Brand architect Lee Jeong-hoon,
A line of comfort he throws into everyday life

For the past ten years, he has willingly dedicated his life to building each person's 'brand' into their lives, one by one, to the extent that it is comparable to the effort and agony of building a single building from scratch.
Lee Jeong-hoon, a personal branding expert and author of “The Planner’s Book Thoughts.”
This collection of essays, published after ten years, is a record of the meaning of life that he finally faced on the threshold of his fifties, written and collected as his heart and hands desired.


In a world overflowing with self-help books and short videos, writing that conveys deep insights into life through heartfelt sentences is becoming increasingly rare.
From work and relationships in my forties, to growth and failure, to confronting myself, every day felt like a life-or-death battle, to the fiercest of battles.
He carefully unfolds the knots of life with the sharp insight of a planner and the honest confession of a human being.

Ten years ago, when I was in my thirties, I was thinking about 'how should I live?'
It was a question based on the belief that a human being can control and perfect his or her own life.
But as I lived, I realized that life can be shaken by unexpected events at any time.

After repeatedly trying and being frustrated, my thoughts changed when I entered my forties.
Rather than trying to live perfectly, I think it's better to live by interpreting the given reality in a way that benefits me.
Even in the same situation, depending on how you perceive it, your life can be completely different.
--- pp.10-11

I texted a friend for the first time in a long time.
'Someone said on the radio this morning.
The more awkward the comfort, the better.
'I'm sorry I couldn't tell you anything that day, but maybe that was what we needed,' he added after a moment of hesitation.
'I wanted to tell you this, but there's cold rice in the fridge... It's delicious.
If you eat it rolled in ramen.
It's all your life, it's yours.
I hope I will continue to love you as you are… just like I do now.'

Then, as I was about to press the send button… I put my phone down.
Maybe it would be better not to send this text either.
The sky outside the window was clear.
From that night when it seemed like we would fall apart, we have come a long way.
--- p.19

Witnessing the process of a loved one being consumed.
It was something that even a young me could not bear, but something I had to endure.

The moment I realized my helplessness, I knew I shouldn't show my sadness so carelessly.
That there is an order to sadness, that my sadness must be pushed back.
That's how I learned the hierarchy of emotions.
It was around that time that I learned that the first condition of loving someone is to erase yourself.
--- p.35

I asked the sixth grader, handing him a drink as he untied his shoelaces.
Why did you only give me the right answer at the end?
The child seemed puzzled by my question and said, “I’m your older brother.” Then he turned around and left the gym.
How beautiful the saying, 'A cool guy till the end' is.

“Coach, these kids are really amazing.
“What could it be?” the coach said, which was a famous quote.
“He may be small, but when he gets into the ring, he looks like an adult.
There are only boxers.
Kids know that too.
If you go in here, you have to figure it out yourself.
Don't look at the kids so harshly.
“There’s something solid in it.”
--- p.58

As I approach my fifties, I realize that the greatest luck in life is not meeting someone to walk with, but getting to know someone who is walking with me.
And I realize that it's about having the wisdom to not take for granted that person is there for me.

Tolerating someone is not simply tolerating.
It's about trusting that person and waiting for them.
It's about accepting him as he is, even though he's not perfect, and believing that as he grows, 'we' will become better.
Isn't this the miracle of life that is possible only because we are human?

--- p.91