Hello Everyone!

TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the second edition of See what he said. The first edition was in April.  As usual, this is not a publicity scheme. 

Last year, I took the book ‘Start with what you have’ by Sam Adeyemi, from my brother. In retrospect, about a month after I read the book, I started blogging. So, when I saw it among my collection of books, I decided to read it again, to remind myself of the wisdom nuggets and to do a book review for my Precious Thinkers.

Start with what you have is a 90 page book, with 8 chapters in it. If you are someone who is not inclined to reading big books, then this book will definitely be a good one for you, considering that I finished it in an hour thirty minutes. It is definitely a must read if you are stuck thinking of what you are supposed to do with your life. Personally, I think most of us get to a crossroad, where we do not have an idea of who we want to become or how to start on who we want to become.

In the introductory chapter, Rev. Sam Adeyemi said that action orientation is a major requirement for success and that most of us do not take action because we feel we do not have what it takes to start. He makes us understand that there will always be a seed in our lives that God will use to meet the need of our life. The story of the widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7 was the central text for this book.

The next chapter talked about the unexpected events that come with change- crisis specifically. Considering that the widow had just lost her husband and was in debt. Her first reaction was to run to Elisha, in which case 2 Chronicles 20:20b: ….Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper; is being put into practice here. In other words, what we need in time of desperation is a word from God. I am sure we can really identify with that. Most times, when we are in a place of uncertainty, getting a word from God gives us that peace to hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Chapter three expatiated on the ‘scarcity’ mentality, that whatever we have is almost not sufficient, which is not the ultimate truth. He said what we have may not be enough, but it will always contain the potential for what we want. He encourages us to be like Jesus who had an abundance mentality, as seen in the story of five loaves and two fishes. Basically, the lesson from the chapter is that God will use what we have to create what we want.

Next chapter speaks on perspective, how man sees things and how it differs from how God sees things. Man sees things the way they are but God sees them the way they could be, which is the reason we often underestimate the potentials for wealth that abound all around us. There is something in you that the whole world needs.. We are to find it. develop it, give it commercial value.

Furthermore, he wrote about protecting your dream. The illustration of how Elisha instructed the widow to shut the door after she had borrowed empty drums from her neighbors; was key in explaining how we need to protect our dreams, considering how powerful the thoughts and words of negative people are. The example of Joseph is one that will never elude its importance in warning us of the importance of ‘shutting the doors’ for the manifestation of our dreams to take place. I found this point to be very crucial considering the day and age we are in now, with the use of social media and the likes, it is very easy to give away dreams even before the manifestation.’When God gives you a breakthrough idea, there will always be people around who will not see what you are seeing’- he said.

Also, the book talks about how there is no substitute for hard work in the school of success. Success is a prize with a price, but not everyone is willing to pay the price for the prize. We are encouraged to be action oriented. Working can be a blessing and it can also be a curse, it is a curse when it is without God, without His ideas and without His divine energy. We are not to wait for ideal situations. Rev Sam Adeyemi goes further to say that, God will usually not bless you beyond your level of expectation. Expectation is the mother of manifestation. He said that we limit the height of our prosperity because we stop setting goals because of small success. This is not to say we should not celebrate small success, but that we should not magnify them to the point where we become stagnant.

The concluding chapters encourages us to trade for profit and sell. Wealth will always flow towards those who are productive, those who have the ability to multiply whatever is given to them through hard work and a good business sense.

I LOVE THAT: The points were concise. The Word of God was used as reference. The designing of the pages and letter fonts are attractive to read. Personally, I have issues with books that jumble words together.

I THINK THAT: emphasis should have been made on the importance of patience when starting with what you have. People make moves and expect instant results, which is not the case at all times. There are times when  people get a word from God and venture into what they have been called to do, and they fail at first. In such situations, patience and perseverance is vital in standing firm to the promise. However, I think that, patience was not discussed because the book focuses on the ‘beginning’ not ‘after the beginning [My 2 cents]

To purchase the book, you can check out Sam Adeyemi’s Website

I hope you enjoyed this review. If you have any questions or suggestions, please send an email to preciousthoughts2013@gmail.com.

Missed my last post?

Have a productive day!

Chinomnso Precious!