Tony Elumelu, chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA), says making mistakes in business is part of the opportunities to learn and improve.
Elumelu, who is also the chairman of Transcorp Power Limited, spoke on Saturday at the “Wake up and take responsibility” conference put together by the Redeem Christian Church of God in Abuja.
“The business world is a tough place. We all make mistakes in business, but you learn from your mistakes and commit to improving,” the business mogul said.
“Life, like business, is a journey, a marathon. I have made mistakes in my business life and I have also learned from them. Learning from them makes you stay committed.”
Advising the teenagers at the conference to be focused and trust their potential, Elumelu said the world can be a noisy and distracting place.
“Be yourself, there are a lot of infractions and distractions in the world you live in, which may influence you to doubt your identity,” he said.
“In my own time, I didn’t have that much of an influence. There were no social media in my time, so you go to the library, you read maybe a newspaper from two days ago. This is about two days and you take turns to even read the newspaper.
“It’s good and it’s bad. So there is a whole world, a lot of influence on you. And at times people start doubting their identity. You start becoming what you are not, in a manner that is alien to us.
“Our young ones, be yourself. Don’t do what you don’t want to do or what your parents say you don’t do because your friends are doing those things.”
He further advised the young ones to always remember that they are the only ones who can define their identities.
Elumelu added that they are the only ones who know what makes them unique and special, saying “they should not be afraid to be themselves, even if it means standing out from the crowd”.