Life itself is a school. We are all learning every day. This article is a deep reflection of my thoughts about life. When I see little children on their way to school, so excited because they cannot wait to join the morning assembly and join in to sing the nursery rhymes and national anthem, I smile and remember my young self.
In Nigeria, growing up we all had our dreams and aspirations. That is, until after graduation and life suddently hit us.
The rate of unemployment in Nigeria is quite alarming. If you get a chance to secure interviews, you are being asked for 5 or 10 years working experience. How is that possible for a fresh graduate?
I was doing some research recently, and came across profiles of different people who succesfully climbed up the career ladder. The common thing about them I noticed as that they have made sacrifices for this success. These individuals had a great amount of resilience, focus, and tenacity when building their respective careers. They spent decades attaining great strides in their chosen industries, until they eventually found themselves.
Millennials today all want to be overnight superstars. Many of us want to “blow”(i.e attain quick success) which is not bad, but the sad part is that we are no longer interested in success stories or hard work. We are in the “get rich quick ” age, which can jeopardize our future, if we lack the right values to bring our dreams into fruition.
Here are a few baby steps I would recommend help you achieve greatness, which I am also practically exploring:
- Be ready to start small: Rome was not built in a day. Start from somewhere. If you want to be in the media industry, for instance, apply to media houses as an intern. Work hard and have a positive relationship with everyone you meet.
- Personal Development is key: Don’t get complacent. Get out of your comfort zone. Get out there and increase your knowledge, take an online course, go back to school if you can.
- Relationships are everything: Ask successful people how they achieved their success and you’ll hear words … No one accomplishes anything worthwhile on his or her own. That is the fact, this is the time to yank that bad bitch attitude and embrace humility.
- Your life is uniquely different: It’s okay to check out what others are doing but their progress shouldn’t be a yardstick for measuring your success in life. No matter how slow, you think you are, trust me. You are not doing badly because it could have been worse.
- Patience is key: You may feel like giving up because you are tired. Please press on, Don’t give up. You are closer than ever to your breakthrough. Forget social media lies, There is no such thing as an OVERNIGHT SUCCESS.
Photo Credit: Big Stock
