I’ve long heard of people being overcome with their work.  Being owned by that driving force that is the “franchise” and so consumed by the need to excel, to achieve.  This is Jim Cramer.

“Confessions of a Street Addict” is a journal that takes you from the first influence of the business section of the newspaper to the self destruction and eventual submission to a personal demon that is money.  Not his own money; his partners’ money.  The man behind the “fund” had taken a beating and battled back to positive territory on numerous occasions, and on each occurrence, it whittled away the most basic of all human traits.

Jim Cramer was very good at what he did for a living.  He still is.  The need for success was what made him good.  It still is.  His book outlines the pitfalls that overcame him by being so tied up with the business that his personal life away from the business all but disappeared.  So consumed in his work, he found himself running a company by telephone while at a funeral.

In the beginning, it was unacceptable to have a down quarter.  As time went on, it became unacceptable to have a down month, then a down day. Then, just before he threw in the towel, it was unacceptable for a stock to have a down tick, and if it did, furry erupted.

Jim Cramer’s story is a good example for all entrepreneurs who are starting out on their own, trying so diligently to make their company successful that ‘winning’ replaces ‘living’ as a lifestyle.  So addicted that you give up the human nature to be an individual and resort to being a machine among dollar signs.

In addition to the lesson in personal management and self control is the lesson in personnel management.  From the inception of TheStreet.com, Cramer and his partner had management issues.  SEC rules requiring limited knowledge of the business side of the operation (due to his influence in the stock market) left Cramer out in the dark in his own company, allowing his appointed CEO’s to run wild with frivolous spending and lackluster to little business management, solidifying the need for good people that you trust implicitly to be in charge of your operation.

I definitely recommend “Confessions of a Street Addict” to anyone who has an interest in the stock market or in a position to start and run your own business.  It opens your eyes to the harsh realities of being addicted to making money and at the same time trying to juggle a startup company with a personal life.

An easy book to read, a hard book to put down.

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