Sim Shagaya, On the importance of dreaming and doing

15 years ago I anxiously applied to Stanford, Harvard and MIT Business schools. As part of the process for each, I was required to write an essay around what I intended to do with my life.
I was 26 at the time. Idealistic and perhaps slightly foolish.

My wife was rummaging through old documents and found these essays and extracted excerpts that she shared with me.

I would like to share them with you.
I hope this serves as some inspiration to you.
We are now on the cusp of great change in the world and this region and should consider ourselves lucky to be a part of it.

Dream. Do. Even if it takes decades.

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“What matters most to me is to be instrumental in the socio-economic rebirth of Nigeria and, ultimately, Africa.”

“My future will be centered on creating an entity, focused on the application of technology, which must meet the following criteria: First of all, it must be directly instrumental in relieving poverty. Secondly, it must harness the intellectual potential of Africans. Lastly, it must spawn other entities that will do the same.”

“Africa, unlike the West, is going to witness the arrival of voice communications, wireless access, and the Internet almost simultaneously. This will translate to one highly exciting and equally chaotic business landscape. If I am to be successful, I must be able to discern order and find opportunities where others perceive chaos. Technology, if applied in a socially conscious way, can alleviate the plight of African people.”

“Now I seek to become an excellent leader who orchestrates the development of enterprises with elegance and exercises sound judgment while embracing high ethical standards.”
“I plan to be one of the entrepreneurs who will harness this potential in forming corporations that will come to symbolize African ingenuity”

“These days, it is entirely possible for a single innovation to render whole businesses redundant. The corporate entities that I create, if not themselves the source of industry-upsetting innovation, must at least be able to anticipate change and swiftly realign strategy.”
“…starting high technology ventures in developing economies in the backdrop of an increasingly borderless world.”

“I want to attend a business school that will not quench my “idealistic” aspirations of using technology to provide benefits for my people, but will encourage them. I hope to be a part of an institution that has produced many others before me who have similarly challenged the status quo.”
“…that I learn to hone my vision and focus my entrepreneurial energies, and that I be prepared to be instrumental in surmounting one of humanity’s greatest challenges: the socioeconomic renewal of Africa.”

By:Sim Shagaya

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