Technopreneur Guy Kawasaki reflects upon his life and his many adventures (or misadventures) in the a series of vignettes.

Some may be light-hearted, others may recall actions with lasting consequences, but all served to inspire and build him up to the person that he is today.

Guy Kawasaki is a master, and this book is the latest of a long list of important treatises on business.
Few реорlе knоw that bеttеr thаn Guу Kаwаѕаkі. A Silicon Vаllеу lеgеnd whо mаdе his nаmе ѕрrеаdіng thе gospel of Aррlе whеn the tech giant wаѕ ѕtіll іn іtѕ infancy, Guy's lіfе has been a ѕuссеѕѕіоn of аudасіоuѕ lеарѕ and bоundѕ. Hе describes the story оf hіѕ lіfе ѕо fаr and pays hоmаgе to the реорlе whо gave hіm аn occasional lеg uр, beginning wіth hіѕ ѕеlf-ѕасrіfісіng аnd loving parents. But thіѕ іѕn't just a ѕtrаіght-uр mеmоіr сhrоnісlіng Guy's successes аnd ѕеtbасkѕ - hе аlѕо ѕеtѕ оut tо dіѕtіll the lеѕѕоnѕ hе'ѕ learned оn hіѕ jоurnеу аnd inspire rеаdеrѕ tо live their own best lives.

Guy has experienced more than most in his life so far, with a myriad of twists and turns, as well as many lessons learned along the way. Wise Guy is a fun romp through history, from family matters to technology, and he offers up many pearls of wisdom gained along the way. For those aspiring entrepreneurs who only read the headlines of successful exits, Guy's insights serve to humanize the long journey while highlighting the need for tenacity in achieving success.

This is a biography, not really my genre so I might be a bit biased already.
This book was too much, too long for me.
My purpose of reading biography is to learn experiences through the authors, not just experience but a different way of looking, another perception but it didn’t provide my expectation.

Guy Kawasaki shares stories from his life and keys to his success in business and in life within his latest book. Stories from his time as a business evangelist at Apple with run-ins with Steve Jobs kept me on the edge of my seat. He also included his speech to a graduating class, which gave sweet advice on how to navigate life.

Throughout his book several themes were clear. The importance of learning and wisdom. Spreading your wings and expanding your horizons as he did when he learned hockey in his 40's. The desire to win, while still playing fair. And finally, enjoying your family and friends. He also gave tips on selling and putting together a presentation, which are always his trademark and invaluable.

There were many take-aways that I learned from this book from success in business and in family (and yes, you can have both). Overall it was a good inspirational read.

Guy Kawasaki is a well-known Silicon Valley venture capitalist and is the chief evangelist of Canva, a graphic design tool. He was part of Apple’s original Macintosh team in the 1980s. He is a speaker and author of 15 books.
In his latest book, “Wise Guy” he presents us with “vignettes” of his fascinating life in a series of autobiographical stories.

I especially enjoyed the following two sections of the book:

His life lessons from Apple

Only excellence matters
Customers can’t tell you what they need.
Innovation happens on the next curve.
Design counts.
Less is more.
Big challenges beget big accomplishments.
Changing your mind is a sign of intelligence.
Engineers are artists.
Price and value are not the same thing.
But value isn’t enough.
Some things need to be believed to be seen.

His top ten wisdoms from his life

Get high and to the right.
Adopt a growth mind-set.
Embrace grit.
Smile.
Default to yes.
Raise the tide.
Pay it forward.
Examine everything.
Never lie, seldom shade.
Enable people to pay you back.


An easy and humorous read. Its was very interesting to see on what principles such a successful person has built his life on.His engaging writing style kept my interest the whole time as I was reading the book! A fascinating glimpse on how a person started his life from a modest background in Hawaii and achieved success both in business and life.

Rating: 8/10 Stars

WISE GUY

It takes a special kind of personality to write a not-quite memoir of personal life lessons that people might actually want to read.

Guy Kawasaki both has and is exactly that kind of personality.

Indeed, Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life is a compilation of the technology evangelist’s recollections that Kawasaki disclaims upfront as “not yet” his memoirs. That said, it certainly starts out that way, with personal reminiscences of growing up in Hawaii, going of to study at Stanford University and thereafter make a career for himself in Silicon Valley beginning with his stint at Apple Computer.

But the manuscript itself isn’t structured like an autobiography; instead, it reads more like a series of episodes from Kawasaki’s life and very specific things he’s learned from them—which he shares, of course, as advice that others may do well to heed. It certainly has the elements of a winning formula; then again, his books usually do.

Filled with good humor and some very personal stories, there’s a good amount of material that will connect with readers whether they follow Kawasaki and are already familiar with his work in the startup and technology or are just in the mood for perspective from a Silicon Valley insider. At the very least, excerpts from a commencement speech that Kawasaki delivered as well as anecdotes from his time working with Steve Jobs will surely resonate with anyone who picks up the book—and leave them hoping that he might really get around to writing his memoirs some day.

Wise Guy is an autobiographical look into the early life of Guy Kawasaki. Those that choose to read this book will have a window into the making of the man that has become a social influencer

The book is cute. Personal stories that Guy shares are touching.

My husband has loved Apple since the very beginning. I read Wise Guy by Guy Kawasaki because he worked for Apple and my husband has read many of his books. So I guess I read this book for my husband.

This book is not a memoir but a compilation of stories from his life. In each chapter he shares a bit about his life and the lessons he learned from those experiences. I enjoyed the histories more than the lessons and it was interesting learning more about him since I have heard so much about him from my husband

Prior to reading this book which is a bit of an autobiography of undoubtedly one of the most important product influencers (not named Kardashian). It tells the story of his upbringing and his life in technology, his wins, his losses, his good decisions and some of those decisions that didn't turn out quite the way he wanted and those that went wrong.
It is inspirational and motivational and I thoroughly loved the book. Highly recommended.

Upon requesting this book, I was excited to be chosen to receive a free copy of it to review. I had read Guy Kawasaki's book, Enchantment, and absolutely loved it. It was brain food. This book, not so much. In reading this book, I quickly learned that it was more of an autobiography with stories about Guy's past and some little life lessons he learned along the way. He spoke about his children and his wife Beth and how important it was for him to spend time with them despite his busy schedule. He also spoke about his life growing up in Hawaii, choosing the college he wanted to go to, and his job at Apple and later, Canva. Although I found his life journey interesting, I didn't feel that there was enough given to the reader to classify this as a business or investment book. It is simply a collection of stories by Guy Kawasaki.

Wise Guy is a collection of lessons that Guy Kawasaki, Silicon Valley icon and renowned author, learned during this two stints at Apple (he was a part of the original Macintosh team in the 1980s during the Steve Jobs' years) but more so, the wisdom that prevented him from taking the job when it was offered a third time, and instead made his mark in other aspects of the business world.
In each chapter, Guy shares vignettes from his life, followed by a few paragraphs tabbed Wisdom, with little nuggets that he has taken from those moments, and which he hopes to pass on to the reader. Stories range from in scope from the teachers who challenged Guy during his childhood in Hawaii, to having his shoes shined by Virgin Atlantic billionaire owner Richard Branson, to trying and failing to forge an association with Hilary Clinton's 2016 Presidential campaign to taking up surfing at age 62.
I found Wise Guy easy to read, humorous in parts but also deliberate in providing meaningful content. I appreciated the book recommendations that Kawasaki shares - books that have influenced him over the years, as well as what he hopes the reader (and aspirating writer) might glean from that book and it's author. I enjoyed the multiplicity of presentation styles included in the book ranging from photographs of Guy's family and his 9th grade report card to speech transcripts from his 2012 commencement address, to bulleted lists of lessons learned at Apple. The variety kept me interested and is a testament to Guy's mastery of social engagement, proven in his earlier books.
I received a free electronic Advanced Reader Copy courtesy of Netgalley and the publishers. in order to complete this review however this did not influence my opinion of the book.
Having read other books by Kawasaki before, I would recommend this one for its motivational tone but also for the practical lessons it communicates as well as Guy's riveting delivery which means the anecdotes and their meaning will resonate even after you've closed the pages.

This book is filled with stories of dedication, hard work, and encouragement for all of us. We might not attain the financial "success" and notoriety of Guy but his simple lessons on always looking for what is truly important in life come through.
Enough meat in these chapters to satisfy the historian of the growth of technology, sufficient reference to family values, and enough data to make you head to Google to investigate further (did you know the cost of a Stanford education?). I especially appreciated the recommendations for books on writing.
I was not able to finish this book and missed the last twenty pages or so but have no reason to think that it would not continue to be of benefit as a reader.
Yes, I recommend this book for anyone who is a #GuyKawasaki fan, anyone who advocates a strong work ethic, someone starting out in the career and everyone in-between.

I enjoy Guy Kawasaki’s writing. He’s an entrepreneur and technical evangelist with an outstanding track record of success. Needless to say, I was eager to read his autobiography, Wise Guy (link goes to Amazon). What makes this autobiography different from so many others?

Guy gives us a lot of stories from his life. With each story he also gives us the lessons learned from that situation. Not only do we get insight into how life unfolded from him, but we also learn what he took from those life occurrences which he applied later on. An example:

{image of honor the people who came before you}

Another aspect of this autobiography is the stories other tell about Guy. One of those stories is from his son who describes how Guy goes out of his way to attend his son’s hockey game. That’s what dads do, right? Only Guy’s son was an adult, playing in a league, and the game started at 10:30 PM at night! Guy was there simply because his son was playing. This isn’t the only story told by others that remind you that Guy is more than his public persona.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. Whether you are in technology or not, there’s a lot of great advice within its pages. Most are words we’ve heard before. What’s impactful, though, is that Guy ties them to his stories. That gives us context for a particular piece of advice. That’s what sets this book apart both from most autobiographies and self-help books on the market.

Wise Guy is a book written by Guy Kawasaki.
What makes this book so interesting compared to his other books is that it shows you a side of him that you never knew.
A book that is easy to read, no fluff and highly personalize insights from the man himself.
Inspiring. I just hope I will pick it up and reread it again someday.
Highly recommend to anyone. Especially Guy's fans.

This is Guy Kawasaki's fifteenth book, and this one is about his life--from Hawaii to California to Apple, to his own software company, other companies, back to Apple for a while. It's not a straightforward autobiography; he's conveying the lessons he's learned in an active life that has gone in many different directions.

For instance, before he connected with Apple, he had worked in the diamond industry. Sorting diamonds, and selling them.

Which makes a certain kind of sense.

A lot of what he has to say is, on the surface, basic. Work hard, pay attention to details, pay attention to people. Make connections. Follow your passions.

His telling of it is a lot better than mine, and comes to life in his stories of his life.

Some of it, on the other hand, is less immediately obvious, and less commonly heard. Help people when you can--because you can, not because they'll pay you back. Accept help when you need it and it's offered. Don't be afraid to reach out; you might make a friend in addition to getting the help you need.

Of course, this is easier for some of us than others, but I can't help being reminded of my mother, who was nothing like Guy Kawasaki at all, whom you could set down in a crowded room where she knew no one and didn't want to be, and she'd come out with half a dozen stories of people she'd talked to.

I don't understand it, but it can be kind of fun to watch.

Guy is married and has four kids, three sons and a daughter, and while many parents want their kids to follow them, in their enthusiasms, the things they loved doing or the things they wish they'd been able o do, he took a slightly different approach to being an involved parent. As much time as he spent traveling on business, he was a all his kids' school games. But he wasn't content o just watch.

His two older kids played hockey, and Guy took up hockey, so that he could truly understand what they loved doing. Then his two younger kids took up surfing, and so did he, so he could truly understand what they loved.

And he has great stories about those experiences, and about the people he and his kids met because he was both really interested, and also both well-known and genuinely friendly.

This book is just a lot of fun, along with having useful life lessons to take in and use as suits you best.

Sadly, there is one problem, and no, it's not anything Guy wrote. I read an e-arc, and this may not apply to the published ebook, but the type font is both tiny, and not adjustable. This meant that despite the content and Guy's writing, this was a slow, painful read for me.

And with ebooks, there is quite literally no reason a all for that. Adjustable font size is one major reason to read ebooks. It's a basic accessibility issue. It's not acceptable to disable that functionality.

My most common response to this when I encounter it, is that the ebook goes straight in the bit bucket. I don't waste my time on books that the publisher has intentionally chosen to make harder for me to read. Because of my considerable confidence that I would enjoy Guy's new book, I persevered, and have merely read it slowly and painfully as I struggled with the font size.

And so my backup rule comes into play, on sites that include star ratings, I deduct one star for the publisher being idiots who don't have two or three brain cells to spare for the reader whose money they want.

Nevertheless, it's a very good, enjoyable book, and I do recommend it.

As stated above, I received a free electronic galley from the author, Guy Kawasaki, and I'm reviewing it voluntarily.

Guy Kawasaki has had an interesting life, from the early days of Apple, having his shoes polished by Richard Branson, through to turning down the role of Yahoo! CEO (in the days when Yahoo! was still relevant), so there are a few rich seams of stories to tell. Wise Guy is effectively an autobiography with a veneer of self-help - each anecdote of his life is followed with a wisdom section, practical takeaways that we, the readers, can apply to our lives.

Some of these are interesting, such as there's nothing wrong with being shallow - choose any motivation that works for you - his was the desire to own fast cars to impress the women, but if it gets you pushing yourself, keeps you producing your best work, then so be it. These become a little stretched towards the end yet his likeability and enthusiasm carry the book.

An enjoyable, easy read, from a master of his craft!

Guy Kawasaki returns with a book about life lessons that is entertaining, fun and yes, wise.

Wise Guy is a very personal book since he uses personal stories to give context to his pearls of wisdom. From the beginning Kawasaki clearly states:

"Before you ask, or wonder, this is not my autobiography or memoir. It is a compilation of the most enlightening stories of my life. Think personal lessons, not personal history."

Wise Guy is a collection of life lessons. We can learn from our own experience or vicariously from other people's experiences and this is what Guy has to offer: "my goal is to educate, not to awe you".

I'm not sure the order the author followed to write the book. He could have thought about a lesson to share and search for an anecdote to enhance or he could have remind a life event and search for lessons in it. Either way Wise Guy is a book loaded with nuggets of wisdom.

Some of the favorites ones are:

"Be a hard-ass if you are a teacher, manager, coach, or someone who influences people. You’re not doing anyone a favor by lowering your standards and expectations in an effort to be kind, gentle, or popular. The future cost of short-term kindness is great."

The world is full of PC-ness and being blunt and clear can be a risk worth taking. None wins from hypocrisy.

"Don’t consider yourself a victim... If you believe you’re a victim, you’ll truly become one.Take responsibility for your fate. You still may not succeed, but at least you’ll try."

This is a nugget consistent with other authors like Fred Kofman, Joseph Campbell and others. The victim has the benefit of not having to take responsibility but at a great cost, impotence and lack of freedom.

"Make your personal interests known. This provides “hooks” to develop additional and deeper relationships. These relationships have led to friendships, adventures, and financial rewards. My life would have been a lot less interesting if I had not “opened the kimono” and unveiled my personal interests."

"Cultivate relationships with people you would run to see. Anyone who doesn’t pass the Shopping Center Test may waste your time, and life is too short. Second, be the person other people run to see. This is a useful test for how you treat others."

Living in a connected world is an opportunity to expand and grow. People are more than their jobs and sharing what you love can be a glue to support more and better relationships. But also the myriad of relationships can be overwhelming, Guy's advice is prioritize and spend your time wisely.

"If you provide value, you can ask for— and receive— reciprocation. This is the glue that holds society together. You may not care about reciprocation, but the important concept is to help people so much that they would gladly reciprocate."

Adam Smith (and others before him) stressed the value of social cooperation. The division of labor works only in a cooperative environment. It is a mistake to think that competition is the opposite of cooperation, competition is the freedom to provide more value than others.You can't get value from society if you don't provide value, unless you are a parasite.

"Smile. The more you smile and laugh, the more you will smile and laugh. The more you smile and laugh, the easier life gets. You can never go wrong being nice, and there’s no such thing as being too nice."

This is one of the best ones. People live such dull lives that being playful seems as a sin or a crime (as Bernie DeKoven used to say). Believe in humanity and enjoy life more.

I found one of the last chapters, Ohana, quite special. Guy was humble and brave enough to ask his family and close acquaintances to share a pearl of wisdom they acquire from interacting with him. They share nice personal stories and what they learned form them.

Everybody should take the time to do what Kawasaki did with Wise Guy. Reflect on your life and what you learned, thank the people who touch your life and gave you a lesson, and ask those around you how you have made their lives better.

Guy Kawasaki’s latest book “Wise Guy – Lessons from a Life” reads like an autobiography filled with anecdotes to enrich anyone’s life. Part lifestyle advice, part-parenting recommendations and part business guidance; Guy shares his life’s philosophy from years of personal experiences.

As I read, feels like an intimate conversation, over a long weekend getaway, with an old dear friend. THUMBS UP!

Great autobiography with a lot of lessons in it. Really friendly. Great to learn all these real-life examples. Provides amazing wisdom to the reader. Already added to my recommended books list.