Fides Media Living the Faith
By Amarachukwu Okpunobi
The world is fast changing and the change is that which when one is not cautious of throws one off balance. When I was growing up, I read books of successful men and how they had their breakthrough through failures and set backs. It seems so easy as written in books.
I envisaged living like them, being famous and having my life inspire others. I had the dreams of being an influential person to especially young people, mentoring and bringing smiles to different faces. But as I grew up I realised that the words on papers were not as easy as they seemed.
I began to reread the books I have read to understand what the successful men went through to live upto who they were. One person I always admired was Ben Carson. How he moved from a dullard brain to being the world best neurosurgeon.
As I grew, I also realised that the society has a way of influencing who we become. I knew from a tender age that my society does not look like those I see on screens. The beautiful white men and women who acted like their world was a perfect one and so had no hidges at all in life.
Where summer holidays are actually being spent in a very beautiful city and garden for vacation. I also realised that many children like me had to hawk the street to eat. It was not so fair to know that there is a world that exist where everything flows.
Firstly, my mind began to adjust to the reality that always stand before me. The fact that my society does not support growth and transformation. That we are ignorantly and tragedly happy over our poor level of development and political governance. A society that does not support the breeding of her offspring. Nevertheless, we still had to live in the society we find ourselves.
After secondary education, the picture became clearer. To survive here, I don’t only need circular education but inclusively and importantly skills. Skills that can be hernessed and made productive. Having skills is great but having the knowledge of only one skill is quite dangerous. To fit in and make life meaningful for yourself, diversity is the key, especially in this part of the world.
The society is moving from what you know to what you can do, your efficiency in doing things. Time will cone when who you know won’t be able to fetch you any substantial thing on the table. The time is now to absorb as much as you can. It is in the youthful stage that you are free to make judicious time of your life. Meet people, learn, unlearn and relearn and grow.
If you’ve gotten yourself some skills, how do you herness them? How do you sell them? Do people even know you’ve got that skill? Don’t be shy if you can make shoes, make mat, draw or do anything. Begin to develop them and let people know you have them. Gain as much experience as you can.
Learn as much as you can about the skill. Get yourself improved. Attend seminars and workshops that fine tunes what you already have and what you wish to have.
Build your social media handles using what you have. Take it so serious as if it is a physical market. Include them when you introduce yourself to people. Search for ways to improve in what you already know and spread your tentacles in knowing others who do the same thing as you.
Sell your skills and digitalize them. Let people thirst for what you have. No skill is bigger or smaller than the other. It all depends on your ability to present and sell them. People get what they want from the comfort of their homes. Can you get them to get your service at their homes too? Make yourself assessible and valuable. Give what the people wants and dance to the changing world.