About 11 years ago, an erudite professor first shared with me the principle of becoming a genius, during our fresher’s welcome ceremony into the college. He told us that “if any student would consistently study for just one hour at a particular time of the day for the next five years”, he will assume the status of a genius in five years. This instantly confirmed the statement of one of the greatest thinkers in the world who said that “consistency is the mark of a true champion”.
Something leaped on my inside when I heard those words from the endorsed mouth of an academic giant and I since then followed in triple times his prescription. I started reading for an average of three hours every day at particularly set time since then. One hour is devoted to reading motivational and devotional materials, another hour to academic materials and the third hour to current affairs like newspapers and magazine.
Though I am not a professor today but I’m a public health researcher consulting for the best humanitarian organizations in the world. I have results to show for following this prescription. I challenge you today to test this hypothesis of consistently studying in the area of your field for at least one hour every day at a particular time, and see if in 5 years time you will reject or fail to reject this hypothesis.
I’m never surprised at the way I churn out spell binding motivational articles because I have been applying this principle.
Are you a musician? Start today to practice your musical instruments for no less than one hour everyday at a particular time of the day for the next 5 years nonstop.
Are you a student? Start today to study without distractions for a consistent one hour or more at a particular time every day either there’s exam or not for the next 5years and see what will happen.
Are you a career person? Start to study the biographies of people that have succeeded in your field consistently for one hour at particular time every day for the next 5 years and await the transformation after application of the lessons learnt.
Whatever you are and want to be, just apply this principle and see what will happen to you in the next 5 years.
To conclude with a wonderful quote which sums it up and has been widely and wrongly attributed to Aristotle, saying “We are what we repeatedly do. Therefore, excellence is not an act. It is a habit.”
One of my teachers will say that “Now you know”…Go do something!
Best Regards,
Gbenga ASAOLU