21 Lessons in 2021
It’s been a long ride!
1. Success compounds:
I made my first big breakthrough this year. I made enormous progress over the past three years combined.
Whenever I think my little effort isn’t paying off, I’ll be sure to always remember this saying by Jacob Riss:
When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow, it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.
2. Surround yourself with the right people:
From Obi Cubana’s mother's burial, this year to friends of Davido showing him love on his birthday emphasizes the importance of being in the right circle. One thing I learned this year about networking is: Be valuable. It’s easier to get into a quality circle if you're willing to be a solution provider.
I worked with over 10 brands and businesses this year and I can comfortably say most of it was gotten due to recommendations from my inner circle. I’m super grateful for each and every one of them!
3. Rejection doesn’t define who you are:
This was a hard lesson learned. After getting served “hot breakfast” from several jobs and people. One particular breakfast shocked me. I had the interview towards the end of the year and it was the most seamless one I’ve ever had. We even smiled and joked around. Already planned what it’ll be like working for them and of course, the investment I’ll put my supposed salary in😂😂😂😂.
Imagine my shock when I got their rejection mail some weeks later.
But I’ve come to make peace with the fact that not everyone will choose me, and that’s fine.
Rejection doesn’t mean I’m a failure. Rejection is just what it is — I took a chance and I learned from it.
4. Take action:
I can’t believe I’m writing this again, as this was one of my lessons learned last year. This year, even though I achieved a lot than I did the previous year, I still have one or two courses I didn’t publish because it hasn’t reached the state of perfection.
Like I shared on my Whatsapp status some weeks ago, I’ll be using the Mel Robbins 5-seconds Rule in 2022.
I’ll be putting out a lot of unrefined ideas. They’ll get refined along the way.
5. Setting Boundaries:
Earlier this year, I said Yes to a lot of projects that drained me. It almost made the first quarter of the year quite unbearable for me. I learned that saying no is an important part of establishing one’s identity and is a crucial aspect of mental health and well-being.
6. Gratitude:
In 2020, I made the decision of getting a journal with a singular purpose: write down everything I’m grateful for. And if there’s anything i learned from that, it’s that there’s always something to be grateful for! And not just that, it also made me have a major shift in perception. Instead of focusing on my problems, I look for the wins around me.
7. Do What works for you:
There are diverse people at a gym and I’ve noticed we all work out differently. Everyone has their strength and weaknesses. Some can go 60 pushups in a row while some can barely get 30 done. It’s the same with life. Knowing yourself and what works for you is essential. I resisted the urge to compare my journey to others.
8. Don’t Google search your symptoms:
Don’t be a Cyberchondriac; Google searching your symptoms rather than seeking health professionals.
I had a health issue earlier this year and instead of visiting the hospital, I decided to google search to have an idea. Every result I got scared me silly! I lived in anxiety for weeks and started counting down to days I’ll die(I mean, you needed to see what Google said was wrong with me🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️)
Thank God I summoned the courage to visit an actual hospital where I was diagnosed correctly and surprise surprise, It wasn’t as serious as Google made it seem😂.
9. You’re not as smart as you think you are:
When we make decisions, we assume it’s the best one, we assume our beliefs and actions are solely ours. But what if it isn’t?
Most of the decisions, assertions, and choices we make are mostly that of our parents, environment, society has enforced on us.
The only way to make smart decisions is to understand that sometimes, because of several teachings we’ve been opened to, our decision is not completely ours.
Becoming aware of Heuristics(mental shortcuts) has helped me to be more intentional about the decisions I make.
10. Invest in your financial knowledge:
Omo! Getting scammed will open your eyes to many things and it sure did for me in 2021. After getting scammed by someone close to me, I decided to pay to learn on my own. In 2021, I paid to learn Stocks, Mutual Funds, Budgeting, cryptocurrency, Defi. I read books on how to grow my finances and I focused on getting my mindset right.
I realized that aiming for a million dollars isn't the problem. But is your mind capable of handling that?
I joined several communities that challenged how I think and helped me hit my investment target.
I had so much fun learning about MONEY — how it works and most importantly how to grow it.
11. Travel:
Traveling can be educative!
Leaving my comfort zone and venturing into the unknown with a level of uncertainty has helped me learn new things about myself. I felt my mind stretch in ways I didn’t even know it could.
It’s not just learning about myself, It has also helped me learn about other people’s cultures and see things from a fresher perspective.
12. Take yourself out on a date:
One of the most important things I did this year. Wearing my best outfit, smelling my nicest, ordering for Bolt, and going to an expensive restaurant just to eat and spoil myself. The more I did it, the more I knew this was the kind of life I wanted. The circle I wanted to be a part of. To keep up with this lifestyle, I need to make more. It has been the secret sauce of inspiration to me.
If you’re not a Foodie, look for something different. It might be traveling the world. But whatever it is, save a part of your income towards it and do something nice for yourself.
13. Learn something new:
Although I didn’t learn to swim like I thought I would, I gained several new skills along the way.
Of everything I learned this year, I find NFT and metaverse exciting! Entering the space as a “hunter” but slowly morphing into a builder.
14. You’re your biggest Enemy:
Most of the fears I had only existed only in my mind. After getting things done, I then realized that 98% of the thoughts I had were really untrue. My mantra henceforth is doing it scared and never self reject!
15. Think Long term:
I think it was John Obidi who said it on one session of the night school: poor men lack the foresight of thinking long term. All they think of is how to SURVIVE in the now(Paraphrased).
One significant progress I made this year is mapping out a 10 years plan and making decisions that fit into that.
16. Invest in your mindset:
Mindset is our greatest asset! Reading books, paying for courses, watching videos, reading articles, and listening to podcasts all help sharpens the mind.
Being very selective with what we let into my mind can be all you need to eliminate all distractions.
17. Begin with ordinary, add the extra along the way:
Most times, we do not take action because we want that one idea that’ll blow people's minds off. We want to create an extraordinary idea forgetting that ordinary ideas become extraordinary with consistency and tweaking over a period of time.
Start with the resources at hand. Improve it along the way.
18. Exercise and Rest:
Working out and resting well helped improve my productivity and creativity. I worked hard but rested even harder.
Business Lessons
After consulting with over 30 small businesses earlier this year. Here’s what you should know:
19. Find your Community:
In the past, brands were mainly known through advertising. The brands that produced the most advertisements received the most attention. This is no longer true. Nowadays, the most successful companies are building communities around their brands.
Find your own tribe.
Don’t just sell, intentionally strive to build and nurture a relationship with your existing and potential clients.
20. Content creation isn’t difficult:
You’re either sharing the wrong message with the right audience or sharing the right message with the wrong audience.
Figure out which one it is and fix it.
21. Create systems :
You can make your business run like an oiled machine by implementing the right systems, which will make it more efficient, more productive, and ultimately more profitable.
You can step back and let the systems handle a lot of your business’ tasks when a large portion is running smoothly and with less supervision. As a result, you’ll be a more effective business owner.
By focusing on high-touch and profitable activities, you are able to make the most of your time, energy, skills, and expertise while generating even higher profits.
Bunch of Useful Tools
WebtoPDF — Convert any web pages into PDF
Down For Everyone Or Just Me — (is your website down or not?)
iGram : Allows you to download images from Instagram on PC
Digitaldefynd : Free online courses
Clicksnap : Get paid for posting pictures
Kamua : Video editing website
ContentRow : Text Analyzer, Writer Checker, & Editor.
MockMagic : Mock Magic lives completely in the browser, making it super easy to create high-quality mockups.
Hunter : Hunter lets you find professional email addresses in seconds and connect with the people that matter for your business.
Vocal Remover : This free online application will help remove vocals from a song by creating karaoke.
Get Notify: is a Free Email Tracking service that notifies you when the email you send gets read.
Best Books I Read in 2021
Think and Grow Rich — Napoleon Hills
Smart Money Woman — Arese Ugwu
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — Yuval Noah
The secret of the Millionaire Mindset — T. Harv Eker
Atomic Habit — James Clear
12 principles of life — Jordan Peterson
Almanac of Naval Ravikant — Eric Jorgenson
Business, Sales and Marketing Books
Influence — Robert Cialdini
Sell Like Crazy — Sabri Sury
1 Page marketing plan — Allan Dib
Steal Like an Artist — Austin Kleon
2021 was great, but 2022 will be greater!
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