Stay in your Lane

After my business failed, I was devastated!

Naturally.

It hit so hard I went into depression.

For 5 years, that was all I knew to do.

And even if I’d began to explore other options in business a few years earlier, none of them had fully formed enough to give me a soft landing.

I was miserable.

On many nights I could barely sleep.

So I'd use the opportunity to express my grief without restraint and the prying eyes of others, being careful enough not to awaken anyone else with my muffled sobs.

I’ve heard many motivational speakers quip, “When your business fails, start another one”.

Perhaps in moments of arrogant ignorance, I had joined the fray in the past.

Now I was face to face with the decision, steeped in my misery and I didn’t know how to begin again.

That was the major dilemma.

I was in a fix.

What was I to do next?

I’d burnt too many bridges in an attempt to be focused.

I thought through all the business ideas I’d swiped in the past. None of them seemed so exciting any more.

I was like a woman who’d been cheating on her husband so brazenly till he found out and chased her away.

Thinking her lover will take her in, she was shocked he too was no longer interested because she’d lost all allure.

Those business ideas that had seemed exciting and looked like viable options then now seemed so far-fetched.

But it wasn’t the ideas. They were objective & neutral and weren’t given to sentiments or emotions.

So the ideas weren’t less viable because I had failed. It was me!

Failing had changed me. I had lost confidence in my abilities.

My esteem had taken a hit and it left me fearful.

I didn’t know how to venture out again. So, I didn't.

Entrepreneurs are bold and known to take risks.

They persevere and endure in the face of adversity so they can enjoy the rewards later.

That’s true! However, what no one tells you is that when the business fails, the Entrepreneur suffers the consequences quietly and alone.

On this journey, I’ve learnt that not everyone has the fortitude to bear the risks of entrepreneurship.

Nothing tasks the spirit, soul and body of man like building a business.

The greatest decision young people will make is to discover purpose early enough and play their role well.

The truth is that not everyone is meant to become an entrepreneur or start a business.

But we have all been put on earth to fulfill a particular purpose.

Walking in purpose is more fulfilling.

Everyone is here on purpose.

Some are called in government, others in business & industry.

A few others will excel in sports and quite a handful will serve as academics and even clerics.

We also have a need for military men/women because not all of us are cut out for combat.

They’d always be men amongst us who will go against the grain and become phenomenal artists, painters and the fine arts.

The point is that they are many aspects of life that will require our unique callings and giftings to fill.

None is better than the other! They all fill a role that is equally important.

We can’t all be entrepreneurs and business owners.

But we can all make a difference where are.

The key is to know your lane and maintain it!

Even though I never got around becoming a die-hard soccer fan like a few of my good friends, I understand enough of the sport to know that a team of all defenders will fail woefully against a balanced one.

It’s a given!

For the mindset of the defender will be to ensure that their team doesn't concede any goals and in doing so will never attempt to score any themselves.

With sustained pressure from the opposing team that is balanced, they may be lucky enough to score. More than once, perhaps.

Who knows?

We need that same balance in society especially in Nigeria where every man follows his lane and masters it enough to deliver the ultimate victory to the whole.

True, certain places require the activities of more entrepreneurs to stimulate the economy like we do here in Nigeria.

It was the pioneering effort of men like John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Henry Ford, Ray Kroc and Walt Disney that helped to fast track the entrepreneurial edge that America enjoys today.

They laid the foundation that Thomas Watson, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg built on to make the world a better place.

Let’s not however forget the contributions that Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and other scientists whose names do not come readily to mind but whose contributions to humanity are just as valuable.

Am I trying to denigrate the place and purpose of the entrepreneur? Far from it. I belong to the fold too.

They play a very important role in every society. And I can only imagine the chaos and crisis that will result from a society that lacks the vision and risk taking abilities of these select few.

They will be minimum progress if any.

All I’m trying to say is that when you walk in your unique purpose, it becomes far easier to endure and persevere in the face of any adversity that will come with the terrain because you have also been uniquely equipped for your purpose.

My clarion call to entrepreneurs or any one walking in purpose that may be facing any kind of challenge or difficulty, keep keeping on!

You’ve been built for it! It will all be worth it at the end!

What do you think? Is entrepreneurship for everyone?

Olatunde Akinwunmi