Everyone Is an Entrepreneur

Selling Economic Self-Determination in a Post-Soviet World

By: Gregory V. Diehl

Narrated by: Gregory V. Diehl

Westerners today grow up with abundant opportunities to determine their own values, identities, and roles in society. But for generations, millions who lived under Soviet rule in the USSR had these essential freedoms withheld, determined instead by a central authority that claimed the right to choose for them and enforce their compliance. Thirty years after the Soviet Union’s decisive collapse, the old communist paradigm continues to limit those who come of age in a post-Soviet world.

Everyone Is an Entrepreneur showcases the experience of an American author acclimating to life in the developing post-Soviet economy of Armenia. Along the way, he examines how the intelligent and hardworking people he lives among are stuck in a state of transition away from all-encompassing, bureaucratic control. They struggle to adjust to the responsibilities of economic self-determination because they have never learned how to see the world through entrepreneurial eyes.

Entrepreneurship is a principled way of seeing the world, a paradigm that applies to people in all cultural and economic circumstances: artists, office workers, doctors, teachers, farmers, and laborers alike. By adopting this universal outlook, anyone can produce more wealth, accomplish bigger goals, and take control of their life like never before.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Gregory Diehl (P)2022 Gregory Diehl

Why Entrepreneurship Doesn't Work in Eastern Europ

I enjoyed this interesting, though very North American influenced look at an American entrepreneur's frustrations at dealing with the people in his Armenian village and the implications of their cultural upbringing under the old Communist regime on their ability to embrace the economics of the western, entrepreneurial economy.
This one raises a lot of unspoken questions about why any North Americans experience similar difficulties.
A worthwhile read.

Accurate and deeply insightful

This is a refreshing and insightful read that redefines entrepreneurship. Diehl skillfully shows how this mindset extends beyond business, inspiring readers to unlock their creative potential in all life areas. This resonated with me personally, being born in the states but whose parents are from the Soviet Era.

A quaint little book for economics novices

The book serves as a primer for those who have not had adequate education on how markets function. It is best suited for those who live outside major market economies, ie those outside of Western Europe, Asia and North America.

The book is peppered with the authors experiences of living in a small village in Armenia, and his misadventures in trying to get his neighbors to operate more collaboratively to solve their own problems, as well as the problems of others.

The information presented in the book is broken down into simple terms, so that anyone without a prior background in economics could understand what he is trying to say.

A fresh and unique perspective on the topic

This was such a fantastic book that I hope gets the attention it deserves. I was first introduced to Gregory Diehl when I came across one of his previous books The Influential Authors. Much like the previous book, with this new one, Gregory offers a fresh and unique perspective on the topic. This book isn’t just about entrepreneurship, but it also provides readers with a look into what it’s like in post-Soviet countries where the citizens don’t even have a point of reference for how they can be entrepreneurial. Gregory currently resides in Armenia, so aside from his wisdom, he also provides stories about how he’s teaching people in his village about entrepreneurship and how it can better their lives.

By reading this book, Western readers will gain a newfound appreciation for the opportunities we have due to our ability to be entrepreneurial. For others around the world, they’ll learn about economics, human nature, and what it takes to be an entrepreneur. But as someone who thought I wouldn’t learn much from this book because I’ve had various entrepreneurial ventures since my teen years, I was surprised at how much value I gained from this book. So, overall, I don’t think there’s anyone who wouldn’t benefit from this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn and take a bit more control over their life.

Also, the author personally narrates his books, and that's always a positive aspect in my book.

A modern classic on economic thought

A quite unique and necessary book about economics, entrepreneurship and life. the author has a unique perspective on how the soviet union economy enslaved and mind-controlled millions of people under it. The theme of the writing is that 'economic self determination' is the key to liberating people's minds and giving them the power to live life to the fullest. In the way they see fit. Goes way beyond the normal capitalist vs. communism debate. Everyone stands to gain from this deep unpacking of how people live and make choices.

A rare perspective on an important topic

There are a lot of references to changes in world view. It's about learning to see how some principles and rules are always at play around us, like how the laws of physics are not something that happens in experiments in a laboratory. The laws of entrepreneurship or economics are everywhere too, affecting everything we do. I can imagine most that young people will gain the most from this as it will shape their understanding of business and making money for life

Baskerville Book Reviews

Everyone Is an Entrepreneur deserves praise for how insightful it is as well as for the relevant examples provided throughout. I noticed a few of the examples throughout pertained to myself or the select few people I associate with.

The one real issue here isn’t whether or not the content is useful or worth your time, it very much is. The issue is the self-defeating attitude a lot of people have which is addressed in the book. One bit of advice given is to continually try to expand your knowledge base and pick up new skills. As somebody who has picked up wiki editing and book reviewing in the last few years, I can see the merits in this.

At the same time though, I also find it difficult to ever excel at anything when my talents are spread so thin. I never have time for all of the things I want to do and often find myself wanting to drop useless skills. Am I just being self-defeating or is this an oversight with the advice provided?

As for the audio/narration: Mother of the gods, I despise author-narrated books. There’s no quality control with author narrations. His words seem to slur and cross over each other, making it difficult to tell what he’s saying. The audio pierces my ears as it’s randomly louder or quieter as he talks, and it’s got this insufferable background static the entire time.

While I normally listen to books at 2.55x speed, I had to slow it down because of how quickly he talks. The author doesn’t seem to understand pacing or natural pauses while speaking and it cums off as if he’s in a hurry to finish this narration asap.

Post-listen edit: First, I stand by everything that I said previously. While emailing the author (Hi there), he said that’s his natural speaking voice. I can’t fault him for that, sure, but that doesn’t mean it makes for professional narration. While the screechy, ear-piercing audio eventually got better, the ever-present static never left cumpletely. Finally, there was the slurring. That too got better, though I did notice occasionally it sounded like words meshed together.

This is a case where my rating/suggestion is mixed. I recommend the kindle or physical version, whichever might be available while I say give the audiobook a hard pass.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.