Known: The Handbook For Building And Unleashing Your Personal Brand In The Digital Age
By: Mark Schaefer
Mark W. Schaefer (January 28, 2017)
256 pages

Want to be known? Good news. There is this thing called the internet. And with a bunch of hard work, and a little bit of luck, you can leverage it and be known for something. What will you be known for? To what extent will you be seen? What opportunities will that bring? That part is up to you. But the best news of all is that this book lays out a step by step plan to get you there. Read it, and get started. Follow it, and be Known.

Two of my favorite quotes:

“To become known, your message must be accepted and amplified by people who choose to follow you. No amount of promotion, advertising, or SEO trickery will accomplish that. There’s no shortcut.”

“Passion is important, but you also have to consider the commitment, your ability to sustain your hustle, and the possibility of having an audience out there who actually cares about what you do. Over the long haul, if you can’t connect with an audience big enough to matter, what in the world are you doing?”

Buy this book.

A Life In Parts
By: Bryan Cranston
Scribner; First Edition, First Printing edition (October 11, 2016)
288 pages

I love these man-behind-the-character kind of books. Like most actors, all I have ever thought of Bryan Cranston, is who we was as a character. Tom Whatley. Hal. Walter White. Hammond Druthers. LBJ. Etc. So when I saw this book come out, I knew I would have to read it. A Life In Parts was a great outline of Cranston’s background and how he became the actor he is today, from a Southern California lower-middle-class background. Heck, I found out he even almost became a cop. Of course Cranston is a Hollywood icon now, but my guess is, in his mind, he’s still crossing the country somewhere on an old motorcycle. But I don’t want to spoil it, I’ll let you read about that yourself.

Two of my favorite quotes:

“But go ahead, get lost. It’s okay to be afraid. Being afraid can actually be a sign you’re doing something worthwhile. If I’m considering a role and it makes me nervous, but I can’t stop thinking about it—that’s often a good indication I’m onto something important. Fatherhood has been such a part. And it’s been my favorite one.”

“Actors are storytellers. And storytelling is the essential human art. It’s how we understand who we are. I don’t mean to make it sound high-flown. It’s not. It’s discipline and repetition and failure and perseverance and dumb luck and blind faith and devotion. It’s showing up when you don’t feel like it, when you’re exhausted and you think you can’t go on. Transcendent moments come when you’ve laid the groundwork and you’re open to the moment. They happen when you do the work. In the end, it’s about the work.”

Buy this book.