2019 in Review
Tags: Careers, Review, Entrepreneurship, Goals, Revolution

I had started the year confused, lacking direction as to what to do, even after carefully setting out the famed “New Year goals”. 2019 was indeed a peculiar year, in that it started with me in one of my lowest moments, then gradually picked up and ended on a huge note.

By early January, I wasn’t comfortable with my current job, career trajectory, finances and the overall pace my life was taking. For whatever reasons, I always felt I had so many potentials to remain at that job and needed some fresh challenge. I need a timeout! -I abruptly concluded.

I quickly, without prior plans, packed a few clothes travelled up north — to Jos, Plateau State. I can still recall embarking on that journey. I had taken a GIGM bus to Jos — a city where I knew no one. Slept in the park on the first night — cold Jos park. My stay in the city was cut short by the Presidential Elections as I had to return to Lagos to my anxious parents & friends who were concerned about my wellbeing. I returned to Lagos — slept in the park again till dawn. (I was that broke)Finally, I got home to the warm embrace of my mom, ready to start my life over again.

Amidst the entire drama 2019 came with I picked the following priceless jewels;

Keep supportive friends & a loving mom: Having a loving mom (parents) & supportive friends can sometimes be the difference between failure and success. There were days I could afford nada, but I had a friend & a mom who both loved me relentlessly, housed me and fed me all through. The love & consistent support from them were all I needed to get my own feet in no time.

Persist! Persist! Persist! Life is tough, being Nigerian makes it tougher. You’ve got to rise up every single time you get hit on the face, no matter how hard it hurts. It’s okay to cry, it helps with the pain. But after crying, you MUST pick yourself up, dust yourself and go fight again — till you win! You’ll most likely face so many hurdles before you hit that goal but you’ve got to insist on exactly what you want. I can still vividly remember being out of a job and interviewing at several organizations, yet my standard remained high. I was not going to let my temporary uneasiness & pain push me into settling for a subpar role, company or salary. No way! It was either I go big or I went home and big I went.

The easier and surest way out of unemployment remains to have globally competitive skills. This remains the fastest way out of unemployment. Endeavour, you get (at least 5) globally competitive skills and be badass with the use of top software — the rarer the better. 2019 taught me that, on the contrary, there are quite a number of job openings nationwide daily, however, the challenge was the lack of quality talents to fill these roles.

You are not your work/job: The best time to learn this lesson is when you are out of job. I just left a job that afforded me great privileges, now unemployed. I had to learn that I’m not my job and ensure not to slide into that great misconception or trap or status that comes with being on a great job. Never again!

Invest heavily in yourself! Being out of job gave me enough time to read as much as possible, horn skills in data & business analysis, pick up programming and travel more. This might be a little harder to accomplish given that you are out of job with little or no income & savings, but hey, when there’s a will, there’s always a way.

GRACE: It was watch-night service in church late 2019 when Pastey raised up Michael W. Smith’s song; Grace. My entire 2019 flashed right before my face. How far I had come, from the lowest low, right back on my feet. That was the summary, I have been helped of God. Although started confused, I ended the year with so much order & clarity. I honestly feel 2019 was 5 years compressed in 1.

So much speed and growth amidst so much disorder. 2020: #WeMove!