Hope On The Go… Manual For Success

Since the time of Vincent Pearl Norman and many other American writers that locate development at the doorsteps of the individual as centre of all forms of power to liberate self from thralldom of all kinds, particularly all-pervasive poverty many other writers have found a niche in this special area to make a living. So much so that inspirational speakers and writers of every hue have sprang up all over the world. Nigeria is no exception to this emergent new genre of spoken discourse and scholarship.

One Nigerian writer who is carving a place for herself in this special genre of writing designed to fire up individuals to live lives to the full in a God-given ambit is Victoria Praise Abraham. Indeed, while there may be inspirational writing that draws merely from worldly wisdom, Abraham has her own kind God-centred, which makes it unique, as she ascribes a deeper purpose to living beyond the ordinary and mundane. The vignettes come with illustrative photographs on aspects of life being discussed, which makes it also visually and aesthetically pleasing.

Although, Abraham has written other books on inspiration for successful living in a troubled world, her recent book, Hope on the Go (Holyseed Publication, Lagos; 2014) comes in a quick-look or quick-reference material, perhaps with the lazy reader at the heart of its conception. Yes, the lazy reader, who dreads voluminous stuff will find Hope on the Go a delightful reading material. Its unique nature is in its short, snappy content, with each page making up a special ‘topic’, as it were, of its own. The lengthiest topic per page has just about 50 words in it! So, a page can be read in a blink. It’s the sort of book you’d read even while working, walking, in a bus or just about everywhere without suffering distraction.

Clearly, Abraham understands the psychology of modern Nigerian living that, unfortunately, tends to be shallow and has appropriately feed it its desired diet.

So, the vignettes start with this telling one: To do list: (1) Nothing. Does this apply to anyone? Can anyone genuinely have ‘nothing’ in his/her ‘to do list’? This is the author’s verdict: If you do nothing, you will see nothing! Perhaps, she could also have said, ‘if you do nothing, you will achieve nothing’, especially in a Nigeria currently grossly corrupted by a craze for ‘instant wealth’ and cutting of corners, with little regard for hard work.

In the second page, she writes, ‘Today is the beginning of tomorrow. So wake up now!’ This is for those who love to procrastinate, who keep putting off doing things they should do now for a future date. Unfortunately, that future date or time may never come, as they keep pushing the future far away until it’s too late or the opportunity slips by and is forever lost. Still on the implication of ‘tomorrow’ of the future, Abraham writes on the need to act now, ‘Tomorrow is today by tomorrow. No better time than now! All we have is today. Tomorrow is not guaranteed! Do it now! Tomorrow’s men take action today! ’

On page 84 and 85 she writes about knowledge and how it affects a man’s life, ‘A knowledgeable man is like a flowing river, productive, proactive and prosperous, touching lives and transforming destinies’ and ‘Knowledge makes a man’s face shine, a man’s heart steady, and a man’s steps sure’. Closely related to knowledge is education, which Abraham also enjoins every man to get for his own good if he wants to advance. On education, she simply writes, ‘Education empowers. Get one’.

Abraham’s Hope on the Go is a quick guide to the secrets of successful living. It inspires; it encourages; it charges; it exhorts; it’s a powerful force that motivates towards success. This quick guide is for today’s living, both old and young will find it resourceful and an intelligent companion.