Branding , Digital Marketing and Coaching
Communications Officer at Organic Trade and Investments
Beacon of Excellence at Central Leadership Program
Ambassador at Federation Of International Gender and Human Rights
24 years I have lived a dramatic life in the southern part of Ghana, West Africa. For most of these 24 years, my best description of life was a bloody arena of both physical and emotional torture not worth the ride. Life has been anything but a rollercoaster. However, the latter parts of it have seen the radiance of the silver lining in my thick cloud. Permit me to start by explaining my name, Amma Odamea Amoako. In Ghana, each person from every tribe has a specific name depending on the day you were born. From my tribe , Amma is given to females born on Saturday. Odamea has its origin from the Eastern region which means a girl that is full of presence or demeanor. My journey of life as I said has been all but a rollercoaster and if an unfortunate soothsayer had told me I would achieve all that I have achieved before my silver jubilee, he would've had the stoning of a lifetime. I have had sequels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal moments during my tertiary education period. There were lots of times I gave up but those moments were requisite since they exposed to me my hidden superpowers and strengths.
I existed within the confines of certain unknown fears which prevented me from living my life in fullness.
Regardless of these fears of the unknown, I still challenged myself to take some bold steps like starting Ladies for Change, taking up leadership roles in tertiary, moved away from home for a year, etc…One mind-riveting encounter was the Central Leadership Program. Frankly, I applied for this program under duress. The resident pastor at International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Cornerstone Temple, Sekondi-Takoradi, pushed me to apply. I had the privilege to be mentored by Mrs. Hannah Araba Opoku-Gyamfi and she actively imbibed into me the principles of Self leadership and awareness.
What were the biggest initial hurdles and how did you overcome them?
Before this encounter, there were recognizable weaknesses of mine but I didn't have an idea of how to nip them in the bud.
I have swiftly within 3 years progressed from an outwardly confident yet timid lady to an assertive ambivert.
These feet won me so much confidence in myself so much that I started applying for jobs and fellowships I didn’t qualify for. I studied pharmacy and taking a drastic shift in careers was one tough decision I had to make. I applied for a digital marketing job with zero experience and I know I got selected for that job because I was so confident about what I could do for them. I had to start learning on the job, taking online courses, and a whole lot of spontaneous activities to keep me up on my feet. I found love in LinkedIn and that exposed me to a whole new world of self-development. I later applied for a fellowship with the Federation of International Gender and Human Rights, for which I am currently an Ambassador in Ghana. All these happened during the apex moments of the Covid pandemic. I had to overcome the ugly shackles of fear of any form and emancipate myself especially from the fear of uncertainty, and the fear of “What will people say about me”. What books are you currently reading? One book that changed my mindset was “Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia” by Pastor Mensa Otabil. Currently, I am reading “Get your shit together” by Sarah Knight. I hope to read “Think Big” by Ben Carson, “Eat that Frog” and “No Excuses” by Brian Tracy by the close of this year.
What do you know today that you wish you would have known when you first got started?
I don’t regret any occurrence in my past because they have contributed immensely to the caliber of woman I am now. I wish I understood the principle of embracing and learning from failures. I wish I understood that nobody starts being perfect. Again, I wish I knew that I had to believe in myself even if no one else did.
What advice would you give to an upcoming youth or talents locally and internationally? I understand that I’m relatively young but wisdom is not parallel to age. These are my final words.
Start when scared.
Start when in doubt.
Start when no one believes in you.
You will never know what you can do if you don’t allow yourself to start.
You are going to do great things in this life so don’t allow little things to get to you.
