Copy This! : Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic who Turned a Bright Idea into One of America's Best Companies

Bill Moyers said this about Paul Orfalea after reading Copy This!: "If I could live my life over again, I would sit at his feet and listen to everything he has to say." And David Brancaccio, host of NOW on PBS, wrote: "As the host for a decade of a daily business program, I had to read what seemed like every business book published in the English language. It is, therefore, with authority that I can say Paul Orfalea’s book is wonderful, heartbreaking, and profoundly useful."

Now in paperback, Copy This!, Paul Orfale's memoir of turning lemons into lemonade, is wise, personal, funny, unflinchingly honest, and filled with wisdom, business lessons, and his inspired Orfalea Aphorisms. It's the story of how a struggling kid who could barely read, write, or sit still managed to grow a 100-square-foot copy shop named Kinko's into a $1.5 billion empire that Fortune named one of the best places in America to work. And it's the story of an individual who saw his learning disabilities—ADHD and dyslexia—as learning opportunities, which molded the homegrown, compassionate culture that allowed Kinko's to thrive, and guided the behavior of a CEO who had no choice but to think different. A terrifically entertaining read from a born storyteller, but with the hardcore guts of true business acumen, Copy This! will blow fresh air into the thinking of any manager, entrepreneur, executive, or business owner.

Ann Marsh first met and wrote about Paul Orfalea as a staff writer for Forbes magazine. She lives in Costa Mesa, California.

Paul Orfalea founded Kinko’s in 1970 and retired from the company in 2000. He frequently teaches at the University of Southern California and talks to educational and business organizations around the country. Through the Orfalea Family Foundation, Mr. Orfalea supports a broad range of educational initiatives. He lives with his family in Santa Barbara, California.