Hey! Little Girl, Where Are You?

 When I was a little girl, I had dreams of becoming a writer. Oh! How I used to love to read different books: Enid Blyton Series, Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, Little Women, A Tale of Two Cities, Gulliver’s Travels and more; so much so that I would go under the covers at night with my touch light so I could read without drawing my parent’s attention to the light in my room. I would read far into the night, transfixed as I crossed into the world of imagination. Excitement filled me wanting to know the end of the story so badly that I would battle with myself to resist the temptation to flip to the end.

The power of books and most important a good story that could hold me spellbound birthed my dream to become a writer. And so, at a tender age I would write down my thoughts. I had a wild imagination then and I’m sure if I could spare the time to go into the storeroom at my parent’s home in the Canaan City, Calabar, I would find some of my early attempts at the art of weaving words.

That little girl was fearless, she was confident, she believed she could conquer the world.

But as I grew older the dreams my little girl began to recede into the background. I don’t even know how and when I finally lost her because one day, I realised that I didn’t think about becoming a writer anymore. I got bamboozled into a traditional career path. The society and our parents looked with admiration at people who were Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, Bankers, Engineers, Teachers, etc.

In addition to that, being able to say that you worked with an Oil & Gas or Telecommunications organisation was a thing of pride, for not just you but your parents and family; Because it showed that you were a serious-minded-somebody who was earning a steady income and would climb up the proverbial corporate ladder.

So, I towed the line and found myself in Corporate Nigeria. Months turned into years, years into a decade and my little girl receded further, hiding away from me because I had neglected her. I began to build a career in my chosen path – customer services. Don’t get me wrong, building a career is not wrong at all. However, there comes a time in a person’s life when some life changing questions need to be asked and answered. I will share those questions with you soon, for now back to the story.

As I grew older, I somehow felt the desire to weave words together. Thank God for technology which had birthed computers and laptops so I could tap away at the keyboard and my letters turned into words and words into pages. Except that I seemed to feel stuck and I wondered what on earth had happened to my writing.

In hindsight, I discovered that I struggled to write because I didn’t have passion for the stories I had begun writing, and my imagination could carry me on only so far. I would meet the writer’s block several times and literarily give up out of frustration. I began to question if my dream really was my dream?

Then something happened to me that completely rocked my world and gave me a story. I couldn’t believe it. When I put fingers to keypad, I just could not stop tapping – I would tap way into the night, my eyes still alert even when I had to be at work early the next day – I never experienced writers block or discouragement – Excitement filled me as I found that I was fulfilling purpose.

I didn’t have the full picture but progressive elaboration manifested, just like I had learned in Project Management. As I completed each chapter the vision became clearer and I knew what impact my story would have on the world. Now I have a completed book that will be published in March. Sometimes I pinch myself to see if I am dreaming. It has boosted my confidence and renewed my faith. The future looks very bright and I am utterly excited to waltz into it.

I guess what I am trying to say is: Dear Readers, there is something that you were created to achieve in this world. To make a big difference.

What is that thing you need to do that burns deep in your heart, it keeps you up at night?  Find it and claim it! But in order to help you do so,

Let’s go on the journey back in time first…

• You are between the ages of 10 and 15; what did you want to be when you grew up?
• How did you feel whenever you thought about it? Excited, Exhilarated, Fearless, Anxious, or Fearful?
• How did you lose the interest to pursue your dream?

Now let’s look at your now…

• Does your current daily life reflect the dreams you had for yourself? If yes state how. If No, state how.
• What are the things you need to do to realign your life back towards your dreams?

Finally, let’s take a sneak peep at the future…

• What would your life look like if you were living your dream life? What will you be doing?
• How do you feel seeing yourself walking in purpose?

Happy Purpose Finding!