Ever heard of the saying “artsier than the nerds, nerdier than the artists”?. It’s a dichotomy of skill, believe, philosophy or anything that gives you competitive advantage.
When I was in secondary school, I was best in maths, french, fine-art and biology. Yet, I wasn’t the best student to represent the school for competitions. But I stood out. I had a combination of interests that resonate with me, so I’m constantly in the cheeks of teachers.
In university, it’s totally a different experience. There’re thousands of bright students like you, and no teachers to rub your ego. You are reduced to the things that set you apart.
How do you view the world? In black and white or in plains of colorful paint. How much do you open yourself to the possibilities of the world?
The world is your canvas, and you’re Picasso 🔗
A linear view of the world is how everybody else sees it. And as humans, you tend to see your life problems that way too.
Imagine this scenario.
You need 5 million naira in 6 months for some emergency. Let’s say you need it to travel. To the average person, this is hard or far-fetched. But if you don’t see the world as linear, you’d understand what leverage means.
To have leverage, you need unique views of the world. To have unique views of the world, you need combination of skills. To have a combination of skills, you need an open mind. So, in essence, a closed mind will find many things hard before they even try. A closed mind will only see cash grab hustles.
Back to how to make ₦5m in 6 months.
An example - If you learn X skill in and out in 3 months, get hired for conservative $1000 monthly for 3 months, you’d make about $3000. That’s ₦4.5m with today’s exchange. Now, that seem theoretical, but a combination of multiple skills can help increase the odds of getting hired in the first place. But you need an open mind to learn multiple skills. An imaginative sense of “one day at a time”.
The more you know, the more problems you see, the more you see gaps in human thinking, and the more you want to make an impact. This is why you want to be artsier than the average nerd, and nerdier than the average artist.
You won’t be the ultimate best, but you get to navigate life much easier and climb your way on the social classes.
Summary - Learn a skill.