Will shatter false illusions of wealth and start you down a path that will lead to financial utility.
Everyone Is an Entrepreneur: Selling Economic Self-Determination in a Post-Soviet World is a fascinating study of economics from the vantage of an American living in Armenia. Gregory V. Diehl examines what it means to be an entrepreneur and the obstacles faced when developing an entrepreneurial mindset, some ingrained by our culture or circumstances and others by choice. A transplant to this humble post-Soviet country, the author shares his experiences as he maintains and generates wealth for himself and tries to help his reluctant neighbors do the same. Along the way, readers are accorded anecdotes, observations and illumination that help cultivate their own success in whatever station or location they find themselves.
More than a financial handbook, Diehl’s insights provide a unique snapshot in time and culture, broadening horizons in a way that few of us have experienced. It might be difficult to imagine harboring an “unconscious fear about the concept of freedom and personal responsibility” if we’ve always lived with the conscious agency to produce and create whatever we enjoy or are good at. But this overwhelming fear weighs on Armenia’s citizens, even three decades into their political liberation. Considering the mindset of an outsider will help readers evaluate their own motivations and goals within the context of their abilities.
The author provides an in-depth look at assets, both tangible and intangible, that we may view as forms of wealth, including cash, property, possessions, and knowledge. The pages are rich with lively illustrations, tempering the verbose text down to something manageable for less savvy readers. Truthfully, this enlightening book does little to sugarcoat strongly entrenched and counterproductive ideas and beliefs. Rather, Diehl writes in a manner that is forceful, bold and practical. There is no filter or screen surrounding his politics and opinions, but the arguments are well-conceived and pragmatic. If you’re looking for new ways to invest in yourself and take a sensible stand for financial freedom, Everyone Is an Entrepreneur will shatter false illusions of wealth and start you down a path that will lead to financial utility and self-determination.
