8 LIFE LESSONS I LEARNT FROM MARK ZUCKERBURG’S VISIT TO AFRICA (Motivation for Monday)

The future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams…Eleanor Roosevelt 

A lot of you know how passionate I am about writing Inspirational / Motivational posts even though I started out as a “Fashion Blogger”. This is because along the line I figured I didn’t want to waste my gift of encouragement anymore. Since I made this decision, I have continually developed my gift of encouragement / mentoring and I am confident that through this gift I will empower, influence, inspire and help change so many lives.

On today’s post, please allow me to do something different altogether. As usual, today is Motivation for Monday but there will be NO Outfit Post (I will share that tomorrow). I hope you don’t mind. I am sure you will be inspired by this post. Please read….

8 Life Lessons I Learnt From Mark Zuckerberg’s Visit to Sub-Saharan Africa 

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook visited some African countries this past week for those of you who don’t know. He and his team visited Nigeria and Nairobi, Kenya to meet with Entrepreneur and Developers to see what they are doing and to advance their vision of connecting every one in the world through their platform; Facebook.

In his meet up with Entrepreneur and Developers in Lagos, Nigeria, they had a live streaming of their meet up where they had a question and answer session.  Although I didn’t watch the question and answer session live, I saw the replay and this are some of the life lessons I learnt from Mark himself.

Lesson Number 1 ::: Believe in the Power of Your Dreams

The quote above is one by Eleanor Roosevalt and it says,”the future belongs to those who believe in the power of thier dreams. We all know that Mark and a group of friends started out Facebook when they were in college. He said he was 19 and had no business skills whatsoever. They had a vision, they ran with it and they worked tirelessly at it and today we have Facebook.

Not that they didn’t have obstacles along the way or suffer sets backs, they did but they kept working on the vision they had and today Mark is one of the youngest richest people in the world.

Lesson to Learn 

You have to believe in your dreams no matter what anybody thinks or say. Any other person does not have to believe in you or your dream. You are the only one that has to. Don’t just believe in your dream, work tirelessly at it till you achieve your goal. Who knows, you could invent something greater than Facebook.

I believe in the power of my dream of encouragement and inspiration and I will continue to write to inspire even if nobody thinks I should be a motivational or inspirational writer or speaker. It is my dream and gift and nobody can take it away from me. Believe in the power of your dreams too and work on it, don’t waste it!
 

Lesson Number 2 ::: Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

Jim Rohn says a lot of people won’t succeed because they are too cautious. If you are afraid to fail at anything, you will not try something new. If you don’t try something new, you can never achieve anything new.

Mark says in his question and answer session that to be a successful entrepreneur, you must be willing to take big risk. He says big risks pay off eventually.

Lesson to Learn

Take chances not just a chance. Try something new. Try something different. Try doing what other people won’t do because they are too afraid to fail. Take risks, you never can tell what you will come up with.
 

Lesson Number 3 ::: Learn as Much as You Can and as Fast as You Can

Another advise Mark gave the Entrepreneurs and Developers listening to him is for them to learn as much as they can and as fast as they can. Things are changing by the day. Different apps, technology, smart phones and so on and so forth are popping up daily and the best thing anyone can do for themselves is to learn as much as they can.

One of the life philosophies I live by is to learn as much as you can even if you don’t use everything you learn. Nothing goes to waste my mother would say. She is very right.

Lesson to Learn

In this modern technology age, you can learn anything, anywhere, and anytime. It is the best time to learn! You can even do it from your smart phone.

The things you know last year may not be enough for the following year. Be willing to learn more and do more so you can achieve more.

Personal development is a life-long process so it is necessary for you to have a personal vision and mission statement just like any brand or business. It is important to regularly assess your talent, skill sets, and qualities. Frequently assess your aims in life and set goals so as to be able to realize and maximize the purpose you could achieve from your potentials.

Personal development is the best gift you can give to yourself. You must also be ready to learn new things, new skills and new ways of doing things to be able to be competitive in your niche. No matter how small the investment you make in yourself, it will surely come back to you.

Lesson Number 4 ::: Try New Food When You Travel

I am very rigid when it comes to trying new foods. Basically I don’t try new food. Dumb right? I know. My sons and husband tried Octopus last year when we went Kefalonia, Greece. They did everything for me to try eating the Octopus but they failed. In my language I said, “emi ko” (not me).

Mark commended the Nigerian Jollof Rice and he confirms that nothing compares to the Nigerian jollof rice. Jollof rice is a household delicacy that is been saving lives since 1805. It is a mixture of rice, tomato sauce, peppers and seasoning for taste and aroma (Salt, Knorr cubes / Maggi cubes Bay leaves, Curry and Thyme).

He also tried pounded yam and Snail. He said, I don’t visit Nigeria everyday so let’s try the snails. He tried it and he liked it.

Lesson to Learn

Try new food, don’t be like me. I will hold on to this life lesson too. Maybe next time I am away, I will try that Octopus or even Snails. Will let you know when I do 🙂

Mark having Ugali and fried Tilapia with Joseph Mucheru, the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary of Information and Communications

Lesson Number 5 ::: Get Education

I know you may be wondering why this is different from lesson number 3. Education is a formal training you get from an accredited institution or college.  Personal development is something you are intentional or deliberate about. It is simply acquiring new skills other than formal education. It is an investment made in yourself to help you stand out from others. For example I studied Microbiology from the University of Ibadan and Industrial Biology in the Institute of Technology in Carlow; those 2 are formal education. Self development is that I am learning how to manage a website. You see the difference!

Lesson To Learn

According to techpoint.ng, Mark went to Africa-Nigeria with 18 team members who are of Nigerian Descent. All of them are educated to a minimum of 3rd level degree. A lot of them have their Masters.

Get education even if you will not be working in that field, It will make a lot of difference on how you see life. You will pass through the school system and the system through you. I have also noticed that people who get education stand out in mannerism, poise, spoken words (communication) and in so many other ways like writing etc.

Does That Mean People Who are Not Educated Can’t Make it in Life?

No that is not the case. It just means that education exposes you to a lot of things uneducated people may not know and it prepares you for life challenges like being another Mark Zuckerberg, a.k.a CEO.

Lesson Number 6 ::: Wear What Suits the Occasion

I have seen a lot of people criticising Mark for wearing his basic tee and denim even to Nigeria. First, the basic tee is a wardrobe essential that can be worn to all occasions depending on the occasion(I have said that numerous times here on the blog). When Mark was arriving Nigeria, he had on his basic tee. When he was meeting with Enterprenuers and Developers, he wore his basic tee, denim and sneakers because the look fits the occasion.

When he was meeting with the President of Nigeria, President Buhari and Vice President Osibajo, he wore a suit (first image above)

5 Lesson to Learn

First, Nigeria is hot!!! If you are visiting Nigeria, you definitely want to bring along a lot of basic tees, you will need them. They are breathable and can be dressed up or down. Choose one made from 100% cotton, they are the best.

Secondly, he is not a “Fashion Buyer”. Your life style determines how you dress. My husband is an Engineer so he dresses like Mark everyday to work except he is having important meetings or meeting up important clients.

Thirdly, when he needed to dress formal, he did. That is common sense. (See picture one above at his meeting with the Nigerian President)

Four, do not judge a book by its cover. The guy is successful, tee shirt or no tee shirt.

Five, he walked around the streets of Yaba. Nobody wants do that in Armani suit under the hot sun. Basic tee was best for this move. The guy nailed it.

Lesson Number 7 ::: Bring Others WIth You

A lot of successful Enterprenuer fail in this regard. Once they make it big, every other person can try their luck too. This is not the case with Mark as an entrepreneur. He has invested in small businesses / start up in Nigeria through his Chan Zuckerberg initiative. He invested up to $24m to help start ups company like Andela for example because they have a solid vision of helping talents develop their potentials.

Lesson to Learn

John Maxwell says; “a leader is one who knows the way, walks in the way and show others the way”. When you are successful, you show others how to be successful too. Our lives is that of service; to help others and to invest in others especially when we are successful.

Mark Zuckerberg in Nairobi meeting with developers and entrepreneur and learning about mobile money.

Lesson Number 8 ::: After Work, Play

It is obvious that the guy doesn’t take himself too seriously. He took time out to play a little. I do know that a lot of us work and work but do not take the time to rest or play. In playing, we learn and in resting, we feel refreshed and boosted for greater things. We just have to find a balance. Life is too short to work and not play at all.

Mark Crashes a hip hop music video with some of “Nigerian’s stars”

Mark Zuckerberg, wife Priscilla and team visits Lake Naivasha, Kenya

Those are some of the life lessons I learn from Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Sub-Saharan Africa. A lot of these life lessons a lot of us know already. This is just a reminder and also an encouragement to those who don’t know. The most important one is to believe in the beauty of your dreams because when you do, the future belongs to you.

I want to thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope you are inspired to reach for the sky and also not to forget to play as hard as you work.

My mother would say, “the lifespan of work is longer than the lifespan of man”. Always take the time to rest.

Wishing you an amazing week ahead.

Much Love, Mojisola.

Mark runs on the Ikoyi Bridge, Lagos

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Photo Credit Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook. No copyright intended.