WHO IS A SUCCESSFUL PROFESSIONAL?

A LESSON OR TWO FROM THE DANFO DRIVER…

I am not about to hand down tips and nuggets on HOW you should perform your duties and responsibilities (you’ve been there so long because you do, anyways, otherwise, your juju dey work!) but below, you’ll find (more/some) qualities you might want to refine, re-define, adopt or discard, all together.

A professional danfo driver possesses the following outstanding (and astounding!) qualities:

ü  He starts his bus without a manual or visible key in the ignition – INNOVATIVE.

ü  He’s the driver, owner, conductor and mechanic of the bus – MULTITASKING.

ü  With 1 hour - 10 hours experience, he can drive any moving contraption (BRT, keke, molue, your car etc) – EXPERIENCED and SKILLFUL.

ü  He appears unkempt, unwashed and generally untidy, ready for eventualities (fight or flight) – SMART.

ü  With his side and rare-view mirror broken, facing inwards or non-existent he easily shunts between lanes and manipulates his way between cars without scrapes or bruises – FLEXIBLE.

ü  His hand is permanently on the horn which serves both as a warning and as music – CREATIVE.

ü  He knows his right of “one way” and uses it – DISCRETION.

ü  Holds up traffic to pick up or drop off passengers – RESOURCEFUL.

ü  To your queries and inquiries, he can decide to answer you roughly, nicely or outrightly ignore you – RESPONSIVE.

ü  He knows every ‘short cut’ and uses them – INITIATIVE/KNOWLEDGEABLE.

ü  He’s fluent with invectives – EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION SKILL.

ü  He is his brother’s keeper – TEAM PLAYER.

ü  He’s always full of, and ready with apologies for his misdemeanors (and are they many!) but not without first cursing (you) under his breath, and arguing – RESPONSIBLE.

ü  He knows every LASTMA official and how to avoid the Police (if need be!) – DISCERNING.

ü  He can personally bundle you into his waiting vehicle – PASSION.

ü  Gets you to your destination, not necessarily in one piece, but alive– SUCCESSFUL.

ü  ETC ETC ETC

I could go on and on because they have become a very significant part of my career-life. As a driver you might be tempted to attempt these stunts. DON’T! (Well, except of course, you wake up every day to a cocktail of herbs, roots, and local gin = PARAGA!) Being like them is not for the ‘regular guy’ because there’s nothing simple about it – they got there by constant practice!

And that is what being a professional is all about - constant practice: it takes careful thought and deliberate effort, and has little to do with what you learnt within the four walls of a classroom in front of a blackboard.

You see, I’ve always admired any girl who worked as a concierge. (The not-so-nice ones got a dose of my ‘bad eye’ with a”No be me do you o!” thought running through my mind!)

When I got the opportunity to fill this position, I understood better. It was exciting – an opportunity to meet all classes (and characters) of people, show a beautiful face accompanied by a disarming smile…literally sit pretty! Big deal. My professionalism is tested every minute by being polite over the phone (letting my voice smile, biting and loosing the tongue as occasion demanded). On a one-on-one, making eye contact without staring at and down at clients, remembering names without guessing, exhibiting knowledge of something I knew absolutely nothing about, (without giving myself away) and trying to patiently respond to questions without rolling my eyes, outrightly laughing and saying, “Abeg, leave me o, I no sabi!” or ripping the person apart.

To get all this in perspective you must first determine:

1. What you have been called to do?
2. Why do you do it the way that you do it?
3. How do you do it?
4. When is it OK to do or not to do it?
5. Must you do it at all?

For you, the HOW might have been clearly spelt out in the company’s (usually obsolete) handbook but WISDOM sets you apart.

Please Note: Professionalism is an ATTITUDE and more than just about getting the job done (except, of course, you’re a danfo driver)!!!

Ecclesiastes 10:10b

ALAS!!!

AT LAST…

Hey, good people! Thank you for stopping by (I knew you would)!

I’m so excited; I finally got around doing this. I knew I would because it’s one of the numerous things (others are catering and sewing. Remind me to get on with them...later!) I’d promised myself (and my generation) I would do before I passed on. (I’ve lived half my Biblical years and I don’t want to take chances!)

I won’t call myself a writer but I love learning, writing, teaching and sharing ideas (in no particular order). In one word, I love “gisting”.  Notice, I didn’t say “discussing”. So, for those of you who have heard me talk; just imagine us together chattering and actually lol…ing endlessly. And for the others, please sit back, have yourself a large dose of serious humour!

There are rules to this adventure:

1.      Keep your dictionary nearby: You'll be needing it!

2.      In the event of any typo, call me!

3.      Write in English; no short-hand.

4.      Read through 3 times and think before you use the “like” or “dislike” button.

5.      No swearing: The use of foul language is prohibited.

6.      Refer your friends to this page.

7.      When you wish to contribute by way of an article, leave me a note, text or call. 

             No plagiarism.

8.    If your criticism is not constructive, I’ll understand; you’re just being human!

Please Note:

1.    I will refer to God and my Bible, A LOT!

2.    Articles are real, topical, inferred and but not conclusive, and by no means exhaustive.

3.   While you pray for me to get my “tear rubber”, most experiences are from my personal danfo rides.

4.   I’m not Google or Wikipedia so my ideas and knowledge are very limited, with mistakes, so I’ll depend on you for “upgrading”!
5.  Feel free to "follow" and "subscribe for emails" for you can get publications directly in your box.

                           THANK YOU!!!

                                    

You are my inspiration!!!

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED...

HOW YOU WOULD BE REMEMBERED!

(Matthew 25:15)

How I would love to bring a smile to your face every time you click on the link to this page and view its content, or even just the thought of clicking on the link. But you know, we’re dealing with real-life issues and real-life isn’t funny, we only choose to make it so.

Usually, when I write, what I want to achieve is something mind-blowing and earth-shattering (yes, in every piece!) but I have learned that what is important is achieving significance. Every word has to count, make sense and bring about a change, one way or the other, because I know I have invested  my time in a worthy cause that should achieve at least 2 out of these 3 things:

1.      Life-changing (Eternal) values

2.      Benefits to you, and invariably others,

3.      A deep sense of satisfaction to write, share and learn more.

Writing gives me “the high”, (somewhere in the range of also looking and smelling good!) and I believe we all have that one thing we do with our hands or minds that gives you so much pleasure that at the end of each day, you give yourself an emphatic nod and a round of applause, feeling like you’ve really done something. Now, that doesn’t mean you find it extremely EASY and fun to leave your bed and your TV and just get going. We all need that extra nudge and when you think what you stand to accomplish, financially, mentally and otherwise, it might just be enough to move you. People call it “finding your life’s purpose” and looking around you in book stand, you’ll find every nugget and tip under the sun showing you how to recognize and harness your potential for the world good.

This world is going to come to an end someday, so what’s the point, right? After all who’ll be left behind to remember you? I agree with you o, and I do think it too. But guess what would have happened if any of the apostles of old had fed on that thought. Can you also imagine what would have happened if our parents had just done their jobs of birthing us, and stopping it right there? While some of us can cry “foul” on our parents, mentors, guardians, counselors, pastors, friends etc most of them did as much as they knew how, and you should do same. There’s no competition; it’s about just giving what you have inside of you. It’s not to be stored away in some box. It is for posterity. Personally, I believe that if God didn’t have a purpose of me being here, I wouldn’t even have been born; talk more of being alive today. (Consider the ants; No insecticide can wipe them away simply because they have a purpose!) Therefore, o man, thou art without excuse; not your inept parents or your pervert guardian neither poverty nor witches (and wizards, talk for another day!) Maybe laziness would make the cut!

But anything you like do, you do have something to give and the world is waiting on you! You may feel what you have to offer is nothing new, but the fact that YOU DID IT makes it new and special. It may take you a long time to get moving (like me!) but it doesn’t have to take forever o, so make each moment count!