2023 has been a year of high highs and low lows. I have experienced the lowest lows in my life, and I am currently experiencing the highest highs.

I have been involved in a watershed deal that will change the telecommunications landscape in this part of the continent. I had the opportunity to develop the strategy and business plan that has attracted investment that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I have also been involved in other high-impact projects and partnerships that are collectively worth ~$500M: from a complete overhaul of the digital posture of the public sector, to the introduction of unmanned solar-powered HAPS in Kenya. My writing has influenced people of real influence and been the basis of critical thinking and decisions that are shaping certain sectors of our economy.

2023 has been great.

I have also experienced my biggest Ls in 2023. Some so painful that I am still reeling from the sheer size of the L. Ls so big that when I close my eyes I still see them and feel anxious. Others so huge that I have trained my mind to not engage them, lest my knees buckle. In terms of my work, I am engaged in various stages of discussion on a consultancy business pipeline of around ~28M. Some of this I can already see from my great experience with Ls will not close: clients already know this but are struggling to say “No.” Some of this I can already see from my great experience with Ls may close but will require me to spend a lot of time and energy nudging, lobbying, and negotiating. I dislike doing business in that way and I will not do the necessary nudging, lobbying, and negotiating to get the business over the line, and so I expect to eat more Ls. However, some of this pipeline will close in 2023 (most likely 2024). In short, there are more Ls waiting for me. And that is OK!

In order for one to win, you must be ready and willing to lose.

You must be so ready and willing to lose that you actively encourage it by doing things that you think or believe you may not win. You must shoot your shots. The more shots you take, the more you will lose and the more Ls you will eat. But, because you are taking more shots, you will increase the probability of winning. You will increase your competence, you will have more data points to learn from, and you will get better at what you do. You will interact with more people who will know what you do and what you are about.

2023 has taught me, through painful experience, that in order for me to win, I must lose. In fact, for every win that I chalk up on my column, I must have lost many times over.

In 2024 I want to win big.

BIG.

I want to write about my experience in closing consultancy business worth $1M. I want to tell you about my experience in building my personal home. I want to tell you about me leaving employment and focusing on my businesses. I want to tell you about a startup that I have been working on for more than a year to date that connects growing businesses in Kenya to growth capital acquiring paying customers. I want to tell you about the masterclasses and networking events that I have hosted. I want to tell you about the new hobbies that I have started, the new skills that I have learnt, and the unique travel experiences to remarkable places.

For me to tell you about these wins, it means that I will require to have a very long list of Ls to write about. I will have to tell you about the consultancy business pipeline that was worth $30M that I had painstakingly built and only closed $1M. I will have to tell you about the challenges of construction. I will have to tell you about the incredible employment offers that I will have had to turn down to focus on my businesses. I will have to tell you about how difficult it is to scale a startup. I will have to tell you about how only 5 people attended my first masterclass despite it being free, and how much it sucks to realise that I tried out hobbies that I thought I would enjoy but later came to realise I hated, despite paying in advance for classes. I will have to tell you about missed flights and shitty hotels, how I got okotwad by a leng in London and why you should not visit Bangkok alone.

So, to you Dear Reader, shoot your shots. Shoot them like you are Steph Curry on a hot streak in the NBA playoffs. Shoot them like you are Cristiano in his prime at the greatest football club in the world, Manchester United. Shoot them like you are Khalif Kairo in a shooting range. Shoot them like you are paid on commission. Seek out and embrace your Ls, and win.