DASHBOARD, AM I SAFE?

While I was a young boy, I loved watching the dashboard and to be precise the speedometer to find out the velocity at which my dad's car was being driven. There was this adrenaline in me that loved speed. I still do even though I never take chances because I know how the police cell looks like and an imminent wreckage or worse still kicking the bucket. On the contrary, when I exclaim my love for speed, there are people who use it as an avenue of thinking that I am psychotic. Jeez, ain't I allowed to have an awkward tendency? Don’t we in a way have personal idiosyncrasies that when others hear they become timorous?

My pater used to be the only lone driver apart from those rare occasions when he would leave the machine under the care of a driving stalwart. Once I asked him if he could participate in a safari rally but he looked noncommittal. He said he could have tried during his hey days as a ferocious and vivacious driver but could not in his current state (then state close to two decades ago). Immediately after completing driving school, he was given a company car and he had to find a way of ensuring he got to his destination even though there were no Google Maps and other aids during those first timers. Still he managed to do that which he was supposed to accomplish.

I recall he was that guy who could not drive past 100kph. That was his mien. Always disciplined, albeit the radar speed guns had not been introduced in the country. However, he rarely belted apart from those rare occasions when he was coming to Nairobi for seminars and other prolix trips that forced him to drive at belted up. These days, he rarely drives. Luckily, the cars being made now forces one to belt up even if you never want because of that nettling sound which implies you need to secure yourself.

When I started driving. I usually loved speed. There was one day my Oldman left me his car as a rookie to horn my skills and the experience was an eye-opener. I had tried driving at a speed so fast I almost veered off the murram road. Yes, you can when your coordination is still pathetic. Given that it was the ‘car in front of you’ it was wobbling and my postural stability was not wont. And it was not that fast looking at it now. I was doing 50 mph, the recommended speed for all automobiles.

It's almost a decade ever since I knew how to spin the wheel. I have however lost my edge in driving ‘manual’ cars. I could not even put one in motion after some hiatus in driving such car because of reasons I may attest to the adage that you need to learn, forget, and then relearn. And it should be a continuous process lest I forget again because I am the kind of bugger who needs to learn for quite some time before I get my act right. Think of 'Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell only that in this context, I will not be aiming at turning into a star. Pole Musa.

The stage is now set. Methinks we have a very lousy system that prepares us for contentment and waiting for life to take its own course. That's our kismet and Rubicon. Once we reach a certain milestone, there is no verve to push harder. Yet others never tire even after reaching self-actualization status, they struggle to be immortal. So that they will be remembered eons after living planet earth for outstanding contribution to humanity like the famous Microsoft founder, Bill Gates though he does not wow me that much.

I remember as a student, I used to be told to work hard because hard work pays. While that may seem archaic, in some professions, it is a reality. If you don't go past the usual that you need to do, then, chances are you will be phased out faster than you know it. Hard work combined with wit makes one able to outdo that which they have initially found too complex to achieve. I am experiencing déjà vu.

While in school, we were told to work hard for a better life, ideally, that also applies to everyday work.  Then again, it depends on the type of work you do. However, there are cases of some individùals who I can term as outliers. Those individuals who in some way outdo the system it looks like they were made out of some special substance that we the typical beings struggle with. They are geniuses, and for some reason, these individuals should be widely spaced from the next. Just like failures should be very few. That's what the normalcy curve constitutes. We have very few at the apex, majority at the middle and a small chunk at the lower stratum. That's life for you. And I tell you for free. I am not afraid to say I am among those in the belly of the normal curve. I really want to eschew this, like yesterday.

In Swahili there is a saying that, ‘Mwenzako akinyolewa, tia chako kichwa maji.’ I read the dailies and saw an article that demonstrates the reality within the banking industry. It is the sack. As long as you do not own the job, you are subject to be fired. Even Steve Jobs was chased out of the company he helped found. Consequently, there is a certain bottom tier bank which was forced to relieve its non-performing employees due to streamlining of the banking industry. Its reason for reduction was to be in line with the industry and to prepare to be a tier-two bank. Which pertubs me because when you want to move to the next stage, you need to do the opposite of what they were doing. Forgive my shallow reasoning though. Never mind that I have not read the Banking (Amendment) Act that will surely lead to even more bread winners going home.

It’s already happening, but subtly. Doing it enmass will attract media attention and that means the banks will have to lose out. There is a possibility of shares plummeting further as more branches will be merged, staff reduced in the process and more importantly, loss of income. Already, I have seen this happen. My job description has changed, there are those who were well prepared. They did smell the rat before us who are still sleeping on the job as they have sought greener pasture. I have no idea where they have gone to. Chances are the destination is cosier.

There is this scale which measures how good or bad you are performing in terms of bringing in new customers. It’s called a dashboard. The human resource department has programmers who have designed it to given those if statements and instructions to identify those who are only enjoying doing nothing. For those who are doing well, they never have to worry much. The only problem is that it slices those who don’t work hard. I am a culprit. One day it will chop me off if I do not pull up my socks. Countless times I have been urged to apply for a new job. When I think of starting all over again, I usually let that go. Plus experience has taught me that there it's not easy getting another job.

Even deciding to write does not come easy. You need to pick yourself up in order to write the first few words. Diction also comes into play. What I usually tell myself is that in the event I will be forced to leave my current designation, if it is because of non-performance, I will only take up a new role in that which I would love to do for the rest of my life-investments. Writing is just a hobby I never take seriously anymore. That I have plagiarized a lot of other peoples’ works is not a lie.

You see, I had applied for another designation given that our positions were no longer tenable. It was going to be slightly more luxurious that this one which involves going to the field a lot. You sit the and call and once a customer agrees to your proposal, you approach another. It’s completely different form this one where I have to seek, get shamed, frustrated and sometimes go empty handed. Why did I fail in securing something I thought was kind of better, it all boils down to performance.

There is this person who has been employed to monitor my performance. I think I have a love hate relationship with him. Truth is, I also think I am on a sojourn. If I was to advice a person about sales, I would say that it’s the kind of job a person does for one month and if he is not steadfast enough, once the first salary is paid, you will never see that person again. Others report and when they are told to go to the field, they never turn up for the rest of their lives.  I have survived even though I am taking the bank at a loss. I have reached that position where I am so reliant on the meagre retainer I receive at the end of the month that my thought process is kind of obtuse. It’s because I hate applying for jobs. It’s usually discouraging. At least clients respond, but jobs never.

Since a sales job is not usually permanent, those that excel in it know malleate themselves to be top performers even if they have been served with a termination or eviction notice. Like I have severally intimated, those who break even do so and they reap very big. And in being line with the what nature is, these individuals are few. Majority just ensure they will not be sacked by delivering just the desired results. One day, you wake up and find that your services will no longer be required. It's that simple. As opposed to other jobs where you only need to be seen to have reported in the morning, done something positive  and exit in the evening, it's a different story in sales. If a week goes without you getting a client. Then you are in deep shit. Worse is when it grows into a month. No one cares that you could have been having financial issues, low moments or lack of motivation because you have to apparently motivate yourself. 

And you know what, over the period I have developed a criminal mind. Criminal mentality dictates that one becomes devoid of feeling even though deep down I know that I am this altruistic dude who will go nowhere with such tenets. Criminals expect to prevail in any endeavor. Do I expect to? Yes by all means I need to. I know of guys who spend half a day at work then the rest they engage in activities that they know best.

While this job offers me what I can say is experience, I sometimes usually feel like I am not contributing to the betterment of growing the potential of the organization. That’s why this criminal mentality is sometimes helping. But this also boils down to the fact that when you see your boss looking like they are doing nothing, you also develop the same kind of complacency. Yet you are supposed not to compare yourself with another person but to work on making yourself better.

PS: It's funny that I had to stand in as a witness to a colleague who looks like he will go missing for sometime given that his Whatsapp profile has gone under. I looked at what he was being charged and felt like we really need to reign in on Shylocks. In one month he was supposed to pay up to 25% of the amount he had borrowed. I only did stand in as a witness because in the event this bugger eschews paying his dues, they will be on my neck. Am I even worried? Not in any way. Whether it will be a harrowing experience, only God knows. So I will just have to chalk it up. After all, experience is the father of wisdom. I just had to be positive. 


Hasta La Vista Baby.


[Picture Source: Google Images]

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PROLETARIAT

Do dreams come true? When I grow up, I want to be self-independent and an employer. Every jobless bugger always dreams about being safely tacked somewhere in employment (hata kama ni kwa baniani mwenye kiatu chake dawa). Even a CEO fears being fired or waking up to find that all employees have not turned up because the status quo will have been breached. Which reminds me that I have seen a guy writing a letter to his manager. I hate being idle. In the place I work, activity that is beneficial to the bank does not count if you have not brought in results. It’s synonymous to reading for exams then at the end of the day you cannot answer the questions correctly, what does that mean?

It’s worthless to sometimes struggle then at the end of the day the compliance department officer gives you back the document that you had. It’s called RTS which translates to ‘Return to Sender’. I have been a victim.

As a victim, which I have been like thrice or slightly more times, my morale usually falls so low. A slight pain, a nauseated feeling engulfs and I also develop some tightness in the chest. Cortisol levels rise and the vagus and cranial nerves become overstimulated. Those are the times I feel like a wildebeest watching her young ‘un being picked up with the golden paws of a lion that had seen better days. I sometimes feel like shedding tears thinking about the struggle I have been through. But I usually find myself laughing.

The compliance officers are one bunch of hawk eyed chaps who have an eye for details and ensure that all business is carried out within the regulatory framework. They are very thorough. While as the first line of defense you may think that you have everything in order, they will notice slight mistakes much to your chagrin and the process can be quite aggravating and frivolous. You can imagine these are the chaps who sit the whole day while you spend time and money on the streets looking for client’s documents to submit then in certain situations they totally reject your submission.

Well, the most beautiful of memories are normally the worst, cutting your insides as if they were shards of glass. I hate it when such wretched memories swirl around my brain. But hey, such situations should make one better in the sense that you learn faster not to make such silly mistakes in the future.

There is one problem though, any RTS means a reduction in income.  Imagine that you have spent money looking for a client, then such instances happen? Food for thought.

Building up on that, the field of sales is one tricky one. It’s like trudging in the desert or being an alchemist. Everything is based on hope. Hope that things will be better the next day. Such hopes fade when you have nothing that is worthy to talk about. Countless times I have thought of calling it a day because my numbers and statistics are not adding up. Then when I feel like doing so, I usually imagine the stress my mother will go through, my family and those who take pride that I have a job. Never mind that I will feel the pinch more than anybody else. Because bills have to be paid.

Which reminds we that I should gather enough courage to write to our CEO. You see, I am a kind of a third rate employee (it depends on how you view it). I recently read an article on business daily about a diversification in investment banking by our bank. I really got excited. Guys like us have no email to get incoming information from the bank.

Ever since I finished my level one exams in the CFAI Program, I have been contemplating applying to this arm of our bank. Yet I have no gen whether they have a vacancy or not. Based on the fact that I have not been bringing in sales, there is the possibility that my dashboard can be used to judge my commitment rather than the knowledge I have.

There is something called the power of positive thinking. In the event they show me those figures, I can counter them by saying that sometimes a person can be more productive when he or she does that which he loves. In my situation, I am more enthused by investment banking. Especially when it comes to dealing with traditional investment or the vibrant alternative investment which my crystal balls tells me is more likely to undergo some bubble especially with regard to the mortgage industry given that mortgage funding is somehow going to shrink if lending is going to be restrictive as it currently is.

You see, I would love to tell the CEO that I am the impatient kind of person. If a client does refuse to uptake what I am selling the first time, I become discouraged a lot. I also have a mechanical mindset. At times, I have tried being creative in this sales job however the situation does not look bouncy. Again, my career objective is not in line with my next level of promotion even though I love the flexibility of the job. I would love to do something more meaningful.

Yet, I cannot be able to do that if I am not able to perform in the current level that I am. I am this kind of person who does not like pushing other people a lot. I also love it when someone accepts a product willingly rather than begrudgingly while selling. And that is quite different from what I am supposed to do.

Since I have not been quite successful while am almost finishing my fifth month, I have been having a feeling that I need to be more vigorous and crafty in delivering the message. And do you know what this has resulted in?

I must say that I have been really broke since I am not receiving commissions that I wake up every day to chase. There is that dull and frumpy feeling; an empty bank account and a feeling of despair. When you see friends grinning and they update pictures that make you feel like I made the wrong choice because they are moving up the career ladder while I may be stuck in a rut if do not adopt a strategy and vision whose goal is aimed at appeasing people. And the reason why I am broke is because of the bad financial decisions that have trapped me and I am feeling like I have been ensnared with no viable options. Ideally, what I had expected will not materialize.

You know you are broke when a chic tells you to go out for a cup of tea in the jisty noshery and you lenga that story like a Koinange street hooker running away from a UON student. It even contributes to emotional glum. Then again, I now need to develop a radical shift in my perspective on cash flow, debt and my own financial well-being given that I am spending more that I earn.

Obviously it will be a struggle. Living below my means that is. The number of platforms where I can get soft lending has drastically increased. I also deliberately took credit to buy a smartphone which has resulted in increased consumption on my side. Yet I cannot regret having bought the smartphone given that it also serves as another platform where I can continue perusing while javing or waiting to see clients. I have been somehow found it rancid to savour the contents that I need to cover in the CFAI Program. Still I am remaining hopeful that one day I shall join that which my heart desires.

Talking of credit, there are many chaps who have come to me for the same thinking I have some soft loans to lend. In the process I have discovered apps like Tala and Branch. I used those platforms instead to request for loans for some. My credit score is kind of good. Lies, I live on credit. And I need to do away with it once and for all.

Obviously there are shylocks in our office who lend at some crazy interest rates on a one-month basis and people still take credit from them. I don’t love it but there are times when I have been forced to take credit from such chaps.

There is no denial that debt collection is not a rosy job either, especially if you are a Shylock. Once someone has used that which he does not have is when he realizes that he truly can play the cat and mouse game. The problem with human beings is that they never allow you time to compose yourself when they aim at collecting their dues. Apps do on the contrary. The only thing hassling part is to constantly remind you to pay through many SMS prompts. And I ensure I pay to avoid the possibility of not qualifying.

I hate surviving this way.

PS: We all have multitudinous opportunities. Nas once rapped  'I know I can be what I wanna be'. So anyone can be anything. Because the hypothetical biblical verse in Hezekiah 6.1 says, 'God helps those who help themselves' apparently does not exist. So strive for that which you want without cessation.

Hasta La Vista Baby.

[Photo Source: Google Images]

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REAL BLOGGERS.

I love reading blog posts more than I love reading books. Given that I use a moniker to run this blog, I know that I am quite bland in anecdotal symphony. I know it and that is why I use a pen name. At least, no one will castigate me for my lackluster performance. I can silhouette the bluff incandescently while not having to juxtapose the immediate contents of my banal experiences ludicrously (sic).

I love those who do not use a pseudonym when it comes to blogging. For example, let’s assume a guy called Patrick is blogging. Obviously, if he is gutsy enough, he will ensure he acquires a domain name by the name Patrick. Assuming it is even possible to get such a domain name given that there was a guy two decades ago who eloped with it even before a bugger like me ever knew that blogging exists.

As a matter of fact, because Patrick loves all the brouhaha that comes with blogging, whether he does photography, writing or some other hoity toity stuff on the net, he will decide to also have a Facebook page. The page will be non performing because Zucks will not give you fame for free on a platform he started in a dormitory. So Patrick will use his Facebook account instead. If he is the steadfast guy, after sometime, he will reap what he did sow. Guys will start 'liking' his posts and this can be a boon if exploited with zeal.

Ideally, Facebook charges for creating a page. In order to reach many people, just like any advertisement platform, you need to pay. As your numbers grow, so does the amount of money you need to pay. You also need a set of skills which will come in handy in the sense that they add value a lot. Like a little bit of Graphic design won't hurt. As a blogger, you need to invest. Twitter is not also free, to advertise, you need to pay them. So, you gain by having more readers visiting your blog by paying to showcase your products on the online networking sites.

The best thing about Facebook is that once you start being a perennial user of posting your works in it, you will get the results even though it will be only organic reach. As time progresses, it will be easy to get more people to like your posts because that is what Facebook is all about. However, links never work that much. The bottom line is that in order to get an audience, you will need more than just being good at what you do. You need money. If you do not have it. Like any other guy, no one will ever notice you.

I love the stories of bloggers who tell it as it is. The fact that I can see their picture makes them more relatable. A picture is worth a thousand words. It’s even dear to the heart. On the contrary, for a bugger like me, I have tried to keep the whole thing in the dark. It’s like going to the back streets and looking for contraband or being a sex worker. Though you think that you are never seen, there is that guy who will see you doing your stuff but he will never tell you about it. The same way someone knows about the writings of this blog but never talks about it. You let it pass just like that because its nature to do so.

Sometimes I wish I had the guts to put my blog on my Facebook page. Will it even add anything? Maybe it can. Then one day those sniffer dogs hired by Zucks will realize that I am reaping from it. They will then muzzle my reach and there will be nothing I can do. It’s a capitalistic world though. It’s the reason why I also abhor the duo who run blogger. In fact, it is no longer lucrative to be a blogger without bucks. It will force you to go offline if you want to make it. Online advertising can be expensive but it is worth it in the long run.

Since this blog aims at anonymity, there is no pressure to consider paid up advertising. Which boils down to cutting your coat according to your size. It is kind of lonely yes but the satisfaction is liberating though sometimes ennervatig. On the contrary, being like Daft Punk is quite unrewarding. You achieve success much later as opposed to it being sooner. As a result, you get no offers for free drinks, a movie opening and other stuff that real consistent bloggers who advertise get. The bottom line is that if you put people in the dark, they cannot give freebies you way. Preserving a level of pseudonymity is in line with being in control and trusting that my intuition is right even if it is checkered. It also gives fulfillment in creating a personality which I could not once my nee brought me to this planet. 


I love it this way because no single employer has ever found this out to derail my plans and cut me off. You can get dirty. Obviously if they knew certain traits in my character they would have let me off even before I knew it. I can also be honest sometimes as I go about my duties. Never mind that I consider my 8 to 5 job one full of a lot of idling. You may ask why? From the perspective of someone who has ever worked for a Chinese, there is nothing like gibbering while at work. You are only allowed to be productive. After all, giving out free money is not what anyone wants.


This cocoon offers so much comfort. At the end of the day, when I am feeling like I have not achieved, I can bring the hullabaloo here. What I don't know is whether I am using my authentic voice. I have a couple of times thought that I am imitating someone. And I do not want anyone to find out that I  am a copy cat. I only do this because I want it to remain an avenue to self affliction and affirmation. It's also self effacing since one day I will take a leap of faith and go the extra mile of showcasing my other personality. I obviously have boundaries in my scripting if you may ask. I would have loved telling some lewd stories but my conscience cannot allow me. If someone else narrates those salacious anecdotes, I occasionally  entertain them because they excite me. But from me!


Anonymous blogging is a disease. One day, the chips will get down. A friend once told be that a little changes in life. Every time I hit the publish button, I usually get excited. Especially when I see some few numbers. Then things return to the pattern prototype. What is for sure is that this blog perfectly mirrors to an extent my assumptions about life. The messy stuff and complicated things that make life interesting. My vulnerability is also revealed and their is this feeling of illusion that everything in life is fine when in actually fact I am still at a limbo. I hope I will turn around and help inspire others once I am through with this rippling effects.


This may hinder my freelance writing career but I am content in the meantime. I think I should endeavor to write about les jeux sont faits. 

Hasta La Vista Baby

[Picture Source: Google Images]

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NEW CHEESE

Cheese tastes nasty in the mouth when you first eat it. I first ate cheese when I was about twelve, the taste was lactic and earthy and I felt like throwing up. Given that I had said I had once eaten it, I had to keep up appearances while cursing why I had even said I ate cheese. I remember it was red cheddar courtesy of an uncle who had got an attachment to work in a certain creamery within our hometown while still a beverage and food student in a far way college. I had to struggle eating a piece then, but now, I can consume any kind of cheese. Obviously there is a caveat; apart from those that have live maggots that I once saw on a certain TV station which should be cozy and reserved for those whose appetite has pandad a plane. 

Ideally, when you need to taste cheese, the first taste organ is your eyes, then nose and lastly tongue because the initiation should be done carefully. Again you need to ensure that you chew it slowly and note how it feels in your mouth. When you eat cheese (or drink wine) there are very specific physical sensations associated with taste: sweet, salty, sour/acidic, bitter. But your mouth is actually quite limited. Most of the romance of food comes after it’s been swallowed. You exhale. A breath of air rushes up the back of your nasal passages and out your nostrils and suddenly there are a million sensory impressions, most of which have to do with smell: grass, hay, stone, soil, leather, soap, perfume, swimming pool, lead, pencil eraser, and on, and on.

Tasting is experiential, there are dozens of ancient and far distant smells, instantly, magically, recalled by a cheese. Once you have swallowed the cheese does the taste stay. That lingering flavour, often different from the first is called the finish. Which can be; nutty, acrid, soapy, piquant, silky, brothy, tangy and the list of taste is endless. Cheese is a great place to start when learning to isolate and identify different flavours. Highly complex, cheese at its best is a true terroir food; one that is deeply influenced by the subtle nuances of the land from which it is produced.  

I am not a foodie. However, I love food. My immediate manager has noticed this and she told me that I eat a lot. Which I never disputed because it would have ended up being raucous given that I sometimes have those ‘tu mafeelings’. The only abnegation is that the chow is not manifesting itself in my body weight, which has been the same ever since I left high school. I tried to recall instances in the workplace where I eat so much but those thoughts have become elusive. Given that I only partake of a full meal once in a while (mostly rice with some queer beef). Most of the time, I usually take snacks which cannot be as satiating as real food. Kuna kachai kwa ofisi through out.

We normally eat on our desks in the office, breakfast and lunch and for some bachelors, the evening tea serves as supper. Though it’s kind of gross. That is how she managed to realize that I eat so much. But I have never consumed more than two mandazis, or chapatti. The most I have ever eaten is a boiled maize, a sausage and a chapatti. And there was a day I did eat an omelet served with four slices of bread. Is that too much? If it is then I need to reduce on the uptake of calories I do in a day.

So you see, I am not a heavy consumer when it comes to food. In fact, I have some tooth cavities that make eating meat and some food quite a hurdle. Perhaps the reason why I end up consuming too much victuals is because I have this mutating dry cough that has been quite resistant for a while. There is a theory that eating aids in contributing towards eliminating diseases when done dietetically given that there are some meals full of cholesterol and those adipose and oxytocin that should be eliminated from the body.

I hate coughing. It's irritating and piquing. I have to bear with it though. It’s what life has bestowed upon me even though that should not be the case. I was told by an aged medic that it has something to do with allergy, dust or smoke. In that regard, I have been trying to be a stickler to some drugs. I was even given a jab in my left arm to ease the cold. The aged nurse told me to keep my arm relaxed to prevent the contents of the jab from spewing from my body. This cough will mark its first month or more given it has overstayed its welcome. It becomes debilitating when I sleep at night especially when the nasal passage is compromised, I seriously choke so much so that I sometimes feel like I am going to meet my creator the next minute.  Thank goodness I did some first aid some eons ago. When such instances arise, I ensure my head is elevated in position where the airway is not compromised. In the meantime, I am also trying warm water therapy, a combination of lemon and tangawizi (ginger) albeit the process has not had a desirable breakthrough. Luckily given that I am on drugs, I presume that they will not let me down at the end of the day.

Thank goodness, I chose to work where systems are adhered to. Someone cannot just wake up one day and decide that you are up for termination without a proper procedure for dismissal. When changes in the banking sector were taking effect, there was tension and though our actions are tantamount to the act of an ostrich burying its face inside sand, we are surely left exposed. However, loss is the side of loving they never warn you of. It comes like death. Amid the possibility of job loss or continuity, there is still a month in store for me.

I remember updating my profile on LinkedIn having found a new job. A job that sometimes is frustrating, fulfilling and exciting. When the axe man (hr in charge of dismissal) came to notify us of our department being thinned, it came as a shocker to many. It was barely a week after updating my profile on the professional media platform and I had got so many likes which was elating. Then the unexpected news came. Though I was moved, I was quite disillusioned by the hurry it had taken me to tell the world that I had found yet another job. Naturally, it’s not only embarrassing but also demeaning to have lost a job within few months. Already, we are still waiting for communication so that we can be able to find out whether our time is nigh.

In the meantime, my job description has changed. It encompasses new products to sell and master. I have realized that there is some kind of ease in selling loans. As opposed to selling credit cards, people like it when they can be able to receive a colossal amount of income which they can use for personal development or investment.

What’s more, when you call a client with the intent or notifying him or her about revised rates which they are not aware about, they usually give you time to explain to them without them rubbishing you off. In fact, selling paper money as opposed to plastic money is more appealing to the average Tom, Dick and Harry because they can be able to plan and use the income for the purpose they intend from the lending facility. Clients are even more receptive. Even when they never take something, they give you hope of calling another individual without the feeling of discouragement of persuading a client to take a credit card.

What’s a plus is that the skills harnessed in one stage is still effective for use in another. I used to hate it when a customer would out rightly tell me before selling that if it is a card I was pushing for, then I should not even think about further going into deeper detail. While I used to take time to even get a customer who would call back, it’s now a reality. Some are calling back requesting for a top up of a loan in most cases. Those who do so have apparently not qualified for it though. They easily give their pay slips without worry and I think I am loving it that they trust even a person they have not yet seen.

The cheese has moved. The industry looks quite buoyant in the coming days. What I know is that most people still think that banks usually have hidden charges that they never tell their customers about. For example, if you apply for a loan of 1 million, there is no way you will get the whole of it, close to 5% of that amount will go towards paying taxes, catering for insurance and negotiation fees which part of is used to pay the sales guy who brought the loan to the bank.

Sales people survive on commissions. They are the only people with irregular income. The number one salesperson is usually the chief executive officer (though the person has pay protection because of holding vital company information). All other staff play such role but their pay is fixed. Sales is challenging. It is tactically the only job where a person can multitask. As long as you have made your money, you are good to go. But it’s tough and interesting. Finding a niche can be quite perplexing. But when you get your true grounding, I swear, you will be reaping big, influencing people positively and never complaining of doing the job that you initially took up as a pastime or one to reduce on being idle in the digs.

Hasta La Vista Baby.

[Picture Source: My own]

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IF YOU WANT TO GATHER HONEY

Each single individual wants to feel important and appreciated. It's actually innate and right to have those feelings. Take my mum for instance, she like bestowing herself the title Mama G, which she first heard about a decade ago while watching a certain Nigerian film where the main star or could it be the villain was named so. As for my mum, she prides in being the mother of university graduates, which is not a mean feat given that all her children post-secondary have graduated (none with the coveted First class though) and that is enough to make her feel like the woman she should be. The jobs her progeny have are still entry level though, so she does not receive so much from them at the end of the month.

Sometimes back, I usually wondered why she loved such designation which vary depending on the occasion. I would occasionally get embarrassed on her behalf when she would blubber such entitlements when we held ceremonies but not anymore. She was lethal in her hey days, yet still many found it easy to live with her because of her motherly nature. Albeit she was austere, there are certain elements of leniency when you did well in something and she would be very proud. Like she knew it was not easy passing exams, so if you did well, she first hugged you, ensured a fowl was prepared and you got new Garissa Lodge attires. Bingo!

Everyone wants to feel appreciated and important. We admire those who are doing well and wish we would be given a chance to be in those shoes. What we sometimes forget is that bit where the struggle was such a pain in the neck but they still developed thick skin amid frustrations and failure. Everyone goes through periods of torments. It is what you learn from the lesson that is important. You either have to change or if you fluff in conforming, then there is that regret bit.

There is a book I decided to read on how to influence people because success can only come through people. School knowledge and all else is not as important as having the interest of people at heart. This does not mean that the skill is innate. To some it is, to others it is like the proverbial quote which goes ‘Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.’

It’s high time I started gathering honey. There was an online psychometric test I did and realized that I am mindful so much about other people. To be precise, my main superpower was being an advocate; simply put, I am selfless, giving and professional which I can use to delight my clients and customers consistently. All I therefore need to do is to balance my own needs as well as meeting those the people around me.

There is also this networking aspect in my traits according to the test. That I know how to call and stay meaningfully connected to with everyone. All I need to do is to add three influential people in my connection and plan how to build a meaningful relationship with them.

I am feeling like a victor already. I never knew am this charming a persona. I wanted to eschew penning about my pitfalls because they constitute what is negativity. The results relayed that I need to develop more drive, determination and ambition to achieve by being resilient, persistence and having strength of the mind (Jeez, kwani I am this week in spirit).

I need to continue digging it (This phrase got me excited after watching Angry Birds the movie) to find my true grounding when it comes to character. That’s because there are things only others know about you that you never know. I never made past the psychometric test but it has reawakened my determination in that which I do. While they may have wanted other traits of independence and resilience, one thing is for sure, I have a charming persona which I will not kill any time soon.

Hasta La Vista Baby.

[Picture Source: Pixabay]

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