Welcome to this week’s capsules. Since the past three weeks, we have been looking at those who did not allow the golden handcuff stop them from living their dreams

Today, we will be looking at something alot similar. Do you know that sometimes the golden handcuff could be on the hands of your spouse and not yours? If you belong to this category, you need to thread with caution because once you are married, it becomes a decision for two, not one.

Mr. Fela Durotoye once talked about how he helped a man who’s spouse wasn’t willing to allow him quit his job. ‘’Every year, she must take three trips abroad. One with the family and two leisure trips. This job foots all the bills, so she would not even hear of it’’, he desperately lamented.

Fela said, ‘ send her to me but don’t tell her why I want to see her.’ To cut the story short, the woman came to see Fela who intentionally threw an attacking question at her. ‘Woman, why are you trying to stop your husband from fulfilling his destiny?!’ She was thrown aback. ‘Sir, I am doing no such!’ And Fela opened up to her about her husband’s intentions to follow his dreams and quit his job and she promised she wasn’t going to stop him.

The man stumbled into Fela many years later at the airport, hugged him passionately and narrated to him, how successful he had become with his own consulting outfit.

My point is this, for those who may be married already, you cant afford to make the decision of going after your talent, all alone, particularly if that decision requires you pulling out of paid employment to hustle with your talent. The reason is because, you are married and this implies that whatever decision you take, will affect your family, directly and indirectly.

In view of this, you are expected to carry your spouse along on such decisions. You shouldn’t only carry your spouse along but ensure you get his/her approval, however difficult that might be. This is largely because the golden handcuffs might be on their hands and not yours and you don’t want them to be Stripped of all the luxuries they are used to, without a pre-information. Else, they may not give their support and this may lead to various problems in the home. If a direct discussion does not work for you, then you might have to involve someone whom your spouse revers, probably a spiritual head, a mentor or the likes, to do the convincing.

Punch line, live your dreams at all costs but seek your spouses approval so as to have a work/life balance.