Placed with intent,
not shelved with hope.
I’m Itay Binyamin. I wrote Take Control from 83 lines I actually live by, then sent 500 copies out into the world to find the people who need them.
I wrote Take Control because the 83 principles in it are the reason I'm standing where I'm standing. Not theory. They're how I actually live. The lines I run through my head when I need to make a decision, push through something hard, or get my head straight. The principles I fall back on when business gets hard, when life gets heavy, when I need to remember who I'm trying to be.
Here's the problem with a book on a shelf: it only reaches the people who go looking for it. And the people who need it most aren't browsing. They're sitting in a waiting room. Riding the bus. Killing time in a café. Going through something they don't talk about.
So I had a different idea. Place it with intent instead of shelving it with hope.
500 copies. No price tag. No owner. Left out in the world with one instruction: read it, take what's yours, pass it on.
Why tookcontrol.com and not takecontrol.com? Take Control is the instruction. Took Control is what happens when someone actually does it. You found the book. You picked it up. You scanned the code. You took control. The sticker says it plainly: “You found it. Now take control.”
Every wild copy carries a sticker that says YOU FOUND COPY #N, with a code. The book is yours while you have it. Read it first. Then scan the code and it opens that exact copy's page. Check in with where you found it, your name, and a message for the next reader. Then pass it on. Leave it somewhere the next person will find it. Every check-in becomes a stop on that copy's public journey: every city, every reader, every handoff, every mile. Only initials show publicly. Names, emails, and phone numbers stay private. You're holding something that's been in strangers' hands, and after you it will be in more. That trail is the point.
I live by a simple line: ideas are cheap, execution is everything. Passing the book on is execution.
I believe one idea at the right moment can change a person's life. I've lived it. Maybe one of these copies is sitting on a bench right now, waiting for the person who needs it today. I don't know who they are. I don't need to. I just need to keep putting the books out there.
I dedicated this book to my son Idan, to my wife Arielle, to my parents and my sisters. The people who made me who I am. This project comes from the same place: leave something behind that's bigger than you, and let it move on its own.
If a copy found you, it found you for a reason. You're part of this now. Read it. Take control. Then put it back into the world for the next person.
FAQ
Can I really keep the book?
Yes. It's a gift. Take the time you need. When you're finished, we hope you'll pass this traveling copy to someone else.
Where should I leave it next?
A friend's hands, a little free library, or a willing local business. Always ask before leaving books in businesses, libraries, or places of worship.
What information is shared?
Only what you choose to share. Your initials, the city where you found the book, and anything you add (a message, a photo, your Instagram) appear on the copy's public journey page. Your full name, email, and phone number stay private. We never show them publicly.
How can I order my own personal copy?
You can get your own copy on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, or Kindle. The Buy your own page has the link.
Can the book leave the state or country?
Yes. Take it anywhere in the world. Every check-in records the city, state, and country, so the farther a copy travels, the better its story gets.
Get in touch
Found a copy with a story? Press, speaking, or business — send it here.
Books don’t change lives
from the shelves.