UNSOLICTED REVIEW OF MY BOOK


I enjoyed reading this on the Amazon reviews. On all of my products, I look for customer feedback by reading the internet rankings. My job is to offer items that are well-liked. Sales come with good products, it never works the other way around (that is, sell a lot of product that is not well-liked).
Amazon sells my book for about $10. I think it's $12 at Barnes and Noble and Borders but either way, according to people I don't know, you'll love it!

MY INTERVIEW ON THE GREGORY MANTELL SHOW

It was pretty obvious to me why Gregory is so well-regarded as a television host. He comes well-prepared for his interviews. He read my book the weekend before the show, and called me up saying that he loved it, and that he was laughing quite loudly at parts.
This show is syndicated in markets nationwide, but we got the clip right here:
The Gregory Mantell Show -- The Accidental Millionaire
Uploaded by mantellg. - Check out other Film & TV videos.

VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH LOS ANGELES' KCAL 9 NEWS REPORTER, MICHELLE SIMICK


Read more! The paperback is available for about $10 at:
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amazon KINDLE
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CHAPTERS.CA
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NOW A BORDER'S BESTSELLER

A/M - Now a Border's Best Seller in the Business and Profiles category:

I have read "What the Dog Saw", "Pigs At The Trough" and Sam Walton's book. I wrote the one on the bottom right, too!

BOOK OF THE MONTH - JUNE - PACIFIC REVIEWS!


I just found this review in e-Zine magazine. A/M/H/T/S/I/L/W/R/T was named June's BOOK OF THE MONTH in Pacific Review!

"...Opposed to ego flaunting books of success by guys like Donald Trump,
Gary Fong takes the humble route, full of self-mockery and modest remarks, as he casts his fate to the wind to free himself and let life lead his path. He is very unlike the Jack Welch type of millionaire that professes the full control of cognitive evaluation of risk approach, or the scores of books offering money making formulas investing in real estate.

Gary Fong calls his auto-biographical book "A Memoir" - I call it fantastic...


Click here to read the review!

The paperback is available for about $10 at:
AMAZON.COM
amazon KINDLE
BORDERS.COM
CHAPTERS.CA
BARNESANDNOBLE.COM
More recent reviews:

Melissa Levine, Independent Book Reviewers says, “This is not your typical “how to get rich” book. This is the story of a man’s life; an illustration of the major events that influenced his thinking and behavior. Fong’s story includes not only his successes, but also his failures in business and his personal life that drove him to constantly reassess his approach. This is a book that will shake up your way of being in the world, maybe even crack open a door for a few accidents of your own to tumble through. I highly recommend it.”

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures says, “Fong has succeeded in narrating a gripping success story that offers insight after business insight. It is more than a tale about a shrewd businessman, but rather a story about a visionary that will inspire readers to think creatively and individually, and not be prevented from taking action by limited resources.”

REVIEW ON THE AMERICAN CHRONICLE

click here to read the full review (I'm pinching myself)

"Gary Fong, author of The Accidental Millionaire: How to Succeed in Life Without Really Trying was blessed with an innate business savvy, particularly in the area of marketing. When you incorporate this with his humorous and fascinating autobiography, magic happens. That is precisely how I would describe this book that reads more like a novel than a narrative non-fiction."

"Fong has succeeded in narrating a gripping success story that offers insight after business insight. It is more than a tale about a shrewd businessman, but rather a story about a visionary that will inspire readers to think creatively and individually, and not be prevented from taking action by limited resources."




Read more! The paperback is available for about $10 at:
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amazon KINDLE
BORDERS.COM
CHAPTERS.CA
BARNESANDNOBLE.COM

NICE RADIO INTERVIEW!


Read more! The paperback is available for about $10 at:
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RADIO INTERVIEW: 5/17/10

LISTEN TO MY RADIO INTERVIEW ON XZONE
Here's my radio interview broadcast throughout North America and other syndicated markets worldwide. This is just a short excerpt of my answer to why I wrote my book. To hear the entire interview (it's 45 mins) CLICK HERE!

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amazon KINDLE
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CHAPTERS.CA
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Radio Interview: Dresser At Night



Click here to read the full review!

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What Does The Title Mean?

The title was the result of a creative brainstorm between my publicist and my publisher. It took some convincing for me to be ok with it, because I thought it sounded like I slipped and fell at Wal-Mart or something. Here's the meaning behind the title:

True story - A Bride "Hired" Me For A June Wedding, But DIdn't Have A Groom Yet... *(Oh I'll meet him in time)"

This is an example of Goals Gone Wild:
This bride went to a Zig Ziglar seminar for achieving goals. In it, Zig explains:
In Order To Achieve Your Goal: You have to...
1) put the goal in writing
2) have a deadline for your goal
3) have leverage against yourself in case you don't achieve the goal

This attractive, successful bride pulled out her clipboard and did exactly just that. She put the goal of being married before 30 in writing. The goal was a month before her 30th birthday. And the leverage against herself was the horrific thought of walking down the aisle alone.
Let's read what happens:

Read more! The paperback is available for about $10 at:
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Day One: How Did I Get My First Wedding Clients?

The early days of being a wedding photographer were challenging. I remember considering holding up a big sign on a busy street advertising wedding photography for $150.00

I was so impatient. And even when I booked 49 weddings in my first year, living with mom and dad, I was so unsatisfied. I wanted to book 100. One hundred!

No wonder why I would crash 12 years later...

Why I Chose Not To Advertise

One of my luckier breaks was reading a book called, "Marketing Without Advertising" when I was planning my business.

It explained why it is much better to skip the advertising and focus on the referral client. I had no idea about any of this at age 24, but it made sense to follow it, and thank goodness I did because I follow this same approach today, decades later.

Another great piece of advice from Rocky Gunn about building relationships, and not being an annoying sales-person. There's more gems inside the pages of this book :)

The Paperback Edition is available for about $10 through:
AMAZON.COM
amazon KINDLE
BORDERS.COM
CHAPTERS.CA
BARNESANDNOBLE.COM

Early Days As A Wedding Photographer

It was really tough in the early days trying to be a wedding photographer. I lived at home with my mom and dad, turned my bedroom into an office and slept under the desk. That first year, I booked 49 weddings and grossed $64,190. How did that happen? By charging $150 to shoot the wedding, and designing albums for the couple promptly after the wedding day:



It wasn't easy being 24 years old, and living with your mom, trying to shoot nice weddings:


Review by Zedomax

Those of you who watch the book sales charts may notice that the sales pace for my book is still increasing. This, I've learned is an effect of positive word-of-mouth rather than initial publicity.
Writing a book is really random thoughts that wind up set in stone. Kind of like for those of you who are songwriters. You just kind of let free association flow and what will be, will be. That makes for the most refreshing kinds of work. But in creative published works, once these silly little things become cemented (and nothing cements your words more than having 10's of thousands of people around the world reading your words!) you start to believe that the stuff you wrote had a deeper meaning.
Reading book reviews always gives me a glimpse into the deeper meaning. Read this review by Zedomax:

I tend to read a lot of business books and on my last trip to my local Borders bookstore, I noticed a new book called “The Accidental Millionaire”. Of course, I always enjoy books that are written by the actual entrepreneur and skip those writing about someone else.
Anyways, this is one of the best books I have read on business and life. The renowned photographer/inventor/entrepreur Gary Fong, the author of the book, goes into details of his life and how he came to be a millionaire through “accidents” in his life.

I can really relate to him in that sense that most of things I’ve achieve in life are by “accident” also.

In the book, Gary goes into depth of how he grew up with his Korean mother and Chinese father in Southern California. (and also goes into depth about his mother’s wig business in the ghetto of Compton where they witness killings of their neighbors by thugs)

The part I enjoy the most is the fact that Gary shares his marketing wisdom along with biography of his real life. I really like how refers to “zen” on how the less he tried to do, the more he accomplished, perhaps a good thought for anyone who’s been struggling to succeed.

I started reading the book 2 days ago and couldn’t really put it down but I did finish it in just 2 days, it’s really that good.

Also, I have been learning a lot about photography lately and “accidentally” came upon this book at Borders.

I won’t spoil you though with much more information though other than this is a great book and very inspirational if you are thinking about starting a new business (especially in photography).


The Paperback Edition is available for about $10 through:
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amazon KINDLE
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CHAPTERS.CA
BARNESANDNOBLE.COM


In the first 1/3 of the book, I discuss being completely zombified by motivational speaker "Zig Ziglar".

Zig's advice for success, 1) Make a goal, 2) Put it in writing, 3) Have a deadline for your goal and 4) put leverage against yourself to make sure that if you fail your goal it will be painful.

I lived with this mantra for about the first third of the book, until I failed at all of the goals I set for myself.

Broken and miserable, I chose to "give up hope"

The Paperback Edition is available for about $10 through:
AMAZON.COM
amazon KINDLE
BORDERS.COM
CHAPTERS.CA
BARNESANDNOBLE.COM