We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emmerita Ambata a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Emmerita, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
My journey to building confidence and self-esteem began with a deep dive into self-reflection and honesty. Last August, I embarked on a personal development exercise aimed at understanding who I was and who I wanted to become to achieve my goals. This introspection revealed self-limiting beliefs that were holding me back from realizing my full potential, with confidence being one of the key traits I aspired to embody.
To address this, I committed to a series of exercises designed to challenge these limiting beliefs and push me out of my comfort zone. One significant moment came when I was invited to co-MC an event for creatives. Despite my initial apprehension, I pushed through and survived the experience, signaling the beginning of a transformation.
Reflecting on my progress, I recognized the importance of perseverance and growth. With each subsequent opportunity to speak in public, I saw tangible improvements in my confidence and performance. What started as a daunting challenge gradually evolved into a source of empowerment and fulfillment.
Ultimately, my journey underscores the fundamental role of self-reflection and action in cultivating confidence and self-esteem. By confronting my fears and embracing discomfort, I’ve not only expanded my capabilities but also discovered a newfound sense of self-assurance.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I grew up in Namibia, surrounded by the vastness of opportunity that comes from a liberal upbringing. From an early age, I never confined myself to a singular path, envisioning myself as a chef one day and a marine biologist the next. This sense of boundless potential guided me through my academic pursuits, eventually leading me to earn a degree in accounting and finance from the Namibia University of Science and Technology.
However, it wasn’t long before I realized that traditional employment wasn’t my calling. Embracing the freedom of freelancing, I ventured into content writing, collaborating with businesses across continents. This experience ignited my entrepreneurial spirit, laying the groundwork for my next venture.
Enter Billet, an ed-tech startup born from a desire to empower students and graduates across Sub-Saharan Africa. At Billet, we’re pioneering job simulations to provide practical experience and bridge the gap between education and employment. Serving as the team lead, I’m proud to announce the recent launch of our MVP—a testament to our unwavering dedication despite numerous obstacles along the way.
What excites me most about Billet is the prospect of transforming countless lives by opening doors to dream careers and sustainable livelihoods through remote work. Our journey is just beginning, but I’m optimistic about the impact we’ll make not only in Namibia but across the entire region. As we continue to grow, we’re committed to expanding our reach and refining our platform to better serve our community’s needs. Together, we’re shaping the future of education and employment in Sub-Saharan Africa.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Resilience:
Resilience is more than just bouncing back from setbacks; it’s about the capacity to thrive amidst adversity. I’ve come to understand that dwelling on misfortunes only perpetuates a cycle of negativity. Instead, I acknowledge setbacks but refuse to let them dictate my trajectory. For instance, after graduating from university, I took a gap year to recover from years of academic burnout. When I eventually thought of finding a job, it was more challenging than I anticipated. Instead of dwelling on being unemployed, I thought of next steps I could pursue given the skill I’d been honing (writing). That’s how I discovered freelancing. By leveraging self-awareness and a positive mindset, I refused to let setbacks define my path. Instead, I seized the opportunity to explore alternative avenues, ultimately emerging stronger and more determined.
2. Lifelong Learning:
The adage “if you don’t learn, you don’t grow” resonates deeply with me. I believe in the power of continuous learning to unlock new opportunities and perspectives. However, I recognize that the journey of learning can be daunting, especially outside formal education. To mitigate this, I often anchor my learning to tangible goals. For example, when delving into the realm of digital marketing, I did so with a clear objective in mind: to elevate my skills for the startup I co-founded. This goal-oriented approach not only provided direction but also fueled my motivation to persist in the face of challenges.
3. Mindfulness:
To me, mindfulness is a combination of self-awareness and being present. I’ve come to value this attribute because without being self-aware, it’s easy to slip into behaviors and thought patterns that hinder you from making progress in your life. Being present is also so important in life because living for a future or a past where things are/were better draws one away from the goodness of the current moment. There’s one meditation I often listen to in the mornings where the speaker says, “Your awareness should never be in the present nor in the future but should remain in the now,” and I carry that with me every single day because here in the now is where the magic happens—it’s where you can decide to create the life you want.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr Joe Dispenza is hands down the best personal development book I’ve ever read and it has helped me become the person I always envisioned myself being. These are some of the most valuable insights I highlighted: 1. “If your thoughts determine your reality, and you keep thinking the same thoughts (which are a product and reflection of the environment), then you will continue to produce the same reality day after day.”
2. “When you’re living in survival, you’re trying to control or force an outcome; that’s what the ego does. When you’re living in the elevated emotion of creation, you feel so lifted that you would never try to analyze how or when a chosen destiny will arrive.”
3. “You can’t think one way and feel another and expect anything in your life to change. The combination of your thoughts and feelings is your state of being.”
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thisisemmerita
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmerita
Image Credits
Leonard Kambonde
