Why You Should Never Stop Knocking

My world was collapsing like the Red Keep crumbled in Game of Thrones finale.

Freelance jobs weren't coming like they used to. I also experienced a financial setback as I had a huge investment go wrong. In April, I had had enough and my thoughts? "The rest of 2020 isn't really going to be any better." Yeah, I kept pushing, but my optimism kept on melting like a burning candle.

Waking up like a newborn baby in the early hours of April 23rd, I checked my phone, and the first thing I saw upon unlocking was a Gmail notification. "Perhaps, it's another rejection mail or one of those newsletters which I seldom open," I said, tapping on the Gmail app.

Reading the words in the email message, "Congratulations! African ChangeMakers Initiative Team (ACi Team) is pleased to inform you that you have..." The excitement wired my body like I was plugged into the mains. Realizing I was among the few Nigerians that made it to the programme (which had youths from over 20 African countries), I became as happy as a dragon in a princess parade.

Reminiscing on the high number of my rejection emails and unanswered applications in the month of March, I was torn between crying and smiling. My emotions couldn't decide and it ended in tears of joy.

Although the duration of the programme made it seem like one of those fellowships that drag "like forever," the days of May ran as fast as a cheetah running from extinction. With the programme coming to an end officially yesterday, my excitement on April 23rd pictures like a movie.

Throughout the programme, I learned, unlearned, and relearned. Although getting enlisted on the programme gave me firsthand exposure to career-changing opportunities, resources and training, it meant much more.

Like a bright star in a dark universe, the ACi Mentorship Programme restored my hope, it reinforced my resilience and taught me a life lesson which inspired this short piece:

Even if you've to keep knocking several doors and have your Gmail become a museum of rejected applications, don't give up on knocking. Because one day, a door will open.

Although many doors shut at me at the beginning of the year (P.S. they still are), I kept knocking regardless. ACi Mentorship Programme was one of the doors I knocked. I had even forgotten I applied to the programme until I read the congratulatory message.

And that, friend, is the best part about consistently knocking at the doors of opportunities. It's often the underrated door that changes your life. Like me, you might have knocked so many doors to no avail. It seems the world is against you, probably conspiring against your every move. Maybe, your "village people" have even gotten you. But keep knocking.

Even though it seems everyone on LinkedIn has some magical success (and no losses) (ain't we all good at highlighting only the best parts of our lives anyway?), that's far from reality. We all have our bad days. We fail. We have our stories of rejected and unanswered applications. But the major difference between the "winners" and you is that they never stop knocking.

Sure, the winners know when to restrategize and move away from certain doors. But they never stop. Because at the end of the day, it's all a game of numbers - this thing called luck.

For every single success story you read, there are probably hundreds of rejection tales behind the scene. The more you knock on the doors of opportunities, the higher your chances of being lucky.

Knock as many doors as you can. Get yourself lucky today!