Cynthia Johnson
Co-Founder at Ipseity Media, Speaker, Columnist at Entrepreneur.com
Book Recommendations:
Recommended by Cynthia Johnson
by Nelson Mandela·You?
by Nelson Mandela·You?
‘There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountain tops of our desires.’ After twenty-seven years in prison, Nelson Mandela finally walked free in February 1990. This collection of his articles, speeches, letters from underground, and the transcripts from his trials, vividly demonstrate the charisma and determination of a towering figure in the struggle for racial equality in South Africa. Now in a new edition, No Easy Walk to Freedom is both a vital historical document, and a chronicle of the life and thoughts of one of the greatest campaigners for freedom the world has known.
Recommended by Cynthia Johnson
by Mark Ebner·You?
In the burgeoning Hollywood club scene, where ecstasy dealers dine alongside celebrities, and illicit money bubbles up from below like the La Brea Tar Pits, a handsome double-murderer and ex-con of refined wit and taste charmed his way into young Hollywood's most elite social circles. Serving as their hired muscle and arbiter of street justice, he ultimately went on to expose their scandalous, hard-kept secrets -- all the while waging a criminal campaign against the ill-deserving rich and famous.Filled with sex, drugs, and sudden violence, Six Degrees of Paris Hilton: Inside the Sex Tapes, Scandals, and Shakedowns of the New Hollywood is the shocking true tale of Darnell Riley, a well-mannered middle-class kid from Los Angeles who reinvented himself as a stone-cold gangster in the boxing gyms and bruising streets of South Central, before serving seven years for a double homicide at fifteen. Released at age twenty-three, he infiltrated a far more decadent crowd whose privileged lifestyle is familiar to most only in weekly magazines. During his six-year stab at Hollywood, Darnell ran with its It girls and bully boys: He befriended Paris Hilton; was associated with multiple sex tapes; held Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis at gunpoint and humiliated him on camera; dated models; ran numbers; trafficked in drugs; carried out contract beatings; and "possibly" staged a daring series of home-invasion robberies, many of which were attributed to the infamous Bel-Air Burglar. In a potent real-life mix of Entourage and The Wire, award-winning journalist Mark Ebner follows Darnell's riveting story, from exclusive interviews conducted inside Corcoran State Prison, through the mean streets of Los Angeles, employing a Rogues Gallery of characters unrivaled in modern crime. The ultimate exposé of the greed, hypocrisy, and vulgarity behind Hollywood's new breed of feral rich and illicitly famous, Six Degrees of Paris Hilton is a front-row seat to the best show in town.
Recommended by Cynthia Johnson
by Peter B. Doran·You?
The incredible tale of how ambitious oil rivals Marcus Samuel, Jr., and Henri Deterding joined forces to topple the Standard Oil empire Marcus Samuel, Jr., is an unorthodox Jewish merchant trader. Henri Deterding is a take-no-prisoners oilman. In 1889, John D. Rockefeller is at the peak of his power. Having annihilated all competition and possessing near-total domination of the market, even the U.S. government is wary of challenging the great “anaconda” of Standard Oil. The Standard never loses—that is until Samuel and Deterding team up to form Royal Dutch Shell. A riveting account of ambition, oil, and greed, Breaking Rockefeller traces Samuel’s rise from outsider to the heights of the British aristocracy, Deterding’s conquest of America, and the collapse of Rockefeller’s monopoly. The beginning of the twentieth century is a time when vast fortunes were made and lost. Taking readers through the rough and tumble of East London’s streets, the twilight turmoil of czarist Russia, to the halls of the British Parliament, and right down Broadway in New York City, Peter Doran offers a richly detailed, fresh perspective on how Samuel and Deterding beat the world’s richest man at his own game.
Recommended by Cynthia Johnson
by Mark Goulston·You?
"Finally! The book that helps you deal with irrational, impossible people." -Oprah's Book Club 2.0 Because some people are beyond difficult... Let's face it, we all know people who are irrational. No matter how hard you try to reason with them, it never works. So what's the solution? How do you talk to someone who's out of control? What can you do with a boss who bullies, a spouse who yells, or a friend who frequently bursts into tears? In his book, Just Listen, Mark Goulston shared his bestselling formula for getting through to the resistant people in your life. Now, in his breakthrough new book Talking to Crazy, he brings his communication magic to the most difficult group of all-the downright irrational. As a psychiatrist, Goulston has seen his share of crazy and he knows from experience that you can't simply argue it away. The key to handling irrational people is to learn to lean into the crazy-to empathize with it. That radically changes the dynamic and transforms you from a threat into an ally. Talking to Crazy explains this counterintuitive Sanity Cycle and reveals: Why people act the way they do * How instinctive responses can exacerbate the situation-and what to do instead * When to confront a problem and when to walk away * How to use a range of proven techniques including Time Travel, the Fish-bowl, and the Belly Roll * And much more You can't reason with unreasonable people-but you can reach them. This powerful and practical book shows you how.
Recommended by Cynthia Johnson
by Daniel DiPiazza·You?
The Only Guide You Need to Stop Wasting Your Potential and Create a Kickass Career You Care About Daniel DiPiazza, the young founder of the massively popular Rich20Something.com, was once a typical twentysomething, logging mind-numbing hours at low-paying jobs in hopes of moving up. Then it hit him: This doesn’t have to be my life. Now twenty-eight, DiPiazza has launched multiple successful businesses with zero startup capital—simply by identifying and monetizing his skills into a career and life he loves. And with this book, so can you. Rich20Something is not some boring spiel on “paying your dues”; it’s about hustle. Instead of inching your way up the traditional career ladder, DiPiazza teaches you how to hack it, sharing hard-earned advice, anecdotes from other entrepreneurial badasses, and step-by-step techniques for turning your best skills into a business you’re passionate about that pays well to boot, including success secrets like: - The three questions that will help fail proof your business idea - How to ruthlessly prioritize, focus, and “ride the Motivation Wave” to get your gig going - Promotion strategies that literally make you money while you sleep - Owning the online game on every platform, from ten followers to 500,000 It’s time to toss out your parents’ career guides (sorry, mom and dad). Rich20Something is the only book you need to blaze your own path to an epic career and start getting the most out of your life now.
Recommended by Cynthia Johnson
by Andrew Romans, Ty Nowicki, William Kilmer·You?
by Andrew Romans, Ty Nowicki, William Kilmer·You?
Andrew Romans captured wisdom from interviews with 100+ Corporate Venture Capitalists (CVCs), independent VCs, CEOs of startups, bankers and lawyers to write the definitive book on the topic of CVC. Masters of Corporate Venture Capital is packed with invaluable advice about how to best raise capital from CVCs, unlock synergies of partnering startups with large corporations for rapid international growth and avoid potential disasters and other dangers related to CVC.More than 20% of all Venture Capital financings include at least one CVC and thus startups need to understand this previously misunderstood area of funding. Corporations need to establish their own CVC arms to access external innovation and learn how to bring this inside via VC investing, partnerships and M&A. We work in a very complex ecosystem and this book captures stories that bring the complexity to life with simple lessons.This book is for:•Entrepreneurs•VCs•Angel investors•Family offices•CVCs•Corporates thinking about launching a CVC•Anyone advising startups.