How clarity of intention has helped me live a more fearless life.

A lot of us, young people, today are too afraid to talk about our dreams. Especially if they seem “impossible at that moment.” But in my opinion, talking about one's dreams automatically launches them into existence. As soon as I walked up to my family and said I wanted to attend an Ivy League School; not any Ivy League, but the one with the top architectural program in the country, Cornell University, I launched into existence. It was not apparent to everyone in the world yet, but to the Muumba family, I was going to attend Cornell. Not only did I attend Cornell but I graduated Cornell after 5 years with exactly what I wanted, a degree in Architecture. My family, from when I was little, can attest to my power of manifestation. I have always been very clear about what I want but most importantly what I do not want. My father could not get me to do anything if I simply said, "I will not do it." At a younger age, he thought it was disrespect but as I grew older he slowly noticed that it was rooted in my clarity of intention. When I said I would do something, I did it close to perfection. So my family decided to find a way to get me to say yes, then ditch me with the burden of completing the given task. (yes my siblings, I was watching.)

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So, talk about your dreams. Talk about the person you aspire to be. Choose to be extraordinary. Choose to be exceptional. I strongly believe every single person reading this is going to be excellent at what you set your mind to. I always hoped to be an impact maker. I always asked God to just put me in a space where I can make a difference. And for so long that space was solely in the design field but recently it morphed into the educational field as well. Now it's a perfect amalgamation of the two with my vision as the captain of the ship. (That is a whole other story for another day.)

Now at a very young age, I chose three things I wanted in life, I wanted to pursue the best education I could, be extraordinary at whatever I chose to do and when not if "because I do not believe in luck but strongly believe in destiny" when I got all of that, I would be indebted to leave the world a little better than I found it.

Well, here I am today. By the grace of God, the sacrifice of my parents and my determination and hard work, I am a few weeks from graduating from graduate school with my Masters in Education and three months away from starting my full-time career as an educator. I have my architectural design degree in my bag which officially gives me the two skillsets that I need to morph into what I have always wanted. And what is that? Well, the hope and the dream is to curate a moment where children can fully engage in the learning process because of the thoughtful and intentional design of the space in which they acquire knowledge.

Education was my first love from when I walked through the doors of Green Hill Academy in Kampala, Uganda as a 5-year-old. It was a privilege to attend school in a place where the place where you learned was as important as how you learned. The New Building at GreenHill Kibuli Campus shaped the mind that I am today. I have such an unorthodox career path but one that I have made my own and I have fallen hopelessly in love with. I wake up every morning so excited to go to work. For me, that is the biggest indicator that I am in the career I want. Shaping minds is my honor but also my greatest responsibility.

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You will hear from a lot of the people in my upcoming Instagram series on SUCCESS vs. GREATNESS. (Keep an eye out for that) But none of them will say it was a smooth ride. Some of us had to balance work, school, family, being a varsity athlete, some of us had to take a break from school and some of us had to move away from home to pursue what we truly are passionate about. But what I like to believe brought all of us to where we are today, is that we dreamed to be something, set goals, focused on them and the rest is history.

My mother ingrained two things in me. One is, “why try to be like everyone one else when God clearly created you to be so much more.” And two, “No one makes a difference by being like everyone else.”

So take chances professionally. Do not be afraid to fail. Failure as Oprah says,"Is just a redirection on the path to greatness." Do not be afraid to dream big.

Do not be afraid to think outside the box. Boxes are the easiest road trodden to mediocrity. And how frustrating can that be? This is where all the regrets reside.

But most importantly, do not compare your journey to anyone else’s. You are the author of your own story, so write it. For so long I lived for other people, my parents, my friends, my teachers. Then one day I had had enough. I took back the reins of my life. And from that day, life has been and continues to be a fulfilling journey. It is filled with so many risks, lessons, and victories but it's all worth it at the end of the day. And for me, I couldn't ask for anything more.

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Remember, (this is the part you take notes) dreams without goals are just dreams. And this ultimately will lead to disappointment. So, set goals, weekly, monthly, yearly goals. Write them down! Don't just store them in your mind. How will you hold yourself accountable? Once you have these goals set, start to work at making them happen. Discipline and consistency will need to be employed to get these dreams to happen. The work you put in will get you to where you want to be.

The greatest mantra in my life to date is;

"Don’t confuse movement with progress. Because you are doing a lot more does not necessarily mean you are getting a lot more done."

Work smart not hard.

If you want something, dream it, work at it. You will get it. And once you get it, turn back and help another.

Finally, Don’t aspire just to make a living. Aspire to make a difference.

Cheers, Patricia.