What it takes to succeed as an African woman in Africa
Hard work, discipline and consistency are the basis of every success but as an African woman living in an African country, it takes more than that.
Here is what it takes to succeed as an African woman in Africa
Be stubbornly ambitious and have long term goals
The new generation of African women are ambitious but the African society is still getting used to these ambitious women. They are seen as aggressive, proud and less marriage material. And most ambition in African women is killed by this. That's why African women in order to succeed need to resist being discouraged by their environment.
They need to have long term goals to help them know where they are heading in life. It's the long term vision that determines the short term goals and the actions to take for the goal to be achieved. Without long term goals, your environment will determine where you'll end up in life.
Have a positive and strong mindset
Be positive about achieving your goals and achieving your dreams. Be strong mentally as the conditions to succeed in an African country are more difficult.
Take risks and make some extra effort
There are some sectors that are still new or unknown in Africa. Take the risk to try it or explore it. Take the risk to learn, understand and invest in something. Take the risk to start a business or be an entrepreneur. Make the extra effort if you want to venture into the sectors that are already known so that you stand out and attract success.
Networking skills
The ability to interact with other people who will change your life for the better is a great asset. Creating relationships with important personalities or people who can open you to opportunities or discuss great ideas is very important.
Belonging to the right group or set of people/environment
Having and surrounding yourself with like-minded people (success hungry individuals like yourself). It could be a group of entrepreneurs, business partners or ambitious women who support each other to grow and succeed. You can create such an environment around you with your networking skills.
Manage family, peer or societal pressure
African women face the pressure of marriage and childbearing by a certain age because African society is more prone to women marrying and bearing children early. They also face the pressure to qualify as wife material or not because some men fear ambitious women are not submissive enough. There's a constant fear of what people will say if they don't get married by a certain age.
They also fear that the biological clock may not wait for their dreams to be fulfilled before it starts ticking. The technology to freeze eggs and have kids past the age of menopause is not accessible to many women in Africa so they have to respect the time given by nature while they struggle to build a career.
The African context has its reality and these factors are important to succeed in it as an African woman.
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