Book Review: From College Drop-out to Corporate Sell-out by Steve Harris

By Joy Ehonwa.   From College Drop-Out to Corporate Sell-Out Book Vine, 2011 ISBN 978-978-912-915-7   Whether you’ve heard of Steve Harris before or not, this is one book you will not be able to put down until the end. Written in first person, “From College Drop-out to Corporate Sell-out”tells the amazing and uplifting story of a young man who, faced with academic challenges that defied logic, had to drop out of University twice, take JAMB again 6 years after he first wrote it, and then take up a job as a clerk after he totally hit rock bottom. In the first chapter, the author introduces us to his family and childhood, and his voracious appetite for reading immediately caught my attention, as did his realization that real fulfillment is earning a living doing what you love.   Chapter 2 is short, and tells of time spent abroad. He quickly gets into his University experience in the third chapter, and one cannot help but wonder how the author, with his aforementioned lack of scholastic aptitude for Mathematics, got admitted to study Industrial Mathematics. Even more shocking is the brief exposé on his department, which mirrors the corruption prevalent in many Nigerian Universities today. Importantly, this chapter tells of the author’s salvation experience and the beginning of his relationship with Christ. From here on, Steve Harris touches the reader’s heart with his account of his harrowing struggle with academics, and how he became a drop-out. How can God allow someone who trusts in Him to suffer so? I tell you, it was enough to shake anyone’s faith. Yet Steve Harris gives us what he calls a bit of insane advice, “Don’t question God. Trust Him, even when you can’t trace Him.” Although I was already familiar with parts of Steve Harris’ story, reading his description of the shame, despair, loneliness and utter frustration he experienced as he watched friends, old classmates and even his younger ones graduate and advance, brought tears to my eyes. He was painfully honest- about the ridiculous suggestions proffered by well-meaning professionals and family members, his tearful breakdown in the privacy of his room after he’d prayed for his beloved sister who had just bought a new car, and the nightmare that was his second attempt-and failure- at re-entering the University system. Then, as it so often happens with great men, Steve Harris meets a great servant-leader, a helper of destiny and the rest is history. From office assistant to millionaire motivational speaker and life coach, the core of Steve Harris’ message is profound- it’s not what you don’t have that limits you; it’s what you have but don’t know how to use. In a world where academic performance is widely accepted as a measure of one’s intelligence, his life is proof of his words; there’s a sell-out in every drop-out. If you are currently in a dark place in life, if you’ve lost everything and it looks like you’ll never find your way out, if it’s becoming increasingly difficult to believe in God’s love, if you want to be inspired, if you want to be equipped with “sellout secrets” that will propel you into a future greater than any past you may have had, then From College Drop-out to Corporate Sell-out is a must-read for you!