I started my entrepreneurial journey in 2003 whilst in my final year at university with a little company called eFunctions. It basically failed within 6 months, an experience which was to repeat itself continually over the following 8 years as I lunged from failed startup to failed startup until the breakout success of iROKO [NollywoodLove on YouTube] in 2011. People always ask and respect me for continuing the journey until I ‘made it’. The truth was I continued wallowing in failure for 6 years straight because I was self-intoxicated with a heady mix of stupidity and arrogance.
ar·ro·gance
noun
offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride.
People who haven’t met me think I’m somewhat arrogant. A little too cocksure. My writings make it seem very much like that. People [my wife included] think I am very easy to dislike. People always ask those who work with me ‘how they manage’, ‘he sounds like a total asshole’, ‘why oh why would you work with him’.
To think, I have mellowed like 90% over the last 5 years.
Thankfully they didn’t meet me back then. They would have definitely crowd sourced funds for assassins by now. Even I would find my younger self intolerable. Anyone who knew me back then would comfortably testify.
Being broke, stupid and arrogant are a lethal combination for societal acceptance. These are not the foundations upon which friendships are built. Formal employment? Forget about it. When I was forced into work because of extreme self imposed poverty, it quickly became apparent to my employers I wasn’t suited to the mainstream working environment as I was fired [or quit] from pretty much every job I managed to secure [I have always been good at interviews] during those years. Steady girlfriend or longer than 3 months relationship? I didn’t have one really from 2002 until I met my [now] wife in 2011. Yup. No-one would have me for a good 9 years. I don’t blame them to be honest. A girl once told me I was ‘fun’ to be around but she could NEVER bring someone like me to meet her parents. Another told me her mother [after a detailed explanation about me] thought I was ‘high risk’. It was really farcical when I think back. Oh the young days. Oh how I suffered.
And I thank God for it all.
Broke, arrogant and stupid were my calling. Not for life but for capitalism. For building startup after startup [without success] and insulating yourself from the withering critiques of peers during those years. It was the crucial mix which I truly believed thicken my skin [crocodile style] for the hurt ahead. This is how I personally managed. In a weird way the bombastic me was [possibly] my defence mechanism for a hard cold world. Other people are motivated to great success by many things. This was just my version of reality.
Failing for prolonged periods of time hurts. A lot. It’s not healthy and it’s not cool. The smart give up within a year for stable employment, leaving only us. The idiots to wallow with delusions of grandeur.
There is a reason some of the richest people in the world are not necessarily the smartest. For some things only the stupid need apply.
* yes I had a card which said. I AM THE FUCKING DUDE!
For more stories on Jason Njoku visit http://www.jason.com.ng/
No comments:
Post a Comment