Locking-in Effectively: Don't Choose a Skill
What would make someone walk away from a career that earned them over $120,000 in four years, to start over in an entirely new field?
Between 2019 and 2023, I worked as a freelance writer and earned roughly $120k in the process. But in 2023, I made a deliberate decision to transition into software engineering and fully commit to learning it.
Recently, there’s been a lot of conversation about “locking in.” TechnicalBben even hosted a Twitter Space on How to Lock-in Effectively, where I spoke about one idea I believe most people overlook: you don’t lock-in by choosing a skill — you lock-in by accepting the process that comes with it.
This article is an expansion of what I shared in that Space, and the story and lesson behind the decision that changed my career.
Don’t Choose a Skill. Choose the Process.
Most people don’t fail to lock-in because they’re lazy or untalented.
They fail because they chose a skill, not the process required to succeed at that skill.
We often choose skills emotionally:
“Tech pays well.”
“Design looks fun.”
“Content creation is booming.”
“Everyone is making money here.”
But very few people pause to ask the question that actually determines success:
“What does it truly take to succeed in this space, and can I realistically do that for a long time?”
That single question changes everything.
And it’s the reason I walked away from a career that made me over $120,000 in four years… for something far more uncertain.
Step 1: Map the Success Path Before You Start
Before committing to any skill, you must understand how people win in that niche.
Ask honest questions:
- Who is successful here?
- What do they do daily?
- What skills do they stack?
- How long did it take them to start earning?
- What sacrifices did they make early on?
If you don’t understand the path to success, you’re not learning a skill — you’re gambling.
Success in most fields isn’t mysterious.
It’s usually predictable — just uncomfortable.
This part matters, so let me ground it in my own experience.
My Story: Walking Away From What Worked
Between 2019 and 2023, I was a freelance writer.
I earned roughly $120k writing for clients across different industries.
From the outside, things looked great.
From the inside, something was shifting.
In 2022, I had a vision to build what I jokingly called the “Upwork of Africa.”
I named it AfriWrites, later BizGrowthHackerz.
I hired Nigerian software engineers to build it.
They started strong… then got busy.
The project stalled.
At that point, I had two options:
- Outsource again
- Learn enough software development to build it myself
I chose the second option.
Not because it was trendy, but because I had already mapped the process.
I knew:
- what frameworks were being used
- what daily work looked like
- how much effort it required
And I told myself something very simple:
“Most people learning this aren’t more brilliant than me.
If they can do it, I can too.”
I started learning web development — initially just to finish my project.
Step 2: Audit Yourself Honestly
After you understand the process, you must turn inward.
Ask yourself:
- Do I enjoy this type of work, or just the results?
- Can I practice this consistently, even when it’s boring?
- Can I tolerate being bad at this for a long time?
- Do I have the patience for delayed rewards?
This is where many people should quit before they start — and that’s not failure.
For me, something unexpected happened.
While building that platform (AfriWrites, later BizGrowthHackerz), I noticed I was:
- spending more time coding than sending or writing proposals to get writing jobs
- choosing debugging over pitching clients for writing jobs on Upwork
- enjoying long hours of problem-solving
Some days, I coded and debugged for 18 hours straight. For the first year, I don't think there was a day that was less than 10 hours.
Meanwhile, my writing income started to suffer.
And as a freelancer, when you stop grinding, your bank account will remind you 😅
That was my audit moment.
Why I Finally Pivoted (Completely)
By mid-2023, I had to make a hard decision.
Yes, I could have kept freelance writing alongside tech.
But the truth was simple:
I was no longer emotionally or mentally committed to the writing process.
I enjoyed coding more.
I tolerated its frustrations better.
I accepted its long hours more easily.
So I committed fully.
To do that responsibly, I:
- sold my SUV to create an emergency fund
- sold my US Upwork account to a friend (because God already impressed it upon my heart to do things right and build from scratch if I truly want to start from scratch in another career)
- decided to start from scratch, publicly and honestly. I put a post on Facebook to show my commitment to the public. You can check it here.
It felt wrong at the time. But I didn’t want to build a new career in the shadows.
Step 3: Commit to the Process — Then Lock In
Only after you:
- understand the success path
- audit yourself honestly
…should you choose the skill.
Once you commit, stop negotiating with discomfort. There are several things (especially since you're a Nigerian) that will make the journey very difficult for you. And that's why you must "Accept The Process" first.
Every skill has a hidden cost:
- Software engineering demands long hours of frustration and deep focus
- Content creation demands consistency with little early validation
- Sales demands rejection and emotional resilience
- Design demands endless iteration and critique
When you accept the cost upfront, the journey becomes survivable.
That’s what “locking in” actually means.
I remember that along the way, especially on days I faced real difficulties, I would tell myself, “Tayo, trust the process.”
If you’re locking-in in 2026, you might do yourself a real favor by turning this into a daily confession. Because after accepting the process at the beginning, you’ll often need to keep reminding yourself to trust the process as the journey unfolds.
The One Mistake I Made
If I could change one thing, it wouldn’t be the pivot.
It would be this:
I stayed too quiet about my learning journey.
Fear of failure.
Fear of looking like a beginner.
Fear of what people would say.
Ironically, that silence slowed my growth.
The Principle to Remember
Here’s the mindset shift that changes everything:
Don’t fall in love with a skill.
Fall in love with the process required to succeed at that skill.
Because success is rarely about talent or intelligence.
It’s about whether you’re willing to follow the process long enough.
Final Thought
There is no “best” skill.
There is only:
- the process you understand
- the process you can tolerate
- the process you can commit to
Choose that.
And then, lock in.