Starting out in tech felt like I was jumping off a cliff

It's only now some people who knew me as an NGO Accountant are saying, "So you are really serious about this Digital stuff hanti (Shona for 'hey')."

Sometimes I am asked how I got so far with no certificate or degree and the truth is whilst I am self-taught, I am by no means self-made. There is an army of people who have supported me and also caused challenges that taught me good but heart wrecking lessons. I started this journey on what others refer to as a hunch.

After watching a cartoon version of, 'Who moved my cheese', I saw myself and it was so profound I made a life changing decision to find my 'cheese'.

The journey led me to what was called Online Advertising, now Digital Marketing. Life is nothing like the movies, where there is dramatic music in the background when the main actor has that moment of deciding to fight. Neither is there a 5years later acceleration in real life. When I decide to get into tech, it was like jumping off a cliff only I had no rope to pull me back up or a safety net at the bottom.

All I had was the relentless conviction that where I wanted to go looked better than where I was, so I kept pushing. I cannot put to words how challenging and sometimes discouraging the journey would be, but when faced with an undesirable alternative I chose to weather it out. Taking a step back a bit...

As crazy as it sounds I somehow THOUGHT I would get something, anything to indicate that this is it, go for it. The other thing is, I thought that sign would come spectacularly from an external source. Nah! That is fiction for some of us. The AHA moment on an ordinary day, at a work meeting - doing the mundane. So if you are out there waiting for some sign from the outside, you may be looking in the wrong direction, that sign comes from within.

It has been 6-7years since I made that decision to jump off that cliff and a few years ago you would have not wanted to experience an ounce of what I was going through. Remember I self-taught so I spent hours upon hours trying to master something, go over something many many times to master it or spend a lot of time at the computer literally not moving an inch.

I write about my experience in a free ebook called, 'Life is too short to be unhappy at work.'

Here is the link to the free ebook:

I am not advocating for you to quit your job if you have the chance to plan for a career shift, neither am I saying you should quit when you can't afford to. Take what you can learn from my experience and let's interact about how you can glean from my experience. One of the days I will share my business partner's story on how she did her career shift which was different from mine.

The point is... some of the most life changing decisions or choices are made on an ordinary day. The signs will come from within and it's better we share that because life ain't no movie. So take time out to search yourself and make the effort to discover what success looks like to YOU. Do not use borrowed definitions, think about your definition according to you, then make it your goal from today to do something daily to achieve it.

Also get a mentor and surround yourself with people that support you. It can be the difference between taking 10years or 4years to achieve your version of success. I know this week I have been kinda heavy on reflective content but, indulge me as we get into a time where we plan for our next year and beyond.

#JustDoIt #WhoMovedMyCheese #CareerShift #WomenInTech #SelfTaught #LifelongLearning #PersonalDevelopment #Mentor #LovenessNleya #DigitalStrategist #DigitalMarketing