Score: 86/100
The title “The Drive to Freedom” is actually a very clever pun in the context of the book. “Drive” can be seen as an emotional or symbolic “drive” (or force of will) or it can be seen as the literal or physical act of driving a vehicle as a courier. Being a successful independent courier (often abbreviated as IC) is the main subject of the book. Indeed, it can be very specific to this niche business. However, many of the lessons, such as building a brand and constructing a team, are applicable to any new business. There are some moments of gold in this rather short but surprisingly thorough book. On the topic of “drive” (force of will), Hustlez encourages the reader to hold onto their reason for starting their own business, saying that his reason is on the cover (his daughter, Maya). That’s an absolutely beautiful statement that hits the reader in the heart. Indeed, owning your own business can mean freedom from the 9-5 gerbil wheel that most employees are stuck in. Still, Hustlez is quick to remind the reader that starting and running a business is not easy. It can be very complicated, especially once it begins involving multiple employees, clients, and contracts. One of the most impressive sections is when Hustlez discusses the very real dilemmas of selecting a fleet manager or supervisor. Many of us are familiar with the feeling of seeing a former co-worker–a former equal–becoming our new supervisor. Some feel resentment and stop being as productive or motivated. Sometimes, the former co-worker lets the newfound power get to their head, or they begin favoring friends. It’s interesting to read Hustlez talk about these social/workplace considerations in such detail. Another very detailed section that could literally save lives or at least make life easier is when the author talks about selecting your courier vehicle. Some of the tips such as listening to the sounds that the vehicle makes during the test drive or looking under the vehicle for rust are very valuable. JT Hustlez tells us that the biggest trees were once seeds. He encourages the aspiring entrepreneur to be patient and mindful. Another great part is when he talks about branding and reputation. He puts across that you shouldn’t have to introduce yourself to every new client, they should be able to look at your shirt and see your logo and business name. Wow! It’s something so simple, but I’m sure it gets overlooked. Something else that I love about the book is the author’s sense of humor, sarcasm, and conversational tone. It reads like we’re in the same room! He frequently states that the book is non-refundable and because of that you might as well read it. I recommend this book to anyone interested in starting a business. Check out "The Drive to Freedom" on Amazon!
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Score: 96/100
This book is absolutely fascinating! Author Jim Lichtman has written Op-Eds for The New York Times, Huffington Post, and more. He has had featured stories and appearances in USA Today, The Washington Post, and on CNN's NewsNight with Aaron Brown. With Lichtman, we’ve landed on a goldmine of information that seems almost too good—perhaps even taboo--to have access to. Yet here it is. “Trust and Confidence” is a book that involves the ethical dilemma faced by members of the United States Secret Service, specifically concerning the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal that dominated the president’s second term in office. That dilemma can be summed up as: is it ethical for the Secret Service to remain silent about the president’s personal/private actions and conversations? Is it ethical or moral for the Secret Service to keep these things to themselves in order to ensure the continued trust and confidence between the person and office of the president and the protective body of the Secret Service? Now, you might be thinking as a typical, perhaps somewhat disgruntled citizen: truth and transparency are king and queen. But are they really? For practical purposes, is it sometimes true that the less you know the better when the greater good is considered? Case in point: what if a breach in trust and confidence between the office of the president and the Secret Service resulted in a loss of physical proximity between the two? Consider for practical purposes if Clint Hill and the rest of the Secret Service members in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 had not been asked to give JFK and his vehicle more distance before the assassination. Would Lee Harvey Oswald (or another assassin) have had such clear shot? Would one of the Secret Service members have obscured or absorbed some or all of the second or third (deadly) shot? Would the assassination have even been successful at all? The same arguments could be made for many other presidential assassinations and assassination attempts. Hill insists that he was less than a second from being able to save the president and changing the course of history. In many cases, proximity (closeness to the president) may have very well saved the president. Author Lichtman interviewed Lewis Merletti, the former director of the Secret Service under President Clinton, nine years after the Lewinsky scandal. Merletti was consistently in arms reach of the most powerful man in the country (and the world) and likely was there for many of his meetings with senators and world leaders. Throughout the book, we hear primarily from Merletti as he discusses the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. As fascinating as that all is (and it is, indeed, fascinating) what’s even more fascinating is the contextual information and asides we get from Merletti. In hindsight, it’s mindboggling to hear how Osama Bin Ladin was already a concern in the 90s. It’s striking to hear how the FBI responded to the Waco siege with the Branch Davidians under David Koresh. There are times in this that feel like the origin story of our current politicians. At one point, you have a letter to Senator (and future presidential candidate) John Kerry opposing the release of information from former Secret Service member John Syphrit for the sake of preserving what I’ve started calling the “protective function privilege” of the Secret Service—the unspoken privilege of the Secret Service to keep secrets for the sake of life and safety. You read about how George Bush Sr. vouched for the Secret Service and claimed to have never heard the utter a negative word about their protectees. You read about how everyone from Lewinsky to the White House staff sound petrified of the idea of the “Clinton people”—supposedly Bill Clinton’s inner circle—who sound like those who keeps things confidential whenever possible. However, this information seems to be presented without inherent bias. It’s just information. It’s just facts. It’s just the way it is. In an age in which the mainstream media seems to be always trying to spin stories to fit a political agenda, this book seems to have no agenda. This non-fiction, well-researched book reads like a crime drama or a mystery, but it’s real! There are times when we felt like John Grisham wrote this. The dialogue is fast and tense, but it’s real! You feel like you’re right in there listening to the likes of Merletti and Hill talk about their experiences. It was like going down a big slide—exhilarating yet effortless and easy. What a promising book! Keep up to date with Jim Lichtman and the book's release at ethicsstupid.com |
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