Twenty-two years ago, when I graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree, I would regularly watch the news but habitually skip the final segment, The Business News. Although I understood the English spoken by the presenters, I could hardly make sense of the business terminologies and issues being discussed. As an engineer with no background in business, it simply felt like a different world.
I recall reaching out to a friend with a business background, whom I met during the 2005 NYSC Orientation Camp in Keffi, Nasarawa State, requesting reading materials that could help me understand the business news. It was purely out of curiosity. Unfortunately, he never responded. Ironically, YouTube was born that same year. Ironically, YouTube was launched that very year. Had it existed earlier, it would probably have been my ultimate learning companion, teaching me everything I needed to know.
Fast-forward to 2024, nineteen years later. I stumbled upon business pitching presentations called Lions’ Den Nigeria on TikTok. That gradually led to stock market investment videos appearing on my feed, which I began watching almost by chance, eventually leading to my first stock investment in the same year, which I held for about a year before deciding to go all in in 2025.
As I immersed myself in reading and watching materials on stocks and the capital market, something remarkable happened: I began looking forward to the very Business News segment I had once habitually skipped. Today, I not only understand what is being discussed, but I am also deeply interested in virtually every aspect of it. What once seemed foreign has become familiar and relevant. Such is life!
The Lesson: Never Stop Learning!
Remain curious. Be willing to learn, relearn and unlearn. Curiosity broadens your horizons, drives personal growth and enhances productivity.
Understanding the complex world we live in requires much more than a tunnel vision of your chosen profession or area of specialisation. Be adventurous enough to explore unfamiliar territories, experiment with new ideas and step outside your comfort zone in pursuit of knowledge.
If you are a pure or applied scientist—an engineer, medical scientist or otherwise—make an effort to understand the social sciences, management and business. The same applies in reverse. No discipline exists in isolation, and a broader understanding of other fields enriches your perspective and effectiveness in your own.
Keep learning. Stay curious. Explore anything and everything within your capacity and interest. Aspire to become a polymath. Being a polymath is not about being a Jack of all trades and master of none; it is about developing the intellectual breadth to understand, connect and apply knowledge across disciplines.
Never allow your area of specialisation to become the boundary of your knowledge! Let it be the springboard that sparks your passion for exploring other fields of interest.
