What if the biggest difference between people who build sustainable creative careers and those who burn out isn't talent or opportunity, but understanding early that you must go through every single stage of the journey, that having a mind of your own is a superpower worth protecting, and that becoming a father while still figuring out your own life can either break you or become the fire that pushes you to levels you never imagined possible? In this raw and deeply personal episode of Konnected Minds, we sit down with Kiti, an Afrobeats artist who reveals the uncomfortable truth about discovering you're going to be a father in your final year of university while in different countries, why he was scared and shaking because he had nothing to his name and was still raising himself and trying to figure out his sound and his place in the world, why another human being added to that equation was such a scary concept but he always knew he would find a way because he is Mr. Find A Way, and why even though it affected his education and he had resets the thought of raising a child put fire under him that made everybody ask where is this guy from and where did he come from. He breaks down why his first ever performance outside of Ghana was in the UK and that was when he got the chance to meet his son for the first time, why they came to visit and then COVID happened so they ended up just staying, why he loved the concept of having him near where he could see him anytime he wanted to, and why in the initial stages as a young artist coming up becoming a father was one of many things that put fire under him to make it work no matter what. But he also confronts the family meeting that almost changed everything. Why his brother and his wife called him to a family meeting with his mom to express their concern, why his brother's wife had gone to a concert at Plus 233 and seen legends people they grew up listening to perform and she wasn't happy with how they looked, why she saw that nothing had gone on well for them in their lives and it became a point of concern, and why she asked him are you sure music is what you can do to one day put food on the table for your family. He reveals why in that moment he felt how he felt because he was a talented boy who could sing and thought he was Chris Brown, why now growing up and looking back at that conversation he gets it and it was a very very valid concern, why his brother who was taking care of him at the time is very strict like his dad and believes you have to go to school do your national service and do what needs to be done, and why even though he didn't want to do his national service his brother said you have to do it so he said cool. But we also dive deep into the power of having a mind of your own. Why there's never been a time in his life where there wasn't too many voices in his ears but he's always always always had a mind of his own, why if everybody says this cup is black and to him he thinks it's blue you will not convince him it is black, why he'll listen to everybody and hear what they say but at the end of the day when he goes back to his bed he makes the final decision based on his reality his circumstance what he wants and where he's trying to go, and why he's always thanked God for the power to have a mind of his own because you have no idea how much of a superpower that is. He explains why Michael Jackson's method with his father Joe Jackson worked for him but it doesn't mean if Joe Jackson had another kid called Craig Jackson it would have worked the same way, why everybody's formula is different everybody's timeline is different everybody's path is different, why people project to you what they think they have done and it's worked for them so you too you have to do that but no your life is different your circumstance is different your vision is different, and why he's open to listening and will go back and think about what you've said but if it's not making sense to what he wants to do he's not gonna take that. But he also reveals the humility required to lead effectively. Why he's one of the easiest people you meet and very rational, why he can go into a meeting very set on something he wants to do based on his projections and analogies but somebody in the team can hit him up with a perspective he hasn't thought about, why he'll go back and make some psych and call and say you know what I'm humble enough to let you know that I was very certain this thing I wanted to do but the perspective you gave me wasn't one I thought about and it makes sense so I'm going to take that, and why sometimes the perspective you give him he's heard it but he still believes in his bones in his spirit this is what needs to be done. We confront the brutal truth about shortcuts and stages. Why he reads books of wealthy people world leaders and everybody who has attained certain things in life and they never have one stream of income, why he knows he'll get there but to...
