Reviewed Date: February 12th, 2023
Even before you are born, a life script is written for you. The script entails what you should do in your life, how you should behave, and what path you should take. It’s conventional and less risky. You can find life scripts across different cultures and societies. And 98% of people follow a life script laid out for them.
But humans have a choice: you follow whatever’s accepted and less risky in the world, or you bend the world according to your interests and disrupt society with your work. Well, the latter choice is not that easy to take; it has uncertainty and long periods of tension and anxiety. But if you see history, it has been changed by a few people.
To be an original, you have to go against the tide and have to sail in a lonely, turbulent ocean. But is it worth it? Well, certainly your name will be etched on human history, but you have to sacrifice a lot in the present in order to contribute to the future. Are you willing to suffer? That is the question.
Surprisingly, the book about originals is hardly original at all, neither in the writing approach nor in the presentation of concepts. It has less information and more stories. It reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell’s books (author of Outliers). I felt some examples ‘overstayed’ their welcome.
On several instances, I felt, ‘I get it; move on to the next.’ There is no thread connecting the concepts discussed in the book, making it less cohesive. And also, the chapters’ placement is not right. I thought Chapter 6 should have been the first chapter, as it talks about how originals are formed.
Appreciating the readers’ patience, the author has given actionable tips at the end. Overall, it could have been a better book if it were more cohesive.
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