Review of The Unfakeable Code®
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Maiso John
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Review of The Unfakeable Code®
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Unfakeable Code®" by Tony Jeton Selimi.]
It’s strange how easy it is to confuse motion with meaning. I used to think I was thriving because I was busy, hitting deadlines, ticking off goals. But deep down, I was stuck — surviving in a loop of productivity with no real joy behind it. Reading The Unfakeable Code® reminded me that survival isn’t always about fighting for breath; sometimes, it’s the quiet resignation to living beneath your potential. Tony Jeton Selimi makes that distinction crystal clear: surviving is reactive, automated, fearful. Thriving, on the other hand, is conscious. It’s intentional. It’s a way of living that begins, not with external success, but with internal alignment — and that truth hit me harder than I expected.
The book doesn’t just nudge you toward this idea gently — it pulls you in and sits you down with it. Especially when it starts applying that principle to the workplace. I hadn’t really considered before how most office cultures are built for survival. Fear of layoffs, robotic meetings, employees clocking in their humanity at the door. But Tony makes a compelling case for how authenticity can rewire this entire dynamic. His breakdown of how leaders, HR managers, and even front-line staff can use emotional awareness and self-reflection to create inspired, purpose-driven work cultures felt like something that belongs in every leadership onboarding manual. The idea that vulnerability, value alignment, and conscious presence could lead to better productivity than pressure? I’ve never heard it put that plainly and that convincingly.
There were parts of the book that I honestly had to pause after reading — not because they were hard to understand, but because they felt so emotionally accurate that I needed to take a breath. I liked the way Tony uses emotional language to describe what it feels like to wear a mask. It wasn’t clinical or distant. He writes like someone who has worn those masks and finally learned to live without them, and that gave his words real weight. There’s a section where he compares the daily act of faking who we are to dragging around emotional armor that only gets heavier with time. I’ve never had that metaphor laid out so vividly before, and I’m not sure I’ll forget it anytime soon.
If I had to pick something I disliked, it would probably be the emotional pacing. There were stretches where the intensity didn’t really let up, and I found myself wishing for a few lighter, more humorous moments to catch my breath. I don’t mean jokes necessarily — just moments that let the emotional tension release a bit before plunging deeper again. I think even just one or two small scenes of warmth or levity might have added balance. That being said, the tone still felt sincere, and I can see how the relentless focus was part of the emotional honesty the book’s going for.
I’m glad I read this one slowly. It’s not the kind of book you flip through between tasks or skim on a lunch break. It’s more like sitting across from someone who’s going to ask you the one question you’ve been avoiding — gently, but without letting you dodge it. And while some of the ideas weren’t new to me, the way Tony delivers them, and especially how he ties emotional growth to leadership and workplace change, gave me a whole new lens to consider. I can say without hesitation that this book isn’t just for people in crisis — it’s for anyone ready to stop surviving and start actually living. Five out of five stars from me.
******
The Unfakeable Code®
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
It’s strange how easy it is to confuse motion with meaning. I used to think I was thriving because I was busy, hitting deadlines, ticking off goals. But deep down, I was stuck — surviving in a loop of productivity with no real joy behind it. Reading The Unfakeable Code® reminded me that survival isn’t always about fighting for breath; sometimes, it’s the quiet resignation to living beneath your potential. Tony Jeton Selimi makes that distinction crystal clear: surviving is reactive, automated, fearful. Thriving, on the other hand, is conscious. It’s intentional. It’s a way of living that begins, not with external success, but with internal alignment — and that truth hit me harder than I expected.
The book doesn’t just nudge you toward this idea gently — it pulls you in and sits you down with it. Especially when it starts applying that principle to the workplace. I hadn’t really considered before how most office cultures are built for survival. Fear of layoffs, robotic meetings, employees clocking in their humanity at the door. But Tony makes a compelling case for how authenticity can rewire this entire dynamic. His breakdown of how leaders, HR managers, and even front-line staff can use emotional awareness and self-reflection to create inspired, purpose-driven work cultures felt like something that belongs in every leadership onboarding manual. The idea that vulnerability, value alignment, and conscious presence could lead to better productivity than pressure? I’ve never heard it put that plainly and that convincingly.
There were parts of the book that I honestly had to pause after reading — not because they were hard to understand, but because they felt so emotionally accurate that I needed to take a breath. I liked the way Tony uses emotional language to describe what it feels like to wear a mask. It wasn’t clinical or distant. He writes like someone who has worn those masks and finally learned to live without them, and that gave his words real weight. There’s a section where he compares the daily act of faking who we are to dragging around emotional armor that only gets heavier with time. I’ve never had that metaphor laid out so vividly before, and I’m not sure I’ll forget it anytime soon.
If I had to pick something I disliked, it would probably be the emotional pacing. There were stretches where the intensity didn’t really let up, and I found myself wishing for a few lighter, more humorous moments to catch my breath. I don’t mean jokes necessarily — just moments that let the emotional tension release a bit before plunging deeper again. I think even just one or two small scenes of warmth or levity might have added balance. That being said, the tone still felt sincere, and I can see how the relentless focus was part of the emotional honesty the book’s going for.
I’m glad I read this one slowly. It’s not the kind of book you flip through between tasks or skim on a lunch break. It’s more like sitting across from someone who’s going to ask you the one question you’ve been avoiding — gently, but without letting you dodge it. And while some of the ideas weren’t new to me, the way Tony delivers them, and especially how he ties emotional growth to leadership and workplace change, gave me a whole new lens to consider. I can say without hesitation that this book isn’t just for people in crisis — it’s for anyone ready to stop surviving and start actually living. Five out of five stars from me.
******
The Unfakeable Code®
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
