book to find out everything.

Profits & Passion

Ever wonder how hard it is to run a start-up? And just how close to bankruptcy you always are? Well, whether you do or you don’t, it’s quiet interesting to see just how maniacally fast-paced and disorganized it is to run a start-up company. But throughout all this start-up chaos Tony Hsieh somehow managed to developed a company culture based around ten core values.

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

The company culture at Zappos is AMAZING!

You can even call them to order a pizza in the middle of the night… They’re a shoe company! But I won’t tell you about the other amazing things Zappos does as a company.

…Read the book to find out every single amazing thing.

Profits, Passion, & Purpose

This books reads like someone’s life (which is good). By that I mean that

• “Profits” represents you when you’re young and discovering the world,
• “Profits and Passion” represents you when you’re middle-aged and taking life seriously (mostly),
• and “Profits, Passion, and Purpose” represents you when your old and wise; thinking about life and realizing that life is so much more than just money.

I like how Tony wrapped this up. He’s definitely right when he says that reading stories is one of the best ways to learn something without boring yourself to death.

I liked his use of quotes throughout the book (I’m a quote lover), and how he isn’t so stuck up as to say “I’ve done this all by myself”.

And I do have to say that when they book was delivered to me, I was quiet literally delivered happiness.

From the fast delivery, the surprising two free books (I passed them on to people who needed to read them), and the unbearably uplifting mood I was in while reading the book (in less than one day), I really can’t say I wasn’t happy.

But don’t take my word for it. Read the book yourself. Or go to the book’s official website www.deliveringhappinessbook.com.