By Brooke Glasford
I was recently on a Caribbean Airlines flight out of Guyana and was very excited to come across the March/April issue of the Caribbean Beat magazine. I have always loved print media, and that continues now, so I sat back and perused the pages of the magazine, taking in every interesting point of view printed on those pages. As I looked at the lineup of contributors I thought to myself “I could do this”, that thought very quickly morphed into “I must to do this.”
I grabbed the copy, and took it off the flight—as is encouraged to do on the cover–I then proceeded to let everyone I was with know that I’m going to be writing for Caribbean Beat, and that I’ll be in the next issue. As I was preparing to write this article, one of my friends suggested I write about the desire I have to get in the magazine, and perhaps what steps I’d take to get there. Some may say that writing the article about this now may be counterintuitive, that I am putting the cart before the horse, but let me show you through these three steps, why it’s not.
Three steps to move from an idea to creation across sectors:
1. Voicing what you want.
I did this albeit unknowingly, when I got excited after seeing the magazines and told all of those around me what I wanted and intended to get. I have found in Guyana, that people are very scared to share their ideas, and even desires with those around them—I investigated this a few years ago in an article called “An economy built on carbon copies” that is still available on the Stabroek News website. But the only way people know you’re interested in something, or are trying something, or are doing something is if you let them. So step one is get out of your own head and tell somebody.
2. Six Degrees of Separation.
When I first sat down to write this week’s article, this was not even remotely close to the direction I was moving in, so when my friend suggested it, I was floored by its simplicity. When I tell you I wouldn’t have come up with that idea on my own – but iron truly sharpens iron. Your next step is to reach out to your family and friends, those closest to you, whom you trust – the persons you seek out on a regular basis. Most times you get a fresh perspective that you may not have come up with on your own. But beyond that, according to the theory of six degrees of separation, everyone in this world is as few as six connections apart from each other – and Guyana is FAR smaller than the world – so my guess is that number is closer to two.
3. Use what you have.
So many times when we get an idea, they can feel like the largest mountain before us – but one thing I’m sure about, you are already in possession of something that can help you. In my case it’s this column – I am confident that there is someone who reads my work, who knows somebody, that knows somebody that could help me reach my goal – again six degrees of separation. My belief of people – Guyanese people in particular – is that they are incredibly helpful, and someone will be willing to help me. This is the truth for you as well, you may not have a weekly audience, but look at your network, look at what you’re currently doing, there is something you can lean on, to get the outcome you want.
In all of this, I must finish with two points, so many times in life and in business we are the only ones standing in our way, of course that’s simplified because you will come across roadblocks—but don’t be the reason you never start. And secondly, if you know someone who knows someone—put in a good word for yuh gyul.
