For many years, I have put off several aspirations, dreams and desires.
This month, I am reading Kuenyehia on Entrepreneurship, a Ghanaian entrepreneurial model book/ textbook. Chapter two introduces a wonderful quote by Bunmi Oni.
Dare to dream but don’t dream unless you are willing to live your dream
Bunmi Oni
The writer, Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia, describes himself in one article as being 13 years a dreamer- having put off his dream to return home (Ghana) to live the African dream instead of staying in America after his studies, but the words of Bunmi Oni, a speaker at a conference inspired him to make the move and he actually did.
Like me and many of you reading my first blog; we have many dreams and big ideas- and we sometimes see that only a few months on, other people will be implementing those same ideas which we thought were not viable, and some dreams have just remained dreams. This blog was one of those until now.
You will see that the title of this piece is, ‘Fear is a Liar,’ you should check out the song, it’s a good piece but indeed fear is a big liar- “telling you, you are not good enough, stopping you in your steps and stealing your happiness.”
Back to fear, we fear everything. I do not know where that came from. (I am tempted to quote Fela Kuti, but I will pass on this one). We fear what people will say about us, we fear to fail, we fear to be vulnerable, we fear to take any kind of risk, we fear people will say, ‘you kraa you can’t write.’ So, we hide and stay comfortable. Les Brown, a motivational speaker said,
“Do what is easy, and you will have a difficult life, but do what is difficult and you will have an easy life.”
Well, Kuenyehia says for business, “people do not take risks because our society is built on status and people are scared of taking any risks that might diminish whatever status they have acquired to date.” Maybe this is the answer.
Two weeks ago, I was sitting on my bed thinking one of my many random thoughts, then, it occurred to me, my birthday is approaching- what am I going to do? I had initially thought of doing a donation and sharing my time with some students. Knowing that I can no longer go to the school because of COVID-19, I thought of starting this blog.
How about I talk a little about COVID?
Many issues have sprung up about the virus; the vaccine, mental health, quarantine, precautionary measures, everything! It is a challenge and we are all uncertain about it and how it will finally resolve. However, one thing we can do is to keep our spirits high. Really! Fear can kill more than any virus. This situation will not last forever, it has to end some way and it will. Also, we should remember that every- I mean every challenge presents an opportunity. It is up to us to open our eyes and see- then grab the opportunity.
Opera Winfrey said,
Life is about growth and change. When you are no longer doing that- that is your whisper; that is your whisper that you are supposed to do something else.
Growth is inevitable- well maybe not, just in the case of chronological age. However, we need to grow all aspects of our lives: our craft or work- anything requires growth.
I have thought about this for years on giving back to the generation after me. I have felt this need so apparent in my line of work that I can no longer ignore it.
I will tell you a story. This happened in Tamale, in the Northern Region of Ghana. A group of young people within the age group 16–25 years were discussing attributes of young people in an adolescent and youth development workshop. The facilitator was surprised to find out that one of the groups thought that one attribute of young people is, “they do not have sense.” The group mentioned that it is common knowledge among older and young people themselves- that young people do not always act right. (how about the jama on some university campuses after schools were shut down because of COVID-19?
I work in development communication with young people on a daily basis- young people with different attributes, many have dreams and others don’t care. What makes the difference I believe is having light shed on the pathway to see clearly — the destination. The map is not the destination.
We have society tell us how to live our lives. We have the perfect picture of how each individual must live their life or must turn out. Sadly so, each individual is unique with their talents- our purpose! We don’t necessarily have to fit the perfect picture.
It is my longing that we each find our purpose and determine to pursue it.
I hope this blog and subsequent endeavors that stem from it will shed light on a young person’s path. Let us carve our own paths and frankly pursue our real dreams and aspirations.
Today, on my birthday, my aim was to share a few lessons I have learnt in my life, but it turns out I have a lot more to say. I will share these lessons when next I write.
I will end with a simple quote from Tony Robbins that says,
The best way to overcome fear is to step towards it. Go!
Tony Robbins