Time to Make Your Story Great

It was a warm, muggy day. Clouds hung over the wide green field that stretched before me. Sweat beaded on my forehead. My muscles were stiff from standing still for so long. Yet, my soul smiled as I maintained my military bearing and said:

“I am an American Airman.”

Even as the words came out of my mouth, I could hardly believe that they were true. I wasn’t an official U.S. citizen yet. I barely knew any English. Yet here I was after eight weeks of boot camp, reciting the Airman’s Creed beside my fellow Airmen.

Years prior, I would have never dreamed that I’d be standing there on that field, joining the greatest Air Force in the world. I would have never even thought that I’d move to America and make my life there.

But there I was on April 21st, 2017, standing against all the odds as I was sworn in as a member of the United States Air Force.

My name is Kofi Douhadji , and my story didn’t begin when I joined the Air Force. The road that brought me to that day was long, and it threw lots of hardships at me that I didn’t expect. But this isn’t a “rags to riches” story or an autobiography that’s just meant to tell you everything about me.

I wanted to write these articles and my first book, Unbroken Optimist, because I’ve had conversations with people from different backgrounds and social status, from employees to business owners, from leaders to executives, and I’ve seen that sometimes people lose sight of what it means to be human. If we lose our purpose, what do we have left? Yet some people have let the challenges, mistakes, failures, pain, and setbacks in their lives overshadow the joys, successes, and victories, not realizing that all of those things are equally important to our growth as human beings.

I am not trying to come across as an expert nor do I think I am special. My story is not better than anyone else’s. Everyone’s story is special, and I’m here to show you that it is possible to design and live a purposeful life. It doesn’t matter where you came from or where you are now. We may be from different backgrounds, we may have different tastes, we may not support the same football team, but deep down, we all have more in common than it appears: fears, dreams, insecurities, worries.

We want to do well in life, we want to be valuable, and we want to find purpose. You may think that these goals are too far away to be attainable, but I’m here to tell you that they’re not. Your story does not need to be a Hollywood movie with a simple cookie-cutter plot that ends with someone driving off into the sunset. Your story is unique, and no one else can live it. Only you can.

Like I said before, I’m no expert. I’m just an unbroken optimist telling my story and sharing thoughts gained from my experiences, my mentors, and my research. I hope to inspire you to create greatness, even if it means I have to expose my vulnerability.

It’s been years since I started thinking about writing my first book, but I was fearful of ridiculing myself in front of the world. Now, I believe my desire to inspire you is worth the risk. One of my favorite quotes is from Marianne Williamson who said: “We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

My biggest goal in life is to intentionally contribute to a community that nurtures every single one of its members, inspiring them to aim high and filling them with the courage to achieve their ambitions. So, my hope is that as you read through the pages of my book and these articles, you not only see it as a story about me, but as a story about you.

This is your story, too. It’s time for you to make your story great.