Forged from a father’s heart with a mother’s fire, by Michael Olatunbosun  |

“A Journey of Change: Life and Professional Lessons in Resilience, Determination and Passion (2025),” is authored by Kayode Adeagbo, who is a seasoned property investor and entrepreneur with over three decades experience in the real estate sector both in the UK and Nigeria. He is the founder and CEO of TMS UK Properties Limited. 

The book is both a memoir and manual. It sets out for the reader the author’s trajectory in life; the story of his rise from zero through obstinate resilience, to becoming. It is the story of struggle and breakthrough, enterprise and empowerment. For the author (p6), the book is about the “unstoppable power of a life that chooses to keep going”.

In the book, the author takes the reader on a tour through his early childhood days in Iroju, a village in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State. He describes (p8) the din of childhood and camaraderie that greeted their daily lives of roaming “freely across open fields, chasing grasshoppers, their tiny legs leaping and bounding, prompting squeals of excitement.” He writes about his resourceful mother and his father whose passion for his son revolved around education and leadership. From his mother, he imbibed the trade culture, hawked wares and understood, “even as a boy, what it meant to take what little you had and stretch it into something more.” From there, the multiplication instinct was triggered in him. 

But his parents influenced him in many ways and on all fronts. His father, Daniel Adeagbo showed that it was more profitable to serve with dignity than seek vain status, frowned at retaliation and believed that “character is not what we say, but what we choose when no one is watching.” (P14)

His mother Motunradun Asake taught him to eschew indolence, because laziness “was a betrayal – not just to oneself, but to the family.” (P15) From his mother he learnt how to see value in things other people overlooked.

So, after moving from the village to Lagos, the author learns that the rhythm was different. The sense of urgency and fast-paced life suited his ambition, but he quickly blended in and his village values and parental ethos made all the difference. Soon, his talents, spirit of enterprise and grit made his guardians in Lagos trust him with their business. The author writes in the second chapter of the book about his Lagos experience as a place he learnt sharpness and agility. His encounters taught him to learn how to deal with all kinds of people: the traders and professionals, artisans and politicians, dreamers and schemers. And he learns here not to live for himself alone, but to build and make room for others at the table.

In the work, A Journey of Change, the author dwells at length on the fuel that drives success. He mentions that despite the loss of his parents and moving his siblings into his one-room apartment in Lagos, determination to rise above all challenges is crucial. He argues that success will not arrive in waves but in whispers and that one should keep moving even with small victories. According to him (p29), small victories are a precursor of quiet progress which is occasioned by consistent sacrifice. This, when combined with responsibility, can make dreams grow. And the author plays up this theme of hope and resilience in the face of struggle countless times in this book. While recalling his early years in Lagos, he continually harps on the power of that city to thrust you into a contest with destiny. He posits that the city is not kind and does not hand out favours easily (p49) but respects, and “bows to those who refuse to bow to hardship” and that it is a place that teaches that dreams, no matter how fragile, are worth chasing.

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As a perceptive reader, one key mantra of the author in this book is that challenges can be surmounted. Agboola writes: “…no matter where you start, no matter how rough the road can be, you can rise.” (p50) This reverberates through all the 220 pages of the book. And all through the sun shone through even though it seemed like it would all end after secondary school and dwindling finances of his guardians in Lagos. But a menial job at a borehole drilling company brought new horizons and made him understand the larger world of business, giving new insights. Every task, every errand taught new lessons and pushed him closer to his dreams. 

The work also emphasises the critical factor of tutelage or apprenticeship in the journey of success and entrepreneurship. This experience opened up opportunities for learning and his exponential growth in the property business. The author also teaches that making it big in the property industry is dependent on knowing what drives the customers. This is complemented by why the author describes (Pp176-182) areas of personal change that should be pursued in life to excel. 

The book discusses the age-old conversation about what happens to children when their parents die. In the book the author’s parents are no more, and he recalls that what came after, when he and his siblings “had become items in a list, tasks to be assigned,” (p25) and how the family members spoke about children of the departed “with detachment.” It had suddenly become “send this one to that uncle” and so on. 

In the book, the author discusses his family, faith, and challenges. He writes about how books rewired his destiny and caused a shift in his mindset. He writes how reading expanded his horizon and caused him to fight “years of small thinking” and “layers of poverty mentality” and “deep grooves of fear, insecurity, and self-limitation.” And he writes that books indeed helped him to win battles. 

This 10-chapter work is indeed painstakingly put together by someone who has seen life both from the bottom and the top. 

He brings his vast experience of life, his encounters with life and providence to play in helping the reader to sail to the top and dream dreams beyond even themselves.

. Olatunbosun can be reached via 08023517565 (SMS and WhatsApp only) and [email protected].

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