July 2020

Book Summary – Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

July 16, 2020 In Book Summaries 7 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

It ain’t what they call you; it’s what you answer to. – W. C. Fields

In Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert, shares some great insights on how to live life as a creative, the ups and downs, dealing with fear, overcoming self-doubt, avoiding perfectionism, and giving your self the permission to be creative by doing great work every day.

The book has six sections: Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, Trust, and Divinity. Elizabeth followed up the book with her Magic Lessons podcast, where she interviews famous creatives such as Neil Gaiman, Brene Brown, Sarah Jones, among others.

Here are my favorite take aways from reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert:

What is creativity?
The relationship between a human being and the mysteries of inspiration.

Inspiring Speech: Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman

July 15, 2020 In Speech 17 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

In May 2012, bestselling author Neil Gaiman delivered the commencement address at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts, in which he shared his thoughts about creativity, bravery, and strength. He encouraged the fledgling painters, musicians, writers, and dreamers to break rules and think outside the box. Most of all, he encouraged them to make good art.

The Commencement Speech was distilled into a book format, Make Good Art, and designed by renowned graphic artist Chip Kidd. Neil Gaiman’s Masterclass on Storytelling, is one of my favorite Masterclass session have seen so far; I wrote a blog post about the lessons learned from the course.

Full Transcript of Neil Gaiman’s 2012 University of the Arts Commencement Speech:

I never really expected to find myself giving advice to people graduating from an establishment of higher education. I never graduated from any such establishment. I never even started at one. I escaped from school as soon as I could, when the prospect of four more years of enforced learning before I’d become the writer I wanted to be was stifling.

I got out into the world, I wrote, and I became a better writer the more I wrote, and I wrote some more, and nobody ever seemed to mind that I was making it up as I went along, they just read what I wrote and they paid for it, or they didn’t, and often they commissioned me to write something else for them.

Don’t Quit Poem by John Greenleaf Whittier

July 14, 2020 In Poem 1 Min Read By Lanre Dahunsi

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns

Book Summary – 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam

July 13, 2020 In Book Summaries 9 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

In 168 hours, there is easily time to sleep 8 hours a night (56 hours per week) and work 50 hours a week, if you desire. That adds up to 106 hours, leaving 62 hours per week for other things.

Print | Kindle (ebook) | Audiobook

Author Laura Vanderkam, in her book 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, shares some great insights on how we have more time than we think we do have and how our time can be maximized by focusing on our priorities. 168 Hours is the story of how some people manage to be fully engaged in their professional and personal lives. It is the story of how people take their careers to the next level while still nurturing their communities, families, and souls.

We all have the same amount of time, the homeless man, the billionaire, the teacher, the blogger, the investor, all of us have the same 24 hours daily, 8,760 hours yearly, 168 hours weekly, 1,440 minutes per day, and how we spend it determines how fulfilled our lives become. Our indoctrination growing up has shaped the way we look at time and changing that programming can and should lead to putting your destiny in your hands.

Here are some of my favorite takeaways from reading 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam:

Top 30 Quotes on Self Discipline

July 12, 2020 In Quotes 5 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Self-discipline is the ability to do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. – Elbert Hubbard,

It takes self-discipline to follow through on your commitments, forming new habits, having a daily routine, setting goals, and executing on ideas. Without self-discipline, achieving our most significant goals can not be made. It takes self-discipline to plan, stay consistent and run towards your ideals and aspirations. Like Les Brown often says, if you do what is hard, your life would be easy, but if you do what is easy, your life would be hard.

Staying consistent with goals such as running a marathon, 100 Book Challenge, 50 Audiobooks Challenge, or stretching targets like skydiving or climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro requires a lot of self-discipline with consistency and determination, they are all achievable goals.

Here are some great quotes on self discipline:

“The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don’t like to do. They don’t like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose.” – E.M. Gray
“With self-discipline most anything is possible.” -Theodore Roosevelt
“Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as a punishment. And that’s the difference.” – Lou Holtz
“A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” – Dalai Lama
“I could only achieve success in my life through self-discipline, and I applied it until my wish and my will became one.” – Nikola Tesla

Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon Biography

July 11, 2020 In Bios 7 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

After ten seasons in the NBA, the Nigerian-born Olajuwon won the league’s Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards. The only other man ever to be so honoured is Michael Jordan.

In 1993/94, Hakeem became the only player in NBA history to win the NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP awards in the same season.
The Houston Rockets drafted Olajuwon with the first overall selection of the 1984 NBA draft, a draft that included Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton.
In 1996, Olajuwon was a member of the Olympic gold-medal-winning United States national team, and was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History
A 12-time All-Star, Hakeem Olajuwon amassed 26,946 points and 13,748 rebounds in his legendary career.
He ended his career as the league’s all-time leader in blocks (3,830) and is one of four NBA players to record a quadruple-double.

Hakeem Olajuwon is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olajuwon traveled from Lagos, Nigeria, to play for the University of Houston under head coach Guy Lewis. His college career for the Cougars included three trips to the Final Four. The Houston Rockets drafted Olajuwon with the first overall selection of the 1984 NBA draft, a draft that included Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton.

From 1984 to 2002, he played the center position in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2016, he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.

He was nicknamed “The Dream” during his basketball career after he dunked so effortlessly that his college coach said it “looked like a dream. He led the league in rebounding twice (1989, 1990) and blocks three times (1990, 1991, 1993).

Lessons Learned from Margaret Atwood’s Masterclass on Creative Writing.

July 10, 2020 In Masterclass 9 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

You become a writer by writing. There is no other way.

Margaret Atwood is the author of more than 40 books of fiction, poetry, and critical essays. Her latest book of short stories is Stone Mattress: Nine Wicked Tales (2014). Her MaddAddam trilogy— the Giller and Booker prize-nominated Oryx and Crake (2003), The Year of the Flood (2009), and MaddAddam (2013)—is currently being adapted for HBO. The Door (2007)is her latest volume of poetry. Her most recent nonfiction books are Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth (2007) and In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination (2011).

Her novels include The Blind Assassin (2000), winner of the Booker Prize; Alias Grace (1996), which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Robber Bride (1993): Cat’s Eye (1988): The Handmaid’s Tale (1985),now a TV series with MGM and Hulu: and The Penelopiad (2005).

Atwood’s works encompass a variety of themes including gender and identity, religion and myth, the power of language, climate change, and “power politics”. Atwood is a founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize and Writers’ Trust of Canada. She is also a Senior Fellow of Massey College, Toronto.

Atwood is also the inventor of the LongPen device and associated technologies that facilitate remote robotic writing of documents. Margaret lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.

If you really do want to write, and you’re struggling to get started, you’re afraid of something. What is that fear?

Here are my favorite takeaways from viewing

by Lanre Dahunsi

The Crab in the Barrel Mentality

July 9, 2020 In Life 8 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

If I can’t have it, neither can you.

The Crab in the barrel mentality is a metaphor derived from a pattern of behavior noted in crabs when they are trapped in a bucket. While anyone Crab could easily escape, its efforts will be undermined by others, ensuring the group’s collective demise. It is a way of thinking that says If I can’t have it, get it or do it, then neither can you, and if you try, then I would go out of my way to bring you down.

The Crab in the barrel mentality can be observed everywhere, such as the workplace, families, friends, and places of worship. The moment you try to leave the stereotype or comfort zone, the crabs in the barrel are always there to bring you down to their level. It is not a great place to be in as you naturally expect people in your clan to be happy for you, but they usually are not.

They begin to call you names such as you are a sell-out, you sold your soul to the devil, you have changed (seriously how are you not supposed to change? ), that is the hallmark of growth. This behavior eventually leads to envy, jealousy, hatred, and other harmful actions against the successful individual. It can be exceedingly hurtful as you notice the behavior from people very close to you, your family members, and friends. They smile in your face but backstab, gossip and insult you in your absence

A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.- John A. Shedd

Author Steve Pressfield, in his very great book, The War of Art, share some very great insight about the crab in the barrel mentality:

Top Books Inspired by Commencement Speeches

July 8, 2020 In Speech 7 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Yearly graduating students listen to a prepared commencement address by a notable figure in the society such as politicians, business leaders, writers, creatives, or other famous individuals; the graduates can learn a thing or two. Some of the commencement speeches eventually become distilled in book form.

Here are some of the top books inspired by commencement speeches:

Make your Bed: 10 Life Lessons from a Navy SEAL by William H. McRaven

In 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas, in a video which immediately went viral. He shared the 10 life lessons he had learned during his Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his long Naval career, but also throughout his life.

Inspiring Speech: Make Your Bed by Naval Admiral William H. McRaven

July 7, 2020 In Speech 17 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

This speech was originally delivered by Naval Admiral William H. McRaven to the 2014 graduating class of the University of Texas, He shared the 10 life lessons he had learned during his Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his long Naval career but also throughout his life.

The speech inspired the writing of a book by Admiral Willian titled: Make Your Bed: 10 Life Lessons from a Navy SEAL. Building on the core tenets laid out in his speech, McRaven now recounts tales from his own life and from those of people he encountered during his military service who dealt with hardship and made tough decisions with determination, compassion, honor, and courage.

Book Summary – The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

July 6, 2020 In Book Summaries 9 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

small, seemingly insignificant steps completed consistently over time will create a radical difference.

Print | eBook(Kindle) | Audiobook

As someone that has participated in 10+ Marathons, I know first-hand the value of commitment and consistency in achieving any worthwhile goal like running a marathon; it requires having a daily routine of running with the end in mind. Darren Hardy, former publisher of Success Magazine, In this book, shares insights gleaned from interviewing and interacting with highly successful people. The Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices.

The premise of the book is that Success is the progressive realization of a worthwhile goal. Succeeding in any field requires putting in the work, and seeing the compounding results over time. Success requires putting in the work daily and consistently over a long time, small, seemingly insignificant steps completed consistently over time will create a radical difference.

Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE

Here are my Favourite Take Aways from reading, the compound effect by Darren Hardy:

Top Quotes on Having a Sense of Urgency

July 5, 2020 In Quotes 3 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Dream as if you‘ll live forever. Live as if you‘ll die today. – James Dean

What are you going to do with your ONE precious life? This life is not a drill; it could end any time without warning. We hear it all the time, “Life is Short,” but we don’t live our lives like it could end anytime sooner or later we are all going to DIE. Most of us think we have time, and we live in “Someday Isles.” We say ‘Someday I’ll start my blog, ‘Someday I’ll start the business, Someday I’ll do this and do that but the only time we have is NOW.

We all realize the brevity of life differently; it may be through the death of a parent or a sibling, the diagnosis of a terminal illness or a life-shattering event. In Life, You are either heading to a storm, going through a storm, or heading to a storm. Tupac died as 25, John Lenon at 40, Kobe Bryant at 41 and Micheal Jackson at 50, you and I do not know how long or short our life is going to be hence the need for a sense of urgency.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift––that is why it is called the present.

Do your best, add value to people while you are here, and have a sense of urgency as your life could end anytime. Follow your Bliss, dare to live your highest life possible, Dream, Live, and Love. As clergyman, Newman, John Henry once quipped, “Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning.”

Here are some great quotes on having a sense of urgency:

Adebayo Ogunlesi Biography

July 4, 2020 In Bios 4 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Adebayo Ogunlesi is a Nigerian-born lawyer and investment banker, who is currently Chairman and Managing Partner at the private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners. His father, Emeritus Professor Theophilus Ogunlesi was the first Nigerian-born professor of medicine at Nigeria’s premier university, University of Ibadan

Bayo had his secondary school education at King’s College, Lagos, before proceeding to Oxford University in England, where he earned a first-class honor in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. In 1979, he received a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School, which he pursued at the same time.

Adebayo is the Founder, Chairman & Managing Partner of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a NewYork-Based private equity firm that invests worldwide in infrastructure assets in the energy, transport, water and waste industry sectors. GIP has grown to be one of the world’s largest infrastructure investors and currently manages $74 billion in assets on behalf of its global investor base. The companies in GIP’s equity portfolios have combined annual revenues greater than $45 billion and employ approximately 62,000 people.

Ogunlesi is also the Lead Director at Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., where he is the chair of the Governance Committee and he is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Callaway Golf Company, Kosmos Energy Holdings, Terminal Investment Limited, and Freeport LNG.

Book Summary – The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker.

July 3, 2020 In Book Summaries 8 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

The Effective Executive: they concentrate on one task, if at all possible. After picking what needs to be done, set priorities and stick to them.

Print | eBook (Kindle) | Audiobook

In Effective Executive, Peter Drucker shares some very great insight for becoming an effective executive such as organizing and managing your time, choosing your contribution to the organization, amplifying your strengths, setting the right priorities, and making effective decisions.

I highly recommend this Peter Drucker classic as it contains lots of anecdotes, insights, and practical examples on doing the right things effectively and making the right decisions daily.

Here are my favourite takeaways from reading, Effective Executive by Peter Drucker:

The Sunk Cost Fallacy

July 2, 2020 In Management 5 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Recently I enrolled in a Bootcamp, which I had thought would help me achieve one of my career goals. Few weeks into the program and after I had paid a large sum of money, which was non-refundable, I realized It was not going to help achieve the career goal that I had intended and coupled with my hectic work schedule. It was not easy pulling the plug on the program, even though I had invested a large chunk of money, but I had to for the sake of my sanity & save money, time, and energy.

In retrospect, it was not a wrong move to leave the program as I was able to use that time for some other activities such as writing some IT certifications. I had to think of the trade-off I would be making vis a vis my career goals.

The Sunk Cost Fallacy is the tendency to continue to sink money, time, or effort into an activity/project we know is not going to give us our expected result. We continue these resources imply because we have already incurred a cost (sunk), which cannot be recouped. We place more value on the project based on how much we have already invested rather than the real present value.

The sunk cost is very pervasive in every area of our lives as we continue to spend money, time and effort in abusive relationships, loss generating business, viewing boring movies or sports games, nonproductive dating/marriage, or even schooling and career choice. There are lots of examples of the sunk cost in the business world such as Concorde, Google Glass, Microsoft Zune among others.

Here are some examples of the sunk cost fallacy: