En route Success

The road to success is most times very narrow and a lot of people will rather not tread this. But I know one thing for sure that there is no short route to success! You have got to put in that work Baby!!

For some time, I thought my PhD experience was the most challenging with my workload plus some self induced work I brought upon myself. Sometimes I just feel something must be wrong with me because my life is just too busy and when I force myself to slow down, my brain just thinks up another idea that consumes me like a demon hahaha. However I met an intelligent young individual and this is their story....... Its real life, no fiction here. This individual is Success waiting to explode! I will tell their story here someday/interview them when their name becomes a household name in the nearest future..... Oh Yes!!!

Hi, my name is...it doesn’t matter… and I love my life. I'm a homeless PhD student somewhere in the UK who sleeps in the PhD office. It’s one of those open plan kind of things where you have a desk with your name on it and a PC. I don’t even have a PC, I ‘colonized’ one of the hot desks and out of respect (or fear), my colleagues don’t use it. It's not relevant or important at this time to explain how or why I'm homeless, all that is important to this narrative is just the fact that I am…and like I said…I love my life. I sleep on the floor under my desk when most people have gone home. There are usually one or two people with impending deadlines who study all night but I am usually alone more these days. Just me, wrapped in my blanket that resides in my old but faithful Tommy Hilfiger travel bag I keep under my desk...a reminder of better days. Sometimes it’s cold and I shiver but most days I sleep good…real good. It has been said that I snore sometimes (amongst other things). I have back pains so the floor helps. My estimated wake up time is between 4:15 and 5:30am...I can't sleep beyond 6am (apart from Saturdays and Sundays) cos that's when the cleaners come in and I need to be at my desk pretending to (or actually) studying when they come in. By 7am the school gym opens and I'm one of the first at the door to shower...then I decided to start working out. My amusement 'pack' is becoming a 2'pack' and I'm hoping (and working) they have 4-6 more kids soon. Then back to my desk where there are days it's so hard not to fall asleep at my desk which is just next to the door. Breakfast is usually Weetabix with soy milk or Fruit and Fiber. I have the luxury of choosing one or the other, a lot of people don’t. One day we had a change in security details and I was thrown out. Very interesting experience. They found me sleeping and asked me to get up. I moved to my desk and dozed off. They walked me out of the premises and when I told them I lived in another city- they told me to go sleep at the station. I got to the Station and it was locked. It was 2am in the morning. I thought about picking a spot on the streets till dawn but remembered that my experience isn’t punishment- it is a process. That God cannot and will not let me sleep on the streets unless it were absolutely necessary and I knew at that point that it wasn’t. So I walked back praying and confronted the new head of security quietly but with naija sense- I was allowed back to the premises but didn’t get into the office to 5am. I know this was God telling me not to get too comfy…I need to speed things up. Needless to say, I snored at my desk half the day! Lol. I've learned so much. About life, about myself, about friendship. I've learned humility, contentment and my dreams are bigger than ever. Most importantly, I've seen Gods hands every step of the way, felt his comfort and reassurance (a head-hunter contacted me out of the blues the day after I was thrown out regarding a £60,000 per annum job. Didn't get it... But it was God saying...fear not, this is how it will happen- out of the blues). I love this adventure called my life and hv seen huge opportunities being here and homeless...and focused on this PhD I will finish before my colleagues! I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful that I am in a Uni that gives her PhD students 24/7 access ( a lot of them don’t), that has a gym close by. I am grateful that I have such kick ass colleagues. One elderly guy keeps bringing me stuff- food, lots of eggs, fruits, proper Turkish shawarma…meen! Proper treat. I am grateful for the friends that keep asking me to come over for weekends and even send train tickets…and send me off with a bottle of something to knock back with in the evenings when I am back home…sorry school. I am grateful for this whole process in which God is crafting something amazing, fearfully wonderful and properly useful. Making a man of character and humility, I am grateful for a lot of the temptations I have been able to escape not having my own place. They still come but at a much reduced frequency and a whole lot easier to walk away from. I am grateful for the fewer distractions from outside, giving me time to deal with the big ones coming from inside. I am grateful for the content for all the books that are coming (starting with Why You Won’t Make It- coming soon! :D) I am grateful for the weather; it has been my best year this year weather-wise. I am grateful for each meal, each miraculous provision. I laugh when at the very point where supplies come to an end- something happens. I laugh when my colleagues see me eating and keep admiring the menu.  I am grateful that I am able to share with them sometimes. I am grateful that I always something to share and a heart that knows it should. He is most miserable who cannot or does not give. I am grateful for today. Every day. My name is…still doesn’t matter….and I love my life!!!!