Irrationally Passionate: My Turnaround From Rebel to Entrepreneur
Author: Jason Kothari
Publisher: Harper Collins
Rating: 4/5
The life of an entrepreneur is not easy. One needs to have the audacity to challenge oneself at every turn of life in order to survive with sharks in the vast sea of opportunities. Similarly, Entrepreneurship is not everyone’s cup of tea. One should have the right mix of grit, determination, street smartness, creativity and the ability to think on their feet to be able to pass the muster and shine.
Jason Kothari’s autobiographical account ‘Irrationally Passionate’ explores the vicissitudes of his life and aims at inspiring all the young people out there to follow the road less travelled without an iota of hesitation. Born and brought up in Hongkong, Jason had always been smart at what he did. Though his journey is not exactly from Old Kent Road to Mayfair, it still portrays the struggles that he had to go through as a novice in the corporate field. Jason bought Valient Entertainment at the age of 19 saving his favourite superhero company from bankruptcy. No, he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The fact that his family and friends trusted his instincts enough to allow him to venture into the unknown is what set the wheels of his story rolling. Following this, he went on to salvage the life of the drowning internet icons of India like Freecharge, Housing.com and Snapdeal. With every deal, he learnt a great deal about the art of turnaround and that is, as he puts is, the most essential quality that every entrepreneur should possess.
We all have heard the proverb ‘When life gives you lemons, squeeze them and make a lime juice’. Well, that’s the exact thing that Jason believes in doing. He believes that opportunities will come in your way in the garb of failed plans. Identifying the right chance and jumping the bandwagon will take you a long way. He believes that he had the knack for turnaround right from a very young age and he understood that when he bargained a chessboard for 30 which was originally priced at 500. In this book, he deftly uses anecdotes from his life as a rebel kid and as a successful entrepreneur to bring forth an array of life lessons that any entrepreneur can bank upon.
Some of the prominent lessons that can be taken from this autobiographical account are: failures are inevitable but one must know the art of rising again and beginning from the scratch, nothing worthwhile comes easy as it takes sacrifice to understand and experience euphoria.
Written with utmost dexterity, Irrationally Passionate is all about chasing your passion and turning dreams to reality. The narrative is smooth but the language is quite colloquial. Nevertheless, the account by the author evokes empathy and also inspires the readers to have the will in them to stand for what they believe is right. You might not hit a home run in your very first attempt. But perseverance and focus will get you there. The only part I could not relate well with was the financial backup that a 19-year-old had. Not everyone can get that kind of money. So even when the story sounds inspiring, it also makes you aware of the extra hurdle that lays in your path.
Overall, this book is a must-read for all the dreamers who dream of making a place for themselves in this already gridlocked world.
Best wishes to the author!
Buying link: Amazon