Success don’t come overnight! 

One day I was on my laptop playing some music
And as I was scrolling through the Chronology album, I saw some songs on it that I had never played before
And so, I’m like….why not? Lemme play this and get it’s vibe
The track I was going to click unto my VLC Player was going to up my dosage of my love for reggae, to begin with
Then also, my love for the artiste in question, Chronixx

Photo credit: reggaeville.com

The song is Likes

Photo credit: stapico.ru

Trust me, when you listen to it, word for word, you’ll feel what I felt, see what I saw and look forward into the future
Success doesn’t come overnight
Only that Chronixx says it as, “Success don’t come ova night”
(Hihi….)

Photo credit: chronixxmusic.com

It reminded me of one day, in 2015, when I was with my former boss, at a volunteer-searching function
He was making his submission to the students and he made an example of me
“See Edgar here, if he keeps up with what he’s doing, he’ll be a very successful guy”!
Mmmeeeehhhhnnnnnnnnn….you don’t know how good that moment felt
For many reasons, of course,
One is that, NO ONE had ever said that to me….not my family members or colleagues at work or friends
Yeah….life happened till that point
Secondly, none of my past employers had ever seen this kind of potential in me
Or at least, verbally expressed it….I guess you acknowledge the power of words, right?
Thirdly and most of all, in that moment, I reflected upon one time in 2014, when I was in rehab, when I swore to myself that the moment I left rehab, my life would never be the same again…I would be some sort of G.O.A.T!

Photo credit: youngachieversawards.com

And llllooookkkkkkkk….I had made it happen, in a matter of 14 months
With my advocacy for anything to do with justice, rights of women and girls, love, humanity, psychology among others
And making most use of social media as my communication avenue
Many of my fellow volunteers at Reach A Hand Uganda were already telling me that I was destined for greatness
At school, I had this one friend that made it a point to tell me that I had already made it in life…. (I’m not sure what he meant exactly, though)

That same year, something phenomenal happened
Something I never thought would happen
I happened to chat online with Bill Gates….like Bill Gates!!!
Ddaammnnnnnn…..who gets that opportunity in life, if they haven’t given it their all?
Get this; it was a select few of us, who got that opportunity….3 of us, to be exact
And it all started from the work I was most focused on at the time…. Contraception use and family planning
I recall walking home that day, the happiest young person alive….my efforts had finally penned off!

Come 2016, as I was heading to Kisubi High School, for the commemoration of the Womens’ Day, I get a call from somebody
She said and strongly insisted that she nominates me for the 120 Under 40 global humanitarian awards!
I got to ask you, how would you feel if you were in my shoes, at that time?
22 years old, fresh from rehab, fresh at the university and so full of life
Again, that feeling of euphoria came back to me….so high in my thoughts of joy

I just couldn’t believe it!

I must tell you, all this came with lots of sacrifice….
You could expect that a freshman would be balling somewhere and having a blast
Making new friends and dropping many more that no longer fit in my shoes
Instead, I was away in a certain cage, engaging with the world on Twitter chats and Instagram
I would risk it all and go deep into the areas that everyone is afraid of, to offer hope and reassurance to our people
It meant reading a LLLOOOTTTTTT, everyday…at least a page daily
It meant being humble all the time because the work we do faces many challenges but most of all, personalities that want to put you down
It meant letting down your walls, to let people in and see you vulnerable because a lot happens out there and only when you get to know about it, do you get to appreciate how fortunate you are!
Months of work….which now has turned into years
Hours of days of commitment
Do note that this journey has never been smooth, as you’re reading it. Setbacks coming in by the minute but I remained steadfast, in pursue of my dream.

Photo credit: thecordovatimes.com

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Grab your path of success today.

Much love.