Get Skilled Up: Be Relevant!

Low self-esteem, mediocrity, limitations and poverty start and end in the mind. I always caged up in isolation because I thought I was never good enough. I constantly curled up, got depressed and the last thing I wanted doing was step out, stand up and speak up. In my lonely corner, all I had was a book and pen. Sometimes, one to read; other times, one to write. So, at an early age, I fell in love with reading and writing because books became my best friend. Consequentially, it’s still my best friend.

In nursery school, teachers observed how glued I was to books and details that they started taking me out for reading, writing and quiz competitions. I was a book worm- I still am. I read books on history, civilization, culture, politics, geography, and literature- anything I could lay my hands on. I learnt new words, about people, things, got exposed and became my teachers’ favorite. Eighty-five percent of the staff in school knew me, the headmistress knew both my parents and I – through me of course. She came to the house on two occasions to invite my dad for an event and the second time; to invite me for an end of the year session - were I was awarded a cash prize and a Longman dictionary for outstanding pupil.

Likewise, in secondary school, my light didn’t fade out or stop shining either. The university wasn’t even dense enough to shade my glow. However, in all these, I picked up different abilities that made up my skill set. I began to loosen up, open up more, discover, develop, apply and stay relevant. I got skilled up!

The gift of a man makes room for him and makes him stand before kings and queens. My gift, my skills, my dreams, my passion, my talent, my vision, my goals, my knowledge is the reason why you're reading this article.

In the process of me getting skilled up and fighting for relevance, I consciously, unconsciously and subconsciously acquired and developed certain skills:

• Good interpersonal communication skills
• Public speaking and presentation skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Creative thinking skills
• Research skills
• Advanced writing skills
• Artistic skills
• Perceptual skills
• Organizational skills

Which has all helped me plan, build, grow and explore.

After university, I realized I had no friends besides a few, I had no network, a lot to learn from –especially in IT and socialization. Before, during and after NYSC, I decided to get skilled up, grow a network, work on my weaknesses, build capacity, develop professionally and be relevant. I made new friends, bonded with old friends, socialized, grew a network, attended events, applied for online courses, volunteer jobs, worked so hard to build capacity, sacrificed to grow by taking steps out of my comfort zone- the box I was- and yeah, I still read and write. Today, I can step out, stand and speak up.

Dear younger me,

I wish you knew the future of work would change and require so much to stay competent, composed and connected; you would have stepped out, stood up and spoken up more, learnt new skills, and developed the existing ones. Your level of exposure, network and capacity would have opened even more doors for you and shown you how to unlock them yourself. You did your best, but it wasn’t good enough. You let your environment influence and limit your growth. However, it was enough for your age. 

Be Relevant!

With the vast change and development in technology, every aspect in touch with influencing man’s thoughts, decisions, words and actions as a whole is constantly in need of an upgrade. Therefore, for man to stay relevant; his thoughts, decisions, words and actions need to be consistently updated to the latest version. Any decline in these areas, will gradually lead him/her to depression, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, isolation and a possibility of nurturing suicidal thoughts. I can’t over-emphasize enough how what you know will greatly influence your level of confidence –positively or negatively.

Technology has greatly influenced communication, security, health methods, agriculture, finance and just every sector of the nation’s economy including art and fashion. You can’t afford to be ignorant and not possess I.T skills. You can’t sit around with the ‘I don’t care’ attitude because whatever you’ll do will require 90% technological input and you can’t afford to lose an opportunity or a network because you’re not skilled up enough for the task. I’ll keep saying this; ask questions and if you can’t ask anybody, ask Google. Make Google your best friend. Google will help you know and will help you grow.

To stay relevant, capacity building and personal development are self-investments that will yield so much positive results and bring outcomes to the table in ways you never thought possible. Build your charisma, work on your personal brand- which is you, know what and who you must in your industry, attend networking events, speak up a lot, connect with people, follow trends, stay updated and as much as possible, invest in packaging your product which is you. You’re either relevant or irrelevant and to be a part of the trail blazers, game changers and generational role models and leaders, you need to start making an impact in your immediate environment before your fame can spread abroad.

#Surgery 4:

The person you are today is a result of the thoughts you nurtured, steps you took and actions you exhibited a few months and years ago. The person you’ll be tomorrow starts with the thoughts you have in your mind today about tomorrow. What you do today, who you connect with today, the things you indulge in today, the skill set you acquire today and the actions you’ll portray today will inevitably show up to either make you or mar you in a few years to come. Will you be relevant or not? Think about it.