Let's talk about Olajumoke Adenowo

I am a member of "The Let's Talk About Series" community. I'll be sharing notes from one of the sessions we had this year. The session was on Olajumoke Adenowo.

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(Diligent Amaka speaking) Olajumoke Olufunmilola Adenowo (born in 1968) is an award-winning Nigerian architect, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, as well as a speaker, radio host, and author. She is the founder of the boutique architecture and interior design firm AD Consultin, based in Lagos, Nigeria. CNN described her as "Africa's Starchitect" and The Guardian (Nigeria) has described her as "the face of Architecture in Nigeria.

Adenowo has several philanthropic ventures. In 1999, she founded the Awesome Treasures Foundation (ATF), a faith-based NGO in Lagos, Nigeria. She has been outspoken about taking pride in her Nigerian heritage and her hopes to unleash the potential of Nigerian youth.

Much of the programming works with under served women and children. ATF runs Camp Dawn, an educational camp, to address the education gap for inner-city kids. Another program is Awesome Princesses, a group for young girls in the tenements and slums of Lagos who are at risk of sexual abuse and HIV/AIDS. Medical screenings and educational intervention is frequently needed. Awesome Treasures closely mentors and grooms women for trans national leadership and entrepreneurship though vocational trainings, business classes, and leadership trainings that take place across the country. Over the first 15 years, 70 000 people attended ATF leadership summits.

(Tobi Afolabi speaking) Today's personality is indeed another great one. So many things I must say endears me to this amazing woman.

The first thing for me is her focus. At the age of 26, she founded her interior design firm which has undertaken a remarkable number of projects. She didn't stop there. She is also well established in the oil and gas sector, and real estate as well.

So much a feat for a woman. But, one thing  like I had highlighted made this possible - focus. It takes one with focus to achieve anything and everything we set our hearts to do. Knowing what we want and going after it.

Her focus has taught me that I am not too young to pursue my dreams and I am not too old to create new ones. We have all that it takes, if we believe in us.

(Another Person Speaking) From what I learnt about her, I love and admire her versatility, the fact that she balances her work life (as an architect, author and a philanthropist) and her family life and the fact that she was also versatile in acquiring knowledge. And I will love to learn such versatility and balance in acquiring knowledge and my professional life.

(Tobi Afolabi speaking) Just like we learnt during the special session on Tony Elumelu, I have come to understand a trend among these amazing people, which of course is a great one. There is no fulfilment in just amassing wealth when people around are not living to their potential or are living in abject poverty... Jumoke Adenowo has used The Awesome Treasure Foundation to make the lives of many better. She has through the foundation, helped emphasised the teachings of my mentor which is: live your life in such a way people cannot tell their story without saying, "because of you I am...". That I have learnt over time, is the greatest sense of fulfilment one can have.

I may not have all the money I want today, but she has taught me to uplift people with the little you have. The little is not just restricted to money. Even your experience is enough to help people avoid the mistakes one has made.

(Yetunde Abisoye Speaking) I'm a beneficiary of her deep teachings which has been an anchor of the deliberate progress I experience.

Sincerely, I still search for a woman as passionate about Nigeria like her. She is so optimistic about this nation that her weekly message on 92.3 Inspiration FM is a proof.

The hallmark for me was when the recent 2 billion naira Dasuki Scandal broke and her company was mentioned as part of the beneficiary... Sad in the beginning, until she provided proofs of a business transaction with accompanying documents of remitted tax, and she came out clean. That for me, is integrity.

You know matching our words with action requires a high sense of discipline.

Some lessons I learnt from her.... To be genuinely successful, you have to breath and live discipline.

You can have it all when you are deeply rooted in the word. i.e. launching deep into a relationship with God, and coming out a threat to mediocrity. The lion not moving with dogs isn't pride, it's his nature.

Don't have a pity party relationship. Be deliberate about your inner circle.

For every conference held at Muson Centre by Awesome Treasures foundation which I attended, I see great people, and I keep hearing – when in 2000 Fela Durotoye did... That made me understand why they chose themselves even before they were known. There must have been alignment of purpose..

(Tobi Afolabi speaking) I read through an interview conducted by News Fetchers for Mrs Adenowo. In that interview, she was asked, "which project(s) have you handled that excite you most?"

Mrs Adenowo: The next one.

All I could mutter was "wow". A lot of us feel fulfilled in our past achievements such that it clouds us from seeing the amazing opportunities that lay in front of us. No wonder she is able to stay strong and relevant in the industry, because there is a new feat to be accomplished always.

No wonder Dr Myles Munroe (of blessed memory) often said, "Your greatest enemy is your last Success".
Now I understand better.

Although, we should rejoice in our previous/recent achievements, but we should never treat it like it is the greatest that we can achieve. There are an infinite numbers of frontiers to be surmounted. A hurdle crossed takes us closer to another.

And this is the end of the session. Hope you learnt a lot from this and you're inspired?

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The Let's Talk About Series is a personal and career development discussion platform that discuss diverse topics to help boost people's productivity and build personal confidence. They are passionate about self discovery, and believe the strife for personal development helps in adding value to one's life; creating opportunities and setting priorities for the areas that make them most effective.

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Olajumoke Adenowo