Prof. Tayo Oyedeji Profile picture
May 21, 2019 11 tweets 2 min read Read on X
THREAD: 10 Lessons from the first half.

I turn 43 today and am celebrating it as my half time because the average life expectancy for men in most of the world is about 86.

Here are 10 lessons from my first 43 years.
LESSON 1: Be kind.

Kindness is its own reward.

Be kind to:
1.Those who can't reciprocate (waiters, maids, subordinates etc.)
2.Those who deserve your wrath.
3.Those closest to you. It’s easy to forget to be kind to spouses, children and siblings.
4. Everyone around you.
LESSON 2: Focus on your strengths, not weaknesses.

Don’t live your life trying to improve on your weaknesses. Instead focus on building and maximizing your strengths.

Example:
Sport = weakness
Education = strength

Focus on becoming the next Einstein, not the next Ronaldo.
LESSON 3: Recognize your heritage.

Humans = nurture (environment) + nature (genes).

Your heritage (mom + dad + their families) and upbringing give you some advantages.

E.g. My granddad was a tribal chief and mom was a teacher so leadership and teaching come naturally to me.
LESSON 4: Find your trump card.

Everybody has a unique gift that they can use to win in life. Find yours and maximize it.

Mine is my ability to learn new concepts. Therefore, I try to learn something new every year. That ability has brought me everything I have and own.
LESSON 5: Respect money

Work strategically to make money.

Then use the money respectfully. Don’t splurge until you can afford to. You can’t afford anything until you can buy two of it with cash.

Respect money, and it will work hard for you.
LESSON 6: Do everything you can in your 20's, focus on something in your 30's.

In my 20s, I worked in tech, banking, marketing, and teaching. I also wrote a book, led a youth group, sang in a choir, published a photobook etc.

In my 30s, I focused on Tech and Marketing.
LESSON 7: Accept your limitations.

You cannot do everything at a high level. Recognize your limitations and accept it. Outsource what you can, find partners to help with your weaknesses, and marry someone who is pretty good at the things you are horrible at doing.
LESSON 8: Learn to work with people.

You can’t achieve anything worth doing alone. You need a team of people who genuinely like you and want to work with you. They will help scale your goals and ambitions and help you become a better person.
LESSON 9: Give more than you take.

Give your skills to your employer. Give yourself to your spouse and children. Give to people around you. Give to your parents and siblings.

Be known for giving rather than receiving.
LESSON 10: Enjoy the journey.

There is no joy in hustling to a destination.
Laugh, smile, and enjoy the wind in your face.

Make time for love and laughter, for a good bottle of wine accompanied with great music.

Life is short; enjoy the journey.

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More from @tayooye

May 22, 2023
10 Lessons from My 40s.

- A Thread

As I reflect on my journey through my 40s, I have compiled ten invaluable lessons that I believe hold value for individuals in their 20s, 30s, 40s, or even 50s.
1/10 Time Flies: Enjoy the Present Moment: One of the most important things I've realized in my forties is how quickly time passes. It's crucial to embrace each moment and make the most of it. Cherish the present because it's the only time that truly belongs to us.
2/10 Failure Leads to Growth: Mistakes and setbacks aren't the end of the road but stepping stones toward personal growth and improvement. Embrace failure as a valuable teacher, as it provides lessons that help you move forward on your journey.
Read 12 tweets
May 20, 2023
📌6 important ways to maximize the value you draw from your career.

- A THREAD
1/6 Don't allow loyalty to your current employer to stop you from considering better opportunities.

Remember, businesses prioritize their fiscal health. It's only fair for you to prioritize your career growth likewise.

Be open to change and progress.
2/6 🚀Embrace New Opportunities:

Don't shy away from a promising opportunity just because it means a smaller paycheck in the short term.

View your career as a strategic journey. Sometimes a pay cut can lead to new avenues, expanded networks, and unanticipated advancement.
Read 8 tweets
May 11, 2023
Life is a journey.

To navigate it successfully, we must understand the imperatives of each decade and fight to win one decade at a time.

Let's explore the adventures of the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s together.

- A THREAD
Your 20s: Explore and ponder.
- Try new things and embrace failure.
- Discover your passions and interests.
- Gain diverse experiences.
- Spread your wings and soar!
- Embrace the adventure.

This is your golden era of exploration. Try 1000 jobs or music or art or coding or...
Your 30s: Focus and Specialize
- Identify what brings you the most value.
- Hone your skills in that area
- Become exceptional at what you do
- Become a specialist at something

Focus on honing your craft, discovering what brings you the most value until it's a unique superpower.
Read 7 tweets
Dec 28, 2022
How to find the ONE THING that will change your life in 2023.

- A thread.
A new year is on the horizon and many of us will soon start making new year resolutions to improve several aspects of our lives.

For me: my new resolutions typically fail before the end of January. I will bet yours probably won't survive January too.

May I suggest another way?
Don't make several new year resolutions, MAKE ONE.

Choose ONE THING that will move you towards your desired future and devote the entire year towards achieving it.

We often don't need to make many changes to move forward.

The hard work is to find that ONE THING.
Read 8 tweets
Nov 23, 2022
The top question I ask people who are getting married is, "Will you enjoy life with him if he doesn't change at all?"

Why? Adults don't make significant changes.

Our values/virtues are mostly set by 25 so we remain fundamentally the same and only make a few cosmetic changes.
If your happiness is contingent on him/her making a few changes, please don't say "I do".

He/she probably won't change and you'll both be miserably married.
If I had a penny for every time a woman (and it's mostly women) tells me that she thought she could love him into changing, I would be a billionaire.

You can't love a grown man enough to change him!!!
Read 4 tweets
Oct 2, 2022
Him: How do I achieve my goals and ambitions? My parents are really poor and there is no one to help me move forward.

Me: One step at a time:
1. Start with research.
2. Decide on your strategy.
3. Set intermediate goals.
4. Create a vision board.
5. Outwork everyone.

THREAD 👇
Step 1. Start with research.

Find someone who has achieved something similar to your goals and ask:

1. What did they do?
2. How did they do it?
3. How did they start?

It's a lot easier to dream big when you know someone who has done it in the past.
Step 2. Decide on your strategy.

You need to create a broad (very broad) outline of a path to your dream.

So your plan is to become a software engineer.

1. What stack is currently in demand?
2. How can you learn it efficiently?
3. What project can you build quickly?

etc.
Read 7 tweets

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