Book Review – message from the middle of nowhere

What’s the first thing you think about when you hear Iceland? Volcanoes? Vikings? Glaciers? Probably all of them.

Sales? Probably not! But that’s what Message from the Middle of Nowhere by Gunnar Andri Thorisson is all about. Sales and his beautiful country. 😁

I have to start this review by pointing out how much this book made me wanna travel to Iceland. Unfortunately, as I’m reading this book during the Covid Pandemic, it’s not the best time to travel right now… But, I’ll make sure to visit Iceland with my girlfriend in the future!

Gunnar Andri tells his personal story and how sales has been a huge part of his life ever since he was a child selling newspapers. No matter at what stage in life, he was always selling something and he figured out that he was quite good at it too. Whether it was books, vacuum cleaners or other products, one of Gunnar’s principles was to always be honest and not ripping people off. And it paid off.

This book made me realize that I have never worked on my sales skills. As Gunnar put it in the book: Everyone is selling, all the time. So I better start actively working on these skills ASAP. (Thanks for the reminder😉)

But, this book wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. A huge part of the lessons in this book are about how to deal with setbacks, temporary failure and even natural disasters. (Remember, this story is from Iceland 🏔️🌋). Gunnar has an interesting way of handling these situations. (more details soon 📹)

Some of my favorite Takeaways:

1️. Everyone is selling, all the time. The question is: How good of a salesman are you?

2. No one can offend you without your permission.

3️. Honesty must always precede success.

4. “It’s better to read a single book and abide by its principles than to read numerous books and fail to grasp their content.”

I’ve said this before, but it’s still true: Books that are based on a story and teach valuable lessons at the same time are my favorite reads. I cruised through this so easily and quickly because I enjoyed the story. At the same time I was able to gain important insights and new perspectives!