Monday Motivation: Being Bold In The Face Of Adversity
Though the International Women’s Month has gone, we are still celebrating courageous women, and our motivation subject this week is none other than our December 2016 cover girl Omotoke Makinwa. Popularly known as Tokkstar.
Omotoke needs no introduction, the radio host/TV Presenter/Brand Ambassador/Best selling Author is known by many, loved by few and talked about by most. The controversial media girl is always in the news; whether it’s for her “No holds barred” weekly Vlogs, or her very public, very messy marriage (or the lack of it) to her million dollar book, Toke Makinwa is a favorite topic of discussion for bloggers and social media users.
Say what you will about her though, TM is the quintessential example of the phrase “Still I rise”. Every time she’s taken a hit, she not only picked herself off the floor but she rises to a higher level. From having her name dragged through the mud by every Esther, Nkechi and Kafayat after her divorce to law suit threats and controversial Vlogs, Toke is unfazed in the face of these challenging obstacles.
Not one to be scared by dreams TM has worked consistently over the years, slowly working her way up to where she is today. She worked as a banker for many years before making the career switch to media (where she’d always wanted to be). Toke’s hard work and work ethic is definitely worthy of emulation.
In a recent article profiling brave women published on Ynaija, Arese Ugwu of the smart money woman profiled Toke Makinwa who has been her friend since their NYSC days. Arese shares how TM fearlessly chased her dreams of having a career in media. Going for countless auditions until she got the night time slot on radio as host of the Rhythm of the night show on Rhythm FM. She worked as a night host whilst still working her day job as a banker.
She also had to endure public shaming after news of her husbands philandering acts came out, until their marriage eventually ended causing her to live through the drama of her broken marriage before millions of watchful eyes. With strangers dissecting pieces of her life and spreading their harsh negative judgement at her lowest point.
While it can be argued that she brought it upon herself, she didn’t let it deter her though, she kept at it, not hiding from the world but choosing to focus on work, eventuall turning her pain into gain making millions from it too.
She might not be little Miss Perfect but the next time you feel the need to judge her, (or anyone else) think about what she’s had to endure and the high walls she’s had to climb to get to the top and maybe learn a lesson in bravery; especially how to #BeBold in the face of adversity.
