Assignment 13A: Reading Reflection No. 1

The book that I chose to read was Twenty-Seven Dollars and a Dream: How Muhammad Yunus Changed the World and What It Cost Him by Katharine Esty. The thing that surprised me the most about Yunus was his ability to pursue multiple interest throughout his life with such proficiency, some of which he pursued simultaneously like economics, poverty, and politics. The thing that I admired the most about him was his ability to not let his disdain for corruption in the government to deter him from making political advances and even working with the government in some instances. His mistrust did not cause stagnation. One of the things that I least admire is his decision to put personal life on the backburner most of the time. I think that your personal life provides some emotional stability and sanity to your life no matter how much you love your job or how crazy your family is. Yunus encountered adversity a number of times. He tried to help the rural village of Jobra to produce economic reconstruction in a number of ways, and, initially, each attempt failed. Immediately after, he was discouraged from all of his failed attempts, but his successful program came about from him living life and simply having a conversation with someone from the village.


I think one of the core competencies that Yunus had was that he had multiple interests in a variety of things, and he had some level of proficiency in all of those things. For example, his Boy Scout experiences helped make some of the guidelines for his bank. His early interests in literature and drama made him a phenomenal writer and orator when giving speeches or writing memos to convince key players in a deal. Lastly, his ability to draw people in and make lasting connections quickly made networking a lot easier for his unconventional pursuits.


I think the most confusing part of all of this has to do with microcredit itself, and why it worked. I am confused if it was the overall lack of a consistent government that lead to the success of microcredit or was it the dynamic changes it presented to the society. I am struggling to see how it would work in places other than Bangladesh.


If I could ask Yunus two questions they would be "Where was your favorite place that you have traveled to?” and “If you can change your choice, would you have moved to New Jersey?” The first one is because I love traveling and he has been to tons of places for extended periods of time. The second is because he seems to love his daughter and his decision to stay put somewhat of a strain on his relationship with her since he couldn’t see her for so long.


I think Yunus’ idea of hard work is always putting yourself in a position that can be most useful for yourself and others. I think I share that opinion because I am always trying to utilize my time and resources effectively.