Ntikumahs Journey-A Travel & Entrepreneurship blog by Kwaku Abedi

Are Entrepreneurs born or made?

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 06:00:00 +0000

This question has been asked several times by several people and there hasn't been any definitive answer. I even asked this very question in the literature review section of the final long essay i wrote when i was in college. I think the real question we must ask ourselves is 'Can you teach an individual to take risk? My answer to this question is a big YES, no matter how risk averse an individual is, that person can be taught to take minimal amounts of risk till he/she is confident to take on the big ones. Entrepreneurship like any job, activity or pursuit is not limited to a single group of people with a defined genetic makeup. But the sad truth (may be not so sad) is that some naturally shine or are more successful than others because you don't expect everybody in the world to have the same levels of risk tolerance. This reminds me very much of when i was a university student. Professors usually divided the class into teams and gave us assignments. In groups that i was part off, i could see varying behaviours and characteristics that members in my team possessed. There is the group member who always wants to be a leader. This individual always assumes or nominates himself as the leader of the team and works very hard for the team to achieve it goals and i have also came into contact with team leaders who were just interested in the 'leadership' position and did not contribute much to the task at hand. I also came into contact with team members who're very hardworking and contribute greatly to the task at hand, tirelessly working for the team to make an 'A' in that project but shuns the limelight. Such team members even refuse for their names to be mentioned as standout contributors during team presentation to the faculty. Then finally is the last bunch of team members, those who do not really care about the project or task at hand. they contribute the barest minimum in the hopes that we all get a good grade, probably a 'pass' after which we all go our separate ways. Traits and characteristics differ from person to person therefore just like in numerous professional fields some people will be more successful as entrepreneurs than others. From personal experience traits that i've figured makes very good entrepreneurs and startup founders are the abilities to see opportunities and exploit them, a true desire to change peoples lives with your product or service, the ability/tolerance for hard work and when i say hard work i mean work that is physically, emotionally and financially draining and finally an ability to take criticism whether constructive or otherwise.

I have always stated on this blog and i re-iterate here for emphasis that, we often start a business because we deeply feel like we can make a difference with our product otherwise why would anyone have bothered. I once heard a motivational speaker say "There is nothing like a new or novel idea" The idea and principles an entrepreneur has built his business on have been thought about by a million and one more people, but none of the people who thought of the idea sprang into action but the entrepreneur. I sat there thinking 'So how many people thought off facebook, instagram, twitter and all the successful social media networks that we see today. Every great product or service you notice around you was first an idea, apple products were an idea, your favourite supermarket was an idea, even your favourite brand of milk. The number of people who are thinking of writing about this same topic/idea as a blog post runs into the thousands. Therefore i strongly feel the successful entrepreneurs are the ones who are ready to take action and with action comes the risk. Henceforth i pray the the conversation moves from being born or made an entrepreneur to being able to take action. But there is no way we can talk about taking action without talking about risk which is the basis of this mind-boggling question. No matter how risk averse you are as an individual you can still be an entrepreneur and here's how.
I have already stated that the great products we see around us first of all began as ideas before anything else. If you have great idea but scared of taking action you can

Collaborate; The continual opening of the human mind mind and civilization has currently brought us to a time where humans have come to the realise that risk is not too devastating when shared. The popularity of buzzwords like crowdfunding and sharing economy goes to buttress this point. Therefore if you have been thinking of an idea which will be great for business but afraid to take the risk, try and collaborate with other people who share in your vision.
Sell; You can always patent/copyright/protect or do anything that will very much secure your idea or invention and sell it to an already established organisation who are in that line of business and therefore could use your idea.
Donate: If your idea is so helpful for the social good you feel guilty making money of it you give it out for free. Remember Dr Jonas Salk didn't patent the polio vaccine.

Remember we were all born entrepreneurs because you are the standout spermatozoa that made it to the egg. Now its time to be an even more outstanding in the land of the living with your ideas...

Living the Dream Requires Commitment

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 06:42:00 +0000

Raise your hand if you think the 24 hours we all have in a day is not enough. Yeah we all did. I was the first to raise my hand whiles typing this because i always wish every day was an extra 2 hours long. If you think the 24 hours that you have is enough for you then i'm sincerely happy for you and i applaud your time management skills. I would like to learn from you send me time management skills and hacks via email on the address bar located at the bottom-right side of this blog, i would be happy to read it and share. But for those of us who wish nature and the forces that be can extend our day hours by an extra 3 hours let me just tell you that its not going to happen. Its been 24 hours for thousands of years and so shall it be. You're therefore better off using simple time management hacks and tricks in helping you make the most out of your day. Indeed i am a big fan of hacks and i've tried writing blog post on time management in the past months. For example i used the Islamic call to prayer as a time management instrument when i lived in the northern part of Ghana for a year. Then out of that blog post i wrote another blog post about how i'm effectively using my time. Being a fan of life hacks and well-made goods and services i even wrote a a blog post on how entrepreneurs and startup founders could bump their products into the luxury category in a market where there is stiff competition for their products and services.

If you had asked me about 3 months ago what my favourite time management hack was, i would easily have said wake up early. And i felt that by waking up early, it gives room to achieve a lot more throughout the day. Apparently extra time is nothing if its not well utilised and properly managed. For example, when 6am is your usual wake hours and for time management purposes you decide to wake up an earlier. What you use the extra one hour is the very essence of the time management plan. It must be noted that waking up early by an hour means reducing your sleep time by an hour. It is therefore imperative that what ever you're going to use sacrificed sleep hours to perform must be of utmost importance. Going on social media to read tweets and browse facebook news feed is not the reason i wake up early but some how some way i end up wasting all the precious time there while the real reason i woke up for example to write a blog post is not achieved. For those of us who are easily distracted, i constantly find ways and means to help me concentrate so that i can do work in the best way possible. Here are ways i'm helping myself concentrate.

Starting tomorrows work today- I plan towards towards the next day by doing the mundane stuff that do not require mental effort. For example i iron the clothes, organize files and if i'm going to write/blog when i wake up, then it means i start the planning process before the following day so that i know my thoughts are safely organised
Push myself to finish task; Procrastination is a thief of time therefore its very easy to say tomorrow and act like tomorrow will never come. Then your tomorrow becomes another tomorrow and the cycle continues. These days, there must be a good reason why i postpone a task. I don't use any flimsy excuse to trick myself into rescheduling a scheduled task for another time. I have observed this unnecessary procrastination sets me back some times. This is the reason a lot of people are not living their dream life. Because its easy to procrastinate and feel good about ourselves because we know we have not given up on a task or project, we have just rescheduled it to a 'more convenient' day. Then when our convenient day comes, it doesn't look very convenient and on and on it goes till the day forget about it.

Living the life we truly desire takes effort and a lot of commitment on our part but when those unbearable moments of commitment starts paying off, it pays of big and we truly deserve it.

Show Us Your Work

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 06:19:00 +0000

I am internet addict no doubt, i love information and i always want to be a step a head of the pack when it comes to knowing the latest news, trends, information and what have you. I have always felt that 2 inventions in this life we're living have revolutionized the way we live and those 2 things are the aeroplane and the internet. But the latter i'm more in awe off. Since i discovered the internet, its been my go-to place for all the information i need. Its been my teacher, my counselor, my comedian and what have you. I seriously refuse to imagine what the world will look like without the internet. Heck you're reading this article because it's online. The internet has connected me to people all over the world. I get to share, create and experience in a global conversation on a global scale. when the world wide web started, i bet a lot of people didn't pereceive it could one day be a money making venture. As someone who makes a lot of noise about entrepreneurship and being your own boss, i'm always excited to know about the jobs the internet has created and how you can make money doing something you love without leaving your house. Indeed 10 years ago i don't think there were job titles such as Social media marketer, jobs such as web developing/designing, web content development, bloggers what have you. Indeed the internet is being infiltrated with so much information you need SEO experts to help you make your contributions unto the network stand out. I read about a young 18 year old lady yesterday and as part of her job description was written 'internet celebrity' which really amused me. Its quite interesting to note that for a network we all contribute to behind our computers and smart phones celebrities can come out of that. From bloggers whose dedicated followers surpass that of news websites and channels to youtube stars who have gradually curated a following and a brand image through viral videos.
So it got me thinking, if internet celebrities exist now, it wouldn't be long till i hear job description such as internet agent, internet lawyer, publicist and any other person with a job description a celebrity might need.The internet allows you to present what you can do to the world in a unique way. It helps everybody show what they're capable of to a global audience. I highly encourage you to show your work and whatever you're capable of doing to the world. Certain writers, artists, musicians and entertainers have made it and are very successful because they dared to show their talents to the world out there.The internet will give you the exposure that you need which will give you that book deal, movie role or singing opportunity. Putting yourself out there is great torture but something will come out of it. The people who've made it big offline dared to put their skills to work. If failure is what you're afraid of, i guarantee you're better off failing on a public and global stage than not do anything at all. Failing on a 'large scale' gives you a little bit of confidence to try again this time more knowledgeable than before. Every day a thousand and one blogs are created some make it big and majority fail. I personally think the blogs that failed are not the ones which had not-so-great content but those that gave up because the felt they compete or work their way to the top, Because the truth is no matter how good a blogs content is, it takes time and effort for the big websites and bloggers to recognize new blogs and start linking to them. The age of internet entrepreneurship is very ripe and there is something for everyone. In a time where data uploaded unto the internet is hitting record speeds, overnight success can happen but consistency, a deep desire to improve your craft and perseverance can help you win.

Africa: New Hub for Luxury Brands?

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 17:05:00 +0000

Accra-Ghana

On the 26th of November 2014, West hills shopping mall was inaugurated with much fanfare and commentary. Located in the western part of Accra, the mall is said to be one of the largest shopping malls in West Africa. In fact in the week West hills mall was inaugurated another shopping mall (Junction Mall) was also opened to customers in the South eastern part of the city. This brings the total number of malls that was inaugurated in the country to 3. Meanwhile there are other existing malls such as the Marina mall, A&C shopping mall, The Oxford Street mall and the Prima Donna of all shopping malls in the city the Accra mall. Apparently, more are in works such as the Achimota mall. For a country that is currently struggling economically that is quite a substantial investments on the part of these companies. It shows a fundamental belief in the politico-economic system of the country to take such risk.

I visited the West hills mall with a friend to window shop and peruse all the delights that the mall has to offer and indeed i was very much impressed. You could find world class brands and products on display at the several shops available. There was a cinema, restaurants and a plethora of stores. I found brands such as Mango, Adidas and Samsung and they operated from rather large stores. I particularly liked the Lego store. Who knew there were such many creative ways of arranging Lego. But what got me curious as i have mentioned above is the confidence that these brands and developers have in the the economy of Ghana and it's people to take such giant steps. Per my personal observations, Ghanaian shoppers are becoming brand savvy and spending conscious. This is aided greatly by the penetration of mobile phone and mobile devices such as tablets and pads. A greater percentage of the youthful population as well as adult population have these devices. With these devices comes the internet and with the internet comes news and information happening around the world in record speed. Therefore a lot of people are privy to what foreign brands has to offer even before they set foot in Africa. For example, the shoe brand 'Loboutins' is very popular amongst the young fashion savvy people here in Ghana although there is not a single Christian Loboutin store or partner retailer in this country. These fashion savvy people are very much aware that Louboutin is also an upscale brand so it usually perceived as a coveted status symbol. The internet coupled with celebrity culture and digital television has opened the eyes of the average African consumer to the endless list of luxury goods and accessories on the world market.
But there is room for improvement when it comes to luxury brands opening stores and outlets in Africa. Luxury brands tend to be lackadaisical when the question of investing on the continent rises. I read an article where the CEO of a luxury goods company said that Africa is not big enough a market for his company to think about opening stores and having retail partners on the continent. But the interesting bit is, you go to the local open air Ghanaian market and you will find a huge variety of knock-offs/fake goods modeled to look just like the CEOs products. Clearly some Africans would love to associate with his brand. Therefore global producers of luxury/quality products are better off finding ways they can partner with African retailers or set up shop in Africa than letting producers of knock-offs take advantage of their brand prestige and identity. As it stands now, avenues through which Africans can lay their hands on popular luxury brands are limited. Either the consumer purchase the products whiles travelling abroad or via online shopping and shipping (which is quite expensive to do here in Ghana). This makes accessing luxury goods quite difficult even for those who are willing to pay the extra cost that is associated with these items. Africa as a market for luxury products is here to stay whether producers of luxury goods accept it or not. Therefore it is time decide. They can stand at bay and watch a great revolution unfold or they can get in here and chart a new path to greater profits and brand awareness

Training for an Illegality

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 21:49:00 +0000

WA; Capital of the upper west of Ghana

Ghana has interesting rules when it comes to the usage of motorbikes. In the northern part of the county where i lived last year and the early part of this year, most people own and use motorbikes. This is presumably due to the poor nature of the roads and the relatively lower cost of owning and maintaining a motorbike than purchasing a car. In fact one of the things i really enjoyed whiles living in the northern part of Ghana is getting to ride (as a passenger) on a motor bike everyday. On any given day i would ride either a motorbike or a bicycle for errands. I think my obsession with riding on bikes stems from the fact that motorbikes are not predominant in the south where i came from. I always looked forward to travelling to the city (Wa) from the village during weekends. The 'getting there' part of the trip was always the most exciting for me. The sound of the strong winds on your face, the energy, the noise and the excitement as the bike traveled a 100km/hr. Whiles we left a thick cloud of dusty air behind us as we sped forward. I never got tired of looking at the beautiful northern Savanna landscapes as well as the lovely views of dam 15. I was always surprised at how kids as young as 10 and 12 could ride motorbikes whiles an adult like me couldn't. I vowed to learn how to ride so that i could purchase one when i move to Accra. But sadly all that had to come to an end after a year, i didn't learn how to ride a motorbike and I've hence moved back south.

On days that i reminisce about good times in the north, my bike rides always comes up as part as some of my favourite moments. Therefore i was surprised to find commercial motorbike services who were willing to take passengers from one part of the city to another. But the sad bit about this service it that they are illegal says the Ghana police. It is not a recognised form of commercial transport in Ghana unlike Nigeria. These motorbikes popularly know as 'Okada' though its illegal looks like its highly patronized because although the police have tried to shut them out for so many times. They find a way of weaving their way back into Ghana's transportation system. Supply usually goes with demand therefore the fact that these illegal commercial motor bike operators keep coming back into the transport system means that customers clearly keep demanding and articles such as this and this further buttresses that point. So here is where i come clean, as a transport user and a commuter i have patronised the services of the bike riders a few times. They are cheaper than a taxi cab, can weave in and out of traffic and therefore i get to where i'm going faster and is a quick easy transport fix. On most of my ~~illegal~~ rides on these motor bikes the riders usually ask me whether i have a motorbike of my own? After replying 'no' i usually ask them why i keep being asked that question and most riders tell me i don't seem jittery and nervous when i sit on the bike. I have the perfect balance and don't hold on to them too tight out of fear. It looked like all the riding i have been doing back in the north has payed off. Considering i was nervous and probably held on to the rider too hard back then when i started riding. These comments on the riders part make me happy but then i realise am encouraging something which is illegal, i don't get happy as much.

The Only Way You Can Travel Around the World

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 16:47:00 +0000

I am travel obsessed. In my spare time i surf the net to check out tourist centres and places of interest all over the world. I have gone on countless holidays in my dreams from nice safari tours in Kenya, South Africa and Zambia to the beautiful streets of Marrakech. I spend donkey hours on kayak.com just checking out how much it will cost travelling from my country (Ghana) to places of interest i see online. After checking out the rates i spend extra hours trying to figure out how much i would have to save to go on these holiday. Interestingly, sometimes i see blog post and articles usually in the form of list, on how you can travel the world 'doing a job you love'. Indeed these 'listicles' most of the time encourage jobs such as working as a flight attendant, English teacher, Fisherman and what have you as jobs that will allow you travel the world whiles getting a paycheck.
Granted, these jobs will allow you to travel but in this case the travel part is highly integrated with the work part, therefore chances that you would focus on the work and not really pay attention to the travel is high. For example, the job of a flight attendant is supposed to be in the air therefore real wages will be calculated based on the number of hours she/he is flying and attending to passengers needs. This also applies to all the jobs that comes along with excessive travel. The pressure to work hard and make more money as well as move up the career ladder will reduce the appetite for tourist/travel experiences although technically the worker has traveled to most tourist hot spots. It is therefore little surprise when i see that airlines give free tickets to flight attendants as part of the compensation package and some of the airline workers will choose to visit countries they have visited a countless number of times for work and work related duties.

Now, for someone who is travel and entrepreneurship biased, i see being an entrepreneur and running your own schedule is the sure way to travel around the world like you want to. I advocate entrepreneurship to the person who wants to have so much free time in his or her life to do whatever they are interested in doing. Be it travel or dedicating yourself to a cause or a special challenge. Travel is ostensibly about money and lots of free time. Successful entrepreneurs usually make more money than their paycheck counterparts in a majority of fields. Though one may not see the opportunity for travel in starting out as an entrepreneur or founding your own startup, the travel opportunities comes to bare once the business takes shape and its profitable. For example a successful entrepreneur may be invited to several conferences a year, may be called upon as a speaker (some paid others unpaid), will set up offices and factories in other parts of the world, will source certain key ingredients from other parts of the world and would therefore have to travel frequently. Yet the thrill associated with the entrepreneurs travel is that she’s in charge of her own schedule and therefore can spare good time combining business with pleasure.
That is why it is observed that extremely successful billionaire (entrepreneurs) own their private jet which takes them wherever they want to go on any day they please. Every startup will not make its founder a billionaire but the entrepreneur who perseveres and succeeds is on his way to a good life. And one of the things associated with the ‘good life’ is travel and going to every place on your bucket list. If you have a good idea for a startup begin working on it today, if you’re afraid to go in alone look for people to invest in your idea There is power in collaboration and partnering with the right people. Don’t let your ideas go to waste, it might be the only way you can travel around the world

A New Look at New Years Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 21:36:00 +0000

The new year is coming through very soon and the pressure to write resolutions is mounting gradually as the day goes by. I have written resolutions in the past and tried to follow and make it happen but instead i slacked and fell on the way side. What i have come to realise is that the reason why my resolutions do not fall through most of time is that i keep writing about what i wish i would become instead on writing on improving on what i actually am now.

Take a standard new years resolution and you would see that what the person has written is a completely different aspiration than the life they live now. This trying to be 'a new person' seems far fetched from my point of view. Yes we all get into the holiday hullabaloo and are excited that a different year is approaching and we get to live our lives differently. but when you take a critical look at it the difference between 31st December 2014 and 1st January 2015 is a day. Unless something really extraordinary happens you will still be eating the same foods you normally eat, you'll have the same set of friends and family and will probably be wearing the same clothes and shoes you had from 2014. A new year is exactly what it is 'a new year' and not 'new me' as a person therefore my wishes or desires for my life shouldn't really be about entering a new year, it should be about my innate desires and a good reason why certain things in my life has to change. That is why purpose is important in setting goals and targets. For example, if you need to lose weight because excessive weight is making you suffer all sorts of obesity related diseases, i guess you won't wait till the end of the year waiting for a new year till you start exercising and eating healthily. Therefore why must we wait till the latter part a year or the beginning to write things we should be doing now. Setting a target for 2015 seems like a good long term plan but on hindsight it is very vague because a year has 12 months therefore we keep pushing things on our list to the following month till it never gets done.
If something is important and has to be done today, start working on it now, if you find yourself waiting on it another week to set it as a 'new year resolution' begin to question your motives.

Luxury Hacks to Transform Normal Goods

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 11:54:00 +0000

Luxury goods command higher prices than their competitor goods. As soon as a good or a brand decides to portray itself as a luxury brand, there must be certain basic features and applications that will make a luxury brand stand out. Usually, these basic features cut across a lot of luxury products and services for sale on the market. Here are simple hacks and i use the word 'hack' advisedly not as in trying to sell an obviously sub-standard or a shitty product for a higher price. No! But a good that is well made and maybe has lots of competitors and wants to differentiate itself as a luxury product. Since i discovered life and productivity hacks some time back, i have become a big fan of how you can use certain skills and methods to boost up productivity and efficiency. As a fun of luxury goods, i have observed certain minor ingenious ways entrepreneurs can depict their products and services as a luxury product.

Tell a story: We all love stories consciously or sub-consciously, therefore it would be good to integrate the story of a brand in its marketing and branding efforts. There are various sources the 'story' of your product can be picked from. For example, where raw materials for the product is purchased from can be used to tell the story of how its providing employment for locals. The production process can also be used to tell the story of the quality of certain key ingredients which is used in making the product or service. Consider this scenario where 2 competing massage parlors use the same massaging technique. Massage parlor A tell you to come in for a 'good never-to-forget massage experience' whiles massage parlor B tell you they will give you a 'brilliant-never-to-forget massage using on an eastern Asia massage technique which combines the four forces of the atmosphere that has been practiced over 400 years blah blah'. When asked which of the two massage parlor is a luxury massage parlor i can bet my last coin that a lot of people will choose Massage Parlor B over A as a luxury massage parlor though technically, they both use the same massaging technique. The average luxury consumer comes off as better educated and well to do therefore there must be a convincing story of how your product or service stand out. Telling stories and a combination of heritage has been used by luxury brands for many years to boost up sales and marketing. Perhaps your products and services didn't start selling in 1837 like Hermes but you can craft a great story around your product to compete with Hermes.
Simplicity, Consistency and Minimal Product Offering; "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away"- Antoine de Saint-Exupery This is one of my favourite quotes of all time and i advice should be the basis for many luxury product and service making decisions. I equate a brands simplicity to how their mission, vision and products aspire to a clear goal. A car brand that prides itself in speed and the number of kilometres it can cover per hour should leverage that selling propositions in all various channels of communication to its audience. Such a car brand will confuse its target audience if they also include affordability and 'good for the family-ish' type of selling proposition to its brand message, Because a product advertised to 'people on the move' and those on the 'fast lane' might not work for the family. Simplicity should also be used in other ways of communicating the brands message such as the store and website design of an outlets brand. When consumers praise a product or service, one thing that keep repeating is that their products 'never disappoints'. Consistency is a key differentiator in separating one good as a luxury good between two similar products. When consumers know exactly the kind of service, the quality of food and the general ambiance they will experience when they go to a particular restaurant. Then probability that they will keep coming to that particular place is high. Instead of the restaurant that promises you one thing and delivers another. You remember the Jack of all trades and master of none? People who are trying to portray their good as a luxury brand must try not to be all things to all men. You're better off specializing in a few products with a wealthier targeted repeat customers than trying to appeal to the least common denominator
Display, Light and Visibility; My third lux hack is light and when i say light, i mean light in its literal sense especially in store design and layout. Instead of going the normal florescent tubes that one can find in most stores and outlets, Independent producers who have their own outlets can invest in decorative light covers and find away to blend natural light rays and store lights for the product to have a sense of luxury appeal. A store that has a nice chandelier hanging in the centre will be pereceived as having luxury goods in stock as opposed to another store that has 'normal lighting'. No matter how well made your product is when they are not properly displayed, it might not get the attention that it deserves.

Entrepreneurship or Saving for Retirement (Which Way To Go)

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 07:01:00 +0000

A few days ago, I was doing my usual search on the internet trying to find some information like any other day. I came across a banner ad on one of the popular websites i visit and thought that the ad was very interesting. It was an ad for a mutual fund or an investment account I couldn’t really tell which financial services the ad was trying to sell. But the ad simply stated that if you saved an amount of money say (X) over a period of time, you were going to make enough for your retirement and a substantial amount at that. This really got me wondering. For some time now I’ve been battling with the concept of ‘personal finance’ in my head. What does that term really mean? For me, anytime I hear the word personal finance my mind automatically goes to savings. Saving a portion of your salary/profits so that you can have a better future. I see retirement as something that is really far away because I think am not too old. I see personal finance and savings as something which is mostly pondered upon by people ageing close to retirement. Because technically they are the ones going out of job soon so maybe they should be thinking about retirement/personal finance and savings. Not me a young blooded 20 something year old. Though I trick myself into thinking that savings is for people who are ageing and for individual with family and children to look after, the pangs of personal finance comes to bite me one in a while. Because i go on a little guilt trip when i see how little my savings is so i tell myself i will start saving in my 30s. What i’m gradually realizing is that savings is a habit and if its not cultivated now i might never save.

But my obsession with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship have made it clear to me how entrepreneurs find it difficult savings. An entrepreneurs quest to make a difference with their idea will go all lengths to make their ideas come to life. Sometimes this means investing most or all your savings into the idea in the hopes of making a return one day. That is why entrepreneurship is about risk its about being a bull or a bear. And i want to be the bull rather than the bear. I’m at a point in my life where my ideas matter more to me than the money i want to save. Because the supposed savings invested in my ideas as an entrepreneur may earn me a million fold return on my investments. I’ve read about entrepreneurs and successful people who risked it all financially to build something great and that is the type of risk i want to take at this stage in my life. For now, ‘saving towards retirement’ seems like a concept that’s almost laughable because i see it as something that is further away. The beauty of taking risk is that most of the time, it might not work but if works you get to build something successful and truly great. Entrepreneurship and startups is such a steep learning curve therefore failure can also be a great learningprocess.

Being a risk taker at heart and not having finances figured out whiles taking risk doesn’t seem like a good idea. But my ideas has to take centre stage before savings come to mind.

Dealing with anxiety (MY Way)

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 07:10:00 +0000

Like any regular sized human being walking on the surface of this earth, i too get depressed once in a while. My depressions emanates from the anxiety that engulfs me anytime i think about the future. Where i’m going to end up in life, whether i will be able to achieve all that has been destined for me to achieve before I die. Whether this blog is even good enough and not a waste of my time. Will i make enough money to travel all over Africa like i want to? Anytime i look around i constantly see that there are indeed many things to be depressed about. Anxiety is such an uncomfortable feeling, it is that weird feeling that makes you want to have a peak at the future without necessarily being there. No wonder people visit psychics, mediums and prophets to know what would happen in the near future.

I’m gradually developing life hacks that help me deal with my anxiety and my irregular bouts of depression.

1. My recommendation number one for you to do anxiety day one is to rest. Resting here does not necessarily sleep but if you have enough time to catch a good sleep the better. Lying in a couch watching a movie or tv show that has full of suspense and action does not help the anxiety situation in any way shape or form. You are better off reading a soothing books whiles relaxing in your favourite chair or listening to nice music. Deciding to use extreme physical force such as rigorous exercise or something excruciatingly painful to quell your anxiety and depression never works. Your heart ends up beating faster combined with the fact that the situation that makes you depressed keeps coming back to mind. Although I have stated that rigorous exercise and physical pain does not really help, going on a walk by yourself keeps you calm. I’m hardly anxious after a good nights’ rest. Waking up after a good sleep makes me energized and calm.

2. Writing my anxiety and my fears really relaxes me, and writing here for me is a metaphor for anything that you like to do that relaxes you. So instead of writing, you can draw, work in your garden, playing on your keyboard or anything you generally enjoy doing. I write when I’m very anxious and i know writing my fears doesn’t necessarily make it go away, yet writing helps me feel like a heavy burden has been lifted off me. Writing makes me feel like somebody has listened. If you would like to write what’s causing your anxieties like i do, you can also further help yourself by writing how you can deal with what is making you anxious and depressed and how you’re going to deal with it.

3. Get control of a part of your life: By getting control of a part of my life I mean, though you might be depressed or feeling the pangs of anxiety try as much as possible to get certain parts of your life in order. For example feeling depressed and having an unkempt house or loads of dirty clothes to be laundered makes you further depressed and anxious. So have control of certain aspects of your everyday life such as finishing you work assignment, cleaning all the dirty dishes piled up in a sink or keeping a clean desk at your office, staying away from junk food. This goes a long way to tell you that at least you have control of certain parts of your life which eases you up a bit.

4. Reach out to your family and friends to talk, there are certain people in everybody’s life who they feel better after talking to. It might be your best friend or your mother or your neighbor. Talking to these people does not necessarily means you relaying all your anxiety or negativity to them. You can reminisce and talk about the ‘good old days’ and all the good fun you have shared together over the years. It’s interesting that though you might be going through issues and anxiety of your own, if someone you’re close to shares their problems with you, encouraging and motivating that person help you feel better in the long run.

5. These are all good life hacks i use to deal with my intemperate bouts of anxiety and depression. But there are anxiety, depression and panic attacks which are chronic and engulfs you to the brim this sought of makes living almost impossible. When it happens that way, i advise that you seek professional help immediately.

3 Lies I Tell Myself When Am Not Productive

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 07:13:00 +0000

When i'm not particularly motivated to do anything with my life, there are some petty little lies i tell myself to make me feel better. Because a deep part of me knows life is not supposed to be this mundane and boring. Wake up, take a shower, eat, sleep and repeat. These are some of the lies i tell myself just to feel better.

I am too young: This is the premier lie i tell myself almost everyday. If i'm young, then it means i have more years ahead of me to do whatever i want to do right? No! Have you heard about the Anzisha prize? These are awards given to young people here in Africa who are doing amazing things in the tech and entrepreneurship. I would never receive the Anzisha prize because i'm 'too old' to qualify. So if people younger than i am are doing amazing things out there, what excuse do i have not to. I know i'm not that young i'm actually old. And as i get older i find more and more people in my age group who are doing amazing things. Nobody is too young to start.
I will do {Insert something important here} tomorrow: Its really easy to postpone a task to the next hour, day, year, because i'm literally telling myself that this important task is scheduled for the next time therefore its still very important on my agenda. Because honestly speaking, the next hour doesn't seem so far away. Neither does the next day, week or month. Then the time comes to do whatever important i scheduled to do. That is when i realise a previous task i put on hold needs more attention than the one i promised to work on at that very moment. Which means the task automatically gets postponed to the next time and the proposed next time becomes another next time and on and on it goes.
Am not as privileged: Yes i'm not as rich, knowledgeable and educated as the next person. This is the slimy excuse i give to cut myself some slack. The are are a thousand and one social yardstick i can use to put myself down but deep down i know this is not really an excuse for me not to do anything.

The choices you make has alternatives. Think about it.

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 14:35:00 +0000

From previous posts, i mentioned that i majored in economics at the university and have been learning economics since senior high school. Two of the many theories in economics that really struck a chord with me is the concept of choice and opportunity cost. People with no basic knowledge of economics will wonder what these two theories are about. I will therefore try and explain these concepts in a best way possible.

Opportunity cost is basically what you have to give up to acquire something. There are several ways we can use our resources be it money, energy, time etc but these resources are limited that is why we are forced to make a choice. Opportunity cost can therefore be seen as the best immediate alternative you could have spent you resources on had you not spent it on something else. Therefore the things you decide to spend your limited resources on is your 'choice'. From face value, this concept does not seem extraordinary or eye opening but i've personally come to respect this theory as i grow up and begin to make choices. Because economics theories tell me that for every little thing i've spent money, energy and time on, there are other important alternatives i could have used those resources on. In this blog post i have separated my 'resources into three key areas that is time, money and energy. Time because as humans, we have fashioned our lives according to a certain O'clock by which we function. There is time to go to bed, time to rise, time to go to work/school, time to come back home and so on. Majority of us are paid by the number of hours and days we are willing to work. Hence the higher the number of hours we are willing to work, the higher the wages we expect. Time is such a valuable resource whose importance can never be underestimated. How many times have you heard a couple or people in a relationship having an argument and one of them say "you don't spend time with me like you used to" or "we don't spend time together any more". In this sentence we have seen the word "time" associated with "spend". Which means the fact that you can "spend time" shows it's a limited resource. How i spend my time is beginning to matter to me these past few weeks because once in a while the question of how i'm spending my time pops up in my head and i sincerely hope i'm spending my time the right way.

I classify money as another important part of my resources because it's almost impossible to live without money. The basic things you need to exist on earth have to be bought with money. It is therefore little wonder money is tightly associated with time. "Time is money" its often said. We wake up everyday trading our time for money because we have to survive and after we have paid for our survival, we also want nicer cars, phones, clothes not forgetting the occasional holiday. I personally love entrepreneurs and startup founders and i always wish there were more entrepreneurs. But i ask a lot of young people why they haven't turned their great ideas and skills into business and the response i usually get is. "I don't have the capital (money) to start" or "i am barely getting by" therefore it looks like money as a resource can act as a stumbling block between someone who has a great business idea and actually starting a business and enjoying success.

My third and final resource i consider vital is energy. The energy to wake up everyday and get something done be it writing a blog post, speaking to startup founders and entrepreneurs and how best i can help them, connecting with my family and friends and even the energy to resist junk food. How i spend my energy is now a prime concern to me because there is an opportunity cost and a best alternative to whatever i'm spending my energy on at the moment. For example, the time and energy i spend wondering whether a blog post would be successful could be used to do further writing and research to make the blog post and the blog even better.

If my opportunity costs are the best alternate ways i can use my resources (time, money and energy). Then it is imperative that whatever these resources go into must offer me the best in value and returns. But the question is how do i know that i'm spending my resources on things that have value? And the simple answer i use to determine that is "regret". Do i regret how i spent the day when i'm retiring to bed at night? Or how i spent money on things i didn't really need. If i continuously regret how i'm spending my resources then it means something has to change.

Why Combining a Regular Job with Entrepreneurship is Hard

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 09:56:00 +0000

I strongly believe the sure way to become truly successful is by becoming an entrepreneur. My definition of success here is the ability to make an impact on the world alongside the money, fame and all the people who would like to sleep with you. So i started reading a lot about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs from a young age and i realized the successful ones started either very early in their lives (Richard Branson) or the latter part of their lives (Colonel Sanders). I have a theory of why this is so. I think being an entrepreneur or founding a startup is primarily fueled by passion before any other factor comes to play. When you notice something in a field you are passionate about and you believe you can make a difference, beginning a startup is the way to deal with that problem. Or you notice an opportunity in a particular field and you work to take advantage of that opportunity. But my little observation makes me draw inferences such as young ones who have the passion to truly make a change do not have the money, resources, connections and what have you to start a business and older people who have the passion likewise lack the time and energy although they might have the money, resources and a powerful network.

Therefore it comes as little surprise to me when i see that a lot of successful young entrepreneurs come from the tech space. Since the requirements for writing a program, software or app is quite minimal as compared to a young chap who wants to introduce a new food product unto the market. As a young person who wants to start a business one day, i continuously begin to see why that might never happen as the days and months go by. I started writing this blog in May of this year to get my ideas to spread and allow people to also read my thoughts. True, i have heard of bloggers who make so much money off their blogs but it takes a period of about 4-7 years before you can really make so much out of a blog that you stop looking at other sources of income. What matters to me the most is to tell my own version of the African story to anyone who cares to listen (read). That is why i write solely on the two things that i'm passionate about at this time of my life which is travel and entrepreneurship. My writing has given me opportunities to write on other blogs and websites which is great by the way but then it doesn't make me any real money. For someone who's out of school and an aspiring entrepreneur, until my dreams of founding your own startup materializes, i am tempted to look for a job so that i can earn money in the mean time.
The "let me find a job to get by" phase is when most aspiring entrepreneurs hit the brick wall and never return. Because a steady stream of income can make you very comfortable. You know that at a certain point in the month something will fall into your account, and then there is settling down, starting a family. By the blink of an eye, you're fervently preparing for retirement and the startup never gets done. Because a job doesn't end at the stipulated time frame that an employer gives. There are various nuances and subtleties that comes with a job which might take up you free time. Like bringing work related task home, wondering whether your boss will fire you for the blunder you committed the other day, and all the social events and drama that surrounds the life of your co-workers. Therefore it takes a person who has real fortitude, passion and determination to combine a startup (considering how hard it is in the beginning) with a full time job. So it comes as no surprise to me that successful entrepreneurs start really young at a point where they don't have any idea of the bitter/sweet 9-5 drudgery or at a late age where after a point of holding a series of odd/boring and various jobs that do not interest them, they have a "light bulb" and decide to become entrepreneurs.
As i sit here approaching a quarter life, i really really really hope i don't become the latter.

Upper West Reunited

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 16:07:00 +0000

I have officially left the upper west of Ghana as a national service personnel, upon leaving upper west, i spent a few weeks in Kumasi which is the capital of the Ashanti region of Ghana. Kumasi will always hold a special place in my life since i lived there more than a decade. What i love about that city is that it has the perfect mix of urban feel and cultural heritage. There is a lot to see and do from visiting wood carver and their beautiful arts and crafts stores in Ahwiaa to checking out lionesses at the zoo. But for some really odd reason, i would not like to stay in Kumasi long term (i see it more as an escape city). I came to Accra after my Kumasi visit but whiles in Accra, i knew i would go to upper west soon. This is because i had some unfinished business that needed taking care of. Though an inconvenience for traveling all the way north for some really trivial 'business' reason that could have been done over the phone, any opportunity for travel for me should not be missed.even if i have have been to that particular place a thousand times. It would also be an opportunity to catch up with some old friends from the program who i'ld probably be seeing for the last time.

All Hail the amateur motor rider

My friends from the national service program Emmanuel, Domnic, Julius, Daniel, and Micheal

Country side always beautiful

Countryside

I didn't do anything really special on this trip, i just took a leisurely work in and around the main market to see what traders had in store as well as a walk through the principal streets of Wa which is the capital of the upper west region of Ghana. A few minutes after taking the beautiful pictures of the countryside. The weather became gloomy that explains the cloudy nature of the weather in the other photos.

A walk through the market

Heavy rains prevented me from doing a lot more sight seeing and walking

Recording African History One Story At A Time

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 06:25:00 +0000

My twitter profile says i'm an information junkie and that's true that is why i started blogging anyway. To add more information to the news going on especially what is happening on the continent of Africa with regards to travel and entrepreneurship. My love for information has turned me into one of those people who cannot fully function without the internet. I'm constantly checking online for the latest news and reports coming in. For example, i kept refreshing the internet 2 days ago so that i could catch a glimpse of the iphone 6 and 6 plus and the watch (will it be called an iwatch?). I love the internet because it is an instant source for news and information update. What the internet has done is that it has democratized news dissemination and reporting therefore a lot of us do not necessarily look up to the traditional news outlet for our news anymore. There are blogs, websites and online magazines which now syndicates news in real time as they come in. I particularly love blogs because a blogger gets to have an opinion on matters they are reporting unlike traditional media which try satisfy a wide range of audience. The success of Huffington post, Mashable and Techcrunch shows how important blogs can be as a source of information.
But in terms of news and information, Africa is not taking advantage of internet media enough. Most of the blogs and online magazines are dedicated to two things. It's either entertainment/celebrity news or sports. There's a lot happening in the fields of technology, entrepreneurship, business and governance which we need to address. I am usually worried when i search a particular niche with respect to Africa and i see that more research work and articles has been written on that particular African topic on foreign websites. This looks like we as Africans are not interested in chronicling our history and events. This is why i tell my friends and people close to me to set up a blog all the time. Even if no one is reading it, we are in our own small way recording and preserving our history. I am hoping every African who is on social media can also blog not as a money making venture but as a way to record local culture, sports, history, festivals and activities. Because information is key, and it is a known fact that "the most successful person is the one who has the timeliest information"

A Trip To The Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 06:50:00 +0000

About a week ago, i visited the Kumasi zoo which is right at the city centere. The zoo is close to the 'Kejetia market and bus terminal' which is said to be one of the largest open air markets in West Africa hence, the location of the zoo is not a place to miss. It is about the only zoo in Ghana. There is no zoo in Accra which is the capital of Ghana. A few years back, the zoo in Accra was closed down for relocation to another part of town so that a new zoo could be built. The animals in the Accra zoo was transported to Kumasi zoo as their temporary home. But a few years and counting it doesn't look like the Accra zoo is going to be finished anytime soon. Therefore if you have any plans of seeing some wildlife in Ghana, then your best bet is to go to Kumasi or the Mole national park (northern Ghana)

I grew up a bit in Kumasi so i got to go to the zoo a lot. Hardly a month passed without me going there. I was really fascinated by the animals especially the lions. I remember an incident which happened years back. My friends and i went to the zoo and whiles doing the normal animal watching, other visitors joined us. I as usual was standing by the lion enclave and just admiring them. There was this kid who also came to the zoo that day wearing a red sweater with matching red pants. As soon as the lions saw this boy they started roaring and banging the cage trying to get out to catch the boy who i must say was fear stricken and therefore couldnt move. Everybody at the spot started running for their dear lives and i also run as well. But whiles running i was still looking back to watch how agressive the lions were in trying to get out to catch the boy. I must admit that the female lions were the most aggressive in trying to get out and pounce on the boy. The fear stricken boy who was obviously shaken couldn't run like the rest of us and started crying and screaming for help. All this happened in a matter of seconds. Other visitors who didn't know what was going on also started running thinking one of the animals has let loose. A guide in an office close by the lions enclave heard the shouts of the boy and the noise, he went for the kid and brought him to the office to calm him down. Since that day i never forgot not to wear red to the zoo and never ever mess with a lion and even a lioness for good measure. So what's with animals and the color red? I have been chased a few times by a turkey because i had on a red sweatshirt, on the television i see this really bizarre (but interesting) sports where bulls charge at full throttle to attack young men who are holding red flags.

I haven't been to the zoo in ages (about 5 years now) so i visited on a bright Tuesday morning and did not have problems locating it after all the years i haven't been there. I paid 10 cedis which was the standard rates for adults. Upon paying i thought i would be given a tour guide to take me around but the man took the money and said nothing. I also didn't request for one either. The zoo covers a wide area with lush trees and plants. There are many cages housing different types of wildlife. Upon entering the zoo one of my lifelong dreams came true. I saw an elephant. This might sound funny but until that time i had never seen a real elephant. All i had seen of an elephant were the bones i saw in a museum some time ago. Seeing an elephant and other wildlife in their natural habitat was the main reason why i wanted to go to the Mole National Park next year. The elephant was very adorable and i watched it more than hour, just daydreaming how my life would be if were my personal pet. Civets, deer, donkeys, python and geese were new animals i had not seen on my last visit. Though its been nearly 2 weeks since i visited the zoo, i still can't get the image of the African python out of my mind. The snake was huge!!. I have heard they can swallow human beings whole and i am tempted to believe now that i have seen them. Good thing they can go 6 months without eating. Because i was sincerely wondering how many deers a python like that has to eat before its full.
After seeing the new animals, i went to see my old pals ie lions, hyenas, eagle, ostrich, camel, monkeys and so on. When you come close to wildlife, they are bigger than when you see them on television. For example, the camel and ostrich were extremely tall and the hyena was fairly large. The hyenas and lions were taking a nap when i got there and after waiting for them to get up and walk around without much success i moved on to watch the monkeys. Anytime i visit the zoo, i educate myself on the difference between a baboon, chimpanzee and the various monkeys but it looks like it doesn't stay in my memory for a long period. Therefore on this zoo trip to i did the same. Now my hope is that it stays in my memory forever.

PS: I know you are wondering by now why i didn't add pictures? I took lots of pictures but i mistakenly deleted them when trying to load it on my computer. My selfie with an ostrich is gone forever. But no, worries because i will return to Kumasi this December for the holidays. Therefore expect zoo pictures and more images in my statue and monuments collection.

The Recently Profiled Adult

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 19:34:00 +0000

I visited the zoo not too long ago (a post coming that soon) it dawned on me how entry fees to places especially tourist sites are a bit on the high side. Now i pay full ‘adult’ prices for everything. Technically, i have been an adult since age 18 but i paid discounted gate fees to most events and tourist centers since i had a student ID. But these days, the story is different. Everywhere i go, i am usually profiled as an adult therefore have to pay full price. My students id card expired last year when I finished university therefore I don’t get discounts on entry fees to most tourist sites. Therefore society and my environment has already profiled me as an adult. But the question is am i ready to be an adult? Being an adult means having responsibilities and things to do finding work (or working for yourself) and taking care of yourself. As an adult no one will tell me what to eat for dinner, what time you have to go to bed and what to wear.

Being an adult is hard because you have to make every decision yourself. And we all know some decisions will have negative consequences. At least if you are a kid someone has to make judgment calls on your behalf. I have always heard that people who are dying always regret things they didn’t do and wish they have done than the actual things they did. But i always wonder what it was these people didn’t get to do and what was restraining them from doing it. Was it laziness, lack of motivation or resources for them to do what they wanted to do? The thing is, we don’t live unto ourselves. We have parents, friend and family and someway somehow we have to account how we are living our lives to them. If you have desperate need for cash to take care of yourself, you usually don’t wait for your dream job but take the reasonable job that pays the bills whiles working your way towards your dream job. In working towards the “ideal life” that is where burnout happens and a lot of people decide to give it up altogether. The more you settle for the reasonable version of everything, the more life becomes mediocre.

I have a few elderly friends and anytime we talk, they usually talk about some key moments in their life they could have made a change. But for some reason that change never happened or they never got round to that change. So from where i stand it look like opportunities are rare and far in between ones life. If you do not utilize the opportunity you see around today, they might be gone in the blink of an eye. Yes when one door closes another opens but how long do you have to wait for another door to open.

Therefore as a recently profiled adult i am beginning to see that being an adult means there are three broad areas i have to look at. They are responsibilities, opportunities and regrets. Growing and the art of adulthood means performing your responsibilities in the best way possible. It also means choosing a life and career path that you are comfortable with. Taking advantages of opportunities as soon as you see them without giving excuses because you never know when another opportunity like the one you have might come.The road to being an adult is a big deal and it is its full of choices and everyday as we sleep and wake we hope we make the right choice. The right choice being the choice that would give us peace in soul and spirit.

So i am gradually getting the concept of adulthood. Right now, adulthood means not having many regrets when you are ready to die.

The Art of Listening

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 20:30:00 +0000

There is a difference between hearing and listening but a lot of people do not realise that. Hell!! i didn't even realise the difference before i started paying attention. Hearing is simply receiving information and making no use of it whereas listening on the other hand involves receiving information, thinking about it and trying to draw inferences and analyse someones words and non-verbal actions. Simply put, listening is more important than hearing. Listening consist of not only the word coming out of a persons mouth but also taking a cue from the persons non verbal actions. (Hint: This is why it always advisable to learn a new language from native speakers/countries because you will learn a lot of non-verbal cues which will help you learn the language faster). Usually when people are talking to us we try to listen and think of the response we are going to give to the person. Which does not work. If you listen attentively you would almost always have a perfect response to anything or question someones asks you. This is how you can answer any question
The ability to listen and listen well can serve you well in your life as an entrepreneur and in your career. We are now in an information age, the person who has the most timely information is the one who wins. Maybe as an aspiring entrepreneur you are looking for your next big startup idea or your next business plan. Pay attention to what people are saying. If you are in business what are your customer saying? Maybe they want another color of your product or a new flavour or packpaging. Especially when someones says "I wish there was something (a product, service or a company) that could........" That is your cue as an entrepreneur to create something new. Therefore listening here means being in tune with your environment. Because the successful entrepreneurs are the ones who have looked for social problems and have solved them in extraordinary ways.

Are you looking for your next million dollar idea? Be a good listener!!!

Armed Forces Museum-Kumasi Ghana

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Mon, 01 Sep 2014 22:11:00 +0000

The last time i came to this museum was about 8 years ago and i don't remember an iota of what was said on that day. So after taking all interesting statues and monuments picture. I felt compelled to go there to refresh my memory on the history of the military forces in Ghana. Armed forces museum is one of the premier military museums in Ghana.

The fort now turned museum was originally built by the king of Asante who was known as Nana Osei Tutu Kwamina in 1820. The king of Ashanti at that time greatly admired the forts and castle in Cape coast and Elmina therefore wanted a similar for to be built in Ashanti. The structure took four years to build and was finished by 1824 and was built with granite and red soil from Cape Coast which was carted to Kumasi. The fort served as a cantonment for the military until it burned down in 1873/74 and was later rebuilt in 1896. In the year 1900 the governor of the Gold Coast Sir Frederic Hodgson accompanied by his wife and a small detachment of troops visited Kumasi. At Kumasi he demanded the surrender of the Golden Stool of the Ashanti Kingdom (A stool/Insignia which embodied the soul of the Ashanti Kingdom which was held in custody by successive Ashanti kings).

This led to the last British-Ashanti war and the Governor and his wife with 29 other Europeans were besieged in the fort. After many weeks of great privation. They were able to escape with a detachment of the Gold Coast constabulary and they made their way down to Cape Coast the small garrison which remained was relieved on 15th July by a relief column under Col James Wilcock

Front-View of the museum

The fort was converted into a museum in 1952 by the Ghana Armed Forces then known as the 'Gold Coast' regiment. after the second world war. Upon entering the museum, the tour guide then proceeded to take me to each room one after the other. The first room we entered had a collection of old guns and rifles as well as knives and canons. The room also had portraits of successive Commander in Chief (presidents) Ghana have had since independent. Every room had a dedicated aspect of the armed forces it talks about. The Gold Coast regiment also helped their colonial masters in the second world war. At the museum i saw captured flags and ammunition of Japan, Germany Ethiopia (which was know in the pas as Abyssinia).

Then there was "a prison of no return" section of the fort. The tour guide encouraged me to go inside whiles she closed the prison door for a few seconds. The place got pitch black all of a sudden and i could barely fit turn around but apparently offenders were thrown into the prison 3 people at a time. They were then brought out after they have all died. At the Navy section i saw nice portraits of \Ghana's Navy commanders both pas and present and an interesting picture of Ghanas first female diver.

Model of Ghanas first Navy ship

It is interesting to see how well the Armed Forces have documented their history. I saw photos of the first people to wear shoes in the Armed forces. Did you know during the world war there were not enough shoes for the soldiers therefore the had to wear the shoes in turns? For me waiting your turn to wear a pair of shoes seems really bizarre.But apparently that was what they had to contend with in their day. Though i have been to this museum before, i felt really good that i came back to refresh my memory on the history of the armed forces of Ghana.

This artifact you see here was a gift given to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (Ghanas first president) by Emperor Haile Selassie

These mask and amulets were brought to the museum from Congo. It was believed that when purified and worn by a soldier it would repel gunshots. But my tour guide couldn't authenticate whether a soldier was able to withstand a gun battle test wearing it.

Ammunition room

Ammunition

Ceremonial gear worn by members of the National Liberation Council a military sect that once upon a time ruled Ghana.

These guns were seized by the Italians during the war

Ceremonial gear worn by drummers during the Gold Coast regiment

Kumasi: An Anthology of Statues

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 18:00:00 +0000

If you read my previous travel post on arts and crafts then u know i have been staying in Kumasi the capital city of the Ashanti region of Ghana for the past two weeks now. I must say my stay has been awesome. So many things to do and see here. Kumasi though cosmopolitan has a very rich cultural history. The city is predominantly made of the Ashanti tribe who are a tribe of people known to be proud of their culture. Social gatherings and events especially funerals are a must see. One of the things i like about Kumasi which makes it distinct from other regional capitals of Ghana is how nicely they decorate public spaces. Hardly do you pass by a roundabout without seeing a statue or a monument of some sort. Therefore for the past 2 weeks i have been here, i put it upon myself to document some of my favourite statues and monuments in the city. Most of the people you would see made in statues are people who have had an impact on the city and the region at large. Therefore there is a plethora of statues which represent spiritual leaders, political leaders, past Ashanti kings and what have you. These are some of the statues and are by no means exhaustive i would be adding more as i see them.

Okomfo Anokye was a revered spiritual leader in Ashanti legend has it that he conjured the "golden stool"(which is the embodiment of the Ashanti people) from the sky.

One of my favourites

Dr, Kwame Nkrumah Ghanas' first prime minister and later president. He was known to be at the forefront of the battle for independence in Ghana. This statue can be found in front of the University of Science and Technology which is named after him.

The Insignia of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

An Ashanti king

This can be found at Kumasi business district

Yet to be unveiled can't wait to come back in December and see what it is.

4 Quotes Entrepreneurs Must Live By

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 08:09:00 +0000

I am a big fan of quotes. For me, quotes help me enter the minds of geniuses and people whom i know i would never meet because they are dead or people i have not had the opportunity of meeting yet. I respect entrepreneurs. This is because i see entrepreneurs as dreamers, creators, marketers and leaders. Everything we see around us was initially an idea. Apple was an idea, Facebook was an idea cars were first an idea. It took an individual to sit down and say "i can really bring this idea to life" then he started creating or inventing whatever it is you see today. One interesting thing about an idea is, the one who brings it to life or makes something out of it is not the only person who has actually thought of it. I bet there were thousand and one others who also thought of the same idea. But that is what differentiates the entrepreneur from others. An entrepreneur is willing to create something when everybody has had the same thought and discarded it. They end up working extremely hard to bring their ideas be it a service or a product to fruition. Therefore it is little wonder that the idea that succeeds makes these entrepreneurs extremely rich. We enjoy the goods and services we have to day thanks to the creative thinking of entrepreneurs. But entrepreneurship is not easy that is why many startups fail. Therefore as an aspiring entrepreneur i have some great quotes by successful people i live by. Here are a few of them.

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.-Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison is a storied entrepreneur and inventor of the light bulb and this quote by him really strikes a chord with me. I mean 10,000 ways? seriously? this by any means is is too large a number for failure that a lot of people would give up. If a perceived genius is failing this number of times then what hope is there for the rest of us. Because whatever idea it is the entrepreneur is not succeeding at costs money, time energy and the emotional pain. Hell! by the 5th or 6th try and it's not working i'm done not to talk of 10,000 (that is why i have not played lumosity for a while now). But the core of this quote is noteworthy. In that, it teaches the tenets of hard work, perseverance, focus and agility. Which are all must haves if you want to be a successful entrepreneur.

A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd-Max Lucado

This is such a powerful quote that really sums up the entrepreneurs relationship with naysayers. I know by now you've read or heard countless stories by entrepreneurs who said initially their ideas were discouraged and rejected. There are many stories out there especially in the book/publishing industry where some of the best selling books were rejected by renowned publishing houses. This quote therefore is powerful for me in the sense that, since most ideas shared by entrepreneurs to his friends, family, associates among others are usually new and unheard of, it is bound to receive some level of resistance. But most times successful entrepreneurs have to go with their gut and intuition therefore expect as an entrepreneur or an aspiring entrepreneur "this would not work" sentence when you share your idea with family and friends. A lot of close relations say this to you because they feel they care about you to see sink your money, time and energy into something that might not work out. This quote therefore is all about your determination to make a difference with your idea. One way to measure whether you idea will be successful is to evaluate whether it would solve a social problem . This quote and "if i had asked people what they wanted" quote by Henry Ford are cousins.

I was dyslexic, i had no understanding of schoolwork whatsoever. I certainly would have failed IQ tests. And it was one of the reasons why i left school. And if i'm not interested in something i don't grasp it.- Sir Richard Branson

I heard of Sir Branson because he's the founder of Virgin Airlines and i honestly thought of him as an airline industry veteran. i figured, for someone who owned a successful airline he had worked in the airline industry for years and after he had mastered the art of running an airline he started Virgin. It wasn't until i read his bio that i learnt how he dropped out of school to start working on his own. For someone who did not even finish high school how did he become so successful? That is when i noticed his bio said he started doing business at age 16, virgin was founded in 1984 which means he had had 18 years of training working as an entrepreneur before founding Virgin airlines. This is a long period of education and personal training again throw in the 10,000 hour rule and you have a successful entrepreneur. The quote has an emphasis on "interest" which i think is key because developing interest for something be it a sport, skill or an art would make you want to learn more about it and if you fail your passion for that interest would likely make you want to try again and that is how you gradually build knowledge and stamina as an individual. Be prepared for failure if you want to be an entrepreneur and see failure not as a problem but rather as a learning curve and a challenge.

We face neither East nor West: We face forward-Kwame Nkrumah

This is a great quote from Dr. Kwame Nkrumah one of Africas' greatest leaders of all time and a proud national of Ghana my country. Ask who Dr Nkrumah was and you would get responses such as 'visionary', 'strong-willed' etc and i would like to add 'entrepreneur'. A lot of projects and things he did in Ghana are still being enjoyed today just like we enjoy Thomas Edisons' light bulb. I love this quote from this great leader because it is about focus and having a sense of direction. Usually when an entrepreneur has no sense of direction, he/she can be easily swayed to unimportant matters that is not part of his mission. Having a sense of focus also gives stamina and perseverance.

Kumasi Arts and Crafts

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 22:42:00 +0000

A few weeks back i wrote on the awesome arts and crafts i saw in Bolgatanga whiles backpacking in northern Ghana. Currently i'm in Kumasi which is the capital of the Ashanti region of Ghana. I have a soft spot for this city because i lived here for 10 years and therefore have so many fond memories of the time i spent here growing up. One of the things the people of Kumasi are known for is how high they uphold their traditions and culture. I dare say Kumasi is the most culturally grounded city in Ghana. The sense of community is strong and family ties are revered. On any given Saturday you would see droves of people clad in black going from one funeral to another. Their passion for football is unrivaled and be ready to listen to not less than 6 daily sports updates on local radio at any given day.

There are many things to see and do in Kumasi (expect a bazillion posts on that one). One of the things Kumasi is known for is its beautiful wood carvings and sculptures. These carvings are made primarily in a suburb of Kumasi called Ahwiaa though some can also be found at the arts and cultural centre. At Ahwiaa you would see a wide array of beautiful wood carvings made from the finest of wood and sculpted to perfection. Some of the wood carvings include dolls known locally as 'akuaba', masks, stools,drums, key chains etc.It's interesting to note that the school i attended when i lived in Kumasi was quite close to Ahwiaa but i never really bothered to admire the beautiful work of art and the amount of time, energy and work that goes into these crafts. Now that i'm old i tend to appreciate it more because there is no way i can make any of these things therefore i have new found respect for these craftsmen and what they do. Just take a look at some of them.

African drums

A clock in the making (made to resemble African sandals) this isn't finished yet but i know it's gonna be awesome.

Assorted crafts can you notice the stools

A craftsman busy at work

Assorted bracelets on sale

One of my favourite pieces

Impact of Ebola on the African Tourism Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 06:30:00 +0000

I read with excitement all over the web as the doctor who caught the ebola virus and was flown back to the United States had been healed. I don't know what warrants my excitement because as Africans we still haven't found a way of dealing with this deadly virus yet. I am happy there has still not been a major reported case of the ebola virus in Ghana where i am. I usually hear on the radio once in a while that someone is being quarantined in a hospital for a suspected case of ebola later it turns out to be a hoax. Measures Ghana has put in place includes suspending all international conferences for the time being as well as guarding its entry points to prevent entry by people suspected to be carrying the ebola virus. These are all good measures and i sincerely hopes it works. From the time i heard about the outbreak of this deadly virus in Liberia, i have been particularly concerned about the impact this disease would have on the tourism industry.

All the stories i have read on this disease since the outbreak has tagged it as a "west African disease" which is not helping matters in any way. Ghana amongst other west African nations receive an influx of tourists all year round. Tourism revenues has been a big earner for the Ghanaian economy and i dare say that a huge chunk of this revenues come from foreigners because for every tourist center i have been to in this country, foreigners are charged twice as much because they are deemed non-nationals. We can then add the fancy hotels, restaurants, parks and public places of entertainment which are closely associated with the tourism industry that is where we know foreigners especially Americans and Europeans are really supporting Ghanas tourism industry. I recently visited a museum (a blog post on that coming soon) and when i was asked to sign the guest book, most of the visitors that had been to the tourist site for the past two months were either European or American. Therefore if major contributors to travel/tourism industry in west Africa do not want to come for fear of ebola virus then there would be a guaranteed decrease in tourism revenues.

Ask most Africans why they don't go on holiday and there would be a unanimous "I can't afford it" answer. If we as Africans can't afford tourism, revelling, camping, sightseeing, backpacking and what have you then we must be willing to go the extra mile to make our countries safe, comfortable, clean and crime-free for those who can afford it and are willing to spend at our tourist sites. Whiles desperately trying to find the cure for ebola ourselves, we must also make our tourist destinations attractive to receive more visitors anually. But knowing Africa the way i do, it won't take long before i see it in the media that African leaders are 'pleading' with the American government to provide the serum that cured Dr Brantly for African patients to use. Americans have cured their own, it is left for us Africans to do same and i fervently pray this happens soon.

Northern Ghana Travel Bucket List

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 09:57:00 +0000

Writing a 'bucket list' of places i want to go to always gets me excited. For me a bucket list is like a to-do list without the added pressure. For the past year, i have been living in the northern part of Ghana for my national service ( a mandatory one year spent working for the government upon completing a tertiary institution) but i am done with the service therefore i am back home in the south. Whiles living in the north, i took a one week backpacking trip to explore some of the beautiful tourist sites that the northern region had to offer. The northern parts of Ghana consists of three political regions namely the upper east, upper west and northern regions. All these regions have a variety of tourist sites and places of interest. My backpacking trip could not take me to all the places i wanted to go because i did not have the time or enough money to go there. I am writing this blog post as a public to-do list or travel bucket list which will make me extra committed to going to these places i'm about to mention.

First on my list is Mole National Park: The Mole park is a wildlife game reserve located in the northern region of Ghana. It is about the most popular game park in Ghana and has a variety of wildlife for viewing pleasure. There are elephants, antelopes, monkeys, Buffalos, leopards etc This park is one of the tourist sites i can't wait to visit. Information i've gathered so far tell me its best visited during the dry season which is usually from November to April. I am making plans to go there early next year. Mole has onsite catering and accommodation therefore it would be great to spend a few days watching the wildlife especially the elephants since i've never seen one in real life. Whiles returning to Wa from my backpacking trip, the bus i was travelling in passed by the Mole park but all i saw was tall trees and vast forest. I thought i could catch a glimpse of an elephant or a baboon.

courtesy: Mole Motel Ghana

Larabanga Mosque and Mystery Stone: Close to the Mole National park is the Larabanga Mosque. The mosque is an ancient work of art built by an Islamic trader in the 15th century. Larabanga is one of Ghanas revered tourist sites and receives lots of visitors both nationals and non-nationals alike. It also features prominently on some post stamps from Ghana. Over the years it has gone through several repair works because it was built with mud but the essential design that set the mosque apart has been maintained. The mosque is not very far from the Mole national park (about 10 kilometres) therefore i plan to visit this ancient mosque as part of my trip to Mole

courtesy: Wikepedia

Close to the Larabanga mosque is the Mysterious stone. Legend has it that during the colonial era in Ghana, a road was to be constructed where the mysterious is situated therefore the stone was removed and displaced but it was found at the exact spot where it was removed the following day. The stone found it's way back when it was removed the second time. This by any standards is not normal hence the name 'mysterious'. This said stone is believed to have healing powers therefore pilgrims to the Larabanga mosque also touch the mysterious stone for healing and spiritual purification. The road has since been diverted around the stone and a wall built around it. I caught a glimpse of the wall which encompasses this stone whiles travelling to Wa but i was really sad i didn't see the stone itself.

Mysterious stone photo courtesy: Ghana photographers

Tongo Whistling Rocks: These rocks can be found in Tongo in the upper east region of Ghana. The rocks at Tongo makes ghostly whistling noises during the harmattan when the weather is generally dry and airy.

Tongo Rocks: Photo credit Ghana Travels

Tono Irrigation Dam: The last tourist site on my northern Ghana travel bucket list is the huge irrigation dam in upper east region of Ghana. It was built in the 70s for agricultural purposes but has clearly served another purpose which is tourism. Tono dam is an ideal destination for water sports and relaxation and it's very popular in the upper east region since there are not enough water bodies in the northern part of Ghana.

The Four Stages of My Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Ntikumahs Journey) — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 07:37:00 +0000

I opened this blogger account in August of last year and i did not do any serious writing till may of this year. In fact i thought posting frequently on this blog was going to come naturally to me because on a normal day so many ideas of things i can write about comes to my mind. But i have tried as much as possible to limit the contents of this blog to two things i am passionate about and those are travel and entrepreneurship. From May this year till now i have tried to update the blog regularly. Because i read on the blog of a very popular blogger/writer that "to be a successful blogger or for your blog to make an impact you have to post everyday especially if you are a beginner".

But i decided to limit it to writing one blog post every two days because i felt i would run out of stories. Besides the travel stories were all that i had and i felt cannot write anything meaningful about entrepreneurship until i have started a business (which i have not even started yet). But now i write about entrepreneurship because you don't have to be an entrepreneur to share ideas on starting a business. On May 19 i wrote my first blog post on my path to serious blogging and i must say the past three months has been full of ups and downs. I thought the more i write blog posts the easier blogging will be for me but it does not get easier. Writing a typical blog post can take me anything from 4 to 6 hours not to mention the extra one hour i spend mulling whether to publish the write up or not. So far comments i gather from people on twitter and friends show that my writing is fairly good. I am grateful that people enjoy my posts and are willing to share them. But behind the scenes a lot happens before you see a post up on this blog. These are the stages that i go through

This is a great idea stage: I really enjoy this stage because this is the point where in my mind i have written the perfect blog post and it has a billion shares on facebook and twitter with hundreds of trackbacks to taste. At the idea stage, i let my imagination run wild as i think of great topics i can write on this blog and how i can write a hit syndicated blog post. In my minds eye the blog post is finished and it's a success and everybody is texting to congratulate me on the great blog post i have written with praises of how i'm such a great blogger. At this stage, i write down topics for further development. I always wonder why it is that great ideas come to mind when you're at places those ideas cannot be written down instantly especially when taking a shower.
The second stage of writing is the "shit fit" stage or "nobody will read this stage": This is the paranoia point where i throw inner tantrums. Before i reach this stage i would have already started writing the blog post and i'm quite confused on what sentence to write next. This point is usually characterized by extreme self doubt and me asking myself questions like Why am i writing this? Who would read this? Nobody likes you? and so on and so forth. At this shit fit, stage i go online to read articles by writers and bloggers who inspire me because i feel reading good articles will make my writing better. For good measure, i also check out poorly written articles and blog posts to help me feel better about my writing. At least i know my shitty writing is not alone. Only after this am i able to continue writing
Self Validation Stage: At the self validation stage i tell my self i'm good enough a writer to also have a piece online. I then recount all the positive compliments i have received on twitter and my blog since i started blogging and how i have even been invited to write on other websites and blogs.
Excessive editing stage: At this point, the self confidence from the validation stage has made me write more than enough to bore anyone out of their minds. Therefore its time to access the length of the post to see whether it makes for a good read. I also correct the spelling mistakes and tweak some of the sentences in the best way i think can make for a good read.

After going through all these emotions i take a deep breath and hit 'publish'