Conversation with my 25 year old self

I would like to share 10 motivational factors and lessons that shaped my growth as an entrepreneur 21 years ago as a graduate.

1. The value of internships: 26 years ago, when all my friends were traveling abroad to look for mundane jobs to buy fashionable clothes. I was working in a carpentry workshop and saving up for hand tools.  What was the value of this? After 5 years of diligently working in this carpentry shop, I established Accents & Art 6 months after I graduated from KNUST. If you have not had the opportunity to do any form internship, use your national service period to see the value of this. Most importantly, the soft skills you will pick up during your national service. Do any task you are given wholeheartedly– start at a low to mid-level and work hard on your way up. It’s important that you know the value of both hard and soft skills.

2.     What you study and the degree you graduate with does not necessarily lead you to what you think your ultimate goal is. Take risks, take the road less travelled and most importantly, follow your passion. Trust your gut feeling while walking this difficult road and don’t listen to the noise along the way and by all means, do not listen to naysayers. Be your biggest cheerleader. When you are told it’s impossible, let this be your driving force towards that big idea you have. Be relentless till you prove them wrong. That’s what visionaries do! Therefore, be a visionary, be a dreamer and in dreaming, dream big. The sky shouldn’t be your ceiling. Learn to rise to challenges and challenge yourself.

3.     Have role models and mentors to guide you along the way. In selecting your role models, carefully interview them. Read about them. Ask yourself why they are called such. What value will they add to you? Do not be afraid to approach this person and ask them to mentor you. Break the culture of fear and silence. Be Bold and confident, be brazen and be fearless.

4.     Integrity: List what values reflect who you are and have integrity. In my 21 years of operations, I know first-hand, the value of this. Walk your talk! Don’t be in a hurry. This Particularly pertains to what I term, ‘generation X.’ The youth of today have a sense of entitlement and want to achieve everything overnight. Be straight forward in all your dealings, show up on time and, respect yourself and others. Respect means many things.

5.     Don’t Be Afraid of Failure: Failure is an integral part of success so embrace every mistake you make no matter how hard it seems when it happens. ‘What doesn’t break you, will make you stronger’. Learn from your mistakes but don’t stay down too long, rise quickly, and move on. Use these as lessons because there is no perfect system. Over the years as a business leader, I have come to appreciate these as lapses in my systems and processes and the need for us to continuously improve the way we operate. Have no regrets at all!

6.     Be kind to yourself: curve out quality time for family and friends. It’s a long haul so learn to be kind to yourself. As you work hard, make time to exercise, rest and sleep while managing your stress level and mental health. This is something I wished I had been told earlier. How to manage my work-life balance.

7.     Give back to society, be selfless: Know the importance of giving back to society. Let the underlining meaning of your work have a societal impact. Every great visionary, successful businessperson, or corporate entity understands the meaning of this.

8.     Effect Change. On the road less travelled you will achieve great success in the places not obvious at all. Separate yourself from the crowd. Stand out boldly! Your generation faces a crisis where unemployment levels among graduates are high. According to the National labour commission, the estimate is a staggering 700,000 a year. Therefore, look for jobs in areas looking to absorb graduates, areas such as sanitation, green energy, agriculture, food processing, manufacturing, industrial research, and development. Regardless of which degree you are graduating with today, investigate these less obvious places. These are jobs as a young African, the greatest opportunities are. Post-COVID, see these jobs as more viable.

9.     Be Curious: Ask questions, no matter how silly they may seem. Spend time reading and use your time wisely. Make older friends who will share valuable experiences with you. Be a global citizen, your era has seen the biggest rise in technology. Information is so accessible however, you must sieve through information due to the amount of fake news out there in addition to the dark side of the internet.

10. Let your light share outwardly: Your generation has become very selfish. In all your dealings as you go out into the world be sure to leave a good impression of yourself. Leave a mark where you work, with people you will meet along the journey. These are the same people you will meet on your way down. Don’t trample on people to get what you want. It will come back to haunt you. Discover your purpose in life and I pray you find this early.. The world is your oyster, go out there and grab it.

I hope these factors will go a long way to guide your success journey.

African Quote. ‘There are many colourful flowers on the path of life but the prettiest have the sharpest thorns.

Constance Swaniker is Founder and CEO of Design & Technology Institute (DTI), and Accents & Arts Limited. Constance is an acclaimed fabrication artist holding a BA in Arts from KNUST, and president of West Africa’s Stanford’s SEED network.