Luck and hard work is a concept that for some reason doesn’t seem to go hand in hand. We think that one is exclusive of the other. Luck doesn’t need work and work doesn’t need luck. But then, we can never be further from the truth.
Luck makes work easier and more fulfilling, while work makes luck meaningful and makes you the person worthy of it. This means that for you to even be lucky, you have to be able to seize it. After all, luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. If you’re not prepared for the day you could be lucky, the opportunity would pass you by and there’s not a single thing you’ll be able to do about it. But then, that’s even if you realize the opportunity. Dozens of opportunities pass every one of us on a daily basis, we just don’t know it.
I’ve had my experience of luck, just like everyone else.
This happened after my ND1 and I returned to Lagos for my compulsory four months of IT. As an engineering student,
wanted to work in a power station. I figured that if I worked in the Distribution Stations in my area, it would be a good opportunity for me to learn and also be close to my house. However, the DS around me said they were not taking in interns. They asked me to go to their headquarters in Ikeja.
So, I went to IKEDC Ikeja, looking to apply for the internship. I was bounced out of the door as well. I was told that the time for taking interns was past and they had no more space for me. It was heartbreaking, but I wasn’t deterred.
I returned to the DS and told the man how my trip went, he was the one who sent me to Ikeja so I figured he would have some other plan for me. I was not wrong. He suggested I try the Transmission Company of Nigeria Akangba, they accepted interns all year round and he was certain they would take me in.
So, I went there with all my documents and papers. Akangba is somewhere around Orile and it was a long trip for me, but I made it. However, when I got there and stated my reason for being there, I was directed to the Assistant Plant Manager’s office. She told me that they were already at maximum interns at that time and taking on more was not in the plans for them.
While we were still talking, the Plant Manager walked in so both of them could talk, and somewhere along the line, he asked my school and I told him. He was surprised and then told me that one of his oldest friends and colleagues also attended my school. And I just reminded him of that friend. Right there, he took out his phone and called the friend, they talked for over ten minutes, catching up with each other. It turned out that his friend is also the Plant Manager at the Transmission Company of Nigeria Egbu, here in Owerri.
Honestly, I don’t even know how most of the conversation went because all I was hearing was one-sided. All I know is that by the time it was over, I was told that I could resume my internship by the next Monday!
Working at Akangba was really an eye-opening experience because I learned so much about my field. Seeing many of the things we treated on boards and simulations happen in real life was really awesome. And even more, I got to explore Lagos in a way I had never done before. I followed the crews to sites and other Distribution Stations to help them fix transformers, run maintenance, or even troubleshoot systems. There was a time we even worked on a pylon along one of the major roads in Lagos.
Of course, I and the other interns remained on the ground throughout while the actual engineers did all the work. But it was still an experience. One of my greatest regrets is that I’ve lost the pictures I took during that time. I would have shared it all with you.
And for hard work that paid off, I think I’ll go with my time here on Hive. When I first started on the blockchain, one of the first communities that welcomed and nurtured me was The Inkwell. At the time, all I knew how to write were stories, but just one story that I posted in Inkwell, I realized I didn’t even know how to do that very well.
Thanks to their tutelage and constant criticisms, I was able to brush up on my flash fiction prowess. It got to a point where just with a simple word I could easily think out an entire story and depending on what I wanted, I could make it into a 700 word, 1000 word, or even 1500. The Inkwell taught me how to manage my word count even as I was writing.
This didn’t happen overnight, I kept making mistakes over and over and they kept correcting me. Soon, the corrections were reduced and I believe it was because there was little more to correct. All this helped me greatly when I began my job as a ghostwriter. There’s no word count that can scare me, I know how to break it all down into bits that will work and flow well so that everything will make sense. It also helped me learn how to cut away excesses in my stories, knowing how to reduce fluff and get right into the nitty-gritty.
This is a skill that took years in the making, it was painstaking and hard work, but now, I’m reaping the dividends. I’ve never taken any course with regards to creative writing ( one I took was manuscript editing), everything I do today was something I learned on the go, and with regards to stories, the Inkwell was instrumental to that.
I wish I could be more active in Inkwell, but with everything I’ve got on my plate right now, keeping track of things is really hard. But that community will always have a place in my heart.
But then, I’m not going to forget how Hive Learners changed my life as well. As I said, I only came on here knowing how to write stories, but this community made me force myself to learn how to write other things as well. Now I write articles and I know how to pour out my mind in a way that people will find easy to digest. This was something I couldn’t do earlier. It also took a lot of work on my part, but look at me today, I’m rocking it!
When it comes to my writing journey, there are so many people and institutions that have been helpful in getting me to where I am today. There’s even one of my clients who taught me the right ways to write scripts. It was my first time trying out scripts. Can you imagine that? Client teaching the professional! That’s a gift I’ll always be grateful for because even she has no idea the impact she has had on my writing career.
But that, my good friend, is a story for another day! Maybe, if I’m feeling nice, I’ll tell you about it!
