I find it difficult sharing my plans with people who are not going the same path as I am. It has become a part of me such that I have a checklist for those I tell my plans. You must meet a certain standard to even hear about my plans and projects before they materialise.
This has helped me in the long run to avert making the same mistake I made in 2016. That was when I had the yearn to write a book. I shared it with a colleague of mine who looked me in the eyes and told me that I was wasting my time.
True to his words, I was wasting my time. I was wasting my time talking to someone who was not on the same path with me. I was wasting my time talking to someone who was not thinking like me; who was comfortable in the position he was. I was speaking to someone who wasn’t going the same destination as I was.
That was a huge mistake which I resolved never to make again even at my worst.
I see a lot of people who share their plans and projects with everyone who is willing to hear. The bad part of this is that they share these plans with people who are not qualified to hear them. What do you expect from someone who don’t understand why you are doing what you are doing in the first place?
I have a small circle I share my plans with; very small that I only go to them with an idea that I have done due research on. They are very busy professionals who wouldn’t waste their time running around an idea that I haven’t prepared my mind for.
This way, I know what I want and I follow their advice each time they give me any. Our discussions are intellectually filled and they know how to scatter the table with deep rhema. Mehn! You need to check your circle if you are not getting value each time you share ideas with those in it.
For me, I am blessed to have these people on the same journey as I am.
Listen!
You cannot grow if you jump at every piece of advice you get from random persons. You cannot grow beyond the quality of advice you receive.
I have said this often.
That person you listen to is speaking from the level of information, knowledge, and experience they have and you don’t expect something better than what they know to come from them.
This is why you must check who you submit to. Not everyone is supposed to hear your plans. Not everyone is supposed to be your mentor. Not everyone should know those secrets about you.
Stop boxing yourself into accepting anything you hear. You do not need to follow that piece of advice especially if it is coming from an ‘unexposed authority’. By this, I mean those who claim to know something about your journey but clearly don’t.
As a rule of thumb, I don’t give my words on some issues that I clearly do not have deep knowledge about. I would rather refer you to someone who knows his/her onion and have proved to be an expert in that niche.
This way, I save you the time and stress of trying out pieces of advice I would have given from a place of guess work. It also saves me the time of giving admonitions that won’t produce results.
But when it comes to book publishing, writing and content management, online business models and strategies, platform growth and management, and personal development, I bring my A-game to the stage. You cannot go wrong listening to me talk and train on these areas because I have done due diligence of testing my models and having practicable results to show for it, I have work on journals and publications from international community as a young Nigerian trying to survive.
Stop jumping on every piece of advice you get and be sure to prune whomever you listen to before implementing their advice. For me, you must have done something and gotten results in it for me to come to you for advice.
I don’t accept just any ride because you are on the road. You might not be going my destination, so why follow you?
My point?
Be careful about taking any ride because they might not be going your way. Do not allow someone’s thought about your plans make you give up. Stay away from people who lack knowledge and experience about your projects. Talk to people who have treaded the path and have results to show.
You cannot get to your desired destination if you keep following every vehicle that pulls up. Discern rightly and follow only people who know what they are doing.
Remember, the quality of information you are exposed to depends on the source from which you get them. Seek quality sources and your destination is sure. Make you plan your guard and guide.
O. T. Muhideen is a member of Greenfield Library Limited, Atlanta Georgia, USA.
