by Angelica Enwesi-Imhoede, CAMS
I once read somewhere you need to spend 10,000 hours doing something to become an expert. I guess that makes sense considering anything you would do that long, you should know a lot about.
Being Consistent
When you break it down further, it all implies consistency when it comes to your actions. When I started Financial Lioness, my growth came from consistent content, consistent engagement, consistent networking. I never stopped and expected things to fall in my lap.
But how did I get here? I started young.
After graduating from high school, it was a no-brainer: I was going to college. I applied to 40 scholarships and got 90% of them. The whole time I kept this mentality that if I did two scholarships a week, I increased my chances of winning. I adopted a hustler’s mentality – a need to be competitive and win. The motivation for me was getting the “congratulations you’ve-won” letters in the mail.
I went on to college not knowing I would graduate during a recession. That hustler’s mentality was re-ignited once again: I had to find a job in a high unemployment environment and was hungry for an opportunity to find a career. I did it again, applying to 150 jobs, going on 30 interviews, and getting three job offers.
What keeps me going
My middle name is Nosike (No-See-Kay)! In my Nigerian language of Igbo, that means “Stay Strong.” On my parent’s wedding day, my grandfather told my mother that her first child would be a girl and to give her the Igbo name, Nosike.
That story stuck with me since my parents got married in ’85, and I wasn’t born until ’88. I guess you could say my grandpa has a gift of foresight and could predict things that were going to happen before they did. He probably knew I would need that name.
Honestly, knowing this kept me motivated every time I was in a difficult situation. Instead of discouragement, I would stay strong instead. I learned that the more I put into something, the more I would see the results I wanted.
I learned to make my own luck.
It’s been 11 years since I graduated from college and 15 years since I graduated from high school. With all the time that has passed, I started to think about all the opportunities that have come my way. From getting into college, getting a job, meeting my husband, and doing all the amazing things throughout my life so far on this earth!
Was it all just a coincidence, or was I yielding the universe to my demands?
To be frank, I’m not a very religious person; I’m probably more spiritual, but I do possess faith in a lot of things in life. Part of that comes with knowing that if I genuinely believe in something and work hard to get it, it comes true.
Creating My Own Way
I never told anyone this before, but I love when people underestimate me. There is nothing more exhilarating than proving people wrong. I feel this stems from things that happened in my childhood, where there were times where people wrote me off or didn’t give me a chance because they thought they had me all figured out.
Now, as an adult, I love the challenge of showing people that not only were they wrong about me but that I can do it even ten times better than they thought. This was a seed planted in me from the moment I took hold of my own life after losing my dad at a young age. I didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for me or think less of me, and I wanted to make sure I would have a good life no matter what anyone thought or said.
What I learned along the way:
After almost 33 years on this earth, I’ve learned some critical things that helped me to find my own luck.
- It’s okay to have hard times: I think there is a misconception that you will never go through tough times in life. Some people put on full production tantrums when things don’t go their way. This is called life. Things happen! At the moment, you can’t explain why but I truly believe everything happens for a reason. As hard as it was, I think losing my dad taught me about being resilient in the midst of trials and tribulations and ultimately made me a better person.
- Perfection is non-existent: I’m a classified recovering perfectionist. I tend to think that everything should be prime, proper, and, most importantly, perfect. This is probably one of the worst mentalities you can have. You spend half your time beating yourself up for things you can’t control. Life is not perfect, so don’t set yourself up for failure thinking it is.
- Always take time to rest: It’s okay to sit the eff down! As life is changing for me soon in the next few months, I realize the importance of sitting down and relaxing from a physical and mental state. I don’t need to be going at 100 mph at all times. Not to mention burnout is a real thing!
- Enjoy the moment: As a professional box checker, I am always checking boxes and moving to the next thing without fully comprehending the thing I am doing or enjoying it. I need to stop and smell the roses when it comes to my accomplishments and not just go through life’s motions. Trust me, I’m a work in progress!
Related Reads
Four Tips to Improve Your Mindset
Managing Money: A Perspective from a First Gen Navigator
Meet Angelica Imhoede creator of Financial Lioness, a platform dedicated to advocating generational wealth and bringing insight to financial literacy. Having spent the last decade in banking and financial services, Angelica created her platform to bring awareness to the wealth gap in America and the inequalities that come with systemic racism in the financial sector. She spends a lot of her time online creating and publishing digital content related to all topics covered under personal finance.
Recently she published her first E-book, Investing for the Everyday Investor, a step-by-step guide of investing for everyday people to learn the foundation of investing.
Angelica is a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she currently resides with her husband and son. She attended the University of St. Thomas, and received a degree in finance and is currently obtaining her Masters in Data Science. She loves cooking, dancing, and spending time with her family.
You can always catch her online on her IG page at Financial Lioness or her website.
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