TRO-TRO DIARIES PART 4(b): ON UNSTRUCTURED SITUATIONS

When I get to 37 Station, I have to take a taxi to work, or simply walk which is generally not feasible. My office is very close to the American Embassy, and that side of Cantonments does not cater to the needs of the tro-tro taking public from that direction. Even though I work at the National Petroleum Authority, I earn a National Service Salary so I have to manage my resources judiciously and this necessitates several changes in my outlook and practice of life in general. I view myself as less and less a privileged kid and more and more a young adult with growing responsibilities. At the NPA I am learning how to keep a rein on my temper, how to tactfully present a suggestion, how to determine if somebody can help you get your job done easier, and how to work with people you may detest. I have learnt that it is sometimes best to shut up and kiss ass than to always say as you will and that there is a hierarchy and one must observe the pecking order. I am part now part of a very big team, a simple cog in a vast machine. There are rules and I am playing the game by its rules – but being that I am me I have put my own twist on my affairs there. My work is very confidential, but essentially what we do is to regulate the downstream oil industry, but we also have a few engagements with the upstream sector as well of necessity. What do I do there exactly; I am officially attached to the Finance Department but in fact I am an intern with slightly expanded responsibilities. I love my job and it is enabling me to get closer and closer to making my oily dreams a reality.

I desire to be an accomplished guru in Ghana’s nascent oil industry, and to this end over the past three years I have done all that is necessary to pursue this goal. Accomplishment can only be attained through sacrifice, but I wonder if I have sacrificed enough yet. I am positive that I grew up way too early; I realized at too young an age that life is what you make of it, that Santa was a myth and money makes the world go round. You use the tools, talents and faults that define you to get anywhere you want to go. Look at Zuckerberg, do you really think he knew he would climb to such heights – Time person of the year? Most definitely not! He was just at the right place at the right time, with the right set of skills. Bono, Buffet, Gates, Jobs, Mandela, Rockefeller; what do they all have in common? There were prepared to maximize the opportunities that came their way; not just because they were destined to do what they did but that they recognized an opportunity, leveraged it and succeeded in making an impact on each of our lives.

I am destined to do as I must, and so are you. Rather than wrack your poor soul with useless worry, identify your strengths and the opportunities that surround you and leverage the hell out of them and at the same time mitigate your weaknesses and the threats that are an inevitable part of the package. I mean, nobody is perfect, least of all me! I am a product of my strengths and weaknesses; a simple equation of nature and nurture. Who cares which has precedence, you are who you are and you might as well be comfortable being yourself. Pleasure is only skin deep anyway so we may choose to just join the masses as mindless drones who end up doing nothing of note. Or we can have a far-reaching impact in this world – I am seriously in the midst of creating my legacy and I hope you are too. I know I am not the only one, but there are too few of us that my heart bleeds, my eyes tear and I wonder if there are enough people that recognize the simple truth of life – that what you invest determines the returns you obtain. Failure does not exist to the mind of the determined, you learn and you improve from your mistakes, and you are tasked to the limit of your ability by this world, so if you cannot accomplish what you desire blame nobody but yourself.

Doubt is just about the most dangerous thought a human can entertain. Doubt kills dreams; doubt destroys the well-laid schemes of mice and men. Doubt is a demon, and must be exorcised. Believe that you can make it, or don’t; that is up to you. As for me and mine, we know where we are going. Seriously, it should not surprise you if I die a premature death or become the president; they are all as likely as each other. I do not know what the future holds, who knows anyway. However you can prepare yourself as best as you can for the unknown. How? In a global village where a man is judged not by the content of his mind, but the size of his wallet how does one hope to make anything of consequence? I do not have any smart or quick answers; I am just trying to figure things out for myself, as is anybody else. But I do not mind sharing the little tidbits of wisdom that come my way as I flit from one place to another, one scene to another trying to make things happen.

Personally, my life is just a series of routines and unstructured situations. Routines are boring, and the unexpected is stressful – but a healthy mix of both makes life worth living. Nowadays, I treasure the little things now more than ever; my little resilient BlackBook that just won’t quit; my rent free room and my AC that doesn’t chill too much anymore; access to internet at work and home; my mother’s awesome cooking; my father’s constant advice; the unbridled love my now very mature and even cooler siblings and I share; my parents giving me transport money when I am broke; the washing machine that keeps my clothes so clean; the many books that I have had access to read; my few friends and many associates; the nearly perfect job for me at this particular point in Ghana’s history; the grey in my hair; my ‘unsmart’ Nokia phone; my youth, strength and health; even my mealy-mouthed approach to expressing myself – these are some of the little things that shape my perceptions of the environment within which I find myself and I appreciate the fact that I finally am able to put things in the right context most of the time.

I have been trying to listen far more than I talk of late as well and for good reason (save when inebriation upends sobriety).  By and large, three things occupy my mental faculties and physical energies – Thinking, Planning and Execution. That is not to say that others do not do the same, but frankly I am simply far more meticulous in my approach than most people I have had the fortune of meeting. But for all this aggrandizing “ahead of the pack” mentality sometimes I fail; matter of fact I have failed at so many things so many times that I am surprised I still have enough confidence to keep trying again. The redeeming trait I have is I cannot accept these failures because the way I see it, they are merely consecutive and unending tests. Dogged, stubborn and uncompromising to a fault I am and will remain. I will never short-change myself, and why should anyone. Seemingly insurmountable challenges are the stuff of legend, because they are just that, seemingly insurmountable. Yet man has gone to the moon, can see billions of light years into the past and posit the beginning of the universe and create technologies that are inconceivably miniscule or colossal. Large Hadron Colliders that bombard atomic particles to discover their sub-atomic component parts vie for attention together with macro-economic trends that shapes the life of billions – where is the world going to? Wherever it is going, a few shall ride the crest of the wave but many shall stand by the beach and watch and more shall flounder. Such is life, oh what an unforgiving mistress she is. In the meantime we are saving towards our Aston Martin – glad to say that we are 0.13867% of the way there at the moment so there is still a long way to go. Until that time, I will join the queue on my way back home, oh I forgot Ghanaians queue like sane humans to board the tro-tro at the station, but at the bus stop, well you already know.......hia hia hiaaaaaaa

I'm just saying, if you will aim, then AIM HIGH....hehehe :)