A guide to finding your identity

Profound. This book is a guide and a workbook for those in search of their true purpose.

What you need to know:

  • The Book: Out of the Crowd
  • Author: Richard Mwebesa


Out of the Crowd, a book by Richard Mwebesa is at once a reflection and a life guide with biblical examples on authenticity and identity. And while as human beings we feel the need to belong to something, trying to fulfill this longing often leads us to try and fit in with the crowd rather than seeking to stand out. In his book, Mwebesa urges us to do better. 

He delves into the Bible to show us that each of us was created with a special purpose and that our job here on earth is to find that purpose and fulfil it. However, if you are still wondering what your purpose is, Mwebesa helps you along by asking the hard questions. The book does not answer the questions. At the end of each chapter, you, the reader, will have to stop and answer those questions yourself or with the help of someone who knows you well.

In addition to compelling you to reflect on the great questions about your existence, Mwebesa shares examples from the stories of truly outstanding personalities; legends and stars from various fields. I will not spoil for you by sharing them here. Suffice to say that he picks his examples from the best since the aim is to set you up to think like the truly outstanding people. 

At just over 130 pages long, the book is a relatively short read; the kind a voracious reader could get through in one day or night. However, the book is presented in such a way that it demands to be consumed in small bites as opposed to being swallowed whole. The book’s presentation is ideal for the reader who likes to stop and take notes. You do not need to read it with a marker pen or sticky notes to underline the lessons. In the book’s pages, you will find pull quotes or nuggets of wisdom extracted from the rest of the text in order to highlight the lessons. Although much of what is shared is not rocket science, this is the kind of simple text that assembles what you need and delivers some kind of pocket book guide on life to which you could keep referring whenever you need reminding. 

The writer does not just share Bible verses and stories of legends, from time to time, he shares some things from his personal life too. This sharing ranges from lessons learnt in his line of work as an insurance salesman, which is an unenviable task, as we later learn. He shows us how the power of imagination led him to some unexpected places and why his upbringing and lessons learnt at home made all the difference in his life. This book barely scratches the surface on who the writer really is and just when your curiosity is getting piqued, the book comes to an end. It is almost as if the author was being modest and wanted us to focus on the bigger questions of who we are and why we are here. The book also contains a deep analysis of football in certain places, raising our curiosity as to whether football is one of the author’s pet subjects. Anyhow, the author should be credited for doing the required research for purposes of illustrating his message and delivering the examples with the sort of conviction that almost makes you feel as if he lived in the times of his chosen subjects. 

The book dwells on some of the things we constantly need to re-examine, the values we embrace and cultivate and the lessons we hope to pass on to our children someday. It will help you find your passion, recognise opportunity when it comes knocking, and build character to enable you stay on top when you finally become successful. In places, the book can feel like a score sheet against which hardly any of us measure up 100 per cent but that is just one of the lessons we are meant to learn. It will take many tries and possibly failures on the road to success but like the author says, “perseverance is about keeping on the path even when no one else is seeing where you are headed.” And according to Richard Mwebesa, that is one of the ways to stand out of the crowd. 

About the Author

Richard Mwebesa is a voice of inspiration. He is a certified Business Professional Master Executive, holds an MBA and is a seasoned marketing, business development and sales professional with vast experience in those fields. He currently works with a leading diversified financial services group in East and Central Africa. He has worked with leading brands in Uganda in the Insurance and Technology space and does consultancy work with the Insurance Training College of Uganda (ITC). He is passionate about developing systems and unlocking potential within others.

Where to find the book

The Book is already on the shelves of Aristoc Bookstores; Garden City, Kampala Road and Acacia Mall Branches.