30/03/2024
THIS WILL INSPIRE YOU TO GO HARD ON YOUR BUSINESS.
Biodun is by all standards a rich man's son. On his 19th birthday, he got gifted his first car, by his father. He just turned 23 and his father changed the car to a bigger one.
Biodun is a good child. He graduated from a foreign university with good grades. He returned back to Lagos and got a decent job. His first salary was 180k per month.
His father didn't want him to go through the stress of driving to work and back, so, got him a driver.
Each morning, his breakfast and lunch are packed into the car, and the driver takes him to work, then waits all day for him.
Biodun spends the one hour commute time working on his laptop. He follows up on emails sent by his boss (who loves to work midnight). Before getting to the office, Biodun has replied to all emails and done his to-do list for the day.
At work, he keeps a low head, no one can tell that Alhaji, his father, is the largest distributor of Michelin Tyres. Biodun is humble and nice to everyone. He is liked by all, does his work and produces great results.
He would eat his breakfast in the car and put his lunch in the office fridge. At lunch time, he would microwave it and eat in the lunchroom, while laughing and cracking jokes with colleagues.
He leaves the office at 7pm each day, gets into the car and takes a nap until he gets home.
Within one year of working, Dekunle was promoted twice.
Obianuju is Biodun's colleague. They joined the company on the same day. They wrote the same recruitment test and attended the same interview. They were both entry-level hires. Obianuju too earns 180k.
Obianuju's dad is late, while her mum sells bottled groundnuts under Ikeja bridge.
They live far away at Iyan Oba, and Obianuju goes to work everyday in Lekki. She leaves home at 4am and jumps on several buses to arrive at work.
During work hours, Obianuju is so sleepy, because she gets home each day at past 11pm. She has been robbed of her bag and all belongings 4 times at Iyan Oba bus stop where she stops each day to trek home.
Obianuju has 6 other siblings and they stay in two rooms. Her 180k salary met a pile of family problems, so, it is hardly ever enough.
Obianuju is always dozing off at office meetings and never able to make any valuable contributions. None would ever believe that Biodun is on the same level as she is. He is far sharper and wows the entire team during meetings.
Obianuju was not promoted at the last two promotions which Biodun got. He is now 2 levels ahead of her and earns 250k.
Obianuju's boss is fed up with her poor performance. She is always looking depressed because of her stolen bag or family problems or lack of sleep or something else. Her problems just seem to be everywhere.
At the last appraisal, Obianuju's boss recommended that a career counsellor speak to her and she be asked to resign.
Obianuju resigned and she is back home, helping her mother with the groundnut business.
Moral of this story: Being from a poor home is a very huge challenge. You need to work 10 times harder to match up with your peers from comfortable homes.
The world will give you opportunities; but the world does not care about all your pity stories.
Sadly, the same jobs are available to both rich kids and poor kids. The same appraisal system will be used to judge you.
My advice to people like me who were like Obianuju, take immediate steps to reduce your pity stories, for no one cares about it. If Obianuju had taken a loan of 200k and rented a small room closer to the office, she would do better at work.
Fitting into work and entrepreneurship lives from our poor and unexposed backgrounds can be a lot of work; but, you must do the work. If you carry all your poverty background into it, you may have challenges and soon fall out.
Please take some money out and get yourself a little bit more comfortable to face the new world in which you are in.
Leave your poverty mentality if you can, brush up a bit, spend some money getting more comfortable, sometimes, think like the rich kid, and gradually fall into shape with things.
Yes, it is not easy.
How can you rent a room of 200k when your entire family lives in a room of 50k they would talk and drag you, but Guess what? That's the only way you can sustain that job.
Be wise, else, family pressure will pull you out soon.
I hope this helps someone.
