Look Before You Leap-More Than A Proverb

In life, many people find themselves in difficult situations because they failed to evaluate their actions before making a decision or making a move. The proverb "look before you leap" goes beyond just being careful, it involves careful planning to ensure that our decisions and our choices could yeild good results and ensure our long term success.

Many individuals act on emotions or pressure without fully understanding the repercussions of their actions on the long term. In the course of this article I will be sharing my personal experiences most of them I regret but I would love the members of the hive community to learn from .

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I learned how to develop mobile apps to aid teaching since in-person classes were suspended. I built the first version of an app for my school, titled "My School App," which managed classes, compiled results, and handled assignments.

However, I lacked marketing experience, so I reached out to a senior software engineer for help. He promised to propose the app to my school, which he did. Later, he returned, claiming that the school was unwilling to invest much because the pandemic would soon be over. He told me they had paid only 30,000 naira, and I agreed to it. From that amount, he gave me 5,000 naira, promising that the school would pay more in the future.

After that, I never heard from him again. Later, through another source, I discovered that my school had actually paid 200,000 naira for the app. I was shocked and devastated. Angered by the betrayal, I rashly decided to quit app development. I ignored my emails for months, shutting myself away from the industry.

By 2021, I finally checked my inbox, only to discover that just a few weeks after that incident, foreign investors had reached out. They were interested in another app I had built, "Mi-Shop Online Market," an online shopping platform, and were willing to pay well for it. But by the time I saw their message, it was too late and months had passed, and they had lost interest.

To this day, I regret my rash decision to quit over a minor setback. I lost out on a much bigger opportunity simply because I let one bad experience discourage me.
So you see one bad experience can make you make decisions without thinking. who knows if I hadn't quit I might have been working for a big tech industry.
So please my friends of the hive always look before you leap. Always consider the bigger picture and never let current situation discourage you.

I would also like to share another experience with you.

In early 2022 I learnt about forex trading and the potential returns and how much you can make from the trading industry. Without proper knowledge o n how the financial markets work I began investing huge funds without calculating the risk. Sadly too I lost over 2000$ in funds😢.

I will also like to share one last experience but this time around I think I made the right decision. Just last year I was on a one year industrial training (IT) compulsory for undergraduates.
As a mechanical engineering student I got a job i a big company where I would do my IT only for one year. The pay was very good and the job came with other benefits like accomodation, transport and feeding. Luckily I passed the interview and was called. But my dad had other plans. He encouraged Me to go and learn a skill on computer motherboard repair instead for one year. As this skill can help me become an entrepreneur and self employed in the future than taking up a one year contract in a company.

It was really a tough decision for me considering the work benefits and also the fact I won't be earning while learning a skill. But after much consideration I decided to learn the skill. True those one year were really tough but hopefully I survived. And with the knowledge I gained I now work for myself now on my own terms and make a living and am so happy..😊

So in every aspect of our life whether financial, emotional or social wisdom and patience is very vital. We need to take time to evaluate the consequences and benefits of every action to avoid making permanent mistake.
Let us remember always to look before you leap. This is a simple but powerful rule that can save you from pain and regret.

I hope you dear friends of the hive community will learn from this experiences of mine.