The golden nuggets
01
Eight essentials decide almost everything: intent, authenticity, passion, patience, speed, work, attention, and content.
Gary says most people don't fail on execution - they fail on foundations. Line all eight up and you have the closest thing to a formula for crushing it that he can offer.
02
Get your intent right: be in it to give, not just to get.
Entrepreneurs chasing only money stall out. The winners in this book are driven by serving, teaching, and helping - and audiences can smell the difference.
03
Authenticity is the foundation. Be yourself, not a copy of anyone - not even Gary.
People can always spot a fake. Stay true to who you are and audiences will forgive your mistakes; chase trends and personas and the brand collapses.
04
Passion is your backup generator - and it can be passion for giving, not just for the product.
Shonduras had little interest in the jewelry he sold; he loved engaging customers and building with them. Passion for the process is what carries you through the hard years.
05
Pair patience with speed: slow about results, fast about daily execution.
Building a brand takes years, so be patient on outcomes - but move fast every day, ship, learn, and adjust. Confusing the two kills most people.
06
There is no substitute for the work.
Every story in the book comes back to hours: posting, replying, and outreaching after the day job ends. Six to eight hours of sleep is fine - the other sixteen to eighteen have to count.
07
Track attention like a trader, and grab it where it is still cheap.
Attention is the asset everything else is built on. New or overlooked platforms - Musical.ly in this book, voice-first next - are where attention is underpriced.
08
Content is the eighth essential: build one pillar, then splinter it everywhere.
Make one big piece of pillar content, then cut it into smaller pieces made natively for each platform. Never paste the identical post across every channel.
09
Document, don't create.
Instead of manufacturing polished posts, film your real day-to-day journey and learning process. It is easier, more honest, and frees you from perfectionism - Rich Roll built a brand doing exactly this.
10
The only thing you need to give yourself is permission - and your excuses don't hold up.
A full-time job, kids, no money, no time: everyone profiled in this book had one of those. Behind them sit three fears - of failure, of wasting time, and of seeming vain.
11
Get discovered by giving value first: reach out, offer help, collaborate.
Hashtags alone are a slow grind. Messaging people with a genuine, useful offer - free work, free product, real help - is how the book's unknowns got in front of audiences.
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The book, in short
Crushing It! is Gary Vaynerchuk's 2018 follow-up to his 2009 book Crush It! - and its proof. In 2009, building a personal brand online was a radical claim; by 2018, readers of the first book had actually done it. This book is built around their stories: everyday people who used social media to build businesses and live on their own terms - his definition of crushing it is being equally satisfied with your income and your life.
Part I, 'Get Pumped,' lays the foundation. Chapter 2, 'What (Still) Matters,' names seven essentials - intent, authenticity, passion, patience, speed, work, and the ability to track consumer attention - and Chapter 3 adds the eighth: content. He is blunt that most failures are foundation failures: wrong intent, a fake persona, or no patience for the years it takes.
