Our speaker on Wednesday 30 March 2016 was Shola Kaye, who came to us as an inspirational speaker, whose life could easily make several television series.
Shola started life in Nigeria, but came to this country when she was just a small baby. As was the custom in the Nigerian culture, her parents ‘fostered’ her with an English couple so that they could both work and earn. Even by her own admission, she was a quiet and shy child. Whilst still a child, she was moved to the USA and found her new circle of friends somewhat overpowering.
As an adult, she returned to the UK where she had a job in a consultancy, but that did not last as her boss felt she was too quiet!
She tried taking singing lessons whilst she was out of work, and found that singing was something that she loved to do, and her friends said that she was really good at it. She was soon invited to be a backing singer, and she really enjoyed that stage of her career, although she knew that it could not last for ever. She is currently embarking on a career in public speaker, and has joined Toastmasters International to develop her skills.
From all these adventures, her philosophy of life came down to these three maxims: Be Authentic because being yourself is much easier than being who others might want you to be. Be of Service, like her foster mother, because the good that you do for others endures. Do what you love, because you will enjoy doing it for a long time.
Thank you Shola for an inspiration talk, and for singing three songs for us.
