Jobs, General
Oreoluwa
The Courage to Quit Early: Leaving a Job You ...

In a world where the fear of starting over can feel paralyzing, I found myself facing a pivotal decision early in my career. Just six months into a role that promised growth but left me feeling disconnected, I grappled with the idea of leaving. The stigma of quitting so soon, the allure of financial stability, and the daunting prospect of beginning anew weighed heavily on me. Yet, the journey of listening to my intuition and prioritizing personal fulfillment over a paycheck taught me invaluable lessons about resilience, alignment, and the courage to pursue a path that truly resonates with my values. Now, nearly two years later, I reflect on this decision with no regrets, cherishing a role that feels tailor-made for me, amidst a culture and team where I thrive. This experience underscored a profound truth: sometimes, the hardest choices lead us to the most fulfilling destinations.

The Courage to Quit Early: Leaving a Job You Just Started
Oreoluwa
Why new beginnings are so scary

Beginnings mark change. Change means unpredictability and uncertainty, which means, limited control. Often you’re stepping away from what you know and walking towards what you don’t. New beginnings require a degree of vulnerability because you’re taking a leap of faith, and it might be alone. Starting again or starting something new is scary because:

  1. We don't know how things are going to turn out

  2. We are afraid of failing.

Failure is often viewed as being synonymous with laziness or incompetence but actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Failure is what you build on, not success. Failure is the best way to figure out what isn’t working, why it’s not working, and how to make it work. Failure is an opportunity for discovery, for learning and creativity.

Pay attention to the process and the things you can control such as your attitude and behaviour, accept the possibility of failure, view it as a roadmap to success, and endeavour to learn as much as possible.

Why new beginnings are so scary
Contribution, Money, Personal Finance
Personal Finance with Edirin - 4: Emergency ...
Personal Finance with Edirin - 4: Emergency Funds
Contribution, Personal Finance
Personal Finance with Edirin - 3: Budgeting
Personal Finance with Edirin - 3: Budgeting
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The Courage to Quit Early: Leaving a Job You Just Started

,
The Courage to Quit Early: Leaving a Job You Just Started

In a world where the fear of starting over can feel paralyzing, I found myself facing a pivotal decision early in my career. Just six months into a role that promised growth but left me feeling disconnected, I grappled with the idea of leaving. The stigma of quitting so soon, the allure of financial stability, and the daunting prospect of beginning anew weighed heavily on me. Yet, the journey of listening to my intuition and prioritizing personal fulfillment over a paycheck taught me invaluable lessons about resilience, alignment, and the courage to pursue a path that truly resonates with my values. Now, nearly two years later, I reflect on this decision with no regrets, cherishing a role that feels tailor-made for me, amidst a culture and team where I thrive. This experience underscored a profound truth: sometimes, the hardest choices lead us to the most fulfilling destinations.

Reconnecting with Peer Mentor Circles

Hey PMC Community,

I've got something a bit different for you today—a more personal blog post where I share more about my long absences and how I am working through thoughts about how to carry PMC forwards. I've been reflecting on my journey with Peer Mentor Circles since I started in 2017, and I want to reconnect with this community more authentically.

Feeling Stuck and Seeking Support

When I started Peer Mentor Circles, I felt stuck. I wasn’t enjoying my job, was unsure about my career path, and had a particularly challenging manager. There weren’t many people I could talk to about it either. It felt like telling tales if I shared with those higher up in my organization, and the alternative was filing a formal grievance, which felt like overkill. It made me wonder how many others were facing similar struggles at work and if we should be talking to each other.

The Birth of Peer Mentor Circles

It started with a quick poll on Twitter, asking if people would find a space to discuss work-related challenges useful. Maybe five people said yes, encouraging me to plan a Skype call to share our work issues and explore potential solutions. The initial interest in the idea gained traction, and I quickly realised I needed a better platform to accommodate the additional people who wanted to join in. And so, although dormant right now, the concept of Peer Mentor Circles began to take shape.

From Repository to Community Hub

Initially, the Peer Mentor Circles website was meant to be a repository for call recordings. However, as time went on, I experimented with expanding its purpose. We grew from a small group of 10 to around 200 members. Although activity and engagement haven’t been what they were in quite some time. I want connection and community in the real sense of the word. I want conversations and support. I want to know what you need.

The Challenge of Restarting the Conversation

I want to restart the conversation within our community, but it feels like reaching out to a long-lost friend. Time has passed, and I don’t know if they still want to talk to me. The uncertainty leaves me wondering how to kick things off, so I thought I’d write to you if someone out there still needs this space.

Identifying the Audience and Purpose

One of the ongoing challenges I face is defining who Peer Mentor Circles is really for; me? You? Others? or Us. Initially, I tailored the content to individuals like myself—similar age, similar career stage. But as I matured, I questioned if I should widen the focus or continue growing alongside my original demographic - my peers. Balancing the desire to expand while staying true to our roots has been a dilemma for me. I made up my mind eventually.

If you are here, and the content means something to you, then I am here for you. Despite the uncertainties, I'm still here, ready to listen and learn, expand your perspective and navigate the ups and downs of work life and career growth together. It doesn't matter where you work or what you do; the fundamental skills for success remain unchanged.

Asking the right questions

Recently, I had a conversation with a senior colleague about my expertise. I wanted to know what it takes to be deemed an expert - how many years in the field, how many qualifications or certifications to know I am indeed an expert. They emphasized that true expertise comes from asking the right questions rather than having all the answers. It got me thinking: What questions are you asking as you approach your work? What insights are you gaining about yourself, your team, and the business you're in?

Still here for you

So, here we are. I'm embracing a more authentic and unpolished approach because, over the years, I've accumulated countless drafts that weren’t perfect, so I left unpublished. It's time to change that.

In case you're wondering, I'm still here for people who are where I was when I started this platform, hoping to help you (and myself) grow by sharing what we know. More content will be coming your way soon. Stay tuned!

Oreoluwa George-Taylor

Why new beginnings are so scary

Why new beginnings are so scary

Beginnings mark change. Change means unpredictability and uncertainty, which means, limited control. Often you’re stepping away from what you know and walking towards what you don’t. New beginnings require a degree of vulnerability because you’re taking a leap of faith, and it might be alone. Starting again or starting something new is scary because:

  1. We don't know how things are going to turn out

  2. We are afraid of failing.

Failure is often viewed as being synonymous with laziness or incompetence but actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Failure is what you build on, not success. Failure is the best way to figure out what isn’t working, why it’s not working, and how to make it work. Failure is an opportunity for discovery, for learning and creativity.

Pay attention to the process and the things you can control such as your attitude and behaviour, accept the possibility of failure, view it as a roadmap to success, and endeavour to learn as much as possible.

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Personal Finance with Edirin - 5: 2021, where the money resides

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Money - shutterstock_1127245538.jpg

Where the money resides

For the New Year, I am working towards a more automated approach to handling my money.

I am one of those people who ABSOLUTELY loves the smell of NEW things, and a new year is no exception.

I like how a new year offers a renewed sense of hope; a willingness to go after things we may not have attained, or, you know, just a new burst of energy to reach for things we previously believed to be out of reach. Either way, I LOVE new years.

Besides the new energy a new year brings with it, it allows me to look back on what I spent money on in the last year (QUACKTAILS); how much I spent on clothes in the whole year (N68,840, which I’m happy about because I had a 100k annual limit last year), how much I earned from my investments (redacted), and how much I re-invested from my passive earnings (80%). I’m not sure if you can tell but I am pretty pleased with my money performance. Last year saw me switch careers and I still somehow managed to keep both eyes on my personal financial journey.

For the New Year, I am working towards a more automated approach to handling my money. I am approaching a decade of work experience and almost 5 years straight of tracking my expenses, so I am making two major changes to in my personal finance journey for 2021:

  1. Optimizing the process of tracking my expenses

  2. Diversifying my investments at a more granular level

Previously I had a standing meeting with my trusty excel sheet and all my account statements weekly, but this year I am leveraging technology and making it a monthly appointment. I will be moving my expense account from GTbank to Kuda bank where their banking app allows you to categorize your spending and pre-groups it so when you download the bank statement, it is already pre categorized. Hence copy and paste into my excel sheet- I can’t wait to see how this is going to work out but I am confident that by the second month it will be smooth sailing.

The granular level focus for my investments will involve me looking into the US index funds, specifically the Vanguard VTI. For foreign investments, I had previously just used specific investment vehicles via trusted parties, but this year I want to get into the US stock market. Never Nigeria because inflation erodes all the possible gains. I am looking to leverage the magic of compound interest and constant dividends from the index funds that have historically returned an average of 13% per annum in the last ten years.  Nothing too crazy but since the rule of 72 shows that it will take approximately 6 years to double whatever I invest; I’m hoping for a nice dollar nest once I turn 40.

The one thing I love more than the energy of the new year is a year that you have created with good financial decisions in prior years. This article https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/10/20/wall-street-will-soon-have-to-take-millennial-investors-seriously quotes BOA research that says that Millennials are about to enter the peak earning years of their careers, and their earning power will jump by almost 75% in this decade (AMEN?!). Millennials are born between 1981 and 1996, so if you are reading this, E FIT BE YOU. A new year allows you to plan a life and future that you want, and the best way to predict this future is to create it with a financial road map that you will follow, tweak and trust that it will get you there in one piece.

Look, if 2020 was bad for you money-wise, that’s fine- let it go because it’s gone. You are here at the precipice of a new year and endless possibilities lay before you to create your new future. If you think this is going to take time, I want to encourage you to do it anyway because the time will pass. The year will come to an end and 2022 will come. Let this year be the year that you sit with your money and figure it out, I am rooting for you to be victorious. Do not be afraid to have BOLD money plans but remember to break them down into bite-sized steps that will not overwhelm you. Remember, the confidence from small wins compounds and snowballs into concrete trust in ourselves, assuring us that we are making the right decisions for our money, for ourselves, and our future(s).

In the words of my favorite December 2020 meme,

In 2021, I’m going to be where the money resides!

Happy new year my darlings!

Ps: If you are overwhelmed with planning your financial 2021, send me an email at contact@peermentorcircles.com and I will send you a copy of a money workbook I think will be a decent guide to create an annual plan.