I GIVE UP

Me: Good morning sir. I need to talk to you. Its urgent!

Mentor: Okay(trying to read my vibe). Am at the office. Why don't you pass by?

(Mentor refers to my Boss at that time who over time became my Mentor. More on that story in this link: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/my-mentor-peter-mghendi)

Me: No sir. Not the office. I need for us to meet outside the office. It's a personal issue and I need your advice.

Mentor: It's okay. Where do you want us to meet.

Me: At Naivas.

Mentor: Fine. I am leaving right now. Will be there in ten minutes. Let's meet at the parking lot.

(10 minutes later at Naivas parking lot.)

Me: I want to quit. It's not working out anymore. I am tired. And I don't see any career growth as a Sales Agent. By the way, I have been offered a job by the biggest hotel chain in Coast to work as an IT Administrator. Here is their offer. It's a good pay and at least I won't have to worry about commissions anymore. Plus I will be working in a career that is actually compatible with my academic papers. But I need you to advise me. If i were your son, what would be your advice to me?

Mentor: (pauses a while) I think that the money they are offering you is good. It's a stable job and as you said, you will be doing the thing you studied for. Personally I think you have a great future in Sales and I know that with time, you will be making commissions ten times more in a month than what you will make in that job in a year. And I also know this, as an IT Admin, you can only grow to be their ICT Manager but as a Sales professional, you can grow to be the CEO or manage your own company some day. I would recommend you stay and keep pushing. But I also understand if you gotta go."

That evening, I bonded with my Mentor the way a small brother bonds with his big brother. It was a special moment and he shared some of his low career moments with me too. Funny enough it was not his advice that touched my heart but it was the stories he shared with me that afternoon that made all the difference. A year or two later I bought my Mentor a very expensive watch to symbolize the special times i shared with him. Just like my Mentor, I am sharing with you one of my past scars in the hope that it will encourage you too and give you the strength to keep going in this time of crisis and uncertainty.

Needless to say, I did stay on as a Technical Sales Agent and within five years, I became a Territory Retail Sales Manager by the grace of GOD and by relentless determination and performance. As for the IT Admin job, I convinced my contact person to hire a former classmate and friend of mine who was equally qualified and hardworking and she got the job.

There are so many times in my career where I have been in a dark place, not knowing where my next meal was going to come from or not knowing how I was going to pay my rent. I have been in situations where i didn't know the next time i was going to sent my mum the next mpesa. And I have been in situations where I was sure that,"This is it. I am done for. This ship is going down and there is nothing you can do about it." If you're honest with me, you also know of that dark place where depression takes root and despair is the only feeling that makes sense. Any Sales professional, Business Owner and Manager has at least gone through this once in their lifetime and I cannot help but feel that there is someone out there going through this too as i write this article. This is for you my brother. This is for you my sister.

There is light at the end of that tunnel. There is a way out of this. And you are not alone in this. Many have gone through what you are going through and made it to greener pastures they never thought they would ever make it to. You will make it. Your story ends well. It may need you to be more persevering and it may require you to grow through immense stress for a while but you will make it out of this stronger, wiser and at a better place than where you were before this.

The hardest part in a crisis is the time between your current situation and your next breakthrough or opportunity. Three months may go by and you will feel as though a year has passed you by. Three months of being retrenched or fired can feel like an eternity of being unemployed. Three months of not getting a sale can feel like you're in the wrong career. You may feel like a failure and regret may creep up in your thoughts. Your friends, loved ones and clients may desert you and you may feel isolated and alone.

But listen! The fact that you're reading this is proof positive that you're not a failure. It means that you are in this platform looking for leads and solutions. That means something. When was the last time you looked at the job section in LinkedIn? When was the last time you sent an introduction email? When was the last time you made some cold calls to your old clients? When was the last time you updated your cv, resume or cover letter? When was the last time you talked to your bank or your landlord/landlady to explain your current situation in advance?

Listen! Tears and self pity will soothe you for the moment but it is not a solution by itself. Like a farmer, you have to wake up everyday and plant your seeds. Send your job applications. Consult with your bank and landlord/landlady. Write up a business plan for your company. Formulate a strategy for the things you can do that are still within your control. It will be a painful time as you plant seeds and nothing seems to bloom but trust me when I tell you that something will bloom eventually. And sometimes GOD makes a way for you in an area you didn't even sow as a reward for all the sowing you did in another area. Keep sowing your seeds and wait for the rain. A good farmer understands that not all his seeds will sprout but a wise farmer also understands that there are always those seeds that will sprout. Your seed today can be your harvest tomorrow.

I know of a Territory Retail Sales Manager in Bamburi Cement Ltd who applied for a Sales Representative position and forgot about that application. Five years later he is called and asked if he is still interested with working for Bamburi. He says yes and suddenly he is a Territory Retail Sales Manager. I know of a Business Owner whose Multi Million shilling company was on the verge of bankruptcy and auctioning and he kept looking for business opportunities and then one day, he closed a deal that paid off all his debts within a year and today his company is doing better than before and is financially stable. I know of a lady who was fired recently due to cost cutting measures. I put in a word for her and she will be employed soon in the same position she lost and with a better salary.

So long as you have airtime on your phone and an internet connection, you can come out better than where you were before this crisis. You're being fired may lead you to a better income generating opportunity than the one you lost. Your company struggling in sales may lead you to diversify in more profitable areas you never thought existed. Did you know that some companies are retrenching while others are restructuring and looking from fresh talent like you to work with? Most great people of today started off with little resources on their table. You will make it too. GOD sees your secret tears and hears your silent prayers. HE will make a way for you where there seems to be no way. And one day, you will also be sharing your scars with someone who is on the verge of giving up.

If you have anything encouraging you need to share or a testimony, let's hear about it in the comment section. And if you just need someone to open up to and talk to in confidence, I am personally here for you. Hit me up on my inbox and I can call you back and at the very least, encourage you through this.

This too will pass! If there is anything you need to give up on right now, you need to give up on the feelings of discouragement that are weighing you down.