My name is Linda Ikeji. I'm a blogger. I'm 35
years old and I have never...never ever in my life
slept with a man for money. Not only have I
never done it, I have never even consider it...and
here I am with a house that cost me over half a
billion naira.
Listen, you are beautiful and you are stronger
than you know. There's absolutely nothing you
can't achieve if you set your mind to it, put her
heart and soul into it. Up until five years ago, I
was a struggling entrepreneur. I can't tell you
how many offices in this Lagos I sat in for hours
waiting to see people who could support my
business...but most times, I never passed the
reception area. But I never gave up and I never
stopped believing and here I am today.
You too can be this..you can be better than this.
No dream is too big, no dream is too small, no
mountain is too high...it's all in your mind. It's
all up to you. If you believe in you, in your God
who is guiding you, then the sky is your starting
point.
Please stop waiting around for a man to give to
you...to put food on your table and put clothes
on your back. I promise you, you can do it for
yourself. Start thinking big, believe in yourself, be
creative and start working. Realize that your
dreams are valid...and nobody will make your
dreams come true except you. Find what you are
good at. Find something that you are passionate
about. Work hard at it. Be consistent. Be patient.
Start young. Even if you're not young, it's never
too late!
I have been hustling since I left secondary
school..started modeling before I entered
university in 1998. Was running a modeling
agency even while I was a student and made it a
full time business after I left university. I never
doubted that I would succeed one day, because I
was determined. And please do not think this
happened over night. I've been blogging since
2006...November this year will make it exactly 9
years. God, consistency and hard work brought
me here today.
Unfortunately, a lot of our young girls aren't
patient and some are lazy, they want it quick and
fast but it doesn't work like that. Success takes
time - takes hard work - takes passion - takes
consistency - but more than anything else, it
takes the Grace of God.
I was a 30 year old broke woman and on my
birthday, a very sad and depressed me turned to
God and begged him. I told Him you promised
me, when will You fulfill Your promise? Am I not
Your child? Have I not lived according to Your
teachings? When will You bless me? Please God
help me...and with tears in my eyes, I begged
Him. I cried and I begged and I begged and I
begged. A few months later my life changed.
Never underestimate God's love for you and the
power of prayer.
And never stop working. Listen, I make enough
money to hire so many people to work on this
blog while I go do other things and enjoy
myself...but I don't do that. I'm up while some of
you are sleeping, and already blogging before
some of you wake up. I don't take this for
granted. I know to stay on top, I have to
constantly work and nobody will be as dedicated
as I am because this is not their own thing. It's
mine and I have to keep feeding it. So I'm
constantly here!
Young ladies, I promise you...you too can do this.
You don't need to spread your legs for any
bladdy man - because of how much? N200k?
That's how much my shoes cost - so why you
should give up your body for that? Your sacred
body? God's temple? 200k that you can make in
a week or even in a day if you pursue your
dreams and still have your dignity intact? You
think people don't see that you're messing
around with all dem old married men and talking
about it? Think ladies, think! When next a man
propositions you...tell him to get lost, that you
will get yours yourself! Abi, aren't you a woman?
You know what they say about women? "A
woman is like a tea bag, you never know how
strong she is until she gets in hot water.". You
are so strong, you don't even know!
Also, if you want God to bless you, you have to
have a clean heart. All these backbiting, hating
on others, trying to bring people down with
hateful words, action etc - God doesn't like ugly.
He has over 6 billion people to look after and you
think he will pay extra attention to you if your
heart is ugly? Wish people well, help people when
you can. Be good to others. But more than
anything else be good to yourself. Believe in
yourself. It's very easy to give in to feelings of
self-doubt and back down when things get tough,
but you have to know that God will not give you
anything you can't handle.
I swear to you, you are underestimating yourself.
If you know the power that you have inside. If
you know the things that you are capable of. If
you know how far you can go...how high you can
reach but you are holding yourself back because
you're afraid of failing, because you don't think
you have it in you. If only you know that you're
stronger than you think. You are so powerful, you
don't even know it. I'm not more special than you
are. I don't have two heads. We serve the same
God. Why can't you succeed? Think ladies, think.
Like Barack Obama's sister said, poverty is not
an excuse! I used to sell/market beer at
Sheraton hotel, Lagos when I was in university
for N1,000 a day. I once lived on 'puff puff' and
garri for weeks in UNILAG and I was supposedly
a top model but nobody knew what I was going
through. Trust me, I know poverty. Did you know
I lived in Idi-oro, Mushin for 15 years? Up until
when I was 25? Did you live in Mushin? Eh, so
what's your excuse? I can't even say some
things here for my family's privacy but here I am
today because I never doubted myself and I
never allowed all the doubters to distract me. I
was focused. I was determined. I worked hard
and I knew the God I served won't let me down.
The road was long, sometimes very frustrating
and painful but look at me now. God did it
because he saw that I was willing!
"Because I am a woman, I must make
unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one
will say, “She doesn’t have what it takes.”
They will say, “Women don’t have what it
takes.”
Please believe in yourself and watch God use you
to set as an example for others.
May all your dreams come true!
Kisses.
Oh by the way (addressing the argument I read
online this weekend) I don't do anything else. I
blog from 4am till midnight, where do I have time
to do anything else? When God wants to bless
you, He will bless you...even if you're selling
toothpick.
Cheers!
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