Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Back in 2015, I set out to publish a book on my struggle with depression, abuse, self harm, two suicide attempts, 502 failures at getting a job and failing in 7 out of 9 businesses then. (Hehe, I didn’t know that I was about to fail in businesses number 8 and 9 and start up 2 others).
All I had were my failures. I started writing the book and by the time I was almost done, it felt like the book had no silver lining or the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. So I shelved it.
That same year, I attended Bankole William’s Live Your Dream Africa event where I was made to give a “Thank You” speech to Airtel, after winning a N16,000 voucher in their raffle draw which I participated in.
I still cannot remember what I said till this day because I was shaking, nauseous and felt like the ground should open up and swallow me.
I was still finding my way down the stairs from the podium with shaky knees when Fela Durotoye, who was one of the speakers, asked if I was a Public Speaker. I laughed and said no. He then said, “You will be”. I laughed again and walked to my seat. The date was May 16th, 2015.
In October of 2016, I had began writing that book again. I had decided to title it “Becoming the Entrepreneur” (early OPENers, I’m sure you remember this).
I was almost done when I attended a business conference at This Present House where Adebola Williams was a speaker. His speech was so powerful, I felt ready to publish that book.
I asked him a question about my book after his speech and he gave me an appointment at his office. He was offering to help me publicize the book for free. I was beyond elated. In my mind, it was a sign from God.
But God had other plans. After the event, I was waiting to see Debola Williams in the office when a man walked up to me and said, “so you’re the lady that wants to write a book about entrepreneurship abi? What successes have you had that makes you qualified to write such a book?”
Guys, my heart sank. I became depressed all of a sudden. Businesses 8 and 9 had just failed and I was just beginning to make some level of success in businesses 10 and 11.
My Interior Design Company was going great and My jewelry pieces from the jewelry company were already in demand in the US, but still I felt like a failure.
I had allowed someone’s opinion of me become my reality. Once again, I shelved that book. Mind you, I had just been diagnosed with Early Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis just 3 months prior to that and I was still dealing with my new life. I was devastated.
Thankfully, I’d been researching on mindset and had just come upon a book by Carol Dweck called “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”.
I found that the one thing that all successful people had in common was their mindset; not money, not wealthy families, not opportunities, not their country or background. It was mindset.
I still felt devastated about the book idea but I decided to do something about my current state at the time. I needed to win at something so bad.
Funny enough, the very next day after that incident, I received a package in the mail saying that my Interior Design Company had been nominated for Company of the year and we’d won. The award ceremony was in 2 weeks. This is why today when you read my profile, you see “Award Winning Entrepreneur”.
I finally found a reason to write that book. Award-winning was something, ei? Who at 25 years old, with a company of less than 2 years, wins an award for Company of the Year?
But it wasn’t for me. I was only excited because I wanted to show that man at that event who asked me what I’d achieved. That victory wasn’t for me. It was for someone else. I was happy to prove a point, but that was it. I felt empty. I felt tired. I felt unfulfilled.
So I wrote my very first book in 6 days, titled “The Productivity Checklist” and it became an Amazon Bestseller. Now, this victory was for me. It felt good.
Most importantly, it was for the people who had been told they could never publish on their own, tell their stories and have their voices heard outside of Nigeria.
Two years later, that seed has borne fruits. It has created a more fulfilling career than I could ever imagined. It has earned me over N10,000,000 in revenue in just 2 years.
It has created an avenue for me to be on local, National and International platforms as a speaker, panelist, contributor, advisor, coach, trainer, consultant and partner.
How did I get here? Not because I’m special or there’s something magical about the way I write or that I’m pretty and intelligent.
All these things may be true, but what really got me here is the ability to authentically tell my story and use my story to sell myself so that by doing so, I’m able to start, grow and scale any business I want and people will be drawn to my story and my brand.
Everything I do comes from my core. At my core is my story. It is who I’ve become. It is the struggles I’ve been through that have shaped me into the woman you see today.
Again, fulfillment comes from helping others succeed, whether financially, emotionally, spiritually, morally or otherwise. The price for helping other people solve a problem or meet a need, is your own success.
This is why I am offering you the chance one last time, to work with me for just 30 days, to learn how to tell your story in a way that people listen to you till the last second or read your post to the last word, and are more than happy to buy from you because you’ve sold them on a truth, not on the features of your amazing product.
The doors to this opportunity will close by midnight tonight. Don’t let it close up on you. Take a chance today to begin a journey that you’ll be glad you took.
