I did not write anything this year, not even a blogpost.

I read 19 books this year, 5 less than my target of 24.

My engineering skills are still average.

I did not travel, travelling back to Nigeria doesn’t count.

My bank account was empty, as in zero, at the end of the year.

My girlfriend broke up with me.

I went through depression in its full form, pushed a lot of people away.

Fire razed down my apartment.

I was robbed, in Lagos!.

2017 was a pretty shitty year in my books; so shitty I can call it the worst year I’ve had since I can remember.

Good things did happen to me too:

I made friends with pretty cool people.

Weekend in Elmina

I co-founded a company with some nice people, we raised angel funding.

I left Nigeria for good and rented my own apartment.

God dashed me another brother, his name is Yaw.

Oh yeah, I picked up meditation, it saved my life.

2018

I am really excited about this year; way more than I’ve been about any other year in a long time.

I have decided to focus on one thing this year, my happiness. If I can get that done, everything else will fall in place.

I plan to meditate for the next 365 days, read 24 books, study behavioral economics and write a lot.

My head is in a very good place and I’m super excited about this year.

Imma tell you like a g told me, have a good year. Or make it a good one. Whichever way it goes, just make sure you don’t wish to write off any year.

Have a good year. Or make it a good one. Whichever way it goes, just make sure you don’t wish to write off any year.

These lessons are part of what is shaping my goals and plans for 2017 so I figure I should share it maybe it will help someone.

Maybe I should have focused on one thing and really commit to it.

I learnt there is a big difference between being busy and being productive. Productive is what you are when you stick to very few things and made sure you do them well.

Trying to do too many things and not really focusing on one thing was one thing that stood out in the list of things I should have done different.

“There are always a lot of good choices, and then there’s the one you pick, commit to, and make great” ~ Marissa Mayer.

Maybe I should have stopped talking and done more.

I should have practiced more rather than critique and think I know; I should have practiced programming more, I should have written blog posts and essays more, I should have taken more risks, and done a lot more.

Talking makes you seem like you know a lot and never really show you where the are gaps in your knowledge.

Kungfu is a Chinese term referring to any study, learning, or practice that requires patience, energy, and time to complete. ~ Wikipedia

Maybe I should have stretched myself more.

Maybe I should have been taking more risks, maybe I should have worked harder, maybe I should have stopped worrying about having a life and gotten busy building one.

These are my major takeaway from 2016. I will like to hear yours, please share the lessons you learnt in 2016 in the response section below.

An average Nigerian wants a degree from a foreign university, a job at a multinational company with a very good pay.

An average Nigerian complains about the rot in the continent and how “Buhari factor” has affected everything and life is hard in Nigeria right now.

An average Nigerian read the newspapers, the blogs and hear about all these “oyinbos” are coming to do what we refuse to do — solve our problems, yet groans about how the government is not doing anything.

An average Nigerian will not realize a golden opportunity if it hit him in the head because it is wrapped with hard work.

I am no average Nigerian — I don’t want a comfortable life, I want a great life.

I don’t want a good pay, I want to solve a pressing problem. I want to make the 21st century, Africa’s century.

Yes I see the rot, yes, I see how hard “the Buhari factor” is making things, heck I just experienced it first hand the other day, but I am not running.

I see opportunities everywhere, education, finance, health, transportation, food and many other fields because I am not an average Nigerian.

I am going to try my best and if I fail so what, at least I lived my life the way I wanted and I would rather blame myself for making “stupid” decisions than be happy living someone’s mediocre life.

So, yes I quit my job and no, I am not going for my Masters — I am going to MEST, I am not an average Nigerian.

Shout out to the guys who could have had it really nice and easy, a comfortable job anywhere in the world but decided to come back to this jungle and build something.

P.S: I no sabi English, so forgive my errors and yes I’m throwing a fit, This is my way of throwing a fit.

Let me tell you a story.

I was in my fourth year in the university, preparing for my internship and aspiring to be like one of those ‘start-up guys’ I read about on Techloy, problem is, I only know little of PHP.

I went online and started searching for companies in Lagos where I can do my I.T. and learn the art of programming, a task that was proving arduous and I was about giving up when I stumbled on a Sarah Lacy’s article about the movers and shakers in Nigerian tech scene featuring O.o. (as he is popularly called).

I started digging around, wanting to know more about this ‘proudly Nigerian’ man. After two hours of search, I was impressed by what I saw and decided to try my luck being his protege.

I found his contact information on his Onepage profile ( he co founded Onepage with Joel of Buffer), and I called him. He said he was busy at the moment, but promised to call me back and I thought that was the last I was going to hear from him but true to his words, he called back and we spoke for about 20 minutes, after which he agreed to tutor me and hook me up with his friends who can help me improve my programming skills (he is a UX guy) and this was how I started my I.T. in earnest.

Though I never met O.o in person (still haven’t met him), he gave me the first web server I worked with, tutored me, introduced me to mock ups, wire framing and the concept of framework(he wanted me to learn CodeIgniter, but I never really grasped the concept, probably because I was too lazy then), helped me launch my first web app and and even wanted to pay me to learn!!!

Now, I am proficient in CakePHP, currently learning Laravel 4, worked on a couple of web apps, working on more web apps, and confident enough to take on any web app.

The moral of my story: it’s simple, I owe most of what I learnt to O.o., the act of kindness he showed me some few years ago has fast tracked my career as a web programmer and I will be forever grateful. The faith he had in me meant a lot and still means a lot to me.

This is a clarion call to all of us out there, having a protege who we can spend 5 hours a week tutoring doesn't hurt, in fact, it will help to create a positive ripple effect where proteges become mentors themselves, which in turn helps develop the tech industry we've always professed love for.

Finally, a big thumbs up to Fora’s Iyinoluwa Aboyeji for the idea of Fora bootcamp where they are teaching people (even those with no experience) software engineering and also offering them jobs.

Thank you for your time and I hope you are inspired to take up a student who can benefit a lot from your wealth of experience, meanwhile, help me throw three gbosas for the No. 1 star man himself.

And to O.o., I’d like to say thank you for what I have come to dub the ‘readrack’ experience, you still inspire me and still eagerly looking forward to our first meeting oooo.

Best Regards,

Joshua.

P.S: This is my first blog post in about a year, I might be a little bit rusty, but criticisms and corrections are very much welcome, and yes, Techloy did write about my application, Readrack (my goal before going on I.T.).