Professor of cultural communication at Moscow State Oblastnoi University, Senior Lecturer at MSLU
This book is well written and contains many layers of meaning. ‘How
to Win the Unwinnable Race’, places Aesop’s fable of the ‘Tortoise and the
Hare’ within a modern-day environment, and is somewhat Zen in an unassuming,
non-metaphysical way. Mr Tzor is not presenting the book as an updated version
of Aesop’s fable, but offering a contemporary commentary to it. But here lies,
to me, my only criticism. The book touches on contemporary, localised
problematic issues that demand transformation, by referring to Aesop’s famous
fable, but without offering a clear way to actually bring about a change in attitudes.
Aesop never in fact offered any solutions, he encouraged awareness, but
ultimately left it for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.
The author describes many issues such as our inability to be ‘in the
moment’ as being a result of the tendency of human beings not to see the bigger
picture, and thus becoming lost in performing certain actions which may or may
not be actually necessary. It would seem to me to be incredibly difficult,
although admirable I am sure, to use the intellect to help/train the mind. This
book, however, appears to be written primarily from an intellectual point of
view only.
This is not to say that encouragement to improve is a bad thing, it is
wonderful, however I doubt that something as complex, ingenious and sometimes
downright devious as the human mind can be altered until it comes up against
something bigger than itself. Perhaps we need to be inspired to such a degree
whereby we voluntarily choose, individually, to change our way of thinking. There
are of course charismatic leaders who are sometimes able to sort of hypnotise
the mind and open people’s hearts to accept a larger reality in which case the individual
may find it easier to be in the moment. There are a thousand, or so ‘teachers’
who are actually charlatans because they are somehow able to offer short-term
solutions only. To give Mr Tzor credit however, he does offer passion, as
a possible non-intellectual force, but I wonder if this is really enough.
There is a danger, as far as I am concerned, in that people can indeed
benefit from the intellectual knowledge of seeing the way forward, but may
actually end up more confused than they were in the beginning when they realise
just how difficult it is to achieve ‘tortoiseness’ (if I may make a word up
having read this book). They may in fact become very depressed having visualised
a possible way out of their present-day dilemmas, but not being able to get
there, or stay there. The ending is too simplistic for me, whereby Mark is
encouraged to pass on the message himself and thus become a teacher himself. ‘Just
like that?’ I asked myself.
My experiences travelling around the planet during my own life journey have
taught me that the speed of the conceptualised hare and even of the tortoise
that David refers to varies in relation to the locality, country, culture where
one is based. For example, in urban societies, life tends to move faster,
perhaps because of air pollution, what we eat and ideology? ‘How to Win the
Unwinnable Race’, or rather this adaptation of Aesop’s fable is, to me, a localisation
of an original story within a particular geographical and philosophic context,
something that the original race between the hare and the tortoise did not dare
to do. Mr Tzor is placing the story within a business environment and seems to
make the presupposition that life is a series of races, something which is presumed
by modern society but nevertheless open to interpretation. When discussing
contexts, I would like to diverge slightly and mention here that many Russians,
for example, seem to be more in the moment than I (a westerner) at first
realised when I first came to Russia. That is, in my opinion, the problem with
Russia from the western point of view, is that too many Russians are quite
happy being tortoises, they don’t want to be hares and can be easily led. But then,
in my opinion again, Russians tend to be more owl-like than is needed (read the
book to find out what that means). Mr Tzor is, however, not bringing the story
into a specific Russian environment. I presume that ‘How to Win the
Unwinnable Race’ is written for a global market.
Be this as it may, and it is far easier to criticise than to create, ‘How
to Win the Unwinnable Race’, is a good read, however placing Aesop’s immortal
fable within a specific contemporary context may not be the wisest,
tortoise-like thing to do.
Mark M. Levy
MD, ScD
Life is complicated, ever changing, evolving, full of challenges and surprises, and we are in the middle, dealing with it and surviving the best we can. Moreover, trying to make a difference, to do something good, to seed our legacy. Then you read this book, a fresh look at the old hare and tortoise fable, and you get encompassed in a whole philosophical dilemma. You find yourself sometimes as the hare, sometimes as the tortoise.
The book shows you what you would like to be and how to get there, to accomplish your goals, to self improve. I identify myself with the message of the book, but it is not easy to always be the one you want. The book gives you the author's insights and clues about how to comprehend the real meaning to be able to achieve the best in plentiful situations in life.
It is a short book but big at the same time. I invite the reader to have fun reading it in one go, but going back to it once in a while. The original creators of the fable would have never dreamt about the facelift and update that this book gives to the old story, while keeping the essence, and I am sure that they would enjoy it as much as I did. It is inspiring. I like it and recommend it.
Sergey Tkachev
Founder of Hyperauto: a chain of automotive stores and services
In this book you’ll find 16 deep
philosophical thoughts on how to prosper. At first glance, there’s nothing new
– all of these have long been known. But for some reason we do not capitalize
on this knowledge or realize a deeper meaning of those maxims. Using an ancient
fable about a tortoise and a hare, the author tried to unfold each of these
truths for us. Surely a small book like this won’t be sufficient to highlight
the whole depth and value of these lessons, but it’s quite enough to remind us
of these truths and make us look at them anew. Some of the readers will be left
with more questions than answers while others will find here valuable prompts
to crack their life dilemmas. One thing is certain: every reader will be
impressed in some or other way.
Сергей Ткачев
Основатель компании «Гиперавто» - сеть автомагазинов и автосервисов
В этой книге вы найдете 16 глубоких философских мыслей о том, как преуспеть в жизни.
На первый взгляд, ничего нового — все они давно известны, но мы почему-то не пользуемся этими знаниями либо не осознаем их смысл. На примере древней басни о черепахе и зайце автор постарался раскрыть нам каждую из этих истин.
Конечно, чтобы понять всю глубину и ценность этих уроков, такой небольшой книги не хватит. Но ее вполне достаточно для того, чтобы напомнить нам эти истины и заставить взглянуть на них по-новому.
Одним читателям поднимаемые в книге темы принесут больше вопросов, чем ответов, а другие найдут в ней подсказки для решения своих жизненных задач и проблем. Однако можно быть уверенным в том, что равнодушным эта книга не оставит никого.
Igor Pisarsky
Board Chairman, R.I.M. Porter Novelli
A culture is given to a person to rethink
and interpret it. Sometimes this rethinking experience can bring unexpected
results. Brilliant marketer, speaker and negotiator, David Tzor showed off his
ingenuity as he reviewed a classical fable of Aesop about a slow, but
persistent tortoise who gains the upper hand over a swift-footed hare in a
running race. This story familiar to us from our early years but going back to
antiquity proves quite applicable to modern-day business. And not only
business: to our lives as well! Mr. Tzor looked at this perpetual plot at
another angle, atomized it, searched the motivation of the main characters. Eventually,
an unhurried talk between two neighbours on a plane turns out to be an
eye-opening experience of rethinking one’s own life, a school of success and a
tool of self-actualization. Dissecting some platitudes, the sharp wit can
unlock a treasury of new meanings. This is exactly what the author so aptly demonstrated.
Игорь Писарский
Председатель совета директоров агентства «Р.И.М. Porter Novelli»
Культура дана человеку для того, что осмыслять и интерпретировать ее.
Иногда опыт такого осмысления бывает весьма неожиданным.
Блестящий маркетолог, оратор и переговорщик Девид Тсор продемонстрировал это в полной мере на примере хрестоматийной басни Эзопа про медлительную, но последовательную черепаху, одолевшую шустрого зайца в соревнованиях по бегу.
Знакомая нам с детства история, корни которой уходят в века, оказывается вполне применима к современному бизнесу.
Да что, к бизнесу? К жизни!
Девид Тсор взглянул на вечный сюжет под иным углом, атомизировал его, исследовал мотивации героев и вот результат: неспешная беседа соседей в самолете оборачивается опытом переосмысления собственного бытия, школой успеха и инструментом самореализации.
Острый ум, препарируя банальности, вскрывает новые и новые смыслы.
И автор нам это с успехом продемонстрировал.
Yoram Drori
General Director «BBDO», Israel
Latheral thinking is the ability to see things not in the usual manner and come up with creative ideas and brilliant solutions. David 's sharp and unconventional mind has led him to amazing business achievements and outstanding success. In his new book he leads the reader,in a very simple and interesting way through a journey to each one's dilemmas, fears, hesitations to better solutions that leads us to unexpected wins. Certainly worth reading. More than once.
17131098
Order the book for 15$ Price does include international shipping cost
This book is well written and contains many layers of meaning. ‘How to Win the Unwinnable Race’, places Aesop’s fable of the ‘Tortoise and the Hare’ within a modern-day environment, and is somewhat Zen in an unassuming, non-metaphysical way. Mr Tzor is not presenting the book as an updated version of Aesop’s fable, but offering a contemporary commentary to it. But here lies, to me, my only criticism. The book touches on contemporary, localised problematic issues that demand transformation, by referring to Aesop’s famous fable, but without offering a clear way to actually bring about a change in attitudes. Aesop never in fact offered any solutions, he encouraged awareness, but ultimately left it for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.
The author describes many issues such as our inability to be ‘in the moment’ as being a result of the tendency of human beings not to see the bigger picture, and thus becoming lost in performing certain actions which may or may not be actually necessary. It would seem to me to be incredibly difficult, although admirable I am sure, to use the intellect to help/train the mind. This book, however, appears to be written primarily from an intellectual point of view only.
This is not to say that encouragement to improve is a bad thing, it is wonderful, however I doubt that something as complex, ingenious and sometimes downright devious as the human mind can be altered until it comes up against something bigger than itself. Perhaps we need to be inspired to such a degree whereby we voluntarily choose, individually, to change our way of thinking. There are of course charismatic leaders who are sometimes able to sort of hypnotise the mind and open people’s hearts to accept a larger reality in which case the individual may find it easier to be in the moment. There are a thousand, or so ‘teachers’ who are actually charlatans because they are somehow able to offer short-term solutions only. To give Mr Tzor credit however, he does offer passion, as a possible non-intellectual force, but I wonder if this is really enough.
There is a danger, as far as I am concerned, in that people can indeed benefit from the intellectual knowledge of seeing the way forward, but may actually end up more confused than they were in the beginning when they realise just how difficult it is to achieve ‘tortoiseness’ (if I may make a word up having read this book). They may in fact become very depressed having visualised a possible way out of their present-day dilemmas, but not being able to get there, or stay there. The ending is too simplistic for me, whereby Mark is encouraged to pass on the message himself and thus become a teacher himself. ‘Just like that?’ I asked myself.
My experiences travelling around the planet during my own life journey have taught me that the speed of the conceptualised hare and even of the tortoise that David refers to varies in relation to the locality, country, culture where one is based. For example, in urban societies, life tends to move faster, perhaps because of air pollution, what we eat and ideology? ‘How to Win the Unwinnable Race’, or rather this adaptation of Aesop’s fable is, to me, a localisation of an original story within a particular geographical and philosophic context, something that the original race between the hare and the tortoise did not dare to do. Mr Tzor is placing the story within a business environment and seems to make the presupposition that life is a series of races, something which is presumed by modern society but nevertheless open to interpretation. When discussing contexts, I would like to diverge slightly and mention here that many Russians, for example, seem to be more in the moment than I (a westerner) at first realised when I first came to Russia. That is, in my opinion, the problem with Russia from the western point of view, is that too many Russians are quite happy being tortoises, they don’t want to be hares and can be easily led. But then, in my opinion again, Russians tend to be more owl-like than is needed (read the book to find out what that means). Mr Tzor is, however, not bringing the story into a specific Russian environment. I presume that ‘How to Win the Unwinnable Race’ is written for a global market.
Be this as it may, and it is far easier to criticise than to create, ‘How to Win the Unwinnable Race’, is a good read, however placing Aesop’s immortal fable within a specific contemporary context may not be the wisest, tortoise-like thing to do.
In this book you’ll find 16 deep philosophical thoughts on how to prosper. At first glance, there’s nothing new – all of these have long been known. But for some reason we do not capitalize on this knowledge or realize a deeper meaning of those maxims. Using an ancient fable about a tortoise and a hare, the author tried to unfold each of these truths for us. Surely a small book like this won’t be sufficient to highlight the whole depth and value of these lessons, but it’s quite enough to remind us of these truths and make us look at them anew. Some of the readers will be left with more questions than answers while others will find here valuable prompts to crack their life dilemmas. One thing is certain: every reader will be impressed in some or other way.
A culture is given to a person to rethink and interpret it. Sometimes this rethinking experience can bring unexpected results. Brilliant marketer, speaker and negotiator, David Tzor showed off his ingenuity as he reviewed a classical fable of Aesop about a slow, but persistent tortoise who gains the upper hand over a swift-footed hare in a running race. This story familiar to us from our early years but going back to antiquity proves quite applicable to modern-day business. And not only business: to our lives as well! Mr. Tzor looked at this perpetual plot at another angle, atomized it, searched the motivation of the main characters. Eventually, an unhurried talk between two neighbours on a plane turns out to be an eye-opening experience of rethinking one’s own life, a school of success and a tool of self-actualization. Dissecting some platitudes, the sharp wit can unlock a treasury of new meanings. This is exactly what the author so aptly demonstrated.
Игорь Писарский
Председатель совета директоров агентства «Р.И.М. Porter Novelli»