Classroom-2-Boardroom: Developing a Love Affair w/ Failure.

4-minute read: You're are not lesser; You're just different.

Hi friends 👋🏾

Happy Tuesday. Welcome to Issue 9 of C2B. This is a 3-minute read, no more no less.🙅🏾‍♂️

This week, we’re exploring something quite popular- Failure. 🤒

P.S. The title was inspired by the book “Love Affair with Failure” by Dr. Akintoye Akindele and Olakunle Soriyan even though I haven’t read the book.

Love Affair w/ Failure
- You’re not lesser; You’re just different.

👉🏾Last week, I got rejected the second time by the same organization for two different opportunities, almost exactly one year apart. 🙅🏾‍♂️

The first time was when I was fundraising for Dot. I did two separate interviews and had a final interview with about 10 investment partners. 🤒

I was convinced that I put everything into the whole process. 💯

A few days later, I got a call that they decided not to invest in Dot. I was devastated. But I noted their feedback and I worked on it. 👌🏾

One year later, I applied to join their student investment partner teams. I got an interview and I thought it went well. I was convinced that I put my whole heart into the application. 💯

But a few days later, I got an email that my application didn’t move to the next round🥹

Can I be honest? At that moment, it hurt. It still hurts. But this is not the first time for me and it surely won’t be the last that such would happen. 💁🏾‍♂️

My college application was rejected by nearly 20 different colleges (geez I wasn’t even 20 yet) and I’ve applied to probably twice as many programs and gotten way more rejections than I can remember. 🤷🏾‍♀️

But like we talked about, when life goes low…we go high! 👌🏾

You’re not lesser for being rejected, you’re just different. ✨

👉🏾The reality is when you choose to go down this path, the odd path, you’ll certainly encounter more failures at first, more disappointments, and more rejections.

My friends, you’ll be misunderstood, again and again by your friends and families. 🤦🏾‍♂️

Choosing to follow your heart doesn’t prevent you from being rejected🙅🏾‍♂️. But that you won’t let rejection get to your heart. ❤️

Cause if you want to be understood, you have to be willing to be misunderstood at first. 🤒

Going from classroom to boardroom as a student founder means your ideas will be seen as immature- right idea, wrong people; wrong idea, right people 🤒.

Those were the words someone said to me, at different times. 💁🏾‍♂️

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Dot is a cash-to-cashless experience for immigrant students in Africa.

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You’ll be naive, yes! You’ll be ignorant to history, yes! You’ll be oblivious to the status quo, yes! 🤷🏾‍♀️

But my friends, what you know about the present and future and your role in it is powerful. 👌🏾

Your naivety will be your superpower if you let it drive you. 💯

Your ignorance will be your magic wand if you weave it correctly in wonderland. ✨

Your oblivion will be your sweet spot if you balance it with curiosity. 💯

Internalize the word “NO”. It’s a short yet highly powerful word. 👌🏾

Every NO can be seen as…not over. There’s an old saying to believe the no, don’t believe the why behind the no. 🙅🏾‍♂️

When you apply to anything/ for anything. Try to separate your application from you.

YOU are submitting an APPLICATION. When the rejection comes in, your APPLICATION was rejected, not YOU. 🤒

The only person who can reject you, is you. The only person who can fail you, is you.👌🏾

Even though we call it classroom to boardroom, the full picture is classroom to 5 failures to 1 success to 3 other failures to 4 other rejections to 1 success to 4 other rejections to 1 success to 4 success to 7 success to boardroom.

Don’t EVER compare your progress with other people’s successes. 🎯

Don’t compare other people’s destinations to your starting point. 💁🏾‍♂️

Behind that single win you’re jealous of are 20 failures you’ll never know of. 🙅🏾‍♂️

Be aware of false negatives. 💯

I know we’ve been told again and again that you can’t have your cake and eat it or eat your cake and have it. 🤷🏾‍♀️

But while that’s true, remember that there are exceptions—one of them is being a student-founder, and developing your entrepreneurial spirit as you pursue academic excellence. 💯

Who says you can’t do both? Don’t listen to them, especially if they haven’t done it. 💁🏾‍♂️

There’s an old saying that never let someone tell you you can’t do something especially if they haven’t done it. 👌🏾

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Dot is a cash-to-cashless experience for immigrant students in Africa.

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Lastly, success inspires but failure educates. Do you want to be inspired or do you want to be educated❓

If you want to be inspired, read success stories. 💯

If you want to be educated, read stories of people who have failed. ✨

If you want to be inspired and educated, read stories of people who have failed their way to success (yes, nobody says you can’t have both, duhh). 💯✨

My friends, as you choose to follow your heart, remember not to let failure get to your heart. ❤️

Remember, you're not lesser because you've failed. You're different because you've dared. 🔥🔥

This difference is what sets you on a path to greatness. 🚀🚀

That’s it for this week. Here’s our quote of the week👇🏾

“The sting of rejection is better than the pain of regret.”
-Greg Hickok.

Until next time,
Don’t Forget to be Awesome,

Dulra ❤️
Founder/CEO, Dot.