Asher's Blog

It’s 20:45 as I write this, and honestly, I feel overwhelmed. I’m in Lagos, Nigeria, trying – yet again, to manage my time as effectively as possible, and tonight it feels harder than usual. One of the things that still amazes (and frustrates) me is the absence of a 24/7 gym, because fitness is not a luxury for me; it’s a necessity for clarity, discipline, and stamina. I don’t want to buy my own equipment, and I really shouldn’t have to, but the alternative is squeezing my life into narrow gym hours that don’t respect the reality of demanding workdays.

Realistically, a gym session here means one hour of exercise and almost two additional hours lost transitioning back into work mode, which brings the real cost to about three hours. The question then becomes: where exactly do those three hours come from? It’s exhausting to even think about, and I’m genuinely waiting for a passionate entrepreneur to solve this problem properly. If there were a premium, well-run 24/7 gym close to my office in Ikeja, I would pay for it without hesitation.

For now, I’ve decided to make it work with what I have. Tomorrow, I’ll head to the gym at 7:30pm, arrive by 8pm, work out until closing at 9pm, go straight home, shower, and sleep. I’ll wake up at 3:30am, pray for 30 minutes, then study until 8am for my exams in August, before heading to work ahead of 9am. When I lay it all out like this, it sounds completely insane, and maybe it is, but I’m choosing to lean on grace. Grace, Grace, God’s grace.

Anyways, rant over.

Today at work, something grounding happened. My company’s 2026 mantra is Excellence, and today’s leadership session, facilitated by my cofounder, was centred on that very theme. I was genuinely impressed, not because the concept was new, but because of how practical and actionable the session was. It wasn’t motivational fluff; it was operational clarity.

One key takeaway for me was the idea of having an excellence checklist. Before starting any meaningful work, there must be alignment with stakeholders on what excellence actually looks like in that context. What are the standards? How will success be measured? If excellence is the goal, then you should know, before finishing the work, whether you’re delivering something excellent or something merely average. That level of intentionality changes how you approach execution.

Another powerful takeaway was the idea of having an excellence accountability partner. Accountability is uncomfortable, especially for leaders, because it exposes gaps and removes excuses. Having someone review your work or check in on your standards can make you cringe, but it’s one of the fastest ways to grow. You simply cannot pursue excellence in isolation.

Excellence is not cheap talk. It is hard, demanding work. It is not a destination you arrive at once and stay forever; it is a journey you commit to daily. It is CANI, continuous and never-ending improvement.

I wish you excellent results this year.