I saw this a few days ago on Twitter and
it resounded so deeply within me. A lot of young people these days are
spending money they don’t have to impress people they don’t like, and
these people don’t even care what they think.
I had a meeting with a friend sometime
last year and she said the popular slang amongst the “supposed” Lagos
Big boys nowadays is “fake it till you make it” she went on to explain
that a lot of these so called big boys are driving big cars they can’t
even afford. Some are constantly avoiding the car dealers because they
are owing huge amounts of money. Others are owing their landlords money
all in the name of “I must show them I’m a big boy, I must drive a Range
Rover, I must live on the Island”. You find that this calibre of
persons are very arrogant and they act as if they are the richest in the
world when they really don’t have anything.
While talking about this issue, I asked
this question “what if you keep faking it and buying cars, clothes etc
on credit and you never make it, what next?” And no one seemed to have
an answer to my question. I guess for those who don’t make it, they’ll
probably go back to the village or they’ll end up like those people who
are constantly telling everyone they meet about how they once had money.
If people are going to like you, they would like you whether or not you
have all the things you claim to have. People need to realise that
sometimes, someone may be willing to help you with a job or business
opportunity but because you’ve already potrayed an image of having “too
much”, they’ll probably think you don’t need any help and ofcourse they
wouldn’t consider you for the opportunity. Why die in silence when you
can actually let those around you know the true situation of things
concerning you?
It’s really sad to see that very few
people want to work hard and they believe it’s easy to make money. If
you ask the real millionaires/billionaires if they just slept, woke up
and found millions/billions in their bank accounts, they’ll definitely
tell you some shocking stories about how they hustled. A lot of our
parents have shared their success stories with us and we all know it
wasn’t easy for them but at the end of the day, they stayed true to what
they believed in and they finally made it.
I’m truly inspired by the true hard
workers in our society. I had the privilege of doing my N.Y.S.C in
Dangote Industries and the experience made me realise how hardworking
some rich people are. As wealthy as Alhaji Aliko Dangote is, as long as
he’s in the country, he goes to work everyday and he gets to work early.
One would think such a man would spend his time lavishing his money
around but trust me, he’s very humble and extremely hard working, that’s
the’s the richest man in Africa. If someone like that, with all he
has, is still striving to do more, then why can’t you work hard?
When I’m in London, I’m impressed by the
talent I see at the tube stations. The man singing while playing his
guitar with his hat on the floor, the way he smiles when you drop a one
pound coin in his hat makes me smile because I know that one day, his
talent would take him to places he never thought he’ll reach. He may
record a video, get millions of views on Youtube, get a huge record deal
and he may just find himself on the Ellen show. It seems as if we have
people like that in our country, but because most of them are too scared
and or too lazy to follow their dreams, they resort to other dubious
means to make “fast money.” They end up running from pillar to post
because they just can’t keep up with the fake lifestyle. Recently, I saw
some skater boys distributing flyers to cars driving on the road, I
think those boys can start some sort of skating shows where people would
pay to come and watch them do some sort of display. As my friend Adams
always says – “make your passion your profession so that work would become play” and I added this bit “with plenty pay.”
My friend Yemi always says this “No matter how slow you go, so long as you don’t stop, you’ll get there.”
People who are passionate about what they do, who would stop at
nothing to make sure they get to where they are going, are the ones who
make you realise that your dreams can actually come true. Don’t let your
environment, tribe, gender, age or religion limit you. Ozzybosco , the
6year old Nigerian singing and dancing sensation that performed at the
Lagos Crossover Countdown concert on the 31st of December , 2012 wowed
the audience with his performance. That night, I saw his mum smiling
backstage, I’m sure she was extremely proud of his performance.
If Psy all the way from South Korea can
make you all scream, jump and dance just like him when you hear gangnam
style, then why can’t you do something to make your own life better? If a
young Nigerian fashion designer like Stephanie Okeke of Sally Initiego
(who started designing clothes at age 6 could get a thunderous applause
last year at the Africa fashion week, London at the age of 16, then you
should think again if you’re considering faking it till you make it.
It’s a new year, a year of new
beginnings, a year of self discovery. It’s time to put away all the
fakeness and embrace the newness of your true self because we are all
unique in own different ways.
*****
You’re all invited to the 4th edition of my networking event, the Best of Both Worlds networking event (BOBW)
on Wednesday, 23rd of January 2013 at X’Quisite Lounge (Same building
as Jade’s Place) 61 Adeola Odeku Street, V.I, Lagos from 6.30-10pm. Come
and enjoy a fashion Show by Perola, comedy by Extreme comedy. Music by
Pheel, Sewa, Doveman, 17 Voices, lsaac Geralds. Open mic and a 15
minutes talk/networking with a successful Nigerian businessman, Mr.
Nicholas Okoye (President/CEO, Anabel Group Inc and Anabel Mobile
Limited, He’s also the founder of Anabel Leadership academy/Nigeria
Leadership Summit). I’ll also be creating awareness for the Charity
Lounge.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ariyike Akinbobola is a trained Lawyer turned TV Presenter/Producer at Spice TV, a fashion and lifestyle channel. She studied Law at the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian bar in 2006.With a diploma in T.V presenting from the prestigious London Academy of Media, film and T.V. She also organises a monthly event every first Wednesday of the month called “Best of Both Worlds” networking cocktail party. She’s married and blessed with children. Follow her on twitter@LadyAriyike to find out more.
Ariyike Akinbobola is a trained Lawyer turned TV Presenter/Producer at Spice TV, a fashion and lifestyle channel. She studied Law at the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian bar in 2006.With a diploma in T.V presenting from the prestigious London Academy of Media, film and T.V. She also organises a monthly event every first Wednesday of the month called “Best of Both Worlds” networking cocktail party. She’s married and blessed with children. Follow her on twitter@LadyAriyike to find out more.
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