This is Why You Should be a LION on Twitter and a Cat in “REAL LIFE”

Peter Kisadha
Jul 21, 2017 · 4 min read

Ice Breaker…

Someone today said that I am a Lion on twitter and a cat in “real life”. I honestly agree with him given that I have over 5.9k followers and I only follow the Startup Digest Africa Account.

Quick story…

One of the things I hated about school were rules. I hated the fact that I had to leave on someone else’s terms. I had no powers to decided what I could do beyond drawing up a revision timetable.

I know this has been said several times but I had to repeat it; Naturally, our school systems are setup in such a way that they groom docile sheep — not rebellious beasts.

The closest it comes to grooming leaders is in sports and politics in form of prefects or whatever you called them at your school. This leaves the entrepreneurs like me and you (assuming you’re one of us) as outcasts.

From my S.4 Vacation, I have shown numerous potential and interest in entrepreneurship. Yet none of the schools I attended ever gave me an opportunity to step out and lead in my area of comfort.

So, I struggled to try to fit in with everybody else. Tried football for some time. I supported Chelsea and also tried playing cricket. Since I went to Namilyango College, I also gave Rugby a try.

None of these things really worked for me at all. I was just trying to play along with the rest since the “cool” boys supported or played rugby.

Everybody is a Genius. But If You Judge a Fish by Its Ability to Climb a Tree, It Will Live Its Whole Life Believing that It is Stupid — Albert Einstein

After 2 straight years of “torture” with the rugby, I had unconsciously forced my brain to believe I am a rugby fanatic — I wasn’t. I was just playing along.

Yet, after joining the university and getting exposed to a few people in my field of interest through reading books like Gifted Hands, Rich Dad series, and Donald Trump’s, I realized this is the place I belonged to. The system had “beaten” and forced me to change into someone I wasn’t. Before I was lost, and now here I was — FOUND!

After a few years of giving entrepreneurship a try, I have realized my potential. I realized that actually, I am a born leader. But this surfaced because I was now playing in my field of comfort. My field of passion. Life was now being fair to me. I could no-longer beat myself down or call myself dumb. I knew I had something unique to bring to this world.

Often times, people I studied with meet me and they expect to find the sheepish person they interacted with five years ago. Instead, they’re met with a beast. Someone who now knows his purpose. Someone who knows his areas of strength and how to play them to his advantage.

Now, the real reason I wrote this…

One of the best gifts you’ll ever give yourself is sitting back and figuring out what you’re strong at. After that, make sure you double your efforts there.

Some people fail to realize that we have different strengths in life. Some people are naturally introverts while others are extroverts and others are just confused (don’t try the latter because they don’t know what they’re).

Personally, I am an introvert. I am the kind of person that will go to a club and stay on my phone with my Heineken besides me while everyone is busy dancing. I am the kind that’ll stop dancing and pause to read an article about Elon Musk. But I am also the kind that can’t pause to read an article on why Man U should buy Lukaku.

Yet it took me some time to try and find my playing field. After I found it, I am no-longer bothered. Yet before that, I was a Lion that used to go and “pick fights” with a Monkey in a Forest.

Now, I am a lion that picks a fight with an Elephant in a Game Park. I know my playing field. If the Elephant is stupid enough, it’ll play along and I will murder it.

Just look at it this way. Do you think Cristiano Ronaldo can call for a football game against Mohammed Al-Bacha (the Current Best FIFA World Player of Video Games)? No, he can’t because that’s not his place of strength. Likewise, Bacha can’t do the opposite.

So, if you really want to be successful in life, you need to identify the field, time, people, place, occupation where your strength comes out. Identify something that turns you into a LION.

Then make sure you double all your efforts on that. Ignore your weaknesses. In my experience, it is easier to outperform people by multiplying efforts on your strengths than dedicating the same efforts towards improving your weaknesses.

Allow to be a cat somewhere, but be a LION in your field of comfort.

[PS: Follow me on Twitter for insights about Startups and how to be a LION in Life here: @Malinz_. I still want to be a bigger Beast😉] #Malinz

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Peter Kisadha

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