The Busiest and Most Successful People Find Time To Give
Nina Luu is an investor and serial founder. I met her in San Francisco at a pitch event featuring tech startups. After the conference, I followed up with her and requested a meeting. We spoke about entrepreneurship and venture capital during our session and how I could be the leader I was hoping to become. A year later, everything shut down due to COVID- 19, and I had to go back to Europe. It was a culture shock, coming back to my hometown with no startup culture and few opportunities in terms of job growth.
When you feel stuck, ask for help.
I reached out to Nina and asked for some advice. I was ecstatic when she agreed to mentor me every week throughout 2020. I was lucky she had time during the pandemic because I was totally at a loss for finding a job and didn’t know how to make money. I was fortunate I had some savings and could move back home to my parents. Nina saw I had potential but needed a plan of execution.
During the first few sessions, Nina listened and learned about my strengths and weaknesses. Based on that, we developed a plan with achievable goals. With much resistance on my side, Nina pushed me to set very high goals—dream goals—such as a financial target of six figures that was way beyond what I could conceive. We also talked about my dream job: becoming a CEO of a multinational company. At first, I was uncomfortable with these big goals, but Nina said, “If you don’t feel it, you won’t be able to achieve it.”
It took a while, but with her encouragement and consistently pointing out my strengths and abilities, I felt confident the goals we set out were achievable. Once my confidence kicked in, I got my dream job within three months of her mentorship. The only thing Nina asked of me was to pay it forward when another person needed my help. The biggest lesson I have taken away from many conversations with Nina is the power of giving.
What does giving mean?
Nina mentioned even her father had this giving mindset; he lived his life asking every morning, “How may I serve?”
You give to help solving a larger problem
“Well, it’s been months since we last had a chat. Just wanted you to know that before I messaged you last year on career advice as a young chemistry graduate, I had earlier messaged tons of people. You were the only one who replied. That gave me hope. And made me feel part of a global community. A feeling you don’t usually get from being a Nigerian. Wishing you better days ahead.”
