The Ride of a Lifetime: Doing Business the Orange County Choppers Way

by Paul Teutul

Book Overview

Tough, smart business advice from the star of the hit TLC reality show "American Chopper" Now in paperback, The Ride of a Lifetime elucidates the business principles that have made Paul Teutul Sr. and Orange County Choppers a household name. Paul's smart, commonsense business wisdom works for businesses both big and small in any industry. Here, he shows you firsthand how he built a uniquely successful business by working hard and demanding it from...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470449977
• ISBN13: 9780470449974
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 173 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great book for everyone

This is a great book to get to know the history of Paul Teutel and get a very useful tips in how he succeeded in his business life.

Better Appreciation for the American Chopper Show

It's always a good read to see someone who pulls themselves up by their own boot straps and makes a success of their life. I get upset though when I watch the ranting and raving, especially at family, on the show. Paul Sr, just look at what you've accomplished. Be proud and enjoy and quit all this bickering. It's below you and the vocation you've chosen.

A Good Read

This book is well-written with good "life-experience" tips on running a business.Paul Sr. tells how he started building bikes in his basement and takes the reader through his rise to the top of the custom-built bike industry.Pictures of his bikes through the years are included.Thumbs up!!!

Wonderful Inspirational Ride

I loved this book and believe it has the potential to be one of the most important business books published this year. Sure, there are deeper "how to" business books. There is a constant parade of sucessful executives who have a ghost writer package some homilies into a business "how to" in an effort to burnish the image of the author and pave their way on the corporate speaking circuit. And, then there are the academicians who package their latest business theories. This book is in sharp contrast to those books. This is a book that gives hope and inspiration to every blue collar worker who yearns to make a better life for himself or herself. Author Paul Teutul, Sr., has built a very successful business, while also bootstrapping a noteworthy brand (Orange County Choppers). And, he has done it the old fashioned way, by hard work and disciplined adherence to basic life and business values. If that alone was not inspirational enough, along the way to this success, Teutul has also overcome drug and alcohol addictions which threatened both his business and his life. With so many jobs being eliminated due to what I expect will (regretfully) be a prolonged economic downturn, blue collar workers (and white collar workers) need role models of hard working men and women who have bootstrapped themselves to success. Few potential role models have more inspiring stories than Teutel's. Caveat: I don't hear Paul Teutul holding himself out as some perfect role model, and I am certainly not doing so. Teutul is refreshingly blunt about his strengths and weaknesses. In a world of "role models" who so often show that there is a huge gap between their image and reality, Teutul is a very refreshing study in authenticity. Got a blue collar worker friend who has lost his job, gift him -- or her -- this book. You will be doing your friend an important favor. And, together we will be helping America's workers to contribute to the revitalization of America through small businesses that are (hopefully) focused, nimble and efficient.

The Perfect Book for Overcoming in both Life and Business!

With "The Ride of a Lifetime" Paul Teutul, SR. comes across- as he does on television as well- as a "real" man with real problems, obstacles, hurdles and (more than anything) belief in overcoming and moving past it all. Whether it be overcoming a design problem or overcoming his previous addictions Teutul has mastered what it takes to rise above and succeed in both life and business. It is literally remarkable that this man of simple means and a less than appealing childhood could rise up from so many negatives throughout his first 35 years of life and become such a well known business personality, loving father (you can see it is there, even when he screams at Paul Jr. and Mikey) and caring person (whether he wants to admit it or not, many of Paul's and his son's charity events prove that his heart is as big as his biceps). As a writer and magazine publisher myself, I come in contact with quite a few first written works and I must say that whatever this book may lack in writing style or experience it far makes up in real, helpful, down-to-earth information that, in my opinion, would be some pretty useful required reading in both business and life. Kudos to Paul for becoming all he can be while helping his sons to also get where they are going and breaking the cycle in which he was once a part of in his earlier years. I would actually love to have this product packaged with my first title, "Wisdom & Wisecracks for the Aspiring Business Owner" (by Will Estell) and give these two books (maybe even free!) to everyday normal people of all ages who aspire to become more in the world of business while maintaining balance in life and family. I have a feeling these two simple to read books from simple guys from simple pasts would work wonders for many. I say buy and read "The Ride of a Lifetime" today and it will make you a better person tomorrow. Will Estell Author, Oxford, AL Wisdom & Wisecracks for the Aspiring Business Owner The Ride of a Lifetime: Doing Business the Orange County Choppers Way