Explore your talent while still young

By Njoki Karuoya

I met 12-year-old Ndegwa wa Kamau on Sunday at the Eagles Christian Church in Kitengela, where my loving cousin had ‘dragged’ me.

When he was invited on stage to perform, I thought he was coming to sing on behalf of the other Sunday School children to show the adults in the main church what they had been learning. So I was ready for one of those sweet songs.

But to my great surprise, Ndegwa, who is in Class Eight and is preparing to sit his final Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams, introduced himself with confidence, then shocked the audience when he announced that he had already recorded two albums — one with eight songs, and the other with seven songs and a poem on Vision 2030.

Starting early

Then he began performing (his songs are mostly sang in Kikuyu) and before he was done, the congregation was on its feet, cheering him on and giving him a standing ovation when he concluded.

This boy’s star is bright and already he is earning an income from his CDs, which he is selling at Sh100 a piece.  He also has DVDs of some of his tracks…and at only 12 years old. In my opinion, he should be invited to perform his Vision 2030 poem at this year’s Jamhuri Day celebrations.

Many successful people today are where they are because they embarked on their careers early. Many anchors cut their teeth in the media while they were still teenagers and in school, as did many actors, artists and other performers.

The same applies to businessmen and women who started hawking their products and services while at school, learning along the way, how to manage people their businesses.

The good thing about starting early, or getting your child to start constructive career shaping at a young age, is that it establishes responsibility and maturity in good time. With proper guidance (courtesy of the parents or guardians), a child can become a successful role model before they get to age 30.

Sadly, majority of young people are either afraid to step out of their shells or peer influence. They don’t want to stand out but to follow the same path as that of their friends, which is to stall such career start-ups until a later date.

Others are paralysed by the fear of failure, not appreciating that it is better to fail while still young when there are no responsibilities and there is room for improvement, than to fail when one is much older and has a family. Taking risks then, is a greater challenge than taking them when one is young. And it is always better to try when young than never at all, because you then grow up wishing you could do what you desire but you are trapped by your responsibilities.

 Positive lessons

So if you are below 25 years and have a passion for something, explore that talent and turn it into a business. At your age, it will pick gradually and the good thing is, you are blessed with the time to watch it grow; and you can learn patience along the way, together with some great life lessons that largely have to do with extracting positive lessons from mistakes, wrong turns and losses. Those lessons that are learnt now, while still young, will ensure that you avoid those wrong turns or negative decisions as you move forward, which will change the direction of your success.

And here is another great lesson. Embrace those wrong turns, decisions and perceived mistakes. They are wonderful tools that guide you towards success. Without them, you will never learn life’s greatest truths; but with them, you mature and enjoy life with a twinkle of wisdom.