JENNIE IFEATU

  We are all living with the same level of global uncertainty. Certainty is what you create. The degree of certainty that you are experiencing right now is what you have decided to create.  Certainty is not bestowed on you from some external source. You create the environment that you are able to prosper from. You decide the level of risk you are comfortable with, you decide whether to change and develop the skill to become comfortable with higher levels of uncertainty. Every day you are assessing risk, whether starting a business, leaving a job, booking a holiday or getting on a train. Not deciding still counts as a decision and this is a decision to remain uncertain. How to Create Certainty in an Uncertain World You cannot control the world or anyone in it but you can trust in yourself.  Here is how to create certainty in an uncertain world: Remember that challenge and change are merely detours in the right direction, if you are open to the lessons that the challe...

I wish I could tell you that I love the title of this article but I honestly can't. I wear a size 43 and I am a lady. I practically go on a world tour when I am shopping for a shoe.  The sound of the word, bigfoot makes me cringe but I have to do what I got to do.  Stories. I love stories. I remember a myth about how a tiny woman who had gone to steal from a giant's hut could not outrun the giant after one of her stealing escapades because each stride of the giant was five times her's.  Hilarious, I know.  Sometimes you need big feet to keep you five times ahead of your competition. Business and career are pedals we keep kicking till we are frail. So, it's important to always be the bigfoot in the game.  How do you stay ahead and make this happen? Don't keep your eyes on the present The present is an illusion. The future is brighter than you can ever imagine or have ever been told. There is always room for expansion. So while you make your deci...

Over the week, I had a conversation with a friend who was being skeptical about demanding her worth from a gig because a senior colleague in the same industry tried to talk her out of it. When asked about my opinion.  I had two questions for her.  "What have you done to get you to where you are? (I wasn't concerned about if she had movement pace so far had been an inch) How bad do you want to get what you deserve? She looked at me with intent eyes and told me about the efforts, time and discomfort she had invested to get her where she was. As for how much she wanted what she deserved, she wanted it just as much as a drowning man will need a lifeguard.  Sometimes, in life, business, career, relationships or even pursuing an education, we are going to be talked out of reaching out to what we truly deserve. These suggestions and lame excuses often come with whispers of " You are not good enough," You need more experience," or  Wait a ...

A country, community or organisation without youths is one without a future. Youths in this context refer to those whose minds, talents and creativity bring a fountain of life to everyone and everything they come in contact with.  When you do this, you have truly defeated age. The human body can be young for a short for a period of time while the spirit can be young forever.  According to the United Nations, 226 million youth aged 15-24 lived in Africa in 2015 representing nearly 20% of Africa’s population, making up one- fifth of the world’s youth population. If one includes all people aged below 35, this number increases to a staggering three-quarter of Africa’s population.  It is important to note that people who often fall prey to the learn but don't remove the 'L' are often young people. The good book saw this coming and admonished, " Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduc...

If I were in need of a pharmacist in my startup and two people showed up with almost same performing ability with one bagging a degree and masters in pharmacy while the other had a first degree plus other qualifications such as marketing, being multilingual and other non-related qualifications. I will pick the latter over the former.  I remember my mentor once saying she would prefer to employ someone who had diverse skills or qualification as against one who had just one skill or qualification set. I didn't totally understand this at first.   However, looking at the rise and fall of careers and businesses. It is obvious that the trend of activities change on a daily basis. This paves a way for diversification.  Diversification is an act of branching out, expanding or broadening one's resources. This is also applicable in investment. However, my focus is on how it applies to human resource.  Gone are the days when you can rely on ...

What did you just read?  Standalonation? Is that English, French, Spanish or Swahili? Accept my apologies because I don't have an answer.  The above word is my coined word for the opposite of collaboration. I grew up to hear the phrase 'One man show.' Anyone who was termed a 'One man show' was perceived to be some kind of genius, a Superman of his kind.  Collaboration  is known to be the act of working together to achieve a common goal.  Effective  collaboration  is achieved when the results of the team's efforts are greater than those which individual members could achieve on their own.  Over the weekend, I was opportuned to work with an amazing team on a short film project. We were to write, shoot, produce and edit a short film within twenty hours.   20 Hours?  😳 As soon as I got the call from a childhood friend who was the producer, my eyes popped out. That's a mission impossible! We decided to lay anxiety aside and at...

We called him "Uncle Sunday (One-leg up)" as kids. He had a funny way of walking that amused us yet thrilled us to imitate him. On some days, we would tiptoe behind him as we imitated him while he walked past Idris Adebisi Street that accomodated our house. Adults who caught sight of us would chase us but we were not going to be kept away from walking like "Uncle Sunday (One-leg up)." When we gradually came to our teenage age, I overheard my older cousins talking about him. "Uncle Sunday (One-leg up) walked the way he did not because he was a 'cool guy,' rather it was due to an accident that required a hip surgery to correct his walking step. I felt ashamed and wished we had never imitated him. People walk with different gaits. From a shuffle to long strides to a strut, a bounce, a hobble, or even a slight limp. It just takes observation to spot it out. This walking pattern also determines the rhythm and pace at which  people walk. Producer...

"Click! Click! A shutter sound follows suit. Jojo takes a more intent stare at the selfie. It was not her perfect shot. She tilts her head, takes a few more shots then heads off to the buffet. Nodding her head to the beats of the newest song on the town and munching on small chops at an event no doubt made her feel like the coolest kid on the block.  The DJ was the next best thing after strawberry parfait. His playlist was the real deal. Gradually, guests were soon leaving in skeletal numbers till Jojo thought it was time to go too. She would go home with the DJ's rhythm in her head but without the memory of anyone she had introduced her new startup to. With the rise and rise of entrepreneurship and the need to advance a career, it is becoming next to impossible to go for an event and come back home without a new name. As much as we might prefer to wait until we have to attend a seminar, workshop, conference, symposium or masterclass before we can networ...

I am not a genius neither do I have a see-through eye but I figured out that you have an inner Ebuka Uchendu- Obi and Austin Azuka 'Jay Jay' Okocha.  Hol' up! I am not about to take you on a Peak Milk's - It's in You road trip. I am just stating the obvious. The former is known for his mastery of the media scene as well as fashion sense while the latter is famous for his  confidence with the ball, technique, creativity, and  dribbling  skills, as well as his use of  feints . We are a generation that idolises the now but forgets there was a past.  I am a weird one. Perhaps it's one of the reasons why I like to read autobiographies, biographies and fact files. These two Nigerian giants rose from a point to get to the pinnacle where they are.  Jay-Jay Okocha began playing football on the streets just like many other football stars.  In an interview with BBC sports he said, “As far as I can remember, we used to play with ...

Chukwuebuka had been my friend for a long time.  I had come visiting and he had just bought a new Play Station 4 set way back then. We sat and discussed about  the Nigerian school system to politics, to social trends and ofcourse literature.  He had been waiting for 'the boys' so he could 'trash them' in a game.  "I would like to play," he gave me the 'girls-don't-play-games kind of smile but I insisted.  Five minutes into the game, he had a knowing smile on his face as he stared at me to the gamepads and back to the screen. One thing was certain, it was not the first time I 'd touch a gamepad. Growing up with my male cousins groomed me for that.  Life itself is a game and realising this in good time will help you pull through it with ease. Life is designed just like games just like your favourite Candy Crush to Grand Theft Auto , Super Mario or even Temple Run . It teaches you to scale hurdles and unlock higher realms of operation. Ga...

One of the group of people I detested coming in contact with as an undergraduate in the university were motivational speakers. I actually came up with a quote that some of my old friends from university still remind me of,  "Motivational speakers are folks who speak words that can charge three laptops, five phones and two power banks then the whole power fizzles away in a minute." My mindset had been wired that my inspiration should come from these motivational speakers. In my first and second year, I would attend any event I got an invite just to get inspired. However, when I got to my third year, I knew I was basically wasting my time. So I resorted to resentment for motivational speakers. With time, I found a way of tapping my inspiration from the sports world. So, I would watch tennis, football, boxing, wrestling and basketball. At the time, it was the 'real deal' for me. The truth I found later was that these guys were just like the gods in Ola Rotimi...

I have a thing for geographical places. Each place, I have visited or lived in leaves an emotion or lifelong lessons for me. Some are pleasant and some are not too pleasant but the fact is that they all come bearing something. Lagos is one of my best cities. Sometimes she comes with a feeling of nostalgia, sometimes anger, on other times an enormous explosion of unexplainable positive energy and on somedays some sort of craziness. The good thing about her is that she has something to offer. I have a habit of staying away from places where my emotions are blank. Lagos is a doting mother who spoils you silly like her only child if you understand her. Sometimes, I get really embarassed when people ask me how I have the time to read or write.  This is because the answer usually at the tip of my tongue that I do not let out is that, "Lagos has taught me to maximize my time." When I started working, I apparently started realising how useless sitting in ...

My earliest memory of ever hating a genre of music was when  I was a teenager. I am a perfect 90’s baby, so rap, gospel and hip pop was the deal for me.  Country music and reggae was something I had personally reserved for my uncle’s and the men who fell in the category of the papa’s.  Mum would say, “Don’t you like Dolly Parton? She has a sweet voice and sings about real life experiences.” In the depth of my heart, I knew I could not just help sparing my time to listen to a matured lady who had the voice of a baby.  Sometimes I’d wonder if Dolly was an old lady pretending to be young. Call me young and foolish, you might not be too far from the reality.  A family friend who had accommodation problems at the time also lived with us. He often occupied the balcony with a mattress. I believe he was trying not to inconvenience anyone.  “You are my friend when I am hungry,” his radio would blare. Who in the blue God-created skies wants to ...

I have always felt living life was all about collating experiences. What is life without experiences if not a boring tragedy sit-com on a monochrome television.  I grew up as the curious one in the lot. I was curious for a kid my age. I just wanted to know.  My mind still pictures the hot afternoon I had chased a scared rabbit that had jumped out of a nearby bush. My neighbourhood was a developing community at the time. So, It was not unusual to stumble on some ‘not-so-common’ rodents and even reptiles.  The scared rabbit raced like it’s life depended on its pace. I was nothing but an unharmed kid who wanted to have a closer look at this beauty with whiskers and a quick wiggling nose. It was obvious that it was tense but I wanted this friendship forced or not.  By just the movement of my foot, the bunny raced to a safe haven, burrowing itself into a hole. I smiled and figured out that this friendship was never going to work.  Later, it...