In the words of P.C. Emelogu: "Who remembers Eder? Oh! You are thinking harder? Of course you should remember him. It was just yesterday that he won Portugal the European Championship.
But hold on, that event taught me a lesson in life. Boy! You better be successful. Christiano Ronaldo was off before they even kicked any real ball in anger, yet no one remembered that a certain Eder could score a goal (this being in spite of the fact that he was the first recognized no. 9 in the team). As if that wasn't enough, he was brought in as a later substitute, and boom! He did the unthinkable, scoring the only goal of the game, and that which effectively handed Portugal the trophy.
But no one noticed him wheeling away to celebrate! Did you? I don't even recall how he celebrated. All eyes and every camera started looking for Ronaldo. Hold this point, I'll come back to it later.
Now to the trophy giving and the cameras refused to search out for the miraculous Eder. Instead, they were tumbling heads over heels trying to get a snapshot of Ronaldo who effectively became the assistant Coach before the match ended.
Let me make my first point then.
* The moment no one knows you, your success is attributed to another ab initio.
Let me explain. Ever been in a company where your department is expected to bring up an idea to maximize profits? When a junior staff gets this bombshell idea, the HOD takes it to the board meeting, and is clapped for, and many times, get promoted. Then, the junior staff whose brain creates explosive ideas keep playing a secret background role. Unless of course, he decides to take over control of his ideas. Eder was like the junior staff, and Ronaldo got the accolades for his hard work. In fact, commentators forgot that he fired blanks until the last group game. They attributed the success of the Portuguese team to him alone. Why? Because he was successful, and the more they make him look the part, the more papers they sell today, the more traffic they get on their sites today, and the more adverts they sell.
My second point is
** Until you call yourself a star, people might be scared to do so.
Yes. They'll see you doing the right things, doing it well, but the risk attributed to calling out a prodigy and being disappointed is too enormous. So, people are bound to neglect you when you are an "upcoming". Imagine, Eder had been on the bench forever. Despite the absence of the star, it was too risky to bring him on. Until you become a star, not only would they be afraid to start you, they'd also be afraid to give you the responsibility even when you seem to be the only option. No one gives you the opportunity to "try" on the big stage. You are either competent or sidelined.
Let me tell you a little story as I end, I don't call myself a writer, but I can put some thoughts together. I once did, and one of these huge Facebook guys with huge 'followership' copied it. Now not only did this person fail to acknowledge, (the person just wrote #copied) and went on to share in the glory as the stuff went semi viral. This is life. I am lesser known. When you are, people might keep taking your shine.
Do you think you'd fashi going to see Obama or Benny Hinn at an event over say, Prof. Osibanjo?
No way! Unless you don't like the spotlight, resolve today to be a star in your own light. C. Ronaldo wasn't even playing, he got the totality of the spotlight. Imagine if he had played. I pity Eder. No one talked about him after then. Because he didn't matter. Let your light so shine!
Congrats to Portugal and Christiano Ronaldo."
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