IT IS FOOLISH TO THINK YOU STUDIED THE WRONG COURSE. FIND OUT WHY

BANTER WITHOUT DOORS: Have you been thinking that the career path you chose (or have found yourself in) is responsible for your failure to be a success? Well, DURU CHIMEZIE thinks otherwise. On this week's Banter Without Doors, he specifically places the emphasis on you, while ranting a lot about 'space'. Do find out what the heck he means with the 'space' thingy. After all, there are fewer astronauts these days.

I started writing this piece while sitting on my WC after returning from one of my training classes (how awkward it is, right? Well, my toilet commands more appeal than most dinning places; fact!). As you already know, I am equally a software trainer. Something I started out as a pass-time activity, eventually became a way of picking lump sums here and there in every nine (9) days. While I am immensely proud of my ability to know a good number of software (mostly related to my field of study) so well that I can effectively teach people, I must explain that I didn't write this piece because of this singular source of pride. In fact, if I were to caption this one in a different way, I would happily call it 'Finding your Space In Your Area Of Study'. However, even the non-existent International Association Of Reckless Writers, could effectively see me banned for life if I used a dozen titles per piece. Can we now proceed, please?!

One usual trend or belief is that one's course of study isn't necessarily all he needs to become a world beater in future. In fact, in certain families, the kids are encouraged to see the university and the subsequent certificate as just a prerequisite to be called learned or educated and that's just about all it is. Nothing more, nothing less. Consequently, what they would become later on can then be decided via some other means. Well, can I announce to all such people with such opinions (and I'm doing so with a very wide ugly mouth), that it is one of the 'wrongest' ideas ever known to man! The fact is, when we seem to have failed in trying out something, we tend to popularize our failure in a manner that makes the 'something' as the failure instead of us.

Can we reach an agreement at this point on something important? (I know we disagree often, but your agreeing to agree on this one will be important if we are to finish this piece together. Thank you). It is about the true hierarchy of human career fields. No matter how many schools of thought think the opposite, I will be happy to be alone on the conviction that no career path is mightier (or more important) than the other! Not even a single one! For me, all career lines are important to mankind and will keep benefiting our daily living and evolution in one way or the other. If you doubt so, try convincing all waste-management workers in your district to stop coming over occasionally to dispose the public bin and see how far you can go with the stench you've generated all by yourself. While waste-management might not be found as a course of study in our schools today, it is a very important aspect of our living and all over the world there are lots and lots of guys who make a healthy career out of it.

The first problem is the society we've found ourselves. Considering the manner with which the services of certain group of professions are wanted more than the rest, it does create the impression that they are really the important careers to pursue. Coupled with the huge financial benefits that follow, it will take a stone-hard argument to convince otherwise. Equally, the persistent failure of practitioners of the so-called lesser fields to be inventive, is another problem. Accepting that the so-called 'major courses' (and I refer to the medical fields, engineering, architecture/construction fields, law, etc) are seen as major because their services are constantly sought, is also graciously accepting that they are often having something to give each time their services are requested. This explains to us that one of the reasons (if not the main reason), why the lesser-courses are called lesser is because the society appear to be either comfortable with the volume of their services she has received (thus not needing more) or are frustratingly finding their available services boring and 'unuseful'. In other words, if she had become so used to receiving red, been given blue could just spark on her interest. But when the guy who supposedly gives the red does not even realize how blue is need, then both parties would remain like water and its enemy electricity.

You find your field of study uneventful/unrewarding/non-lucrative simply because the society equally finds your field uneventful/unrewarding/non-lucrative. And when this applies to a greater percentage of the people who share the same profession as yourselves, then you find your field of study uneventful/unrewarding/non-lucrative simply because your colleagues and yourself have failed to find a way of being inventive. Believe it or not, nobody would ever care if you made it to earth or not on your birthday if you don't have a useful service he thinks he needs from you. Personally, almost half of the persons I have met professionally (and trust me, I have met and dinned with a lot), are persons who needed me because of what I could do for them. If I were to depend on my background then I would probably only know the lot my folks know. That is not what you will want to do. Making yourself relevant is making your field relevant. It is an equivalent of finding space. My friends who love the game of soccer (sorry if you don't, I know how it hurts seeing soccer used for illustrations. Poor me!) would acknowledge that the most important aspect of a play-makers game is finding space. Considering that he bears the weight of his team's creativity in attack, he tirelessly works towards finding space for himself. It is when he finds this space that he can hurt teams with a killer pass which his team can score from. After this, he is seen to have made his role relevant. Creating that space, is what you need now and not criticizing the profession!!

"You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club". A popular quote from Jack London. It is the answer to the obvious question you must be asking in your head right now; "how do I create my own space?". Inspiration & ideas are everywhere but you will always have to search for them to use them. Space can be seen in everything but you will need to take up a systematic thought process to locate it for yourself. The basic questions you will need to be asking are:

1. 1.      What about my field could interest people if packaged in a different way?
2. 2.      How can I redesign a specific aspect of my field so as to attract the desired interest?
3. 3.      What aspect of my field are fellow professionals finding laborious or unattractive and would benefit if it is done in a simpler way?
4. 4.      What aspects of my field are seen as virgin within my locality and yet unexplored?

Any of these questions (and others similar to them) will lead you to a potential 'space'. Your 'space' does not necessarily need to displace every other person's. Not at all. Your 'space' only needs to help you create your own little but ever-expanding niche. I can see you nodding. Well, you wouldn't mind us stepping into the next paragraph, would you?

Now, permit me to unveil another obvious but often ignored truth about breaking-through in one's career field. That truth is, the only thing you might always need to break-through in your field is the right kind of popularity (you can also call it fame, reputation or recognition). Let me give you an illustration. If I am to be a Software Engineer, who probably comes from a district where there are numerous reputable software engineers, while also residing in another district where there are many too, believe it or not, getting the attention I'll need to offer my service/enjoy my career field could be the most difficult thing in the world. Most especially if I am really just hoping for that 'right time' when people will come to know me. Well, can you give me your blessings to have a very fat LOL! Reason? Simple. There will never be a 'right time'. All I will need to do to get the right attention is to either begin offering something different from what the rest offer, which should be equally useful to the blokes in that district. Or begin serving my fellow colleagues with something superior and vital to how they offer their offer their own services. In both situations, I will only be getting myself the right recognition which is what will eventually translate to the attention that will be needed to break-through.

Before you begin running around town telling people about your new discovery, can you be patient enough to let this piece finish at least? I love you for changing your mind. For I wish to add that you can create your 'space' via any means legal. No federal legislature places any form of description on what ways you can create or find your own space. Like I had said earlier, the most important thing is to secure the necessary recognition. When people know you exist (and probably also know the colour of your favourite sweat-shirt), then pleasing rumours little 'I heard he is an engineer' and 'he must be equally good in engineering' would begin circulating. This can be followed by, 'I wish to take this stuff to him, since he is an engineer', which is a fair and pleasing point to start off. You may have to secure your recognition from an area that is close to your field but not exactly so and you can also do so entirely within your field. Any of the cases does not determine much. Once you found the 'space' you would then bring it home.

I would like to round off by saying that no profession defies the principles I have stated here. In fact, the human needs are so evolving that new 'spaces' sprout out everyday (like walnuts from the ground) and it is similarly so dynamic that 'spaces' you find today wouldn't be there tomorrow. Your being keen to search and explore, is what determines what you will find. It could be as little as finding/suggesting software that could make your communication with your clients more powerful and effective. Or simply learning such software packages and teaching your colleagues (including those older folks who you constantly refer to as the lords). It could also be a redefinition of options which are usually made available to your clients. While your colleagues offer just one or two at most, you can find a way of increasing it to three or four. This will ultimately get the attention of your clients over the rest. There are several like these and in the words of Leo Burnett, "curiosity about life in all its aspect ... is still the secret of great creative people". Learn to find your own space as it is plain foolish to think it is the career path you chose, that is your problem. See you next week!

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