Book Review: The Success Catalyst

Reviewed by Jadidsa Perez

Follow your journey to a better life with exercises, patience, and The Success Catalyst. 

Success can be subjective and measured in limitless ways, so how does a book like The Success Catalyst fit into the current climate? Author Golam Mustafa defines success in a palatable (and doable) way, using accessible exercises for readers to create good habits. The focus of The Success Catalyst is to cultivate each reader’s potential for real advancement and to actually follow through on it.

The Success Catalyst begins with a personal story—the driving factor behind writing this book. The author grew up in a village with an agricultural family but had aspirations to work as an engineer. As someone who also grew up in a remote location and had to experience life with very little guidance, I couldn’t help but feel for this story. The humble and sincere tone in which Mustafa tells it also adds to the intrigue for those ready to start on their own path to self-guided success.

Mustafa makes it easy to apply and retain the information in this book, especially with his SMART goal planning tool. I have already integrated it into my personal & work life, with an opportunity to take it further with apps, software, and other systems to supplement my journey. Mustafa makes it a point to recognize self-betterment as not solitary; it’s a joint effort between the book and its reader. Taking on this kind of personal growth can be daunting, but as Mustafa says, “Together, we can push the boundaries of our capabilities and achieve extraordinary results.” 

From Steve Jobs to Christian Lange, each chapter starts with an epigraph—a pocket of wisdom relevant to each chapter. With outlines, chapter titles, these epigraphs, and annotations, each chapter is focused primarily on helping you receive the benefits clearly, quickly, and easily. Another great feature here is just how useful it can be after reading, since everything is structured so well that you’ll have no problem finding your favorite parts long after reading them.

The Success Catalyst stands out in many ways, but I did long for some more personal experiences. The chapters and subsequent sections address “you,” the reader, and explain ways to better “your” life. However, I would’ve enjoyed understanding how this impacted the author as well. In the journey of going from a remote village to IBM, how did you have to create a supportive learning environment in order to succeed? I also longed for a bit more specificity at times. While it’s true to say, “By embracing change, we open ourselves up to innovative ideas and approaches,” I could have used a bit more sustenance to back it up.

The Success Catalyst has the power to be a deeply impactful self-help book. It leads with compassion and empathy, crucial for someone in need of motivation wherever they are in life.

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