Title: Living by the Script: Making the Most of Your Life
Author: Deji Ajibade
Publisher: The Roaring Lion Newcastle
Year of Publication: 2021
Number of Pages: 105
Category: Self-Help
You might have heard the saying that Money cannot buy happiness. This saying might sound unconvincing or even hilarious to many Nigerians. Can you tell a Nigerian who cannot afford three square meals per day or can’t pay his children’s School fees that true happiness doesn’t come from having more money? No, but Deji Ajibade proclaims, “Money can’t buy happiness because the things that bring contentment cannot be bought.”
Anyone reading the beginning pages of Deji Ajibade’s Living by the Script book may find it hard to follow his first bit of advice. Because, he has little to no sympathy for the rich and this is the beginning of an interesting discussion.
First, we should ask what happiness is. The author asks us to deconstruct the lies that we’ve believed about happiness, and warns against living an unbalanced life. And to a degree, that makes sense.
Ajibade sees job dissatisfaction as one of the reasons for unhappiness. We can either let the job control us or leave to suit ourselves. However, the book never quite gives you a step by step guide to deal with the root cause, but you get the idea and know the truth.
The author and clinical psychologist does not care and says it again: There is more to life than money. Or as Ajibade puts it in a chapter of Living the Script about “wanting more” You can choose to gather materialistic pleasures but that doesn’t mean you will be happy”.
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Do people who put their jobs ahead of their family feel guilty? Is the job more important than family? For the next several pages, the author continues to shame well to do people and Ajibade warns the reader, “The things that matter in life is our relationships. The happiness we derive from our work, career, or anything else is transient.”
It is impossible to read the book and not notice Ajibade’s use of storytelling. However, you won’t find any of Ajibade’s stories in the book. What you will find is, Ajibade bringing other people’s experiences into his writing. And this does not give Ajibade a lot of credibility.
Why do you do the things you do? When was the last time you did something simply for the enjoyment of the activity itself? Ajibade observed that, we often do things for reasons other than pure enjoyment.
Sometimes, our bad habits can lead to catastrophic consequences. Ajibade walks us through how to recognize and overcome personal weaknesses to become a better person.
The point of this book? To help you live a happier and more fulfilling life! It is fair to say that Living by the Script succeeds in instilling an awareness of the many reasons that lead to feeling unfulfilled in life.
If you’re prone to feeling empty or you feel unhappy and desire to add value to the world — this book is definitely worth checking out.
About the reviewer
Titilade Oyemade is a business executive in a leading organisation and holds a degree in Russian Language. She’s the convener of the Hangoutwithtee Ladies Event and the publisher of Hangoutwithtee magazine. She spends her weekends attending women conferences, events and book readings. She loves to have fun and to help other women have the same in their lives. Email: [email protected] Social: @tiipree
