There are two kinds of people in the
world today
Just two kinds of people, no more I say
Not the good and the bad, for ‘tis well
understood
That the good are half bad
And the bad are half good
No, the two kinds of people on earth I
mean
Are the people who lift and the people
who lean
-
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Whatever
your objectives are for wanting to be successful in life, the path that will
guide you there is most definitely that of value and productive thinking. So, I
won’t be sharing with you, how to be successful, but rather how to become
productive. I have found this the most assured path in the quest for successful
and remarkable lives.
We
are all aware of the statistics, the high percentage of unemployed youths in
Nigeria is still dismal, as the Bureau of Statistics continues to release grim
numbers every year despite all of the efforts and schemes the Federal
Government continues to make. There have been concerted efforts to diversify
the economy, encouraging youths to focus on Agriculture, Technology and
Education to build a stronger economy.
One
of my favorite quotes says, “The only difference between ordinary and
extraordinary is just a little extra”. Today, through a little extra effort, I have
founded a social enterprise and sit on the board of another. I have designed
and convened over a dozen programs for young people, written several articles,
appeared on different radio and TV shows, been engaged to speak at different
seminars and conferences, consulted for other start-up social entrepreneurs and
have good reviews on a couple of profiling blogs. Some might call me
successful, but I have been merely driven to make impact and be productive to
my society, all of the above are the outcome of my drive even as I plan to do
more.
So,
here then are my 10 tips for young people on developing a productive life:
1. Understand that nobody owes
you anything- Many young people would rather spend
their time lamenting on everything that is wrong with the system, what
Government isn’t doing right, what their parents aren’t doing right, what their
teachers didn’t tell them and oh! How so very unfair the society is. If you are
one of them, you won’t get anywhere fast and the chances are very high that 5
years down the line, you will still be sitting on your parent’s couch singing
the same song. Nobody owes you anything except you. Own your failures and climb
out of your despondency.
2. Identify your career path
– This will ultimately guide your decisions and approach. Whether you want to
be an academician, a businessman, a social entrepreneur, an IT specialist or a
Social media expert, you need to decide now. You can also have multiple
aspirations, I however advise that you bring them all together. My friend
Jeremiah wants to work only in the Charity sector driving Social good projects.
He is a social media guru, a graphics expert, a website builder and a compere.
How did he tie it all together? He will use his multiple skills only in the
Social Good sector, consulting for NGOs on how to strategize better for the
digital age.
3. Put on your productive cap-
Start thinking productively. I read a book by John Maxwell a few years ago and
he chronicled the stages you will go through as 5. He calls them the leadership
process. Here, I call them “The Steps of Budding productivity”:
Step 1: I don’t know what
I don’t know
Step 2: I know that I need
to know
Step 3: I know what I
don’t know
Step 4: I know and grow
and it starts to show
Step 5: I simply go
because of what I know
At step 1, you are
oblivious. At step 2, you become aware. At 3, you seek knowledge. At 4, you get
proactive. By the time you get to 5, you have become productive.
4. Self-Improvement
– Seek to
improve yourself. Read more, get relevant information from the internet, limit
your time on Social media, attend conferences and build your network. Learn
about other cultures, develop your presentation skills and gain experience.
Study other people who have failed and excelled in your field to know what they
did wrong and right.
5. Think
outside the box – Different
obstacles will stand in the way of your goals. People might laugh at you and
ridicule you, call you silly and shut the door in your face. It is short term.
Every problem is testing our creative ability to devise solutions. The Igala
tribe in Nigeria have a proverb, “The River crossing is never just one”. Be
creative and find other ways to achieve you objectives and don’t give up until
you are absolutely sure that you have exhausted all your options.
6. No
comparisons – Looking
at another person’s life and trying to model yours to reflect theirs is a huge
mistake. People have different aspirations, build a pace you are comfortable
with, stick to it and let it guide you.
7. Build
your Skill Set – Every
negotiation whether at home, at work or in a relationship is now defined by
what you can bring to the table. Develop old skills, build new ones, either
soft or hard, it doesn’t really matter. My kid sister, who is still an
undergraduate understands this simple fact. She is learning various skills,
fashion design, bead making, bag making, website design, coding, and many more.
I don’t think that young woman will ever be unproductive in her lifetime.
8. Be
determined –
Focus on your end goal and remain focused. Believe in your ability to attain
it. Studies have shown that many successful people were not especially
brilliant or possessed a high IQ. But they were all confident, determined and
persistent.
9. Have
a circle of Influence
– A circle of influence are people who inspire you. They might be people who
you see every day or you might only have ever seen them on TV. However, they
all inspire you. Note their qualities which you most admire and build those
qualities in yourself.
10. Start
now – Procrastination
has killed many ambitions in life for the moment is fleeting and tomorrow never
comes. Put your plan in motion and there is no time like the present to begin.
Lebanese
philosopher and writer, Kahlil Gibran said, “A little knowledge that acts is
worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle”. Nigeria and the world
needs you to act now. There are numerous opportunities to explore, the question
is, will you?
P.S:
This
article is culled from an extended version by the same writer called, “The
Productive Mentality.
View
the extended version >>> http://bit.ly/1EuGLlu
Zainab Haruna is a Social Entrepreneur with over 5 years of experience working
directly with youths in Nigeria to create initiatives that support community
growth and development. A strong advocate for productive youth engagement with
a passion for entrepreneurship and education, she founded Decipher Solutions in
2012, a Resource Centre for Nigerian Youths which coordinates supporting
programs to encourage informed career decisions and establishment of successful
and sustainable start-up businesses. Decipher
Solutions hosts several trainings, capacity building workshops, conferences
and networking forums for young people throughout the year.
To read her full profile…
http://bit.ly/1EgsM0E
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