“There’s no such thing as self-made person. Someone else believed, encouraged and invested in you. Be grateful and be that someone for others.” – Marcan D’Angel
Everyone desires a sense of autonomy, control and supremacy in leading their lives the best way they can. On the same account, we are more likely to claim credit for our successes as our own achievements which often than not is to an extent pegged on contributions of others. I am not trying to downplay the fact that in order to achieve greatness, there is some ambition, commitment and hardwork involved. This is the augmented by the goodwill of those we relate with in life. That’s what we call social capital and it’s been considered a critical determinant of personal development. This is why I believe this narrative of being self made doesn’t hold and we need to consider our achievements as privileges with a responsibility to contribute in the development of others.
Today as I was strolling the streets of YouTube University I happened to come by a video by Barry Schwartz on “Why Justice isn’t Enough” which in a way made it clear that our pursuit of justice might never work out. Justice as equity provides for two things: People get what they deserve and People deserve what they get. Often times this isn’t the case and it’s influenced by various underlying determinants which downplay meritocracy in some form. In most cases it’s due to shortage of opportunities and scarcity of resources while other times it is the subjective human hand that comes to play. Whichever way your stakes play out, there is a human component and whether successful or not it’s not an outcome of your individual work.
Through the week, I was honored to be trained on Public-Private Collaborations (PPCs) alongside a team from the frontier counties with an aim of stimulating PPCs for the development of these counties with a focus on health. On the sidelines I had a chat with my former boss and mentor and through the discussion, I got to reflect on the coincidental turn of events that when I was graduating to campus I happened to be employed to work under her. Through that opportunity, I have had a moment to move from one level to another, collaborating with others, learning and hopefully in the end realize my aspirations. I am not more deserving of the opportunities than others but it is luck playing out in my favor, personal commitment and the support of those in my circles. They’ve always opened the door for me and that’s the level of privilege I’ve had. Mine is to acknowledge and pay it forward knowing I’m in debt to humanity to extend a hand.
With that said, I’m open to support individuals and organizations in project identification through needs assessment, business development, planning and guidance through the implementation phase. The value of knowledge is in applying it and I’m keen to start putting my skills to use.
“While many people are proud of being self-made, it only explains all the flaws.” – Ron Brackin