Reading · Keeping Up With Adekunle

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Before you chase the money, answer this: what stage of life you’re in, and are you prepared for who you’ll be when the money comes. Well, if it comes.

A lot of the people who follow me and interact with my posts are still in school. So this one is for you.

First off, how do you see yourself? Still as a kid, or as an adult?

If you’re able to answer this, we have addressed 50% of your immediate concerns. And how do I know you have immediate concerns? Well, I’ve been where you currently are, and look at me now.

If you still see yourself as a kid, then there are certain things you shouldn’t be doing or thinking about. One of them is worrying about survival. That’s still the responsibility of your parent or guardian.

Unless you’ve started paying your school fees yourself, then you’re still a dependent. Some of the things you worry about, especially about how to make [ridiculous] money, shouldn’t be your priority.

Your focus right now should be finishing school with a GOOD ENOUGH RESULT, so you’ll have a fighting chance when you graduate. Things aren’t easy out there. A lot of people will tell you there are no jobs out there, but ask them what they graduated with. So many people who finished with a good result have jobs paying them the money you are currently looking for.

But if you’re past that stage and you see yourself as an adult and you’re shouldering a lot of your responsibilities and making money so you can leave the trenches is what’s bothering you, then there are certain things you should be doing.

If your focus is making money, the question you should be asking yourself is HOW?

How much money are you looking to make?

How do you plan to go about it?

How often do you want to make this money?

If you’re able to answer this, you’re halfway to solving your number 1 headache.

Here’s my take: everybody doesn’t have to do the same thing.

If you follow the crowd/trend, you don’t stand out. Your business isn’t one of a kind anymore. It’s just like everyone else’s. So your prices won’t be competitive, your customers don’t have a reason to come back, and they can always go elsewhere. Also, before you started your business, how much work and research did you put into it?

The mistake a lot of people make these days is that everyone wants to do the same thing because that’s what everyone else is doing. This is not a recipe for success - it’s a plan for failure. You aren’t grounded in expertise; you are susceptible to trends, and customers value trust above almost everything else. A business that keeps changing direction signals instability, not innovation, and that you don’t even trust yourself.

If you like where this is going, put your email in the box and hit Subscribe, so you don’t miss the next article.

& If you think this makes sense, someone you know probably needs to read this too.

The one thing a lot of people don’t realize today is that TIME is an important and undeniable factor. Because we are in a more knowledgeable and advanced generation, we believe “these things aren’t rocket science - it shouldn’t be this hard,” and it can be achieved immediately, but that’s a lie. THE REALITY IS THAT IT TRULY IS AS HARD. Where do you think the phrase hard work came from? Ever heard of easy work?

There is always a process; there is always a formula; everything is mathematical.

Don’t get me wrong, luck and grace also play a huge role. But you can’t possibly believe everyone will be lucky.

Preparedness meeting opportunity is the mathematical equation for luck

and a lot of people are never prepared for being prepared.

Remember, everything is mathematical.

If someone asked you what you would do with 1,000,000 naira now, I’m sure you have an answer. But if they ask you to send a document in 30 minutes, will you be able to? I hope to God what you will use the money to do will not be to buy something that will make you feel among. Because if it is, this is where a lot of young people get it wrong, and fail. There is also the fact that, as a young person, you are largely impatient. You want what you want now; you expect everyone else to believe and buy into your vision, but you fail to realize that everyone is busy with their own lives and not everyone will see things the way you do. This is where time - that important and undeniable factor - comes in.

The perfect example i’ll use is Asake.

Asake today is up there as one of the biggest Nigerian export musically. But Asake only blew 4 years ago, in 2022. Since then, he has surpassed people who have been in the industry decades before him. It wasn’t just grace, it wasn’t just talent, it wasn’t just luck, it was his time. Asake in 2022 and Asake in 2012 sound exactly the same. But what changed? He was prepared, and when opportunity presented itself the maths was complete.

Again, time is also of the essence.

Asake wouldn’t be at the top forever, and sooner rather than later, someone else will surpass him. That’s life, and that doesn’t and wouldn’t take anything away from Asake. It is just what it is.

So, now, my question to you is this - with everything that’s bothering you right now, especially with how to make money - if opportunity presented itself to you today and it was going to give you the solutions to all your problems, do you think you have spent enough time preparing for it?

Everything Is Mathematical: On Timing, Preparation, and Making Money.

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