THE POWER OF JUST SAYING YES

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I’ve always been comfortable in my comfort zone, I hate to make promises or give people false hopes so I limit what I agree to only what I know I can do. I was especially careful about accepting opportunities before I was sure I was ready and so my progress as a person and an artist was stalling greatly.

In late 2019 I decided to just start saying yes and figuring out how to deliver what was expected later and that decision changed my life, this doesn’t mean I would say yes to absolutely anything but if it sounded within my field I would grab the opportunity and learn on the go.

I had started this decision by accepting a job as a producer in a studio when I knew I had only ever produced music using my laptop and some digital audio work stations, the first day I walked into the studio I could only turn on the lights, but thanks to the internet I slowly found my way around all the equipment and by the end of the second week I was very comfortable working with them. This opportunity led to me meeting and working with some very important people in the African music industry and I always wonder what would have been if I had taken the easy route and said no.

I took my newfound “Yes” to everything approach and started pushing my luck because you never know until you try. Harrysong (A huge Nigerian artist) was getting ready for his biggest show of the year “Industry Nite with harrysong” at Hard Rock Cafe Lagos.

I had always wanted to perform at the Hard Rock Cafe but I knew that my brand wasn’t exactly there yet. I knew Harry’s manager (She later became my manager) so I asked her about the show and she asked if I would like to help out...of course I said yes.

I put on my absolute best clothes and rehearsed for hours, when I got to the venue (four hours earlier than necessary) she informed me that Harry's cameraman had canceled at the last minute and she didn't know what to do, she asked me if I would be able to use their camera to take pictures for him ( I was a photographer in college and she knew this.) I had to take off my artist clothes, put on a shirt and a short and try to be as happy as possible taking pictures of him and all the other artists at the show.

As is typical of most shows all the upcoming artists were made to perform first, and as I took pictures of everyone and walked around the room I wished from the bottom of my heart that it was me on that stage. They finally announced that it was time for Harrysong to take the stage and perform like everyone else slated to perform had done so, Harry was stuck in traffic five minutes away and they needed one more performer!!!

When his manager came up to me and asked if I could go up the stage immediately and perform she said “will you be comfortable performing in these clothes?” I was wearing a white tee-shirt that had Photographer written on it, I quickly grabbed the shirt I originally came there with and threw it on putting my photographer shirt in my pocket.

As I stepped on the stage I felt genuine joy and fulfillment, I wasn't dressed how I planned and I hadn't given my song to the DJ to cue since I wasn't slated to perform but I begged the band and they began to play Burna boy’s Dangote which I had written a cover for. The performance was absolutely beautiful and at the end, Harrysong shook my hand and thanked me very much for filling in for him, he went on to praise my performance and the crowd showed me a lot of love.

If I had said no at any point in time I might have missed out on one of my most memorable performances ever as well as a relationship with Harrysong and his manager.

Say yes first and figure it out afterward, if you cannot do it then outsource it. But saying yes will get you a lot farther than saying no.

Thank you for reading✌️🏽❤️