Moral Fiber by Shawn Vij – Book Review

Book Name: Moral Fiber
Author: Shawn Vij
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 9788126519385
Pages: 208
Book Review by: Amit for Literature News

Moral Fiber can be put in the bracket of business ethics only if we are being too specific in terms of realisation that the book is for whom or what’s in the book. Otherwise, as a reader with common perspectives and goals as reading pleasure, this is a very good book which can be enjoyed by anyone and anyone can learn many things from it – self-improvement, moral conscious, to conduct oneself in front of others, being true to one’s core values and so on… and with all these qualities, this book by Shawn Vij becomes one of the best books on the topic as it is directly originating from his personal experiences and his personal realisation that came to him after interaction with The Dalai Lama and his explorations in the Buddhist scripture.

The book has 9 chapters and looking at them will certainly induce a reader to think that the book is somehow spiritual, philosophical and, maybe, religious. However, the book is equally practical as the readers will encounter many personal experiences by Shawn throughout the book which take the central place in arguments that the author makes to prove his points or to teach the readers about his methods to bring out the best in them. At the same time, one has to be certain of the fact that the book mostly deals with situations inside the office premises. How do we make our professional goals heavier than our moral weight? How do we create a confusing scenario among our colleagues? How do we compromise our personal values for our professional gains? The book takes a very close look at these problems and tries to offer a solution. And who does not have these problems?

With a foreword by The Dalai Lama and various notes from Shawn Vij himself, the book begins on a high note. The very first chapter seems heightened – Crushing My Soul. This chapter deals with scenarios that were experienced by Shawn many years ago and how he had to crush his inner being for some professional gains. The chapter is purely written in a story-format and has some lessons at the end. However, the author mentions at the end of the chapter that this is not what others should do as well – you don’t have to live a life of crisis where you cannot make decisions without your values involved. The book moves on and Shawn explores the possible reasons that compel professionals to lose their values and accumulate their professional or business gains. He brings in the Buddhist philosophy of poisons – Anger, Greed and Ignorance. The theory of 4Ds – Deception, Detraction, Discrimination, and Doubt – Shawn says, is responsible for the creation of toxic environment around us in our professional as well as personal life and he is aptly right there.

The solution side in the book begins right from chapter 4 where the author introduces the concept of Moral Fiber to the readers and gives two simple mantras: discovering our core values and acting upon them. The author argues that one should practice the simple and yet forgotten acts of kindness, compassion, gratitude and wisdom so that no confusion, no anger, no envy and other negative aspects can linger over us in our professional or personal atmosphere. The chapters after chapter number 4 can also be seen as lessons for life. Though tilted to the side of professional management, the book will be equally useful for personal improvement as well. In the end, it is a ‘person’ who is managing something professionally.

Moral Fiber can be seen as a book which can help the professionals rediscover the core values of life and acting upon it in order to save oneself from surrendering to the situations – for short-term goals or long-term greed. The author has done well in sharing his personal experiences and creating his book’s core elements on the basis of that. Shawn Vij is a well-known name today and he is in the right position to call these personal compromises out for the sake of professional growth. I am sure that the readers will like what they read in the book.

You can get a copy of the Kindle or paperback version of the book from Amazon India today. Click the link below to go to Amazon and buy the book:

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Review by Amit for Literature News