THE POWER OF YOUTHFULNESS

I am writing this article at the age of 27yrs old and in my youthful age. 

I remember when I was traversing to this stage of my life (from adolescence to adult), I will dream of fancy things like,

1. -         To one day fry a tray full of eggs and slice it into pieces like a cake.
2. -         To play football and be a superstar like Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon.
3. -         To become a well-known Genetic engineer and add value to humanity.
4. -         To party every day and make merry with friends.
5. -         Etc.

Funny enough, as I am writing to you now,

1. -         I am undergoing a transformation to become a vegetarian,
2. -         I don’t have the patience to sit for 90 minutes and watch football talk less of playing it,
3. -          I am a Computer scientist and Digital entrepreneur who practically spend 3/4^th of the day before the computer.
4. -         I am an introvert and don’t find fun in joining gatherings, clubbing and listening to loud music with high bits or pitch.
5. -         I can barely boast of a “best friend” talk less of having many friends.

Mahatma LENJVAL at st. Joseph's Parish Bonaberi 2020

In my country Cameroon, there is a proverb that says in the French language “La course de l’enfant c’est le martin”. This translates that a child runs faster when the day is young (in the morning) and falls asleep by noontime or midday. Applying this saying to our context; it is very clear that youthfulness doesn’t last as long as we want and wish it to be. It is very sweet but short.

Youthfulness in my point of view is synonymous to resourcefulness, energetic, agility, hope, intelligence. This means that at youthful age, you have all the potentials to make things happen. In other words you can literally transform “water into wine” that is, transform imaginations into reality if you want to. But this is only possible if you use the energy of your youth to invest in cultivating your dreams or long term goals. Everything starts now and can be realized if you persistently fight for what you want. After all the energy is there and it belongs to you, so use it to the brim. Almost all the successful people I know and hear of or pinnacle leaders (read The 4 levels of Leadership by John C. Maxwell) of today in Africa, started at their youth such as Aliko Dangote, Chimamanda Ngozie Eduche, Vusi Thembekwayo, Toni Olumelu, Thermitope Ogunsemo, etc.

Our youths of today are deceived that education can only be achieved through schooling and they have abandon the infancy trainings or what we commonly call “home training”. I can say without any doubt that most of the things I do today weren’t taught to me in school but rather from my usage of the internet (online tutorials) and practical things I do daily. So why do we waste many years of our youthful age in schooling or learning obvious things rather than researching and practicing the things we love and want to become. We can’t reinvent the wheel, let’s create new solutions that fit the context of our today’s society (Africa). Africa has more than half of its population below the age of 30. We are an energetic and a “resource full” continent.

Computer science students GBHS Bonaberi 2020 batch

One of my partners Mr. Angelbert Njong CEO at COPYRUNNERS said to me in the pidgin vernacular

“Chop small small, Chop for long”. What he meant was that if I want to last in business, I shouldn’t rush to gain much from a customer now, but rather I should focus on doing good works and keeping my customers happy because it is better to have a few number of faithful customers who come repeatedly, than to have many customers who come and go without trusting your services never to come again. Remember that to do good work, you need experience and that takes time. Therefore it is until you grind yourself at your youth, then will you  rip big or make wealth when you are older.

So let’s say NO to distractions at our youth and FOCUS on building a better Africa today and tomorrow with the energies we possess.

AUTHOR: MAHATMA LENJVAL