The Rere Platform: New Blog

G.R.A.T.I.T.U.D.E

2018 was quite frankly the best year of my life till this year 2019, which will be even better. I started the year finding out I had a health condition. It scared the hell out of me, especially because the doctors said “Oh, there is no cure for this except you have surgery.” Strangely enough, the worry did not last, I felt peace knowing the ultimate Doctor was my father. I prayed just one prayer, “God if you love me as much as I know you do, don’t let them have to cut me.” And true to his word, like magic I was made whole and well. If only I knew the awesome plans waiting ahead for me.

Prior to that I had been hoping to get this particular job for the longest time, somehow someway when I was not expecting, this job came through. All of a sudden it looked like Rere was special, as if I knew more than my mates. During the course of the year, I kept super late nights because of work and despite Lagos not being the safest of places, I got home safe each night. At every turn, I had angels sent to help me out of every situation that seemed like a big deal. That definitely was not my doing, a superior power was watching over me.

In the same 2018, I started and completed a self-sponsored 6-months branding course, which when I started, it felt like I was wasting my time. Today I can proudly say that knowledge from that course which I applied in my business (@footwearbyrere) has yielded plenty fruits. One thing stood out, and that was the fact that I was a benefactor of God’s grace. I fell, I stood, I learnt and I grew. All I had to do was want something enough and tell him, he’ll hand it to his baby girl.

In everything I learnt to be grateful, to give thanks, no matter what. It was in the tiny things, I found my own testimony. There were some low points, times when I cried and just questioned everything in my life but the good definitely outweighed the bad. I learnt some valuable lessons in 2018, some of which include that in order to live the best out of life you need to be true to yourself. Be real to your heart, because the moment you start to lie to yourself then you deprive your soul of peace. The right people will stay, the right people will be attracted to you because you are proud of who you are. You’re not too weird, or too quiet, or too ambitious or too fiery, nobody should be allowed to make you feel like your dreams are too small. As long as you stay humble, you believe and you are not too scared to embrace your imperfections, things definitely will work for good.

My biggest lesson of the year was realizing that most of us live our lives for other people. Our state of mind and choices are based on the simple question “What Will People Say?” We make decisions as simple as the clothes we wear, the friendships we keep, and the food we eat, based on the fact that other people are watching and listening. You forget that your happiness should be the only thing that matters, your ability to make decisions and be proud of them. Choices you can stand by and defend because you know it is really what you want, not what someone else wants for you.

The goal for 2019 is to stay happy and spread happiness. Frustration, confusion, sadness, fear, all those things come into play the moment you start doing things to get approval and acceptance. When you try to tailor your choices to what the society expects of you, that’s when things start to go wrong. There are only 2 people you owe anything; the Creator who gave you life and YOU. Everybody will not approve of your choices or even your lifestyle, so why care? At the end, they are all just selfish people looking for what is in it for them, your life is yours for a reason.

2019 is for doing things that make you stand out,

It’s for embracing the fact that you are Abnormal (Above Normal),

2019 is for multiplying, being a source,

It’s the year to make life changing choices, the time to forget the meaning of the word regret,

Its 365 new opportunities, 12 new chapters and YOU are your own author.

Embrace who you are and enjoy the best out of life.

Lastly, what do you want to be remembered for in 2019?

The answer to that question lies in the decisions you make all year long.

I wish you all the best and I love you.

Cheers to 2019!!

Love, Rere.

2Comments

, by The Rere

In Africa, attitude

Confusion...

Minutes turned to hours, hours turned to days, days turned to weeks and now we’re here. There is no excuse for this sort of procrastination, I might say I have been swamped with work and I don’t even have time to breathe. Yet every time I say No, Rerelolu you won’t stop writing, you need to continue people are waiting. It feels like I am trying to convince myself more than I’m trying to convince you guys.

A wise uncle of mine once said to me; you can alter the pace but don’t shift the goal post at every chance. And you also know what they say, a rolling stone gathers no moss. It is better to have long term goals and break them into short and medium term goals than to have short term goals that you only cook halfway.

One thing I’ve realized is that it’s so easy to want one thing but get distracted so much you forget that one thing you want. So many of us are confused about what we want, forgetting that there is a difference between a want and a need. The same mouth you use to call it labor market is the same mouth someone else calls it favor market. The difference is that they have a clear cut dream they are chasing without stopping to attend to distractions.

I have realized there is no such thing as a hopeless situation, there are only people who have hopeless attitudes. When I started this write up, I did not know where I was headed. Now I think I have a direction and that is addressing the confusion among many people (both old and young) in the world today.

I met someone recently who has big dreams, she’s relatively young with commendable achievements for her age. The issue is that she wants to do everything, entrepreneurship she’s interested, working for others she’s also interested. If you say real estate, she will be interested, talk about farming, marketing, just name it. Don’t get me wrong, I love the zeal and I think it’s amazing how her mind works and how hard she’s willing to work for her success. But then again doesn’t it seem like maybe she might be swamping herself with every and anything just to get rich quick? Or what if that really is the way to go?

When people would ask what my career plans are, I would give a long list of everything I want to do. From owning my chain of companies to producing my TV show, to empowering young people, to public speaking, modelling and acting and definitely fashion designing. Yes you might say ahnahn, sister calm down but as my mother will say, nothing is impossible. Also many of us have allowed our families and the society cage us into believing that some things are the norm and some other things are “impossicant.”

I read somewhere that if you want to achieve greatness, you need to stop asking for permission. So my question goes to everyone who is just as confused as I sometimes get about their goals and how to achieve them.

Would you rather do all the many things you want to do at the same time or would you just take one route and see where it leads.

Share your thoughts and comments below, I look forward to reading them.

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, by The Rere

In Africa, Blogger

From A Nigerian Girl...

I pledge to Nigeria my country, to be faithful, loyal and honest…

Very deep right? It’s sad that the very people who make this pledge are the same ones who are unfaithful, disloyal and very dishonest. I can’t say I understand Nigeria very much, but like everyone else I have an opinion to give.

When I was younger, all I had to do was go to school, live the baby girl life, pass my exams, collect prize (if possible). We were told that if you study a professional course you will be very rich when you grow up. I remember wanting to be a surgeon as at Primary 2 yet I was the newscaster for my primary school.

My family was a typical Nigerian family, daddy always at work and mummy shuffling work and children care. My mum was just learning to drive when I was in primary school so it usually took us double the normal time to get to school. She was so careful with her driving because her precious babies were in the car. I read the news every Friday on the assembly ground dressed up in Yoruba attire and it was surely one of my high points.

Fast forward to senior secondary school I was so sure I was going to study law. Very active in press club, always talking, most punishments I served then was because I was making noise during class. Definitely I would have been a lawyer, until my school asked us to do 2 weeks internship in our dream career. This particular law firm I spent my 2 weeks internship was the most boring period of my life. It was so dry, I fought with my dad to change his mind about law because the man had plans… petroleum law, working in shell and things like that.

At the end of the day, I ended up studying something I loved and more than a year after I have come to realize it was all a farce. Every year, many graduates come out from the universities and colleges of education in Nigeria with little or nothing to contribute to the society.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, more than 200,000 alumnae graduate from Nigeria tertiary institutions yearly, but only very little number of them secure jobs after years of their graduation. The reason is because there are little facilities and ill-equipped lecturers/instructors who rendered poor services to the graduates when they were in their institutions.

And so, the graduates come out of school half-baked, without practical background to make good impact to the society, neither are they able to defend the certificates which they are holding. The result is that they add to the unemployment level of the country each year.

The failure of the government to perform their constitutional duties has its own contribution to the high level of unemployment. How could I not talk about the high level of corruption in Nigeria, they say it is prominent among politicians but I beg to differ. Corruption is everywhere and it has resulted in the mismanagement of the funds and resources supposed to be used for the betterment of this country, which is just sad. Without going too far, Nigeria is said to be the 8th most corrupt country in the world. In this country with the right connections, money and power you can get away with anything and everything.

I used to love Nigeria but I’m not so sure anymore how I feel about my country. Sometimes I find myself wishing I was born somewhere else and it makes me unhappy. I’m sure there are many people like me wishing things were better, easier, more organized. Somehow as Nigerians we also have to play our part in reducing the level of unemployment in the country. There has to be a repositioning in our minds, a change of attitude for the future of the country. We need to understand our responsibility. It’s time we vote for people with credibility, answers and readiness to work.

I want a better Nigeria for me, for my family, for my friends and for my future.

The question now is How and When?

2Comments

, by The Rere

In Blogger, Determination

Opportunity Comes Once

I read somewhere that if you focus on problems you will have more problems. And if you focus on possibilities you will have more opportunities. Over the past couple of weeks, one thing has become clear to me, excuses will be there for you but opportunities won’t be.

As Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

So many people are quick to make excuses because we refuse to open our eyes and see that life is beyond the now. If you don’t take opportunities as they come, what would be left is a life of “What ifs” and “Maybes”. The open doors of opportunity are all around you, but they won’t do you much good unless you learn to see them and recognize when to walk through them.

You see, you never know when the door of opportunity is going to open wide. For some, the big break comes early in life and for others later on. But for all of those who become successful, there is one key similarity: They were ready. And for every one of those who were ready, there were thousands more who weren’t.

One of life's biggest ironies is how often people complain about their circumstances, yet rarely do anything about it. It's not that they don't have good intentions, or the desire for change isn't great. It's that change is scary and risky. Even when we're unhappy with our current situation, we are familiar with it. For this reason, we often miss opportunities, even when they are staring us right in the face.

Let me share with you a story I read. Laurie was frustrated and burnt out from a very stressful job, she found herself with little energy or time to work on her wellness goals. Working in the face of constant deadlines led to lots of eating on the run, convenience foods and stress munching. Extraordinarily long hours made getting to the gym difficult. The only enjoyment Laurie got from her work was the huge paycheck she received at the end of the week. Of course, she had no time to spend it on entertainment or shopping. Although her savings was growing, her happiness was declining rapidly.

The one bright spot in Laurie's week was the volunteer work she did with underprivileged children on Saturday mornings. Despite the hectic schedule she kept, she never missed that appointment. She also served on the organization's board, made it to every meeting and did all the bookkeeping for them.

It was fascinating that although she complained about having too much on her plate, Laurie never entertained the idea of giving up her volunteer work. It was the one place she got to use her strengths, forget her daily concerns, and have fun!

Laurie began thinking around the idea of looking for another job. As so many others, Laurie had a vision of a better way, even a clear picture of what she would need to get there, but she was so often frozen in her progression. At times, she was desperate to switch gears, and yet sometimes undecided about making the change.

The more she thought about it, the more her confusion and worry mounted. What if I can't find a job that pays as well as this one? Could I make do with less? What if I think the new job sounds great, and it turns out to be just as stressful as this one? "What ifs" were keeping Laurie exactly where she was--except now, on top of everything, she was feeling frustrated and annoyed at herself for being "too scared" to try something new.

Laurie's story is not unusual. Why is taking a chance so difficult? Why do we hesitate to change, and so often spend more time thinking rather than doing anything about it?

Most of us lead lives filled with routine. We get up at a particular time, get ready for our day, and embark about the myriad of responsibilities we need to attend to. We don't give much thought to them; we just go through the motions getting things done, crossing them off our lists and then moving on to the next. When thoughts such as, "Is this all there is?" or "I'm bored, and want a change," creep in, we know it's time to look for new opportunities.

Sometimes, all you need to do is right there staring you in the face just waiting for you. It is better to act and be wrong than to not take action and be stagnant.

1Comments

, by The Rere

In Africa, Blogger

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Hey you! It’s great to be back, isn’t it?

Kindly indulge me and take a minute to sincerely answer the question “What inspires you?” as it concerns you. You can decide to say it aloud, write it down or just tuck it somewhere in your heart, but answer all the same.

This post is about you and what inspires you, what drives you, what is your purpose? It is only normal and instinctive that as humans we try to find our purpose. In fact many of us are raised with the mindset that at a certain age you should have an idea of what your purpose in life is. But, I will not give you a sermon about finding your purpose. Instead, let’s talk about the hidden truth about purpose; many people do not realize that finding your purpose is never enough. That is the flip side we never hear, the challenge faced by our generation is creating a world where everyone has a sense of purpose.

So many people have become stagnant, stuck at one point just because yes they know their purpose but they do not know how to translate it to their lives. Mark Zuckerberg said;

“When our parents graduated, purpose reliably came from your job, your church, your community. But today, technology and automation are eliminating many jobs. Membership in communities is declining. Many people feel disconnected and depressed, and are trying to fill a void”.

To be inspired is to be mentally stimulated to do something, especially to do something creative, you know like when you have a brilliant idea. Having this brilliant idea is easy; execution is where problem starts for many of us. I procrastinated about a thousand times before I finally got to this first post. I had people encouraging me and the idea was right there in head lying fallow but to just reach out, to grab this idea and implement it was so hard. Many young people are like me, waiting for magic to happen, a miracle; that’s even sweeter to call it. Yet the real truth remains that not everyone is lucky enough to be inspired and not every inspiration will become an inspiration for others.

In order to move forward, to progress, we have a duty to ourselves and our society to not only create new jobs but to also create a ‘new’ sense of purpose. Honestly it is not enough to have purpose yourself, without at least trying to affect others with that purpose.

I’m sure many times you’ve told yourself; I’m going to be rich or I’ll definitely be wealthy but realize that wealth won’t walk up to you, you have to go get it. If I ask, what is your greatest fear? I’m certain at least 50% of you will say; “fear of failure or fear of not being successful”, yet you seem very unbothered about the path your life is taking.

Let me end with this; “In our society, we often don’t do big things because we’re so afraid of making mistakes that we ignore all the things wrong today if we do nothing. The reality is, anything we do will have issues in the future. But that should not keep us from starting.”

Don’t just sit there, grab a pen and paper.

Be Inspired.

---If you liked this post, please share with others, someone might need this. Feel free to leave your comments below, I would love to hear from you.---

3Comments

, by The Rere

In Africa, Blogger

Welcome Back

I’m feeling all sorts of emotions as I sit on my bed typing this, it’s a chilly morning here and it just occurred to me that I’ve been away from blogging for what… 3years… I’m sorry to everyone that used to read my blog, I’m sorry for running away, in truth I was scared. Many of you might wonder, what is so scary about blogging and people reading… but there is plenty to be scared of. Naturally I am this jovial, playful, i-don’t-care-about-anybody kind of girl, yet when I write I manage to put my heart in words and express how I truly deeply feel about things and that scares me. It’s a scary feeling knowing that the world might judge or condemn you for sharing your deepest feelings about things.

In the past 3 years, I figured I’m not done learning about the ways of the world but I have seen some, enough to want to reach out, to want to help young people like me all over Nigeria and Africa at large. Many young people are going through so much, and sometimes we feel alone, like no one truly understands, but I want to create a connection, with this platform I want to bridge that gap between your dream and the reality of that dream.

This used to be Jasmine’s Blog (the name I dashed myself as my father refused to give me an English name) but now this is “The Rere Platform” (Rere is short for Rereloluwa meaning God is good, so let’s say this is The Good Platform).

I was never about gossip blogging, neither am I a makeup or fashion or travel or food blogger, I just simply want to do something that motivates and inspires young people to reach out to the genius in them. I want to create a space for young brilliant minds to grow and develop themselves. The idea is to encourage youths to do something for themselves, I have come to realize that the major root of most of our problems is joblessness and idleness. Everyone wants to be rich, but how?

Yes, the government is this and that, and it’s not that we don’t have the zest to work, it’s just that we are in a country where the government that is supposed to provide work for us is even looking for ways to extort us in our unemployment.

This right here is the platform to 'ginger' whatever brilliant idea you have, the place to motivate you to take that one tiny step, that step that will change everything. If they don’t provide jobs for us, oh well... then we provide jobs for them.

Feel free to comment below and share your views and ideas with me, I would love to hear from you. In fact I'm looking forward to it. Thank you for reading!

Welcome to The Rere Platform!

4Comments

, by The Rere

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