Welcome to Africans Living Fully
Before we go any further I want you to take a moment to ask yourself these questions?
What does it mean to live your life fully? What does it feel like? How does it look like? Can you describe it? How would you know when you are experiencing it?
It is said, today is all that is certain and all that matters, for the past is over and the future is yet to happen. Every moment is an opportunity to start over again and determine how your life story will unfold.
So the creation of this blog is inspired by my journey and that of many others whom I’ve met online and some physically on their various paths to creating the life of their dreams. I believe that everyone, no matter where you are from, no matter your current circumstances can take control of their lives towards a path of consistent progress and improvement towards “creating and living the life they want”.
The movement
Africans Living fully , is a movement inspiring an unconventional approach to creating a meaningful life that is lived fully (whatever that means to you). To step into our purpose, seize the moment to rediscover new opportunities, to do fulfilling work and create balance in our pursuits of wealth and freedom. By so doing being authentic with ourselves and remaining deeply rooted with our cultural heritage.
The ALF community is a platform that seeks to educate, engage, entertain and inspire you to take action to bridge the gap between who you are now and who you want to become as an African or person of African descent with focus on harnessing digital tools, resources, opportunities and networks that exist today.
We seek to inspire a new generation of Africans and People of African descendants to create a life they want with no limitations. At the same time contributing to redefine what it means to be African Living Fully.
Why it matters
It is said that the greatest tragedy is not living to the fullest extent of our potential and stepping into it, to lead a life of purpose. The internet today and the digital opportunities it presents have given us access to unlimited resources to learn, act and live a life full of purpose, passion, prosperity, gratitude and happiness.
It is important for everyone to individually define what a purposeful life means to them, and in doing so they need to determine what kind of work they need to do to enable them to live that life. Since one third (⅓) our lives are spent at work it is essential to create a career path or a lifestyle that supports our overall sense of fulfillment and happiness.
Perhaps this is one main reason why a growing number of young people in Africa and abroad are leaning towards the remote work and digital nomad lifestyle. This is the ability to have the freedom to work, earn money, and live one’s passion with purpose while creating impacts from anywhere in the world 🌎.
Similarly, I’d probably be right if I say you already knew this, but it’s great to have it confirmed. A recent study at Cornell University revealed that spending your money on experiences is more likely to bring you lasting happiness than spending money on material objects. No wonder why traveling, spending quality time with loved ones engaging in enriching activities and creating memories is becoming more appealing to millennials and Gen Zs alike.
There isn’t enough practical information on creating remote work and digital nomad lifestyle, targeted specifically to people in Africa. However there is abundant resources that exist to leverage upon but not everyone is utilizing these resources or even knows where to find them.
Thus at Africans living fully, we seek to bridge that gap to provide exclusive content specifically tailored to be relatable, relevant and most impactful to Africans and people of Africans descent.
I left my home country, for the first time at the age of 17 to go to college in Ghana. I left without the support or knowledge of my father.
Before then I had gotten admissions into many other schools in Canada, the UK, and South Africa. However, I was unable to attend any of them because my father thought I was too young to be left out in the ‘world’ by myself. So when I finally got admitted to a university in Ghana and with just about $400 in savings, I decided to go without knowing how I was going to survive. I had my mum as my number one confidant and supporter to dare out of my comfort zone and home country.
It was a very tough time for my family. My immense gratitude remains with my mom and siblings for holding it down and going through all the adversity and to my dad for later supporting my decision! I learned from an early age that you do not need permission from anyone to go after your dreams and create the life you want. Many times people will not understand your choice and that is okay!
So when I came to the University, I knew that I had to make it work, I knew this was my ONLY shot to make things happen in life and to make every opportunity count. I begun to nurture the goal to develop skills and embark on meaningful projects to impact positively on my community.
I became curious and open-minded: I read every poster on every wall and notice board and I signed up for every event that needed volunteers. I was looking for ways to develop relevant skills and experiences outside of what my degree offered. This is because I was not sure if I would be able to graduate and even if I did, I knew my degree was not going to mean anything if I did not have any extra skills to stand out amongst the millions of graduates that leave school every year all over Africa.
My first international exposure outside Africa came from my involvement in Model United Nations (MUN) Conferences which I got involved during my second year of university. MUN allows young people to be involved in the work of the United Nations. Before graduating from college, I visited 5 new countries and worked in 3 due to MUN engagements and other youth development initiatives.
After graduation, I worked in the corporate field for 2 years, a job that stretched and challenged me to grow beyond my imagination and for which I am grateful. However, I had to quit when I realized that it was not in line with the kind of life I wanted. I was overworked, underpaid, broke as hell, underappreciated and more importantly, I was not able to pursue or engage in the things that set my heart on fire!
I wanted freedom in all aspects of my life! I wanted to travel again. I wanted to study. I wanted to do meaningful work! So I quit. I quit to discover myself and figure out how to make it work!
I found a niche in finance and I started a business 3 years ago which today is enabling me to not only live the life I have currently but it has also enabled my teammates to work remotely whilst going after their dreams.
Now, I am growing my business, developing new businesses and enhancing my skills to pursue other interests. I have worked with over 16 organizations facilitating trade, corporate partnerships and other community development projects in 7 countries around the world on a freelance basis: all thanks to the internet and relationships.
I am always looking for opportunities to grow my brand, develop personally and professionally. I consider myself a student of the world. I also believe in constant progression.
Now after several years of procrastination (humans worst self- imposing restriction lol 😆) I am finally working on this project
Africans Living Fully.
This blog will be evolving. The goal for this platform is for it to become the place Africans at heart ♥️ will connect with and learn more about African digital nomads, travelers, digital entrepreneurs and to draw insights for their journey.