Pick one and own it

Hi there!

In my article, I tried hard, and I’m still trying hard, I said I would talk about some of my past failures and how I dealt with them. However, I've been getting a lot of questions from many people about how I chose my profession and niche. Since the ultimate goal of this platform is to answer such pressing questions, I decided to share that here instead.

So, let's dive straight in

Picking one

Think about having one simple advantage over everyone else in your field. It will not always make you win, but it gives you a small lead. 

This advantage is not talent. It's not available resources. It's called choice.

The idea is simple: pick a profession, pick a niche, pick a target, pick a plan, and then own it with everything you’ve got.

Picking a profession

I have tried many things in my life: I once joined a Fuji music band, I was in a hip‑hop dance group, I repaired mobile phones, I tutored, and I fixed inverters and audio mixers. In the end, I became a software engineer.

Out of all these, software engineering was the one that stayed with me. I first heard about it from my classmate, Olatayo, when I was in JSS2 (8th grade). At first, it was just fun, but by SS3 (12th grade), I knew it was more than a hobby. I liked solving problems, I liked building things, and I liked how code could bring ideas to life. I also saw that it could pay well. From then on, I picked software engineering and never looked back. My simple goal was: if I was going to do this, I had to be really good at it. To do that, I needed to find my own niche.

Picking a niche

It is not enough to pick a job; you also need to narrow it down. That is what a niche means.

A niche is just a smaller part of your job area. For me, it was picking one coding language. I chose PHP. Why? Because I already started with it, it was common on the web, but not many people were really good at it. That gave me a chance to grow and stand out.

I told myself I would not just use PHP a little. I wanted to be very good at it. I would practice it every day and make it part of me. That choice changed everything.

The confusion

After picking a niche, it is normal to feel doubt. You may ask yourself, did I pick the right one? Should I have picked something else?

That is normal. The key is to make a choice after learning enough. When I was deciding, I looked at many options. I tried different languages, talked with people, tested things, and checked the good and bad sides. After all that, I chose PHP. That process gave me the confidence to move on.

What next?

First, believe in the choice you made. After that, keep taking action. Learn your craft well. Read, practice, test things, and keep improving. Getting good takes time and steady effort.

The amount of serendipity that will occur in your life, your Luck Surface Area, is directly proportional to the degree to which you do something you’re passionate about combined with the total number of people to whom this is effectively communicated. —— Jason Roberts

Also, show your work. Share your journey and projects so people can see your growth. This will bring more chances your way.

Make friends in your field. Work with others, talk to them, and learn from them. Good connections can open doors that skills alone cannot.

Stay open to change. New tools and ideas come up all the time. Be ready to adjust so you do not get left behind.

Lastly, give back. Teach or help others. When you share what you know, you also learn better yourself, and you make a bigger impact.

Takeaways

Picking a profession is the first step, but choosing a niche gives you a clear direction. You may feel confused or unsure at times, but that is part of the journey. The most important thing is to stick with your choice, keep learning, keep showing up, and keep trying hard.

Your big advantage is not only in the job or niche you choose, but in how you keep at it every single day. Choose well, give it your best, and let passion and steady effort carry you forward.

And remember, nothing is perfect, so be ready to try again or even start over if it does not work the first time.

Pick your thing. Start talking about it today. Publish even if it feels small or imperfect. Momentum builds faster than you think. —— Aaron Francis

I will stop here for now on this topic. My next article will be me writing about my failures and the simple lessons I learned from them, as I had promised initially. Be on the lookout.