WAHEED AWONUGA: FINDING THE BALANCE BETWEEN HEALTHCARE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Most often than not, people are awed when they learn that Waheed Awonuga is not just an accomplished medical doctor, but an entrepreneur in his own right.

This is understandable, because a profession in medicine is a life-time responsibility that demands your all. On the flip side, an entrepreneur is someone who embodies dedication and risk-taking. In short, a profession in any of these careers requires an entirety of self, that just a few are able to give.

However it seems Waheed has managed to crack a hidden code and has found that delicate balance in practicing in both fields.

His professional life serves as a testament to this. He attributes his success to being a Leader. To him,  leadership is not just a place or a position of power but an embodiment of inherent characteristics that helps you manage and be in charge of your own affairs and be a source of emulation for others.

In his own words he says: ‘Leadership is a selfless disposition of an individual to a group of people to whom he provides guidance, inspiration and helps create a path to discover themselves. The qualities of any good leaders are:

  • Honesty

  • Selflessness

  •  Exemplary Lifestyle’

This Doctorpreneur has successfully knocked down the myth that being a ‘Jack of all trades makes you a master of none’.  He shares nuggets of wisdom from his journey.

Behind The Scenes At a Wedding

A PASSION THAT LEADS

Passion is not something you can learn or control; it is either there or it is not. It is up to a person to identify what his passions are. Then find out, how that will  help them achieve their dreams and goals. Thankfully I understood what my passion was and I was able to make time to grow that passion by reading, learning, failing and learning from my mistakes.

Oftentimes, I see people marvel at how I am able to cope with being a medical doctor and an entrepreneur. The journey has not been easy but my passion has been my driving force, I was fully trained to be who I am today.

I had a mum who was passionate about grooming us all on the benefits of hard work, putting your brain to work and delayed gratification. The nurturing and discipline that I had from childhood has helped me prepare for the future.  Growing up under a woman whose passion rubbed off on us, we had no option but to be imbued with her qualities of multi-tasking and getting things done. These early lessons in leadership have stayed with me till today and helped shaped me into becoming who I am.

BUSINESS SAVVY

If you think about it, whatever job or field you find yourself in is a business(whether small or on a large scale). So if you apply the fundamental principles in everything you do, there is no way you will not succeed.

There is actually no magic in making a great business owner, there are just open principles that one must apply. It is very important to understand the business you are going into and to be introspective about your goals and vision. There are universal questions you should ask yourself:

  •  Is it something I enjoy doing?

  •  Is it something people need or can I make them see the need?

  •  What are the things I need to put in place that makes my idea unique?

  •  Who are the co-travelers I need to build on this vision to make it work?

These are just critical questions any aspiring business mind needs to answer in order to grow a business or grow in business. Once these are fulfilled, it makes it easy. Then one must continuously learn and remain innovative to be relevant in business. 

FINDING THE BALANCE

As a medical doctor, I have a strong background in science and it is with this understanding that I say that Science on its own is the fulcrum upon which EVERYTHING in this world is built upon (many may not agree with me on this though). So my being able to function properly in something that is predominantly in the field of Arts is as a result of my science background.

Science on its own is a field that is built on problem identification or the creation and solving of such problems. Anyone who has gone through any major science education must be able to function in any environment he finds himself in. While science involves the use of analyses and critical thinking to solve most of life’s intricate problems, Arts gives a visual disposition to these things and finding out how to combine both and translate easily into either field is an advantage.

THE SCHOOL OF LIFE

I believe one must continuously learn and remain innovative to be relevant in any field, profession or business. This is just a simple advice to follow. For me, I have learnt that life even after structured schooling, continues to teach you lessons. You are either learning consciously or unconsciously. It is however important to be intentional about continuous learning rather than being a passive consumer of lessons. For me the most important learning tools in my business life are:

  •  My Mum

  • Books (Think and Grow Rich, Eat that Frog, The Power of Positive Thinking, The Richest man in Babylon and so many more!)

  • Youtube!

I HAVE A DREAM

I see myself as one who believes in inspiring people, making them a better version of who they are and also delights in creating solutions for all the myriads of problems in our world. My hobby is thinking. Critical thinking and problem analysis with a view to finding solutions to various problems.

My dream in life is to build an empire that offers people the opportunity to develop their ideas and give them a platform to, not only believe in themselves, but also have the ability to achieve whatsoever they set their minds to do. The world as I have come to know is my oyster and I am excited to see how it all turns out!

 

 

Written by: arianadiaries

Leave a Reply

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

1 Comment