Here’s one big struggle I have had for a while…How do I balance my passion for entrepreneurship with my academic pursuits?

I have asked myself several times what I would have done if I had the chance to pick a different major, but truthfully, I do not know.

I thought it was all about building a business, making money and taking care of essential need,s but I couldn’t be more wrong.

Every single man or woman is being driven by the desire to meet some form of need or the other.

Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations where our immediate or current pursuits do not reflect our truest and purest heart desires.

I am writing because I know there are so many people who are in a situation where they are stuck. They are struggling to find themselves because they have seemingly conflicting pursuits.

If you are in this same situation, I’d love to share a few things I believe would help get unstuck:

1. Don’t be hasty to make conclusions about yourself, your identity, your personality most especially your future.

My only challenge with this is that sometimes I just wish it wasn’t my eyes and my ears. I am someone who really loves to have it all figured out and to have all the answers. The reality is however that I don’t and sometimes this really becomes a frustration.

2. Do not be hasty to brand yourself with titles and names that are not a true reflection of where you are going. This is especially true if you are still in the discovery phase of your life.

3. Learn to be comfortable not having all the answers: The reality is that no one really does but sometimes we judge ourselves for not having it all figured out.
 
 Most people fall into the trap of misbranding themselves because of the subtle fear of being the odd one out amongst their colleagues or peers.

I learned this lesson from a friend of mine who was just starting out her journey in tech. When asked what she did for a living, she simply responded by saying, “I’m still in my learning phase”.

I think the world needs more people like her, people who would not make up stories or create false personas of themselves just to look cool.
 
I was glad I met someone that genuine, someone who is not going to let the pressure of trying to meet up, make her misbrand herself.
 
Personal branding is all about being unique and authentic. We tend to forget sometimes that what makes us unique is not the skills that we learned or the fancy titles we call ourselves on social media. What makes us unique is a sum total of the experiences we have had; our fears, aspirations, dreams, failures and successes and so on.
 
This is why you shouldn’t go about calling yourself names that do not truly embody what you do or who you are.

If you are learning, be open about it, if you are growing, be open about it, let’s stop building fake personas and go back to building authentic brands that touch lives and change people for the better.