Hi,
Welcome to MWAVC, a newsletter about finance, investing, venture capital and all that jazz. My name is Ato (more about me here and here) and I try to write every single day. Most of it is stuff I find interesting that I’d like to share and hear your thoughts on. If you’d like to sign up, you can do so here. Or just read on.
—
I’ve read a lot of Big Chief’s posts- his Twitter handle is @asemota (follow him). Today, I found myself on his Medium page and read all his articles. I can’t lie. This man speaks the truth. At least it’s quite convincing to me. And as usual I took my notes, which may be difficult to understand for lack of context. But over the next couple of days, I’ll be putting up my favorite sections of some of his articles (since I know you don’t open the article links).
—
Opportunity
Today also, I was thinking about Jack Ma of Alibaba. He tried unsuccessfully to get into Harvard but now, people in Harvard would kill to work for him and people who went to Harvard want to be like him. It made me think about opportunity and success.
Success has no formula because you really can do nothing about the nature of opportunity. You only just prepare and show up. You can however work hard at making others succeed by creating as much opportunity for them as possible. Opportunity pays back.
When we compete viciously, we create less opportunity for ourselves in the backend. The success is short term. Enemies live longer. When we collaborate, we multiply opportunity all around.
Opportunity is a multiple. It is not a destination.
Opportunity can be created in other unexpected ways. “Gratitude” and “Opportunity” are bedfellows. Professor John DeLong of Harvard Business School, first made this connection in one of his classes that I attended. He wanted us to write personal letters of gratitude to those who have helped us most in life to thank them and let them know the many ways they have helped.
I told my girlfriend then (who is now my wife) about this strange thing Prof told me to do. She took the initiative before I did, and did it on her own. She thanked the most difficult boss she ever had because she realised that her boss being tough on her was what made her better at the job and career. She would not have decided to go get an MBA from INSEAD, if not for that boss. The lady’s response was overwhelming, emotional and priceless.
Sometimes, the people who give us a tough time are also still creating opportunities for us to shine. To be our best.
To all those who believed and all those who also did not believe us and inspired us to prove them wrong — Thank You!!
Opportunity comes in many guises. Be alert. Be prepared. Show up!
Sign up to my cousin Yasbo’s newsletter, ChopLife Express btw AND listen to her podcast, Savings or Current. She’s already been dropping some serious gems, including this one on time management and this one on how the economy works.
Also, Afrobility Podcast is exactly what you need to be listening to for the deep-dives into Africa’s most note-worthy companies.
Recommended Substacks: Afridigest by Emeka; African Entrepreneurship Series by Jeph; Getthebrief by Loye and Fola.
📱📱Quote of the day
“What is better than wisdom? Woman. And what is better than a good woman? Nothing.”
Remember: “Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.”
If you liked this, someone else you know would. Please subscribe and share!