Author- Jason Kothari
Publishers- HarperBusiness (11 March 2020)
Language: English
Pages- 268 pages
Book Review- ‘Irrationally Passionate: My Turnaround from Rebel to Entrepreneur-’ is an autobiography of Jason Kothari, an entrepreneur, and business turnaround leader. Books belonging to this genre seldom appeal to me for the simple reason that they tend to veer towards one of the two extremes- self-glorification or self-deprecation. To my pleasant surprise, this book manages to tread the fine line adroitly.
The insecurities of a young Jason, his brash adolescence and rebellious youth are captured in detail. The story never meanders and keeps the reader hooked to the chain of events. You tend to empathize with Jason and even root for him when he is going through a turmoil-personal or professional. Herein lies the beauty of this book. His journey from a ‘rebel without a cause’ to an entrepreneur par excellence, is good enough to be narrated in management schools.
The writer refrains from using melodrama to highlight his struggles; instead, he tends to underplay the current of emotions that he undergoes. The language is crisp and the narrative lucid. Heavy jargon related to management tools is minimally used. Even a layman can read this book and identify with the skill set of Jason. I would recommend this book to every budding entrepreneur as there are many takeaways as you turn the pages-268 only, ensuring that the reader doesn’t lose focus.
There are times when the storyline tends to project Jason as a superhero, especially during his stint in a martial camp in Thailand but at just the right moment, the writer showcases the follies of the protagonist, making him appear an ordinary human being. What could easily have been a hagiography is salvaged by some very smart writing. By the time you finish reading this book, you will be in awe of Jason Kothari. At the same time, you will be instilled with a feeling- If he can, why can’t I? This, in my eyes, is Jason Kothari’s victory in more ways than one- igniting hope in the mind of every struggling entrepreneur. And as Jason points out in the ‘Author’s Note’, this book is an attempt to help upcoming entrepreneurs embrace the challenges that they inevitably are going to face on the long and lonely path to success in this cutthroat realm.
Personally, my takeaway from this book is – ‘Limits are illusions’. If you put your heart to it, nothing is impossible. You can be as invincible as the superhero characters in the comics that young Jason used to read…and trade.
Verdict- A must-read. Unputdownable.
