In 2014, when I was preparing for OAU Post-UTME, I read like a mad man so that I could meet the cut-off mark to study Pharmacy. Not including Past Questions and other textbooks, I read Essential Biology textbook 12 times back-to-back.
I read Lamlad Chemistry 10 good times, to the extent that my friends nicknamed me ASUBIOJO (which was the name of the author – Rtd. Prof. F.O.I Asubiojo).
Till date, I can recite the table of content line by line with their corresponding pages. I took several caffeine (Nescafe) so that I could stay awake to read longer.
Las las, I no reach the cut-off mark, but I was offered admission. I cried my life out that Sunday night when my result was released.
I entered OAU in 2015 with the ultimate goal of graduating as the Overall Best Graduating Student. But, having read over 40 ‘aspire to perspire’ stories of best students across various universities on Saturday PUNCH Newspaper, I was also motivated to achieve this feat. So, in my first and second year, I read to the extent that na small remain make I get skio skio.
I consumed Nescafe to the point that it disrupted my biological clock. There was one day I slept off at the Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library all through the night.
At another time, my roommate was already breaking the door before I woke up in my room at the Post Graduate Hall (Don’t ask me how I could secure accommodation at the PG Hall as an undergraduate. Student get level).
Guess what? Not only did I not graduate as the Overall Best Graduating Student, I narrowly escaped the sword of ‘White and Yellow House’ courses.
Before I got to my third year, I knew that I would not even graduate as the second-best student in my department.
The business environment is highly demanding. Successful or not, your business will face challenges. Whatever it may be, these problems cause high-stress levels in you.
In addition, being an entrepreneur puts a lot of pressure on your mind. This is because you are constantly trying to come up with new ideas that would expand your business.
Every day, I see entrepreneurs who are sacrificing their health in exchange for building a profitable business. Young people are growing grey hair due to stress and overthinking. People are dying young because they do not want to die poor.
Not everything is the handwork of your village people. Some of the cases of people who collapsed in the office or crossed from sleep to death are àfọwọ́fà. Eré àsápajúdé is one of the reasons why the cemetery and mortuary are full of corpses.
You want to achieve in one year what another company achieved in 10 years. No be juju be that? Listen, CONSISTENCY BEATS INTENSITY every time.
The people who are hailing you as a workaholic today are the same people that will fight for food at your burial tomorrow.
Do you know that one of the reasons you have become irritable and frustrated at your employees is because you are emotionally stressed? Because these stressful thoughts are inevitable when running your business, the only better option is to learn how to effectively manage such stress.
- Hustle with caution
Stop acting as if your body is powered by a Mikano engine. What shall it profit a man if he builds a great business but dies prematurely? Think am well. There is no award for being the most successful entrepreneur in the hospital or in the grave.
2. Go for medical checkups
High Blood Pressure and hypertension no dey show for face. Don’t wait until you are sick before going for medical checkups. Check your blood sugar.
Check your eyes. Glaucoma and cataract no sabi CEO. Don’t use ‘faith’ to camouflage your ignorance. There is a difference between faith and foolishness.
Do breast cancer test and prostate cancer test. These medical tests are not expensive. Prevention is better than GoFundMe. Don’t turn your family members and loved ones into emergency prayer warriors.
3. Leave work at work
Your profit is directly tied to your productivity, and your productivity is tied to your health. Working longer hours is counterproductive. Even WHO warns that working more than 55 hours a week can literally kill you.
4. Train, Delegate, and Trust
Try to hire a Personal Assistant or employ additional staff if you can. That spirit that is telling you that you have to do everything yourself is the spirit of premature death.
5. Learn to say NO to some offers
The business world is about tradeoffs and exchange. Don’t sacrifice your health for the sake of business. Sacrifices have consequences, and money cannot remedy all health consequences.
6. Take a break or vacation
Breaks are not distractions; they are opportunities to refocus attention. Breaks and vacations do not necessarily have to be expensive. If all you have to do for two weeks is sleep, eat and have fun, it’s an investment in your health.
7. Sleep well
If you think that it is your sleepless nights that make your business grow, you are matching silently to your grave. Whether you sleep or not, your business will face challenges.
Learn to give yourself some rest, else you will be laid to rest soon, and your next of kin will squander all you have built.
8. Set time for yourself
Sometimes, you have to switch off your phone, disconnect from the internet, and shut down your laptop. It is not a must you reply to all emails and messages immediately they pop in.
The reason everyone feels they can call you anytime is that they know you will always be available to answer their calls. Until you draw the line, your customers will not adhere to your business time.
9. Bad days are inevitable in business
There is a difference between expectation and reality. You have to understand that not everything will go as you planned. There are bad days in business. This is why you have to be flexible with your goals. When you embrace this truth, you will be more relaxed. If you focus on what went wrong, you may lose your health.
10. Stay away from Nigerian news
The Nigerian news is all about bad news – newspapers, television, and social media. If you are based in Oyo or Osun state, put on your radio by 1 pm or 2 pm, it’s all bad news. When it comes to Nigerian news, just read and pass. Let it enter your right ear and leave through your left ear.
Resting is not a waste of time; it is an investment in wellbeing. Relaxing is not laziness; it is a source of energy. Play is not a frivolous activity; it is a path to connection and creativity.
Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. Entrepreneurship is a journey. Don’t kill yourself before you get to your destination. Enjoy the process.
Na living soul dem dey call CEO. Making hay while the sun shines does not mean that you should work yourself to death before sunset.
All die na die is the fastest way to die before your time. Every dead body on Mount Everest was once a highly motivated person. Take am easy.
When your business is not the problem anymore, may your health not start troubling you.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant