Pocket Full of Do — Book Summary

Summary of Chris Do's latest book.

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One sentence summary: People will only value what you create and who you are as much as you do.

Pocket Full of Do consists of seven encompassing sections. Each one is approximately 20 pages in length.

Relationships
Creativity
Beliefs
Pricing
Sales & Negotiation
Marketing
Mindset

Big ideas

Relationships. Most of Chris Do’s advice revolves around the call to anticipate your customers' needs, listen well, and be mindful of your own influences. If you want to upgrade your life, upgrade your personal development and upgrade your clients.

Beliefs. Do writes some great content on the subject of reinterpreting pain as transformation. He reminds us that we don’t have to settle for who we were yesterday, but in order to become who we want to be tomorrow, there will be a cost… and the cost is worth it.

Pricing. This section is absolute GOLD! I think Do’s philosophy of pricing and value will go down as one of his greatest contributions to the field of creative work. Here are some highlights:

There is a vital difference between cost (amount it takes to make), price (amount of money paid by buyer), and value (usefulness of the product).
Don’t charge on “inputs” (e.g., time), charge on “outputs” (e.g., deliverables).
Value-based pricing requires having “value conversations” with your clients or customers.
If you want better customers, charge more.
Use anchoring to your advantage by flipping the script and placing the “high anchor” first (i.e., instead of $5 - $100, say $100 - $5).

Sales. Do drives home the idea that if you want to be treated like an expert, you need to start acting one. This doesn’t only apply to sales, but this is one area most creatives struggle with. As you develop this mindset-shift, you’re able to focus on selling who you are (a unique, creative expert) rather than just what you do (make logos, write books, etc.).

Marketing. There’s a story in the marketing portion of this book that talks about the “1/8 Story” from Errol Gerson. It’s so, so good. (Sorry, no spoilers here!)

Overall, the book reads like a well-curated collection of daily entries in a journal. I recommend reading the book section by section, rather than page by page. I think if you were to spread out the reading of this book over too long of a period of time, you would easily miss some of the meta-narratives at play.