“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”
— Jack Canfield
This quote has hugely inspired Ama Karikari-Yawson who is the Founder of Milestales.
Ama Karikari-Yawson was working as a highly successful senior counsel at a major bank. Then, one day, something happened. A seemingly small-but-hurtful incident made a deep impact on Ama. A barber referred to one of Ama’s son as the n-word because of his kinky hair. Ama not only felt bad, but she knew deep inside she had to do something about it. In her words, “After the incident, I was inspired to write my first children’s book, Sunne’s Gift: How Sunne Overcame Bullying to Reclaim God’s Gift.” Per Ama, her book addresses self-love, respect for all, and, yes, hair included.
Discovering Her Passion
She went on to visit many schools to perform the story and conducted programs to preventing bullying. She also conducted training programs for educators. While doing all this, Ama discovered that she absolutely loved it. She says, “I loved meeting new people, sharing new concepts, and being my own boss.” She was enjoying every bit of her new-found passion. So much so that she started thinking of making it her full-time profession. The only thing that was stopping her was, of course, the money. She had a high-paying job as a senior counsel and her job made it possible to pay their high bills and preschool tuitions.
Ama was vacillating between financial security and pursuing her life’s mission. But, every day, she was drifting towards making her passion her profession. Ama recalls, “The signs that I had to do just that became stronger and stronger.” She further adds, “The calling to become the highest manifestation of myself as a human being just kept getting stronger and stronger.”
Taking the Leap of Faith
Ama would see quotes everywhere about taking a leap of faith. One of the most inspirational quotes that profoundly impacted her was, “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” It was as if the whole universe was pushing her towards pursuing her passion.
Torn between her passion and financial security, Ama grew restless. She says, “I literally could not sleep at night as I was approaching the day that I intended to resign.” Eventually, she took the proverbial leap of faith and quit her job. Ama is now a full-time storyteller, author, educator, and entrepreneur.
