We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Arnell Opoku a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Arnell, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

When it’s all said and done, I hope to be remembered for two things. Being intentional and how I loved people. I believe that’s the legacy I am currently building and I hope to pass that on to those who come after me. Every business project or idea I’ve brought forth started out with an intention that goes beyond me and my desires. For example, my latest book “Yaa’s Book of Affirmations” was written with the intention of teaching children how to speak life into themselves early so they don’t go through the same struggles of low self esteem and lack of confidence as I did in the past. I hope that me building a legacy built on intentionality can encourage others to build a life of impact that will last a lifetime.

Arnell, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Arnell Opoku and I am the author of the books, “Dear God, Love Your Daughter,” and my latest children’s book “Yaa’s book of Affirmations.” Along with that, I’m also a super passionate about storytelling and fashion. I think for me, storytelling was and is the foundation of all my creative talents. Growing up I was extremely shy and struggled with anxiety. I didn’t know how to effectively communicate how I felt verbally so I would always journal my thoughts or ideas and would turn it into something. Whether it would become a fake TV show, a good creative essay, or give birth to a dope clothing collection, I’ve always had a huge imagination as a child. Writing always came natural to me because I am a sensitive person who feels a lot and with anything that I wrote or created, my ultimate goal was always to make people feel something. Whether you feel happy, sad, joyful, whatever it was, I wanted the story to reach you and I want you to remember it. So that’s the foundation of everything I do. With this children’s book in particular, I wanted kids to feel special, unique, and confident in who they are as God made them. Their skin, their hair, their culture, talents, etc. I want them to love everything about themselves and know they are enough just the way they are.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn letting fear always get to me and causing me to stop. Dealing with anxiety, discerning rational and irrational fears can be difficult sometimes. There were times where I would allow myself to think my fear of failure was a good enough reason to simply not do something without trying. Fearing failure is a rational fear everyone struggles with but not moving is where it gets irrational because I’ve come up with a conclusion to something I haven’t even tried so in reality I don’t even know if I’ll fail or not. I had to unlearn that and learn to just do it scared. As daunting as it is, it’s freed me from the mental torment of “what if.” So yeah, whatever it is, if you’re passionate about it and God says move, my advice will always be do it scared. There is greatness, purpose, and so much more on the other side of fear that you may never see come to fruition if you don’t move.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve had to pivot quite a few times in all 3 areas actually, but most recently I’d say the biggest pivot I’ve made would be career wise. Those who know me know that my dream was to work in high fashion. I got into a few fashion schools out of high school and ended up majoring in fashion marketing and merchandising in college. My first two years of school the transition was extremely rough being away from home and I fell into a deep depression which caused me to surrender that dream and explore another career path. There were a lot of negative voices in my ear at the time saying I wouldn’t be successful and it would be hell trying to get a job with that degree so I ended up changing my major and changing schools. Fast forward to 2019, I graduate with my B.S. in Public Relations & Marketing, landed a job after a long depressing 8 months then lost it due to Covid. Finding a well paying marketing job was a job in itself and I knew the quality of life I wanted for myself so I had to pivot and explore other career options. At the time, pivoting into tech was the wave but I didn’t want to just hop on the train, I needed a career choice that made sense to my brain and my interests . I did research and discovered User Experience design and research. I thought it was a great fit for me because it allowed me to think creatively, use my skills in marketing, design, and storytelling to create compelling experiences for different products. I’ve now successfully pivoted into tech but I’m still navigating getting my foot in the UX door. So yeah, I’m still pivoting to this day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/arnellchanel?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/arnell-opoku-48951617b
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/Dear-God-Love-Your-Daughter/dp/1735021385=1-1&text=Arnell+Opoku https://www.amazon.com/Yaas-Book-Affirmations-Arnell-Opoku/dp/B0CHL46ZNW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1695045846&refinements=p_27%3AArnell+Opoku&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Arnell+Opoku

Image Credits
Image credits via Instagram: @ijohnsekyere @_flicks1 @ItsKennyJames @Lovetraceimages