Someone recently asked me to mentor them, wanting to know my "secret" to success. I don't consider myself a success (in any sense) so that question caught me off guard, but it did get me thinking. Let me explain.
Sometime between my 16th and 17th Birthdays, I set out on what I recently named a "10-year hustle" plan. At that time, seated on the Accra Academy Interact Square benches, I had no clue how a random decision would shape me so remarkably.
I had been frauded off my admission fees and the struggle my parents went through to raise another GHS668.5 to get me back in school left an indelible mark. I saw how I might have had to stay home because of "that" amount and vowed to make it in life, by all means possible. Legal, of course.
However, vows are easier made than kept and this became clearer when it hit me that I had no advantages to start with. The slow-learner me is hardly the most intelligent in any room, neither is he the most confident, handsome, or experienced. For connections? Let's just say, "LOL."
Thankfully, (with hindsight, I say thankfully) I found myself in a unique situation. To avoid bullying due to my small stature and to escape my depression, I immersed myself in various clubs and societies. These groups, thankfully, didn't require any qualifications or skillsets to join.
So, I plunged into Peer Counselling, Choir (yes, haters, I did!), Science Club, German Club, Robotics, and the Literary Club. I tried the cadet too but realized early that my life was also important to me, so I left.
Someway, somehow, I climbed the ranks, holding leadership positions here and there. These experiences, I recognise today, built me up and opened doors I never imagined.
Throughout this journey, one thing became crystal clear: I had to work hard. I picture my life like an illustration used in a message by Dr. Mensa Otabil.
I see myself as a person coming from Tamale set to board a flight at 8 am on a Tuesday. Knowing fully where I am coming from, I know I have to work twice as hard by leaving the house a day or two in advance. There is no point comparing myself to someone who lives in East Legon and has to leave home 30 minutes to an hour before the flight.
Sure, the beginning of my career might require 2-3 times the effort, but that's okay. 8 years of "Yakubu" have given me more advantages than I may be willing to admit. I'm not where I want to be, but heck yes. I am far from where I started. And the hard work I've been involved in is paying off, and it will.
Thankfully, I'm blessed with an understanding family and friends who just... "get it." These are the kind of people I can catch up with once every 20 years and pick up right where we left off. They get that quality communication doesn't need to be frequent, just deep. Maybe too they have left my life for me. That's a stark possibility, I recognise.
True, I may have to make some costly trade-offs now. I wish I could spend more time engaging people, making friends, and being involved in deep conversations. I do love some deep conversations, man.
I want to fall in love too and have all the time in the world for my babe, you know. Because that Queen deserves all the good things in the world. Yes, Queen with an uppercase Q. Because why not?
I enjoy these and more yet I understand that it's a sacrifice I have to make. Other people might have the privilege of a sense of work-life balance when they begin their careers. I don't. At least, not now. And I hold no grudges against life. It gave me lemons, imma make lemon tea. True, it didn't add sugar, but I'll hunt for bees for honey to have sweet tea tomorrow.
I have learnt that there is no shame in working hard and that's my advice. Absolutely no shame, and I'm grateful that I've learnt how to work hard without burning out (the majority of the time).
There's some merit to smart work, but in most circumstances, hard work helps you out when you have no idea what you're working on. Putting in the blood and sweat. You can call it a toxic work ethic and you're perfectly right. It is. But no, you haven't seen what I have seen.
Plus, every successful person I have seen has an incredible work ethic. They will preach soft life, but mask the years of hard work they may have had to invest.
I struggle to advise people on how to achieve success I haven't achieved much tangibly yet, but the only thing I know is hard work. Unfortunately, though, hard work seems to be out of fashion these days.
8 years of Yakubu, man. Eight. It's been tough and rough. But the future has always been my compass, and I'm ready to see where it leads.
Two more years remain in my 10-year "hustle" dream. Have I hit the target? No, not exactly. But these 8 years have been filled with relentless, unapologetic Yakubu, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I am grateful for them.
The future is unknown, yet I'm excited to see what life throws my way next. Up and Forward mostly, with some downs here and there. Surreal! My first book might probably be titled "The Art of Yakubu" becauseeeeee!
