I just wanted 150,000 Naira per month
Why 'naively' aiming small sometimes takes you further than aiming big.
I told my wife this story a few minutes ago, and it made me pull out my laptop because I believe it’s worth sharing.
About 11 years ago, I was a wide-eyed first-year university student. I had barely completed my first year when the inevitable happened: school went on strike.
For those unfamiliar with the Nigerian university system, a “strike” basically means the government hasn’t paid staff properly, so the staff stop working, let’s just say “using the students to hold the government hostage”.
Classes shut down. Campuses go quiet. And students like me end up at home, doing… nothing.
This particular strike dragged on for almost six months. But it turned out to be one of the most positive seasons of my life.
The Random Guy in the Hood
In my trenches, there was this guy who worked at Access Bank. His life looked perfect to me.
He had a one-bedroom apartment.
A DSTV subscription (big deal to me back then).
A Toyota Corolla.
A wife who stayed home.
A child he dropped off at school every morning.
It looked stable. Peaceful. To me, he had made it in life.
Every day, I’d watch this dude drive out, and I’d think: “If I can just live like this guy when I graduate, I’ll be fine”.
So I Did the Math
Curiosity made me wonder: “How much does Access Bank pay their staff?”
I went on Nairaland’s career section and asked. Luckily, a few people working at the bank replied (Sidenote: Nairaland.com was such a great forum back then).
Turned out, his salary was about 150,000 Naira, roughly $900 at the time (Sidenote: Naira was stronger in those days, before it became a bad boy).
That was my lightbulb moment.
“So I just need to make 150K a month to live like that Corolla guy.”
So I Came Up With a Plan
At the time, I was already into blogging. Google AdSense was hot.
I asked in my bloggers’ WhatsApp group: “How much traffic do I need to make $900 from Adsense?”
They told me. And suddenly, I had a clear target: hit this traffic, earn $900.
I wasn’t even in a rush. I thought, “I just need to hit this traffic before I graduate. So I have 4 years to hit the target. Once I graduate, I’ll be living like that Access Bank guy”.
But one thing led to another, before the strike even ended, I had hit the target.
And when I returned to school, it wasn’t just with cash, it was with a shiny new Blackberry Q5 in my hand.
The Beautiful Part of Small Dreams
Looking back now, what surprises me is how conservatively innocent my thinking was. I even told my wife, “I was so naive back then”.
But as weird as it sounds, I believe being naive could be a blessing.
At that time, I wasn’t thinking of making millions. Not because I intentionally didn’t want millions, but because my world was so small, I didn’t even know I should want millions. And in hindsight, that innocence naivety was a blessing because the relatively “small” target was enough to keep me focused, consistent, and hungry.
I’ve come to believe that… Sometimes, aiming too big can be a mental trap. The moment you set your sights on $100M, you start calculating the years, the investors, and the sleepless nights. The mountain feels impossible before you’ve even taken the first step.
But when the goal is small and clear, it feels doable. And because it feels doable, you actually do it.
The only challenge is that once your mind has been exposed to “bigger doings”, it’s almost impossible not to have big dreams. Back then, the biggest doer I knew was the Corolla guy, so it was easier.
And now? Honestly, part of me still wishes I had that innocent, naive, and conservative mindset, because life is way easier when we don’t overload ourselves with giant big dreams.
Sometimes, a Corolla dream is all we need.
