January last year, I quit my job.

I could not have imagined what happened next.

Hello guys,

Hope you are doing well. I’m doing okay, Alhamdulillah.

While I have quite a few things to do today, I slept back after Fajr for hours. 😅 I have told myself, of course, that sleeping that many hours would give me the energy to power through the rest of the day. 🤡 🤡 Let’s see how that goes.

Before we proceed, there’s an article I really want - no, need you to read. If you are (or plan to be) a parent, Kevin Macguire's When fatherhood doesn’t go to plan will open your eyes.

What it made me think about is the enormity of problems people go through in everyday life that nobody really talks about. I once heard/read someone say, ‘It is as if school was designed to not teach us about the important things and focus on irrelevant things instead.’

Think about it.

In secondary school or university, there were no courses like ‘How To Manage Personal Finances’, ‘How To Figure Out a Career’, ‘How To Build a Successful Relationship’, ‘How To Raise a Child’, ‘How To Deal with Elderly Parents’, or ‘How To Know When to Quit’.

These are some of the most important things the vast majority of humans will go through. But you know what? There’s no proper way to learn about them. What we do instead is pick up random pieces of advice from our parents, friends, religious customs, movies, and random people on the internet.

Instead, our teachers gladly teach us about ‘The Almighty Formula’, ‘Pythagoras Theorem’, and ‘Adam Smith’s Definition of Economics’. Of what use are any of these in our everyday interacttions?

I do not think this is an ideal way to learn. Seeing as I do not have the solutions, I would end my rant here. But it is something to think about. Sha read the article.

Okayy, now to my newsletter.

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January last year, I quit my job.

I had been working for a social enterprise in Lagos, and it was a company I really liked. It was quite close to home, I had a lot of respect for the leadership team, and I had tons of friends in the company.

So why was I leaving?

Well, that’s exactly what one of the managers whom I wasn’t reporting to directly (yes, LinkedIn speak!) wanted to find out when he pulled me aside.

T: Hameed, I heard you’re leaving us.

Me: Yes o, this is my last week.

T: Ah ahn why now?

Me: I need the break Oga. Spent too much of the last few years running around.

T: Ehen…so what are you going to do now?

Me: Take things slow. I’ll take some basic Arabic classes, read books, chill for a while, and return to the job market.

T: You’re quitting your job to rest for some time and take Arabic classes?!

Me: Yeah that sounds right. 😂

T: Okay o, I wish you well.

Me: Thanks boss.

T then left the room, but not before giving me a look of ‘this guy must be absolutely crazy.’ 😂😂

But I wasn’t nuts - not yet, at least. I did not give T 100% of the gist, but everything I said was true. You see, I needed the break. And I thought I could afford to take two to three months out of the job market and return sometime in April.

For one, I had enough savings to be good for a few months. Besides, I was trying to get into four different companies and was certain that at least one of them would give me an offer before Q2 of 2020.

At the time, I was already in the interview process with Boston Consulting Group and Unilever. Also, I had talked to people at two of the Big 4 and it looked like smooth sailing. If someone had told me then that I would not get into any of these companies and be out of active engagement for about 8 months, I would not have believed them.

For BCG, I interviewed with them about 5 weeks into my break. I passed to the next stage, but Brother Covid would ground recruitment activities to a halt for about 9 months. I would ultimately begin my application from scratch and not get an offer. Alhamdulillah.

For Unilever, I did a final interview as well. It was a Sales role interview with a panel format - Sales Manager, HR Manager, and someone I do not remember. I would have taken a 70% pay cut from my last job to join Unilever, but I wanted to do it anyway. Maybe I will write about this later.

Also, I genuinely believe it was my personal best performance in an interview. If they could hire me on the spot, they would have. 😂

** side note: Our perceptions of personal performance are often flawed. What I believe is my second-best ever performance in an interview (with the Digital Development team of an European car company) turned out to be not as great as I thought. I did not get the offer.

** side side note: The Unilever interview was important for other reasons as well. It was the first time I would meet Mubarak BL, with whom I had only previously corresponded on social media. It was the last time I would meet David Ntekim-Rex, with whom I shared a car ride on the way back. Sigh.

Anyhoo, Unilever's HR and I agreed to correspond in late March. We did not know then that Uncle Covid would change everything. She did not reach out to me to discuss an offer until January of this year, by which time I had moved on.

For one of the Big 4, HR reached out in February to let me know that they were considering my application and requested for references, which I provided. Then I got the news that there was no space in the division I wanted. Would I be interested in joining another team? Sure, I responded with three other teams I could see myself working in. Then I was put on hold when Alfa Covid showed up.

And the other Big 4, well I just never followed up. I guess that one is on me. Of the four companies, this one I was least keen to join (even though I have no reason why). I just figured Pastor Covid probably disrupted their process as well and did not reach out again.

I have shared quite a bit already, but I want to share some more anyway.

Take advantage of your parents

No, I don’t mean sell their house. 😅

I was fortunate enough to be living with my parents when all of this happened. You see, many of us (guys especially) are in a hurry to move out of home. Get a job, get an apartment, get a car, etc. But are these things really necessary?

Living with my parents meant I could avoid paying (or pay much reduced) bills for food, rent, electricity, transport, internet, cable TV, and whatever else. So it was fairly easy to leave the job market for a few months as I really did not need to spend any money.

You might argue (rightly so) that living with parents is more difficult in your twenties, as you would probably have fairly opposite viewpoints on just about everything. But still, it is the right move. They’ve worked hard and they care about you. Many people do not have this privilege, take advantage of it.

One such situation came up the night before my Unilever interview, when I was having a conversation with my Mum.

Mum: Are you ready for your interview tomorrow?

Me: Not yet, but I will be in sha Allah. Need to cover a few things.

Mum: Okay, sha don’t stay up too late. How are you going?

Me: I was thinking I’ll drive. Can I take your car?

Mum: Well yes, my car is available. But why drive? Why not go with my driver so you don’t have to worry about traffic, parking or all those things?

Me: Nah don’t worry Mummy, I don’t need a driver.

Mum: Okay.

Then she retired and I went to bed much later. The next morning, I was in a rush. The interview was about 2 hours away from home and I couldn’t afford to be late. I rushed to ‘suit up’ (haha yes HIMYM reference), and then went to get my Mum’s car key, when she said, ‘The driver is downstairs, take my car.’

Hungry, sleep-deprived, and pressed for time, it would have been stupid to argue.

‘Okay thank you.’

In spite of what I said the previous night, my Mum ensured her driver was available. Also, it turns out there was plenty traffic and I barely got there in time. This was great as her driver was able to drop me off right at the entrance while he went to figure out parking.

There are powerful lessons here.

One, our parents really do know better than us. It might not be everything and everytime, but it really is useful to run things by them and take their advice.

Two, if you are fortunate enough to have parents that can provide a little bit of a socio-economic safety net, take it and say thank you. You have nothing to prove to anybody by being ‘independent’.

On taking a break

For most people, the world of work lasts from early/mid twenties until early/mid sixties. About 40 years. And when you think about the enormity of things that can happen in that timeframe, it is almost inevitable that at some point you will need to take a (forced or unforced) break.

Maybe you will move countries and need time to find your feet. Maybe you will get pregnant and have to take months or years off work. Maybe you will venture into entrepreneurship and lose all your money. Maybe your company will file for bankruptcy. Maybe you or your partner will be diagnosed with a critical illness. Maybe you will take a sabbatical to travel the world or learn another language. The possibilities are endless.

But instead of falling into the pit of ‘Oh no my life sucks and all my friends are leaving me behind’, it is important to acknowledge that there’s a long runway ahead, and then figure out how to maximize your break.

During my break, I quickly realized a few things.

One was that I needed very few things to be happy. Just a few months previously, I was convinced I needed new office shoes, some new natives, a new laptop, and a host of other things. But when I was forced to spend the bulk of the year at home, I realized none of those things was truly important. Family, friends, Netflix, and food were basically all I needed. In hindsight, I probably took some of these things for granted then.

I picked up a few habits that helped get through it as well. I read a lotttt, a habit I still try to keep going today (I’m nowhere near as diligent though). At some point, I refused to come online till 12 pm on a daily basis, and spent my mornings reading business thinking on McKinsey Insights, going for a run (2020 me would be disappointed today 🥲), or taking classes to learn basic Arabic.

It was also at this point I read John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars (which completely put me in my feelings), Sam Walton’s Made in America (the story of WalMart), Dan Senor’s StartUp Nation (which gave me huge respect for Israel), and Dr Aisha Utz’s Psychology from an Islamic Perspective, all of which deeply shaped my thinking.

Of course, I still had to answer the numerous ‘So what are you up to now?’ questions from people who meant well. By May, I started to panic. I had been unemployed for several months. I put out feelers to my old organization that I wanted to work part-time, and applied to a number of roles as well.

But when it appeared nothing was forthcoming, I settled into a routine and began to enjoy the break. Of course, I made a lot of noise (you probably know where I make noise 😂) and just tried to double down on what appeared to be the next stage of my life.

By June/July, my priorities had completely changed. My itinerary was mostly the same, except that Arabic classes changed to French classes. 😅

But I was no longer searching for a job. So much that when a company I had previously applied to reached out in August to discuss a role that would have paid between three and six times my last salary, I declined.

It was no longer important.

I have spent quite a lot of time on this newsletter today, and I need to wrap up.

My guess is there are many things you may decide to take from today’s post. But there is just one I want to reiterate. A career is 40+ years long, and the path is not linear. Do not beat yourself up about the numerous hard knocks you will inevitably receive.

So chin up, maximize your breaks, and double down on the next steps. You will come out great bi idhnillah. And as for your sustenance in the short term, it will surely come to you.

فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍۢ وَأَنۢبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًۭا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا ۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا ٱلْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقًۭا ۖ قَالَ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ أَنَّىٰ لَكِ هَـٰذَا ۖ قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

So her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zechariah. Every time Zechariah entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, "O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you?" She said, "It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account." - 3:37

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If you found this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends. Have them read it and subscribe. I like to share personal stories and life lessons as I learn. They will be super random, but common themes will include business, personal development, human relationships, and Islam.

Gracias, and see you around.

Hameed

** Jara content (can’t find the interview so paraphrasing. Plus, have I shared this before? I don’t know) :

‘If I gave you a challenge to solve world hunger in 5 years, you would rightfully decline. But if I asked you for how to solve world hunger over the next 100 years, then your ideas suddenly become much more interesting. We can achieve so much more when we decide to think in the long-term.’ - Jeff Olaoluwapo Bezos