Hey ,

It happened again. 

This time, somehow I could see and feel and see it about to happen (just like in those slow motion scenes in movies), 

But even as I raced to try to stop it from happening, it still happened regardless... 

And although it wasn't as severe as the last time it happened, it could have been so much worse had I not acted quickly, 

And I will tell you all about it in a minute, 

But first, I want to rant for a bit.. Please permit me to do that yeah? 

Good. 

Today being Monday, is supposed to be the most energetic, productive and exciting day of the week yes? 

That's true. 

But judging by all circumstances, I can confidently tell you that it wasn't quite the case today. 

And not without reason(s) though, because:

1. I didn't get enough sleep last night. 

It's not like I get much of it these days anyway. 

2. I've had a subtle "background" headache all day (those kind of headaches that does not necessarily disrupt your daily activities, but just keeps "running" in the background and making you uncomfortable), as is usually the case when I don't sleep well.

3. To make matters predictably worse, I had a tight schedule in my timetable today,

And since the term is rounding up, I have had to do a lot of running around, covering up and "binge-explaining" a lot of things, 

And not only in regular subjects but also in the "almighty" Mathematics. 

Imagine me standing almost throughout the whole day in my "condition", 

And the children in their usual (almost witchcraft) manner did not cease to make my life difficult, 

Making me go through the usual stress to explain things and give instructions while they keep looking at me as if they are understanding it, only for me to finish and hear them say: 

"Sir, I did not understand",

As if they rehearsed it. 

Trust me, you don't understand the rage that builds in me whenever that statement is made. 

And it's not like these children are dull, but for some reason, most of them can't seem to grasp certain concepts until I repeat and rehearse them over and over again, 

And sometimes, I literally have to hold their hands and walk them through the processes (most times, I end up assisting them, maybe a bit more than I should),

And when you do this for almost 20 students, for several minutes, let alone hours, 

Then you would understand just how exhausted I get everyday, and why I can't help but send out my mails late all the time. 

Heck, if I received the award for the most exhausted person in the world today, it'd be totally deserving of me.

I wish today's story ended just with me being exhausted, but sadly that is not the case as is obvious with the way I began this mail.

The crazy event that happened a few short months ago repeated itself today (if you've been on my list for a while now, then you probably know what I am talking about). 

Remember I mentioned earlier that the term is rounding up yeah?

Good.

Turns out, I'm not the only one doing a lot of cover up.

Last week, the Headmistress of the school approached me and told me that the typist was overwhelmed with the sheer volume of work that needed to be typed and printed within a short time, because exams were to begin in about a week's time. 

So she told me that I was going to type the questions for one of the classes in the primary section.

PS: A previous situation had occurred in the school where it was discovered that I knew how to type, 

And the headmistress, well, let's just say, she loves people who are "capable" and she certainly loves to flex her "capable people" muscles every chance she get.

So since she knew I could deliver, she told me to do it.

I couldn't refuse to do it (obviously, because the consequences could be very grave), so I agreed to type it over the weekend.

It happened that I could barely type anything on Saturday because I was super busy, so I started doing it yesterday, which is one reason I didn't get enough sleep. 

Since I couldn't finish it last night, I had no other choice but to continue typing it after school hours despite my horridly exhausting day today. 

As usual, I immersed myself in music with my earphones as I let my fingers fly on the keyboard of the laptop. 

Everyone had left the school already barring one of my colleague who apparently was also supposed to go to the headmistress's house (I was to go there as well) where the questions would be printed out (her house is a bit close to the school). 

At some point, I called out to him and asked him to let me know when he would be leaving which he obliged to do. 

Then, off I went back to my music and typing. 

After a while, it was beginning to get dark and it felt odd not to have heard him call or check on me yet (I had earphones on). 

Shortly after, I heard a sound of someone descending down the staircase, which I dismissed.

Next, I heard the sound of the gate being rattled and I thought,

"Maybe he decided to go on and leave without me."

"But if that were the case, then he should have left the gate open na." 

"Wait, is that the sound of the gate being locked?" 

With a quick burst of paces, I rushed out of my "office" to check if the gate was being locked, and just then it happened again. 

I was locked inside the school again . 

"Mr Andrew! Mr Andrew!! Mr Andrew!!!" I called out, but to no avail..

He couldn't hear me from the second floor where I was yelling his name from. 

Immediately, I called him on phone and notified him that he had accidentally locked me inside. 

Turns out he had called out my name several times before he left, but I didn't hear because I had my earphones on. 

Trust me, he relished the opportunity to taunt me and play around with my emotions. 

Can you imagine he even said I should sleep in the school, that "my parents would understand"? 

Lolz 

Anyway, eventually he had to go over to the HM's house to get the key and open up the gate for me. 

Now tell me , How much worse can a Monday get? 

Not much worse, if you ask me. 

Yes, I know this mail has majorly been about me right? 

Now, let's fish out a few lessons for you, shall we? 

Leggo! 

1. TRY DEY SLEEP. 

Truth is, in this case, I should probably take my own advice. 

I sleep very late most times, and I have to wake up very early to prepare for the day's work. 

And sometimes, like yesterday, I attend vigils. 

On days like that, I have to endure uncomfortable headaches and tiredness which makes me largely unproductive through out the day. 

So bottom line, try to get enough sleep as much as you can.

If you do this, you will wake up every morning feeling refreshed and ready to crush your goals for the day.

2. CONSISTENCY OVER INTENSITY (BALANCE IT OUT).

The reasons why I had to do a lot of binge-explaining of some concepts is because of a number of reasons like the children drawing me back, me digressing too much while teaching, me getting to class a few minutes late, and so on. 

But the major reason why it was this apparent is because (especially for one class in particular), I have missed some periods because I was trying to cover more ground in another class. 

The result is that I ended up doing well in some areas, and in some areas, well I had to do emergency cover ups for things not to do our of hand. 

Instead of trying to do too much at a time, show up everyday with a regular level of desire, every and productivity. 

Overtime, you will have better, balanced results which is much better than the results of people who only show up on some days with high intensity. 

3. LISTEN!

I couldn't hear when my colleague was calling out my name because my ears were blocked. 

That's the same way your customers and prospects are crying about their problems and calling out to someone, to anyone to see whether someone will hear them, to see whether someone understands them, to see whether someone can help them out.

And how are you going to hear their calls if you block them out by just focusing only on generating leads, creating offers and selling to them all the time? 

It don't work like that mate. 

• Listen to your prospects and customers. 

• Conduct research and carry out surveys. 

• Ask your customers questions and get them to talk to you while you do more of the listening. 

• Get them to tell you their pains, frustrations, fears, hopes and dreams. 

If you do this right;

• It will make it very much easier to nurture your audience with the right kind of content, 

• It will make them KNOW, LIKE and TRUST you much faster, 

• And ultimately, you will be able to sell to them effortlessly. 

Heck, some of them will even beg you to take their money, because they feel like you understand what they are going though and you can help them. 

You get the gist now eh? 

Good. 

4. REPETITION BRINGS CONVICTION. 

Remember when I said that sometimes, I have to repeat and rehearse certain concepts to the children before they can grasp them? 

Well, same applies in marketing. 

Some of your prospects don't know they have a problem. 

Some of them know their problem, but don't believe there is a solution,

Some of them find it difficult to believe you can help them. 

Some of them don't understand how your product can help them, no matter how you explain it,

Heck, some just plain doubt the effectiveness of your product of service. 

As such, they may not but your product the first time you put it out, not the second time, not the third time, and maybe not even the fourth time either. 

What do you do then? 

Give up and stop talking about it? 

Heck no! 

Here's what you should do instead. 

• Keep talking about it. 

• Keep coming from different angles. 

• Keep persuading them. 

• Keep educating them. 

• Keep "breaking their tables" and debunking myths, 

• Keep preaching the gospel of your product or service. 

In marketing, an average prospect has to see an ad or a message about a product for about 7 times before making a buying decision. 

So keep repeating yourself and showing up in the face of your prospects. 

You'll make sales and do great. 

Okay? 

I've gotta stop here now because this mail is already awfully long. 

But if you read up till this point, I hope you learnt a valuable lesson or two from this mail, 

Because that's all I've got for you today. 

That said, see you tomorrow. 

Have a nice evening ahead. 

To your digital success,

King Danisan™.