‘The Hunt’ Audiobook Available July 8, Narrated by Matt Stone
Daniel Xu 07.07.14
The New York Times best-selling book The Hunt: Target, Track, and Attain Your Goals by David Farbman is now available on audible.com. The Hunt received widespread acclaim when it was published earlier this year and just two weeks after its initial release secured a top spot on the Times’ best seller list.
“The Hunt nails the bull’s-eye with its comparisons between hunting and business,” endorsed Bill Jordan, founder of Realtree. “There is little doubt this book can help you hit more of your targets in life.”
A non-fiction book that reads as a mixture of David’s passion for hunting and the system that propelled him to succeed in business, The Hunt made its latest convert in the very man who lent his voice to narrate the audiobook. I caught up with Matt Stone, an accomplished author and giant in the narration business, to ask him if The Hunt had a personal effect on him.
Daniel Xu: Coming from the perspective of someone who does not hunt often, what were your first impressions when you were approached with doing the audio for The Hunt?
Matt Stone: I’m not a complete non-hunter. I grew up hunting grouse in my backyard and doing a little dove hunting with my dad. I’ve even gone on a couple of elk hunts with some buddies of mine. They brought me on as a butcher/pack animal. Fortunately, my friends can’t shoot straight, and the only thing that died on those trips was my friends’ pride. All I had to pack out was a half-eaten PBJ.
I didn’t know much about David and the book, but I figured it wasn’t actually about hunting and my assumptions were correct. While it’s completely saturated with hunting metaphor, the book is more about taking aim in life towards your goals and dreams, and that’s right up my alley.
Xu: After reading the book, did it change your opinion toward hunting? Furthermore, how do you think The Hunt changed your perception of goals and achieving them (i.e. do you feel more like a predator after reading it)?
Stone: Haha. Reading the book definitely got me daydreaming about hunting. Many like myself—an ’80s kid from the suburbs—like the idea of hunting, self-sufficiency, and general badassery, but haven’t fully pursued hunting beyond blasting a few gangly squirrels with a 4-10.
As far as achieving goals are concerned, I’ve always been an abysmal failure at achieving goals, and have a long history of berating myself over my inability to follow through. Turns out the problem was that I was setting goals in areas that I didn’t really like, and then trying to force myself to follow through on something that I didn’t have a natural affinity for. Big mistake. When I finally started to pursue things that I was deeply interested in, I found myself achieving incredible feats of productivity and watching those dreams really come true. So far this year I’ve started three businesses, put together an online summit, written three books, published 30, and narrated 40.
Goals are certainly of great importance for many people, but identifying what you really want and getting in flow with your true desires is key also, and David does a great job of highlighting that in the book as well.
Xu: What do you think are some key takeaway ideas for readers that may not be too familiar with hunting?
Stone: I think what stands out the most is the patience, data-gathering, strategy, and sacrifice involved with hunting. Most people probably assume you just walk around in the woods until you see something and then shoot it. I mean, that’s how I roll. Talking to you, squirrels!
Xu: What is your process for determining which books you’ll narrate? Do you feel like you have to understand a book before lending your voice to it?
Stone: I’ve been obsessed with voices, accents, and sound effects ever since I can remember. I wouldn’t say I have some kind of “process,” but I will say that what helped me the most was David sending me the book with a friendly note scribbled in it and some words of encouragement. I went and liked him on Facebook and said thanks. He wrote back quickly saying something like (paraphrasing here):
“Hey bro, so psyched to have you working on this. Go kick some butt!”
I’m quite fluent in Bro-ese. I was an exchange student in Brovence one semester, so I relaxed into the project and just read it as my typical, animated, goofy self. It was a breeze, and if the audio editor caught all the burps and chair squeaks, well, I’d say this thing is going to be a joy to listen to.
I’d like to thank Matt Stone for taking the time to talk with us about his narration. You can find the paper version of The Hunt wherever books are sold, and the audio version here.
