Zappos & Downtown Boulder in the same sentence?

I'm reading a book...an actual book printed on actual paper. I'm turning pages and folding down corners. I might even pull out a highlighter to remember key phrases/quotes! It's kind of fun. No Kindal, iPad or Nook in sight.

So what's the book? It's an advance copy of Tony Hsieh's (pronounced 'Shay') Delivering Happiness - A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose. If you have never heard of Tony, you are sure to have heard of his company, Zappos.com. One day while surfing Mashable.com (a great resource for everything social media), I found an opportunity to receive a free advanced copy of the book. In return, all I had to do was promise to write an honest review the day of its release (June 7).

The reason I jumped at this chance is because from what I've read about Hsieh he's an extremely clever businessman and a very passionate person. He has embraced social media (specifically Twitter with 1,686,677 followers to date, just hair more then we have...) as an active participant - as the voice of Zappos... the human voice of Zappos. If he has some lessons on how to be successful in business and happy in life, I'm all ears! Over the next several days, I'll give you a sneak peek into the book and share some of his thoughts/wisdom.

So how does this all relate to Downtown Boulder? Because much like Hsieh, there is a never- ending-list of successful business people right here in our 49 block district with the same level of drive and passion. Just like Hsieh, they are doing what they love and they are really good at it. Just like Hsieh, they must be doing something right! Need some examples? Here's just a few of the many that come to mind:

Richard Foy / Communication Arts
Bobby Stuckey & Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson / Frasca Food and Wine
Dave Query / Big Red F
Richard Polk / Pedestrian Shops
David Bolduc /Boulder Book Store
Kimbal Musk / TechStars, The Kitchen
Andrew Hyde / TechStars, Ignite Boulder, Startup Weekend
Steven Tebo / Tebo Development Company
Andy James / James TravelPoints
Janice Manville / Peppercorn
Doug Emerson /University Bikes

Actually, Hsieh should consider moving here...he'd fit right in!

Thought for the day (one of Tony's 'Tweets to Live By'): "If the person you are talking to isn't listening, be patient. Maybe he has a small piece of fluff in his ear." - Winnie-the-Pooh

~ Terri