Yes, it is said that whatever happens now is nothing new, so it must have happened before, be it a way of life, a position, an accomplishment, or success. “So, climbing up the ladder of success, the successful people must be emulated.” This quote was usually used by a friend, Lawal.
He will say that to accomplish anything you desire in life, you must follow people who have achieved the desire, directly or indirectly.
This statement I learned from him many years ago while we were kids in primary school, and I only knew a little about what it meant in reality.
Although he is dead now, the memory of his intellectual quotes still sticks with me.
I have watched successful people interview and listen to their journey of becoming, I have interacted with successful bosses who followed a foot step of one mentor or the other directly or indirectly before their accomplishment and it was the interaction I had with them that made me distinguish the direct following and indirect following that Lawal used to quote.
After secondary school, I confirmed that the mentor who acknowledges you as a mentee is directly inclined, and the one you watch their program online and read their books or articles is indirectly inclined, so it looks so clear to me that a person can have multiple mentors knowingly and unknowingly.
So this made me remember a friend named Ade who lived using such an introduction to his way and I have found myself admiring his strategy based on his accomplishment and the learning methodology he adopted from the best teacher at that time, My school principal, Mr Foluwe who is now a proprietor of a prosperous school in his vicinity. The principal then taught English Language and literature, he is a principled, cultured, disciplined, and jovial person. All these traits are dished out by timing.
During those years, my friends and I in our caucus, such as Deji and Eze, thought the closeness of the principal and Ade was because they lived around each other, maybe or maybe not, but as we advanced in class. I saw that it was not only about Ade being his favorite student, but he was his mentor.
“Ade, your godfather is coming ooo.” Deji will always pick a joke at Ade whenever Mr Foluwe is sighted from afar.
“Leave my godfather alone, ooo, I only wanted to take a leaf out of his book.” Ade will always reply jokingly to tame the tease and continue saying that one day he will be like his godfather. So Ade was clear with his vision from day one and quickly attached himself to a person who had achieved his desire, the principal.
Ade will help the principal do other office chores and I am not sure if the principal is the one who advises Ade to take teaching as a profession due to his intellectual ability.
After secondary school, most of us chose different careers, and we all went different ways, as it is said that a group of young children will never stay together for twenty years.
Ade stuck with the principal and enrolled in a college of education around his area, and within five to six years, Ade acquired his BSc in Education and was in the educational sector while he taught Chemistry.
I heard he taught at Mr Foluwe’s school for years before an opportunity came that moved him out of the vicinity.
Now that Mr Foluwe is a proprietor of his own second school, I confirmed the last time I discussed with Ade that he is now a principal in a school in a sophisticated area of Lagos and I know it is a matter of time before Ade becomes a proprietor of his own school as he is experienced and took step by step following Mr Foluwe, the principal and a great man with known success.
Ade really has a leaf from the principal’s book already, if so to say and to create a book for himself where upcoming can also take from is his plan.
Lately, I saw that Ade has also advanced to online classes in his teaching; he now teaches students all around the country and the world chemistry practical. His last lecture class that flipped on my for you page was an interesting one, well, he has changed totally, but his face remains the same. He was wearing a lab coat in a science laboratory with different chemicals and apparatus as tools. He also has a marker board to illustrate his reading as he tutors, in addition to alternatives to practical. I was so happy looking at him dishing out what he does best as I wished one day, he would supersede being a proprietor but also be a professor and end up being a Minister of Education, which is the prime of his career.