Burn Zones by Jorge P. Newbery: a Book About Overcoming Obstacles

Burn Zones by Jorge P. Newbery is a book detailing the journey of the author in pursuing his interest and overcoming the obstacles, also known as the “burn zones,” to achieving his success. Mr. Newbery started working at a young age of 7 years old, delivering papers around his neighborhood. After that, it changed to selling ice cream and then working as a busboy. His eagerness in learning more about life through experience led him to leave school at the age of 16. It became a turning point for him to pursue his interest, firstly in entertainment with owning a record company, then as a professional cyclist.

The author began his career in the real estate industry when working as a loan officer. Each promotion leads to a growth of his income and finally allowing him to purchase several properties. From thereon, he worked on reviving problematic properties to profitable assets. However, the biggest burn zone was faced by Mr. Newbery in late 2004 when a natural disaster strikes Woodland Meadows. The author struggles to overcome his burn zone has taught a valuable lesson in his life and thus leading to his success in the formation of American Homeowner Preservation (AHP) in 2008.

Each burn zone faced by Mr. Newbery contains important lessons in which a reader must ponder upon. It is relatable to many, especially when it comes to the outcome that arrives from our own decision making. In the end, we are responsible for the choice that has been chosen, and no one else is to be blamed. I admire the author for sharing his opinion on the choices that he made, regardless of it being a poor choice. The ability to rise above from hard fall is difficult and should be very much applauded for.

This book has also broken the stereotype mentality successful entrepreneur does not face any hardships. It is often overlooked that with success comes many difficulties before reaching above it all. Personally, my favorite part of the book is at the beginning where the author highlights that his own strength is also his very own weakness. It gave me a new perspective in viewing my flaws and strength differently. Mr. Newbery nature of always accepting new challenges is definitely one of the reasons for his success as well as failure. He never gives up on completing them although it seems unlikely to favor in his way.

This book is motivational and inspiring, especially to young adult readers. There is always a reason for the successes gained by others and this book provides an excellent example of it. Moreover, Mr. Newbery showed that risk-taking is necessary in order to achieve our goals in life. However, there are certain parts of the story that contain some technical aspect of the real estate industry which can sometimes be quite dull and challenging to understand. Nonetheless, it is a book worth reading until the very end. This book is well edited with no errors found. Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.