Author: Mosopefoluwa Onanusi
The whole essence of Life is Shutter Than You Think is to
motivate the reader to follow his or her heart and pursue dreams. But there is
a difference here because Mosope shows us that you do not put the cart before
the horse. You do not say you have a passion for something and are unwilling to
take any step to live in it and experience it, yet you expect the harvest that
comes with it. You follow your heart but in doing so, you use your head.
In the very first chapter, Going From the Known to the Unknown, we
were made to understand that the writer had a trainer and she was a student
learning the basics. She wasn’t following her dream blindly or calling herself
a professional photographer just because she liked how it sounded. The parlance
we have all come to know today as fake it
till you make it. This wasn’t the script she presented. She was training to
be better and developing a skill she was passionate about and while the fire
was burning hot she decided to embrace it because fuel gives us the necessary
speed and courage to move when we decide to leave our comfort zones and no
amount of brakes applied is able to stop someone that has tasted a bit of what
he or she has been dreaming about.
Having experienced a bit of
the life she had a passion for and had decided to move towards, it is no wonder
that her bosses in the organization she used to work in felt she was making a
mistake. She was throwing away a job she was well equipped for, exchanging it
for something there was a guarantee about. And this is the intrigue of this
book.
While the writer did not
take the reader on a step-by-step description or record of how she did it from
the day she left her job to where she is today, she gave a glimpse into her
world, turning the spotlight on the different areas of her life that make her
who she is, but most importantly, the role that being a photographer plays in
all of this.
We can also say that her
story going by this book is a journal of the life of an entrepreneur, the good,
the bad and the ugly, but most importantly the lessons gathered and how they
contributed to building that needed credibility based on her consistency and
despite the roadblocks.
In motivating her readers,
there are pieces of advice strewn around the pages of this book that contribute
to its worth. Take, for example, the chapter that talks about Others’ Experiences; My Lesson, where
she draws the reader's attention to the fact that we do not only have to learn
from personal experiences but from everywhere, every situation, and everybody
and she went on to share how other people’s experiences that she learnt from,
guided her in different circumstances.
Beyond the obvious though,
one of the write-ups that stands out for me is “Mind Your Business” and by the end of this write-up, the reader
gets a different admonition because instead of minding our business, we are
encouraged to get into other people’s businesses by being compassionate. By the
end of this write-up, we get to answer the unasked question to ascertain if we
are succeeding in being compassionate and loving others like ourselves.
One thing or value that the
writer possesses, which shouldn’t be lost on any reader because it glares at us
from the pages of the book is her determination and commitment to what she
believes in, doing the hard work and going the mile to build her credibility,
which are assets that many young people today can build on, and assets that no
entrepreneur can do without. Also worth noting is the writer’s ability to dare
to dream because she painted for the reader some interesting images from her
future, giving an idea of what she sees in her future which she is heading
towards.
Life is Shutter Than You Think can be described as Mosope’s way of ensuring that she
lives her life meaningfully. That is why the book is packed with 44 articles or
write-ups that are independent of the one that comes before or after them. Each
piece is complete in itself, short captivating and straight to the point, which
is shedding more light on the topic of that entry.
Mosope has written a book
that is very entertaining as well as educative. In some places, you will smile,
at others you will laugh and at others still, you will nod your head in
agreement. With her words, she absorbs the reader into her world because this
book is a representation of who she is. It is not fiction but her personal
journey and like in the chapter that says “You
are A Pretender’, where she writes that she tells people not to assume her
personality, I can safely say that reading this book can actually help the
reader to assume Mosope’s personality and the reader wouldn’t be far from the
truth.
Her style of writing is
straight to the point. The use of everyday language that you and I use and is
easy to understand is, of course, what makes the book engaging.
If you are yet to get a
copy, then you can do so here if you are in Nigeria, or on Amazon.