THE INCOMPLETE PUZZLE.

Yesterday I was watching an interview with the Liverpool Football club striker Sadio Mane who happens to be from a remote village in Senegal. The footballer claimed he aspired to be a footballer at a young age but it was a dream that was impossible to conceive. He was a poor kid from a remote village almost six hours away from the capital Dakar.

Also, his family resisted the idea of Mane becoming a footballer. For most African families education seemed like the only way to success. I remember telling my father I wanted to be a footballer at the age of six and he turned that dream on its head. He somehow conceived me to become an astronaut (sounds comical now) and for most of my young life, I thought I was going to be an astronaut or an aeronautical engineer.

Well, unlike me Mane is strong in resolve to become a footballer despite his family's disapproval and his reality. He had big dreams and was willing to pursue them. He was willing to leave his small village for the Capital where he knew no one--and he did. It made no sense to his family. They thought he was throwing his life away. This brings me to the issue of people's expectancy in other people's lives.

The closest people around us often have ideas of what's best for us and would often push us in the direction they deem is right for us. It often comes from a place of love but often it is misguided. Beckoning to their voice of reason can be detrimental to your goal and vision.

I have had several occasions family and friends urged me to get a traditional job because crypto is unstable and uncertain. I do understand their worries and I get worried as well when things don't go well. For me crypto is enough, however, I have a lot of dependents and my dreams may not sustain all of us.

Sometimes, I just wish these people could just support me the way I support them without sowing seeds of doubt in my mind. There are days when I feel like I am throwing my life away on this pipe dream after certain conversations. In retrospect, knowing how damaging the words of disapproval can be, especially from loved ones, I will never try to do that to the people I love.

Some people might say I am very lenient with siblings, as their brother/guardian, but I have never felt the need to pressurize them into anything. If anything, I want them to have a focus or a goal in life but even at that, I understand that we all cannot have the same approach to life. It took me till my mid-twenties to discover my purpose in life. I would like to give them that same luxury and have them know I have their backs irrespective of the mistakes they make through self-discovery because I understand what it means to lack clarity in one's life.

Sometimes, clarity is often an excuse for inaction. Oftentimes I am regarded as impulsive–one of the perks of being creative. I don't wake up every morning with an idea, most times it just clicks and I develop those ideas. Writing this post, I don't know how it will end, but I know it will and what my focal point is that is good enough for me.

As much as I like to have control over my life and know where I stand in every given situation I understand that life isn't that way. You are never fully in control. This is why it is important to learn to improvise and what you have, with your goal in mind. You might not see the full picture but you can certainly spot the patterns and cues life throws your way and make the best out of it.

Sadio Mane is one of the most decorated African football players currently. It almost didn't happen. If he had paid so much attention to where he was or who he was he probably wouldn't have won the African Nations Cup with Senegal or the Champions League with Liverpool.

You might say, not everyone becomes successful in pursuing their dreams and to that, I say true, based on your definition of success. Most people equate material success as the hallmark of achievement. For me, that means nothing if I do not have a sense of purpose. Some people are willing to give that up so they can have closure by staying in a job they hate; associating with people they don't like, etc just so they can have material success and maybe that's all that matters to them and to that I say okay. However, I would rather my life remain the way it is than engage in self-deceit.

Most people are pressured into lives they don't want just so they can make society happy; just so they can make their family happy. This is why in this part of the world people lack ingenuity. Everyone wants to be like everyone else. If crypto is trending today, everyone wants to get into crypto; if tech is trending tomorrow everyone wants to get into tech. Just a bunch of zombies following the tides everywhere it goes.

Find your place in the world. It doesn't have to be grand. If it is yours it will sustain you. Cheers!

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