Meet Samuel Adaramola

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Samuel Adaramola. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Samuel, so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?

I’m a first-gen Nigerian raised by a mother who never turned away someone in need—no matter what. If somebody needed a place to stay, she made sure our home was open, and that often came at the expense of my own comfort. Our house became a stopping point for new Nigerian immigrants, extended family and friends trying to make it in the so-called “land of milk and honey.” So, growing up, I didn’t have much space or privacy—at least not in the way most kids might expect.

Then, when I was a teenager, my mother got real sick. Diabetes led to her losing a foot, and then she developed kidney disease, which had her on dialysis three times a week. I had to step up, real quick, and go from being taken care of to being a caregiver. It was rough, but that experience taught me how to show up for people. I learned empathy firsthand, having to see my mom’s struggles and still keep things together. It’s shaped how I approach everything in life—knowing how to be there for folks when they’re going through it.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m currently the co-Founder of Fufu and Grits, a storytelling and brand studio creating stories, products, and designs that connect the shared human experience of the Black diaspora and other traditionally marginalized communities. Right now I’m most excited about the podcast we just produced called Papers For My Acres. It’s a narrative podcast with some fun interviews that uses immersive storytelling to discuss history, culture, and the shared experiences of the Black diaspora.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

First off, developing self-awareness so you can get in tune with your intuition is key—and don’t sleep on it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked back on decisions where I ignored my gut, only to end up learning the hard way. My advice? Trust your gut—it’s like your second brain. Even when things don’t go how you planned, the lessons you take from it hit deeper and stick with you longer.

Second, learn to embrace boredom and take time away from screens. We’re living in an era of nonstop overstimulation—content is everywhere, and it’s almost impossible to escape it. We’re constantly consuming, so much so that we lose our creativity. Worse, we end up just recycling opinions and ideas we’ve seen online. This ties back to self-awareness: you can’t get in tune if you over-consume (I love how that rhymes). My advice? Schedule time to do nothing or something physical that doesn’t involve a screen. Get out, move your body, clear your head—trust me, it helps.

Lastly, build your own curriculum and be a lifelong learner. Once you’ve spent some time focusing on self-awareness and disconnecting from distractions, you’ll have way more clarity on what you want to do and where you’re trying to go. At the very least, you’ll know what you don’t want to do. I’m big on creating systems, so I started treating my life like a curriculum. I’d take stock of what I was interested in and where I wanted to grow, then plan out a year of learning around that. Books, online courses, small projects—it all went into my personal growth plan. My advice here? Make a plan for where you want to go and what you want to learn. Get it all down—whether it’s on Notion, a notes app, whatever—and start building brick by brick.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

In the past 12 months, I’ve been learning how to slow down. I used to feel like I had to fix every problem the second it popped up, but I’ve realized there’s a time and place for everything. Reminding myself of that has been a game changer. If I’ve got more than five things on my to-do list, I know something ain’t getting done, and it’s usually because I’ve tried to take on too much. So, slowing down, being more intentional with what I prioritize, and not treating everything like it’s a fire drill has been the biggest area of growth for me this year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fufuandgrits.com
• Instagram: @samonpurpose
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samueladaramola/