What Every Career Woman Can Learn from These Black Iconic Women
It can be challenging to navigate the professional world. Especially while trying to find yourself in your career journey. However, there are many black women who have come before us and blazed trails. They prove that anything is possible with hard work and determination. Mo Abudu highlights the importance of pursuing a career you love, while Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma emphasizes the importance of self-confidence. Lupita Nyong’o encourages women to stay true to themselves and never let anyone dim their light. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka motivates women to believe in their abilities and not let anyone tell them they can’t do something. Finally, Wangari Maathai inspires women to stand up for their rights and encourage others to do the same. Here are six quotes from some of the most renowned black women in Africa. Wise words that every career woman can learn from. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Mo Abudu, Nigeria Mo Abudu is a Nigerian media mogul and philanthropist. She has made a name for herself in the media industry. Her quote emphasizes the importance of loving what you do in order to achieve success. Pursue a career that you’re passionate about.This will keep you motivated to work hard and achieve your goals. “You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.” – Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is a South African politician. She is also the first woman to lead the African Union Commission. Her quote emphasizes the importance of self-confidence and believing in your own abilities. Trust yourself and your abilities in order to achieve your goals. “Stay true to who you are, and never let anyone dim your light.” – Lupita Nyong’o, Kenyan-Mexican actress and producer Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan-Mexican actress and producer who has made a name for herself in Hollywood. She has won numerous awards for her acting, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Nyong’o’s message is to stay true to who you are and never let anyone dim your light. Embrace your uniqueness and let your light shine bright. “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.” – Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, South African politician and UN Under-Secretary-General, South Africa Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is a South African politician and activist who has been a strong advocate for women’s rights throughout her career. She served as the Deputy President of South Africa and is currently the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. Mlambo-Ngcuka’s message is clear: don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. With hard work and determination, anything is possible. “The beauty of standing up for your rights is that others see you standing and stand up as well.” – Wangari Maathai, Kenya This quote by Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmental and political activist, can inspire career women to be confident and vocal in advocating for their rights and the rights of others. By standing up for themselves, they can encourage others to do the same and create positive change in their workplaces and communities. The professional world can be challenging, but these six quotes from renowned black women in Africa provide guidance and inspiration for every career woman. These wise words remind us that with hard work, determination, and self-confidence, anything is possible in the professional world.
Your ultimate guide to starting and ending the year strong in 2023!
It’s 2023! Whoo hoo… It is not a year to rest on your oars, not a year to be complacent because of the level of success you have achieved so far, it is a year for doing more. There is still much work to be done no matter what your life vocation is. This year is bringing you a new opportunity to start (if you are yet to join the moving train of achievers), and to get better at what we do for our best is yet to come. The following steps will set you on the path of getting more done this year. If you know what you want, you will get it easily: Brain Tracy quote aptly puts it this way, “People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine”. I will put the emphasis here on “clear”-you are very sure what it is you want to achieve, you are not indecisive, thus, when you spot an opportunity that links to what you desire, you grab it with your two hands. Focus: You might have given yourself a pat on the back for the various feats you accomplished last year and this year you have so many ideas and you just want to execute them all at once. This might not turn out well and will slow down your productivity. It is important to balance your creativity with wisdom. Not all your beautiful ideas will fly so focus on your competitive advantage (that which you do so well or makes you stand out). See Success as a journey rather than a destination: When you see success as a destination, not only will you be tempted to wait for it to happen instead of working towards its achievement, but there is also the danger of being complacent. After the achievement of one goal, there should be the desire to get another. So don’t spend all your time trying to achieve one thing. Get it done and move on. Stop procrastinating Most of us are guilty of this habit. We push off what we are supposed to do now to a later time, and before you know it, it’s the year 2024. You don’t want to wake up tomorrow and you are a 105 years old; that dream you had when you were fifteen is still in your heart unaccomplished and you will know you have not lived because you will not feel fulfilled. Start working on that dream now so you don’t have regrets tomorrow. Be accountable: Arese Ugwu the author of the smart money woman in the acknowledgment page of the book mentioned that Steve Harris played a huge part in helping her finish the book in time-he kept checking up on her to make sure she was committed to writing her book. I believe if she hadn’t been accountable to him, she would not have finished the book at the time she did. There is this thing about the right time. If the book had not been published at the time it was perhaps the doors she said the book opened for her would not have happened. Find someone you can be accountable to especially if you are not naturally self-motivated or goal-oriented. Stay close to your inspiration: Life is not a walk in the park so are your dreams or things you desire to achieve. You need to stay inspired to reach the finishing line. Read articles regularly here on SLA, you will find stories that will help you learn from other people’s experiences so you can navigate your world better. Attend seminars and conferences aimed at making you improve the way you do things, watch movies that will motivate you, and surround yourself with people who can talk you up just when you need it. Be flexible: You don’t have to stick to one thing or one strategy if things are not working as expected. This year is for getting things done so don’t get stuck, find a new way for life is full of options. Oprah Winfrey puts it this way “Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do.” I look forward to a greater you this year 2023!
HGCP 2022 Participants: Oluwatomiisin is fighting new-born malnutrition
It’s interesting how what we think we will be when we grow up changes when we are adults. Growing up Oluwatomiisin Olatunji wanted to care for animals as she couldn’t stand the sight of seeing people suffer in excruciating pain. Today she is the founder of Mamalac Foods Nigeria Ltd and one of the High Growth Coaching Program’s finalists. “My biggest achievement is being able to build a community strong enough that people want to work with us to elevate the brand. I am talking about a community of sisterhood where the members of the community not only look out for each other but see themselves as the brand itself.” – Oluwatomiisin Olatunji What keeps Oluwatomiisin’s motivated is seeing mom’s share their joy at being able to breastfeed exclusively amidst the challenges due to the support received from the Mamalac community. Her greatest desire is to help more mom’s commit to giving their children a healthy start to life especially in relation to nutrition because it’s a very vital need for development of both the child and the country/ world at large Here is what she had to say about her entrepreneurial journey. I hope you get some good advice on how to ensure you build a successful business yourself. What has your experience been like as one of the finalists to the program? It’s been an amazing experience and I have learnt some life skills. I recently raised an issue with my coach and I almost voluntarily left the program but she waded in and helped me view things from another angle. The situation was really a perfect experience for me to learn to always communicate especially with the key players By the end of the 12 weeks, what would you like to have learned from the trainers and coaches? I Learned how to put structures in place so I can run my business with or without my presence. And also Learnt how to grow the business immensely How did you get to this point? I am the first of 3 children. I was born to Mr and Mrs Olakanmi in Ibadan and had most of my schooling in Ibadan. I trained as a veterinarian but was exposed very early to the non-profit/ development sector and it helped me see things differently so I grew up wanting to find a solution to problems around me. What led to you starting your own business? Share your journey. In 2020, when I birthed my child, I had a difficult pregnancy and birth experience which eventually resulted in low breast milk supply. During one of my antenatal visits early in the pregnancy, one of the matrons marketed a lactation supplement to us which I bought. When I had difficulty with my breast milk supply, I used the lactation supplement and realized it wasn’t working like I expected. This double frustration of not being able to feed my child and not getting a solution propelled me to dust my notes as a veterinarian and start doing research on how to increase my breast milk supply. My experiments paid off as it worked amazingly on me as the guinea pig. I had people who paid for samples to test it and I got amazing reviews. This laid the foundation of the business as a standardized the recipes and with time moved forward to have not just one product but at least 7 products at the moment. Introduce your company the way you would to a potential customer? Mamalac Foods Nigeria Ltd helps to fight malnutrition from birth using sugar, and preservative free plant-based supplements such as seeds, spices and herbs to produce lactation supplements and other dietary supplements that helps to ensure the health and vitality of every member of the family. What you would to be remembered for? What impact would you want to make in this world? That I helped reduce malnutrition in children and helped more moms fulfil their primal need to exclusively breastfeed their children. What is your favourite aspect of being an entrepreneur? Being able to take decisions and being able to call the shots with my timing skills What’s the best advice you have received in business that you wish to pass on to our community? Building your business online and staying true to your values as a business owner and for the business. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur? Resilience Perseverance Integrity How do you handle or manage the stresses of being an entrepreneur? Sleeping is a great therapy for me so once it seems the world is conspiring against me, I try to take a break and sleep. What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs to invest their time in? Building an online presence. It’s more important now than before. Building structures in place so that even in your absence, work goes on like you’re there. Invest in sales and marketing because they are the life of the business.