20 Dec Book Review III

Title: How to become great through time conversion
Author: Sunday Adelaja
Year of publication: 2017
Number of pages: 207

This is a 10-chapter book in which Sunday Adelaja teaches how people can become exceptional through proper utilization of time.

He starts by describing time as a great treasure that has been given equally to all men. He wondered how only a few people become great despite having an equal amount of treasure (time) given to them. Emphatically, he states that greatness is an attainment that is bought with the currency of time. His central idea is that great people are great because they have mastered the act of time conversion. While this argument is largely true, one could argue that it is lopsided. There are many factors that make people great like the family they are born into, luck, etc. I hold dear the lessons from the book, but I dare say that it needed to consider the other factors that make for success.

In the first chapter titled ‘Greatness is a product of time’, he encourages the reader that everyone can be great. God does not specially choose those he wants to be great. Believe that you are capable of anything you set out to do and give your time to it. He uses the stories of Benjamin Franklin and Michelangelo to drive home his message. He borrowed the 7 formulas from Franklin which are:
A. Cut your goals into tiny units of work and think about only one unit at a time.
B. Finish your most important tasks first
C. Determine when you’re most energized and plan to achieve the most important tasks then
D. Set a few priorities and adhere to them
E. Turn down things that are inconsistent with your priorities
F. Schedule time for focused effort
G. Always improve on the things you do better and faster.

The first principle of greatness is to ask yourself, ‘what am I here for? What are my innate gifts and talents? To conclude, he defines greatness as the amount of time you invest into your purpose. Without work, time cannot be converted, it rather wastes away.

The second chapter questions what we do with time. In answering the question, the first principle is that time must be converted to products like inventions, skill sets, books, etc. Another pertinent question asked by Adelaja is, how do you measure your life? I paused at this point to think about how I have measured my life so far.

According to him, life should be measured through products which could be the value you add to yourself and others, perfecting your skills and talents, research, and increased knowledge amongst others.

He posits that vacations are the perfect time to get results. Do you agree with him? His argument is that during your vacation, you are free from work or school obligations and hence affords you time to pursue your interests or deepen your knowledge in a chosen area.

Time is not rigid he says, it melts away rapidly. Moving away from distractions can help you in time conversion. The race of life is the race against time. To live a life without regrets, give yourself at least 4-6 uninterrupted hours of work towards your purpose. If you don’t monitor or measure your life, you will regret it.

My greatest takeaway from the book is his teaching on solitude. I will encourage all of us to read at least that chapter if we get a hold of the book. You cannot give birth to anything without solitude. It is the measure through which you can concentrate on using your time. Personally, I produced my best fictional works when I had no access to the internet and was almost never distracted.

In chapter 7, he gave some benefits of solitude.
A. It helps you reorder your life
B. Helps you prioritize your values
C. You solve life problems through solitude.
D. You can rebuild your life through solitude
E. Eliminates fear and worries
F. Frees you from the rat race of life

In chapter 8, he talked about the 10,000-hour rule which is not new to many people. The truth is if you are above a certain age, learning a skill can be daunting. However, you just need more focused hours to achieve this, the good news however is that with a minimum of 4 hours daily, in 5 years, you will be a voice in the area you have chosen.

In his concluding chapter, he writes, ‘Your time keeps flying away while you dine with your distractions. Your life keeps diminishing while you waste your time feeding your distractions. The ignorance of what to do with time is why people get so bored so easily when alone.

I think that the book is a great book for young people. I sometimes felt the tone was pushy and forceful. I decided to pick the points that worked for me and left the others.

I highly recommend the book to everyone trying to take their life back from digital noise and people who are hungry for success.