Theresa Leone Davidson asked Lailah Gifty Akita:

Hello. I am a teacher, and my students read a bio of your life. They have questions for you, including what advice you would give to a student who wants to start his own charity; did you always like school, and what is most difficult about it? Do you have days where you say 'I just can't do it any more' and if so, how do you deal with it? My students see you as a role model. Thank you! Theresa Leone Davidson

Lailah Gifty Akita Dear Theresa,
Thank you for writing me. Sorry for the late response.
My advice to young student:
Believe in yourself.
Believe in your dreams.
Have faith in your abilities and in God.
Believe in yourself and the power of your dreams, even when others doubt your capabilities.
Listen to the inner voice.... Never pay attention to negative voice.
I have always love to study for I believe that was the only gift for myself…. To be someone body.
I also believe education was the best gift my parent gave me.
The challenging issues were i) going extra mile (thus, rising up early morning or staying late to study), ii) failing and rewriting a course.
iii) lack of interest in some subjects.

It takes a lot of courage and determination to stay optimism to overcome these issues. But anything is possible. The key is never to give up but to keep trying. Life is a learning process. We are learners for life. We must learn from every experience. I recommend the reading of my book “ The Alphabet of Success” ISBN-13: 978-1502764836.

I have had many difficulties which overcome by God’s grace. I have had moments when I had wanted to give up…….
I was able to overcome by
i) Sharing my by fears with my mentors. They encourage and inspired not to give up but to keep trying.
ii) I made a decision to stop dwelling on negative criticism but to fill my mind with positive thoughts.
iii) I bought a lot of inspirational books and read to renew my mind with positive thoughts. One of the books I read was ‘ Manuscript from Accra’ by Paulo Coelho….. ‘ Only he who gives up is defeated everyone us is victorious.’
iv) I refocused on building my strengths.
v) I made conscious effort to read motivational quotes daily.
Some of my favourite’s quotes are:
o There is no failure except in no longer trying. ― Elbert Hubbard
o What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise ― Oscar Wilde
o If we do not hope, you will not find what is beyond hopes, St Clement of Alexandra’
o It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness. ― Lucius Annaeus Seneca
o The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying ― John C. Maxwell
o A quitter never wins-and-a winner never quits.
• ― Napoleon Hill
• If you believe you can, you might. If you know you can, you will.― Steve Maraboli
• There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there. Paulo Coelho, The Fifth Mountain
• Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.– Thomas Edison
• We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.– Martin Luther King

vi) I strengthen my prayer and meditation lifestyles. We must not only read the scriptures but mediate on God’s thoughts for our lives.

Positive thoughts,
Positive attitude
Positive action

I love to inspire many young people to live their true potential.
You can contact me for more details:lailah.lailah@gmail.com

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