AND SO IT BEGINS

The year 2018 was when my dream of doing an MBA at the Lagos Business School started, which was after different back and forth on whether to “japa” or not. Well, life happened, and the dream kept on being pushed forward with the hope that plans would fall into place.

However, the interest in LBS kept growing stronger, which was influenced by the various stories told about the experiences and the benefits participants have gotten and are still getting. Many uncertainties came up, chief of which was the dilemma of whether or not to quit my Job coupled with the thoughts on how to survive for the next 24 months.

They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step; I took that step, starting with the application for the MBA program, only to stumble on the fact that I was going to write an examination (NMAT) followed by an interview. At that point, the thought of forgetting the application crossed by, but as the popular street slang goes, “We die here,” so I went ahead with all the processes and came out successful by the grace of God; here I am now.

Starting the MBA came with a lot of overwhelming feelings, especially with the thought of how one is supposed to combine all the coursework with studying and assignment deadlines coupled with extra-curricular activities, which, by the way, one is expected to participate actively. But then I said to myself, if people have passed through this experience and succeeded, I can also do it. So, I decided to look at the glory ahead and remembered the expectations I had for the program, what I aimed to achieve, and the new connections and friendships I looked forward to forming.

The program started with a two-week brush-up session where we were introduced to various subject matters and styles of teaching. The session opened my mind to a whole new level of reasoning: the fact that things are not usually the way we perceive them to be and the fact that all our actions in life and business have financial implications. I also learned of the fact that the major predictor of life success is a good grasp and control of an individual’s level of emotional intelligence, which is the capacity to perceive, control, and express one’s emotions and decode and respond appropriately to the emotions of others. Oh! Did you know that, on average, a person’s innate intelligence peaks between the ages of 16-25 years old, with a steady but small decline every year after that, dropping more sharply? Another mind-shifting experience was decision-making, which happens on a daily basis in one’s life, and how our decisions impact outcomes, which may directly or indirectly affect us but most especially affect the people around us or the people who are directly dependent on the decisions we make. We were also introduced to Corporate Financial Accounting and Statistics and Excel. All I can say about this is that it is well. 

Time, they say, is life, and good management of time can make a person achieve more with little time and also deliver quality results.

My Brush-up experience made me realize that there is actually a lot to learn, unlearn, and relearn and the need to be open-minded; at this point, I am also ready to contribute my knowledge of one or two things as the opportunity presents itself. This journey is going to be a long ride, and I have fastened my seat belt and wished myself Godspeed.

Lest we forget, Opus Dei (work of God), an organization of the Catholic Church, is not the owner of the Lagos business school; rather, they are available to maintain the spiritual identity of the school.

Ibukun

#MMBA5