Book Review: Irrationally Passionate by Jason Kothari

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Title: Irrationally Passionate
Author: Jason Kothari
Pages: 244
Genre: Autobiography, Motivational, Personal
Hardbound

Who is Jason Kothari? Honestly speaking, I did not know him as a person before I picked up this book to read. However what attracted me to read this book were the subtitles on the cover: Former CEO Housing.com, Former CEO Freecharge, Former CEO Valiant Entertainment, Former CEO Snapdeal. Now my eyes got wide. So Jason Kothari is the man behind the turnaround of crumbling biggies like Snapdeal and Housing.com. I have read so much about him in the newspapers that I definitely needed to know more about this Midas guy.

 I immediately picked up this book and started reading. Honestly it's so engaging that I could not keep it down. Every single page is awe inspiring.

Jason was born in Hong Kong and he grew up there. He had been a rebel in his childhood and teenage years. However there is a saying 'Morning shows the Day' or how a child would morph into an adult can be perceived from childhood itself hold absolutely true for Jason. At the age of eight, he haggled with a vendor in Agra to buy a marble chess set in 30 INR (who's original cost quoted by the vendor was 500 INR) Who knew that this ability would turn him into a revolutionary auctioner and hence entrepreneur one day?
Jason is a true human. He had failed and risen a number of times. When his grades were dwindling, knocks from his family had motivated him to become a straight A+ grader after that. He had been involved in alcohol, bad company and brawls but had managed to uproot himself from all the negativity. He got into the prestigious Wharton University, USA where he studied business. 
He went to Thailand to train in Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) and the ruthlessness of this form of martial arts taught him resilience. It made him mentally strong and taught him to overcome physical pain.

During his college days, he succeeded in taking over his favourite comic series enterprise, Valiant Entertainment which was bankrupt along with his best friend Dinesh but not without braving a mountain of practical and financial hurdles. His whole life was at stake (as his family had poured their entire life's savings to help him rake the moolah) and he struggled to keep the company afloat after acquiring it. But that taught him entrepreneurship hands on.

Slowly and gradually he went on acquiring bankrupt enterprises and became the turnaround guy. However this book is how he 'turned around' his rebellious self to becoming an entrepreneur.

What I loved about this book?
I am not an entrepreneur but a medical professional. However this book is a must read for everyone. Every page is filled with something or the other to learn or to get motivated. Also there are myriads of things about entrepreneurship that would get clarified, which I had always wondered but never thought would find a solution to. Also how he rose like a phoenix after every failure is a lesson and motivation for all.

Writing style: Jason had been outside India right from birth and he spoke Gujrati and English at home so his English is par excellence. However the writing style is immaculate. The words have been woven so beautifully that you can imagine every experience first hand.

My Rating: 5/5


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