Burn Zones: Hands of Life Band Review

Part memoir, part inspirational story, Jorge P. Newbery’s BURN ZONES: PLAYING LIFE’S BAD HANDS is the true story of the life of a modern Renaissance man, a self-made success who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. objectives.

Newbery begins his narrative with a brief introduction that informs the reader of what he means by the concept of “burnt area.” It’s a notion Newbery borrows from his professional cycling days, and it refers to a period of all-out, prolonged exertion that routinely separates the winners of a race from those who finish behind them. It’s a metaphor Newbery adopts throughout his book, using it to describe the various obstacles he and his loved ones faced on the road to success.

Newbery’s drive for excellence began at a young age. When he was only seven years old, he took a newspaper route and woke up before dawn just to earn some extra money. By the age of eleven, he had saved enough money to buy an ice cream cart, pedaling the frozen treats around his neighborhood and, like any good entrepreneur, he was obsessed with providing his customers with only the highest quality products. .

At the age of sixteen, Newbery was an outstanding student at the top of his class, but he was tired of traditional education and wished to test his skills in the real world. Newbery, the youngest son of supportive liberal parents, dropped out of high school and began his career. Always in love with the Los Angeles punk music scene, Newbery began producing records by young punk rock talent. He chronicles memorable concerts and highlights his economy during this period, living at home and saving a great deal of money.

After several years and numerous successes, Newbery reached the peak of his record-setting tycoon abilities and sought to conquer a new challenge. He discovered that challenge in the form of a gift from his father for his nineteenth birthday: a used racing bike. Knowing that the Summer Olympics would be held in Los Angeles in the next few years, Newbery quickly wanted to enter the world of competitive cycling. He trained non-stop for dozens of months, pedaling hundreds of miles a week and eventually achieved semi-pro status, competing alongside some of the most elite names in cycling. But after an extremely disappointing performance at the Tour de Mexico, Newbery abandoned his cycling dreams and looked to enter new ‘burn zones’.

A fortuitous relationship with a real estate broker led to a career as a loan officer, a position that later connected Newbery with valuable opportunities he needed to break into the real estate market. Newbery quickly purchased and converted several mid-sized housing projects in Southern California. These successes eventually led him to purchase the Woodland Meadows Housing Project in Columbus, Ohio, a decrepit and crude complex of over a thousand units. Newbery’s ingenuity, thrift and drive enabled him to turn around Woodland Meadows, creating a desirable place to live for his tenants and a sizable profit for Newbery.

But that all changed when a series of bad turns and mishaps led to the collapse of Woodlands Meadows and criminal charges were brought against Newbery. Losing it all, Newbery refused to give up, instead going through her toughest “burn zone” yet and slowly and surely rebuilding his life. Throughout his trials, he never lost sight of his goal of being the best.

BURN ZONES tells an undeniably impressive real-life story of a successful, driven and undeniably ambitious entrepreneur. Conveyed with candor and precision, Newbery’s prose conveys many of his life’s greatest achievements and defeats, all in an effort to inspire his readers to conquer their own burnt areas. Though a bit disjointed at times and perhaps overly optimistic in tone and scope, BURN ZONES ultimately makes for an enjoyable read for those interested in real-life success stories.