Maroc - CMONIONLINE.COM - A La Une - 30/Oct 08:24

Success Journey XVIII: Creativity And The Choice Paradox.

Decide what you want. Decide what you are willing to exchange for it.  Establish your priorities and go to work.  ~ H L Hunt We live in a fast-paced digital landscape. Immediacy reigns and patience seems a relic. The deluge of information we consume hampers our ability to focus. Thus the frontal lobe is overwhelmed by the instant dopamine from shorts, memes and comedy. Yet, amidst this chaos, writing remains a powerful tool for self-expression and reflection. Writing invites us to slow down and think critically. And I love that part..deceleration and critical thinking. We just concluded Potent Quill, a writing cohort I developed and delivered with Daniel Ogba. As I write, Arsenal is playing Liverpool at the Emirates, and I’m hosting the final peer review session. If anyone had told me this could be possible just a few years ago, I would have bet any amount to prove otherwise. But not anymore. Gone are the days of inappetence when the Gunners lose. When I scheduled my London trips to coincide with a big matchday. When I took the train to Hartfield for bargain shopping at the Arsenal store. Those days are gone forever. Yes, we must keep evolving in life. Remaining at that level would be stagnation and I dare say, regression. These days, productivity takes priority. And for me, it starts with writing. So I improvised to writing is life! I can watch the match later at zero cost. The only miss will be the adrenaline rush of a live game. Likewise, I can equally reschedule this review session. But at what cost? 1. The writers will be disappointed 2. I will also be disappointed. 3. It will take up time for another productive endeavour. 4. And most importantly, my reliability/credibility suffers. Interestingly, I will spend money after this session by paying the winners close to half a million naira. Shouldn’t I rather be making money? Okay, let’s roll that back a bit. I’m actually investing and not spending money in the way you may think. Yes, some expenditures can be wasteful but this isn’t one of them In life, we must make choices. In choosing one thing, there’s usually an opportunity cost. It’s a simple concept in basic economics that you should be familiar with. The opportunity cost of missing the game is turning up for this session. By the same token, the opportunity cost of watching the game would be missing this session. But my priority is to keep building our creative community. That’s why I made this choice. Choices and priorities ALWAYS constitute the difference between success and failure. Since September 14th 2024, we’ve had; 4× 2-hour virtual classroom lectures. 4x 1000 word exercises. 2x 2-hour virtual peer review sessions. And now I’ll pay; 4x 100k for the winners and 10x books by Nigerian author Bolaji Olatunde for the attendees. In the last session, I revealed why I purposely didn’t announce any prize money at the beginning of this cohort. The reason is simple; only creators with the desire to improve not to win will join. Some writers emailed to join after we started. I politely refused. Others wondered how they missed it. I said well, follow our updates on all platforms. And I know some still would have loved to join but for other priorities. That is that..we are back to priorities. My dad would say that where a man spends his money is his immediate priority. It is not about the prize money. Rather it’s about prioritising the lever-moving tasks that edge us closer to the bigger goal. And creating time for the little things that ultimately add up to a huge difference. Because slow but steady will always win the race. In the lifelong learning journey, you may not know exactly where it will lead. But patience is key. It will nurture your creativity and allow your thoughts to marinate, leading to richer narratives, more profound insights and surprising clarity. It’s not been an easy ride nevertheless. Keeping myself motivated and getting writers to churn out words alongside the usual daily grind was tasking enough, let alone getting financial support for the noble initiative. Yet, here we are. After just 4 years, the dream of a digital academy is suddenly within the grasp of reality. I can’t thank my friends enough. You really make the world go round! The writers who repeatedly showed up to practice and improve the craft they love at the cost of hours, which could have been channelled elsewhere deserve encomia. Thank you for believing in the process. For showing up. And for writing. Please don’t stop. Even if you miss our activities, keep writing. It is the key, the crucible and of course the joy. The greatest motivation remains the audience who read, share and engage. Knowing that others are invested in our journey instils a sense of accountability and encourages us to keep pushing. Moreover, feedback enriches our writing experience by offering fresh perspectives and distinguishing between what resonates and what doesn’t. This collaborative aspect reminds us that writing is also about connecting with others. The more we appreciate this communal support, the more we grow as writers. I make this promise. There will be more intellectual properties to come. Stories, books, webinars, magazines, podcasts and even movies..yes we have a budding JK Rowling in our midst with the potential to beat Harry Potter. The Potent Quill writing cohort was a success because we met the objectives. And now having read the takeaways, I have no doubt the outcome will lift the attendees to greater heights. I’m proud of our growing community and excited about what we can achieve in the future. Individually and collaboratively. Now we must finish that book in a year because next August will be 5 years of this journey. And I’ll be damned if we don’t celebrate that anniversary with an offline event to show our achievements. As I always say, when you start small to grow big, the sky