I failed at something I prepared for, for several months. I haven't done that volume of work in a while. Incredible goodwill and equity were deployed. And I prayed for so long and believed I had clarity of direction.
When I got the rejection email, I went into instant denial, disbelieving what I read. And then, I experienced instant diarrhea and headache. Interestingly, on the same day I had an important team meeting. So I needed to drag myself out of bed, even though I just wanted to weep.
I'm coming to terms with the failure, but I still cry everyday. It is what it is.
Here are some lessons I gleaned from what happened:
1. Failure sucks. There's no way to put a positive spin on it. It's sad and terrible. So allow yourself to feel your feelings. Weep or rant if you need to. It's not a pleasant experience at all.
2. Go back to God for help. It's good to ask, "Why?", but it's more important to inquire, "What next?" Avoid a kneejerk reaction to failure or immediately moving into problem solving mode. Rather, pause to listen. God may have important perspectives on your next steps.
3. Cry in private and among friends, but if you're a leader, your work will not wait. So, you must keep going. Being busy may not only distract you from your immediate woes, it will also provide broader validation to your shattered self-worth.
4. Resist fear. It will be very hard, but you must stay hopeful because you must try again. You can't give up.
5. Refuel and restrategize. Since your first trial took so much from you, you'll need energy for the next time around.
6. New data and fresh equity are required for your future attempts. There are some people you can no longer go back to for help. Therefore, fresh material must be collated and new reasons adduced. You can't just repackage old stuff for the next endeavour.
7. If you can, see failure as part of life. In the moment, this philosophical approach is difficult. But recall that all the stories about great people include heartbreaking failures and challenges. This will not be the last setback. But you'll get better at overcoming.
8. Know your future is still bright. Understand that God's promises are true. He did not fail you. All things will eventually work together for your good.
If you've experienced a bitter failure like I have, I'm sending a big hug and some encouragement. Everything will be okay.
Thank you for reading.
PS: I write interesting thoughts but my day job is building an investment community. You can join here: bit.ly/VCBrochure
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It always pains me when a creative person finds God or Christianity and then becomes more conservative and starts limiting their gifts to church alone.
It's like their brain cells slowly die after feeling the corrosive effects of organized religion. It's always astonishing because I believe the Holy Spirit to be an extremely creative person. If he lives in you, you should become more creative.
I can't even describe the phenomenon. Religion is where creativity goes to die. Because by its very design, creativity defies norms, stereotypes and confined spaces.
There's something creative about setting up a new home. It's even more emotional when you're in a new city without family & close friends. You're forced to deploy admin skills you haven't used in a while. And, it brings back the basics of quiet simple work.
Every week, you create a list of chores and accomplish them. You research how to do things and then get them done.
As you tick off items on your checklist, there's silent validation that you are capable. Also, that help can be sourced in interesting ways, since there's no glory in doing things alone if you don't have to.
The antidote to fear isn't faith, it's love. That's because faith doesn't exist in a vacuum. Rather, you believe someone you know and trust. You are certain they have your best interests at heart, and that they have the power to do what they say. 🧵
However, it's difficult to accept love when you have little reference for it. I am lucky in this regard. I had a good dad. And so, when I think of God, I've got a benchmark. In my mind, if God loves me more than my dad did, then that's a fantastic thing.
Christmas is such a good time to gift people love. You never know what folks are going through and this may be the only time they receive kindness or experience human warmth. Because many are in a good mood, there's much magic in the air.
I attended a church with a pantry. You can pick up anything you need or want. You just go in and pack stuff. And the pantry is never empty.
This is a shout out to churches that make kindness normal. Those who have no jobless people, because there's a job board that's constantly filled with opportunities. Assemblies where no one is alone during the holidays because homes are always open.
So many churches do incredibly generous things. They have professional counsellors, child services, relocation help. They give food, clothes, shelter and so on without making noise. The community just feels their quiet presence.
As Executives become busier, they have less time to review things. So if you're a Manager, here are a few ways to make yourself invaluable.
Present information in a way that's useful for decision making. Get to the crux of things quickly. Develop 1-page reports and presentations that are no more than 10 pages. Use graphs and charts, not text.
Focus everything you're doing within the company on the organization's priorities. If it's not important to the company, it's not important.
Remember I mentioned the currency of Nigeria is power? Think of rally numbers in the same way. It's a show of people power. That's why you need to show that your candidate has physical supporters on the ground.
What successful rallies signal to the powers that be is: 1. You have potential voters & supporters 2. You know how to do grassroots mobilization 3. You have money to mobilize. This is because rallies and mobilization cost money - buses, placards, t-shirts, stomach infrastructure
This in turn leads to more financial supporters who want to hedge their bets by supporting all serious candidates. Also leads to more political supporters who see you as a possible tool/partner.