Intermission: Tula

How do you do it?

If I had a theme for 2011, it would probably be something centered around this question. If I could get a dollar for every time I was asked this question this year, I’d probably have more than enough to hire a consultant to help me find an answer to the question.

Oh, you thought I had one? Guess again.  

Efe wasn’t the first person to ask me to do a ‘reflective’ post on the year, I turned down the first couple of offers simply because I didn’t want to come across as: (a) Deceptive (b) Boastful

So what am I doing here? Well, Efe, managed to bait me well enough. His ‘no romance’ clause sounded too good to be true. (Editor: :D) When I read the posts from the other bloggers and I noticed just how ‘creatively’ most of them sidestepped the clause, I knew it was something I had to do. That being said, permit me to be boastful and maybe a little deceptive as I try to find my own creative way of not telling you about the ‘romance’ bit of Thetoolsman’s 2011

Quite unusually, 2011 started out as one of those years I knew exactly all I wanted to do/achieve during the year but I didn’t put down a dot on ‘how’ I planned to do them. I had finally put my 10-year Global Media domination plan in motion in 2010 (another thing you didn’t know) and even though I had the next steps on paper, I had absolutely no idea how to go about them.

Working 5 to 9 as a banker, weekdays and sometimes weekends, gives one little or no time to have a life let alone pursue your dreams but I guess those dreams were my escape from life and its madness. I came across a secret to life early on in the year and it helped me get through it all.  One word.

Discipline.

 
Yup. And by coming across it, I don’t mean I’ve mastered it or anything like that. I’m far from it. Knowing what I wanted to achieve was a start. Adding a little bit of discipline helped a lot. I remember waking up late at night to dig up research materials on posts, to do designs etc. It was insane. No one was paying me for this so why was I even doing this… Questions I would ask myself just before someone asked me… how do you do it?

The first quarter went by very fast. The second highlight of the period was when I got almost 500 messages on my birthday (Yes, I counted).  (Oh, notice how I didn’t mention the first… Blame Efe.) Anyways, this made me pause and imagine how Don Jazzy must feel on his birthday … wow…

The second quarter kicked off and I was more than motivated to push things further. Planned and successfully hosted my first event, did some ridiculously unbelievable numbers on my blog and I was literally floating… and then July happened. I still find it hard to describe this to people. It was one of those ‘mixed-feelings’ type of situations. I got a call from my sixty-year-old divorced father and he told me I was going to have a kid brother. I didn’t know how to react. I felt like an innocent dude happily strolling along the road and all of sudden, a huge cannon ball of responsibility hit me across the face.

I didn’t come to terms with that news till later on in the year and I know it slowed me down. Why I allowed it affect me so much, I still don’t know but what was important was how I picked myself up. I can’t take all the credit for it. I met some amazing people this year and some of them have formed part of a family of friends I’m very endeared to.

Third quarter saw me back on the grind and by the time that question popped up again, I knew I was back on the right path.

How do you do it?

Another event, moved my blog to a full site, got some major projects under my belt at work, signed a major partnership with a global brand and scheduled a third event for the end of the year and I still can’t answer that question. Right now, I’m not exactly sure I want to; just so I don’t jinx things. I’m just extremely thankful to God and to the people who helped make the year go by faster, easier.

So here’s to an even better 2012. Greater achievements, more fruitful relationships and love… loads and loads of love and maybe that question too…

 

How do you do it?

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Thank you very much Tula. By now I hope all of y’all have got your TNC3 invites. That awesome event holds on 27 December in Lagos. Tweet at @thenakedconvos for more details.

Regular programming resumes tomorrow 😀