In the next decade, digitization, AI and automation will fundamentally change what work and success mean for most people. In fact, many jobs American workers will perform in the 2030s haven’t even been invented yet, posits Wall Street executive Ed Hajim. How do we prepare ourselves for that kind of change? How do we cope with the uncertainty? To help people answer those questions, he wrote The Island of the Four Ps: A Modern Fable About Preparing for Your Future, in which he captures the truth of the human experience in a relatable story and effortlessly intertwines life lessons and ideas to ponder.
Watch a recent interview with Ed Hajim here:
Wall Street Exec Shares 4 Cornerstones for Navigating Change While Staying True to Personal Values and Ideals
BOSTON, Nov. 15, 2023 — Within fiction lies the seeds of powerful transformation and inspiration. Some of the most motivational guidebooks are parables, including Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson and Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss. Both have encouraged and uplifted business visionaries, entrepreneurs and graduates for decades. Stepping into this treasured category is The Island of the Four Ps: A Modern Fable About Preparing for Your Future by Ed Hajim.
Hajim believes that you can’t find the roadmap to success on any GPS or search engine. Instead, this engaging fable, lushly illustrated by Gabriela Leal, drops you into the mind of a young man on a quest to find himself and his personal path to success and happiness. As he meets challenges, we gain a deeper understanding of how to navigate change while remaining true to our values and ideals. The beauty of telling this in fable format lies in its accessibility. “I don’t believe there’s only one way to deal with life transitions. And even if you accept my ideas wholly, there is no single right way to put them into action,” writes Hajim. The Island of the Four Ps allows us to find the guidance that’s uniquely right for us.
To create this book, Hajim used his own extraordinary life as a framework. Kidnapped at the age of 3 by his father, driven across the country and told his mother had died, Hajim spent his childhood in and out of foster homes and orphanages. The intelligence, resilience and innate leadership he used to rise from deprivation to the pinnacle of personal and business success provides the insight he shares with readers.
At the heart of the book are the four Ps — which have guided Hajim throughout his life. He offers his hard-won wisdom on each of these cornerstones.
- Passions: Find your passions; find the things that excite and motivate you. Recognize that passions do change and you must monitor them throughout your lifetime.
- Principles: Find the rules that you want to follow and the lines you won’t cross. They provide an important structure and bring organization to your life.
- Partners: No individual can succeed alone. Consider the kind of friends, collaborators, and advisers you’ll need around you, recognizing that those needs will evolve.
- Plans: Find your plans, write down where you want to go and how you plan to get there. Pay attention to your environment, things that will happen during your lifetime, and try to find a wave or a cycle that you can marry with your passions and principles.
Ultimately, Hajim’s dream is to help anyone fighting to make their dreams a reality. “I hope The Island of the Four Ps will prompt you to contemplate who you are and what you want in life. Ideally, it will spur you to action — helping you engage fully in life, pursue new experiences, and surf the waves of change,” Hajim says.
About the Author
ED HAJIM is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, On The Road Less Traveled. The son of a Syrian immigrant, he is a seasoned Wall Street executive with more than 50 years of investment experience. He has held senior management positions with the Capital Group, E.F. Hutton, and Lehman Brothers before becoming chairman and CEO of Furman Selz. Hajim has been the co-chairman of ING Barings, Americas Region; chairman and CEO of ING Aeltus Group and ING Furman Selz Asset Management; and chairman and CEO of MLH Capital. He is now chairman of High Vista, a Boston-based money management company. In 2008, after 20 years as a trustee of the University of Rochester, Hajim began an eight-year tenure as chairman of the university’s board.
Upon assuming that office he gave the school $30 million — the largest single donation in its history — to support scholarships and endow the Edmund A. Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Through the Hajim Family Foundation, he has made generous donations to organizations that promote education, health care, arts, culture and conservation. In 2015, he received the Horatio Alger Award, given to Americans who exemplify the values of initiative, leadership and commitment to excellence, and who have succeeded despite personal adversities. Married for 57 years, he and his wife, Barbara, have three children and eight grandchildren.
Amazon link: The Island of the Four Ps: A Modern Fable About Preparing for Your Future
Publisher: Skyhorse
ISBN-10: 1510776176/ ISBN-13: 978-1510776173
Available from Amazon.com
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PRAISE FOR ED HAJIM
“This is a must-read for anyone thinking about how to successfully navigate the inevitable twists and turns in the road ahead, leading to a fulfilling life.”
— Wendi Heinzelman, Dean, Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
Rochester University
“In his charming fable, Ed Hajim shows how focus and principles help organizations change. His book will help the reader think.”
— Ken Roman, former CEO, Ogilvy and Mather
“Ed Hajim’s parable is an accessible and motivational guide through the kind of self-reflection that helps us set a course for our futures.”
— Judi Alperin King, Ph.D., The Wily Network
“This wonderful fable draws on the hard-won life lessons of fabled financier Ed Hajim. … For those on a similar quest, let Ed be your guide through reading this allegorical tale. It informs and inspires.”
— Mark Zupan, President, Alfred University
“Ed is amazing! He has already inspired, impacted — and truly transformed — the lives of so many young people through sharing his story, wisdom, and generous philanthropy. This book provides a relatable and applicable framework that I will use to support and empower our students as they navigate their personal, academic, and professional journeys.”
— Heather Hauck, director, Office of Student Engagement, Affinity & Inclusion,
D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
