#THEBIZMICGOTTHINGSTOSAY PART 1(B): BEST DECISION EVER!

Its all part of the Plan!

As it turns out, coming back home was the best decision I have ever made in my whole life. I am now over the crisis that was my premature “akwaaba”, taken from another perspective it was pure destiny. I am still not over the trauma of the local educational system I had to wade back into and the ensuing long and painful readjustment phase; lets just call it a process of reverse culture shock. I have still not fully come to terms with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Sorrows and Tears (KNUST) and until I do, I shall not write much about it; save the necessity of inking that degree onto my CV. I mean I remember how the Frankly Unaccomplished Cabal Keeping Ebullience Radically Short nearly succeeded in preventing a conclusion to my quest for purpose; but like I said, now is not the time. I digress; the topic at hand is that coming back home was the best decision I ever did make. In retrospect I would not have said this and meant it the way I do now a few years ago, but still I can even claim some level of prescience. I remember sitting down with one of the dearest women I have ever met, a counselor at the International Students Office in ‘Cuse who took me under her wing and advised me against coming back to Ghana; she felt it would be a mistake. I told her, “Back home, there are far more opportunities and far less distractions for me; there is a lot less pressure and I really understand the system, I will be able to mature and fully realize my potential.” I was right!

I knew deep down that in the US, I would at best be comfortably mediocre, but that in Ghana I could be truly great; I tired of having to choose between being the token African dude, or part of the close knit African clique – after all I am by nature an outgoing loner. I realize now though that I came to Ghana at precisely the time that the country was on the verge of leaving behind its past of obscurity in favor of a more robust exploitation of its huge potential. It could not have been a better-timed return; within a year of my arrival Ghana discovered oil and I found my calling in life; to be to Ghana what Rockefeller was to America. Ladies and gentlemen, that is the plan! Since our discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities I have been learning and soaking up so much information and experience that in my own biased opinion, I have become quite an astute local expert on the nascent petroleum industry – at only 24. At the same time I was slogging it out with the academics, I was also running around busily building the right connections, networking in the business circles and getting practical on the job expertise the hard way; the entrepreneurial way. I am glad to say that bit-by-bit, we are bringing the plan closer and closer to its fruition, we still have quite a lot to learn before we get there, but it is nice knowing that you are way ahead of the game. Nowadays, I regularly meet a lot of people who are only now trying to do what was done years ago, or learning what has long been known; they are new to the system and frankly they are behind and will be playing catch up for a while.

It has not been easy at all, in fact at times I almost gave up and run away back to the States – I raised the money myself and seriously contemplated that possibility a few times. However I remained in Ghana for so many reasons; first of all I cured myself of some dangerous habits; certainly not all of them but a marked improvement from before. Also I fell deeply in love and suddenly had a reason to be truly happy for once, though that proved to be another failed attempt at searching for an extrinsic source of joy; karma is only pleasant to the guiltless. Thirdly, I made some great friendships with individuals who had been through similar traumatic experiences and they helped me to settle down and re-appreciate the sun, the heat, the food and the sights and sounds of the land of my birth. Another reason was the onset of the Global Economic Crisis, which had very little effect on Ghana but left the prospect of working and financing the rest of my US college education by myself and in such a climate very unpalatable. But the most compelling reason is that I had a very supportive family; the parental unit was constantly admonishing me not to blame external sources for my troubles, but to reflect on the internal causes for my mistakes and seek to correct them. Thank you so much Mum and Dad for not coddling me into a dullard but forging me into the man I am today, a man who can truly survive in any circumstance.

As I gradually went native again, I suddenly began to realize the vast business opportunities available in a region of Africa that has been enjoying some unbridled growth over the past decade. So great was this epiphany that I knew my destiny was to become one of the rising stars of Africa, but only if I put in the necessary quantum of work and sacrifice. Sometimes I miss the good old days when I was carefree and spoilt; but I am far better at being mature, thoughtful and meticulously calculating. I think, I plan and I execute with the calm and precision born of constant practice dealing with both structured and unstructured situations. I am equally comfortable in a Tro-Tro station educating passengers on the recent petroleum product price increments or negotiating a multi-million dollar investment with a foreign investor at the Holiday Inn. I have not finished paying my dues in the school of hard knocks but I can smell the faint fragrance of graduation into the Big Easy, so I have been spurred on even more. I recently read “Talent Is Overrated” by Geoff Colvin and became even more convinced that all this stress I am facing; all this pain I am enduring; all this sweat, blood and tears are not being shed in vain. I am not going to be Rockefeller without it. Please note, he begun working in 1855 at age 16 in very modest circumstances, and it was not until 1865 that he made the decisions that launched him on his career to become America’s first Billionaire. I begun my career at 20, I am four years into the hustle and I have not made much yet but I bet you that by age 30, I would have been already set on a similar upward trajectory – this is not a boast but a simple statement of fact. You see I do not only aspire to be like these people, I know in my very marrow I am capable of doing what they did or even better – these are the personalities that I would deign to compete with and nobody else.

And this is not simply about money or accumulation of wealth for its own sake, this is about showing people that it is possible to achieve anything that you want in this world if you are willing to work hard enough at it. It is about leaving a legacy of hope and opportunity to the masses of African youth who have little chance to better themselves and their circumstances. If they can be shown that they can make their dreams a reality through consistent hard-work and not via any shortcuts, they shall have hope and will be galvanized into action, into developing their nations and bettering their own circumstances. That is the legacy I want to leave this world with and I get personal satisfaction from knowing that I am trying as hard as I can to make this happen; and it can only happen right here on the Dark Continent. I only pray that God grants me life that I may enjoy the blessings that are still accruing and may He be graceful enough to amortize my sins.

Cheers,

TheBizmic

L.J.J @ 2:59am 14/01/11

#THEBIZMICGOTTHINGSTOSAY pt 1(A): BEING BOLD

Posively Yankefied; BTW the Lip Gloss is very necessary for winter if you have big juicy African lips :)

{Memories – Kid Cudi ft David Guetta}

Fresh from the Jet and Seething with Rage!!

When I returned from my aborted attempt at a US college degree in 2006, I was a ragged mess, seething with rage, despondent and simmering with a mix of confused emotions and haunting memories. I was broke, angry, depressed; suffering from withdrawal symptoms and most importantly, I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself. What was I going to do now? I mean contrary to what I told most people - that I was coerced into coming back to Ghana - the truth is that I voluntarily decided to come back home. I had simply had enough of America; I remember effortlessly gliding back and forth through various cliques in a deeply splintered social scene but still remaining on the fringes. I was an authority all to myself in a teeming mass of youthful faces. One of my favorite pastimes was to get stupendously high, dress up in a fancy outfit, put on my aviators, light up my clove cigarettes, grab my iPod and go dance walking on campus (Dance walking is when you walk to a beat and move in time with the rhythm in subtle but recognizable dance moves). I never planned it but somehow I became quite popular for all the wrong reasons – I have a natural magnetism that can at times prove to be my very undoing.

{Want U – Lo-Fi-Fnk}

I reminisce about all of my ridiculously wealthy friends and associates and all the amazing and crazy things we did; and I still smile over those precious memories. I lived the flashy life of an African Prince in college. I was the classic truant; I spent approximately 20% of my time in class and 80% doing what I wanted, when I wanted and how I wanted. I was a crazy party animal who was down for anything, anytime – anybody that knew me in 'Cuse can verify this. However, though I projected such outward glee, I rarely experienced inner bliss. I was always very depressed so I coined the term “The Bleak Existence” to describe my life as it was then. Another problem was that I was always broke no matter how much money my folks sent me; which was considerable seeing as I never worked a day in my college career. But for all this I was still considered extremely intelligent, I cannot remember how many times my lecturers and academic counselor sat me down and tried to help me utilize my sharp brain but they were many. I even had the entirety of the International Students Office take an especial interest in me – one of their most promising stars had faded into academic obscurity in favor of extra-curricular shenanigans of the most unnecessary kind. A lot of people really tried to help me out but I did not appreciate all these things until much later; sadly all the advice fell on deaf ears.

{Angel On My Shoulder (EDX's Belo Horizonte At Night Remix) – Kaskade & Tamra}

So I got tired one day; I was like to hell with all this crap. What am I doing here anyway, wasting my life away and remaining so unhappy? I don’t know why, perhaps it was because I went to college too early, I was only 17  at the time. Perhaps it was because I was coddled into feeling very special once people realized that I was very unlike all the other African students on campus – I was accepted into all the in-crowds because I was a “rich kid” just like everybody else. I refused to accept that I had obligations to my folks who were financing my education and inadvertently, my flamboyant lifestyle. Perhaps it was because I had everything so easy so I took it all for granted thinking it would always be there. It definitely had to do with my inability to sustain this lavish lifestyle at a certain point – I became the classic moocher flitting from clique to clique. Eventually you will get spurned because there are unwritten rules in social interactions; one has to always bring something to the table. As I became more and more depressed I also became less and less gregarious. I preferred to stay in my vast apartment and just get high, write my science-fiction novel (which I subsequently lost when my Powerbook G4 went on permanent leave, but that is another story) and receive visitors; people still found me fascinating even at that point.

{Burn For You - Kreo}

Recovery 101 - Make a Plan

I personally orchestrated a series of events that culminated in myself on a plane with a one-way ticket heading back towards West Africa. It was not an act of a victorious conqueror returning home from a successful campaign abroad; it was more the scene of a defeated general hastily retreating into his impregnable fortress to lick his wounds from a failed crusade. I wanted to relax for a while and detox myself and then go back and fulfill my true potential - I was severely burnt out. As fate would have it I never did go back to Syracuse – said financiers had decided to cut their “losses” and restructure my educational direction. I remained in Ghana and had to restart my tertiary education all over again; in what was to me the very decrepit educational system I had studied so terribly hard to escape from as a kid. That experience was so traumatic that in order to deal with it I decided that I needed to face reality and grow up. I needed a strategy to survive in the very primitive system from whence I was raised – and so I came up with a Plan!


To Be Continued......
CHEERS :)
TheBizmic {*U*}
PS: The inserts are the songs I was listening to at the time of writing this blog.....(Favs of 2010)

DREAMING ON: HUSTLING AMIDST THE TUMULT.....WHY I TRY!

Le pays historique.....

I try because I dream. I am a wishful thinker at heart; deep down I am wildly optimistic. But all the lessons I have learnt in life have coerced me to build a wall of inscrutable sadness around myself. Yet however sad I may get, my hopeful confidence and enthusiasm to dream always shine through. I try to be infectious in my ambitions as well. I think dreamers like to know other peoples dreams as a matter of consequence. They do this to put their own dreams in perspective. You know, those deep down goals and fantastic objectives you had as a kid, but gradually are losing touch with, as you grow older. I ask other people what kind of life they envision for their future and they tend to give a safe answer; you know, the diplomatic response. The reply is always something sensible and expected instead of something incredible and juvenile. I sometimes feel very foolish because rather than play the safe game, I find Astons and yachts skipping all over the place. Hmmmm.....It’s really not my fault you know; blame my overactive imagination that is on a quest to build castles in the air and then proceed to wish them into being. If you are my friend you know as far as I am concerned Monaco is the place to be (probably because I am always trying to impress you with some tidbit of useless information about the principality) even though the closest I have ever gotten to this place is a mind-meld of James Bond, Wikipedia and recently Facebook. Actually Monaco is 641 miles (or 1032 km) away from London, I guess in geographic terms that is the closest I have been to that city-state. Oh, I almost forgot, I know this information because of....Google. Yeah, ‘technically’ Google is the closest I have been to Monaco. In fact courtesy Google, I go to Monaco whenever I want. I am amidst the tumult of 21^st Century Africa, and I dream of visiting some place in France so bad I find myself in random conversations telling people about it. I sometimes even wonder why, why there, why not somewhere else. I guess its an idiosyncrasy I seek to make a cliché, nothing more, nothing less.

Somebody drives one on the streets of Accra :)

And why, why am I always using words of Brobdingnagian proportions when I write, why bother? Its actually extra work you know. To find some obscure word that isn’t commonly used, string it with its brothers and sisters, and try to make them sing. That’s how I see it; I play with words the way physicists play with numbers. You put them together in interesting ways and then you try to convince other people that what you have conjured up makes sense and is relevant to them somehow. Maybe that is why I enjoy writing business plans because I like playing with both words and numbers. And it must be why I enjoy chasing business deals with such gusto because I enjoy playing with ideas; ideas that have a chance at becoming reality. I am not simply doing what I do to make money, no, that is not enough, not nearly enough. There are several easier ways to simply make money – a myriad really. But there is only one way to make an impact, especially a huge impact in the lives of people around you. And that is to look past the profit incentive, past the cash and dollar signs. I am not saying I don’t want money, I certainly do. But more so than that I want to positively affect the world around me, share what I learn, and show people that it is possible to succeed at anything, no matter how outlandish if you just try hard enough. I have learnt that the whole idea is to believe in yourself and never give up no matter what. That is why when people tell me to be less flamboyant in my writing, reduce the scope of my grandiose dreams or trade what I want for something less, I am obstinate to a fault. I really don’t see the point – personally – of wasting one’s finite time, energy and resources to merely exist safely, when one can truly live dangerously. Risk is always equal to Reward. That is why amidst this tumult, my hustle is to simply, try and never stop doing so.

I will try my hardest for supreme excellence because I can never settle for mediocrity. It is a very deliberate decision on my part to do so. I guess the norm is people grow and adjust to reality by downsizing their true dreams. They dilute their goals and they end up making it through this life safely but unremarkably. A few of us do the opposite, we do not adjust to reality rather we adjust to the fantasy we prefer to live in. We choose not to play it safe nor by the rules. Our whole agenda is to show that being unorthodox is another route through this life. A route that is fraught with so much danger and so much risk. A route that is most likely to end up in abject failure. And that is what most people see when they glance down this road, they see the path less travelled by and they shy away. Well, I tightened my belt, set my jaw and plodded on into the dusty winds. It is the avenue of tears and sorrows; where your confidence is sapped and obstacles beset you at all corners encouraging you to just give up. Yet I plod on, because I am willing to take these risks in order to stand a chance at getting the potential rewards. You see, that is all I will ever get if I try, a chance. The way I see it everything we do in life is a gamble, every decision we make will have certain consequences down the line. I would much rather play my game trying than not because the time we have on this earth is borrowed anyway. It’s not guaranteed that I will dream into reality but I don’t care because simply having that chance is good enough for me. Dare to dream and if at first you don't succeed, try, try and try again!

Cheers,

The Bizmic

PICKING AT THE MIND OF A LUMINARY CHIEF WITH MR. INVESTOR: PART TWO

Mr. Investor and myself waited in a Gas Station close to the bus stop until the chief’s wife picked us up and drove us to their commodious abode. We settled into our rooms, had some dinner and had a long chat with Nana Kyia. As always I tried to glean as many nuggets of wisdom as I could from this luminary chief and vastly experienced entrepreneur, and indeed I got a goldmine full of knowledge. During our stay whenever Mr. Investor and I had a chat with our “Chief Consultant”, I had my pen and notebook out, scribbling furiously! And he kept reminding us of how people pay him for similar advice and how lucky we were to be getting all of his precious face time for free. We were very lucky indeed. I probably should have taken videos of our conversations, because we roamed a vast landscape of business, social and economic issues, far more than can be packed into this blog. Mr. Investor and I fielded all the questions that we could, and the chief always gave us a flood of sensible answers from a perspective we did not have enough experience to elevate to yet. He sat adjacent us in this rather comfy chair in a corner of his large living room adorned with biographical pictures of the chief in his younger days, his first wife and his children; a portrait of his life and his legacy. It felt rather appropriate when he said, “Everybody (in Ghana) is having fun making a living but not leaving a legacy”. With his legacy complete he was encouraging us, and you to begin thinking about creating ours, a legacy we can be proud of during our old age.

In relation to a question fielded by Mr. Investor concerning business in Ghana the chief said, “There are many bureaucratic disincentives that prevent investors from coming into Ghana”. Among those we discussed were the poor state of our physical infrastructure; the lack of reliable energy; entrenched corruption, inefficiency and dissatisfaction in all levels of the public sector. According to him, Ghana has “a system that forces conformity” because it doesn’t reward innovation but rather favors blind adherence. In a sense it is a country whose people prefer to follow and therefore leaders are in short supply; people rarely think outside the box. This is difficult for foreign investors to adjust to since the internal and external realities they have to deal with are in a system where things tend to be rather different (I think the actual word Nana used was ‘backward’) from their experience in their home countries. He felt that, “Idea testing is essential for success” because every business investor needs to do a lot of market research before they embark on any business. According to the chief, “Nobody should go into any business without testing; you must have a minimum of a B+ certainty that it will succeed before moving forward”.

The chief also delved into the poverty issue by stating that; “In trying to solve poverty we must move poor people away from what they are used to (their comfort zone of being given freebies; food, water and clothing) by challenging and empowering them to be upwardly mobile economically”. He was greatly dissatisfied with the status quo of begging donors for money to simply throw at the poverty issue, rather we should be teaching poor people to fish rather than just giving them fish. He stressed on the need to provide quality education as the basis for empowering the poor, because according to him as literacy levels increase so will the living standards in general, and this is a self evident fact. Nana Kyia III felt strongly that the Ghanaian youth, especially those in the Diaspora had a lot to give back to the country. He understood the temptation of seeking greener pastures abroad but felt that if they could be encouraged to come back to Ghana they would be critical to the development of the country. He encouraged people to try to monetize their passions saying, “If you have a hobby and if it can be turned into a business, quit your regular job then do it full time” because you are then motivated out of intrinsic passion instead of being stuck in a job that has extrinsic benefits (good pay) but is not truly fulfilling.

Yes, Mr. Investor had reception, AMAZING!

We talked, and talked some more and then he took us on a trip to his beautiful seaside village. We first went to a council meeting of the traditional chiefs of the area, and Mr. Investor and myself had the honor of meeting all the other chiefs in the area, to the extent of being treated like VIPs even though we were wearing simple white tees. We then went on to his village, Ekumfi Ekumpoano and even deep into the hinterland we still had reception on our mobile phones and several of the villagers were busily chatting on theirs; the power of IT! When we got there we had that iconic scene where all the little kids run behind the car. Everybody there was buzzing about the arrival of their chief, and of course a “white man”. Alas Nana himself was at the council meeting, but it was still such great experience, his wife took us on a guided tour and then cut us loose. For me the village was about these little kids, smiling, dancing, treading our footsteps and asking 20 questions a minute. They were such a happy riot, excited and inquisitive beyond belief. I acted as the translator since they seemed so fascinated by the ‘obroni’ who had magically appeared in their midst and then after following the sound of the waves a short while, we hit the beach, and OH was my breath taken away! It was a beguiling sandy beach, untouched by development and pollution, and there were only a few canoes in sight because the fishermen were out to sea. I couldn’t appreciate the scene fully then but now in retrospect I was rather affected by the serene beauty of the soft clean sand, the clear blue sea and the rolling waves all hidden away and unknown, a real unpolished gem waiting to glitter. The ideas begun to flow, and the plans begun to form.........

One day I shall be a luminary business guru but for now I’m just a visionary mind making his dreams a reality, so I seek the counsel of greater minds to inspire me and point me in the right direction. Nana Kyia III is among those whom have had an undeniably positive effect on my personal development and propitious future. Thank you again Nana!

The happy riot of smiles, questions and poses.....cheeeeese!

Tune in next week for the next blog.......Cheers!

From Whence Cometh Thine Inspiration?

A few hours ago I had as yet the great pleasure and honor to hang out with my business partner and mentor, The Oil Tycoon, as well as my good friend The Spy and his friend from Harvard Business School (who is representing GE in Ghana). We were a very unassuming bunch, having our informal 'meeting' at Rhapsody's, where we chatted, ate and drank on the outside porch to a cool evening breeze. I tend to be awed by the company I keep sometimes, especially after the fact of being in their presence and I can later sit down alone and go over all the things discussed and see what I can glean from my reminiscing. During our conversations occasionally I even pull out my trusty notebook because as a young business mind and scholar ensconced in such an august gathering I must be ready to record any grain, drop, or hint of wisdom.....unashamedly and unabashedly. I think the notebook being pulled out also encourages them to keep the knowledge flowing; it is a very sublime exchange, I learn a lot but they learn something from me too......but generally I do much 'colorful' talking and they give me thoughtful proddings. This meeting though was very relaxed, quite a simple affair and everybody went from sizing each other up initially, to later on simply enjoying each others presence and thoughts.......I am glad I 'sacrificed' my Saturday night to hang out with these people instead of my usual group of suspects.......Much can be fathomed not just by observing someone, but by observing the company they keep. Kweku Spy always tells me one thing over and over again, "Kojo, surround yourself with the right kind of people and you will make the right kind of choices."

Ok then, but how does one identify the right kind of people to surround themselves with? I don't have all the answers but I think I figured one facet of it out - Surround yourself with people that Inspire you positively; people that inspire you to greatness; to do good; to be true to yourself and to be better than you are! That is a true friend, that is a true brother, that is the kind of person you can rely on for good advice, for extrinsic motivation, and even for help. Look around you......who are the people you find yourself surrounded by; what kind of clique to you hang out with; what brings your group of friends together; what are your bonds based on; how much to they truly INSPIRE YOU. What kind of friends do you have - you can't change your family and as you grow they become less of an influence as compared to your friends - So what kind of friends do you have? Whenever you want to do something good or worthwhile are they supportive? When you suggest that you should pursue productive ends do they concur, do they actually help you make things happen? What tangible gains can you boast of your association with your in-crowd? What do you spend most of your time doing, and apart from that basis do you even hang out? What do you talk about; how truly beneficial have their advise been to you? Is your relationship based on superficial or deep things; is it based on transient or lasting things; is it based on harmful or beneficial things? And finally, can you honestly be your true self around them; do you have to put up a facade to fit in; can they truly reveal their inner self to you or are you all putting up airs to be able to deal with each other? The questions could go on and on, but the point being driven home is; are you truly happy with the group of people around you; have you surrounded yourself with the right kind of people? I certainly hope you have because I spent a very long time with the wrong crowd and all its ever brought me was pain and sorrow......BUT NO MORE!

Therefore as part of my growth, maturity and desire for Change in my life I have had to and still am having to cut out so many people from it simply because they no longer fit the profile of what I want to be, where I want to go and how I want to get there. I don't call them anymore, I don't hang out with them anymore; our lives no longer cross because they did not truly inspire me.......these were the kind of friends that were envious of me, rarely helped me when I truly needed their help, always sought to use me for their own selfish ends, and sometimes even actively sought to undermine my success. I was and will always be open to all these people; I will always seek to help them better themselves as others have helped me, but I can only open my door, I can't drag them in......they have to decide to do so themselves. I realize now that these are people that I always sought to find a way to cut out of my life even then but couldn't because of love, genuine respect, pity and unnecessary mutual dependencies, but the truth is they were holding me back......From my dreams, my health, my wealth and my peace of mind. I always say this to most people I care about especially in terms of relationships, "We each carry 100% of our problems and managing that is hard enough so when you want to manage another persons 100% as well, make sure that its a fair exchange." And so I try now to as much as possible surround myself with the right kind of people now, people who say things like, "When you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Oh, How they inspire, my new crop of friends.....HOW THEY INSPIRE ME TO ASPIRE TO BE BETTER THAN I AM......to be true to myself in such a way that my God-given talents, energy and life are not wasted but utilized in such a way that my success is assured.

So that is the primary motivation behind the formation of Business Minds Investment Club - To inspire the youth to aspire to be better than themselves in such a way that they can achieve success, greatness and fulfill their true destinies. The question for you then is this; are you a true Business Mind? Being a part of BMIC begs of you to answer this question, and it is because if you are to really benefit from what the club has to offer then you have to be a true Business Mind who is willing to work and sacrifice now to rack up the inevitable gains later on. BMIC is more about inspiration, motivation and determination that it is about money. BMIC is about proving that nothing is impossible, so long as the necessary work is done. What motivated you to join the club - was it because the name sounded cool or because you just randomly add invitations to groups? Is there any tangible reason for you being a member; is it something that just looks good on your facebook page; what engagements have you made to the group so far even; what comments, suggestions, tips have you put in? We at BMIC do not require anything from any member save to say that they should be active, supportive and we all should use this forum to HELP each other. Why I bring up this issue is that BMIC is growing so fast that I am becoming afraid that we will become just another group that was born and then died on Facebook. BMIC is bigger than Facebook, or the blog, or some off-shore bank account - BMIC is primarily an Inspirational, Motivational and Youth Empowerment Networking Hub. I want to encourage the breeding of true Business Minds - because some people made the concerted effort for me to change into what I am today not because of anything but the fact that they cared about more than just themselves. Before the meeting I was at the mall trying to 'evangelize' BMIC to some interesting pre-med students and they liked the idea lots but quickly kept making assumptions that it was all about money, if I had money to invest, and how they would love to join it because of all the money they could make but I didn't enjoy their money centrism.......chasing money never yields enough.....rather "Chasing work and value bring wealth" (Mr. Ampofo Snr.)

Even if I had the millions necessary to invest, I would not just invest it in any youth's businesses that would not yield assured profit, and being a member does not automatically qualify you to attain funds anyway. Neither can I, in good conscience, ask for members to invest their money in this venture because they can't; they don't have money themselves. Right now members of the 'Executive Committee' are in dire straits trying to organize funding to hire out the British Council, provide refreshments and rack up motivational icons and business gurus to come speak - I bring this up because we need constructive input and help from members who can provide some assistance - we don't need money, we need links, help with planning, cleaning up after and things of that sort. My greatest fear is that people will not even show up, or participate adequately thereafter - but fears and worries have to be dealt HEAD ON so things will go as planned, Godwilling. In the long term I see this group evolving into a full blooded Financial Services Institution - essentially an Investment Bank! Thats a HUGE goal......and I felt that members should know where we are right now and where exactly we are headed; I can just envision the amount of sweat, pain and suffering it will take for us to get there, but the end result will be well worth the work that will be put into it. It takes ordinary people who face impossible odds to make an extraordinary difference.

For now BMIC remains an organization focused on Inspiration, Motivation, Youth Empowerment and Counsel using the resources that are available. In time though, who knows where we will end up.....Nelson Mandela said he see's the celebration of Mandela Day not as a personal honor to him but a "way of demystifying that only extraordinary people can make a difference." Another inspirational friend (whose also a member of BMIC) said this to me in response to me telling him that people always say that my head is up in the clouds, "Its the only way to SPACE!" Mr. Kweku Spy also said, "If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters first. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude." Again....how inspirational!!!