Omo, pop a bottle for me, I made it.

Feb 3

On the third of February 2022 I published my first actual post on my blog, a day before, I had entered into "a 30 days" writing challenge. From the very beginning, I was sure I would make it to the end of the challenge, I had all the motivation I needed. I almost didn't make it to submission time a few days later. 

It is funny how consistently I submitted a few minutes till the gates of heaven closed, but never missed entry, even it meant pulling old content and reworking it for a day. 

It wasn't a personal challenge, but my really close friends could tell that I took it seriously. I would occasionally put off paid work to make sure I completed my content for the day before getting back to work. 

I got valuable feedback from the group and a couple of head bursting comments on my works. Essentially renewing my confidence in my skill. 

As a content and copywriter, I have not been a stranger to writing. Instead, I had become too familiar with delivering on jobs I had not taken time to write for myself. The challenge gave me the chance to write for myself, and I learned a couple of things I would like to share.

5 lessons you can learn from.

1- If you don't try your hand at something, you will never really know how good you are.

I have always been good at creating beautiful content, but I had never really stayed at storytelling because many of the Jobs I got didn't require it. I always liked it, (I write short stories and poetry) but I had not fully learned to incorporate it into concern and copywriting. I tried it once, and it almost became a drug. If you have read one or two of my posts you would be familiar with Jim and Mike, the money-wise friends. I'll get better and keep telling compelling stories. Stay tuned.

2- You can write every day.

If they told you you can't write something meaningful every day for an extended period they lied to you. Initially writing is not an easy task, but you get better the more you write, you learn the needed hacks and gain muscle elasticity. You can always write better with each day of writing. You would need help along the way which leads me to number 3.

3- A structure always makes things easy.

The first task we were given was to create a content calendar or a list of 30 potential topics, and while I deviated so far from the original list, it gave me a sense of structure. I could always go back to the list when I was unsure of what to write next. There are still topics on that list I'll get back to eventually.

4- Community is an integral part of development.

Whenever you want to engage in a task like this, the community is vital to your success. Triple C created a community where feedback made your writing worth it. A good community keeps you on your toes. There were days when I had not started writing and a particular WhatsApp notification would remind me that someone was already submitting their entry for the day, and the 9:00 pm submission or get booted out strategy was extremely effective for keeping me in check. 

5- Discipline is freaking hard but worth it.

I am quite glad I stuck through to the end. Writing every day is not easy, the fact is you'll get tired, but consistently showing up has its reward, you feel good about yourself, and you notice progress as a result of your discipline. Keep at it, it is worth it.

What Next?

I intend to take out time after this challenge to review all of the content I have put up on my blog. Ensure they are SEO-worthy while practising SEO optimization in the process. I plan to create content calendars more frequently, write much more, experiment with my writing, and evolve my skills beyond what it is now. 

I made it to the end of this challenge, and I would like to congratulate others who took up the challenge and saw it through till the last day. The organizers have been amazing, and my readers have been encouraging, special mention to Esther Asuquo; you deserve plenty of accolades. She basically pushed fantastic it to the end. You are fantastic, friend. 

Thank you Triple C.  

What to do.

Take opportunities to be better, participate in tasks that will stretch you. Leave your comfort zone. 

Selah.

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What are we feeding our minds?

Ever squeezed your face at the lyrics of a song?

I spent about 2 hours at a shop, and to kill time, I had to shift my focus from my phone, whose battery was already screaming for life, to the flat-screen TV meant to entertain visitors. On an average day, I would enjoy whatever was on, especially if the TV was tuned to a sports channel or music channel.

"Nigerian afrobeat is just beat and nothing else."

I have never debated this quote, but today, I was assaulted with song upon song, and quite unluckily for me today, I had the presence of mind to sit and really watch the music videos

Scene upon scene in each music video, a nearly naked lady was presented to my senses. I made the mistake of taking into account the words rolling off the lips of the artistes. God! If the rate of illicit sex needs to find a nesting home, Nigerian afrobeat would gladly breed it. Line after line of sexual glorification was churned out to the minds of unsuspecting listeners. 

I spent close to 3 hours due to delays beyond my control, and there were only about 3 decent songs aired. Unsurprisingly, various customers and workers bobbed their heads to the different tunes while some sang the lyrics one by one. 

Don't get me wrong, I love a good secular song, and I am a sucker for quality rap, but when the lyrics of your music border on obscene and advocate for a life without sexual rules, I draw the line. 

How does this affect how the mind works?

Simple, the more something resounds in your mind, the more it conditions the way you react to situations. Ponder on sex enough, and your decisions are skewed towards it.

It is not newfound knowledge that what you feed your mind with eventually forms how you think. Your beliefs are centered on what you spend your time listening to. 

Eventually, you become what you spend time listening to. Listen to songs about illegal money-making, and eventually, you begin to rationalize selling drugs or other illegal ventures. The more you listen to songs glorifying illicit sex, the more you become open to the idea. The more you listen to songs on how bad a system is, the more you see the flaws in that system.

What to do

Pick what you listen to. Be deliberate about your music. Be intentional with what you feed your mind. Understand that music influences the masses, and you definitely don't want to be with the present crop of the masses.

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Bricks of storing wealth: Investments

"Jim remember when I told you I bought some coins three months ago?"

"Yea, I can't remember their names; what coins did you buy?"

"I bought some VFX and some other coins."

"So what happened to the coins?"

"I have made 4x the amount I put into it."

"Ooh, wow, how much did you put into it?"

"About hundred and fifty thousand naira, I should withdraw some tonight and invest in other options."

"Mike!!! Where did you get hundred and fifty thousand naira?"

"Remember I told you about saving? I saved specifically to invest, it took me more than a year to save up that amount, and I was saving aggressively."

"Mike, you are patient; ooh, I trust myself, I'll have spent some of the money."

"Can you see how my patience is paying off?"

"I can. Essentially in savings, I have to play the long game, right?"

"Exactly."

Investing

Now that you have savings(link) covered, what do you do with the money you pay yourself.

a. Take yourself on a fun trip.
b. Buy yourself a lovely gift.
c. Make your money work for you.
d. Do giveaways and charity for the needy.

The reason you are saving will determine what you direct your savings to. If you save for procuring a particular item, then go for it, that is the purpose of that savings plan. If you save to have to use opportunities when they come, then investing your money is your best bet.

Investing is essentially having your money work for you. It involves putting your money into sectors you know will yield an increase over a period.

Categories of investment.

There are various investment categories, but I'll be looking at investments on how risky they are.

1. Low risk - low-risk investments are investments where your profit is almost always sure, or the chances you lose your capital is minimal. Often, these investment options yield low rewards too. Examples include Treasury Bills, Bonds, Dividend-paying stocks.
2. High risk - High-risk investments are the opposite of low-risk investments. They involve much risky investment options that could yield high rewards.  Examples include Cryptocurrencies,  investing in options, investing in the forex market, and currency trading.

One thing that is advised when investing in any asset or sector is for you to know that asset and sector very well. Never invest in something you do not fully understand. You should also know your risk appetite before entering into any investment.

Some common sectors people invest in.

1. Land
2. Cryptocurrency
3. Stocks
4. Transportation

Etc.

What to do.

You might not have enough to invest in bigger platforms yet; what you can do in the meantime is to educate yourself. Learn about the various asset classes. Knowledge is power.

"Jim, can you believe it? Thank God I withdrew from my coins yesterday."

"What happened?

"I woke up this morning, and all I saw was red!"  

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Setting the Bricks of wealth: Saving.

"Only the unlearned make money without paying themselves first.*

"Mike, how far? I have started learning a skill, ooh, and I am enjoying it."

"That's good. What skill are you learning?"

"Content writing, ooh guy. I have been going through some tutorials. I even met someone that wants to test me with a task."

"How long have you been learning?"

"About three weeks now, bro. Should I go ahead?"

"Is he willing to pay?"

"Yea, he said he would pay for the test, and if I am good enough, he'll increase the pay."

"Okay, that's good. You can go for it."

Jim makes to leave the room.

"When that money drops, I go first but shawarma."

"Jim, did I hear you correctly?'

"How far na, I no fit chop the fruit of my labor again?"

"It's not that, Jim. I understand that it's good to have plans for your money before you receive them personally. I believe it is sometimes too optimistic, considering you have not done the job..."

"Mike, I understand, but..."

"Also, the first person you should pay when you get your money is God or yourself, depending on your spiritual leanings. Abi, you don't want to pay your tithe?"

"I'll pay tithe, but what do you mean by pay myself?"

"Jim, you know how I always have extra money to spend even if I have not worked for a while?"

"Yes, I was going to ask about that."

"Well, it is because I pay myself first. But it goes beyond that."

One lesson I took from the Richest Man in Babylon is always to pay yourself first if you don't have any religious obligations, and if you do, sort out the most important, then pay yourself afterwards.  

Paying yourself is quite different from treating yourself. Paying yourself is saving money first before spending on any expense. 

Why save?

Savings is a form of safety net. 

Many people make money but do not have a savings habit; as a result, they spend virtually all they earn before they know it. They fail to prepare for eventualities. Straight and simple, this is not wise.

Having some money down to cater for unforeseen future occurrences is a lifesaver. It helps to take care of emergencies and gives you a general feeling of safety.

Saving positions you for opportunities.

While Mike and Jim will talk about investments tomorrow, for now, you should know that many financial assets need a sizable amount of money. A savings plan for investing is the best way to prepare for investment without feeling the weight of money leave your spending account.

How do you save effectively?

1. Calculate a fixed percentage to be saved on all income. This fixed percentage would create discipline for you.
2. Automate the process. Do you have a bank account? I know for sure that saving in a bank working bank account can be challenging to do; why not open up a saving account. You can easily use a savings platform like Cowrywise that would easily automate the process for you. In the nearest future, a post giving insight on various saving platforms will be released. Keep your eyes peeled

In conclusion 

Saving can feel overwhelming, but the bottom line is for you to start. Once you put that part away for yourself the first time, remain consistent, and the rest becomes easy.

What to do?

Take stock of your earnings and calculate what percentage you can pay overtime, stick to it.

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3 skills you can learn to earn and how to pick them.

In picking a skill, understand that no one masters a skill in a day, and anything worth building will take time. The truth is while some skills are more accessible to pick up for some people than others, anyone can learn any skill with a reasonable amount of dedication and practice.

how do you select a skill

Look at what you do well.

For some, the skills that bring them money are not too difficult for them to learn. They just had to discover what they did well and work on these areas. For, it was writing. I found out how I wrote with ease and then decided "this would make me rich and famous" while I haven't precisely hit both targets, writing has opened me up to better finances. For some, it could be their natural ability to get people interested in stuff, and they can become corporate MCs. 

The main thing here is to identify what things you do well which can be monetized.

Look for what pays well.

Who wants to learn a skill that doesn't earn bank? No one. When picking a skill, you should choose one that would be profitable and marketable. You won't decide to develop armpit farting as a skill because you are good at it, no. A good number of people in the coding sphere do not really love to code; instead, they know how profitable the venture is, and they are willing to learn. Eventually, there is a fulfillment that comes with task completion, and this helps them stick to getting better.

3 profitable skills you can learn to earn.

Writing.

Writing as a skill is quite vast. You can start at learning one part and end up in another. You can quickly start learning how to write by starting to write. There are countless free resources online that can help you master the art of writing. Writing has various subgenres, which include.

1. Fiction
2. Content writing
3. Copywriting
4. Technical writing
5. Ebook writing

E.t.c

Graphics design.

Graphic design is a skill that involves creating appealing designs on a canvas. It is exploring or combining imagery and typography to communicate a message. This might seem a bit high sounding, but it involves merging texts and images to pass a message across. You basically need creativity, attention to detail, and a desire to learn to stay consistent with graphics. YouTube should provide a lot of materials you can use to learn. There are softwares specific for creating designs. They included

1. Adobe creative suite.
2. Corel Draw
3. Canva

Etc.

Virtual Assistant.

Many people do not know that this skill exists. It basically means assisting someone with simple tasks such as setting reminders, organizing weekly timetables, and the sorts. What you essentially need for this skill is a good dose of common sense and proper planning. 

In conclusion

These are skills you can learn effectively that will earn you cool cash in the long term.

What to do. 

Pick a skill, read about it in general, look for people who have learned the skill, and find out what the journey would look like. In subsequent days more tips and guides on skills and how to understand them would be popping up on this blog. Keep your eyes peeled for our fresh posts.

What do you do after you start earning? Watch out for our next post.

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