LETS TALK ABOUT .... EMPLOYMENT Vs. ENTREPRENUERSHIP PART II

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”  ― Steve Jobs

Source: Google Images

 The road to success sometimes feels like a relationship you give it your all - time, prayers, creativity, heart, love, attention till there is nothing left of you to give.

My little brother who is not so little anymore vowed right from his school days he would NEVER be employed. Simply because he would not spend his life making someone else rich.
Growing up were taught to study hard and get into the best high schools, then study hard and get into the best universities, then study harder to get employed in the best companies. We were never taught to be independent and build a company that would employ the best brains in the industry.

So, it didn't come as a surprise that my parents protested my brother's choices. They sent his C.Vs everywhere, talked to who was who to get him jobs in some of the best companies. The rest of us were never as brave as he was or maybe we just believed that life's blueprint was made up of what we were taught to believe.

An incident happened in my country recently. The Authority in charge of the local ports adverstised for two job positions. They asked candidates to drop off their applications at their offices. Well, the management expected at most 20 applicants LO! and behold 3,000 applicants showed up!! WTH! yes. THREE THOUSAND PEOPLE all competing for TWO SLOTS!! This broke my heart to pieces. The situation was wanting. I thought to myself, who do we blame? Do we blame the system that taught us to be dependent on other people for our survival or do we blame ourselves for not thinking up solutions for our own problems?? Who do we blame for this kind of tragedy?!

I mean, 3,000 people translate into 1,000 companies employing another 3,000 people? How do we solve this catastrophe? We have a country of highly educated and talented individuals sitting at home waiting to hear from the hundreds of companies they sent their resumes to, hundreds of highly educated and talented people desperate to work for free just for a little work experience because they probably rushed on to get their masters degrees with NO work experience at all. le sigh! WHY? are we slaves to this system of thought. Lets break free. Lets think up solutions onstead being part of the problem.

TO BE CONTINUED....

POSSIBILITY

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the BS story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” ―Unknown

Source: Pinterest

Am  counting the blessing of  possibility..

Here's to all things possible,

The doors of opportunity,

The Hero in every one of us,

To dreams bigger than life,

Miracles ...Miracles,

Strength to go on..

Focus on all things right,

Quitting as NO option,
Sacrifices made
Prayers said,
Hard-Work & Resilience,
Here's to living the life of your dreams ...

I raise my coffee mug to Possibilities. Posibility, There is NOTHNG like you!

Happy Monday :)))

 

{ ROLLIN' WITH THE PUNCHES!

Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter. The one of us who finds the strength to get up first, must help the other.” ― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

I'm NOT sure which hurts more. A-Mean-Left-Hook? or A-Mean-Right-Hook?
Well, that depends if you're a rightie or a leftie.
Empathy is a simple WORD yet complicated VERB. that's what i think anyway. We can all SPELL it right and use it in sentences correctly, but how many can actually DO it??
Ever found it really difficult to show empathy especially, when someone else is exactly where you wanted to be at that moment of JOY ???
I was taught a tag line that changed my outlook on empathy.

Lord, as you did it for (insert name) you will surely do it for me...

I am strong believer in surrounding yourself with a good support system. Be it Family or Close Friends ... Everybody needs somebody to believe in them even when they are down and clouded by insecurities.
THEN again, there comes a time when the very people you look to for support...well, may just disappoint.
In moments like these, you MUST learn to roll with the punches!

Calm down and be realistic

Maybe... they are going through something right now. Or maybe its just the green eyed monster effect or maybe it was wrong timing or maybe those are just genuine feelings. Don't beat yourself up, its out of your control. ( NO. you will NOT kill them in your mind either!! )

Ask yourself what’s the worst that can happen?

Are you annoyed because you didn't get the reaction you hoped for? Or is there more to it than this? After you’ve calmed down and can clearly look at the situation maybe the worst thing that can happen isn’t that bad after all.

 What now?

COMMUNICATE your feelings! Let the person know how you feel about it... If you get all worked up and react instead of responding you’ll likely feel bad and come off looking pretty bad.

 

 

{ First. Born.

I think of my business as my firstborn ...
I conceived the idea, carried it to term, birthed it and named it ,
Nurtured it and instilled in it values that represent me ...
So, as i prepare to invade an 'almost' neglected part of the market,
Releasing my child out into the scary world,
Hoping that the world will accept it and love it, Just like I have... 
is like a mother releasing her child, on the first day of play group or pre-school.. sigh :)
You can't help but want to hang around just in-case.. they'll need you? Or want something?
Its a huge emotional transition!!
I have invested all of my heart. my mind. my energy into this.
It would literally mince me into pieces if it turned out otherwise.... *kill the visual*
And just as a parent would want for their child to prosper and thrive through the good and tough times,
So do i want the very same for my business.
I am scared, anxious, excited...and a whole lot going on.
Am following my heart on this one, my mind will thank me later....

{ TGIF! TGIF!

... happy graduation Alice Mercy. And everyone from the office graduating today :) You sure deserve to celebrate!!

Happy weekend!

{ HOPE ...

HOPE ----- heals our broken dreams ;)

Source: google images

I don't remember learning how to bake EVER! I remember waking up in the middle of the night to write recipes though.
Am a cake freak! I follow blogs religiously..watch videos..read books on cakes ... I stay glued to FOOD NETWORK... browse recipes...etc etc
I've NOT held a spatula nor a cake mixer nor fresh cream nor strawberries in a looooooooong time.
Along the way i lost my MOJO.. my EDGE... my PASSION... my REASON to dream about cakes! I didn't not want to bake any more. I lost HOPE.
My family would always ask me what to do with all the baking equipment that i had saved up so religiously to buy? --- honestly, i still wanted them around. The equipment represented my sign of HOPE.
HOPE that maybe someday, i'll get fired up again about baking.

So, my ANNOYING workmate has been on my neck non-stop about reviving my baking side-hustle.
Am not ready to get back out there. Am taking it One-Cake-at-a-time.
A Silver-lining has come my way in the most unexpected way. I have found a way of staying relevant in the baking world without BAKING CAKES (just yet)!!

I discovered a GAP in the cake market about one year ago. I did my research and killed the idea! I was NOT interested enough to ACT on it.. I thought other things were waaaay way more important.
Now the opportunity has KNOCKED on my door AGAIN!
Went back into my research archives, did a new market research...and believe it or not, one year down the line, NO ONE seems to have noticed this elusive GAP!
Am on it like a rash!! No looking back!

I have found HOPE...and OH, how i missed you!!

"I learned during this devastating season, when our hearts become grounds of broken dreams, we may need to turn to the hope others have found..."

Am counting the blessing of HOPE.