Best motivational book ever! (The Myths of Innovation)

I prefer not to know much about the book before I read it. I like to be surprised. And that’s exactly what happened with The Myths of Innovation. I’ve thought that I would just read some interesting stuff about innovations. As I’m already familiar with Myths Series I’ve expected good stuff, and wasn’t disappointed. But I wasn’t expecting motivational book at all.

Of course it starts with some stories and explanations of most famous inventions, and inventors. But that’s not the point of the book at all. What author wants to tell us is that success (and not only in innovations) depends on our hard work and persistence. And that even the best idea, or product, means nothing if we are not able to sell it. That it’s a myth, quite tempting, but just an illusion that all these great people simply clicked into idea. After all you wouldn’t want to hear about all the sleepless nights your favourite genius/artist spent on his invention/creation. Or you wouldn’t want to know how many times he failed in his pursuit of knowledge/perfection. And if you would be aware of how many times his ideas were rejected before made it to the mainstream, you would simply feel even more miserable about your attempts to do something meaningful. But that’s all truth. There’s no success without hard work. Don’t believe it, even though movies, books and TV want to convince you otherwise.

I must admit that it’s been long time since I’ve said “Wow!” after reading a book. It really kept me going. Provided with some useful ideas and tricks. But most importantly it cheered me up. It really gives hope that even though it may appear that everything was already invented or written, there is still place for your input. You can always improve something. You can always tell the same story, but with your own words and in the way better suited for modern times or given audience. I recommend it to everyone, it’s really worth your time.