Excuse no.5  Hmm, what can I say about my relationship with this excuse? This one has certainly cost me. I’m humble enough to say I have used this a couple of times as an excuse not to do something I really wanted to do, and so this excuse elicits some feelings of regret. But thankfully we serve a God of multiple chances, so I have learnt from my mistakes, and I now have a different response to the idea of a saturated market.

Again, being a fashion entrepreneur helped in causing this mind shift. Very few industries are considered more competitive than mine… but the creative industry also thrives on differentiation… if you want to succeed, you have to embrace your uniqueness. Don’t do what everyone is doing, dig deep to find your USP. Ultimately you are the differentiator.

Your YOUNESS is a moneymaker. Some people will never get the message, except it comes in the unique way you sell it. You have to believe that!!! You have to know that there is room even in a seemingly saturated market for you if you commit to your uniqueness.

Watch out for the next excuse.

To pre-order my book, please click the button below.

Excuse No.4 is the one that threatens everything I try to do. It showed up when I wanted to get married, start having babies, start @xclamations, and it raised its ugly head big time when I wanted to write my book.

This excuse will convince you that you are not lazy, you don’t procrastinate, you are just a perfectionist, you strive for excellence and my favorite (I swear this excuse is so coy) it says “you know whatever is worth doing is worth doing well”… and just like that it stops you in your tracks. To get past this excuse was hard for me because I am an over-thinker and I over-analyze everything!!! I like to be prepared; I like to feel ready, even though I rarely ever do. Admittedly, I think it is why it took so long for me to do this. The idea for this book is 3 years old and yet I never felt ready, that feeling never came, and I have even stopped waiting for it.

How did I get over it? Nothing earth-shaking happened, no epiphany or aha moment… I just woke up one day, opened up my laptop, started typing and kept at for a year. Excuses hate action!!! Ready or not, just do it. Whatever “IT” maybe.

Watch out for the next excuse.

To pre-order my book, please click the button below.

Excuse No.3 is the worst of all my excuses. I almost always think “I am not good enough” before stepping up.

We give this excuse fancy names like imposter syndrome or inferiority complex because we know this one runs deep. Personally, I have accepted that this feeling of inadequacy will never go away and so to live my best life, I have to learn to deal with it. Being a fashion entrepreneur helps; my work-life feeds me regularly with validation through the people I constantly see wearing my pieces so beautifully. Family life also helps… hubby is my biggest cheerleader and constantly reminds me that I’m awesome (thanks babe). But ultimately I am the only one that can silence that voice in my head, and I have found that it only shuts up when I prove it wrong… So I started writing my book and kept writing until the voice was nothing but inaudible whispers.

Confidence also comes with practice. The more you do, the more competent you feel. So don’t wait to be great before you start, start and in the process, greatness will find you.

Watch out for the next excuse.

To pre-order my book, please click the button below.

Tomi

Excuse No.2 is the one I have used the longest… the one I share with the busy bees amongst us, the one that never gets old. This excuse sounds noble… even makes me feel important. You say it with an attitude… shoulders raised… “I don’t have the time” “I am too busy” “So much on my plate”. Being busy becomes a problem when you have no time for the important stuff… the things you want to spend time doing. For me, the shift came when I started accounting for my time and I realized I could make time by freeing myself of obligations and tasks that were self-imposed or could be delegated. It’s also a whole different feeling when you are doing things you love, things that move you closer to your goals and add colour to your life.

Stop “forming” busy but instead start making time by prioritizing the important stuff. Start prioritizing you.

 Watch out for the next excuse.

To pre order my book please click the button below

So, I am writing a book. It’s possible you know that already. I am so excited about this, it’s almost all I talk and think about. My book is about two passions of my life… the first one you know already – Business but the other may come to you as a surprise – Fitness. My business and fitness life are intertwined and in the last five years I have committed myself to my fitness journey and it has helped me become a better businessperson. It has literarily changed my life.

So what is Fat transfer? My book is a compilation of life lessons for fitness and business. We are taking pre-orders for the book now, and it makes me wonder about the many excuses I made that prevented me from writing it. I can come up with the most ingenious excuses. But deep inside I know, just like you know, that excuses are just another expression of our fears. Another way we protect ourselves from change and delay our progress. One of my “go-to” excuses is “I don’t know how”. Mehn… this excuse can mess you up. First, admitting not knowing how to do something should be a good thing, but when it’s an excuse… it becomes a shackle… tying up your hands and your mind.

When I explored the thought of writing this book, thought of a million things I didn’t know about the process. I felt inept and convinced myself that I needed to acquire new skills before I could even justify an attempt. I was wrong. Thankfully, I started… I woke up one day and just started. And yes, the process was just as challenging as I thought it would be and there was a lot to learn, stuff I couldn’t just delegate, things I had to do myself. But I did it. Since writing this book, it has emboldened me to try out new things, and that is just one way this process has changed me.

My next excuse is my default one. I and this excuse have been besties for a long time. Watch out for the next excuse in the next newsletter.

Have you ordered my book? If you have struggled to stay consistent in business or fitness or you are a fan of my writing or you want to read more of my story or you just want to support my writing career lol… then click the link to be one of the first to get an autographed copy.

Happy new month

Am I the only one thankful to see the end of January?  

I am glad for the gift of a new month and all the possibilities it holds. But word from the grapevine is that business is a tad slow…. they say that customers are not buying as much because they don’t have anywhere to go. The self-imposed lockdown inspired by the Covid protocols are still causing us to lose business, and I can sense that we are getting weary. When are things going to turn around? When will we start to experience some semblance of normalcy? The simple answer is NOBODY REALLY KNOWS. We can make some informed guesses, but we do not know for sure what normal will even look like post-COVID-19. So, what do you do while you wait? This is the title of my latest podcast. WHAT DO I DO WHILE I WAIT?

I have a few suggestions for you. I truly believe from the depth of my heart that this season offers a rare opportunity for growth for us all. Click the link to listen to my podcast and please share. https://anchor.fm/ayotomi-rotimi/episodes/What-do-I-do-while-I-wait-epjuj3

Speaking of growth and things we can do while we wait? Did you miss the online course promo? We have extended the validity of the discount code till Wednesday 3rd of February. If you are at all serious about starting a ready-to-wear fashion business or improving on the one you have, then this opportunity is yours and it will be painful to miss. Remember… the course is valued at N100,000 and you have a chance to get it at N45,000 plus One-hour consultation. This entire package is a steal at N45,000. The promo ends on Wednesday, after which it is over. Apply the coupon code DISC55 at checkout to get the discount. https://training.tomirotimi.com/course-details/1/how-to-start-a-ready-to-wear-label-in-nigeria

For all those who just enrolled for the course… congratulations!!!! This promises to be the best investment in your business. At the end of this course, you will have learnt all you need to start the ready-to-wear business of your dreams, avoiding all the pitfalls and mistakes that I experienced while building the Xclamations by Tomi Rotimi brand.

I can’t wait to see you in class!!!

Tomi Rotimi