Starting a business is daunting; not easy, fun, or fast. Starting one in the middle of an economic crash in a third world country was even more daunting. The crash hadn’t happened – yet, but the decision to move forward in a third world country was made. I had decided to limit my launch progress to those very close to me. Even they had many doubts for me, some trying to convince me to wait. At 62, what was I to wait for? I’d never planned on opening a business – ever, but now that the decision was made, I saw no point, no valid reason, in waiting nor taking the advice of well-meaning friends and relatives. Positive comments with a negative spin, are you sure you want to? you know they’re known for scamming people, hmmm not sure, it’s going to be too expensive to sell to the average person…..Comments began to weigh on me.
I needed to move on and create a new life for myself, after the deaths of my younger brothers. I could not allow the chatter to sway me. After all, starting a business was all new to me and I had my own reservations to get past. However, the ‘fierce urgency of now’ took over….I knew I had to do this. I needed something to soothe my soul, to take away the pain. I needed positive guidance, and well-meaning or not, I couldn’t allow the ‘good advice’ to sway me to move in another direction. Good advice isn’t always good and can often be a distraction, which I didn’t need.
That huge leap of faith led me to open my business in Tanzania, Africa. I didn’t know it would become my passion, I do know that making my own decisions were key to my business becoming the success it is today. Yes, there were times I wondered if I made the right decision, which often gave me pause, but wasn’t sufficient enough, because I DID it.
About Your Columnist
‘Safari’ Kay (Trotman) is a featured columnist for Women Lead, the official blog of Connected Women of Influence. Over the years, hundreds of travelers have enjoyed the benefits of an African Safari, led by ‘Safari’ Kay, President of Destined To Travel. Kay has been spreading the word for the past fourteen years, and educating potential travelers of the decline and disappearance of wildlife in Africa and why, most importantly, she advises taking an African Safari off of your bucket list and putting it on the top of your LIVE list. Keep wildlife wild!
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