WALKING IN THE GRAY

A handbook of principles for succeeding in business and in life.

“If you are not growing, learning, or developing, how is what you are doing benefiting you?” asks retired Senior Intelligence Agency Executive Jasper in his nonfiction debut. “When there is no return on your investment, it is time to get your investment returned, to no longer invest.” Throughout, the author offers an unsparing approach as he urges his readers to take control of various aspects of their lives and better embody their guiding beliefs and principles. If you’re not improving and developing your skills, Jasper insists, then success in life will pass you by—and rightly so. As part of an ongoing process of personal development, he says, one must stray from life’s black-and-white certainties—such as the starting and endpoints in a journey—and delve into “gray areas” between them, which Jasper argues can be intensely rewarding: “How can your life be abundant when you spend most of it with your eyes…viewing your current destination as your journey?” he asks. “Open your eyes and see course that you are traveling. Enjoy your time in the gray.” Jasper does stress the need to set a clear destination, which, in turn, leads to a clear course for one’s ambitions. When unexpected obstacles occur, he writes, “you must exercise your ability to…not lose control of yourself when things are out of control.” Over the course of this book, the author manages to smoothly to maintain a balance between encouraging his readers to embrace uncertainties as opportunities for growth and taking rock-solid stances on matters of rectitude and faithful behavior. Readers of all faiths and classes will appreciate the author’s nuanced discussion of the limits of a black-and-white perspective.

A vigorous and readable tough-love pep talk.