Ini Abimbola, Lead Consultant and CEO of ThistlePraxis Consulting Limited is a woman who bends but never breaks because she is dogged, resilient and resourceful.
As a child, Ini Abimbola was told that hard work always pays in the end. She believes in hard work and perseverance. Her father’s life and profession as a road side watch repairer instilled the sense of craftsmanship in her.
And it’s a tenet this tenacious woman lives by till today that her work must at all times stand out. And whether it pays in billions of currencies or not, it must deliver value at all times.
“I started fending for myself and putting food on the table at 16. My Dad, a roadside watch repairer, my mum a petty trader but they knew the value of the education they did not have and they strove to ensure we had an education.
There are days I look at how far I’ve come and the deserts and oceans I’ve had to cross, the pains, the failures, the dark periods, the shame, the depression, reputation damage, losses and then the fact that I’m still alive and working so hard and then I see my shoes – I laugh!.
I was senior prefect in Badagry Grammar school but I had the worst shoes. Those rubber sandals called basket suffered in my hands. When the shoe repairer refused to sew it again, I held it together with safety pins. BUT YOU SEE today? I have enough shoes to start a shoe store.
You don’t break women like me. We bend, we don’t break. We stand and we deal and we deal with every bullshits life brings our way and we deal squarely. We have worn pain like jewelry so we can handhold others and show them where to sidestep.
Moral of my tripping: This too shall pass. Whatever it is, it will pass. Stay the process. You will survive it. Trust me, you will.”
Ini Abimbola is a Queen and she got our massive respect. Thanks for inspiring women with your experience. Indeed, great women bend but they don’t break. They rise all the time from the ashes of challenges like phoenix.
