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Following your dreams is usually easier said than done. In a movie about someone following their dreams, it is predictable to see that after one or two challenges, they eventually achieve success but the real world is not like that. In most cases, the road to achieving one’s dreams is long, challenging, and one may be forced to give up.
Using her life’s experience, anonymous writer, DiaryOfANaijaGirl shares why you should never give up on a dream you are convinced about.
Here’s my 2018 testimony. Out of many, I’ll share this one.
In November 2017 I had an idea to produce a masterclass series that would be watched for free by all and paid for by brands that care about educating and enriching people’s lives. I didn’t know any brand that wanted to come on, I wasn’t even looking.
I just knew that if I concentrated on doing a world standard job, the work would speak for itself. Listen, that was a bit Naive. January 2018, I went on a limb and bought equipment for shoot: Cameras, lights, etc. I was ready but only two instructors had agreed to do it.
But I kept knocking on doors, maxing out my contacts and bordering on being a nuisance. It eventually happened, instructors decided to get on board. We started shooting in March and encountered many challenges, the major one being location.
This too was resolved and quickly because God made doors open even before I arrived. God is good and His mercies are undeserving. When we were done shooting, I quickly asked the editor to cut footage that I could market.
That was when I saw real life…. NO ONE WOULD TOUCH THE MASTERCLASS. Everyone agreed it was well done and fantastic content but they said DANG Network is new, how do we market it? A brand even told me, “you have no subscribers, the platform is empty, how do we work with that?”
I said to them, “This is good content, it’s going to help people who can’t afford these classes in real life…” Apparently, that was and could never be enough. Brands want conversion and visibility, DANG Network only relied on Diaryofanaijagirl’s insights. Sigh…
I was beginning to get tired. I told my friends that I would publish the Masterclass without help and just take it in my stride. If people would learn from it, I guess that was enough reward.
But, I would sleep wary, pray and wake up energized, and off I went again, pitching the DANG MASTERCLASS to everyone that would listen to me- With my head held high but my insides in a rumble and a tired soul. When I thought we had found a brand to take take the masterclass,
I’d get a call saying “I’m sorry management can’t do this right now…” or “Ife we can’t promise you anything will come out of this. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed”. (I know what the person is trying NOT to say).
In all of these, I collapsed in the office bathroom from exhaustion, I’d stay up editing till 2AM, go home to make sure posts that’ll go up on all Diaryofanaijagirl platform were ready and good to go then I’d sleep for a few hours, relentless, telling myself “tomorrow would be good news day!”
But no, it was one rejection to the other, I began to feel the weight of loss and failure. One day, I got to the office, I shut my door, asked not to be disturbed and I cried. I wanted to scream but the editors and staff were next door so I wailed silently…
I didn’t even pray, I was just dejected. Then when I was spent, I called Sterling bank to ask them if they had reached a decision. The rep Picked at the first ring, “Ife, we’re on. I just got the final signature for approval. Let’s do this!”
Oh Lord!!!! I didn’t know how tight my body had wound up. I felt such release, the phone dropped on the floor. I said to the man on the other line, “thanks, let me call you back”. Then I put my head on the table and I slept for 30 minutes.
Some weeks later, after countless meetings, I received an email from Visa, they too, would take up the classes. I know I was relentless but I couldn’t have had the strength if I hadn’t prayed for it. It is not a cliche when people say you should never give up on a dream you’re convince about.
I believed in the work we put into producing these masterclasses, I believed in the quality of the instructors, I believed Nigeria needed this classes and I knew many lives will be changed for it. So consistently, I fought for what I believed in.
I’m going into 2019 with ONLY ONE mantra!: Things will work out for me, REGARDLESS OF OBSTACLES.
WE MOVE!
***Here’s the teaser for the DANG Masterclass*** pic.twitter.com/dlScRX73XZ
— diaryofanaijagirl.ng (@DANGposts) January 1, 2019
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