This book caught my eye in the Design Museum shop in London a couple of months ago. I’ve seen loads of books of this type in the past, but its straight-talking conversational style held my attention whilst I was flicking through it, and I quickly found myself unable to put it down, which is usually a good sign.

As the title suggests, the main difference with this book as compared to many other ‘how to succeed in business’ publications is that it comes from the starting point that pitches affect every moment of crucial change in our lives, and that there are common traits and emotional factors that can apply to any occasion where you are “trying to get someone else to do what you want them to do – to hire you, to sleep with you, to lend you a million pounds, to start your own business…”.

The notion that life is a non-stop pitch – with all its associated pressures, expectations, scrutiny and opportunities for excessive self-criticism – is perhaps pretty depressing on first thought, but the book presents a good case for how this mindset can be used to help you feel more positively self-aware and ready to seize the initiative.

With the over-arching theory rooted in basic branding principles, the authors advocate that “a pitch does not take place in the library of the mind, it takes place in the library of the heart.” Much of the practical advice that follows is simple common-sense – applicable both for business situations and in “everyday” circumstances alike – but the appeal of this book is that this is packaged and delivered in a way that inspires and energises you to take control of your destiny, whilst fortunately managing to avoid coming across as too fluffy, smug or preachy.