Kindly look at the picture above; I want you to focus on this picture for a while before proceeding to read this article. What do you see? If after looking at this picture, you do not see yourself then you are really doing what you do every day – ignoring your true calling. Apart from the sadness and pains associated with seeing this picture, I realize how this picture depicts our everyday existence: In order to get to the destination we see (success); we hurry; we step on our fellow brothers and follow the same medium of transportation (jobs, school, etc) albeit the cheapest.
Molue is the cheapest means of transportation in Lagos State; I do not know if they exist anymore but I used to take them. In the Molue, you will witness hustling at its best – I actually enjoyed the sales pitch for one form of medicine or the other, more people were standing than sitting, it was always dirty but the motivation for me then was the cheap fare. Looking back at those days, I realized how much economics played a huge role in the lives of Molue takers: Saving money was more important than the human life and dignity.
Just like in my Molue-taking days, we somehow sell our destiny for a morsel of porridge – anything for the money; we compete, we lie, we cheat, we defraud, we socialize, we politicize, etc. I remember when I decided to stop taking Molue – it was as if I was hit by lightening; it was more of a mindset thing than a change in economical situation. I looked in the mirror and I told myself that I would never take Molue again. It took a lot of economic sacrifice but with this sacrifice, came a positive change in my economic situation (not the reverse – wait for a positive change in my economic state before making a decision).
I realized that in order to change my economic situation, I needed to make sacrifices; the bottom of the economic strata is too crowded because people fail to make sacrifices. I hear working class executives complain everyday about their salary and the question I pose to them is; “what are you sacrificing to get you out of this present predicament?” and the answers are always the same and funny to me; “I do not have enough money and time for the sacrifice”. It’s called a sacrifice, my dear, because you do not have enough (lol).
I remember a budding entrepreneur needed “something” and told me how much the “thing” will change his business. His presentation was so beautiful that I was moved to give him my heartfelt advice; “why not sell your car?” His look alone told me all I needed to know; “he wanted another person to sacrifice in his stead”. I try my best not preach what I do not practice. Please, note that you are in the same level because you are not giving-up something; it’s not for me to categorically tell you what to give-up; it’s for you to know by seeking the face of God (Well, it’s not that complex, just look within you).
There is no such thing as a static existence. You might sometimes feel like your life is going nowhere, but you are always moving towards something and away from something else. This is why I advise working executives to upgrade their knowledge base; sacrifice the money and time they have to increase their knowledge portfolio. These are my reasons:
1.) The world changes and only those that move with the change reap the fruits.
2) To move from one level to another, you need to acquire a different knowledge from what you are used to.
3)In order to get out of rat race, you need to continuously invest in a liquefiable asset and education is one of the lowest risk investment in the world.
4) Competition is real and only those who are ahead of competition survive.
5) In the event of crisis leading to job loss, nothing keeps you employable than a higher knowledge.
I highly recommend Project Management training for working class executives and entrepreneurs. Our next class takes place in March and we offer qualitative friendly-price program. Registration is going on now and our class is always sold-out (we only accommodate 25 people). The picture above is a group picture of our 2010 November class. Click HERE for more details on our Project Management Class. Have a lovely week!
