Chika Jonah Writes

Tag: story

  • How I left NYSC with a whooping sum of money

    This post is the answer to majority of the questions I got from the last post “How in Gods name did I make such an amount during NYSC?

    So sit tight and ride along with me.

    After my hunger experience which I shared with y’all in my last post I made a decision never to go hungry.

    And for that to happen I needed money.

    I went from company to company, I had nothing but zeal and desire. No experience no relations no connections. Just me in an unknown state.

    After days of searching I walked into a construction company far from my house and told them I was a copper and I needed a job.

    I was fortunate enough to meet the Owner of the business. He asked me a lot of questions about myself. Which I answered with a smile on my face.

    Y’all know my smile is contagious laughs

    He then went further to ask me, since I was a copper how was I going to properly deliver here. I replied that I only go to my PPA three times a week during the morning hours so by 12 noon I should be at work and the remaining days I’d also resume at the usual time.

    I left with the “we’ll get back to you” statement which made me feel less hopeful.

    I still went to a mall that day but they said they were full.

    The next morning I woke up with a phone call “Come to work now!”. And the call ended.

    “Are you kidding me, what kind of person gives someone a job on the phone and asks the person to resume immediately the call ends”. I complained. Obviously irritated.

    I rushed out. I can’t remember if I even had my bath that morning haha. I just wanted to find out if it was real or just a prank.

    I went and lo and behold it was real.

    I had a job.

    But…

    I never knew it was going to be a very stressful one with…of course, a lot of benefits.

    Salary was Ten thousand naira monthly as a copper. Then I was to be given 500 everyday for lunch. And some days I and my colleaque were provided with lunch and much more to eat. My boss was Igbo but the northerners were very hospitable.

    I know you’re wondering how it came to a whooping sum of three hundred thousand naira with bills to pay, transport and feeding.

    Let me indulge you

    I was receiving NYSC allowance of Nineteen thousand, eight hundred niara. Also my salary was Ten thousand niara. For the remaining ten months I never touched my salary and my allowance. So how did I survive?

    On my 500 daily lunch money and tips.

    I worked under the scorching sun supervising general merchandise. I spent time climbing trucks counting goods. I was always inside the warehouse during offloading and onloading of goods. And if the laborers weren’t around. I did their job and mine. It was gruesome, hard and unimaginable.

    No one believed I’ll do the work of a man. But I did it perfectly well. Clients saw this and constantly blessed me. My boss saw this and blessed me once in a while, even though he could be very annoying hahaha Aren’t all bosses that way?

    At the end of each day I left work with nothing less than One thousand five hundred, that is if few clients come in. Most days it was between three to five thousand. And it was that money I lived on. It was more than enough and I even had extra change. Do the maths.

    I enjoyed myself. There’s nothing sweeter than spending money you worked hard for. So I spent it well. Food was excess. I fed my student once a week. I never lacked my basic amenities. Helped in church. Had fun once in a while since I was a private person. Cooked to my hearts content. I was constantly sending bags of yam and fish to Portharcourt. Life was okay. I saved almost everything I could.

    If there’s anything to take home from this story its;

    Have multiple streams of income

    If I had only depended on allowance I would have left NYSC with nothing. And how would I have survived at home while job hunting?

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is still the most effective form of marketing. Understand your potential and spread the word.

    Save to start up, don’t borrow

    Save. If you don’t know how to. Learn. Its not as difficult as it seems. Work with a savings calendar. Have an achievable goal. Fix the duration. Fix the amount. No amount is too small. Hundred naira every day for one year can get you two bags of rice for Christmas. One thousand naira every day for a year can get you half plot of land in some cities. Don’t underestimate the power of 1.

    Writing this story and reliving its memiries now, has inspired me to rekindle that work fire I once had. Because its clear I’ve lost it. I seriously want to ignite that hustling spirit in me once again and build the kind of life I truly desire.

    How was NYSC for you? Are you still serving? what are your thoughts on this post? What have you decided to do positively from now on? What lessons did you learn? Share them in the comments below

  • TRUST THE PROCESS

    Hey guys I’m super grateful for everyone who responded to the reinvention post and those who also took out time to engage in the task i shared. I hope your process has given you the answer you so desire.

    Okay lets begin today’s post

    Trust the process – A statement I’ve been hearing for the past forty eight hours and has almost turned out to be the aftermath of my reinvention process. Everywhere i turned to it was the same message. When i wake up in the morning the first thing i hear would also be in tune with this three words.

    The first post greeting me on my Instagram page would also have the process word in quote. A friend also had the same thing in mind when i heard him teach a large group of people.

    It became too much that i eventually freaked out “Okay! I’ve heard, trust the process. Cool. No problem…” And shoved it aside. (laughs)

    Yes. I didn’t let it sink in nor did i take it seriously. I listened to the message, possibly even wrote it down somewhere but didn’t truly understand that it was meant for me. That just maybe it was not just a coincidence but it was a word from God to me and maybe you too.

    Not until this morning did i see what God wanted me to see when i heard her story.

    She is a woman i know well enough or so i thought. We live close to each other. When i see her all i see is a hardworking woman, with class, substance and taste and hell yeah; a whole lot of money (winks). I never saw or knew the behind the scenes of her life.

    I rode with her this morning to work when she started with a statement “i started with hundred naira as a salary”.

    “What? Hundred naira? Oh my God”. I said laughing. That’s like the price of a bottle of Pepsi. And its equivalent to almost nothing in dollars. (my american readers you can do the maths)

    She continued

    But who knew that years later that hundred naira would turn to millions. The only thing i had was an O’3 result and the hundred naira that fed me. Then this NYSC (National youth service corps) corpers came into the company and started telling us what to do. Bossing us around with their puffed up shoulders, and that got me pissed. I wondered what even made them special. It was the university degree. Then i decided i would also get mine too. It didn’t matter how many days i go hungry, because no one would come here and dictate to me how to do my job especially when I’m more qualified than they are. So i grabbed a form and took the exams and that was how i got in. You cant imagine the number of times i stayed hungry, hurt my foot as a result of trekking for a long distance. Yet i won the challenge. I got my degree. But it still felt like a small reward. Only later did i see the result of the pain, struggles and hunger; When all federal and state ministries and multinationals in the federation dropped all workers that didn’t have their university degrees. Even though you’ve been working with them for over twenty years. It didn’t matter, you will still be dropped. I was saved. I stayed not because i was better but because i learnt through the process. Now, what the world sees is a wealthy woman who has it all, without realizing that it took a process to get here. Not a day but a process that lasted for decades”. She said finally.

    “Wow!!” I exclaimed. Too shocked to say anything. When she eventually dropped me off at work i was still in awe.

    I laughed so hard “okay sorry God for taking time to understand. Did you have to make me hear this story for me to understand? Are you trying to punish me? Thank you so much. I love you” I said whispering to God as i walked inside.
    (I just said i love you God now, while typing this. Say it often. It helps)

    Maybe you may have heard a story like this. But have you let it sink in. Have you understood the deep meaning it carries within it? Whichever it is just know this;

    Those things you’ve learnt.
    Everything you learn along the way.
    Those experiences you’ve had.
    Those situations you’ve gone through that makes you feel yours is the worst case scenario.
    Those big No’s you received along the way.
    Those series of failures.
    Those skills acquired.
    Those books you’ve read to develop yourself.
    Those video you’ve watched to motivate yourself.
    The headache, the backache, the stomachache .
    Those periods you wanted to give up but choose not to. Are all a process

    A process that would turn into a massive explosion of breakthrough

    So trust it, survive through it and learn a lesson from it because it would pay off in the end. It would all be worth it.

    Whats your process story or your progress story. Are you where you want to be or are you still in progress? Share it in the comment section below