I bought this book because I found it on the list of the top one hundred must-read motivational books for the year 2018. I expected it to be just another motivational book following the same formula that has been around since the publication of the first motivational book, “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. What piqued my interest in this book was the unfamiliar author’s last name, which sounded like the name of a Buddhist monk. Little did I imagine that it would be all about building the coconut water beverage industry! As a rural Indian, coconut water is a staple drink for me. Even though I had ordered many books, I chose this particular one because I had a personal deadline to complete reading all the top one hundred books before the New Year.
Believe me, this page-turner amazed me. I finished reading this 260-page book in a straight four hours and even made some notes. It’s all about the passionate story of a person with a clear vision, mission, values, and, most importantly, integrity. He has documented his journey as an entrepreneur in building an innovative product in the midst of cut-throat competition in the beverage industry, some of them being multinational companies with multi-billion-dollar marketing war chests. The ending came as a bit of a surprise for me, and I won’t reveal it here!
I had expected him to go on and build another billion-dollar company in the league of Coke or Pepsi, but Mark Rampolla concludes by saying, “You can’t lose when you have already won.” His quote, “No amount of money is worth a decade of incrementally losing your soul,” will resonate with me for a long time. It’s a question that every entrepreneur needs to ask themselves constantly: “Is it worth sacrificing our marriages, giving up meaningful relationships with our children, betraying devoted employees, taking advantage of impoverished populations, and damaging the environment?“
Perhaps I liked this book for another reason as well. It seemed to mirror the trials and tribulations I had to go through when I built my hospital in a small city and attracted patrons not just from India but also from abroad. However, this book has caused me to pause and rethink my future objectives. Now, I have to recalibrate my New Year resolutions! 😊
I would highly recommend this book to all future entrepreneurs.
Prof. Dr. Prahlada N. B
01 January 2019
Chitradurga.
[…] Mark Rampolla. I have already written a review about it earlier and you can read it at this link: Build something great by going where no one else will. This time, Google suggested “Zero to One” by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters, which was […]
Reply