This is a personal story. But I have also spoken to a lot of people enough to know I’m not alone in the boat. That’s why I’m sharing my personal story. To help at least one person out there.
When I joined PwC a few years ago, it was only a matter of time before I started wondering about what the future holds for me. I worried a lot that it affected my mental health and ability to focus at work.
My worry was about where I will work when I leave PwC? What role will I have? How much will I earn? What skills do I need to develop ahead of time for that role? And many more of sorts.
When I finally left, not one of the ideas I had in mind played out. I grossly underrated the universe of possibility before me. What mattered in the end and what made the difference was doing a great job where I was then and then. Focusing on doing the best job possible. That was what got me an offer in the UK from Nigeria, not all the worries I had leading up to that time.
I used to worry about how to have a great network in the future. All the worry also didn’t matter and I doubt they would ever matter. So far, what has mattered has been focusing on the moment. Being as helpful to as many as I could.
I used to think about how I would get a beautiful wife. The one with whom I will be aligned with and we can journey this world together. On that as well, not one of those worries of the future mattered. Being in the moment and making the most of it was more important.
I used to worry about finances. About events that are even yet to arrive. But a time came when I needed to finance a project. One way or another I crossed the bridge.
It’s incredibly tough to let go of the future. But we have to let go of it. Just as yesterday took care of itself. Tomorrow will take care of itself as well. Today is our only responsibility. Take care of today. Make the most of it. That’s what can ensure that the dreams of the future will come true. Not one inch of the worries for the future counts.
My steps have been ordered to discover some secrets of the universe. I have applied them, watched others apply them and I have seen them always work. Well, they aren’t much of a secret because they all lie in plain sight.
A lot of people struggle with the question of what they should do. I found my answer in this verse. Do all things. Yes, all. There is no magic to finding it out. If you are searching, do all that interests you. You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigour. Follow the impulses of your heart. If something looks good to you, pursue it. – Ecclesiastes 11:9 MSG
Life should start out saying a lot of yeses… then with the passage of time, more clarity, and focus, you have to grow your number of nos. I used to say yes to everything that comes my way. I still say a lot of yeses today because I’m yet to arrive. Now my list of nos has been growing as well. The way that tends to work out is beautiful to behold. Start with a lot of yeses and then increase the nos with time. Don’t reverse the equation. You won’t be young forever.
Curiosity is not rated enough. It kills the cat but it liberates and gives life to the human mind. Curiosity is the fuel for growth and the oil of sustainability. It allows you to discover new territories and empowers you to gain dominion in those territories.
Embrace failure. A common question I like to ask anyone who wants to have an interesting life is how many times have they failed in the past and on how many things have they failed? I don’t know how you can have an interesting life without a lot of failed attempts. Remember what I shared on optimising your life for interesting stories. Failure is a feature then and not a bug, I concluded. I want to fail more.
Note, your failure should not come out of a bad work ethic. That’s not for us. It should come because you are too early, you tried all you can, you went to all lengths possible… Simply put, failure should be an inevitable one.
Take responsibility. It is so easy to shift responsibility especially if you are someone who has or knows a lot of “village people”. But come off it, my friend. It’s time you look beyond all those and start seeing yourself as being responsible for everything in your life. And even if it’s crystal clear that you are not responsible, still take responsibility. You will be amazed at how much that will accelerate your life to the desired destination.
God’s delight is hiding things. Human glory lies in searching things out. This was a revelation that I am still grateful until today for discovering. I doubled down on searching for knowledge and insights since I learnt this fact and the more things I search out the more the universe unveils itself to me. Crowned with glory. Learn to go down the rabbit hole.
How the world works. All attempts to build an aeroplane failed until some people understood better how the world works. And we wouldn’t even be where we are today until we learnt the laws of nature in physics, biology, and all else. The knowledge of how the world works will give anyone who has it an unfair advantage.
Be in haste to work to put food on your table. After that, put on the garment of patience towards the work of your hands. Because haste is not good for this business of life. Compounding is the rule of the world. And my friend, it takes time for results to show. You can’t hurry the sunrise no matter how hard you try.
Humans have all sorts of problems. But the most unsettling one is their inability to predict the future. Nearly all humans will withstand all forms of adversity. If they knew with certainty that at the end of the adversity, they will have the kind of end they desire. Faith is what gives that “certain knowledge”. I don’t dismiss faith, I live by it. It is nearly impossible to live without faith.
Before we talk about how you can become the kind of person people are glad to know, let’s talk about something else.
Do you know anyone right now and you consider it a blessing to know that person? Why would you consider it so?
Probably because the person is helpful to you. Probably because the person is resourceful. Probably because the person is kind. Probably because the person always comes through for you. Probably because the person is useful.
Whatever it is, we can summarise it as the person is valuable to you and others that you are aware of.
So how can you be the person people are glad to know? Be a valuable person to them.
The first time I heard about this idea was from a Ted talk titled “the paradox of choice“. Over the years, I’ve observed the idea to be not only true but also permeating.
I’ve been meaning to work on a project now but not even started it let alone complete it. Why? Because I have different options as to which direction to take.
And guess what? Instead of picking a direction, I am evaluating which direction will offer a perfect result. And one month is gone, yet, not a start nor a completion.
On the contrary, if my choice was one, as a minimum, I would have started. That is even if it is not completed yet.
We all go through this. And the only way around it is to build the restrictions in our life and plans. Even if they are not there by default. Restrictions are good. Unlimited choice leads to no commitment.
I wrote here without any doubt that the future that is possible is that given the right regulatory environment, every organisation that can, will offer their version of Stablecoins.
It is not difficult to foresee this outcome. The infrastructure of Stablecoin works is scalable and accessible to a wider audience. Therefore introducing new dynamics to all payment business models. And has it us often said, “every technology company eventually becomes a fintech company”. The reason why that is the case is that every company facilitates payment. Especially those in the B2C market.
Yes, banks have seen it. They also know that the SWIFT system that they formed together many years ago is no longer as efficient for the coming disruption. They know that to grow the Fees and Commission line of the Profit/Loss statement they need to rethink payment.
As I also noted in the quoted piece, consumers don’t need to worry. The worry is for the innovators, entrepreneurs and business leaders. Because for the consumer, they will always win whenever the arrow of technological progress flies in a forward direction.
My mama can rejoice more because a time is coming when sending those dollars home wouldn’t be a stress for me again. And when she needs to pay those dollar school fees she wouldn’t need to worry about where the dollars will come from. A wallet will be available to anyone who wants it. Just as anyone who can, will offer a stablecoin.
You can’t blackmail God with anything. Not with your fasting, or with your tears or with your loud voice. None! None is enough to blackmail to act according to your wishes.
God only responds to data. Yes, DATA.
Did you sow? Then you can reap.
Did you harvest? Then you can eat.
Are you diligent? Then you can stand before kings.
He only abandons data (performs miracle) at His discretion, not at your wish or command.
I have been spending an inordinate amount of time reading about the payment and the banking industry. You might have noticed that in what I have been sharing.
When Satoshi launched Bitcoin after the financial crisis, he labelled it as a fix for the inefficient system that existed then and persists till today. What I am not sure Satoshi might have foreseen is that the technology he helped assemble would be used for something far more than just Bitcoin alone.
Importantly, Stablecoins and CBDC have been birthed as a result of the technology. So what’s going to likely happen from here?
1. With the news of PayPal plans to launch its stablecoin, it won’t be wild to say everyone that can launch a stablecoin will launch one in the future. Facebook opened everyone’s eyes and the existing stablecoins have proven that operating within a given regulatory framework, Stablecoins are the future.
2. Payment infrastructure over the next decade will experience a massive revamp. More than 80% of the world’s central banks are doing great one thing other about CBDC. Stablecoins are not only garnering attention, but the possible number of uses cases for them are also growing at an alarming rate. Those two systems are infrastructure redefining mechanisms of coordinating money.
3. Existing systems won’t go out of extinction overnight. What we will experience is that startups will build on these rails before legacy corporations. Also, adoption will first of all be high in countries that are currently suffering from financial alienation, high inflation and an unstable economy.
4. Regulation will struggle to catch up at first and that may be costly. But that’s the price of innovation. Like everything else though, eventually, regulation will be close par.
5. Africa in particular will be the most important ground for experimentation in this new era.
It’s an interesting time to be alive and witness this. I have used Stablecoins to facilitate a lot of my cross-border payments in the last couple of months. It’s inevitable after all.
And I am guilty of this just as much as any other person might. But I’ve learnt to take leaps despite my feeling of “not enough”.
Let me remind you of my story.
In 2018 as I wrapping up my NYSC, PwC job application came out. I chose not to apply and self rejected myself because I thought I am not good enough to work at PwC. A friend encouraged me to apply and I did. I didn’t only get the job, I was a top performer all of my time with the firm.
Since I joined PwC, I determined to leave in 2021. I believed I would have had enough. When the time came, I chose not to apply for some opportunities because I thought I wasn’t qualified. I later took a leap of faith and applied to my surprise, my assessors believed I am qualified and I got 2 job offers in that period. And I took the job offer from London.
It’s so easy to self-reject. That feeling of inadequacy, I’m not enough and it’s not for my type hunts a lot of us.
But I am here today to tell you to start perishing that thought. You are enough, in fact, more than enough. And if anyone would tell you that you are not enough for an opportunity, let that person better not be you. Let it come from an external party. And when it comes, don’t believe it. They just can’t see how enough you are yet.
I interviewed with Dangote in 2020. The interview was before GMDs of about 5 units. In the middle of the interview, the head of HR had to stop and ask about my age. I told them and she responded, “you are a brilliant young man”.
I didn’t get the job because of some obvious reasons but that was a real confidence booster for me. I became a “friend” with the GMD of the unit that wanted to recruit me. Sometimes, that’s what you gain from some interviews, a confidence booster. But if I’d rejected myself, that also won’t be there.
As you go into 2022, it is extremely important that you have this idea at the back of your mind. The idea is that you will never self-reject yourself for any opportunity again.
You must also do your work. Never be found wanting. Be diligent. Whatever and I mean “whatever” your hand finds to do, do it with all your might whether someone is watching or not. And most importantly when no one is watching. If you’ve done so, you will have more self-confidence and self-respect and it will be difficult to self-reject.
Cryptocurrency is nascent and hot at the moment. I expect the hotness to continue for another 10 years at the minimum.
Within these 10 years, great wealth will be made by those who understand the trend and play along or those who just got lucky. That’s one part of the story of the next 10 years.
The other part of the story that is most beckoning to me is what would need to happen to enable people to make wealth.
What’s happening with cryptocurrency economically is not new. Right from the foundation of the earth, every technological breakthrough has always created more wealth. Because such breakthroughs either usher in a new economic reality or optimize existing reality.
Either way, what happens is a reduction in friction in how we coordinate as a people. And unavoidably the wealth pie gets expanded.
I read a fascinating account of how the development of maps helped Britain to win battles, conquer nations, and expanded its territory. All on the shoulder of a simple science of navigation.
But hey, you don’t need to go as far back as the 15th century to know this. Just take a moment to contemplate how much wealth the mobile phone in your hand has created in the world and you will start to understand how wealth is inevitable over the next decade.
However, it’s not bad for us to travel as far back as necessary in history to drive home a point.
Life in a state of nature as described by Thomas Hobbs was brutish, nasty, short, and poor. In such a state, humans existed in a small cluster of few recognizable families and an outsider is often seen as an enemy. Also, those small families cultivated “everything” that they needed for survival.
As our population grew, it became glaring that such a state is unsustainable. And we started to coordinate together in larger communities. The first mode of economic cooperation that we could think of was to exchange goods for goods (the barter system). Soon enough, the inefficiency of that system became obvious as well. And we sort a more sustainable way to coordinate.
Our search led us to the discovery of different forms of technology; a way to preserve our goods, a way to protect our territory, a way to better exchange economic values and most importantly a way to ensure our survival.
In all of our searches and discoveries, a common denominator is that we are always moving towards a more efficient and sustainable life. Efficient and sustainable could mean cheaper, faster, better, timely and so on.
That’s the lesson of history.
The question is why do some of us believe Crypto is the next phase of this endless iteration of efficiency and sustainability? It’s simple and may not be so simple as well.
The answer lies at the bottom of the promise of blockchain technology. But it can be obviously found on the promise page of each crypto asset built on it.
Bitcoin is poised to create more wealth
First, Bitcoin. It promises a better way to exchange economic value, accumulate wealth and preserve wealth.
The first question to ask is, is there anything wrong with the way we are doing those things at the moment? The answer is simply yes, there’s something wrong with it. So what’s it?
After a lot of iteration, we settled on government-issued money as the best way to coordinate economically. The choice of government money came in after considering some factors (durability, portability, divisibility, uniformity, scarcity and acceptability).
While I can’t dig deep here into each of these factors, I must say that the choice of how we organize economically must put them all into consideration before we arrive at a solution. Yet, history has taught us that of all the factors, there’s one that can’t be sacrificed and that is SCARCITY.
From the times of batter until now, we’ve had to give up a factor in favour of another so that we can organize economically. But not once in that long history have we settled on sacrificing scarcity among the factors. That’s because it’s the most important factor.
Now, agreeing to organize economically under the arrangement of government-issued money was on a condition of controlled scarcity (you can call it inflation at this point). Inflation is simply a measure of how much more scarce or less scarce this instrument of economic coordination has become.
If it becomes less scarce, it means those that hold it becomes poorer (their wealth declines) and if it becomes more scarce, those who hold it become wealthier.
In recent years, for an oftentimes understandable reason, it has become less scarce. That’s the phenomenon of rising inflation and the continued printing of money that we’ve been talking about. And the way it’s trending, there’s no stop in sight and it’s a downward sloppy trend.
That’s what Bitcoin aims to fix. By imposing the most important factor, SCARCITY (21 million units), under a predetermined “less and more scare (halving)” policy (monetary).
The expectation as with every other breakthrough technology is that as the world adopts it, global wealth will increase and those who were early adopters (believers) will be some of those who benefited the most from the wealth.
By the way, new technology brings in more wealth simply because it expands the scope of commerce through the creation of new lines of commerce or increased efficiency in the existing lines of commerce. Bitcoin in this case makes cross border payment more seamless than fiat.
Money exists before and so what Bitcoin is doing is increasing efficiency and sustainability. The easiest to understand use case here is how a lot of people have used Bitcoin to seamlessly facilitate cross border payment. For institutions, they are big on the store of value use case.
The world supercomputer is also creating more wealth
The promise of Ethereum on the other hand is not as straightforward and a bit complicated.
But here’s it: it promises to be the world’s supercomputer. Now, trust me that’s vague and even I still struggle a lot to understand what it means by “world’s supercomputer”. Yet, we are also bullish on it because it promises a more efficient and sustainable paradigm. And as with any technology that promises such, they always create a wealthier future if they achieve their aim. So let’s break the Ethereum promise down a bit more from the vague Supercomputer.
Decentralized Finance (Defi) Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). Three of the most popular use cases that Ethereum has enabled on our quest for a better, more efficient and sustainable society.
Just as I explained under Bitcoin, the first question is what’s wrong with the existing system as in the case of Defi and DAOs. Simply put, while the existing systems have been working so far, the believers behind these use cases believe that it can be better. And they have shown this with on-chain data (incorruptible data).
In the case of NFTs, it is the creation of a new paradigm. It is creating a way to originally own digital assets just as you can own physical assets. Before NFTs, infinite replicability makes it hard to know an original digital property and who owns the original. So largely, no one even cares to. But that is fast-changing and in the first half of 2021 alone, NFT has generated a direct sale of up to $2.5 billion.
To bring this to an end, I and others who are keeping a close tab on crypto innovation see these and more and that’s why we are extremely optimistic about the future and the resultant wealth creation that would happen.
As I got my offer letter to join PwC in 2018, one of the first things that came to my mind was how to grow my network within the firm. Because as we would later be told, PwC is a congregation of the best and brightest. So I couldn’t get it off my mind thinking about how I can have a lot of people on my contact list as “networks”. I believe in all those periods, my definition of a network is either wrong or unclear.
Well, I took that enthusiasm of building a network with me until resumption, training school and eventual deployment to our respective place of assignment. All the while, all I could see was my dream of building a network getting farther away from me. Why? Because at the end of our training school, I am not sure if I had up to 10 numbers saved on my phone and out of the 10, I can’t confidently boast of 2 that I can call a “network”. Seriously, I had the idea of “network” totally mixed up in my mind then. Chuckles.
This reality followed me until I met a manager who gave me a ride home one day. Since the idea of building a network was still top of my mind until then, the first question I could think of asking him was “how does one build a network within an organization?” To which he gave an answer that stayed with me until today and will be one of the points of maximum leverage that I will talk about here. He said to me, “for now, just get your job done, become good at your job, and the network will come.”
I was astonished. And I thought a lot about that response. Apparently, I got the idea of who a network is very wrong. Like really really wrong. Well, this is now my working definition of a network, in case you also have it all wrong.
A (professional)* network is a person who knows you professionally, can vouch for your skills (technical and soft) and can recommend you for a role, job, projects or any other thing in a professional capacity.
My corporate career is now about three and a half years old. And I’ve learned that my focus on networking in the early months was naive. These are three things that I believe every young and mid-career professional should focus on. Networks will only be one of the by-products, I assure you.
Get your job done
This was the exact thing that the manager told me and that I focused on very early on. Get your job done excellently. You are new (or young) to this part of life. You need to build a reputation, you need to prove yourself, and you need to discover yourself. Focusing on getting your job done excellently will eventually give you the reputation and allow you to grow.
It is through getting your job done that people will form an opinion of you. Either as a trustworthy colleague or a non-dependable one. It is by going the extra mile to get the job done that your managers get to know about your work ethic and therefore decide if they want to continue working with you or not. And it is by being consistently good, dependable and technically sound that they may choose to recommend you to others.
Seriously, really, in the beginning, the only thing that makes sense to focus on is getting the job done. Remember that my definition of a network is someone who knows you professionally. And people only get to know you in that manner by working with them and doing an excellent job while you do that.
Be visible
As soon as I crossed the stage of getting the job done, I started looking out for what my next focus could be. So I observed. I noticed those whom everyone wants to be around and those whom no one wants to work with. I paid attention to those who are liked and those who are neither liked nor disliked. I also watched out for those who got promoted and those who didn’t. Being visible is the next thing that I found.
A quick caveat here, my observation of the workplace dynamics goes beyond my own story alone. It also includes all the stories that friends told me and those that I read.
Being visible means you have to go beyond getting your job done and socialize in the workplace, volunteer for tangential tasks and raise your hand to help where you know you can. Depending on where you work, you are likely not going to work closely with more than a few (10) people. And you will agree with me that knowing ten people in an organization of 1,000 is not good enough for you. This gap gets bridged by other activities that you involve yourself with within the firm. So engage, socialize and offer to help others.
I’ve talked about being visible internally. But being visible goes beyond the four walls of your organization. You also need an external visibility strategy. Beyond the four walls of your organization, you must also be known for your technical expertise, deep thoughts and sound judgments. There are different ways in which this can play out. I will share a few that I know are effective:
Have a blog. Yes, this is by far one of the most effective ways to build a reputation outside of your organization. And all you need to have on the blog is 5 – 7 articles that shed light on your core ideas and how you think about things generally. If possible, put a couple of your work portfolios on it. And let the link to the blog be available on your social media pages. Again, you don’t need to write 1000 articles on the blog. Just a few that will help anyone form an opinion of you when they stumble on the blog. That’s all.
Participate in your professional community activities. This will allow you to be visible among those who play in the same industry as you. A lot of advantages come with that.
Take up speaking engagements when you are presented with such an opportunity.
Be a mentor to those who are willing to climb the ladder that you have climbed. You will be surprised at how quickly they either grow to your level or to a level where you also need them just like they once need you. And don’t be naive. Needing them may also mean you want them to work on a project with you because you know they are best capable. Or it could be that they need to recommend you for a role in their organization.
Also, join professional-agnostics communities. These are communities that have nothing to do with your profession but that you are attuned to its goals and objectives. This is where you meet those whom you may not get to work together with, but you are sure to learn a thing or two from them beyond what’s obtainable in your profession. And there are always a lot of them out there.
Being visible will not only expand your network, but it will also often serve as a career accelerant for you.
Own your story
Owning your story is the last on the list of things that I believe you should focus on. In my place of work, a common phrase that you often hear as a new joiner is that “your career is in your hand”.
Owning your story entails being in control of the narrative of your career. It means you try all within your power to be on a project that will help you develop the right skill and work with the most ambitious people. Notice that I said, “try all within your power”. Yes, I understand the workplace dynamics and I know you can’t always have your way. But try.
Another aspect of owning your story has to do with how you choose to tell your story to others. Your job might be repetitive. It may be an environment where you do almost the same thing all the time. However, you can choose not to tell the story that way but rather in a way that will favour you under the prevailing condition. Knowing how to tell your story is a superpower because it puts you in control of the narrative. Learn it.
Here’s an example using someone who does a repetitive job
Story 1: I work at XYZ Ltd where I prepare the management account every month and do reconciliation.
Story 2: Here’s what a typical week looks like for me, I get to work, meet with the head of the department to understand his expectation for the new week, we deliberate together on the best approach to go about handling the task then I move on from there to execute. Of course, at XYZ Ltd where I work there are standard expectations for my role which includes preparing the management account that the top executives’ leverage for decision making and handling complexities of the introduction of new items or changes in existing items…
Let me stop there as I believe you got the gist already. They both do the same thing but one person owns their story more than the other. And you must set yourself up to own your story. Don’t be a victim, don’t play the victim game.
Focusing on these three things is sure to take some energy from you but you are equally sure of gaining the maximum leverage and accelerating your career. Of course, there’s no overnight success anywhere. This is a long-term (infinite) game that requires you to play it with the best of intentions and a spirit of cooperation rather than competition.
