March 2020, the lockdown has just begun. Do I worry about the virus or do I worry about the end of year exams rapidly encroaching?
I still remember the tears of joy and laughter from the moment we were told that the exams are no longer to be sat and that we are entering a state of lockdown. In our minds, we had just scraped by what would have been the worst experience of 2020, yet we did not anticipate in the slightest the sort of drudgery and misery that our world was about to face for the next coming year or two.
There I was, ecstatic, energized like never before. I've wanted this freedom to do whatever, whenever for the longest time ever and it has finally come to me in the weirdest, most uncommon way possible. I was almost not ready to have what I wanted.
Do I play PS4 all day? Sleep all day? Eat all day? I was never big in size or height but still loved all those activities nonetheless.
A few days in and it dawned on me...
WTF am I going to do now? The whole time, in the back of my mind, I knew I did not want to go to university. I knew that taking that path will take me back down the same road I endured for the past 12 years or longer, living the same, long and tedious day over and over - waking up early, getting on the bus, sitting in a class, going home then repeating.
This black and white memory has been the same memory I have been trying to escape. There was no chance that I was about to voluntarily relive it.
My second option was an apprenticeship, but as the virus got worse, the bad news poured in through my email. One apprenticeship after the other, they all closed their doors.
By this time, I had never had a job, I had never gone out my way to speak to strangers, and I had never tried to stick out. I've always been that introverted little boy who wanted nothing but his own space on the moon - away from any form of life.
Now I told you this because deep down I was frightened to finally step out on my own and earn a living through an apprenticeship. Being surrounded by people older than me, who knew more than me, expecting me to perform, deliver and present was a nightmare but I thought it was time to finally step out of the dark and take control of my life.
At least, that's all I've been taught. That real freedom lies behind the countless years of a 9 to 5. Behind a job you slave a third of your life working to finally reach... and that's when you can take a deep breath, sit back and say "I made it!" Earning £25,000 per year, with a 3/4% raise annually seemed like a dream come true because that's all I've ever been around.
Little did I know that this was not the finish line, but a first-class seat back to the same life I dreaded - the only difference this time was that I was going to earn a few bucks for my efforts.
I was just a 17 year old boy who all of a sudden, felt like the hourglass was depleting at a staggering rate. There I was with nothing less than 60 years of life waiting to be discovered (at least I hope), thinking that my time is at the next turn.
Getting desperate, I started to think outside the box.
"What if there is another way?"
At the end of the day, my whole life was spent in London. I didn't have a clue what there is outside, the endless possibilities that could be waiting and the life that I could never have imagined.
Instead of waking up and turning on my PS4, I woke up and turned on my phone. Yes I know, not a big difference put that way, but I searched and searched for answers until I discovered this elusive thing called "entrepreneurship."
Something that so many people chase, but it always slips them. Something that others were so gifted in whilst others struggled to make ends meet. Something so widely thrown around in today's day and age but only a number of people come to master.
This was my way out of the 'Slow Lane' as MJ DeMarco describes it (in his book I came to read later the same year).
That day, I had another road to choose from at that divergence. University and apprenticeship were no longer the only options. Entrepreneurship was now in the mix!
I couldn't believe it. How did I not know about this before? Days later, I discovered dropshipping (worst business model ever) and that's when my mind was made.
"Mum, I'm going to be rich!"
The same day, I walked into my sister's room and discovered something profound. In the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of something that seemed quite familiar.
I took a closer look and there it was - 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki.
This was the confluence I needed to cement in my decision.
Life is about to rock!
At least that's what I thought. I never knew the sort of torment I had just bought myself into...
Until next time,
Mohamad Alasadi
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