The key Challenges Komla Dumor overcame that all entrepreneurs will also have to deal with.

The journey to the top as far as the late Komla Dumor is concerned wasn’t a very smooth ride. There were numerous bumps he had to deal with on his journey to becoming one of the finest journalists to grace this generation. Most of the challenges Komla faced is not peculiar to journalists but also all who want to really make an impact in their field of endeavor. It is only wise that we take a cue from how Komla overcame his challenges. Here are the two key challenges Komla had to overcome on his way to global preeminence;

What other people thought about him
As early as 2002, when Komla was still with Joy FM, a Ghanaian based radio station; there were clear indicators that he was cut for greatness. By September, 2003, he had been named the Ghanaian Journalist of the year (GJA Award). That was when the ‘toxic’ people took notice of him and began to encircle him. In a publication titled, “Journalism Gone Astray” dated 11th September, 2003, the writer described Komla in the following terms “Komla Dumor is not a journalist. He is just not a journalist; he works in the media industry.” The writer who was then hailed by relatively a few gurus in the media landscape then advised Komla by saying to him, “Dumor, return the award, go back to school, and learn to become a journalist.”  In an interesting twist of events, almost about a decade later, Komla who neither returned the award nor went back to school of journalism became the trailblazer for young and dynamic journalism around the world. So, how did Komla deal with all these negativity? The best way Komla dealt with all that negative coverage was not to respond in kind. He allowed his work to do the talking on his behalf. He pursued excellence in his work until global media giant, BBC eventually had to come for him. To become a successful entrepreneur, you must learn to believe in your instincts and pursue excellence. You cannot allow the opinions of negative people to weigh you down or drive you in all sorts of directions. To overcome all the bad press surrounding success, you must have a strong conviction in your dream; learn to remain calm under intense pressure. You must also surround yourself with people who can encourage you and assist you become a better person and finally as Komla puts it, “there is only one standard- a global standard. Be consistent, operate at 100% every single time you are given the opportunity.”

He Overcame Failure
As young as 16 years old, Komla had a clear sense of direction regarding his dream to become a medical doctor which according to him, was inspired by his passion to help people. Komla enrolled in the University of Ghana, Medical School Legon, but the dream fell into a ditch when he failed his last year exams in medical school. The rumor was that Komla has opted to change his course. But apart from his family, close pals and course mates, little did the public know that Komla has failed his medical exams awfully. So how did Komla deal with his failure to become a medical officer? Failure should only be final when one is in the coffin. Komla failed at school but never failed at the passion to help people. He changed professions but never changed the dream and passion. In life, you may sometimes come to a stop because of a road block but you don’t abandon the journey, you find a new route. Komla finally puts it like this,“ to overcome fear and keep your dreams alive you must understand, to achieve anything require faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination and dedication…remember all things are possible for those who believe.”

Author: G. K. Sarpong
Email: gideon.sarpong@gmail.com
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