From the great brand stories of Coca-Cola, Apple, Facebook, to great personality stories of Oprah Winfrey, Obama, Michael Jackson, one thing unites them all: The 10,000 hour rule.
Using the classic story of David and Goliath, It is easy to see, how grace can be broken down into bit size components such as excellence, perseverance, discipline, consistency, and persistence. Eizu will always tell me, ” Anyone can fall off a ladder by accident, but no one climbs up a ladder by accident.”
In this article, I will be sharing two popular success stories and in it explain how the rookie learns to jump the fence. First, a rookie is simply any person who is new to an activity or a job. This means this fellow has little or no experience at all in a given field. For example, Sylva is a rookie at playing golf.
Oladapo Oyebanjo now popularly known as Dbanji was expected to pursue a career in the military just like his father, but he wanted something else. He had learnt how to play the harmonica from his late older brother, and then inherited the harmonica after his brother’s death. In 2001, he met Don Jazzy in the UK, and three years later in 2004, they returned to Nigeria where he released his first single “Tongolo,” and the rest is history.
Ayodeji Balogun better referred to as Wizkid began his musical career in 2001 when he was only 11. He signed a record deal with Banky W in 2009, and rose to prominence in 2010 with the release of the song “Holla at your boy.”
“You can achieve mastery over your chosen skill if you dedicate as little as 10,000 hours.”
It is written:
“Whatever thy hands finds to do, do with all thy might.” This rule applies to all form of life. There is no shortcuts to success. Matter of fact, what people call overnight successes are actually years of practice.
Let’s discuss Wizkid for a moment.
Wizkid began at age 11, which is strange for a person without a musical pedigree. He released a collaborative album with Glorious Five (a couple of his church friends) entitled Lil- Prinz. Then, he met OJB Jezreel. Wait, he met who? OJB Jezreel is a record producer.
But that’s not all, while visiting Jezreel’s studio, he watched 2Face, and Sound Sultan, and then a year later, he started recording his. And guess what, the street loved it. He then met Naeto C, who mentored him and coached him at age 15. Wait again, Naeto C mentored him at 15? He also became friends with Banky W, and co-wrote a song for him before signing a record deal at 19.
Wizkid dedicated nine years to achieving mastery in music before “Holla at your boy.” By some estimate, he practiced for 10,000 hours.
“Always expect opportunities, but as always, the choice is yours to make.”
Dbanji was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria to a military officer who commanded an artillery regiment. The idea was simple. Dbanji was expected to build a career in the military and not music.
Here was what happened. Dbanji already loved his late brother’s harmonica, and he just played it always. He got so good, that he had lots of female friends in his university by just playing his harmonica.
He met Don Jazzy in the UK in 2001, and instead of furthering his studies as a mechanical engineer, he shifted to music. His friendship with Don Jazzy blossomed, until they moved to Nigeria in 2004, recorded his first single that year and rose to prominence. Just like Wizkid, Dbanji was already perfect with his harmonica, all he needed was 10,000 hours of studio practice and Don Jazzy.
“No one makes it alone: this is true for life as it is for business.”
Don Jazzy had a strong influence on Dbanji’s completely derailing from mechanical engineering to music.
Success stories like these are very emotional, but very predictable. Even babies don’t begin walking from the first day, it all takes constant trials, and falls until it is gotten right. I can predict if you’ll be successful by asking you just one question, “How long do you spend doing what you currently do.
Written By Elendu Sylvanus , for © Hexavia!
