How to Switch from Boredom to a Fulfilling Life

This article is sequel to the article titled, “Pursue Your Heart’s Desire.” It is an article that explains how a full-time house wife turned her boring lifestyle to a fulfilling and prosperous one. To read the article, click here: PURSUIT OF DESIRE.

Here in this article, we are going to discuss the success secret of this woman’s life and business.

In the Enterprise and Finance Counselling Clinic (EFCC) organised by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) on Thursday August 25, 2011, at Zone 1, Wuse, Abuja, Nigeria, I had the privilege of listening to this enterprising and inspirational housewife cum business tycoon.

 NDE is an agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria saddled with the responsibility of job creation through entrepreneurship training.

It has been the usual practice of NDE that in all their programmes, they always ensure that those they would use as resource persons in their programmes are those whom they have trained or those that have benefited from them. This woman happened to be one of them.            

Grabbing the microphone and with a broad smile, she shared with us how she switched from the life of boredom to become a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of her multi-million naira furniture company.

In this article, I have distilled 13 inspirational and valuable lessons from the woman’s success story as shared by her. I urge you to read through this article and also endeavour to apply what you read. You too can do something to turn your life around for the better.

      i.        Don’t Die of Boredom

Don’t die of boredom; do something about it. If you are not satisfied with any circumstance or situation you are in, don’t surrender to it. Look for the solution. The truth is, you are not created to be ruled or overwhelmed by circumstances. You need not allow yourself to be bored by any circumstances. Get agitated and start looking for concrete solution to the boring life you are living in.

    ii.        Follow Your Heart

Don’t try to be like other people. Other people may like to do certain things they love, but if it is not your interest to do same, don’t try to be one. If you try to be one, life will be boring for you.

Stop wasting your time trying to be like others. The truth is, you can never achieve true success and fulfilment by choosing to be like others. If you choose to be like others, you are not likely going to be the best God wants you to be.

The secret of fulfilment is: follow your heart. Don’t seek the approval of any person. Once you are convinced that your heart’s desire does not infringe on other people’s rights, or violate the laws of God, go after it. WHAT WILL DISTINGUISH YOU IS WHAT YOU GIVE YOURSELF TO.

The woman gave her whole self to furniture making and became extremely successful and fulfilled.

   iii.        Stick to Your Opinion

Don’t expect others to reason or think the way you do. Don’t expect everybody to agree with anything you are doing and don’t expect others to believe in your goals and aspirations.

What others think is wrong, may be the right thing for you. People don’t really know what you are good at, what you are passionate about and what will make you great in life. They don’t know about your capabilities; it is only you that know what you love doing and what you are capable of doing.

People did not take the woman serious for going into furniture making. They thought she was out of her senses, but she proved them wrong. IF YOU ALLOW PEOPLE’S OPINION TO INFLUENCE WHAT YOU DO IN LIFE, YOU CAN NEVER BE THE BEST THAT GOD WANTS YOU TO BE. Never be afraid of people’s opinions. Their opinions are not as important as yours.

IF YOU ARE CONVINCED ABOUT WHAT YOU SET OUT TO DO, DON’T LET ANY PERSON’S OPINION PREVENT YOU FROM DOING IT. Stick to your own opinion. Pastor Femi Emmanuel, initiate of Living Spring Church International said, “Your inner conviction creates your outer condition.

 It is your CONVICTION that helps you to switch from boredom to a fulfilling life. When you are convinced about anything you wish to achieve, don’t allow any person’s point of view to influence you. Stick only to your own opinion.

  iv.        Take Your Business Serious

When the woman bought furniture tools and started repairing and making furniture, it was like a joke. She was not taken serious by anybody. But she took herself serious. For others, what she was doing was senseless, but for her, she was into serious business and so gave all her heart to it.

Others may not take you serious, but you must not fail to take yourself serious. Believe in your goals and aspirations. Believe in what you are doing. When you believe in what you are doing, you can never be discouraged by any person or thing. It is when you are not sure of what you are doing that you will be quickly discouraged and frustrated. Take everything you are doing serious, for as the woman said, “Business is not a joke.”

   v.        Get Down to Work

“When you start working”, says the female business tycoon, “you will inspire others to be serious in life. When they see you working, they will be encouraged to go and find something worthwhile to do.”

The importance of getting down to work is that you are not only being fulfilled, you are also encouraging others to find true success and fulfilment. You need to realise that others are watching you. When they find you busy all the time, they will be encouraged to do something worthwhile too.

There is the problem of the “folding up of the arm” (laziness) in the country today. Many people are idle. They don’t want to work. When people are idle, poverty will continue to ravage the land.

In the National Radio Network News sometime lasy year 2011, it is reported that poverty rate has gone up to 69% and that 71.5% of the populace are poor in the country.

And government is also not helping matters. I believe if people are willing to work and government is willing to create jobs for those who cannot employ themselves, poverty will be reduced to the barest minimum.

Let us encourage each other by getting down to work. Hard work pays. It is laziness that kills. As you inspire others through your hard work, you will also be inspired the more to work harder. As you work harder, so also you progress faster.

  vi.        Set Good Example

The female business tycoon is not an arm chair CEO. She is the CEO that believes in setting good examples for her staff to follow. For her, management goes beyond sitting down in the office and dishing out instructions to your staff. You have to be there to supervise, to check work standard, and to show them how things should be done.

Staff are motivated when you set quality standard for them to follow. When they come to know that you don’t compromise quality standard for anything, they will learn to focus their energy on meeting the standard.

According to her, “Make people think about good things they can do by setting the example.”

vii.        Know Your Work

In any business, trade, vocation, or profession you are engaged in, it is essential that you know the nitty gritty of it. Know what you are doing like the back of your hand.

It is the knowledge and skill you acquire that will enable you to successfully maintain standard, supervise your staff and dish out relevant instructions for purpose of maintaining your set quality standard.

 Your knowledge and skill are also relevant at the initial stage of your business when you are not yet able to employ workers to work for you. As the CEO and employee of your own business, your knowledge and skill are indispensable. The woman’s knowledge and skill enabled her to single handedly take her business from the scratch to a flourishing one.

Viii. Be First-class Person

Whether you are producing products or rendering services, you must always go first-class. Essentially, people are not buying your produt or service, they are actually buying the QUALITY of your product or service.

Businesses which produce poor quality product don’t last long. According to the female business tycoon, ‘To be an example to the society, you have to be a first-class person.’

She went on to explain that the country of Italy is known as the home of best fashion because its citizens produce quality fashion products including, but not limited to furniture and upholstery.

She also enthused that her company maintain high quality standard at all times and that was why the company continued to thrive.

The lesson here is that to ensure long lasting success in our business, we must produce and sell quality product or service. If you give customers/clients quality and satisfy them, they will keep coming and bringing more prospects to you.

viii.        Read and Rule the World

The female business tycoon also attributed her success to reading. Most of what she know and did were gotten from the avalanche of books she had read and is reading. Her advice to us was: “You should cultivate reading habit. If you can read, you can rule your world.”

X Attract Patronage by Putting in Long Hours

One way of attracting patronage, according to the CEO, is that one should put in long hours of work. She said that at the time she was speaking to us, (August 25, 2011), her company was producing 800,000 sofas within an interval of four months.

Said she, ‘presently, I am producing 800,000 seatings within four months. When you put in long hours, people will come to you.’

I think this is very important because people are looking for business/people that can deliver, that can meet deadline and that can be trusted.

  

Xi Start Small

The CEO started her furniture business from home. When she started, it was like a joke. People did not take her seriously. She started with their old furniture they have abandoned in their home. Gradually, she started making progress until her company became a big one. Her advice is: ‘All businesses started small. Don’t expect too much. If you expect too much, you will choke.’

xii. Effective Marketing

Another success secret of the CEO that she revealed to us is effective marketing. Marketing plays a vital role in her business. In addition to constant promotion and advertisement, she was also in constant touch with her customers. She had their contacts and so communicated constantly with them. Said she: ‘Get your customer’s phone numbers and communicate constantly with them about your business and products.’

Xiii. Excellent Customer Service

Another success strategy adopted by this CEO was the excellent customer service her company renders to all. Below are some of the customer services that she shared with us:

·       Treat customers –big or small, rich or poor – very kindly.

·       Listen to customers. Try to understand their needs and ensure you meet their needs.

·       Keep your promises and ensure your customers are satisfied.

Dear reader, I have no doubt in my mind that you have been inspired and motivated by this article. As someone once said, ‘There is no surer road along the way to success than to follow in the footsteps of those who have journeyed before us.’ I believe if we can follow the footsteps of this successful entrepreneur, we will also achieve great success in our own endeavour.

Until I come your way soon, go and be victorious in your business world!