About the Author:
Barry Bassett is a British author, motivational speaker, radio presenter, and successful entrepreneur. He was born in 1968 in London, England. His father, Jeff Bassett, was the founder of VMI.TV Ltd, a broadcast camera rental company that started in 1979 as a family business. Jeff Bassett immigrated to the UK from Pakistan in his early twenties to study Aeronautical Engineering, but later became electronics engineer and started selling and renting video equipment.
He passed away in 2008 due to heart disease. Barry inherited his father’s business and legacy, but also faced many challenges and crises, such as a near-bankruptcy, a recession, several burglaries, one of which was uninsured and a pandemic.
Barry managed to overcome these difficulties and transform VMI.TV Ltd into a successful and award-winning company that operates in various sectors such as drama, documentaries, commercials, and live events. Barry has a maths degree from Keele University and an MBA from Imperial College London. He is also a passionate cyclist, cricketer, chef, and family man.
The Book and its Success:
The book was published in May 2020 and received positive reviews from readers and critics alike. It was praised for its honesty, humour, emotion, and inspiration. It has received 5* reviews on Amazon in several categories such as memoirs, biographies, self-help, travel, and personal transformation.
Summary:
The book is divided into four parts:
Part One: The Early Years;
Part Two: The Middle Years;
Part Three: The Later Years;
Part Four: The Future.
Part One: The Early Years
In this part, Barry recalls his childhood and adolescence growing up in London with his parents Jeff and Monika Bassett. He describes his father as a visionary and a risk-taker who started VMI.TV Ltd from scratch and built it into a successful business. Barry also talks about his school days, his hobbies, his friends, and his first car.
Part Two: The Middle Years
In this part, Barry recounts his adulthood and the challenges he faced in his personal and professional life. He talks about his involvement in VMI.TV Ltd, taking over the business from his father in 2007, and dealing with the financial crisis, the recession, the competition, and the changing market.
Part Three: The Later Years
In this part, Barry reflects on his achievements with the company on recovering from the uninsured loss, when everything came together to build a successful team and company and which was reflected with prosperity success and recognition, in winning several awards for their progress.
He also talks about his achievements as raising money for good causes and standing up for what he believes in. He also talks about how he coped with the COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown, and the impact on his business and his family. He also talks about how he wrote his book during this time and what he learned from his life journey.
Part Four: The Future
In this part, Barry looks ahead to the future and shares his hopes and plans for himself, his family, and his business. He also talks about his vision and values, such as living fully and positively, overcoming adversity, finding purpose and passion, making a difference, and leaving a legacy.
Punch Lines:
Some of the punch lines from the book are:
“Life is not a rehearsal. It’s a one-time show. Make it count.”
“The only way to predict the future is to create it.”
“Don’t let your past define you. Let it inspire you.”
“The biggest risk in life is not taking any risks at all.”
“Happiness is not a destination. It’s a way of traveling.”
Important Points:
Some of the important points from the book are:
- Barry took over VMI.TV Ltd from his father in 2007 after his father’s death. He faced many challenges and crises in running the business, such as a near-bankruptcy, a recession, a fire, and a pandemic. He managed to overcome these difficulties and transform VMI.TV Ltd into a successful and award-winning company that operates in various sectors such as drama, documentaries, commercials, and live events. He also won several awards and recognition for his work on sustainability for the UK TV industry.
- Barry travelled around the world and visited many places and cultures. He also met many celebrities and influential people and learned from their stories and insights.
- Barry wrote his book during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. He shared his life story and his family business story in an honest, humorous, emotional, and inspirational way. He also shared his lessons and tips on how to live fully and positively despite the circumstances, and how to find purpose and passion in life.
Lessons to Learn:
Some of the lessons to learn from the book are:
- Life is unpredictable and full of challenges and opportunities. We can choose how we respond to them and what we make of them.
- We can overcome adversity and hardship by having a positive mindset, a resilient attitude, a supportive network, and a clear vision.
- We can live fully and happily by following our dreams, pursuing our passions, expressing our talents, exploring our potentials, and enjoying our moments.
- We can make a difference and leave a legacy by being authentic, generous, compassionate, responsible, and grateful.
Recommendations for who should read the book and why:
The book is recommended for anyone who is interested in reading a memoir of a successful entrepreneur who overcame various challenges and hardships in his personal and professional life. The book is also recommended for anyone who is looking for inspiration, motivation, guidance, and advice on how to live fully and positively despite the circumstances, and how to find purpose and passion in life. The book is also recommended for anyone who enjoys reading stories of adventure, achievement, humor, emotion, and wisdom.
Buy this inspirational book from Amazon.
Additionally, for those who prefer to listen to the book, an audio version is available at: https://fullexperienceliving.com/audiobook.
