INSPYRA

Leading by Reading: Book Reviews & Insights by Jay

About

 

“Always Learning, Growing, and Building Perspectives”

 

About this website:

“If I don’t go within, I go without.” When I was having a rather restless period in Singapore for a professional reason, my mind was also very much restless, but for other reasons. In retrospect, I think I was at a boiling point for either toward a peak (like that of a mountain) or toward an evaporation (like that of air). I was then exactly at the point of “going without.”

That realization of my inner state of going without motivated me to delve into books from various disciplines, along with training in finance and investment. Many years have passed, and my quest to go within has ultimately helped me to expand my scope in many ways during the course. Also, my mental journey with books naturally led me to create this website to share what I have learned.

Certainly, I feel I am at another boiling point in my life at this stage. I don’t know how my intentions – to serve readers and leaders and to meet like-minded souls and book lovers out there – can be manifested in the future, but I sincerely hope I contribute to readers who are keen on their self-growth through this amazing medium called books. I also hope any visitors enjoy my humble writings, be they long or short, and gain benefits, albeit small. Then I would feel very rewarded!

As the title of this website suggests, my book reviews here involve such subjects as business, leadership, strategy, economics, finance, investment, politics, history, philosophy, self-development, self-help, and spirituality.

Some tips for the visitors to my website and my writings:

  • The main coverage of the books is business.
  • My in-depth book review comprises mainly 3 parts: Summary, Contemplation and Closing. It’s in Contemplation where I share my ideas. Lastly, I am rating the book at the end of my review. For lighter topics, I am writing as short essays.
  • The perspective of the book reviews is that of leaders, be they from business, government, or any other sector.
  • I select books mainly from the lists from Financial Times’ Books of the Year, New York Times’ Best Sellers, McKinsey Quarterly’s ‘What CEOs Read’, and CFA Institute’s ‘Book Review Publication’, as well as from my personal preference.
  • Due to my banking/finance background, certain reviews for finance/investment books can have some technical terms and concepts.
  • To build or lead a good business, I believe we not only need certain sets of skills and knowledge but also need to be a good human being with integrity, sound judgment, and philosophy. Ultimately, your outer success or achievements are built on your inner state of being as a solid foundation. So, I hope some self-help or spirituality books help you to go within. (Note: spirituality is not synonymous with religion.)
  • Since I just started this website, I don’t know how far this site will go yet. But I sincerely hope I can bring value, benefit(albeit small), and inspiration to visitors to my website.

Jay 

on May 4th, 2017 (updated on January 11th, 2018)

Seoul, Singapore, and Paris

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