...CONNECTING THE DOTS...

“You cannot connect the dots looking forward but looking backward – Steve Jobs.

These words have been ringing in my head like some months now and I decided to take the thoughts seriously and I began to dissect each word in the phrase.

Connecting simply means  “meaningfully related to “or a link between two objects, people, situations, etc.

Dots means a small mark or spot.

Connecting the dots can be simply put as “a meaningful link of small mark or spot that connects two objects, people, situation together. #smiles. The combination of the words actually got me smiling but yet bringing memories.

I remember when I was a kid, like in my primary school, I had a small jotter where I sketched designs (of course they weren’t perfect) that came to my head or that I saw my friends in school wear. I would sketch blouses and matching skirts. I would keep the jotter in between my school books so that it would be perceived as one of my school books and so that I won’t misplace it.

I also remember that when I came back from school then I would wear my “church clothes” and sometimes my mum shoes and start to parade around the house and also mimic my teachers, I would like to imagine myself talking to people. I would do all these till I forget to do my chores and my mum would beat me for not doing my chores and for wearing my “church clothes” to play... #laughing…

One of my most treasured memories was when I started to write in my university days, I would write in a book, type it on my laptop, beg my friends to proofread for me and then I would print them out in small pamphlets sheets and distribute them in my fellowship and also post them on the notice board in my department. I was always happy to exhaust my money to print.

Another memory that I can recall was when I organized my first conference back in my university days, I remember how I would go around Akure in Ondo State, Nigeria, to invite secondary schools. I forgot my “shyness” just because I wanted to impact my world. I used every money I had then to ensure the event was a success. I went beyond myself to get sponsorship from individuals and organizations. My friends saw the passion in me and gave their all to the success of the conference. The memory brought smiles, tears, and joy.

How can I forget my NYSC days when I would stay indoors trying to learn and cut different styles to sew ( I still do), how I would move from one office to another to sell my fabrics and tell them I could sew. I remember one of the customers I had then was a big size, when I went to her to take her measurement, I was so scared that I thought my heart would jump out of my chest. Immediately I got home, I spread out the fabrics and prayed. #Laughs… I told the Holy Spirit to take my hands and cut and sew, that if I made mistake, it was going to be shame on us both …lol and I made the clothes, she loved it, it was her exact size, she brought me more customers and she became my friend. #happymemories.

Connecting the dots is going back to memory lane and picturing those things that formed your decisions today. They are memories that makeup who you are today and who you are becoming tomorrow. Connecting the dots is going back to see how far you have come and also have a heart of gratitude and thank God for His Faithfulness.

writing this is sincerely boosted up my confidence about my future plans. I'm really grateful I did some of those small things. Connecting the dots is a mental exercise we all need to engage in regularly, we are all products of those little decisions, those dots are links that brought us to where we are today and there are still many dots to connects in later years. Be deliberate about your dots, they are the tiny little drops of water that would make your mighty ocean in the future.

Take a moment today and connect your dots, it would not only give you a glimpse of your past but it would give you hope that your future is worth fighting for. In connecting the dots you would realize that you are too powerful not to have that future you have envisaged especially checking back to see what you have gone through and who you have become.

Today I choose to look back and connect the dots. I choose to remember and I choose to be grateful.

Stay hopeful, connect your dots and, be grateful for your journey, till I write to you again.

Remember to like, share, and comment.

All my love.

Tolulope.