Reality had dawned on me. People needed to know about the seminar and it wasn’t clear to me how. So, I thought I would begin by sending emails of the flyer to people on my mailing list and any other mailing list I belonged to. I scavenged my emails for mailing lists. I opened every email ever sent to me with other people in copy. I gathered the emails in a word document. Then I asked Sylvester to print 500 copies of the flyer. I would give some to the newspaper vendor across the street and distribute some to nearby eateries.

So, I composed an email introducing the seminar. I attached the flyer. I was very pleased with the design, specially made by my good friend Sylvester. Looking back, I am not sure how or why such a flyer made it for a seminar promotion on HR. Its shades of army green, bold yellow title and big, bad, combat boots. I guess everything in life evolves, even flyers.

I contacted Tunde Aguda. I had met him a few years earlier when needed a website for a business idea. He had designed the Kendor Consulting website and so I asked him to create a landing page for the seminar. I also created a registration form to be downloaded and filled by intending attendees. I forwarded him the HR Bootcamp Seminar details via email. By the next day, the landing page was ready. We were good to go.

I realised the moment of truth had come. I needed to send the email. I needed to press the send button and yet I couldn’t. Various thoughts ran through my mind. This was indeed the point of no return. If I pressed send, everyone would know I was trying to organise a seminar. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if no one responded? Who would be interested in an HR Bootcamp Seminar? Who would pay NGN5,000? Who knows Kendor Consulting? And who is Adora Ikwuemesi? What if no one signed up? Self-doubt set in. Anxiety tussled. Hesitancy and diffidence took over.

Five minutes had passed and I was still sitting on my bed, waiting by my laptop, staring at the email with my finger moving back and forth the ‘send’ button. 5 minutes seemed like 5 hours. I began to dialogue with myself.

‘What do I really have to lose?’

‘What is the worst that can happen?’

‘So, everyone will ignore me and no one would sign up, and then what?’

And so I did it. I pressed send and slammed my laptop shut with a big bang and ran out of my room. I ran…I don’t understand why I did that, but I think I was running away from my fears. Fear of rejection.

When I gathered the courage to come back to my room a few hours later, I opened my laptop. I was right about one thing though. The email had been sent and as envisaged, nothing had happened. No one noticed. No one replied. No sound. Crickets.

To be continued.

Your thoughts?

PS: To learn more about the HR Bootcamp Conference visit https://lnkd.in/ddja_Fzx or send an email to conference@kendorconsulting.com