Why You Need a 9-to-5 - my personal experience

I hated Medicine. I wanted to follow my creative passion. I wanted to write songs, record songs, blog, dance, draw, anything but hold the stethoscope. I'd rather be making people laugh than making them well. I'd rather be in the midst of happiness than devouring people's aches and sadness. And I did. I explored all those. I took a break from Medicine after my national youth service year in Nigeria. But I was broke and frustrated. So I took up a job as a doctor.

Talking about bills. How are you to pursue your dreams when you have debt looming over your head? How can you be creative when you are on an involuntary fast? Even though I hated Medicine, I needed my job to at least afford me a roof over my head, at least two meals a day and transport fare to all the entertainment events I attended in Lagos in pursuit of my dream. From my medical career, I could pay to record 4 songs (and studio sessions aren't cheap). 

My attitude towards work changed when I came to the UK for a Masters degree. Then I had to survive, passion didn't cut it. I needed to be willing to take any job. Anything to pay my bills. So I got a job as a catering assistant at the university serving students, doing dishes. We did 2 to 4 hr shifts a day, about 5 days a week.  It was there I learnt that a business succeeds by discipline. Work gets done whether people feel like it or not because there are customers to satisfy. Success happens when you are able to meet your clients' demands always and in time. Without that discipline, you have no clients. 

I love to write. But if I didn't feel like writing, I wouldn't write. If I didn't feel inspired, I'd sit back and so my passion never really grew because of lack of discipline. I am still struggling to apply this discipline to my writing passion. Many times I have failed to meet up with scheduled blogs because I am my own boss in this regard. This is why I ain't earning millions from it yet. Those that turned their passion to successful businesses applied discipline. They weren't just having fun doing what they love to do. They got up when they did not want to get up because they had to meet demands. If you know you are lazy or let's say a little laid back, please take up a regular job.

Thanks to the many experiences I've had working 9-to-5, whether as a catering assistant or a doctor, I have got valuable insights that can be transferred to my creative endeavours. There are many valuable transferable skills you can pick up from other jobs to apply to your business. You don't want to miss out on those.

Now nothing written here is cast in stone. There are some that never had to work for anyone, started a business and are successful, but this is not the case for the majority. This two-part article is to get you to consider the pros to putting in your application while honing your skills in that dream of yours. The aim is to give your dream a chance. Dreams get frustrated when reality hits hard. Passion is not enough.

Radiant ~ March 2019

PS: you can still find a job that affords you enough time to hone those skills.

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