Freedom is a concept that I am very interested in and like I have mentioned in my earlier posts, freedom has nothing do with being self-employed; you could be gainfully employed and be at a higher level of freedom than someone who is self-employed. You may read my earlier article; «Before you leave that job» to get a good grasp of what I am saying. One of the major words associated with freedom is independence (from external stimuli like person, organization, etc). The less you depend on the external body, the freer you have become.

My search for a job after my compulsory one year military service exposed me to an insight that has guided me throughout my career. There is nothing as demoralizing, heartrending and pathetic as competing with your peers for a limited position. The most painful part of this experience is the lack of awareness that there are better alternatives. Wait! I think I should correct myself; I believe we were aware but on a subconscious level, but we chose to stick to pursuing a goal that had a 99% chance of not happening – thirty thousand fresh graduates seeking for ten advertised position.

It actually seems like madness but it keeps happening again and again; we keep pursuing dead-end situations; it almost seems as if we enjoy the wild goose process rather than the end. Day-in day-out, people jump from one test center to the other, hoping (earnestly hoping) that it would be different this time, but it remains the same. Fast forward to present times, I realize the same program functioning; we are looking for the «in» thing; we are focusing all our power and energy depending on a path that we are subconsciously aware would produce the same failed result – why jump into an MLM program when you know it would fail? Why? When you know only a few people would reap the benefit just like the limited advertised position?

A story in the bible aroused my interest (John 5); it was about an impotent man in the midst of other impotent men (the bible referred to these impotent men as lame, blind, paralyzed limbs, etc). These impotent men struggled to get into a pool that had the potential to heal them but there was one limitation – only one person can be healed at a season – the first person to jump into the pool. This caused the said impotent man to dwell in the same position for thirty eight (38) years waiting seasons upon seasons without ever achieving his dream of being potent.

The solution to this impotent man's problem was an alternative to the pool; he dwelt so much on the pool as a panacea that frustration set in (38 years); «I can't be potent for I have no one to help me into the pool at the movement of water. While I am trying to enter, someone else always gets in ahead of me». Does this man's situation sound familiar? It sounds very familiar to me; when I could not get a job on time, I blamed my parents lack of connection; when my salary was not commensurate with my peers, I blamed the company I worked for; when my business was not succeeding amidst friends that were succeeding, I blamed my choice of business and ultimately the government.

I never cared to look at another alternative; it was an alternative that was easy to figure out but somehow, we miss it. Jesus told the impotent man; «stand up, roll up your sleeping mat and go home». I was inspired with this advice during those job-hunting days that in one of the test centers crammed with about twenty thousand fresh graduates, I refuse to take the recruitment test instead I stood up, rolled up my sleeping mat and went home. I decided to depend on the power within me; I researched, developed and created my first book – it was a book for job seekers. It increased my financial worth till I wanted more, so I joined the bank.

I realized something quite funny; I developed the power within me instead of running a wild goose chase that when I joined the bank, I rose up in ranks faster than my peers. Hence, I stuck to this winning formula – always develop the power within you and with time, you would be the leader. Forget about the external stimuli – your salary has not been increased for some time, focus on developing the power within you rather than join your peers complaining. If you focus on developing the power within you, a company that is better would appear in your radar.

Standing up (or developing the power within you) is not as easy as I am making it appear; it involves some certain process that you must pass through. It is by developing the power within you that you gain you more freedom. The stories are all over the place – a certain accountant friend of mine was earning 35K a month and keeps complaining, he developed the power within himself through certifications and now works with Oando for 500K a month. A theater arts graduate with no hope for a good paying job in Nigeria developed the power within her with a degree in film making and has produced the first Nollywood film on a 35mm Camera with Hollywood actors.

The moral of this article is simple; your destiny is neither in the hands of any person nor organization; if you develop the power within you, you would surprise yourself. The process of standing may require a lot of fallings but when you stand, you stand. The mat in the Bible story above signifies all the resources that is within you (talent, money, people, etc.). Jesus did not say, take another person's mat, He said; «roll up your own mat». Please, I would appreciate it if you do not ask me what the latest business is instead ask me what can you engage in to develop the power within you. Have a lovely week!

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