My journey of resilience

Before I started the 60 seconds with EBA series, I told myself that if I could reach 10 episodes, I would write a post on how and why I started the series.

It all started in mid-2019. I had this idea of creating a think tank for government officials and policymakers in education. I believe policymakers don’t know all and sometimes they need to hear from experts in the field.

I planned to interview experts and experienced individuals on the various education issues to get them to talk about various policy recommendations and ideas. Afterwards, I would compile the interview into videos and send them to the appropriate quarters for policy influencing and advocacy.

I pitched the idea to a few people, but they could not see what I was trying to achieve then, so I could not start the interviews.

I also realized that I did not have the required financial resources and capacity to purchase the instrument(speakers, lighting and camera) for the recordings, so I contacted a studio with this equipment. Still, I could not afford the amount for the studio sessions.

I wanted to inspire people and influence policies through the media, and it was looking like that was going to be impossible.

I started looking around to see what was obtainable, so I joined a friend to start a podcast series where we interviewed students who have achieved giant strides in academics and beyond academics.

This project exposed me to many things and the technical skills that I needed to hone as an individual.

I developed skills in graphics design, audio editing, communications and public relations.

After the first phase of this project with my friend, I realized I could start my idea in a small way. So I started the 60 seconds with EBA, an audio/video series where I share my opinion on various issues and topics in education, leadership and social change.

Today, the 60 seconds with EBA has over 3000 views across various platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp).

Since I started, I have received many feedback and testimonies about how the series has impacted people. I am also grateful that someone joined me in making the animations for the videos.

I am writing this to tell you not to give up on your dreams, ideas and goals. It won’t be easy, but it would be worth it.

If you fail at it, try to know why you failed, if you succeed at it, try to know why you succeeded and in all, try to teach others why and how you arrived at whatever result you get.

I am not where I want to be yet, but I am progressing daily, and I hope and pray for the grace to continue. There are some days I don’t feel like recording or even reading, but I have realized that the ability to keep showing up every day even when you don’t feel like it is important for success.

It is more of a journey than a destination, so grow with me as I grow.

I will come back with a progress report when I publish my 50th episode.

Till then,

Keep growing,

Your friend

Erioluwa B Adeyinka