Owning your Office- From a Zambian’s perspective.

Muli bwanji, ( hello in Zambia)

I hope you’re all well. Congrats for coming to the end of September and I hope it has been a good month to y’all.

It can be frustrating living a life that completely gives no fulfilment and meaning. But, what if I told you that discovering your purpose is one of the greatest achievements there is in life? Here is a detailed conversation with our guest from Zambia.

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1 . Thank you Mulenga for honoring my invitation. I’m super excited to host you. Kindly introduce and tell the readers about yourself.

My name is Mulenga Chanda, I’m 25 years old and was born in Ndola, Zambia. I’m Zambian and currently working for the Central Bank. I work in treasury and finance, I have a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance and an MBA in Finance. I also have a certified qualification called an ACI qualification in treasury. So you can call me a financial market analyst and a financial market dealer.

2. I recently came upon something you posted about one ‘owning their office’ and I was quite curious. What did you mean by that and is it connnected to one’s life purpose?*

Owning your office basically means a person achieving or getting into their life where they understand what they want out of this life and also figure out how far they need to go to get that, which they want. It’s more of growing into your gifting, talents and in that which will bring you satisfaction. An office would be someone being a soccer player, a journalist, an accountant, a lawyer, etc. All these are offices with respective principles that drive the origins of it. It also means owning the gift that you know God has blessed you with. For some its music, others sports and for some, they may have those gifts, but the passion is low. Personally, my office is being an inspirational young man to other people by having a career in Finance and being a writer. One of my greatest gifts and talents is writing and I make money out of it because I’m hired by different people and companies. So that is my office. There are so many people that have not discovered their purpose but it helps when you have a passion because your passion leads you to your purpose and that is why owning your office is understanding where you are best served and where you excel the most.

3 . Growing up, did you imagine the life you are living now? Are you living your dream?

Not yet, but I think I’m on course. The reason as to why I’m saying this is because before I discovered my purpose, I was lost and trying out different things. I always encourage people never to shy away from failing. I didn’t know what I wanted in life. I am not yet living my dream right now, but I’m working towards it by consistently feeding into my passion and growing and investing in my knowledge, information and also growing my gifting which is writing to make sure it helps me get to where I’m supposed to be. So, I’m going to be living my dreams eventually. But right now, I’m in the process of becoming.

4. How does one discover their ‘office’. What are the guiding principles for one to be able to discover their ‘office‘?

Figure out your passion. You can’t figure out your office if you do not figure out your passion. Each and every individual on the face of the earth was blessed with passion. There is always something one is passionate about. For some its music, sport, etc. When you figure out what you’re passionate about, it will help you develop context as to what your purpose should be like. For example, when I was growing up, I just wanted to be famous, be a successful business man who will help young people in society, feed the poor and open up an organisation. My biggest dream was being a UN Secretary General which changed a long the way. My heart has always bee for people, so my purpose on this earth has been to make people’s lives better and being of Christian faith, it helped me see things differently because I had to consistently feed into my purpose which is my passion. So, I’m financing my dream to help out people one day.

5 . What do you think are some of the barriers that limit people from owning their ‘office’?

Imposter syndrome. It means you thinking you are not worthy of something, you are not deserving of something because of insecurities which block us from owning our office. Insecurities are a lack of self belief, low self esteem, lack of confidence which restrict people from owning their office. Until you realize you are deserving of love and success, you’ll not achieve your office because you are still dealing with insecurities and feelings of inadequacy.

6. What is the relationship between one ‘owning their office’ and pursuing a career?

Your career is not your definition. A human being should not be defined by their career. I have a career in banking because it is a necessary means to move from where I am to where I’m supposed to be. Without this career, it becomes difficult to finance my dream. So the relationship between owning your office and pursuing a career lies to passion. The passion that you carry is the difference between owning your office and pursuing a career.

7. What are the possible dangers that may happen in the event one doesn’t take the initiative to discover their ‘office’?

You live an unfulfilled life, frustrating life. Sometimes, African Culture will push their children to do a course that they never wanted to do or go to school yet they never wanted to. No one wants to die feeling unfulfilled. I pray that each and every young person grows up having a fulfilled life.

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8. Any last words to the readers?

• Learn and unlearn. This life is about learning and unlearning. Be open to unlearning certain toxic traits that may block you from becoming who God destined you to be, be who you are supposed to be in society.
• I repeat, discover your passion. Once you figure out your passion, your purpose is right around the corner. If your passion is peole, sports, invest around that and your purpose will be revealed to you as you continue growing. Most if us are not where we are supposed to be yet, but the process of becoming is not easy.
• Be teachable. Find a good mentor who can point you to your life, read alot, expose yourself to literature, invest in your well being and make sure you have a good support system around you.
• Purpose is not a different
  thing to attain, but passion is critical if you are going to discover your purpose.

I hope this conversation helps each one of you re think your passions and discover who you were meant to be.

Have a sweet October.

Tsalani Bwino