Have you ever imagined why those
who are referred to as body guards are usually taller and bigger in sizes than
the men they are paid to protect? They deliberately engage in some body building
exercises to achieve this. They do this to win a psychological war whenever
they are in the midst of people. You feel intimidated and left with no option
but to stay clear of their path. But the amazing thing is that, the same size
of bullet that can kill a day old baby can also drop them. In short, you do not
even need to go through a rigorous experience to hit your target due to their
sizes.
This is because the might of
muscle can only intimidate and create fear among people but cannot withstand
the test of time. Therefore, those who feed absolutely from the effort of their
muscles do not really go far in life. Please, do not get me wrong. I am not
nullifying the fact
that we need to exercise some levels of energy in our daily
activities, but relying absolutely on it will limit us in many ways. In short,
some people obviously need it in order to prevent us from breaking our doors
whenever they pay us visit.
Some quarters referred to SWEAT as
a symbol of hard work. If true, then, those guys that carry bags of cement at
the Nigerian Port Authority should have appeared on Forbes as rich and great
people. With a lot of apologies, I refer to them as lazy folks. This is because;
it takes more effort to improve mentally than with your muscles. Those guys are
just focused in what they do and process but with no improvement. I believe it
is not and I stand to be corrected. Then, who is a hardworking man? In my own
opinion, a hard working man is not just a person that is busy doing something,
but someone that is focused and consistently improving on ways and styles by
which he carries out a given task at every point in time. From the simple definition,
we have CONSISTENCY AND IMPROVEMENT. This is what makes the difference between
a rich and a poor man (mind you, I do not limit the riches here to some
physical wealth we could see around us).
Consistency can come from the use
of muscles but no improvement without the brain. This is what makes a difference
between Africa and the Western world. Majority of commodities in Africa are
exported in crude form and this is why our GDPs have remained low. As long as the western world continues to improve
on their products from primary, secondary to tertiary level, they will remain
richer and more developed. The developed world are gradually facing out outputs
that come from the use of muscular energy and gradually tilting towards the ones
that come from the use of the brain. This is known as the knowledge economy. Resources
in the ground may end one day but the brain will remain. This is what gave
birth to facebook, new Boeing 787 aircraft in the United States (A newly built
energy efficient aircraft), Apple World etc.
The former American president, George
Wilson Bush addressed the congress during his tenure in office on how the
United States could discover and improve new energy sources, so that America would
not remain at the mercy of the perceived terrorist Arab nations. Then, one of
the major oil producing nations challenged that innovative idea in one of the
OPEC’S meeting by asking a question, “If you do that, where do you want us to
keep our oil‘? Do you now see how muscle oriented people think and reason? They
rely so much in the resources in the ground than the ones in the head.
Therefore, you do not necessarily
need to work in an oil firm before you succeed. All that you need is to be
consistent and continuously improve at what you do. You could be a fashion
designer, a make-up artist, music director, a teacher, a trader, truck pusher,
dry cleaner, cobbler, hair dresser, event manager, consultant etc. Every work
is a job as long as it has dignity. So, you must not give room to any
inferiority complex. Your job is a profession if you can see it that way. No
medical doctor, lawyer, engineer, banker etc can look good without the service
of a hairdresser. You just have to repackage and make it a global brand.
HOW DO YOU DO THAT?
·
Be confident: Every great project is firstly
conceived in the mind. Be happy with your profession if you truly have interest
in it and never feel intimidated by anyone. Say it any where: I am a barber, I
am a fashion designer( even Beyounce cannot survive without them), I am a teacher,
I am a blogger, I am a writer, I am a trader, I am cleaner, I am cobbler, I am
an event manager etc. Get an identity card and put it on always especially when
you are on duty. It is all about image building.They will pay your money. It is
just a matter time.
·
Be quality oriented in your service delivery and
not money/profit driven. Research has shown that a satisfied customer informs
at most 5 other people about a service/product while an unsatisfied customer
informs at least 20. Bad news spreads faster. This is why some businesses will
never grow. It may take a while, but money/profit will eventually come in
abundance.
·
Build a data base. No customer/client must go
through you office without you having his means of contact. Therefore, you must
build a relationship.
·
You must have a complimentary card irrespective
of your profession. This is because we live in a world of perception and men we
always judge by sight.
·
Create an office. When I mean office, I do not
mean your office must be on one inland somewhere but if you can afford, please
do. But try as much as possible to separate your factory from your office. A
factory is not for public consumption. Even if you are a fashion designer with
just a single room, carve a small space out of it and make it your office. Try
to air condition the place, get a small television in there if you can afford
them and make it an environment where client can sit and talk with you. It is
all about perception and brand building. It will surely have an impact on your
invoice in the end.
·
Go global: There is no profession that is so
small that cannot connect to the world. You must have an email address, build a fan page that can be liked on
facebook even if you do not who Mark Zukerberg is. Even if you are a stark
illiterate, you can always learn. Pending that time, get someone that can
manage it for you. Every informed person was once unformed. So, it is not a big
deal if your attitude is right.
·
You must be constantly informed. There is always
a better way of doing what you are doing. So, you must seek knowledge. Read
books, go to conferences/seminars/training, surf the internet and always ask
relevant questions.
·
Let God be you centre point. Every one of them
who embarked on the journey without having faith in God came back with an evil
report. Be bold! No writer that is scared of bad grammar will ever write well.
And you must remember, every work is a job/profession as long as it has
DIGNITY. Go in that might.
You can make your
comment, ask questions and your constructive criticisms are welcome as well.We wish you all
the best in your endeavor. Please, if you were blessed, share it with your
loved ones and do not forget to like our fan page on facebook(local and
international issues). We look forward to serving you better. Thank you for
your time.
Tunde Adenuga
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