Alieu Fofanah

We are shaped by our thoughts and become what we think because that will dictate what we say and do. So what ever you think after the words I AM… Is what you become, it is your identity. However, once you create something and put it out in the world it will be judged by the market and you will receive feedback. In receiving the feedback will you be negatively, positively affected or impartial? Will it alter the way you see yourself? Should it alter your identity?

Identity for some of you will be validated, not based on what you think but based on what the market says. Why is this?

From my research I’ve seen that if you have a great sense of self-awareness (conscious knowledge and clear perception of your personality, including desires, emotions, strengths, weaknesses and habits), not ego driven (selfish thoughts) but are selfless and are being driven by something bigger than yourself which is connected to your purpose, your WHY. Then when you receive negative feedback the question isn’t are you good enough, the question is, is what you have created good enough? Then the next question becomes are you using the right tools to channel your gift to the world, is it the right medium? Do you know what other tools are required or available? Do the tools you need exist or can you invent them? Are you willing to embrace the necessary tools? Read More

Welcome to the second part of my three-part blog series (see the first blog ‘here’). I am writing these blogs based on words from my 90-year-old self, which I experienced when climbing ‘Mount Kilimanjaro’. I hope these blogs will allow you to reflect on what quality of life means for you and will motivate you to live it!

The words from my 90-year-old self:

“The door to immortality is only open to those who take the personal responsibility to explore the possibilities”

My mentor told me that you could live a life where you’re reactive, let everyone else or events set the agenda and hope that the right thing one day will happen to you by luck. He told me to go out in the world and create my own luck.

In the book ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’ Arkad stated that in making your own luck, you must be ready to act when an opportunity arises. So in essence you increase the chance of being lucky when you take responsibility to explore possibilities. Read More

Climbing Kilimanjaro had a profound effect on me, it gave me a reference point for many lessons on how I want to live my life. Over the course of the next three blogs I will discuss in more details, the words of my 90-year old self. You might ask, why share the point of view of your 90 year old self? The reason why I’m writing this is because we will all die one day, that is guaranteed. I believe that humanity should find time to take a step back from the hustle of daily life, and reassess their goals, achievements and priorities. For me, living until I’m 90 does not mean that I have lived, so the words serve as a reminder that length of life does not equal quality or fullness of life.

I hope that reflecting on the words of my 90 year old self will allow me to live a life of quality and will allow you, my readers, to reflect on what quality of life means for you and LIVE IT! Read More

An Interview with Paul Cleal, PwC Managing Partner of the UK/Africa Alliance

If you read the African Promise ‘part 1’ and ‘part 2‘ then you have a clear understanding of what the promise is about (the unlocking of the continents’ greatest wealth, its people). Recently, I interviewed Paul Cleal, PwC Managing Partner of the UK Africa Alliance. He currently sits on the board of PwC Africa, previously sat on the board of PwC UK and is a board advisory member for GoGetters. Read More

“The growth, the promise and the future”

The Africa rising narrative talks about the growth of the continent as many countries are growing at 7% per annum. Africa has showed promise in the past but this time around the growth must come from Africans, capitalized by Africans and be shared with the rest of the world, with terms written by Africans.

What is the African Promise?

It is what Kwame Nkrumah said on the day he became the first sub-Saharan African president, it is what Mandela fought for and it is why GoGetters exists. The African Promise is the unlocking of the continents’ greatest wealth, its people.

The Promise begins within every single one of us but it does not end there. We must promise to take ownership of our destiny and personal responsibility to be our greatest asset. We must not see absence but see abundance, we must not focus on problems but on the solution and we must not talk and complain but must take action to influence change. Remember good things happen to those who go-get-it.

Read More

I, _____________________________, am aware that signing this document is only a first step to keeping my African promise. I therefore undertake to use this as a Launchpad to consistently apply myself to fulfilling my promise to the African continent. Read More