Congratulations on your successful completion of the program. For sure, you are among the lucky ones. In the race to arrive where you are right now, many have fallen by the wayside. Many lost their lives during the service year while others are still back in school battling with lectures and assignments. Also, don’t forget that many of your peers are yet to gain admission to the university. So, by all standards, you are favoured.
However, as you know very well, this is not the finish line, the race is just beginning. You have a whole life ahead of you and your chances at succeeding in the future depend on your understanding of several things.
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First, it’s important to know that some of the attitudes, mindsets and lifestyles that got you here may be inappropriate and in fact inimical to your success going forward. When you were wearing the badge of a ‘corper’, the world still had some pity for you and some of you (despite the ‘allawees’) were largely wired to think dependency and you carried around this philosophy of entitlements. Well, it’s time to give all that up and think differently.
It’s time to think ‘on your own’ and takes responsibility for your life. Be the architect, draw up the plan, paint a beautiful picture of your life 5,10, 20 years from now and most importantly, take actions that will get you there. While it is true that some of your actions may not get you anywhere close to the future that you have just pictured, you must take them anyway. Getting far in life is not a function of one-off action. It’s a chain reaction, it’s a combination of several bits and pieces of actions. Remember, when you refuse to act in ways that improve your conditions, forces outside you will act in ways that impoverish you and make you a victim.
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Second, you need to know that life is not as neatly and clearly defined as the theories that you learnt in school depict it. Reality is, it’s cold and harsh out there. But the silver lining is that it’s only in this cold/harsh world that opportunity to be influential and do great things lie. So, don’t be afraid, you only need to raise your antenna as well as your awareness quotient. This will help you to pick up and exploit opportunities as you go along.
More so, it’s vital to be productively paranoid –mentally prepare for the worst while expecting the best. On this new journey, a lot of upsets, disappointments and rejections will come your way. Those are parts of the territory. When they do come along, accept them with grace and figure out what new opportunities they open for you. Please don’t sweat over any disappointment or ill-treatment from people. Just move on, develop from the negative, take another shot, keep and stay around positive people and hold your head high. From my own experience, what they call disappointment is actually a tool to shorten your learning curve in preparation for something really Big. So, don’t settle, keep dreaming, stay hungry and push the envelope one more time.
Third, remember that people are often paid less than their worth. So, if you want to be paid more – if you want to be taken seriously and treated as someone that matters – do not joke with your personal and professional development. Make deliberate efforts to improve all areas of your life. Improve your relationship (people) skills; invest in your reputation (your trustworthiness) and guide it jealously; improve your spoken and written English; learn new skills; be the best at what you do; look healthy, fit and smart; dress appropriately and responsibly (please don’t sag your trousers, if you have to grow a beard, keep it clean); and most importantly, always seek out new ways to add value and be relevant to your organization or community.
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Lastly, I want you to know that there are only a few attitudes that drive away progress and kill young people’s dreams faster than pride. Pride comes in different shapes, colours and forms. It includes putting people down, not giving honour to whom it’s due. At its height, pride is the feeling that you have arrived, you have it all figured out and that you don’t need anyone. On the flip side, pride is also the feeling that you are too big to start small. Obviously, a job with six-figure salaries is great but you don’t have to die trying to get it. I certainly wish you luck in your hunt for those jobs but my advice is that while you wait for the appointment letters (they’ll come soon InShaAllah), it does no harm taking up a 20k, 30k jobs instead of sleeping your life away at home.
You have come a long way but the road ahead is still quite long. Success on this trip will require you to develop a strong mental muscle and make some changes in attitudes. You will need to take action – learn a new trade/skill – so that you don’t become a victim in the hands of imperfect actors of an imperfect world. Your ability to learn, relearn and reinvent yourself will be critical.
Go ahead and take on the world.
I wish you the very best.
Be well, do well.
Adams Adeiza
Dr Adeiza is a lecturer at Dangote Business School, Bayero University, Kano. He is a consultant on Smart Innovation, New Venture Creation and Franchise Business.
He can be reached on successfuladams@gmail.com and his tweeter handle is @Adamsking
