There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

Life is a journey and some things happen along the way that may consume you if you don’t have the required support system in place. It doesn’t matter how rich you are or how successful you have been. So, when you are faced with a challenge, who are the people that you can reach out to? Who can you call your friends? Who are the people that can watch out for you? Who are your mentors?

If you are married, your close friend should be your spouse. He or she will be the main person around you. When things get tough and most people leave you, your spouse will most likely not leave you. So, this is a good time to continue to make deposit into the emotional bank account of your spouse. You will be glad you did :).

Aside your spouse (and probably your parents), you need to have a set of people that you can always reach out to at a short notice. When you feel like giving up, who will be there to lift you up? I remember when I had the accident in 2010, it was as if the end had come. But God has blessed me with such wonderful people. If not for these people, the story might be different today. From the accident venue on Lagos – Ibadan road to the hospital venue in Lagos and my time at the hospital in South Africa, my friends were really wonderful. Where will I be today without these God-sent people?

At a particular time, I was meant to pay my children’s school fees in Nigeria while away at the hospital in South Africa but I had no access to my bank account (even though I had money in my account at the time), it was a friend that came to the rescue. I only had to make a phone call and the bill was settled. Imagine what would have happened if there was no friend that could sort me out when I had no access to my money? It is better imagined than experienced. And throughout my stay at the hospital, there were friends providing one form of support or the other. To everyone (Fowe, Wale Yusuf, Ayo, Seun, Lekan, Latte, Wale Owoeye, Kunle, Gbolade, GS, Korede, Titi, Idowu, my former colleagues at Nokia & Microsoft etc.) that provided the support system for me then, God bless.

When I came back from the hospital, a lot of people were looking out for me. At every phase of the journey, there was always someone around to provide a support system. I withdrew from the ecosystem even though it wasn’t intentional. I wanted to be alone as I was still trying to process the whole experience and everything I had gone through. But friends and mentors came to the rescue as always. Oo was constantly on my case. My oga Emeka would not take no for an answer. He was and is always looking out for me. GS kept pushing and reminding me of the work we still have to do. A lot others kept reminding me of the dreams I had and what I have always wanted to do, the solutions / services I have always wanted to launch and projects I have always wanted to support. All these added to my motivation.

On a particular day, my big oga, TD, came calling. He gave me several reasons why I needed to move on and focus on following up my passion and adding values to others. Those words still ring in my ears till today. It is one of the reasons I decided to move on and indeed focus on adding values. These people, and others I could not mention, were not only supporting with words but they were there for me. They connected me with people that could be of help. I am forever grateful for this support system.

So, if you are going through any challenge at the moment, this is not the time to be withdrawn but a time to reach out to your friend(s). See this as a phase and not the end in itself. If this doesn’t break you, you will be stronger for it. And your experience will serve as a source of encouragement for others in the future. If you don’t have anyone you can call a friend or mentor, still reach out to people that may be able to help. You never know who can be of help or direct you to who can help.

And finally, if you feel I can be of help to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. My contact email is emmanuel[@]oluwatos[.]in.

Image credit: meaww