Dear Amara,

The ink is taking a little longer to dry this morning. The harmattan air here in Abuja is thick, humid forcing me to slow my hand as I write this to you.

It made me think of that conversation we had last week, the one where you sounded so out of breath over the phone. You were talking about your new venture, your voice vibrating with that frantic energy we all seem to wear as a badge of honor in the business world.

We are told that we must move fast. We are told that the window of opportunity is always closing. A colleague still said same to me last night.

But I am seeing the profound danger in that kind of perpetual sprinting.

When we rush, we are only reacting to the world, not responding. I have watched so many brilliant founders their deepest visions for the shallow thrill of immediate traction. They build fast, yes, but they build things a simple shift in the cultural wind can blow over.

A legacy project, the work meant to outlast our own lifetimes, requires a completely unique relationship with time. It demands the quiet, often uncomfortable discipline of pacing.

I sat close to my office on Friday watching some masons working on the fence of a plaza property across the road. Amara, they do not hurry. They inspect each block, turning it over, finding its natural edge before pressing it on the cement. If they rushed, the wall would rise much faster, but it would lean, and under the weight of the roof, it would collapse.

Building a life of impact is no different. Opportunities will flash before you like speeding cars on a highway. You do not need to catch all of them. In fact, the more I let wonderful opportunities pass, the more mental and emotional reserves I have to seize the needed ones. That’s wisdom.

Take a breath today, Amara. Let your foundation be strong before you try to add another floor. The urgency you feel is just noise, and your work is far too important to be rushed.

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” — Proverbs 21:5

Warmly,
Oluboba Ayodeji