Time to Fly!
on the difficult journey to a beautiful transformation
It’s 11:17pm here as I write.
And everywhere is cold and silent, save the noise from my generator. That is how we live. Where I live, and for most Nigerians, we sacrifice silence for electricity. It’s that pathetic.
As I sit across my desk in this cold room my mind drifted over the past 2 months and I am mostly proud of some critical decisions I made and the aftermath results unfolding.
September 1, 2020 I walked away from my full time Job.
It was a nice job with memorable experience and lots of fun. It was 3 years of work that started out cool and interesting, plus lots of learning from bosses and colleagues.
But with all these, at some point, I felt unfulfilled, stuck and frustrated.
I am very adventurous and always love to take on new challenges.
But there I was moving in a kind of cycle and living a routine life.
I had tons of projects I wanted to work on but my day job was taking away my time, including weekends and sometimes night with little or no extra reward.
All my dreams were turning into an illusion.
It sucks!
So, I took a bow out and choose the difficult path — I resigned.
Don’t feel sorry for me, I was built for tough things. I have always fought hard for what I have with God’s help — nothing came on the platter of gold. All credit to my parents.
You shouldn’t feel sorry because it is turning out to be the best decision of my life. Like in the book ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ by Dr Spencer Johnson you should know when the cheese has moved and be ready to adapt to changes.
“Life moves on and so should we”
In the last one month I have made more than my salary working fully on my personal projects. The most interesting part is seeing that incremental progress in what I am building and scaling. It’s so refreshing, just like a seedling germinates into a full grown plant.
I am a writer, and writing has made me a good fortune. It is my shadow and it seems to halt at a point working at my job. I longed for it, so did it longed for me. I want to write to impact lives — to help lots of people fulfil their dreams and navigate their paths. In the last month, I have re-validated this slumbering goal and chart a path to fulfilling it.
Now, I am concluding 3 books, including the ones I abandoned long time ago. It is surreal and fulfilling even as new ideas pop. As I write I have my white board in front of me in my bedroom where I pen new ideas and tick out finished ones.
I couldn’t be happier.
In this one month I have gotten 2 remote job offers and it seems more will come, in shaa Allah (by the grace of God).
Today, I came across a thread on Twitter where someone was saying if you don’t have a Plan B, you shouldn’t leave a depressing and unfulfilling job.
Of course, should you have a plan B? Yes!
Maybe C and D too.
You have to evaluate the ups and downs and take a path that you will be happy you did.
Only you can.
But it is even fine if you don’t have a PLAN. Yes, you might leave without a Plan.
If you work in a depressing job, where you hardly find good rest or fulfillment and happiness doing, and this includes being paid less than your value, you might consider finding a better life.
You deserve one — a healthy one.
You won’t be given a medal if you slumped out of depression and high-blood pressure. Prioritize your mental health above all, it is then that you will deliver your God-given value to the fullest, whether for your personal work or for your employer and to the people.
It is fine if you quit an unhealthy and toxic job without a Plan B. You will be alright, in as much you are not lazy. The dots will connect and things will be better. And even if it doesn’t get better, you will look back and find many things to be thankful for.
You will make new friends. Perhaps you will change your environment which will open new opportunities for you and widen your scope.
The more you are open to Change the more Opportunities come your way.
But the question is: Are you Prepared?
For me, I think what is important is having a Plan BETA. By this, I mean your default should be that you are always improving on yourself. Pick on new and in-demand skills and work on yourself — daily.
Read daily. Write daily. Learn daily. Execute fast. Repeat.
There’s no way you are always in your BETA mode that opportunities won’t find you.
Take that course. Read that Book. Attend that seminar. Write that Book.
And most importantly, Network effectively.
I have gotten these opportunities because some persons in my network introduces me to someone in their network who needed my skills. And in some way, I am also consciously working on expanding and improving my network.
The metamorphosis a Caterpillar takes to become a Butterfly is remarkably gruesome, yet beautifully rewarding. It is a great example of the total transformation that is possible if we are ready to not settle for less and have a vision for a greater goal.
Caterpillars live in trees and Butterflies fly.
Caterpillars eat leaves and Butterflies feed on nectar.
It’s a complete transformation one that allows them to come out in colours and patterns, beautiful and alluring.
You will continue to be a caterpillar if you are comfortable with the status quo and not ready to put in the hard work and take calculated risks. Your vision will be limited to the sky while you’ve got the potential to touch the Mars, just like the caterpillar would not experience the beauty of the wind and the sweetness of the nectar.
Trust your gut. Plan. Be in BETA mode, always. And most importantly, commit everything into the hands of God. Then execute swiftly.
Are you ready to put in the work?
Are you ready to fly?
