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Raise Your Ceiling: Why Fiction Beats Non-Fiction

When I was younger, I used to read fiction mainly for entertainment purposes only.

I read famous books by Chinua Achebe and novels from Lantern Publishers. I also read books required for certification exams, like The Potter’s Wheel and Last Days of Forcados High School. Even short stories on Nairaland and Wattpad did not escape my reading radar.

I never knew this aspect of reading would impact my life and how I see the world today.

Read non-fiction to raise your floor, read fiction to raise your ceiling – Eric Stromberg

Reading is good for your personal growth and development.

Nonfiction (Raising Your Floor) focuses on building a strong foundation of knowledge and understanding. Fiction (Raising Your Ceiling) expands your imagination, empathy, and perspective, allowing you to reach higher potential.

And here is how.

The Difference between Reading Non-Fiction and Fiction

You can stand on the shoulders of giants by reading non-fiction. You elevate your floor by learning the wisdom of other people and make yourself smarter, based on their research.

On the other end of the reading spectrum, fiction stimulates creativity by allowing you to move from learning what others say to coming up with original ideas on your own. It unlocks new worlds for you.

Read Fiction to Raise Your Ceiling

Read Fiction to Raise Your Ceiling

Non-fiction is also direct as the writer tries to educate, inspire or entertain you by stating their opinions, experiences and the opinions of other writers before them. In this sense, non-fiction is more constrained because there are certain things that the writer cannot possibly know.

It’s only in fiction that you can learn things that you cannot learn anywhere else. Restraint does not happen in fiction because the writer’s imagination (and yours too) is allowed to run wild.

Because of these differences, ‘your floor’ (by reading non-fiction) is limited to what others have discovered. Meanwhile, ‘your ceiling’ (reading fiction) can expand with no limits.

For non-fiction, it is just facts and opinions – you can choose to agree or disagree.

But for fiction, there is meaning layered within characters, conversations and the plot itself. You can choose to agree with a character because of a certain way you have viewed life or because it reminds you of yourself (or someone) you remember in real life.

To paraphrase Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The point of fiction is to look at our world and be moved by it, and then to engage in a series of attempts at clearly seeing that world, interpreting it, questioning it.”

The Most Important Aspect of how Fiction beats Non-Fiction

Ironically, fiction is more realistic to life than non-fiction itself.

Even though reading is a solitary experience, non-fiction often assumes we all have the same starting point and overlooks the concept of sonder. Sonder is understanding that every person, even those you barely know or see passing by, has a unique and full life, just like your own.

Life is different for everyone, and fiction explains it best.

Sticking solely to non-fiction can limit your understanding of diverse perspectives and human experiences. Non-fiction while informative, often presents a narrower view compared to the broad spectrum of life portrayed in fiction.

In this weird sense, fiction creates the most real reality.

This reminds me of how science fiction novels predicted inventions before the actual inventions happened in real life. Arthur C. Clarke’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” which was published in 1968 influenced satellite technology. Another book – Neuromancer (written in 1984 by William Gibson) introduced the idea of cyberspace, resembling modern-day internet and virtual reality.

Because for non-fiction, you treat it as facts.

Who said this? Where is your source? What’s the data that confirms your opinion?

Read Fiction to Raise Your Ceiling

Read Fiction to Raise Your Ceiling

But for fiction, it is really up to you.

The writer has created a world and invited you to it. It’s just you and the book. What lingers is how the story and its characters made you feel and your interpretation of what the writer is trying to say.

For instance, my favourite book of all time is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

The story talks about a shepherd boy named Santiago who travels across North Africa to the Egyptian pyramids after he dreams of finding treasure there. Santiago meets a king, an alchemist, discovers his true self, and falls in love. He also unlocks the secrets of the universe before finding the treasure of his dreams.

Even though it’s fiction, some parts of my life have played out exactly like the boy’s journey in this novel.

How to Choose Which Fiction to Read

Start with genres or authors you already enjoy and gradually branch out.

My favourite novel genre is fantasy, most especially the epic fantasy subgenre. Books like the Mistborn Series (Brandon Sanderson), and Children of Blood and Bone (Tomi Adeyemi) are good book series I can recommend any day anytime.

Lately, I have read more Nigerian novels like A Spell of Good Things (Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀), Orchestra of minorities (Chigozie Obioma) and Dream Count (Chimamanda Adichie) which are beautiful books to look at too.

You can also get a recommended reading list from your close friends who already read fiction.

Fiction is Your Last Frontier of Truth

Fiction is a mirror reflecting the soul, allowing you to see yourself and others more clearly.

The old ones. The new ones. The classics. The modern novels. Nigerian or Global. The order at which you get back to reading novels does not matter.

The most important thing is that you start right away and begin uncovering the truth for yourself. Sometimes, truth is so complicated to tell, that it needs fiction to make it plausible. Fiction is the lie that help you get to the truth.

Fiction reveals the truth that reality fails to reveal.

All I am saying is to read more novels and short stories. You ultimately learn more from fiction because you learn about human beings. After all, that’s what life is.

Interacting with yourself and interacting with other people so you can gradually become your highest self.

Elite Mentality: How The Top 1% Start and Keep Creating Wealth

Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank. – Proverbs 22:29

A simple look at this statement means that people who are diligent and skilled in their work will be in demand and admired. Someone will promote them, and they will rise to positions of power.

There is an extra layer of meaning here.

A deeper look means diligence will only make you sit before kings. It will never make you a king. If you stop at just being diligent and hard-working, certain things will limit you.

It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them – Proverbs 25:2

To discover these secrets, you must be a king and search it out. Because only the kings have the right to access the things hidden by God.

These generate many questions that urgently need answers:

What are these things hidden by God? Who are the kings and who chooses them? If hard work and diligence are not enough, what else do you need?

Nikola Tesla was on the right path when he made this statement – If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.

Elite Mentality

Find the Secrets of the Universe

The people who harnessed energy, frequency and vibration unlocked some of the secrets of the universe. They transformed into kings, and they became wealthy.

Today, we call them The Elite.

Because of this, wealth is one of the secrets of the universe. Wealth is also a spiritual path. And I will reveal it right here.

This will be long as it is a wealth masterclass.

Part 1: How to Discover Wealth Beyond the Concept of Money

First, you must understand your current position in life.

Life is a Pyramid

Almost eighty years ago, an American psychologist developed a system that classified the set of needs that motivated how we behaved.

According to the system, there are five sets of basic needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization. He placed these needs in a pyramid. The physiological needs (food, water, warmth and rest) were at the bottom of this pyramid while self-actualization (achieving one’s full potential) was at the top.

We now call it — Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs.

Elite Mentality: Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

But there is a more important system that shows the hierarchy of people and how they exist — the Pyramid of Life.

In this pyramid, there are only two sets of people. The ones at the bottom are the Masses, and the ones at the top are the Elite.

The Pareto principle clearly explains this divide.

Also known as the 80/20 Rule, the Pareto Principle states that 80% of outcomes are the result of 20% of causes. Many fields, including business, finance, and project planning, widely use this principle.

It’s always being there.

In Business, the customers who contribute 80% of the revenue are just 20%.  For investing, 20% of the assets will give you 80% of your returns. In studying, the topics that will give the best grades are often 20% of the entire curriculum.

Now, your goal is to be the 20% that controls the 80%. Your job is to understand this system and not judge its morality. Be part of the Elite.

Elite Mentality: The Pyramid of Life

The Pyramid of Life

In this pyramid of life, the bottom people will keep giving to the top because they don’t understand the currencies of life.

The Four Currencies of Life

Money. Energy. Time. Attention.

These are the four currencies of life. When you are exhausted, you spend your energy. When you use your time in a good way, you say time well spent. You pay attention when something matters to you and demands focus.

The masses understand Money as the sole currency of life.

Society sets the frequency of the masses to worship Money as a false god. Meanwhile, for the elites, Money is a servant underneath them.

On a cosmic or spiritual scale, money is not real. Money is only real to humans because it’s a medium of exchange.

The Elite have understood how to manage and multiply these four currencies of life.

Who are the Elite?

The Elites are the best in something.

They are the most advanced in knowledge. Being Elite does not mean just being wealthy. They are a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society.

The Elite is the most endowed group in any society. The top 1%.

These modern-day kings also pass their perception of reality to their children.

Because you are rediscovering wealth beyond the concept of money, you are now part of the elite.

Start with forming your identity.

Have an identity transplant. This starts from your head.

Elite in Energy, Knowledge and Frequency.

After all, if you can think in terms of energy, frequency and vibrations, you will start to understand the secrets of the universe.

a. How to be Elite in Energy

Start applying the Law of Conservation of Energy in your life. The Law states Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be converted or transformed from one form to another.

Raise your consciousness. Raise your awareness.

From now on, show up with attention and purpose.

He who masters energy will never lack money.

b. How to be Elite in Knowledge

Understand and question everything.

Don’t elevate any human’s intellect above your own.

Scrutinize everything.

c. How to be Elite in Frequency

Frequency is everything you are.

It’s your force field. Your frequency determines your life experience. To break into the wealth cycle, start studying the frequency of the elite.

Set your mind on the things above — the things good and true.

To jump from the masses to the elite, first understand why this frequency exists. Society created this particular program –  not all men can save themselves.

You are stuck in an orbit that you did not choose. What frequency are the elites on? What emotions are they expressing? Stop letting the shitty frequency stick to you.

Remove yourself from the peasant programming.

Tune in to WII FM — What’s in It for Me?

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. – Proverbs 4:23

Learn how to Say No. Do not exchange your attention for nothing. Take your attention from the things that do not pay you. Mop it up and take back your value.

Then learn prudence. From now on, be prudent with your META — Money, Energy, Time and Attention. Your ability to create wealth will come from prudent trade.

Elite Mentality: The Four Currencies of Life

The Four Currencies of Life

A lot of people are poor because they are not making good trades. Everyone who makes it to the top has done this because of the proper allocation of their energy.

Wealth is the mastery of the unseen first.

Ask and audit yourself: Where are you leaking your energy, time and attention?

You are born with unlimited energy, attention and time and should be able to transform this into multiple abundance of money. As an elite, destiny dictates that others will serve you

You are a king. Act like it.

Kita Mindset: How to Stop Being Nervous

The Kita Mindset adopts the lifestyle and mantra of Kita Shinsuke.

A quiet and humble captain of a high school volleyball team. I found this character  when rewatching a sport series – Haikyuu.

“Someone’s always watching, Shin. The gods are everywhere. So someone’s always watching.”

Kita’s grandmother spoke the above statement to her grandson when he was a small child. She believed it was always good to always do the right things. Because “the gods” or someone was watching your waves

Her little boy believed his grandma’s words, transforming it to a lifestyle as he grew up.

Kita Mindset – Do it right and do it every day

This statement becomes a mantra for Kita Shinsuke.

Take care of your body. Tidy up after yourself. Practice gratitude. And you practice what you do.

You do it right and you do it every day.

This is how Kita adopted this mindset and became the captain of the second-best volleyball team in Japan.

Kita’s plays on the court were not polished but they were thorough. More importantly, his philosophy of doing it right made Kita to be a good leader. Kita brought out the best from his team members.

This leads me to talk about a new type of confidence.

Stop Being Nervous

The Kita Mindset – Stop Being Nervous

How to Stop Being Nervous

In a previous article, I shared how confidence helps people continuously stay at the top.

Kita Shinsuke developed his own type and always overflowed with confidence. This was not confidence that says that you are better than others. But confidence that ensures that you won’t mess up.

Kita brilliantly sums it up in a conversation with one of his players:

“I don’t understand why anyone ever gets nervous. You only get nervous because you try to be more powerful than you usually are, right? I mean, when you do day-to-day things like eat or take a shit, you don’t get nervous.”

The Kita mindset goes beyond volleyball. I believe it applies to life too.

Maximize your Kita Mindset with practice, practice, practice.

Practice well enough that you have reason to have faith in yourself.

An example would be a job interview.  From my experience and discussion with others, job interviews are easiest when you truly know what you are doing. As long as you practice a few answers to common questions, there is no need to be nervous.

If it’s something you can do during practice, there’s no reason to get nervous.

Practice and work on something. This can be work, a hobby or something you want. And if you do this, every day, you’ll feel…  great.

There is also something that Kita says that makes so much sense:

“Everything you do on a scale of one to ten. The Geniuses do from one to twenty. Other times, they do a more efficient ten. Or they try new things from A to Z.”

I think it is clearer once you realize this. So be humble enough to realize that the successful people simply do more each day towards progressing in their craft than you do. If you want more, you simply need to do more. And the results will simply follow.

When you have prepared for the big moments, there won’t be no need to be nervous.

Your everyday actions are what make you who you are. Results are just the side effects of what you do.

I’m basically built from my daily routine, and the results are nothing more than a byproduct. I don’t need any applause. I am just going to do what I need to do.

Do what works for you

Have the confidence to find out what works for you.

This is very important. If you feel what you are doing genuinely works for you, don’t worry about someone else thinking it wrong. When you develop confidence in what works for you, there is a feeling of peace.

You get things done so easily.

I like the way Kita also puts it after he becomes the captain of his team:

“The gods are always everywhere. That’s what Grandma would always tell me, but at some point, I stopped caring. It’s not like I’m doing this for the gods. Repetition, being methodical, and being thorough just feels nice.”

I hope you find the confidence to find out what works for you. When you find out (or if you have found it already), please do it right and do it every day.

The more thorough you are, the more pride you take it in… The more fun it becomes.