I was already 41 when I took a decision to quit my routine job and pursue my dreams.

I began to work in a Federal Government Agency as an accountant, from a very young age.

5 years into my career, I realized that a routine career wasn’t just what I wanted to pursue for a long time.

I always knew I had been given a definite role in the world and as long I was sitting on my office desk for longer than necessary, I didn’t feel fulfilled.

But things were such that, I couldn’t find the courage to quit.

I needed the salary for sustenance.

I had the fear of the unknown.

I don’t know if you, my reader, can relate to this?

Part of my concerns was about how people were going to judge me for bowing out of a job others considered secure.

Mind you, I was already certified as a professional accountant and had an enviable record of hard work and dedication to duty.

So I worked on this job for a total of 17 years and gained valuable experience, yet my dissatisfaction didn’t go away and was almost tugging. 

By the time I was 40, a sense of urgency took over and I began to feel that I had wasted a lot of time.

I blamed myself for not taking action earlier, yet I knew that I really couldn’t have done much because I lacked clarity.

I vividly remember the day I walked into my boss’ office and tendered my resignation.

I simply got tired of not having the freedom to implement my great idea by working on my terms.  

The routine was stifling my creativity and preventing me from flowing from my core. 

Having always wanted to follow my heart and do what I love, you can imagine how I felt with my new found freedom.

Yet it was with mixed feelings that I embraced this freedom, because it was obvious I was going to start all over again.

I realized that 17 years was too long a time to have spent, doing what I didn’t love.

I knew long ago, though, that I was dissatisfied practicing a profession that wasn’t aligned with my vision for impact.

I simply wanted to do work that empowers me to impact people directly. It was something I was not willing to negotiate.

But I lacked clarity and didn’t know what my next step should be.

So to ensure that I didn’t suffer much, financially, I embrace my love for fashion and travelling (which I was already doing part time while working)  and focused on importing and selling fabrics as a stop gap .

Precisely, on March 8,2014, I launched my NGO for Women and Girls and that bought me closer to my dream of impact, influence and legacy.

It was a period of travail.

There were nights I’d be awake till morning because I was sobbing my heart out.

                                                                                                                                                                          I’ll wonder how I derailed from the vision I had during my teenage years, of becoming a global voice and thought leader.

During those sober moments, I’ll wonder how on earth I was going to pass through life unannounced and unaccomplished.

I questioned my “reason for being.”

I wondered what would be said about me when I’m old and gone ?

 What was I going to be known and remembered for?

These are questions that called for introspection.

And I urge you to think on them right now.

In my case, I felt like a failure.

But I knew and told myself that failure isn’t an option.

So I embraced the journey to finding and creating my desired future.

And I must mention at this point that, the journey to mining my potential and living as the best possible version of myself, wasn’t a walk in the park.

Because I had no coach and didn’t realize I could leverage mentorship for support and accountability, I struggled a lot.

I spent a long time trying to figure things out, all by myself.  

I wasted a lot of money on trials and error.

I exerted much energy trying out every touted strategy.

There were loads of information on the internet and sieving through them was an uphill task. 

I became broke and nose-dived from the once financially independent, supportive wife to a woman who completely depended on my husband for basic survival.

I experienced a complete burn out, became discouraged and almost quit pushing for my dream of creating Impact, generational income and building my legacy. 

It was in September, 2018 that I began my journey of self discovery and personal development and that was the move that opened the door to growth and success for me.

Coaching and Mentorship became my saving grace.

Since then, I’ve invested in local and global coaches and mentors to up my game and achieve my goal.

Now, I figured out that there would be other career women who are over 40, like me and trapped in the ruts and pangs of insignificance and irrelevance while time is running out. 

They have no clue on how to start birthing the big dreams and vision they’ve been given by God.  

Many career women over 40, are resigning to fate and living unfulfilling lives that ultimately lead to regrets, more pain and frustrations.

My assignment became that of helping you gain clarity on the steps to achieving faster results so you don’t need to experience the exact pains and frustrations I faced while birthing my own vision.

This is my story of RESILIENCE.

The story of how I bounced back  from the stifling effect of a limiting career where I was like an item in a mixed bag; having  no name, no visible impact, no idea of how to give life to my dreams, with lonely night spent in silent tears because no one understood my inner struggles.

It’s the story of my journey to becoming a thought leader, writer and personal brand strategist who’s helping tens of career women like me to overcome their limitations and build strong personal brands that align with their vision for impact, income and legacy.

Here comes my BIG QUESTION FOR YOU.

HOW RESILIENT ARE YOU? 

In other words;

HOW EASILY ADAPTABLE ARE YOU?

HOW PERSISTENT ARE YOU?

HOW STOIC ARE YOU?

Being resilient means you’re able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult situations.

It means you’re TOUGH, HARDY AND IRREPRESIBLE.

Resilience makes you able to face and adapt to challenges, so as to overcome.

When you have strong resilience skills, you’re able to handle setbacks and you don’t let challenges keep you from progressing towards the high ambition you have for your life.

It’s a great skill to have, because, when you’re able to bounce back from challenges you become bigger, better and more fulfilled.

According to Tony Robbins, “Good times create weak people while bad times create strong people and strong people create good times.”

This in effect shows that, when you make a resolve to not sink into depression or wallow in self pity and determine to bounce back from your disappointments, setbacks and challenges, you can change your story and make a difference in the world. 

One fact you must live with is that, it’s guaranteed that each of us would have to go through one or more forms of setback or pain in our lifetime. 

What then makes a difference for you is your ability to bounce bank, stronger and better.

As you journey towards achieving your goal of becoming your best self, resilience is one skill you must strive to acquire.

And to assist you towards this, my next article would show you the benefits of resilience and the steps you should take in order to become a more resilient personality.

Nikky