Title: Enjoying Productivity Mindset and Healthy Longevity
Author: Sin Mong Wong
Publisher: Pen Culture Solutions
ISBN: 1638121893
Pages: 206
Genre: Non-Fiction
Reviewed by: David Allen
Pacific Book Review
There is a formidable and ever-expanding roster of people in their 70’s, 80’s, and even beyond, who are mightily creative, productive, and happy. A very short list includes actresses Sigourney Weaver and Jane Fonda; novelist and recent Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux; the author of the present volume; our very own Joseph Biden; and, historically, those two notable Pablos, Casals and Picasso.
At a certain point list-making turns to active curiosity: what do these folks have in common? What qualities do they share that account for their munificent creativity and wellness, well on into and beyond their ‘golden years’?
You won’t have to look too far if you read Sin Mong Wong’s Enjoying Wong spells it out, clear and simple: health and happiness at every point inProductivity Mindset and Healthy Longevity. the life span is determined by the enjoyment of work, and the love of life (which also echoes Freud’s famous dictum, incidentally.) Those who are exemplars of happy productivity are happy and healthy because they continue to be productive. They are able to tap into the ‘keys of attraction’ that actualize our deepest most frequent and intense wishes – and fears.
Wong has clearly done his homework. When it comes to self-disclosure, he is not gun shy. He illumines his careful arguments with personal examples as well as illustrations from the lives of those he’s known and read about. Wong describes his lifelong enthusiasms for basketball, teaching, and gardening – dragon fruit, actually – in the most personal and hortatory terms.
Wong’s formula boils down to this: read the book; this is a vast oversimplification; eat healthy plant-based foods; exercise regularly; get good sleep; know what you want; and always cultivate a mindset of productivity. Avoid by all means the opposite – a mindset of scarcity.
The reasoning may be familiar to some, but never has it been presented in such impactful, direct terms. The author draws upon his knowledge of spirituality (describing energy centers, chakras), collating recent advances in brain science relating to neurotransmitters and their function in health and stress; and giving his advice generously, a wise kind uncle who knows and lives whereof he speaks.
The productivity mindset has all kinds of positive ripple effects – on health, on relationships, on various measures of effectiveness and success. Quotes from Nikolas Tesla and the incredible success story of J.K. Rowling and Michael Jordan further enliven this piquant mix of optimism, drollery, and plain old common-sense advice.
Wong puts it like this: “Thinking well is essential; trust what you want to do and do it. The small happy moments add up.” And: “Having a productivity mindset means that you are clear and focused on your goals and using all of your personal resources to achieve those goals in an organized manner.”
Readers, be forewarned: you will take away many precious lessons from this book – as well as a fierce desire to sample dragon fruit, persimmon, and other exotic fruit. I know I did.
