You v2.0.20

Happy New Year Fam!

My 2019 “Slow Mo Mode” and “Parte after Parte” officially ended last weekend (..’cos this Life I cant kill myself o).

Let me officially welcome Myself (and You) into the New Year 2020 and of course the New Decade (dont worry if your own decade has not ended, we can start counting yours next year, nothing spoil!).

How was your Christmas and New Year celebration by the way?

I spent mine at home in Lagos consuming different variances of Rice and Chicken with my 2 favorite Humans; Dammy my only Brother and Christianah my only Wife (lol), trust Me that was the best Christmas celebration I have had thus far…

So how is the New Year (and Decade) going to be?

By now, You will agree with Me that a lot can happen in a decade, I wrote something about my last decade here.

December 2009, I was a student of FUTA (was I in 200 or 300 level sef), fast forward to December 2019 I had become somebody’s husband with a couple of fat around my belly (isn’t God great?).

One of the critical questions I have been asking myself since the dawn of the decade is

“What will I be doing in 10 years time?, Where will I be?”

Of course, a “10 year old question” will surely take some time to answer… I hope to find answers to that question in the days ahead.

Resolutions, Convolutions or Nah?

The journey of 2030 begins in 2020 so let us focus on 2020 for now.

I will not ask You about resolutions because I didn’t make any myself..why? Because I have over 10 years of experience making resolutions that die out by May (lol) so of what use is making a resolution that will fizzle out by mid-year?

So what do we do instead of make resolutions?

I have spent the last 5 years of my life managing software products so these days, I tend to view everything like yet another Product.

How do we apply this product thinking into our lives?

Take for instance, You have Whatsapp installed on your Smart Phone, usually You will see something like v.1.0.10, that is the version number of that app (it means quite a lot to the Developers of the app) but to a layman it is just a “tag”.

After a certain period of using the app, You get a prompt saying “An update is available!!!”, this time, the version number changes to v.1.0.11 (or something higher) then You will see something like “What’s New in this update”

What has happened is that the developers of that app had worked on the app, probably fixed some bugs, improved the User Interface and Experience, added new features and they have released a new version hence the new version number.

How can we apply this to You as a person?

Imagine yourself as a product, your version as at December 2019 was v.2.0.19, now You have released another version v2.0.20, answer this question “What’s New in this update?”.

If You cannot point out anything new, then that your “New Year New Me” mantra is what my folks on Twitter call “Okoto Meow Skrrrr!!!” in english, it is called Balderdash.

Well that is not the end of Life, I want to assume You do not know these things so lets cut you some slack.

What do You need to do now?

Sit down and think about yourself as a product, your current version is v2.0.20, let’s assume You add a major patch every month before the next major version release in which case we can append and extra number to your version. Say January version is v2.0.20.1, February is v.2.0.20.2 and so on.
What will be New in your February version, what will be new in your April version, what will be new in your July version?. You get the gist?
Get to work fixing your bugs, adding new features to yourself, improving your Brand and UX.
Now iterate over the year, what will be new in You v.2.0.21? i.e the 2021 version

With this thinking, I am sure your v.2.0.30 would have grown immensely and You will be pleased with where You have found yourself in 10 years time.

Final Thoughts

I want to believe You have learnt a thing or two from what You have read so far?

Let me quickly add that “wishing a feature for your New version” will not automagically happen, You have to put in the work.

I have come across a couple of thoughts that I loved during my social media sabbatical.

Dave Partner one of the frequent posters on my FB timeline has popularised the mantra “You have to give shii to get shii” and I love it.

*The first Shii in this context means your efforts (or causes), the second shii means your expected outcomes ( or effects).

You have to give shii to get shii

Say You want an Ab with Six Packs (this is your expected shii), what do You have to do to get it? Pray? Hope? Faith it?, No!, You have to enrol in a gym, get a trainer and train your ass to get it ( this is the shii You have to give)

I met Grace Samuel at a meet up over the weekend and She said something profound that I will love to re-echo, She said “You will always be the CEO of You Inc” and I agree 100%.

In this age where our identities are embedded in the companies we work for and our next line of action is determined by the decisions of our Bosses and line managers, we have to own up our shii.

You will always be the CEO of You Inc

Irrespective of where You work or who your Boss is, You will always be the CEO of You Inc.

Make decisions and take actions with this at the back of your mind, trust me, You will be glad You did.

Final Final Thoughts..

This month I am reading Unfuck Yourself by Gary John Bishop

I am only a few chapters in, but trust me You need to read it.

In summary the book says “Ma Fo!” (I do not identify as a Marlian btw).

Final Final Final Thoughts…

I am now open for Business, that Benz and Lekki apartment will not Buy themselves.

Here are my Business Interests :

Software Solutions (Web, Mobile and everything in between),
Transportation ( I mean BRTs are not sufficient in Lagos) and of course
Thought Leadership, I am opening for Speaking Engagement across the country on topics ranging from Technology to Common Sense.

Hit Me up +2347037667193

Cheers to the New Year and Decade!!! You will be hearing from Me often…

Man’s ready to give shii to get more shii!!!