As I navigate life, I have been open to different belief systems that have shaped my world and how I interact with it. This is the norm for everyone, and whether consciously or unconsciously, everyone is being shaped by a belief system. Through religion, culture, discovery, family, and home training, we go through and see life from such perspectives. This forms characters, perceptions, mindsets, and all.
I have held beliefs that I believed were right, and they carried me through some phases in life, which made me become more stubborn in such beliefs until, after much time, I encountered ideas in negation to those beliefs.
For humans, every day is a struggle, and you have to negotiate between believing if your ideas are right or wrong. Most times, the universe tests us in our beliefs to see if they are something we can hold on to.
One of my many beliefs is that ideas rule the world, and whosoever has the idea—not the material things to make it work—is the boss. This singular belief has made me work hard, search for knowledge and wisdom in different aspects of life. This singular belief has pushed me to put a lot of my ideas out into the world on different social platforms. Some are generic, some are controversial, but one thing is certain: I have been bold and courageous about what I believed in.
In testing my business idea, I partnered with a family member who believed in me and wanted me to help with a brand business. Since he was ready to invest in the business, I left everything I was doing at that time to focus on the business. I was what you would call an idea man. In different aspects of the business, I was offering value, insights, following up with people we wanted to work with, and also negotiating. All these I learned in my search for knowledge. The confidence in what I do comes from the belief that as the idea man, I am the leader—without me, nothing works.
After a while, we broke up. I felt cheated. I suspected that since there is no way to quantify my ideas in financial terms, if I helped grow the business with my mental work and energy, I would become dispensable. So rather than wait for the business to boom, I wanted to be paid immediately. I didn’t trust him enough, and he too couldn’t take the risk. So I left.
After I left, I hooked up with a friend who is also a business owner. He had just taken over the business from his dad and wanted to improve on the old model with a new one good for expansion. As we worked together, I came with the mindset that I am special and my idea is one of a kind. Before long, the same thing happened, and I felt like I was about to be scammed again.
While searching for knowledge, I came to the realization that ideas are the smallest things to have. The idea may be great, but if you don’t have the financial means to pursue that idea yourself, you should be grateful to anyone who is ready to part with their funding.
This experience changed my thinking. I no longer think of my ideas as the greatest in a business plan. I also give equal respect to investors who have trusted me enough to want to invest their money, time, and attention.
This shift has represented growth in me in the pursuit of who I want to be.