Adeolu Akinyemi
December 5, 2009

A Book Can Change your Story


I have learnt a lot in the last almost 4yrs as an entrepreneur, I thought I was knowledgeable, and maybe I was, but the words, “see thou a man that is wise in his own eyes, there is more hope for a fool than him” – make more sense to me by the day. When you begin to know, you realize that the more you know, the more there is to know.  Real knowledge is a by product of the experience of others. The gap between hypothesis and theory is bridged by experience – repeated experiments. He who would be knowledgeable must be willing to either learn from a lab mice, or be one. I daresay, better is the grace of  humility to learn from the lab rat, than the grace of courage to be one yourself.  The complete life however, must balance these means.
About 3yrs ago, I was quite broke – broke as N40,000 could be what 9 of us shared in a month. I was doing everything I knew to do to keep afloat.  I had a team of guys working with me then as well as volunteers, and it was getting difficult to manage things and keep everybody together. We had sent out lots of proposals, were engaged in different small projects, but not so many results. Somewhere along the line, I stumbled on this book, that we are reading till this year ends. I decided not to read it alone, but to do a group effort with all my colleagues. It was just 3 days ago, that it dawned on me fully that it was less than 3 months from when we started the group reading, that a series of opportunities began to flood us all.  We have never attributed the deluge to the book we had read that had tuned us to thinking and acting in a certain way. I thought it was serendipity, but I guess it was actually a science. The ride to wealth and fame was stalled only when we left the creative mind frame and became competitive. I have resumed reading this book again, this time not with 9 people, but with 175 people so far on my database who sent me an email, and I forwarded the book to them. In case you are thinking of joining us, here are some things we have learnt in the last 4 days.

I have learnt a lot in the last almost 4yrs as an entrepreneur, I thought I was knowledgeable, and maybe I was, but the words, “see thou a man that is wise in his own eyes, there is more hope for a fool than him” – make more sense to me by the day. When you begin to know, you realize that the more you know, the more there is to know.  Real knowledge is a by product of the experience of others. The gap between hypothesis and theory is bridged by experience – repeated experiments. He who would be knowledgeable must be willing to either learn from a lab mice, or be one. I daresay, better is the grace of  humility to learn from the lab rat, than the grace of courage to be one yourself.  The complete life however, must balance these means.

About 3yrs ago, I was quite broke – broke as N40,000 could be what 9 of us shared in a month. I was doing everything I knew to do to keep afloat.  I had a team of guys working with me then as well as volunteers, and it was getting difficult to manage things and keep everybody together. We had sent out lots of proposals, were engaged in different small projects, but not so many results. Somewhere along the line, I stumbled on this book, that we are reading till this year ends. I decided not to read it alone, but to do a group effort with all my colleagues. It was just 3 days ago, that it dawned on me fully that it was less than 3 months from when we started the group reading, that a series of opportunities began to flood us all.  We have never attributed the deluge to the book we had read that had tuned us to thinking and acting in a certain way. I thought it was serendipity, but I guess it was actually a science. The ride to wealth and fame was stalled only when we left the creative mind frame and became competitive. I have resumed reading this book again, this time not with 9 people, but with 175 people so far on my database who sent me an email, and I forwarded the book to them. In case you are thinking of joining us, here are some things we have learnt in the last 4 days.

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Comments:

64 thoughts on “A Book Can Change your Story”

  1. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. I have learnt that instead of waiting for a human teacher to come, you can actually be taught by the same individual you would normally not be able to reach.

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  3. Read at least one book in a month and be disciplined enough to practice what you have read and your testimony will be just like Deolu's. Keep up the good work bruv!

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  4. @cfa: the issue is not about reading, its about action. Most people would just read w/out doing. Another thing is persistence; when we try the principles in a book & we dont see desired results we tend to dump the laws & search for others instead of trying again! (Going to sokoto for what is in your sokoto)

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  7. Thanks CM for the book. It is turning my heart aright already. I am learning more about the subject of the e-book. I must say, this is the right book for me to read at this right time.

    Thanks again.

    Definitely, book has been the major player in shaping my life. I am a reader

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  8. Thanks for impacting my life with this book. I promise i will run with the insight i have received from this book. Thanks a lot and God bless.

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  10. I postpone doing things … I am stopping this now , i agree that if you want to hide something from a blackman hide it in a book!? Well , I am through with that , and i thank Deolu for keeping this real .. Thanks

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  15. What a testimony! The author had long decomposed, yet his book still liberates. In my opinion, Wallace D. Wattles should be immortalized. I read the book at a stretch and I confess that it contains secrets to succesful living. Thanks for sharing the book again dear mentor.

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  17. Chairman ,
    Abeg no chop alone. Send me this book i’m craving to read it and be BETTER than you. Yes i don’t settle for meeting target i always aim to surpass them.
    thanks

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  19. thank you sir 4 opening my eyes to the book.a friend gave me the photocopied versionbut i never read it.i have however started reading the e-version u sent and its been wonderfull.The truths are amazing an so are the possibilities.

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  24. Readers are great leaders. every answer to a question is in abook, all u have to do is to find out which book do matter at that point in time cos all book matters. One love my brov. PROUDLY 9JA

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  25. Hmm,
    I must apologize for I have been reading along, but not sharing with the group, how far I’m able to assimilate and digest the lesson that’s being taught…”the certain way of doing things” preparing for the teacher to appear…
    What a gr8 opportunity I see, I’m so privilege to be on bound with you…I must confess that I feeling a new symptom of change…there could have been no better way to prepare for 2010!
    GOD bless you sir.
    Regards,

    Obinna UniQuehnd

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