TIME & OPPORTUNITY - KEYS TO GREATNESS (P.23) 11-09-08

Title: Time & opportunity – Your access keys to greatness
Author: Osei Yaw Afoakwa
No. of pages: 176
Reviewer: Kofi Yeboah

MANY people are familiar with the famous quote by the legendary English scholar, William Shakespeare: “Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them". This means greatness is either bestowed by divine or man, both of which one has little influence over, or achieved, in which case the individual has a great influence over.
However, what many people are not aware of is how to achieve greatness. For those people desirous of achieving greatness but who are bereft of ideas to fulfil their dreams, they can now heave a sigh of relief because their access keys to greatness has been discovered by a young Ghanaian university graduate.
After searching for such answers over the past few years, Pastor Osei Yaw Afoakwa has discovered the secrets to achieving greatness and presented them in his book titled Time and opportunity - Your access keys to greatness.
"Until you develop the right attitude towards time and its effective usage, you can never maximise the opportunity God gives you to attain greatness".
This quotation, captured on the cover of Time and opportunity - Your access keys to greatness, is a foretaste of this inspiring and revealing book that grips your attention and fires up you up to discover the secret of greatness.
Greatness is, indeed, an ambition every human being would want to achieve. But the difficulty is how to make it. Time and opportunity – Your access keys to greatness provides the simplest mathematical formula to unlock the secrets of greatness – Time + Opportunity = Greatness.
Pastor Afoakwa says the desire for greatness "is a legitimate and sanctified inherent desire" that God has put in all His creations”. However, accessing that greatness requires the prudent use of time and opportunity. And what is most refreshing is that God has given those keys to us as gifts.
"God authored them and gave them freely to us so we can maximise our lives and fulfil our destinies by making the most of them", he says. However, he adds, "What we do with our time and opportunities will determine what will become of us at the end of the day".
Time and opportunity - Your access keys to greatness is a 22-chapter book cast in two main parts with the first part dealing with the importance of time. Here, the author discusses very interesting topics like how to prepare towards time and how to maximise time.
The author indicates that many a time, the failure to recognise, seize and manage opportunities that come our way may have little or nothing to do with lack of determination or willingness, but everything to do with an effort out of sequence – either one acts too early or too late.
"The ability to discern time, manage and use it properly, is a rare virtue found only in the inhabitation of the wise", he points out. This suggests that not only must one act at the right time to take advantage of opportunities, but one must also be wise enough to do so.
Pastor Afoakwa further asserts that the effective use of time is precipitated by a sound knowledge and understanding of the facts of time and he proceeds to share some thoughts on what he has identified as the six facts of time. These are the fact that God is the author of time (Gen 1:1); that time is the most valuable resource; that time is irreplaceable; that time is in limited supply; that time never goes unused because it is either wasted or invested; and that God will demand accountability of us one day for our use of time.
In the second part of the book, the author highlights the necessity to take advantage of opportunities in life with equally inspiring topics like the facts of opportunities, robbers of opportunities and seizing the opportunity to be great.
An opportunity, he notes, is a bridge between the time for preparation and that for performance. "The greatest disaster that can ever happen to a living being is when he is caught unprepared in the face of an opportunity", he submits.
According to him, every greatness is a product of utilised opportunity, and it is the meeting of preparation with opportunity that produces what is commonly referred to as "luck".
Just as Pastor Afoakwa recounts the facts of time, he also identifies four key facts about opportunities that need to be appreciated. These are the fact that God is the author of opportunities; that opportunities are in abundance; that opportunities never go waste; and that opportunities multiply in the lives of those who use them.
He dismisses the sage that "opportunity comes in life but once", contending that the loss of one particular opportunity may only introduce some delay in the process but not a total denial of subsequent opportunities. Therefore, losing one opportunity should not demoralise you. What is most important is to re-position yourself for other opportunities ahead.
As a religious scientist, one appropriate method that Pastor Afoakwa employs in his book is the making of extensive, concise, precise and appropriate biblical references that are as much captivating as they make the book very interesting reading. The in-depth treatment of the biblical quotation and the vivid explanation he provides thereof give a clear idea about the depth of his knowledge of the Bible and the fortitude with which he has applied himself to the subject.
A blend of his youthfulness, academic prowess as a Medical Laboratory Technology graduate from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and religious zealousness as the founder and head pastor of the Faithhouse Charismatic Church International, comes through strongly in the manner he dissects the subject to a minute detail. That attitude surely makes the book an inspiring material to usher the present generation into greatness.
Time and opportunity – Your access keys to greatness comes in a very attractive cover and good quality that strikes the eye from any distance and irresistibly beckons for possession.
Indeed, the book is a must-read for students and the youth in particular, and all those who are yet to fulfil their date with greatness. With just GH¢ 6, one can walk to the Above All Bookshop at Adum, the KMA Shell in Kumasi and bookshops of various churches, including the Christian Action Faith Ministries, Lighthouse Chapel, Winners Chapel International and Winners Chapel, Ghana, to grab a copy for personal reading or even as a gift for a friend.
Having read the book, I can assure you that investing in Pastor Afoakwa’s Time and Opportunity – Your access keys to greatness, will open doors of greatness to you. Mine have just begun to open and I expect to meet you on the corridors of greatness.