Anyone could tell he didn’t belong once he opened his mouth to sing the first line of the song “Kumbaya.” Apart from the unconscious cracks and the battle of staying on the key of C major, Joni was shaking with each breath exhaled. His legs wobbled, his hands waggled, and his eyes spoke the language of fear mixed with doubt. How shocking! He was introduced to the choir as a tenor singer from a sister church called Oasis. Unfortunately, this oasis had its lungs and throat all dried up. Joni stopped singing from the looks on every face. By a corner, he saw the man playing the drums lift his eyebrows - not in wonder but a mechanism most people adopt to hold back laughter. The woman playing the bass guitar was looking down at nothing. As Joni’s eyes roved around the church, he saw an invisible congregation, all rising from their seats, eyes tight with laughter! The white walls were bloody-looking. Ah! Even the brown wooden cross on the altar resembled a negation. Joni felt the wo...
How
Prepared Are You?
By Elisha Seyitan
By Elisha Seyitan
I
am sure the title of my essay may come across as some damnation tract topic. Put
your mind at rest for I am not one cut out for that though, not to say the
concept of salvation should be undervalued. However, the muse was gotten thanks
to a Facebook reminder I got earlier this week regarding a self mission I had
undertaken in relation to my dreams. After gaining remarkable exposure in the
course of my self-development last year, I had picked up interest in the field
of marketing communication with bias for Strategy.
The
reminder resonated in me exactly 12 months later not because it was a reminder
of what I had said but the fact that I am currently living my dreams slowly but
steadily; surely it will end up shaking my generation amongst other
things ( my conviction, remember to have yours).
The
cogent drive of my article is the attitude I put towards those words of mine.
May I say that I did not just stop at expressing my interest but I actually did
equip myself. This for me is the gap between anyone and their dreams; the power
of self equipment. Immediately I identified my new field of interest I began
to search for different existing literatures in that field; more like schooling
myself, watching documentaries in that field and even offering to test my newly acquired
knowledge by helping friends out with the struggles they had in shaping their
brand narratives. Having to do that gave me a sense of fulfillment. Every day,
I consistently equipped myself with one form of knowledge or the other in that
field and fast forward to January this year I was privileged to be employed in
a marketing communication firm proper. Did I actually go in search of the job?
No, I had another plan entirely for myself but alas I had the privilege to
have worked in a marketing communication firm via the National Youth Service. My joy knew
no bounds as I quickly settled in on the job. I also began to enjoy reviews
from my bosses which created opportunities and privileges for me.
The
validity of your dreams is not just confessing but how well equipped you are to
achieve that dream of your. Most times we equip our mind with a lot of excuses
on why we cannot achieve our dreams ranging from unfavourable environment, lack
of cash etc. But I remember Akin Alabi’s words of the Nairabet fame in
one of the conference I had attended that “if you want to do something you take
responsibility if you do not want to you create an excuse.” Sadly that is what
many of us do. The journey to achieving dreams are not meant to be smooth. If it
is smooth it is a façade and not a dream. As such, we have to put on that amour
of passion, focus and tenacity. I had my dream and I never stopped at it. I
equipped myself with the knowledge needed which made my dreams consistently
resonate in my mind and we all may have heard of the law of attraction and the
mind. What you think is what you attract which worked for me and placed me in a vintage
position as I eventually became the sole strategist for the firm I work,
successfully working on leading brands.
Not
forgetting money/capital as a big issue, I tell people that the reason why
we find money as a big problem is our inability to break our dreams into
smaller bits forgetting that success is a journey with a starting point, midway
and final bus stop and at each point it should be treated as a distinct subset
of the larger picture. Working on your aspirations as one whole cannot be a
success if you do not have that financial war chest. What you should is
identify the lowest barrier point. The lowest barrier entry point cost nothing, without restrictions, and even without regulations as most times regulators do
not even concentrate on this entry points. Most times our immediate environment
is our lowest barrier entry point, we should learn to work around it as our
dreams are basically to offer solutions to a problem and create wealth out of
it. And the true test of your dream is its applicability anywhere in the world
you find yourself. It should be sufficient enough to be accommodating
modifications. For me my lowest barrier entry point was helping friends out
which has led to recommendations that have brought financial rewards.
Have
I gotten to the point where I have witnessed a total explosion of my dreams? No, but I am seeing it becoming a reality with every step I take. How well are you
prepared and equipped to make your dreams a reality?
A
Shared Experience…. Don’t forget to be honest!
Very Wonderful article. Says alot for the wise.
ReplyDeleteTrue words...
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