If you allow yourself to learn who you really are by paying attention to that voice and force within you, then you can become what you were fated to become—an individual, a Master.
Young people need to read more books. It’s becoming an emergency.
A lot of people cannot arrive at their own conclusions without first checking what everyone else thinks.
They adopt popular opinions without interrogating them, cannot defend positions they claim to hold and struggle to stand for anything because they have never taken the time to think things through.
I genuinely fear we are beginning to underestimate how important reading is to our intellectual development, and I worry that we are gradually losing our ability to think independently, process information and form coherent opinions about things.
I see this a lot in interviews. People can only answer questions they have rehearsed. The moment an interviewer changes the wording or asks an unfamiliar question that requires actual reasoning, they become lost.
You see it in everyday conversations, too, especially on this app.
People struggle to understand context, interpret tone, recognise metaphors, detect sarcasm or follow nuanced arguments.
Everything is taken literally, and people constantly respond to things that were never actually said.
I think our consumption habits have something to do with this. We spend hours consuming short-form content but rarely dedicate time to reading, processing and engaging with complex ideas.
Reading does more than improve your vocabulary. It strengthens comprehension, critical thinking, memory, attention span and your ability to articulate your thoughts.
It teaches you to question information, consider opposing perspectives and arrive at your own conclusions.
Please, read more fiction, history, philosophy, biographies and subjects outside your immediate interests.
We need more young people who can think for themselves, defend their positions, understand the world around them and hold meaningful conversations.
We don’t have enough independent thinkers and it’s a really huge problem.
If you can't afford mentorship on copywriting, buy books, get your hands on all the free stuff out there and consume it. Keep improving your skill until you can afford one.
You have to reach the point where your fear of dying mediocre outweighs your fear of looking like an idiot. The first version of anything you do will be embarrassing, that should be obvious, but too many people let that thought keep them the same for decades on end.
AI is there to support, not to actually do the work. If you really want to learn copywriting, you start writing by yourself first, then use AI to accelerate later.
When I got laid off from Microsoft, I got into a company in Lagos that felt paying 600k naira a month was doing me a favour. I had to take the offer to keep body and soul together.
Was there for 6 months until I fell out with the MD and started looking out. That was when I started my training outfit but couldn't quite get traction.
Anyway, after leaving this NGO, I spent another 5 months in the wilderness, literally. Ate rejections almost every other day. Was living on the goodwill of friends and relations. Basically wondering what to get out of life.
An Antler rep came knocking at the time and was in the process of fast tracking my application to the Antler cohort at Kenya. Guess what? My passport had expired. Ran to go fast track my passport, after a few days emailed the partner but was told it was too late.
I remember laying in my room laughing hysterically, mulling to myself, "who I offend?"
Thankfully at that time, I applied to Andela and the process started for another 2 months. I got into Andela and my monthly salary was my previous annual salary. This trend continued in a subsequent company. Use am run one or two that year.
But the point is, while I was enjoying this new reality, I asked myself, "why did you worry all those times?" In hindsight, there was no reason to. I should have just chilled for 5 months, enjoyed myself.
But we are human and can only understand life in hindsight. As long as you believe this it will work out for you: EVERYTHING will turn out better than you expected, just stop worrying.
Many of the OGs copywriters are not born with a natural ability for writing advertising copy. It takes time to be really good at it, and the only option for that is to practice more and get dedicated to learning what works.