A lot of the things we do is actually a game of numbers, and this could depend on how the odds stack up in your favour or against you.
So in making some basic life or career decisions, it may be important to understand the chances you have from the very beginning.
So it wouldn’t be out of place to consider the availability of opportunities in that specific field in your immediate environment.
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I met someone years back who had to choose between studying Information Technology and Civil Engineering as he was offered admission in both.
He asked a couple of people in quora (an online platform) who were mostly foreigners and they suggested that he go for ICT. He also asked the same question to some Nigerians and they suggested otherwise.
It’s easy to understand why their response varied across the different geographical spaces.
There are probably more ICT positions in the developed countries, and more opportunities in infrastructural development in developing countries .
In an interview to be aired on the Spanish television today, the 27-year-old Brazil international Casemeiro who also plays for Real Madrid football club as a defensive midfielder, recounted how he ended up playing in his current position.
“When I went to the trial at Sau Paulo I was a forward,” Casemiro said during his chat with former Real Madrid player and manager Jorge Valdano. “I was pretty strong, I was always the tallest player at that age and I used to score a lot of goals with my head.”When I turned up, I was about 12 or 13 years old, there were about 300 players there and they were only going to choose 50. I remember very well that when the coach asked who were goalkeepers, three people put up their hands. Then he asked how many were forwards and 40 or so kids put their hands up and I said to myself, ‘there’s a lot of competition so I won’t be a striker.’ The same thing happened when they asked for midfielders and so I did the same. Then the coach said: ‘Are there any defensive midfielders?’ Seven or eight hands went up so I said to myself: ‘Ok, I’m a defensive midfielder.”
“I trained as a defensive midfielder during the trial and the coach pulled me aside and said: ‘You’re not a defensive midfielder, you came here as a forward.’
But I kept insisting that I was and that’s where it all started.
So in other words Casemeiro decided to go by the numbers, where the odds stack up together in his favour.
Probably he may not have overshadowed the likes of Neymar and Coutinho in attacking brilliance as a result of the obvious gulf in talent in that specific field, but still just by having a practical view of numbers and how they can work to your advantage he managed to get this far. Scenes like this play out in many different ways in all life’s endeavour. This does not imply that there is no room for passion in the real world. Yes you can chase your dreams and passion.
But still, while you strive in your daily lives to do what you love, you can also on the flip side begin to do something, and then love it. It works both ways.