Many don't see what's behind the veil of grand ideas. They think of visionaries as sexy and charismatic but don't know they are very hardworking too. 🧵
What people call success is a result of many concepts, meetings, documents, brainstorms, prototypes, strategies and so on. Some boring, repetitive and tiring. It's why some people who always look for activity, excitement and stimulation rarely follow through on anything great.
They scarcely deliver on lengthy projects unless sustained by brilliant administrative support. The behind-the-scenes process of achievement can be sheer tedium.
The principles that worked for me in my corporate career were hardwork, creativity, diligence and determination. God blessed those things.
I never had a "supernatural breakthrough" where I attended a meeting and miraculously got a billion Dollar contract. You will hear no such stories. I can recall exactly how I made my first million because I documented it.
My main strength I think, is tenacity. I can do incredibly monotonous and hard things quietly. As long as there's an envisioned end, I stick to stuff. I especially like those things people say cannot be done. I can be stubborn about breaking tradition.
People saw the results over the years, but didn't realise that I wore many hats. I would proofread documents, write presentations and go from table to table to harass people to work faster. I would keep my phone on till very late and do solo brainstorms in my room on weekends.
I served my organisation's mission, though stewardship seems uncommon nowadays.
I rarely attended flashy meetings. My "deals" were done by coming up with brilliant ideas and being bold enough to sell them without doubt. I didn't believe there was anyone more brilliant than me in the room or more creative.
I also trusted that my ideas would work, of course. Even now, I can't recall creating any notable wealth from photo worthy moments.
Maybe Sanguines get off on public displays, but not me. My path was independent and lonely. I did extra assignments I got no credit for. It was my nature to focus on results, so oftentimes no one knew the actual amount of effort required to get there.
I took initiative. This meant I would come up with an idea, structure it & then execute. My mentor taught me early to never seek an opinion unless I first proferred one of my own. Sometimes, I would finish briefs alone, cause my collaborators' plates were full & I had a deadline.
The thing is, all of that produced an excellent spirit. And incredible faith. I now know I can do many things. I developed capacity.
I am unsure I can work closely with anyone who doesn't like or enjoy hardwork. Because a lot of effort goes into everything I do. I am constantly creating, refining and making things better. I love to take an existing piece of work and make it more profitable. I tinker.
I also expect results. Perhaps even more importantly, I respect those who have the courage to ask for help and to take responsibility for personal progress. Too many people want to be taken care of but don't want to share the burden of producing the wealth that will feed everyone
I dislike people who hide mistakes and who have no ideas on how to fix them. And, handholding wearies me. I am a treasure trove of information. I will show you the way. I will teach you. But I will refuse to carry you. I no longer enjoy admin work, so micromanaging stresses me.
In all, I view my work as service to God and humanity. It's not something I primarily do to make money. There are less stressful ways to turn a profit than what I do.
My work is my calling and cause. So, I do it with single-minded focus. I don't do it to fund a life or to fill a void. I am already living a rich life.
In 23 years of work, I have discovered what it is to produce excellence. If it was easy, excellence would be more common. But as you know, it is not.
Yesterday I was thinking about why I look to Jesus for healing. I wondered why I didn't focus on health instead, which is preemptive and a sign of abundant life.
I began to look for scriptures on health and found a few that piqued my interest:
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 1:2 NKJV
A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. Proverbs 17:22 NKJV
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:24 NKJV
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 NKJV
Yesterday, I contemplated life. I thought about how we make plans and wait for the stars to align before finally living. I thought about how we rarely enjoy the fruits of our labour because we learnt to manage while coming up. 🧵
Moving from a scarcity to a prosperity mindset is difficult. It's why we keep reserving things for visitors and keep waiting for vacations before resting. It's why we accept less than ideal love and learn to compromise the sacred.
So, yesterday I decided to do something about the restlessness in my spirit. Something symbolic.
This is my pool. Someone had the "smart" idea to make the shallow end 5' 5". For comparison, I'm 5' 10". So, after two steps, my head goes under water. The pool is obviously not for children. 🧵
The problem with the depth is that until recently, I was terrified of water. And with this pool, I can't get tired halfway and stand up. I must make it to either end or side to reach safety.
I learnt to swim to survive. I love traveling and for island destinations, I needed to know my way around water. I swam to enhance my travel experience and to not die on vacation. This year, I finally chose to face my trepidation around water.
Behaviours change and one habit replaces another. 🧵
I never used to like hot food. Especially when hungry. It was scalding and required patience to wait for the food to cool down first before taking a bite. But that soon changed.
When I had a 9 to 5, I would take a packed lunch from home. The office staff would then microwave and plate it at lunchtime. They had a predilection for very hot food and so my meal would arrive with steam spewing from it. After a while, I stopped complaining and got used to it.
THE TEN STRUGGLES OF THE RICH | If you are a High Networth Individual living in Nigeria, then this post is for you. 🧵
I have noticed ten main causes of unhappiness among the rich in this part of the world. Particularly those who earned their status legitimately through hard work.
1. You will often have money and not find what to buy. This is a real struggle if you have taste. You will discover that the most basic standards of quality, thinking and service are absent here. Where present, they are rare and often hoarded by closed networks.