I wasn't the academic child — no amount of schooling could change that. But I was intelligent. People intelligent. Emotionally aware. Creative. A mature soul in a young body, ahead of his years. I used to read Proverbs in the Bible over and over because I loved the idea of being wise.
Growing up with Nigerian parents who wanted a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or accountant, I was squeezed out of state school into private school, through boarding school — being baked to become my parents' desire. They're sweet people and they wanted the best for me. But each time I did something well, it still felt like a disappointment.
I remember sitting in the headteacher's office as he told me how disappointed he was in my grades — two A's, five B's, and a C. I came to know later those grades weren't too shabby. But that moment imprinted in me. Never to be forgotten.
Applying for university, I decided to test taking some control of my life. I applied to read psychology. Though accepted into a few universities, I didn't get the grades I needed. At that point, I was done. I needed a reset. I needed to take the wheel.
So I respectfully declined all advice from my parents and decided to do a Menswear Fashion Design Technology degree. There I learned how to deeply deconstruct a brief and harness my limitless creativity to turn it into deliverable value.
Over the next twenty years I learned how to understand what was great about me and how to apply those abilities to different problems to create different solutions. Using my understanding of my innate abilities — my superpowers — I can see human potential when I meet a person for the first time. That view only deepens as I get to know them.
On this journey, I also learned the power of regularly resetting — your mindset, your outlook and perspective, your goals and aspirations, and other work and life aspects. That's what I bring to every person I work with.
What it's like to be coached by me. We start with "how are you?" Then: "how are you really doing?" I regulate if necessary, so you're actually in the room and connected to the conversation. Then I get a full download of your week, an accountability check-in for the tasks you said you'd complete, and we begin to account for progress and tie it into the bigger picture. No slides. No intake forms. Just a real conversation.