Simply Gerald

Is school the only place to acquire knowledge? Should you wait to be thought in order to learn something? Are there things you should not or cannot learn?

At some point in time, we ask ourselves this same question. After graduation, I enrolled in a software programming course NIIT, and after completion of that course, I found out that I was basically teaching myself. I mean, the lecturer tried, to the best of his ability, but at the end, 90 percent of the work was me. When I look back at my life in the university, I ask myself if I could accomplish all I did on my own. Sure it would have taken a lot of discipline, but I think I would.

Life is all about discipline, motivation and sacrifice. In order to do great things, I think we should be prepared to go the extra mile independently. We should not wait for someone to push us no matter how young or old we are. And you know the most interesting thing about learning? It’s like a high that you cannot come back from. It gives you this feeling of freedom and power. I could not put it better than Sir Francis Bacon:

“knowledge itself is power”

In my first chapter of my journey to knowledge, I explore the possibilities of becoming an adept computer scientist all on your own. I found this open source course scheme of work that on Github attributed to the Open Source Society. In my other posts, I will be describing my experiences, concept gained and giving a few tips on how to study independently.

I’m already getting excited!! I’ll keep you posted.

“To build my own empire… “ a phrase I just learnt recently. Everyone has what he or she is passionate about, whether it is cooking, just writing, reading, playing FIFA 17 (oh yeah, that’s me) and so on. But a few people make an impact in doing what they love. I spend a lot of time working and convincing myself that I am making an impact, a difference, or at least that if I leave this earth, someone (or something) would feel it.

But sadly, that has not been the case, although I am part of a team that is pushing Nigeria to the next level financially by creating solutions that would eventually disrupt the fintech industry, I feel that at the end, it’s not enough. I am constantly reminded of the words of Jesus when he said:

“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”

With this, a question keeps ringing in my head: “Can I say that of myself when I die”?

To me, making an impact is multi-faceted. It has to do with how many lives I have touched, and how many communities have benefited from my presence. As a practicing catholic who is also a tech lover and passionate programmer, my domain of focus is divided roughly into my life as a growing catholic, my career as a software developer, and of course my learning adventures because I love to learn.

As a catholic, God has entrusted me with many responsibilities that I must live up to, my work as a servant of Mary, in the Legion of Mary, as a youth and member of the board of lectors. As a software developer, and a person who dreams of being a great mentor, I build applications for the company I work with, I try to mentor young developers and I work on small side projects. And lastly, to keep myself alive I have to read to learn, and learn to read.

Why I’m I saying all these? Starting a blog, ranting about boring stuff? Well, I know people out there that say that it is difficult making a difference in all aspects of your life. A lot of people tell me that “you have to drop one”. Sometimes, I even think that same way. I’m hoping this blog will inspire you that is reading to go out of your comfort zone and make impact. Not just in your career or social life or religion but everywhere… and I mean it. At the end really, that is what building an empire is all about.

Journey to Knowledge

The Big Picture

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