Why I wrote the Book UNLOCK.
I have recently had the privilege of authoring a book titled UNLOCK: The Secrets to a Winning Life. But the question is “Why Did I write the book?”.
The world is changing rapidly, and while everyone is trying to catch up with the changes, some people are gliding on the waves of these changes, setting the pace and enjoying a winning streak. However, the common denominator you will find among people who win in life is that they are disciplined and fearless enough to seek and dare change, and they are courageous to seek constant improvement in significant areas of their lives.
Some years back, frustrated and in dire need of a change in my life, I embarked on the journey to discover me, to free myself from everything that had been forced on me; my background, beliefs, environment, experiences, (mis)education, family and societal expectations.
I started by gradually and consciously rethinking everything. Then I rediscovered myself and repurposed my life. I started living consciously and purposefully. It was not a comfortable journey because, as expected, my views became different and my change of perspectives was met with resistance and sometimes criticism, owing to people’s lack of understanding of my transformed self. But that did not matter much because my results changed – I was more in tune with myself, achieved more, grew tremendously and became more fulfilled.
Don’t let anyone fool you, the journey to self-discovery is not akin to a day in Disneyland, it is a lonely and sometimes spiritual journey; but once you discover yourself, you are on your way to continually win in life. Just like every other great thing in life, transformation doesn’t come easy; it is a painful process, but highly fulfilling in the end.
I have been privileged to experience professional life in different forms; as an employee, a failed start-up entrepreneur, and now a consultant leading several transformational projects and programmes, delivering value and advising major institutions, both public and private. Albeit, my greatest moment of discovery happened at the lowest point in my career when I opened a mobile phone service center shortly after the collapse of my first business.
In the early days of the GSM, Nigerians living abroad had a generous habit of sending their used handsets to family and friends back home in Nigeria. But unfortunately, most of those phones could not work on Nigerian networks, not because of any fault or that the manufacturers made them so, but because they were locked to a particular system in the country where they were first used. And to make them work on the local networks and receive signals, the phones needed to undergo an unlocking process, either using specialised software or codes. I made quite a fortune providing this service, but what is most significant in this experience is not the money I made but the joy and freedom the new owners of the phones felt when their phones were eventually unlocked.
That process of ‘Unlocking’ provided me with the opportunity of gaining insights into the dynamics of the human mind concerning success and achievements. Now, this analogy of mobile phones and the unlocking process exemplifies how the human mind works. Through our experiences, exposures, education, environments, etc., we have been conditioned to think and act in specific ways.
Our minds have been locked to a particular “network”, but to function differently and achieve better results, we need to learn to think differently, to “unlock” our minds to receive a different kind of “signal”. We need to open our minds to information that will empower us to make different decisions that will change our lives and move us into the future we desire and long for.
In the last few years, I have shared my transformational thoughts as nuggets, which I labeled #PheekWords. I shared these with friends and on social media platforms. This book, UNLOCK, is a product of my journey. It is a compendium of my discovery for the most critical framework and tools for self-discovery and consistently winning in life, and supported by the captured nuggets during my rethinking process. I believe you will find this book and the exercises in it worthwhile and fruitful for your life’s journey.
Kindly spare a few minutes to learn more about the book and see what people are saying about the book. Furthermore, a percentage of proceeds from the book will go to non-profit initiatives.
Thank you for getting a copy (or more) already.
Author, UNLOCK