As a Gujarati myself, I was drawn towards the book by its uncanny title. Learning how to be the big bull among the world of bears directly from the horse’s mouth is such a breeze. Jason minces no words in sharing his failures and success along the way to become what he is today. From learning to be true to his roots to pushing boundaries and focusing one’s energies to achieve what you aim to do. The direct narration of his life instances rather than being preachy make it a warm read. Often the reader is left wondering if he was there witnessing Jason go about his life, climbing ladders of success and turning around every business that went downhill! Such an inspiring personality needs just more than a book!
Kicking off the prologue with an interesting story of his first bargain, the book sets tone that it is not the journey of someone ordinary. The chess board probably is also the metaphorical reference to his own life, where, if he sets eye on something, he does succeed to have it and then retain it for life.
The initial chapter makes so much sense right now with the BLM movement going around, it is so important to understand what he must have gone through during his growing years. it seems like that is where he developed a knack of being a fighter that he saved many sinking ships years later and made them profitable. That is what truly makes for a great leader, I guess.
The Irrationally Passionate is divided into 11 chapters. From retracing his childhood and struggles, to his real experiences at university and often feeling low self-esteem because of his brother’s academic success, Jason shares that his only goal in life was to attain something and I will leave that for the reader to figure.
The book also explores Jason’s friends and friendships, some that he continues to maintain even today. His descriptions of internships at dozens of companies to working at a PR agency are relatable for the youth today.
The read gets further interesting as he describes his quest to finding a life partner while also detailing why he decided to return to India and pursue his entrepreneurial journey here makes for a fun read added with some great twists. I often wondered if Jason was narrating his story because this very well makes for a good fictional character we would love to idolize.
The remaining chapters examine how Jason turned many loss-making companies into successful business entities. Jason provides insightful mantras in the most informal way so they don’t seem preachy and remain with you longer. The Irrationally Passionate is a great book written by a popular and credible entrepreneur, who has travelled to several countries.
It also feels as, if, for the companies that were on the downhill, had they not found Jason, we would have started at many depressing stories of employees losing jobs, much like what happened in 2008. Most definitely, the employees of these companies, where Jason pivoted them to succeed would remember him as the real champion. I can’t wait to see Jason pivoting business once again at his next stint!
