I AM NOT SELF MADE, I AM PEOPLE MADE

I was on a panel with two people in business a few months ago. The audience mainly were undergraduates and fresh graduates. The program organiser had communicated with me earlier that he would like us to share practical life experiences with the undergraduates so that they can be helped in seeing life differently.The moderator asked us to explain the "self-made" narrative. Our responses to the prompt were quite different. One of the businessmen believed the "self-made" school of thought, and he went on to tell the students that success is revenge to prove a point to those who did not believe or invest in you. He encouraged the students to use the pains of rejection to do it all alone without needing anybody's help. He told them to only believe in themselves, and everything will fall in line. I respected his standpoint and we even joked about it after the event and I took his permission to share this anecdote.It was my turn to speak. While I appreciated the standpoint of the previous panellist, I shared with the students based on my journey. I am probably one of the most prominent preachers of self-development on social media, but I also preach the importance of people in our lives. Despite the number of rejections I have had in my life, I have also had people who opened the door for me. I would not have had some platforms and opportunities if some people did not speak for me or even sponsor me. I know that I am brilliant, but brilliancy without support and sponsorship by other people who believe in me would not have taken me anywhere.I shared with the students how one of my recent managers wrote me a note on his last day at work, and the message read thus;"I thought you were all hype when I first had an interaction with you, but I am glad I believed my intuition to give you a chance. You have outdone my expectation, and I believe so much in your vision."I engraved the message in my heart and my digital archive. While we teach the younger generation to be brilliant and chase their dreams, we must also let them know that the grace of God exists, but it works through people God has placed on their ways. As humans, we tend to feel we are self-made because some people did not help us while forgetting that some people eventually did. We quickly forget.Somebody somewhere took a bet on you to get to where you are. If you cannot record receiving help from anyone, remember your parents who gave you a chance at life.I am not self-made; I am people made.He gives understanding to the simple.Oluwaseun David ADEPOJU