PS: my images are all mine, I took the first (images) on my blog during COVID 2020, the second was taken in college in 2019
I was watching Madagascar recently and noticed the animals drinking sea water. So, the sea water was salt water, which is obviously not suitable for consumption, but they drank it, gargled it, and spit it out again.
They knew it was not fit for consumption, but they still took it, savored it, and spit it out. It is a typical example of living life; anything aimed at fun, adventure, or hustling is always risky, but we continue to do these things because the end goal is to buy/afford something more savory that tends to compensate for the risks.
Adaptation sounds easy to say, but hard in practicality
Most people understand that these risks have the potential to go horribly wrong, but they must adapt or die.
I developed high blood pressure at a young age, and in retrospect, I believe it was caused by emotional stress and many years of sleepless nights. Back then they said sleep was for the poor, and hardworking people weren't supposed to sleep.
We took this saying to heart, by literally choosing to stay awake at night in searching of opportunities that could boost one's finances. It was dangerous because, frankly, the human body cannot function without sleep.
It will gradually pack up; however, motivation was motivation, and I guess it was just an exaggerated way of telling people to hustle.
Time lost is not the end of the world
I remember getting a gig on Fiverr, and the person assigned me a task and a deadline. I had a 9-to-5 job, so I could not work all day, only at night.
My day job boss would not let me do a side hustle while working for him, so I usually stayed awake until midnight.
Funny thing is, some of the people I worked for would take advantage of the system by refusing to pay.
They will say the work was not good enough, but you will have submitted it to them, and they will be able to use it, while you will have spent time and effort for no reward.
I worked for a woman who owned a website and paid me weekly for contributing to it. I was using a mobile device that could turn off and on. I was unable to save my work because it was on a Java phone.
Sometimes I would spend a long time creating content for her website only for my phone to suddenly turn off, forcing me to restart.
These issues indicate that you put forth effort, but the results are uncertain. Going to a public computer house was not an option because they were expensive and I knew little about them.
Cave in or cave out?
Android phones were new in Nigeria and incredibly expensive. My 9-to-5 left me sick and bedridden for months, and I had no idea my blood pressure was skyrocketing. Combine this with the struggle to put food on the table and the recent loss of my father.
This was ten years ago, and the advancements we have today make the hustle of the past seem very underrated.
Breakthrough is inevitable
I know someone who was struggling to get the attention of popular brands by working for them for free; many of them never acknowledged his efforts, but he kept going because he was passionate.
This guy today now works for different brands although he's not rich per se, but he's now earning money for the things he loves doing. Now he gets paid for what he previously did for free.
These are the people I started hustling with over 13 years ago; things are not as good as we would like, but they are not as bad as they were 13 years ago.
Opportunities were scarcer back then, but not as saturated; opportunities are plentiful now, but oversaturated. The current generation cannot even handle internet downtime, whereas we had only 2G and Java devices.
You won't live if you don't die. Even the Bible said it.
John 12:24-26 KJV Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit
It simply means that you cannot multiply unless you throw everything you have into the wind. One of the simplest ways to become impatient is to look at people who have achieved success. We fail to question the price they've paid. People pay in cash or in kind, but it can feel easier at times because success stories become tainted when details of struggles are included.
It is easier to say Oh, I started two weeks ago, and now I have a Mercedes 2024, but saying "I started ten years ago, and I am in a much better place" is less colorful.
People loves sucess stories without stress or effort because they want to validate their impatience or lack of struggle.
I know someone who begged for job trials ten years ago, but no one would even try him, let alone pay him. As of three years ago this person was turning down job offers because he already had full-time, part-time and many jobs begging for him to be the face of their business.
Choose the death you like
If you had not heard about the difficulties in the middle of the story, you might have assumed this guy skipped it. This person struggled for years to pay bills, eat properly, and handle family responsibilities.
The other harsh reality is that you can struggle and do things incorrectly, which is why you can die and never live again. You need a clear roadmap, a plan, and many other things, but you will not be able to avoid the phase of struggles and failures.
Dying is frightening, but people do it on a daily basis, monthly, annually, and even for decades; you can not simply live if you can not afford to die.
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