The Influential Author by Gregory V. Diehl

Every chapter teaches some nugget of entrepreneurship. 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. Reading his book provides good insight into the leadership skills one needs to succeed as an entrepreneur. 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. Diehl states that self-awareness and knowledge are the prime sources of wealth for anyone. They didn’t consider that they could take care of their own needs. Government control seemed to be incompatible with reality’s needs, but workers were hesitant to make a paradigm shift to self-actualization. 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. The idea of additional income-producing work was unheard of. Therefore, people thought that the State provided employment and rations were the only way there is to live. The income covered necessities and was constant. 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. Income provides for basic necessities and the comforts of living but may not provide for a sense of self-worth. He states that a job gives the appearance of security for the wage earner’s family and in society. Diehl’s book examines various forms of entrepreneurship in post-socialist economies.ĭiehl’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. The promotion of entrepreneurship, however, has been a challenging experience for these economies.

Diehl shows the communist influence on entrepreneurs is enduring but still changeable in former communist countries. 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 is an adventurous world traveler who uses his experiences as an educator and personal development mentoring in his writing.

The author bases his edifying text on his vast experience as an American living in post-communist Armenia. 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 Influential Author by Gregory V. Diehl