1 Minute, Please?: Recent Episodes

Tobi To The World

A 1 minute podcast about life grabbing you and i by the balls.

If any of the episodes are beyond 1 minute, please report to the nearest police to you.

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i’ve been stuck on Leanna Crawford’s ā€œI Know a Placeā€ recently.

Stuck as in i play it more times than i blink in a day.

Because the words just hit the spots in my life right now where i need comfort.

these words in particular:

ā€œAre you traveling down a roadTrying to find your way back home?

Do you need new vision?And your burdens lifted?Are you ready for a change?

I know a placeā€

because i’ve defo been trying to find my way back home. Back to myself.

While I don’t know Leanna to ask her more questions about this place she speaks of, lucky for me, i have a guiding light like Badiana Badio Eckstrom in my corner who keeps nudging me into that ā€œplaceā€.

a place where i can open my heart.

a place with new vision.a place where burdens get lifted.a place where your heart can beat to a new songa place every tear dries upa place fear is washed awaya place where there’s freedom

a place with a new foundation

a place i can call home.

a place where i know those good for me, and as Badiana Badio Eckstrom concludes:

ā€œthose are the people you can open your heart to receive fromā€œ.

And I will. I hope you do too.

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This is a 1 minute quicky about life defining moments.

If any of the episodes go beyond 1 minute, please report to the nearest police station.

sometimes, I realize I don’t give my parents the appreciation they deserve. If you’ve read some of my past essays, it might seem like I’ve got this broken, almost irreparable relationship with them. And, yeah, it felt like that for a long time.

But thankfully, I’m in a season where my parents and I are making the necessary adjustments, communicating better, respecting each other's boundaries, and just loving each other in a way that feels so genuine, respectful, and humbling—a place we’ve never been able to reach. Better latte than never. šŸ˜®ā€šŸ’Ø

In the audio attached to this, a friend who has known me long enough said:

never met anyone so selflessly pure in my life, trust me. You have no bad energy coming off of you. Like, none whatsoever. And I have met people nigga. I don't know how your parents raised you, but they did a really good job. — Nalin Sharma

those words struck me deeply.

taking this moment to celebrate my parents. They may not have been perfect in every place, but they were great in ways that have shaped who I am today. They’ve taught me values that this friend and others see; selflessness, honesty (at least 85% of the time), simple and noise-less life.

shoutout to my parents—my backbone, my role models, my sponsors, my pastors, my Oniduros. They've been a solid force in my life, guiding me through these 30 years on earth.

Despite anything I may have written or not written about the past, the present is different. Right now, I love them completely, and they love me right back. We’re in a good and beautiful place, and that’s something I’m grateful for every day.

I love you, Mom and Dad.

if you didn’t read anything—try listening to what Trevor said:

catch the previous 1-minute episode:

Unmute your mic:

What's one thing (good or bad) you've never told your parents, but you'd want them to know?

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This is a 1 minute podcast about life grabbing you and i by the balls.

If any of the episodes are beyond 1 minute, please unsubscribe and report to the nearest police station.

1 minute, please?

The things that seem obvious are the very things that create misunderstanding. As straightforward as colour can be, other times, it can cause confusion and conflict.

When this gown dropped on the net, it left us more confused than trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube in the dark.

PS: I still think it’s purple, black and white. Argue with your keypad.

I digress.

Everyone saw different colours. Unfortunately, people who saw the right colour combo began to doubt themselves or even completely lose trust in the people who saw differently.

I recall the same experience when I got my first therapist and probably my worst therapist ever via BetterHelp.com. The first session kicked off with her asking:

To answer the question you might have in mind; yes, she was a white lady. I would like to think she was an innocent lady but boldly ignorant. She assumed that people who had similar skin color to mine—couldn’t speak good English.

If people like her can be wrong about colour, it’s clear they can be wrong about a lot of things. After a month with her, it was easily my best decision to find myself another therapist, and I’m so blessed I found The One.

This begs the question, how much of what we think we know is actually true, and how much is just a assumption trick of the light?

today’s Jollof-Write was inspired by my brother Jamal Robinson:

catch the previous 1-minute episode (ps: i got a huge youtube owner into a state of gratitude on livestream):

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This is a 1 minute podcast about life grabbing you and i by the balls.

If any of the episodes are beyond 1 minute, please report to the nearest police station.

1 minute, please?

Sometimes, you have to look back, to see how far you’ve come. — The Rewind

My new writing friend (The Rewind), with 1000 subscribers. I like to see her as the therapist you should have called first and the last you’ll ever need. She writes a lot of thought provoking pieces that helps me be grateful.

But really, sometimes we forget to be grateful and in those times we need friends who can remind us.

Speaking of being grateful,

I have this virtual basketball space where I hang out on the internet with other warriors’ fans to discuss basketball. But what ends up happening is, it usually ends up being about deep meaningful conversations.

Today’s episode features Rich, who is also the founder of that virtual basketball space, which is also one of the biggest warriors virtual fan bases with over 169k YouTube subscribers, 3k Substack subscribers, and 133k twitter followers.

And it's always a joy hanging out there. It feels good to connect with someone Like (Rich) who I see myself in. Someone who has done exceedingly well for himself on the internet. And someone who I inspires me to build my own thing on the internet.

And it just feels good connecting with such persons and from the podcast that is attached to this write-up. I wish he would be kind enough to listen.

In this episode, he shared how that he once was living on food stamps and he couldn't even afford so many things of life. He was trying to get somewhere that he knew his 9-to-5 job couldn't. And so he struggled for years.

ā€œyou’re right where you need to beā€ — Rich

Hearing such people's stories and seeing where my story connects with theirs is motivating and empowering to keep my eyes glued on what I'm trying to do here with Jollof Write and writing, in general.

Hopefully, I'm able to create my own stage where I can bring together people who are hungry for the same ideas that I'm hungry about. Exchange ideas and dissect them in real time. And even create articles based off of those conversations.

I hope that one day I'm able to get to that place where some of my friends on the internet are right now in their journey.

I’m grateful I’m able to document these moments.

Shout out to YOU for reading this article and reading all the other articles. It means a lot to me and it gets me one step closer to what I'm trying to achieve with Jollof-Write. So, thank you for always being here and I do hope you listen to the audio. And if you prefer, watch the video HERE.

Stay hungry. šŸ‘šŸ½

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This is a 1 minute podcast about life grabbing you and i by the balls.

If any of the episodes are beyond 1 minute, please report to the nearest police station.

1 minute, please?

Ps: I can’t spell ā€œprocrastinateā€ correctly to save my life. Please, Ignore the typos.

A friend (Dare) posted his frustration on WhatsApp Status saying:

Procastination is a bh, because… Why did it take me less than ten minutes to do something that I procastinated for two weeks? It’s….It’s a bh, really.

And I thought to myself, yes, it’s a b*h because it makes you do stuff you don’t even want to do. Like doom scrolling on TikTok when there’s an undone assignment and the deadline is in 2 minutes. Now, I’m left channelling my inner Usain Bolt and turning in the assignment at the last second.

Procrastination is a sneaky little devil. It lures you in with promises of temporary relief, only to leave you drowning in a sea of regret. The longer you put off a task, the heavier it weighs on your mind like a constant nagging partner reminding you of what you should be doing instead of binge-watching Ice Bucket challenges on YouTube.

This happens every time.

But guess what? Just like Dare (audio attached), once I start to tackle that tedious task, I realize it wasn’t as bad as I made it seem. In fact, it probably takes less time to complete than all the hours I spent procastinating.

It’s like ripping off a Band-Aidā€Šā€”ā€Špainful at first, but once it’s done, you wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

So, why do we procrastinate? That’s a question that even God can’t answer for us.

My best attempt is: As long as we can breathe, we can procastinate.

*procrastinate šŸ¤¦šŸ½ā€ā™‚ļø

Maybe it’s fear of failure or it’s just laziness on-the-red-carpet?

Whatever the reason, one thing’s for sureā€Šā€”ā€ŠProcastination is like every other addiction (drugs, sex, scrolling-tiktok-till-3am); you keep going back to it for no reason.

But hey, recognizing the problem is the first step, right?

Taking action is the second step, but we wouldn’t take that second step anyway, would we?

procastination gone wrong:

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This is a 1 minute podcast about life grabbing you and i by the balls.

If any of the episodes are beyond 1 minute, please report to the nearest police station.

1 minute, please?

so this nigga whose voice you're hearing is actually a close friend, and he's one of those people that you don't even expect to distill such wisdom.

i had no choice but to record this part of the conversation and share it. I feel it’s something we can all benefit from.

a man that leaves the 99 to chase the ONE. Knowing fully well that ONE vessel can be so damaged that sometimes he uses them regardless.

He knows what he's doing alone, so It’s best to leave it up to him.

If you’re reading this, please listen to what my friend (Kenshin) said in this episode.

For the English interpretation:

something I realized recently is that

someone can be casting out demons, healing the sick, but back home, can be the devil.

when God gives gifts, only he knows why he gives them.

Good people get the gifts, and bad people get the gifts. He doesn’t select how or to whom he gives it.

For example, someone like David in the Bible, the atrocities he committed. If it was someone else, he’s probably hell-fire bound.

What about Moses? With all the good things that he did, he still messed up in God's presence.

My favourite example is Samson. He wasted his gift.

So, someone can speak tongues, fight demons, perform miracles, and still be the devil. While God is still fixing them. Both truths can exist.

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This is a 1 minute podcast about life grabbing you and i by the balls.

If any of the episodes are beyond 1 minute, please report to the nearest police station.

1 minute, please?

[In case you can’t download the clip above—you can read the conversation below]

Kid: Is there a God?

Dad: I don't know.

Kid: Just tell me.

Dad: I would if I could. But I don't know. Neither does anybody else.

Kid: Roberta knows.

Dad: No. Roberta has faith. And it's a great thing to have. Faith's about what you think, feel, not what you know.

Kid: What about Jesus?

Dad: Love that guy. Do what he says.

Kid: Uh, is he God?

Dad: I don't know. I have an opinion. But that's my opinion. I can be wrong. So why would I screw up yours?

Dad: Use your head. But don't be afraid to believe in things either.

The dad is the type of Christian I’m striving to become. One that isn’t afraid to be asked questions, also to question, and understanding that It's okay not to have all the answers.

My walk with God has been as slow as a snail but I rather walk my walk than become a pawn in the hand of the religious interpretations of people.

Just like the dad letting the son know God the most natural way and not beating it down his throat.

au revoir āœ‹šŸ½

i thought debbie’s takes were beautiful. What do you think:

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This is a 1 minute podcast about life grabbing you and i by the balls.

If any of the episodes are beyond 1 minute, please report to the nearest police station.

1 minute, please?

the best stories happen to those who are willing to tell them - Salem King

I always need friends like this because they give me gist that I end up using as material for writing.

Like this one

There are many things that people can hate in this world, but gist is NOT one of them. Everybody wants to know what's going on with this person ABC, every single person wants to know what's the latest news about person ABC.

because gist is basically how we run our lives, right? Gist is what made you sign up for Jollof Write, gist is what made you know about that deal, that discount offer, gist is what made you know about that latest movie that dropped, gist is what made you know about the divorce between your favourite artist and their partner, gist is what you always go to church for. Because after service, it's a gist galore, gist is just everywhere, it's like oxygen.

Shoutout to that friend that always has gist for us, we need to appreciate them. You can start by forwarding today’s fresh Jollof Write to them.

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This is a 1 minute podcast about life grabbing you and i by the balls.

If any of the episodes are beyond 1 minute, please report to the nearest police station.

1 minute, please?

one day in 2020, I ordered a ride going to church.

got into the ride, and sat at the front because I hate my riders feeling small by sitting at the back.

Usually, I sit in my rides without saying a word till I get to my destination.

typical scenario:

ME: enters ride

ME: good, whatever-the-time-of-day-is

Rider: hi bro

ME: quiet the entire trip

reaches destination

Me: thanks

Rider: you’re welcome. Abeg no forget give me ā­ļøā­ļøā­ļøā­ļøā­ļø

Me: ok.

9 out of 10 times, I forget to give the ā­ļøā­ļøā­ļøā­ļøā­ļø because I always leave wondering what that rider dreamed of becoming one day.

maybe an astronaut?

i bet the Emi Lo Kan economy must have drained the life out of the young man’s aspirations. The boy grows up and becomes an Uber driver.

ā€œFrom reaching for 5 stars to begging for 5 starsā€ - Ebuka Mic

most of the riders leave thinking i’m a psychopath (for not saying anything throughout the trip) or my mouth is smelling.

Whichever one they pick, God abeg I hope it’s the former. šŸ¤²šŸ½

This one time, the Uber guy initiated a conversation with me:

Let’s assume his name is ā€œADEā€, my mom’s name is ā€œBoritosā€, and my surname is ā€œAdebayoā€ (because my real surname sounds like a joke and there’s nothing funny about finding an uncle this way).

While the trip was on with Sunny Ade playing

ADE: bro, i saw on the app your last name is Adebayo

Me: yes

ADE: are you the son of Mrs Boritos Adebayo

Me: yes

ADE: do you know your mom is my sister?

ME:

that’s how i found my unknown Uncle in an Uber ride. You can guess how awkward the rest of the convo went.

And yes, he’s actually my Uncle.

to be fair to my mom, I’m not sure she knows all her siblings either. She comes from a highly polygamous family and her father was aggressively fertile (evidently). So let’s cut her some slacks.

from that day, i vowed my idea of family must take an entirely different style. Hence the AUDIO attached to today’s meal—for your refreshment.

my idea of family is to get old, still love Jesus, sit in rocking chairs with the 1 wife of my youth, be evidently fertile with ONLY heršŸ˜‰, and kids who won’t hide WhatsApp status from us.

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This is a 1 minute podcast about life grabbing you and i by the balls.

If any of the episodes are beyond 1 minute, please report to the nearest police station.

1 minute, please?

ā€œthe thing that made you weird as a kid might make you great as an adult if you don't lose it.ā€

those words (video attached) were what sparked this fire conversation by fire starter (Boma):

the 1 minute, please? podcast had to break its rule of 1 minute for this one. It’s that good that once you listen to it—you don’t need to go to church this Sunday.

if you can’t download the audio—you can read all she said below:

so let me give you context, right? So growing up, I had been called talkative. In fact, you know how when you're growing up, they say go and be a lawyer, right? I wish somebody had directed me to mass communication.

but in our parents' time when we were growing up, it's either you were a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, a banker. So you say mass comm and you seem like you're unserious because who was doing mass comm then?

but I'm looking at my life now and some of the people in the space that I want to be in that are not even as good as I am based off of just my natural talents.

And I'm thinking, what if I had studied mass comm? What if somebody saw beyond me being a talkative? and saw it as: this girl is confident, this girl is courageous. Whenever I speak, people are asking me: oh, you have accent.

i don't have an accent. Literally, I pick on people's languages. I can do South African, Ghanaian, and a lot of African countries. I learnt it from Big Brother Africa. I speak Hausa that I learnt when I was in primary school. I still speak it till now. I have such a good ear for languages.

but then these were things I got bullied for. I got thrown out. I got put aside for. Why? When people don't understand why you are different, automatically there's a problem with you because how dare you be different? How dare you be something else than the norm and what is general, you know?

so please, I so much agree with it (the quote in the video). I saw it and it triggered me because I'm just fully stepping into myself this year, you,know and being that I want my own self and all that I am to be my major hustle and office work to be side hustle, as opposed to using me as the side hustle, meaning I want to stop being the side piece.

i'm the main character in my own story, right? And so I deserve, hell, hell yes, I dare to deserve. And then I now deserve after I dare! And I go ahead to like do it because I dare to deserve. I now actually do realize that, wait, actually, I deserve to actually be everything and more that is the main dish and the main cause, not the side piece!

so, and I'm looking at it that I'm putting minimal effort and the result I'm seeing, people who have been putting maximum are not seeing it, right? Or they see they're struggling for it, yet it's literally like the opportunities are chasing me.

they may not be flooding in now, but I'm asking myself if I keep up with this and I'm consistent for the next six months by basically showing up for myself every day, being consistent, fighting for myself, being in people's faces, those who don't like it, get out of the way, those who like it, welcome it.

i'm not going to change myself, shortchange myself for anybody. If I'm in the environment, I'm too loud. My dear, use earphones. I ain't gon reduce my voice no more. I'm not going to reduce my personality, reduce my skills. No.

i talk, but I don't talk amiss. I talk because I have something upstairs. I talk because I have an opinion and I have an opinion because I'm intelligent and I'm smart. And I'm not going to be sorry that other people coward and wait to be called. I will grab every opportunity. I will raise my hand in a large crowd, you know, because that's how I've gotten to where I am by not second-guessing or feeling shy.

i'm sorry that you are shy or you are reserved, great and cool for you, but that's not me, you know, because I'm so angry now, it took a while for me to forgive myself because I'm just thinking, my goodness, literally you waste your whole 20s finding purpose when really your purpose is just who you are and that very thing everyone dislikes.

if I'm going to tell teenagers anything, I'll say, what is that one thing that you hate about yourself based off of people's opinion? Write it down. I promise you, tobi. Check what they will write. Check what people's responses, even adults, throw a poll and say, what's that one thing you hate the most about yourself?

look at Kagan Tech. Look at Opeyemi Famakin. All these so-called influencers are doing it big right now. Go and check their backstory. They were all told to shut up. You know, people are following Opeyemi Famakin, but when he started, he was called rude. Even today, he's still called rude, but you're still following. He's rude, though, but you're still on his page. He's rude, though, but you're still liking his pictures and commenting. You're part of the reason why he's growing.

so at the end of the day, maybe you don't really hate it. You just hate that you're not him and you hate that you have that side to you, but you can't express it because you don't have the courage or the balls to.

so when I saw this post, I was like, oh my God, this is literally me. Like, I'm doing things that are shocking me. I'm doing things and it's not costing me anything, but I'm getting results that are like blowing my mind.

and I'm like, I'm sitting in somebody's office collecting salary that they are paying me for one gig. Am I mad? Is that not stupid? Because somebody somewhere told me: you're too loud.

my dear, if I'm too loud, you too increase your volume. Do you know how many times I've been told, learn to reduce your voice. This is my natural voice. I'm not even shouting. This is my volume from heaven. I don't have a girly voice.

i remember when I was in my office, I have this whole grunting in my voice like Davido and they laughed about it. And I said, do you see who you associate me with? You, who do they associate you with? Name one person. And that was the end. I shut it up.

so now you see anything that seems like you can shut my mind. I shut it down and I respond. Ah people need to fight for themselves more. We need to get to that point where people fight for themselves. People's offices shouting, crying. There's a problem. God already saw that there will be a problem and he inserted the solution in each and every one of us.

the issue is the devil will not let you realize that you are the solution to the problem. He will make you a part of the problem instead of the solution to the problem. So now you will try to be conforming to those that you should be helping or those that should be conforming to you and following you. You that you’re now the leader you want to become their follower.

tobi, i don't know if you can tell I'm passionate about this particular topic because bro, it's like I'm right in the middle of it. Like I seen it, you know, from like a rare view mirror of my life. And now I'm in the middle of it. I've also surpassed it to a level and I'm grateful for it because there are people who have not even realized it.

so while I was beating myself, I said, Oh, I should have realized it since I'm like, but even when you realize it, you were still doing you because you couldn't help but be you. It's just you were not doing it on this scale.

and now you are launching out, reaching out, talking about yourself, selling yourself And you're grabbing every opportunity that comes your way. You're not selling yourself short. So you're doing well, my dear.

well, I have a podcast, but I don't know if we spoke about this topic. Now, maybe you've even inspired me. Maybe this is a topic that I will talk about there.

she didn’t ask but I’d love you to see other expressions of Boma

what is that one thing you hate about yourself?

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what do you want? these 4 words were all the trigger this Advert by BetterHelp.com needed to get doom-scrollers attention online (and to get the guy in the video talking about his aspirations too). the sad soundtrack in the background gets us to lean in more, forget about their worries and empathize with this young man’s pains.

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thankfully, I’m not writing this from my cell block cos I was found not guilty and all charges have been dropped. But to think that things could have gone south.Ā 

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ā€œI feel sometimes we may be working, doing our best, and we may not be feeling our best, or we might not feel appreciated or we might start to doubt ourselves—if it’s worth it or if we’re good enoughā€ — Ridah, 2021 (after 30 mins of doubting if her UI/UX skills would ever get better).

You know what she’s talking about, right?

I feel that way every day, as soon as I step into the shower. Like I should just quit all these. Pack my slides, bible, joggers (can’t do without this), and fly to space as I watch everyone figure out their sh*t from up top.

Thanks for the feedback, Ridah!

But we won’t forgive you for not knowing the difference between Smile and Laugh.

By the way, If you missed the gist she’s talking about—here you go:

And there’s more that happened from the ā€œopen if you’re a rebelā€ post. I’ll share with you soon. Watch out for it in your inbox.

If you’re new here, get Jollof-Write delivered to YOU in bed every week — for FREE:

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1 thing I’ll always do as much as I breathe is showcasing my foodie-readers who leave reviews. It’s the least I can do for patronizing my FREE Jollof-Write every week.

But don’t eat alone. Share with a friend today:

Thanks Okiki.

(Ps: see the write up she talked about)

Back to you.

Did you also feel the same way when you read it?

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If you guessed my woman?

You’re on point šŸ‘šŸ½

If there’s anything I’m sure of doing with my life other than being with this woman—it’s chasing a career in writing.

To brag (I know I’m supposed to say ā€œnot to bragā€) — I’ve picked up this writing art faster than my imagination. And now I fart (cos it’s bad for my system) when I see writing of people I used to look up to.

I now understand that people can be years ahead of me in xyz and still not be as great as I thought.

That being said, currently, the hard part is getting people to hire me for their writing headaches.

But if you know someone who needs such service you can send to this them:

You heard the Queen in the audio—I gotta put food on the table!

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I’m becoming really lazy about this Jollof-Write. I’ll leave you with my fav-jollof tune right now.

While I head to the market to restock for the new week.

Won’t be long. šŸ‘ØšŸ½ā€šŸ³āœŒšŸ½

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This is the most emotionally draining period my partner and I have faced. I pray this is the last.

It’s almost beyond our control. No, It’s not a case of fighting each other — in fact, this current situation has made us even closer. Everyday we talk about how we just want be in each other’s faces (her head on my chest. Me want!🄺🄵) and if we’re bored — we’d act our own version of Malcom and Marie.

This situation is — finances related. It hurts me because I can’t help in anyway, even though I want to.

How she’s still able to put on a smile in the middle of a financial-Pandemic that has humbled us to asking for help and getting treated like the average nigerian-house-helps.

I know this phase will pass, we’d look back and laugh about it. On a brighter note, we officially launching this voice pollution thing your friends call ā€œpodcastā€.

We’d name it ā€œ1 Minute, Please?ā€. And from the name you already know the recordings won’t be more than a minute (just like the audio attached to this diary).

Who’s going to be doing the talking? You and I.

How? — leave that for me to take care of. Just be ever ready because i can call on YOU at anytime.

My partner would probably be the first. I’ll love her to share how she’s navigating this tough phase.

I hope I can always have your 1 Minute, Please?

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You’re not about to listen/read yet another motivational garbage on the internet.

I’ve been a victim of what I’m about to share.

For the most part of my creative life, I was on the far end of the motivational spectrum. (I might do a voice recording on this matter. Expect it soon).

I gave advice I never used. It felt fulfilling. At least — that’s what I thought.

I confused fulfillment with painting an image that I am not — on the internet.

My readers/listeners back then would go;

ā€œwordā€

ā€I’m motivatedā€

and for most of them, it ends there.

They’ll feel gingered for 2 mins and go back to default setting till another motivational-post drops from me again.

It was like drugs to them. They’re high this minute and the next minute reality hits them.

Not until I hit a wall.

ā€œI can’t continue like thisā€

ā€œthis isn’t my realityā€

ā€how do I walk the streets of Lagos without fear of being seen and called out as a fraud?ā€

ā€œwho am I?ā€

ā€I don’t want to be like other creatorsā€

Because as far as I’m concerned, most young Nigerian creators are motivational speakers.

The pandemic started and I paused all I was doing and took a step back to see all I had done and what others were doing.

I saw terrible things. It made me wonder ā€œis this what people from the outside see me asā€.

I sold off my social media accounts for a fresh start and repentance of sins.

I began again. Humble and this time — willing to just share my own story.

I don’t blame myself so much for blindly following that motivational/coach path. It’s what’s popular online and has been made to like the only way out.

We keep seeing a rise in people succeeding today and tomorrow they start dropping motivational tweets and posts. These are the people misleading young folks.

If you know a friend who’s also in the aspaya -to-paspaya space — please send them this diary.

And if you read to this point, I hope you also listened to the audio attached to this diary by GaryVee as well. It’s the advice that has been guiding the way I use my diary.

Share don’t teach.

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I’ll be ā€˜The Professor’ in money heist because for the first time since I escaped from in between my Mom’s legs, I felt I was on top of the world.

Growing up, birthdays are always like a public holiday around here. You wake up, morning devotion (open heavens), ā€œhappy birthday to you, happy birthday to youā€ immediately after devotion and that’s it for the day.

Not even cake! (Going by Busayo’s voice message attached to this diary — she tagged my kind a cultist😭).

This year’s own would always remain in my heart. Yes, I had cake. Plenty of it:

At the end of this diary, there are 4 people I want to specially appreciate for making this happen.

May 9, 2021 — I got back from church (my account balance and I made it out unharmed) to take off my sky-blue-Trad, eat rice, respond to those stubborn ones I asked not to wish me a happy birthday, and sleep!

But 5 people had other plans for me. I entered my house, headed for my room when I heard trumpet sounds. 😳

My heart did a 360 movement!

My first thought? Christ has come and I didn’t get to marry! 🄵

Lo and behold, it was a surprise party!!

My church members and family friends trooped out from all the corners of the house and were celebrating me.

Some even came to see me dance but I saw to it that they left disappointed. I can’t dance to save my kidneys.

Some even said ā€œTobi, will you be able to dance on your wedding day like this?ā€. Well, till then!

As if the whole surprise package wasn’t enough, they wanted to choke me some more by organizing my once-upon-a-time coursemates to show up.

Now, that was the highlight for me. Seeing my friends from uni together once again gave me a taste of what heaven would look like.

Discussing our Uni days from each lecturer to each student to the girls (you can’t talk about that school without this coming up) to what the future holds. I didn’t know how much I missed seeing their faces till this day.

At the end of the day, just as I was about to rest from the overwhelming day and process all that has happened, my woman invited me on a zoom call. Now, this was meant to be a me and her alone time, but I’m sure you can tell what happened next;

Family and friends who couldn’t make it physically for the surprise party were present on this zoom. They said so many sugary things about me and I was just one ā€œsorry Tobiā€ from shedding tears.

At this point, I’m tired of writing this for up to an hour (it’s 12pm), I have to use another 2 hours to ā€œthese people are going to see this as crapā€, then 30 mins to read through for any errors (cos Mrs Adebayo, my high school English teacher could be scouting the internet for bad examples to show her students), and schedule it to go out at 3 pm today.

Before I vanish, those 5 people I mentioned I wanted to celebrate, earlier:

1 of them (my mom) doesn’t read my diary but it’s the thought that counts right?

My mom - for being a chief organizer

My baby sister - for running the show, negotiating with vendors, and ensuring there were no mess-ups.

Titan - for organizing all my friends to come together and surprise me.

God - for using people to surprise me.

My proverbs 18:22 woman. My woman of grace. She went through blood and sweat to make sure all these happened. I love you, baby.

And to the 20+ new diary readers, thanks for being the birthday gift I wished for. šŸ’™

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for people who are reservedšŸ™ˆ

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