#31: You can do more

Hi! Welcome to The Friday Fix! You’re reading this because you probably stumbled upon this post somewhere on the internet instead of where it should be—in your inbox. But no worries; we can fix that.

Who am I? I’m Shem Opolot, a health professional turned content creator, passionate about helping people be their best selves in life and work.

Why should you subscribe?

1. I have over 10 years of work experience in healthcare, program management, and data analytics on two continents. So, I know a little about helping you work smarter

2. I comb through tonnes of self-improvement content so you don’t have to, and I distill the content into bite-sized wisdom for you

3. I’ll occasionally make you laugh

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Happy Friday 🎉 I thought about making the style changes to the newsletter without acknowledging them, but then I figured you get gaslighted (gaslit?) enough in your daily life, so I won’t pile on.

I revamped my website, so the changes here match the website theme. If you hate them, don’t tell me. I’m too far gone, and the software developer has already made several attempts on my life.

But seriously, check out my website.

‘Tis a new month, so…

…you guessed it—SURVEYS 😁.

This one to help me with a secret project, or this one, so I can take you out on a date.

Estimated read time: 5 minutes

💡 1 thing I've learned

Jack of all trades

I never imagined a conversation I had with my mum when I was 7 years old would be so important to me today.

After oversharing about my visa appointment, next week’s newsletter will be written in the sweltering East Coast summer heat as I play-fight with my son and fight the urge to order junk food.

But why am I going to America?

Half the answer is I miss my wife and child, but to understand the other half, peek at this post and celebrate God’s goodness with me.

I’m going back to school, and the timing couldn’t be worse:

I just started CareerLab, and the reception has been astounding. Overwhelming even. I juggle two weekly newsletters, a flexible, albeit occasionally demanding, day job managing research programs, and still want to create content for social media.

So why?

Because I have to. Because I’m following my heart.

Whenever people ask me how I’m able to do all these things, my response is the same:

1. I’m blessed to have a job that doesn’t pay me nearly as much as I’d like but offers me supreme flexibility

2. I’ll do these things for as long as I enjoy them

When my mum asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I spat out lots of options as quickly as you spit out stones in your rice—lawyer, doctor, neurosurgeon, Power Ranger, Captain Planet, army doctor.

I’ve never been one for small dreams.

But when I said lawyer, my mum said I could become a lawyer at any time in my life and told me to pick something else. Of course, by something else, she meant “become a doctor.”

But it was the “become something at any time in your life” for me.

So here we are, suitcases packed with clothes, shoes, and ambition.

***

While speaking to a friend who raved about the opening anecdotes in TLDR Weekly, I told them I’m trying to do as much as I can with all the gifts I have.

I’m terrified of wasting my potential.

People often use the phrase “a jack of all trades, but a master of none” to slight people like me. But the complete quote is: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”

So…

—I’ll run CareerLab online.

—I’ll learn how to edit videos and create more video content.

—I’ll definitely keep writing these.

—I’ll convert my day job into a consultancy.

—I’ll write a book.

—I’ll do more public speaking gigs and build that portfolio.

—I’ll play basketball, bike, and hike.

—I’ll get another job because I’m yet to attain financial freedom.

I’m going to do as many things as I can while I can.

Niching is powerful, and I’ve raved about it, too. But the truth is, we are so much more than any one thing.

You love so many things, so why are you only doing one or two of them?

When you audit your time, you’ll notice you can do more of the things you love.

So go out and be a master of none.

🔌 Shameless plug

My favorite thing about my newsletters is all the subscribers I don’t know. When someone tells someone who knows me that they love TFF or TLDR Weekly, I get especially delighted. Especially when that person doesn’t necessarily fall squarely into the “target market” I had in mind. You could be that person today.

🎁 My favorite things

A quote

A post

Keep a theft journal

A plug

This isn’t an ad, but it should be. If you work at MTN Uganda, hit me up 🤙🏾.
For my Ugandan friends, if you have an MTN line, MTN has had unlimited voice bundles you can use to call across networks for a while now, but people don’t seem to know about them. Dial *160*2*1*1*3# and stop buying airtime forever.

A thread

A thread of great resources; you’re certain to find at least one gem

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🚀 Pro tip

Dropdowns in Google Docs? Say swear 🤯

I have a CareerLab workshop this Saturday, so let’s say I’m creating a 2-column table showing the people attending and their payment status.

Now, I’d definitely use Excel for this, but some of you fear Excel, so this is for you.

Done.

🧩 Where fun goes to flourish

The Friday Fix playlist

Brain teaser

From Puzzle Prime.

You wake up on a frozen lake in an isolated region. The surface of the lake is frictionless, and no grip of any kind can be attained over it. You find just your mobile phone in your pocket, but when you take it out to call for help, you realize there is no reception.

If there is no wind force to help you escape, what are you going to do to avoid freezing to death?

Answer below

Shem’s picks

💡 8 habits to add 24 years to your life

⛬ This site helps you compare anything

🗒 Check out this free résumé builder

Brain teaser answer

Answer:

Throw your phone as hard as you can. Thanks to Newton’s third law of motion and the frictionless lake, you will start sliding away. (Hopefully towards land 😅)

Have a great weekend,

— Shem

🤝🏾 How I can help you

1. Want to be more confident and productive at work? Click here

2. Is Excel or some other software giving you trouble? Hit me up

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