The Definition of Success tells the story of the year I voluntarily lived homeless and how I believe we can redefine success.
Driving w/ Strangers is a book of meditations about my drive from Mongolia to London.
The old definition of success meant self help, isolation, and stress. The new definition of success is a life of purpose. It means helping others, a community of love, and having a guide. It's time to evolve. You can do this.
Snook's excellent story-telling along with his poignant words about the struggles of living homeless have forever changed the way I view society. This book is worth a read - it tells a story that needs to be heard. Snook helps the reader to see the importance of knowing the lives of those who are marginalized in our society.
I feel like most books I've ever read on "success" tend to be some form of humble brag on rags to riches, or running off to Bali to get in touch with your inner yogi. This book is not that, and this guy is the real deal. He didn't try to get rich or flee to some fantasy island. He seriously lived the homeless lifestyle in order to better to come up with an idea that would actually help solve homelessness. That part of the book alone is worth the price. Otherwise, it's a good read for its thoughtfulness, humility, and the occasional funny bouts of self-deprecation. Snook challenges you to rethink the what success really looks like.
Derek's story not only draws you in. It relates to his message of shifting how you approach success and how you find happiness in life. And plus, if you follow him on social, you'll see some killer (and borderline seductive) dance videos :D Highly recommend!
After graduating from Furman University, Derek spent four months teaching at a school for orphans in a fishing village of Kenya, where he noticed a disconnect between those who want to help and those they are trying to help. He felt like the same disconnect existed where he was from, between the homeless and those who sought to help the homeless. As a result, upon returning to Charleston he voluntarily decided to live among the homeless for a year.
Through the experience he noticed that many of the men he lived with worked day labor, and so he decided to work day labor himself. He saw that while many simply wanted to get their wages for the night, others were sincerely trying to get ahead. Soon after he started In Every Story, which by 2014 placed as many as 170 employees on a daily basis at 35% + higher wages than competitors.
Derek has a curiosity and thirst for life, having lived on a sailboat in New York City, visited more than fifty countries, and given a TEDx talk. He also has blogged for The Huffington Post and has been published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
His proudest life moment to date is when he won a male beauty pageant contest in college, performing an interpretational ribbon dance to Aladdin’s “A Whole New World.”
He’s currently working on a new start up, www.LetsCoLife.com, which makes it safe and easy to rent a room in an owner occupied home. It’s like Airbnb + a dating app for housing.