‘’Never place all your eggs in one basket’’ and ‘’always ensure to have a back-up plan or plan B to fall to should your original plan not come through’’ are some of the age-long wisdoms you may have likely heard of. However, these perspectives to life, like many others, have their contrariant worldviews some of which have been attributed to some past heroes and heroines who have applied them to break limits during their heydays.

The contrariant sayings such as ‘”Burn your ships’’, “face your plights head on’’, “win or die trying’’, “no retreat no surrender’’ etc are being used to signify the great fits one is capable of achieving through a unidirectional engagement of the mind. It is often thought that locking on a single course inspires focus and gives room for intrinsically motivated intensity which are important ingredients of victory.

The meaning and beauty of this philosophy can be traced back to an event that happened more than five hundred years ago when the Spanish conquistador led by General Hernan Cortes went into war with the Mexicans.

In 1519, Hernan Cortes and his men had to face a significantly larger army. Cortes had to think of a strategy that would help him have victory on the battlefield despite being outnumbered by the Mexicans. He then loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, unloaded soldiers and equipment and gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them.

Motivating his men before the battle, Corte said, pointing at the burning ships, ‘’you see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice – we win or we perish.’’

Hernan Cortes and his men left the battlefield victorious. And Harnan Cortes became the first man in 600 years to successfully conquer Mexico.

At TradeGrid, a Tekedia Capital portfolio company, we are the largest all-digital oil trading, downstream platform in Africa. We just added a card to make it easier for fuel stations to order and trade assets easily. If you own a filling station, gas station, etc, we will finance your asset and we have Tradegrid’s TradersCARD to simplify the frictions. Our card is optimized to finance $10 million monthly.

The Corporate Ultra-exclusive cards allow brands offer TradeGrid powered features such as zero-interest financing and miniaturized order deliveries to their branded dealer partners, Through the TradersCard, these dealers would enjoy a customized locked-in experience on the platform, being able only to view and purchase from their brand suppliers. Other Card types include the Ultra-unlimited, Boost Pro and Boost Log.

We’re downstream oil traders at scale. Since April, we’re recording an excess of 100% MoM GMV growth demonstrating resilience in our business despite the changes in the industry; we want to support your growth. Our operations cover many countries including Nigeria and Kenya.

Connect TradeGrid here https://thetradegrid.com/ or Tekedia Capital here https://capital.tekedia.com/ and our team will provide support.

Ndubuisi Ekekwe, PhD

Member of Board, TradeGrid USA

Is it different from Fuelpay?

— Matthew Aroh (@ArohMatthew) July 9, 2023

It is Sunday and let the Sunday School teacher pick a case study from the Holy Book. From Scripture Union in Secondary School, to University Chapel in FUTO, to RCCG, etc, yours truly has one singular call: teaching. So, today, I will discuss why you need to have a Mentor, a Coach, a Counsellor or a Guardian in your professional life. Yes, most times, when you hit your limit, they could be handy to help you. Here we go…

They were men of great capabilities. They excelled in their fields. They were masters of waters, having core competencies in navigating sea waves as fishermen. But one day, they were on the Sea of Galilee, legendary for its shallow depth – the lowest freshwater and second-lowest lake on earth. Fed by River Jordan, with the Golan Heights by the side, a wave easily gathered momentum, causing problems along the paths.

On that day, the disciples had their capabilities tested.  Four of them were recruited by Christ while working on that very Sea. The waves were ferocious. Yet,  the men trusted their skills. Then, they gave up, and asked for help. “Peace be still” were the words, and the storm stopped!

Our education, networks, and experiences are things we cherish. We use them to navigate careers and professional lives. But sometimes, waves of careers come – big storms which overwhelm – and having higher mentors or plans could help.

Remember, men of water needed to be saved in waters by a Higher Mentor. As tech brings disruptions in markets, causing troubles on careers, it is time to invest to be in the right company with people who can say “peace be still” on that career turbulence. #network smartly!

Comment on Feed

Comment 1: A sure recipe for disaster is to always feel one can put everything under control all the time.

No matter your capabilities life will always present with its own treachery of currents.This could be economic, natural, environmental, career or family.

When this happens there is need for a shoulder to lean on. Remember, when we lean on the shoulders of giants we see farther.

Thanks, prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe as always for this piece.