Have you birthed your tomorrow today? Life is not a bed of roses, as we all know, and just as taking tough decisions that may change the course of our lives are not doughnut or French Vanilla.
We live in a world where we just go with the flow, scared of doing things differently or taking a different course simply because we are scared of the unknown, whereas the same fear of the unknown that we do not want to challenge is the enemy of self discovery and self-actualization.
As humans, we need to inculcate that spirit that’s provoked within us to do a paradigm shift – this shift is not always smooth at the beginning but as we forge ahead, as individuals, we refine, redefine and perfect it.
The great men we talk about or rever today did that self-reflection and had a paradigm shift at some point in their lives. It was a hard one, but they had to do it. Examples abound. Bill Gate of this world. Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Henry Ford among others.
And if we must come to the African soil, and Nigeria in particular, the likes of Folorunsho Alakija, Femi Otedola, Cosmos Maduka, Razaq Okoya, and Dantata to mention but a few faced similar experience.
According to the Bahamian evangelist, Dr. Myles Munroe, finding your purpose (in life) involves self-reflection, understanding your unique gifts and talents, and aligning your passions with your actions. Dr. Monroe suggested the following to discover your purpose:
1. Self-Discovery: Take time to explore and understand yourself. Reflect on your values, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Identify what brings you joy, fulfillment, and a sense of meaning. Self-awareness is crucial in discovering your purpose.
2. Uncover Your Gifts and Talents: Recognize your natural abilities and talents. These are the unique qualities that set you apart from others. Consider the skills you excel in and the activities that come naturally to you. Your purpose often aligns with utilizing and developing these inherent gifts.
3. Passion and Desire: Pay attention to the activities, causes, or subjects that ignite a strong sense of passion and enthusiasm within you. Your purpose is often linked to what you feel deeply connected to and are willing to invest your time and energy in.
Now to the main gist after the preambles. On my recent trip to Nigeria, I met a young man through my fabric plug. I had bought some fabrics from my plugs, she insisted that I try her tailor, reluctantly, I agreed. I took my measurements and sent it to Titi (let’s call her Titi). She passed the measurements to her tailor to sew the fabrics.
The arrangement was that I would pick up the fabrics now outfits upon my arrival in Nigeria. Lo and behold, her tailor delivered the sewn fabrics ahead of my arrival to an address I gave.
The day I landed in Nigeria, I decided to try on the outfits but I found out that the measurements I gave did not produce fitting outfits. I got on the phone with Titi that I needed to speak with her tailor urgently to do alterations as I had planned to wear the outfits all through my stay in Nigeria.
I called the tailor, Ayo, who promptly asked for my address that he was on his way from Ibadan and would stop by to see me. I was not prepared for the shock I got when Ayo arrived. This tailor called Ayo is everything a gentleman is and a lady’s delight. To cap it up, he has Ibadan roots. I got into a long conversation with him to know what led him to be a tailor as a young man. After our conversation, I said to myself, this is a role model for Nigerian youths.
Let me allow him tell his own story and how he discovered his life’s purpose…
“My name is Kupoluyi Olamoju Ayomikun, a 26 years old Entrepreneur. I am the owner and Creative Director of OAK Deluxe, a fashion company that specializes in Men’s traditional wears. I hold a B.Sc (First Class Honours) in Economics from Babcock University. In addition, I am a KPMG Consulting Alumnus.
My journey as an entrepreneur started in my university days. It wasn’t so easy for my mum, so I never liked to call home for most needs. I sold different things ranging from fez caps to shoes, shirts to underwears. So, I have always been business-oriented. Anyone who knew me in school knew that I always liked to look good. I wore a lot of traditional wears in school, people really liked it and always inquired where I got them. I decided to partner with my tailor at the time and made it a business.
In 2019, I named it OAK COLLECTION. It really helped me meet most of my financial needs back in school. Upon graduation, I did my NYSC in the Advisory Unit of KPMG. I did this simultaneously with OAK making total sales of N120,000 averagely monthly at the time.
By 2021 ending, I got retained in KPMG. Within the same period, I started making arrangements to travel for my masters in Canada. I also gave my life to Christ during this period. The very first time I was sure I heard the voice of God, he told me not to go for masters but instead stay and build OAK.
It was a very tough word to follow looking at my finances at the time but as soon as I adhered and canceled with my masters agent, I made the N120,000 sales in a week which was a great sign that He is with me on the journey.
I would go on to use my little savings to do a rebranding and introduced value propositions to OAK Kaftans. Ever since then, I continue to invest in improving the quality of our clothes and also service delivery. I ensure customer retention through great prompt service. So, you might not be 100% satisfied with the product, but I will make sure you like me and give me another chance based on that. I made sure it was not always about the money, but essentially about strategic financial sacrifices to grow the customer base. With the help of God, in the space of 6 months, sales grew to about N900,000 monthly average.
I was still at KPMG but could not find purpose there. I could not give them my 100% attention, neither could I give OAK 100% devotion. I saw the opportunity the fashion industry offered and how much I could scale if I put my all into it. I spoke to God about it and put in my 3-month notice at my work place. I ensured I had enough savings to sustain me for about 3 months after if I had no income. I decided to follow my passion to discover my purpose.
I won’t say it was an easy decision, in fact, I made sure I already put in my resignation letter before telling my family about it because I knew they were going to convince me otherwise. It was risky, but I was extremely confident because I knew God was with me. Within 3 months, sales grew by 100%. I was able to reach more people, develop more products and also spend more time improving on our quality and service delivery.”
As the young man narrated his story, it was obvious he did not look at the so-called ‘job security’ KPMG provided him. Rather, he opted to follow his passion for his life purpose to come to reality. How many of us would dare take such risk? Behold, we remain in one position simply because we are not bold enough to discover the ‘self’, nor are we discerning enough to discover and ‘uncover’ our gifts and talents.
We are ALL slaves to our employers who control our time and financial liberties. The salary reviews are plots to make you to continue laying the eggs. We cannot continue to wait on the government when we have our greatness inside of us. Today, Ayomikun has discovered his purpose, and he is free from the enslavement of the employer. When are you going to look inside of yourself and be the man God created you to be?
Ayo is a role model in a country where the Youths think the government must do everything for them. His courage and tenacity have challenged me to shake my foundation. Please, do not die with the gifts and talents God has deposited in you.
– Bayo Adedosu is a tech savvy and an IT consultant, a leader in the Diaspora chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Canada
