What you can achieve in less than a year

The weekend before last was my younger sister's traditional marriage. In view of my dad's absence, it became my responsibility to sit in the place of a father in order to fulfill our customary rites.

So permit me to say that I gave my daughter out for marriage.

That goes to show that I had a lot on my plate. As a result, I couldn't fraternize with most of my friends and colleagues in my usual manner.

You see, there are people I relate to almost every day, mainly because of the projects we are handling together. But during that period, it became impossible because traditional marriages in Africa, especially in Nigeria, could be quite demanding.

Flow is one of those friends with whom we have many things to do together. After the marriage was done and dusted, I rang him and got an invite to his home.

On getting there, I noticed a whole lot of changes; positive ones, to be precise.

He changed blinds, bed sheets, carpet, fixed a new door, got a more fanciful working table, acquired a new wifi device, etc.

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The whole apartment had a new look. It had a crisp, flowery, and fresh smell.

At once, I knew that such a renovation couldn't be done unless a substantial amount of money was at his disposal. I asked him, in a playful manner, where the money came from. And he reminded me of a web development contract he got some weeks back, which I was aware of.
"I told you that the money would be a bit substantial," he said.

I congratulated him.

I was especially happy for my friend, not because the money was so huge but because of the source.

My friend was trained as a marine officer at a prestigious maritime academy. He had a stint working in the sea and was quick to realize that that's not what he wanted to spend his whole life doing.

Late last year, he picked up his laptop and started learning some programming languages on his own. Of course, he used YouTube and other online resources to aid his learning process. His sagacity, duly combined with tenaciousness and consistency, ensured that he mastered HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python programming languages within the shortest possible timeframe. Still not satisfied, he moved on to learn Web3, a premise on which he has decided to pitch his tent for the long haul.

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Even before joining virtual computer programming communities, he had already mastered the basics of coding. So he became an instructor to many newbies in several coding communities. That's how he was noticed and little contracts started coming in. He's gradually climbing the ladder.

I remember when he started. It's barely been a year.

His case is a testament to the fact that tenacity and consistency can give you a change of life within the shortest possible timeframe.

If you are struggling and you're yet to master any skill that is relevant in today's society, take 3 months to a year and learn a skill that is in high demand. Stay committed to it. Wake up to it every day and go to bed with it. Don't stay at the intermediate level; move on to gaining mastery. Be patient with yourself and refuse to quit. In the days to come, you will be needed in many quarters.

I have seen this happening over and over again. It's a pattern that's bound to repeat itself.