Uneasy Lies The Head.
Is there really any such thing as a ‘glamorous’ job?
I think not.
I remember being fresh out of the university and I was having a conversation with a friend’s elder sister who was in there to study Yoruba Language. No; she wasn’t crazy, she had simply chosen to do that.
I still do not know why.
Anyways, so we were talking and some other guys who were there at the time were laughing and saying she must have an easy time of it; and that how hard could it be to study Yoruba?
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By the time she was done explaining the points and issues with studying a language; especially one as not-so-popular as Yoruba, we were all nodding in agreement; agreement with the truth that there was no ‘easy’ course to study in the university.
Years later, I’m in a board room having a similar conversation – but of course, the stakes are a lot higher. This time, it was with a disgruntled colleague who was thinking about resigning because; in her own words, “They don’t get it. They don’t understand how hard we work. I mean, how can they? How can he (the boss)? All he does is sit in his office and drink coffee all day!”
Up till that moment, all I had been doing was listening. When I heard her say that however, I interrupted. I just asked her the simple question; “Have you ever run a company – no matter how small?”
“No,” she answered.
“Trust me,” I said, “There’s a whole lot more to it than just drinking coffee.” Uneasy Lies The Head.
And that is one thing that irritates me to no end.
People have a habit of dismissing things some other people did or do. I’m sure you would have someone say how they can ‘sing better than Asa’ or ‘act better than Jim Iyke’ or ‘play football better than Mikel’ and so on – or maybe you even think that to yourself at times.
Well. My question for you is – if it was so easy, how come you aren’t doing it?
I have learned to respect success, no matter how easy it looks to me. Honestly, it’s not easy to get anything done – especially in a place such as where I come from. In a system where almost nothing works, you learn not to take anything for granted.
I say again; it’s not easy to get anything done – especially in a place like where I come from.
Nothing works. There is hardly any kind of structure to support creative endeavors, so the weakest thing you can do is to try to make light of someone’s achievements. Instead of that, why not acknowledge them and move on – even if you think you can do better?
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Though I know and believe a lot of things can be better; for example Nollywood still has a lot to learn when it comes to movie making, a lot of things have changed for the better. The Nigerian music industry has grown in leaps and bounds, and while some of the content remains questionable, it is better than it was some years ago.
There’s always room for improvement; nobody has their science down to a t, but there’s no harm in acknowledging someone’s effort. By default, in these times I applaud anyone who employs people and pays salaries. And then, double shout-out to the bosses who treat their staff better than they treat themselves.
It’s not beans.
I asked my friend; “Do you know how hard things are?”
She said yes. And then I said, “Have you ever been owed a salary?”
She said no.
“Has your salary ever been later than two days?”
She said no.
“You better be thankful. Do you think it’s easy to pay salaries in this economy?”
Bottom line; she rethought her desire to resign, and in fact I left the company long before she finally did.
The next time you find yourself thinking you can do something better than someone who is doing it, don’t talk. Just go ahead and do it – at the most, you would have proved you can do it better. At the very least, you would have realized how hard it is.
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Don’t ever forget that.
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