Gregory V. Diehl’s new nonfiction, Everyone is an Entrepreneur, Selling Economic Self-Determination in a Post-Soviet World, is an informative and entertaining source of valuable economic information. The author bases his edifying text on his vast experience as an American living in post-communist Armenia. Diehl is an adventurous world traveler who uses his experiences as an educator and personal development mentoring in his writing. He teaches his readers how to take control of the economics in their lives and be willing to try new things to produce an expendable income. Diehl shows the communist influence on entrepreneurs is enduring but still changeable in former communist countries. The promotion of entrepreneurship, however, has been a challenging experience for these economies. Diehl’s book examines various forms of entrepreneurship in post-socialist economies.
Diehl’s definition of an entrepreneur is someone who manages or produces wealth based on his personal feelings, education and interest/talents/skills, and the ownership of tools. He states that a job gives the appearance of security for the wage earner’s family and in society. Income provides for basic necessities and the comforts of living but may not provide for a sense of self-worth. In Armenia, a post-Russian-dominated world, workers are so indoctrinated into working at government-determined jobs for predetermined wages that they find it hard to perceive of working for themselves. The income covered necessities and was constant. Therefore, people thought that the State provided employment and rations were the only way there is to live. The idea of additional income-producing work was unheard of. The authorities “ignored the actual priorities of the people and attempted to override them…under threat of violence for non-compliance and a utopian indoctrination that required utter dependence on the State.” Entrepreneuring would be a way of emancipation from the state.
Government control seemed to be incompatible with reality’s needs, but workers were hesitant to make a paradigm shift to self-actualization. They didn’t consider that they could take care of their own needs. Diehl states that self-awareness and knowledge are the prime sources of wealth for anyone. His book is not a “how to get rich quick” self-help manual, but a comparison of different lifestyles; those of a tyrannically controlled economy and a society where financial freedom is encouraged and respected. Reading his book provides good insight into the leadership skills one needs to succeed as an entrepreneur.
The book uses the backdrop of the struggle to bring entrepreneuring to the post-soviet world as a way to subtly teach business lessons to the reader in a very interesting way. Every chapter teaches some nugget of entrepreneurship.
Readers familiar with the popular TV series, Shark Tank, may think that only extremely creative people with expendable revenue for inventions are able to become entrepreneurs. Diehl reasons that how human beings thrive, their comfort level, and rise from poverty are determined by knowledge, skills, and the willingness to work hard and take calculated risks. This unique book is a fascinating comparison between the creative mind, self-determination, and free enterprise juxtaposed against the obedient mind of socialist societies. The book makes it very clear that a post-soviet plan to a free market is a complicated process requiring economic, political, and social transformations to allow entrepreneuring to succeed.
Everyone is an Entrepreneur, Selling Economic Self-Determination in a Post-Soviet World is a great book for people who want out of the rat race, are prepared to work really hard, take risks, expect failure, bounce back and find ways to win. It's not a step-by-step guide to how to set up a winning business, but there are tons of nuggets of wisdom in there, and more importantly, it provides the mindset needed to start a business.
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