Show notes
From childhood neglect and carrying water on her head at 18 to building a business empire where family decisions now pass through her first, and why the brutal truth about entrepreneurial success is that the drive to be seen, to be heard, and to never go back to those days of selling gobe by the roadside and living with people who never listened to your problems creates the kind of relentless hunger that turns restriction into freedom, the young girl who wanted to be a journalist until a conversation in SHS about an uncle in construction making a lot of money made her realize she likes money because money equals freedom, the childhood of growing up with different people getting different types of treatment and being scared of a mother so hard that you couldn't go to her with problems, the father who was soft but you couldn't reach because of the mother's presence, the siblings she didn't grow up with so there was no one to talk to, the 14 year old who went to SHS and never went back home, who stayed with her big sister who was mostly not there giving her freedom to be alone and do things on her own, the level headed young woman who didn't misbehave despite having no attention from parents or the people she stayed with, the prayers for attention that never came so she decided if they're not giving it to me I want to be alone, the realization that parents don't know her well which is why her mom was against her coming to Accra thinking she would engage in prostitution because that's the perception about Accra, the desire for attention that translated into wanting to become financially successful so people would finally pay attention to her needs, the discovery that she can speak to people, teach, set up the camera and talk about stuff because she wants to be seen and heard and people don't even have what's in her head, the tough journey of working very early in life selling gobe and food by the roadside, carrying water on her head from 18 something straight to Risk Cause back and forth knowing how it feels and wanting to be someone who doesn't have to remember those times again, the bad side of being alone since 14 which makes her keep to herself and struggle with networking because she's always at home working not able to go out and meet people, the good side that made her tough and pushed her to want freedom so much she was tired of being with people, the pride in getting here because no one got her there except her and God, the overspending that makes friends say live there she has been through a lot, the transformation from the girl no one listened to into the woman whose opinion family now seeks before making any decision, and why the ultimate truth is this: not being heard as a child, never having attention from parents, being too scared of your mother to share problems, experiencing different types of mistreatment from people you stayed with, all of that neglect and restriction doesn't break everyone, it creates some people who say I want my freedom, I want to be seen, I want to be heard, and when they discover business lets them teach and speak and show people what's in their head, when making money gives them the respect that makes family finally call them for decisions, when financial success means never carrying water on your head again or selling by the roadside, they push through with relentless hunger because the alternative is going back to those days of being invisible, and if they become parents they'll show their kids how to love themselves, pay attention to them, make them friends not make them afraid, because they know what happens when a child has no one to talk to and has to keep everything inside.
In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with Charity Boateng, an entrepreneur who dismantles the dangerous "money doesn't matter" mentality by revealing the exact moment when she realized at 14 years old that if parents and the people she stayed with weren't going to give her the attention she prayed for she wanted to be alone, when going to SHS and never going back home meant living with her big sister who was mostly not there giving her freedom to do things on her own, when family decisions that once happened without her now pass through her first because financial success finally gave her the voice and respect she never had growing up scared of a mother so hard you couldn't share your problems.
Guest: Charity Boateng
Host: Derrick Abaitey