What I'd tell my 25‑year‑old self.
Episode 1, recorded in Kumasi. One of the city's most driven young entrepreneurs on slowing down, trusting the process and enjoying every step.
For the first episode of the Sanitopia Podcast we travelled to Kumasi, the lively capital of the Ashanti Region, to sit down with the co-founder and managing director of Black Ash and Black Ash Digital, founder of Java Cafe and co-founder of Highlight. The conversation was hosted by Foster Aggor.
Towards the end, Foster asked a simple question: what would you tell your 25-year-old self? The answer was honest and a little funny. At 25, he says, he was "too hot". Always pushing, always trying to do more than the moment needed.
"You fail, you learn, you move on."
His advice to his younger self is to calm down. Nobody will die, and things will be all right. Don't try to outdo yourself. Understand the process and go through it.
The second lesson is to enjoy it. Every single step of the way, and every small part of it, because the failures are part of the journey too. You fail, you learn, and you move on.
It is advice that lands well beyond business. Building anything that lasts, whether a company, a community or a network of school washrooms, takes patience and steady work long before it shows results.
The Sanitopia Podcast brings together people who are building things in Ghana, to share what they have learned along the way. This clip is one of a series from Episode 1. The full episode and the rest of the clips are on our LinkedIn page.
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