Ethan is unhappy at work.
He meets Ravi a new client, a potential new customer.
What happens next is a journey of discovery as Ravi shares with him practical life lessons. Ethan changes his life by applying what he learns from Ravi.
This 170-page book by happiness and business coach Shawn Sukhraj Johal is in the form of a fable. Think of The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason or Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D. — that kind of thing. For non-business books, think of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
My first impression of this book was how wordy everything was. There’s a lot of detail but some of it seemed unnecessary to me.
As the story develops, the lessons came in:
“Meditate morning and night. Engage in the art of listening intently without judgement. Practice circular reciprocation by being genuinely nice to every person I meet, which the universe will return my way.” (page 51)
There are a lot of touching scenes in the book. Ethan’s romantic dinner with wife, a meditation session with his young daughter & two particular encounters that lead him to reexamine his relationship with two people in life.
The story peaks at a point where Ethan realises how much he has changed over time & how his life is different now.
My biggest takeaway from the book is instead of blaming external circumstances, we can choose to work on ourselves via small actions that create a ripple effect. As Ethan changed in the book, so did the people around him.
After the story, Shawn finishes with a guide at the end summarizing the takeaways of the book.
I like this part the most since it puts it in perspective. Recently, I’ve been reading non-fiction book so this part helps me digest what I was looking for in the book.
In conclusion, the book is an interesting read for corporate or business people who want to examine their life, purpose & direction.
Pros: Positive book with life & business advice.
Cons: Some parts of the fable feel like it could be shorter with tighter edits.
TLDR: If you like your life advice coated in storytelling, this might be for you.
I received an advance review copy of this book from Leaders Press. Thank you April & Alinka.
You can get more info on this book on Shawn’s website here: https://www.shawnjohal.com/books-page
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