Who do you think you are?

Dec 23, 2024 8:26 pm

Let's talk about failure.

Social media is filled with people talking about their successes, wins and achievements.

Starting from Twitter to WhatsApp and Instagram.

And LinkedIn?

That's their Oga patapata.

Have you ever read a person's post about their achievements and all of a sudden, you just feel sad?

Not sad about the person's success.

But sad about how you have had little or no success.

It has happened to me a lot.

Personally, in my journey, I've had lots and lots of failures and setbacks.

Where should I start from?

Is it from writing JAMB 4 times (should have been 5, but I had a gap year) before gaining admission into the university?

Or setting financial/business goals year after year and failing to meet them?

Or putting out products/offers that failed or flopped? (I have stories for days about this one)

Or is it learning a new skill and trying to monetize it but having difficulty doing it successfully?

You just mention it, and I'm willing to bet I have experienced it.

In fact as I'm writing this letter to you, I can think of plenty of reasons why one could easily say I am a failure.

But on the flip side, I've also had a lot of wins too.

Early this year, I registered for a photography contest.

And although I didn't win the contest, I got so much more support and help from folks than I ever expected.

That was a HUGE win for me!

This year, I took the bold step of rebranding my Gadgets brand to KD Gadgets (used to be King Danisan Communications before).

Ever since, I've experienced unprecedented growth in terms of brand awareness and sales.

Win!

This year, I promoted my business consistently on WhatsApp every single day for nearly 200 days (with just a few days missed).

That for me is a HUGE win!

Especially considering that this is something that I really struggled with from the beginning of the year.

This year, I made my first 5 Gadget sales (phones and laptops).

Sounds small, but it's a huge win for me.

My business had largely revolved around Accessories (Chargers, Earphones, Airpods, et cetera).

And for the longest time, I've wanted to transition into selling Gadgets too (Smartphones and Laptops).

It's part of the reasons why I rebranded.

But for some reasons — the biggest one being not having trusted suppliers who actively provide information and answer customer questions about Gadgets — I found it difficult to make this transition effectively.

But to the glory of God, this year I made strategic connections that made it possible.

And that's what helped me to make those 5 sales and more.

Another big win if you ask me.

This year, I also had the opportunity to intern with a lot of my coursemates during my school holiday.

This period helped me bond and connect deeply with a lot of them.

And I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have happened if we didn't intern together.

Big win for me.

Also, this year I came really close to my academic goal of a perfect GPA.

Thus, I had the best performance in my academic journey so far.

Big win!

And the icing on the cake?

This year, I participated in my first ever volunteering exercise.

Yes, I volunteered for TEDxUNILAG.

And I served as an Admin in the PR and Communications Team and on the Backend Communications Team as well.

The entire experience was totally worth it for me.

My abilities were stretched.

My horizons were expanded.

My skills were honed.

And I made strategic connections with highly valuable people who have made significant impact in my life (and continue to do so).

If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is the biggest highlight of 2024 for me.

Especially because it spurred me to get involved with volunteering for more projects.

Projects like the WSA NEIC that held this past Saturday, and other upcoming projects.

Here's the summary of what I'm trying to say.

Nobody likes to talk about their failures online.

And with good reason, because most people love success.

And they love being around successful people too, because their success often inspires them to keep going and potentially succeed too.

But I think we should talk about our failures more often.

Because most people only see the successes, but they don't see the struggles.

They don't see the sleepless nights.

They don't see the imposter syndrome we battle daily.

They don't see the nights when you cry yourself to sleep.

They don't see the constant financial struggles.

They don't see the days when you feel like giving up.

They don't see the many disappointments.

They don't see the tons of rejections.

They don't see the plenty of "NOs" you've had to endure.

All they want to see is the breakthrough.

All they want to see is the success.

But life is beyond the success alone.

Matter of fact, I deeply believe that without failures, success won't mean much.

Every failure, disappointment and rejection on the path to success is part of your journey.

And each of them is part of what makes up your success story.

Because to succeed, you have to fail first.

No one succeeds without failing first.

Thomas Edison didn't figure out how to make a light bulb on his first try.

Elon Musk didn't figure out how to fly to space in one try.

Heck, Lionel Messi didn't win the World Cup in his first, second or even his third try.