WISDOM TODAY – Are you dynamite looking for where to explode? This is your opportunity!

First, imagine Joseph, waiting and desperate for a platform, opportunity, or enabling environment to showcase and discharge his responsibility and abilities. Imagine him skeptically emptying himself selflessly upon the nobodies- the co-prisoners. Imagine him complaining of restrictions, limitations, a non-conducive environment and infrastructural deficiency to exercise and explore his innate potential in the prison. Imagine Joseph, sending applications, proposals, business plans and CVs to the palace to offer unequal service for the king, but ignoring the plight of his co-prisoners. Would he ever gain visibility in the palace? Did he ever know his link to fulfillment was with a co-prisoner?

What about fasting and praying for contacts, connections and visibility? This happened to me in the late nineties. I was “connected” to a church where I was slated to speak to their young people and Lagos State Students. Ideally, hundreds of participants were expected, but about ten or thereabout showed up. Nevertheless, I spoke with so much passion and enthusiasm as if I was speaking to a large audience. I never knew present among the participants was a teen pastor in Foursquare Gospel Church. That speaking engagement paved way for me to speak in some Foursquare Gospel Church in Lagos and Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State years after with good honorarium. Mind you, I was not praying for it. I was not even thinking about it.

Recently, someone was asking me to pay for addresses and contacts which I declined. If I may ask you, all contacts and connections you ever had to date; did you pray and fast for them? Most likely you did not. But how did you get them? You probably met some in your school, institution, in a program, as friends, in the church, fellowship, classmates, career admirers and professional colleagues etc. My candid advice is simple: treat every person that comes your way as angels and nurture every relationship as golden. After all, Joseph was not praying to meet Pharaoh, but simply using his gift and talent as often has he had opportunity to do so.

One of my online followers ask me recently, “how can I ensure that my work and my contributions get visibility within the company? What new skills do I need to move ahead? Gaining visibility varies from company to company and depends on many factors. To this end, there is no universal formula. Nevertheless, there are some key points:

1. Master the business model of the company or the organization
2. Acknowledge the uniqueness and the modus operandi of the outfit
3. Identify the preferred and prioritized disciplines, professions, skills and competencies in the organization and key in appropriately.

There are people working in the hospitals, private and government owned alike, who complain bitterly, simply because their input and work go unrecognized, unrewarded and unappreciated as it should, especially when it comes to remuneration and benefits. Most times, they’re referred to as support staff, and you know what that means.

To provide further insight, I will use myself as a case study. I was employed in a civil engineering organization as a member of the administrative staff but couldn’t gain visibility. Overtime I noticed the categories of disciplines and personnel gaining visibility and pursued an additional course of study. The rest as they say is history. Perhaps your situation is similar to mine, gaining visibility in such a scenario will not be easy, and it’s not a day job – it’s a process. You may or may not need to change professions – everything depends on you. However, it will take a lot of effort, diligence, consistency, intrapreneurial activities, creativity, professionalism and being industrious to prove your worth.

Perhaps you are asking, “where do I start?” Start where you are. Simple! There is no magic wand anywhere. If there is any magical wand, it is where you are right now; be you inside the prison or palace. Just get started where you are. Explode, detonate and empty you where you are right now. The way up is down. Empty yourself where you are today! Do your best, leave the rest. God cares for the rest!

By:  John Alabi

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