Phinc! By Akinlabi Akinbulumo: My Unscientific Book Review

Raise your hands if you [used to] have a procrastination and consistency problem. Now put it back down and keep scrolling.

Back when I used to read thenakedconvos.com, I remember occasionally reading a column titled Phinc!

I used to wonder if it was an actual word and would make a mental note to check a dictionary. Six or so years later, I still hadn’t checked the meaning until I read the book. *Cries in procrastination*

Anyway, I’ve made some progress lately, and Phinc! helped, in part, with resetting my brain.

So, why Phinc!?

Akinlabi Akinbulumo, the author, who also goes by Mr Phisha is a brand consultant, and I’m into branding.

I decided to buy this book because stalking people doing great stuff in the field I’m in or want to go into is one of my hobbies; I like knowing how their minds work so I can borrow small strategies.

See Also: 5 Tried Creative Tips For Finding Mentors, Resources and Your Tribe

About Phinc! 50 memoirs to help you think your way to greatness

“For a sailor who does not know what harbor he wants to get to, every wind is the right wind. Phinc! Is aimed at getting you to think in a way that produces great results and guides you to live on purpose. This book will guide you to know your harbor, know the winds to raise your mast to, do it with passion and joy and understand that your journey can impact the world around you.”

In fewer shipping metaphors, Phinc! is a book for those who want to be far away from mediocrity. And the book does so in a way that makes you want to stop and get stuff done.

At least, that’s what I got from reading it twice—and every now and then.

I loved how Phinc! propelled me to act by providing simple perspective at times

For example, we know we should believe in ourselves, but it has become cliché.

Mr Phisha took it a step further and asked thrice if I truly believe I can achieve these things I want to be great at.

Mr Phisha: Do you believe

Me:

Mr. Phisha: Do you really believe?

Me: 

Mr. Phisha: Do you really really believe?

Me:

I know, it doesn’t seem like a big deal. But when he asked the questions further down the chapter, I had to take a break to search out the root of my unbelief. Because it wasn’t that I didn’t believe, but why not wholly? To the point that my actions aligned with this belief?

I had some work to do.

It also showed me actionable ways to apply what I was learning

And this is a big deal for me because I consume a lot of information with so little execution. Sometimes I get so tired of reading motivational quotes, captions, and “practical tips’, that I take a break from them before my brain bursts with information that I’m not applying.

So I really like that in its simple way, Phinc! provides catchy ways to remember and apply what I’m learning from the book.

In the Masters Of The Opposite chapter (which was my favorite), he asked, “if you could become a master at one thing, what would it be?”

Then he goes on to say that “… for the time that passes without [you] picking up that thing [you] want to become a master at, [you] become masters of the opposite.

This left me shook.

I know I’m being dramatic, but go over that statement again.

“… for the time that passes without [you] picking up that thing [you] want to become a master at, [you] become masters of the opposite.”

It’s one thing to hear that practice makes perfect. But seeing it from another perspective was an eye-opener.

If procrastination is second nature to you, it’s because you’ve done it consistently all these years that you’ve become a master of procrastination.

Now, I constantly think things like, “don’t do this or you’ll become a master of it.

Phinc! makes greatness seem so simple

According to Phinc!, being great is about “delivering per time and per solution..  with heart”. It’s doing the best in little things like how you do the dishes, and arrange your room, and in the big things like giving 100% in your work or school projects.

It’s not even that I don’t know some things in the book, but it was a big confirmation seeing someone else share the same thoughts, considering I’ve been told confusing things that made me wonder if I was wrong.

It’s both head and heart.

I feel this book is where emotions meet logic. It’s both left and right brain. The cover does a good job depicting this. It felt great to find the hidden fish motif as well hehe.

Creatives aren’t all right brain, and ‘logicians’ aren’t all left brain, we use both in doing the work we do. But it’s not catchy to say you’re “brained.” I digress. The author recognizes that heart and passion drive greatness, and you can also create a system that ensures you consistently churn out great stuff even when you don’t feel “inspired.”

We can be great because a great God created us

I love that the author acknowledges that our greatness is found in God. Just like the maker of a Toyota knows what he created the cars and each car part to do, so does God, our maker. And as the adage says, “Lion no dey born goat.” 

How to read Phinc!

Phinc! is for the slow reader, so I’d recommend taking your time if you want to get the most out of it.

If you’re a fast reader, read it back to back first to curb your curiosity. Then read it a second time, at a much slower pace.

Although, I’d love to see you try reading it cover to cover quickly. No matter how much I tried to, there were so many self-evaluation questions interspersed that I occasionally took breaks when I didn’t want to.

Also, try not to go ahead of the author when reading. Personally, from the first sentence of any write-up, I start making connections and assumptions as to what the piece is about. If you do this too, Phinc! will make you feel out of sorts when your guess about the chapter’s plot is wrong. So peu à peu (little by little).

Regardless of how you choose to read it, I’d still recommend having a notebook and a highlighter. Don’t trust your mind to remember the points you get from the book. Because you’d realize there are so many action points and storing them all in your head will get overwhelming. So write it down the moment you think about it.

Where to get:

I bought the hardcopy from the author’s website, but the audiobook is available for 1k on Okada Books and Amazon. 

Does this sound like something you’d love to read? Let me know in the comments, tell me what books you love to read.