I had a conversation with my with my husband’s neice about a year ago. Shortly after I was invited to speak to High school students in their penultimate year and our conversation formed the basis of my conversation with them.

She said “Aunty Labake, how will I know if this is what I want to do with my life”.

This was after a long conversation helping her narrow down her course options for JAMB. We had done an elimination process of about 5 courses before settling for what she felt most connected to/comfortable with.

During the conversation she had mentioned that, worst case scenario she would go for medicine.
I chuckled.
Medicine once upon a time was top of the list of the elite courses to study. Here was my niece considering it as her worst case scenario course. 🤣

When we were done with the final selection process, she asked me “Aunty Labake, how will I know if this is what I want to do with my life?”

I told her, “Honey your life is only just beginning to unfold”.

At 18 when I got accepted to study law, i felt certain i had been handed the Green Card for my life. I didn’t think I would do anything else. I had fantasies of being one of those attorneys I watched in the movies, or I’d become a judge and I will be called Mi lady! Today, almost 20 yrs later my life, my journey, my purpose is still unfolding.

Your education is a solid foundation and it would open your mind to possiblilities and broaden your perspectives, it would equip you with tools to navigate certain terrains and set you apart. It should help sharpen your talents. It should never be a tool to box you up in a corner.

I’m might be an accidental entrepreneur, but these days it’s beginning to look like I was born to do this, maybe it’s indeed somewhere in my DNA.

I studied Law and I remember I prayed before my JAMB asking God that if he wanted me to study law, I should score over and above the cut of for Law in UI. Cut off was 270, I had 272. So i saw it as a sign from God that maybe I was truly called to a life of legal practice.

So I couldn’t understand why when it came time to practice, I didn’t enjoy it at all, I didn’t get or give any value to the job.

When I left my job on the 14 of February 2013 (valentine’s day yes), I had no idea what I would be doing next. I asked a junior colleague of mine to help with my business name registration.

They say when you want to start a business.

• You first identify what is that thing I do naturally with ease and I will do for free. Understand your strengths and your skills
• Identify a problem around you,  and offer a solution. 
• Develop yourself.

Identifying the skill or talent i was good at became a challenge. I was good at too many things. So it was so difficult to pick.
So I did the next best thing, I picked something to do, I started with what I thought was the easiest thing for me to do. That was my strategy.
I started my business as a virgin cocktail business. Today I don’t do cocktails/mocktails anymore.
I do only fresh Juices.

Being young allows you the luxury to explore your many talents, horn them, naturally the weakest things will fall back and the strongest things will take centre stage.
Experiment, do short term training, explore the internet for knowledge, intern during the holidays at places where they do that thing you love to do.

See what I told earlier about your life unfolding.
My life is still unfolding, in fact my business which had taken on a life of it’s own has started to unfold in different interesting ways.

I know there will be many of you here who just like my niece are very uncertain about what to do next. Some of your friends already seem to have it all figured out, some have it down to the “T” what it is they want to do and with the help of their parents are already working towards it.

Do not fret, there is a skill and talent inside you, that will cause people to chase after you, there is something inside you that will bring people to the brightness of your dawn.

And when you find your purpose, do it with excellence, aspire and  strive for excellence. In your work ethics, customer relationship, service delivery.. everything

Do you see a man who excels in his work?

He will stand before kings;

He will not stand before unknown men.

Proverbs 22:29 (NkJV)