The past month was slower than I expected but the main highlight was continuing my journey to self discovery. I had gotten caught up with other things and had not taken some time out for myself and my goals. This realization came from a random argument I had with my partner. Interesting source of enlightenment, but enough to open my eyes.

In a quest to continue on my journey, I decided on a few things: Start writing more to share my journey, pick up mentoring, and drawing more consistently with a plan. So far, this hasn't been going badly. At least, here I am. Fingers crossed on keeping this up 😅.

So here is cheers to November and all it offered, and happy new month!

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Work

Started working a fast-paced startup 5 months ago, and it has been an interesting ride. From the weekly syncs with my CTO, to product meetings and user feedback updates. I have been exposed to a new side of the startup life that involves going on little adventures and learning on the way.

The major highlight in the past month was taking a step back to let people use our product. This brought some insights into the problem we are trying to solve. I guess the "User is King" and the earlier you find out the better.

I also got to improve my knowledge of SQL and write Database functions, and working with emails on Postmark. This isn't something that I could have predicted 5 months ago. Life has its way of surprising us.

One other thing I have learned is resilience in the face of adversity. I won't say I have done a lot of fire-fighting lately, but I've had to discard a lot of ideas and implementations for newer and proven ones. Doing this constantly has been humbling.

Those great ideas are only as good as the value they offer in the present.

Overall, this has been great for my growth. Plus I love adventures 🫡.

Personal time

Last month was again filled with moments of memories.

I got to experience the joy of art. I attended an art exhibition in Lagos, Nigeria. You can watch an Instagram reel of the experience. So many amazing pieces of work on display and I could only imagine how the artists felt. Time to take my art more seriously 😂.

I have been attending a lot of weddings lately. A friend even suggested that I become a wedding influencer. Me? Infleuncer? No way. However, there might be some truth in that statement because I have an interesting lineup. Last month, I showed up for the wedding ceremony of a friend and it was a fun experience as usual. I made sure that my attire was in tune with the color of the day.

Then I went to the cinemas to see Black Adam and Wakanda Forever. I enjoyed the latter more, but both were enjoyable. Still can't get over the Wakanda Forever OST (favorite track is "Alone" by Burna Boy). I enjoy superhero movies a lot and like to indulge that interest. Looking forward to my next movie outing, Avatar 2.

I celebrated the 1 year anniversary of my relationship with a picnic. I always have a great time with her and this wasn't different. We found a private field in Lagos and had some alone time to play games and talk.

Afterwards, I attended a sendforth party for one of my close friends. Glad to hear that she's settled now. Change is part of life I guess.

Learnings

One of the biggest highlights for me this year was picking up podcasts. They have become an integral part of my week (I won't say I'm consistent daily). I didn't keep track of the podcasts episodes that caught my attention last month, but I will give a shout-out to my favorites - I said what I said, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, The Money with Katie Show, Diary of a CEO.

Aside from podcasts, check out some notable articles I read in the past month:

• I love the Imperfectionist email series, check out these articles and subscribe if you love them: In your own way and Everyone is still winging it
• Found the Money with Katie website earlier in the year when I needed some advice on how to manage my finances. I have come to love her writing and speaking style. Here is an article that stood out last month. Read it here
• There were a few articles on Medium that are worth mentioning: Not everyone is going to grow. It’s not your job to force them, Silicon Valley Crisis and the Tech Diaspora, New Era of hiring startups, My aunt gave me relationship advice that forced me to rethink all my relationships, and How to ruin your future without even knowing you are
• Finally, I came across this Instagram post that resonated with me.

Final thoughts

Thanks for reading through to the end. I might add an email subscriptions section to my notes depending on how often I write, so you can get notified when I post a new monthly article here. And as I said earlier, I will try to keep doing this 😁.

Feel free to send an email if you have a suggestion

Till next time, stay safe and enjoy the last month of the year 🎉