Why Effort Counts
Lessons From my Baby's Creche
About two years ago, our baby had arrived and we were looking for a suitable creche for her. We've checked about three creches around our neighborhood. While we were on the third. My wife (Madam T) told me about another recommendation she got from her kitchenware vendor. “There was no point” I thought. We have seen the best Creches around but I grudgingly obliged.
The school was about three hundred naira fare from our house. You'd trek for another five minutes before you get there if you didn't go there with a motorcycle or a car. We didn't use any. While we trekked down the road, I told her “This is a red flag already, this place is too far” We got into the estate, the church owned creche was overlooking a bridge. It looked like a sand-filled swampy settlement. “We should turn back, there's no point enrolling our six-month-old in a waterview estate” I grumbled. But she said we should at least get there and see it if we've gone this far.
I dragged along. When we got there. We met a neat apartment, well-laid sheet, adequate handlers, and a great ambiance with two babies sleeping peacefully.
I wasn't impressed. I waited for Madam T to do the talking, while I quietly sniffed around for 1000 reasons we shouldn't enroll our baby to join the 5000 reasons I already have.
After the smiles and goodbyes 😀
The Holy Spirit took me into a corner for a conversation as we walked to the bus stop and that's the most important part of this story.
He said, “Make an effort” build something, start something with what you have and where you can. Your own people, customers, audience, and sales will find you there, even if it's the most hidden place on earth.
A mind that lacks vision will make all the excuses in the world.
“My location is waterlogged and far from town”
“I have no certification and therefore am not qualified”
“I don't even have enough experience”
My visit to that place was not because of our baby alone. It was for me.
In that corner. There was excellence. They had good handlers. The ambiance of their facility looked great. They didn't bother that they had just two kids at the time when other creches had 12 or 15 babies.
People who make an effort get lucky.
They are ahead of the park. They see what other people do not see and they are positioned to take advantage of the future market.
Worrying about what is not enough is a subsistence mentality that is only tied to the present. We must start thinking about what to do for the future.
When we got home. We analyzed our options. Most of the creches around us looked good but were overcrowded with fewer handlers. The handlers would be overwhelmed and our baby would receive less care and attention.
We decided to put her first and our convenience last. We enrolled her in that Water View Estate Creche another 7 months where she got the best care from very experienced handlers.
Effort won 🏆
Most of the audacious projects I’ve seen today were built many years ago when it looked stupid to build anything. When their proprietors had nothing, when it made no sense, in a corner of nowhere. Keep planting seeds and engaging your soil. Good efforts do more than counts. It becomes the saving grace of those who make it when it blossoms. Buy land, write a book, start a podcast, start a business, start and finish a course, enroll for an MBA, build something and you will be thankful you did.
Have a great week, buddy and breakthrough from within.
© Abiola Iyiola, 2025
Image Credit: Oskars Sylwan
