The Winner In You: Surfing through Mountains

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle

I once was accosted by a young gentleman who wanted to know how I had become so rich and powerful. Well this bothered me. It did, because I saw myself as still aspiring to that supposed "limbo of wealth". This young man needed my help, he wanted to know if I was amongst the fortunate few who were probably born into wealth.

Well, I guess I must have shocked him with my answer (chuckles). You see, (I said to him), I didn't just arrive, it was all a process. I started off getting a good education (to University level), after which I had to understudy how to make reservations in a travel agency (without getting paid for months), then I tried marketing some sound recoding equipment on a meager salary (which I had to stop because I lost the soles of my shoes while crossing a major road in Lagos, Nigeria). Then I got a job with British Airways, moved to Kenya Airways, then moved to a financial institution to service their protocol need.

The young man was satisfied when I told him that this was just a process and I had not arrived. He got it at this point.

Now, If you are reading this, and you are in the position of the young man I spoke with, then let me break things down into 6 steps:

1. Get an education: Now it doesn't matter whether its a University degree or a Polytechnic diploma. You need to get an education. Education does something to your reasoning. It changes your approach to handling challenges. You will reason differently from an uneducated fellow in any level of work.

2. Acquire a skill: Guess what, don't plan to work for nobody. Get a skill as one who intends to be his own boss. We get heartbroken when we go for job interviews and we never get that call to come work. A skill is the one thing no living being can take away from you. Learn to make shoes and be the best shoe maker the world has ever seen. Learn to bake, sow clothes, something, anything. With the right education, nothing will be able to hold you back.
Even if you end up working for an organization, use your time there to enhance your skill.

3. Get work experience: Part of the process of skill enhancement is your work experience. At this stage of your life, you must see yourself as preparing for the next big thing which is to start up your own business. If you have this mindset, your office challenges will be done differently. In fact, the way you respond to that "bully boss" of yours will be more different. At least, you will know one thing- this is just a stage in my life.

4. Add Value: Whatever it is that you do, do it excellently well (to the best of your ability). You might get cautioned for errors or probably a query, but guess what, tell yourself this, "I am getting better''. Continue until you are the best. But above all, go the extra mile. Don't just get the job done, dot all 'i's, and cross all 't's and go beyond the norm to make your boss or customer happy. Work till you hear the word excellent or well done from that boss or customer.

5. Be customer centric: Whatever you do, make sure your customer (whether internal or external) is happy. This is where going the extra mile pays off. Be that one person that customers look for at the work place. Don't feel bad that your colleagues look at you as a show-off. Remember, you are aspiring to be your own boss, so these same customers may end up being part of the larger clientele base that will refer other customers to you.

6. The God factor: I have come to understand that people look down on this point. Well, let me tell you this for a fact. You need the God factor in your life. It gets to a point where something other than yourself must work for you. There has to be something that makes it possible for you to get that job, promotion or contract instead of the other person. Whether you be Christian, Muslim or of any other belief system. Whatever it is that you worship, That 'Supreme Being' had better be good enough to push your cause instead of the other person. So whatever religion you worship, worship your God very well.

If you adopt these points am definitely sure I will be hearing from you again. I do hope I have inspired you. Remember to be the best and don't train to be a worker, train to be your own boss.