9 Lessons from 29 (By Fire, By Force)

We've moved beyond the pink blazers, empowerment brunches, and girlboss era BUT what exactly has replaced them? As conversations around success, work-life balance, and personal fulfillment continue to evolve, it's worth asking whether our relationship with ambition has changed too. On this episode of the podcast, host Chidinma is joined by Creator and Strategist, Niya Baxter to explore ambition, success, and the expectations we place on ourselves using Emma Grede's book Start With Yourself as a starting point. The two discuss the qualities that have contributed to Grede's success, the realities of building an ambitious life, and why her approach may not resonate with every woman, the importance of understanding one's personal values and deciding what to actually work toward. The question isn't whether women are still ambitious, but rather if and how they are pursuing ambitions that genuinely belong to them. — Connect with "But What Do I Know?" Podcast: Leave A Voicenote: https://www.speakpipe.com/BWDIKPodcast Podcast Community: ⁠https://www.bwdikpodcast.com/ Subscribe and watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BWDIKPodcast IG: @bwdikpodcast  Tiktok: @bwdikpodcast  — Connect with Niya:@glamourgirlniya  Listen to Blk Girl Ambition: Blk Girl Ambition — Episode Credits: Executive Producer: Chidinma Azubuike Audio and Video Editor: Aleks van der Westhuizen   Podcast Theme Music: Hamid Bello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it really take to build a business before the funding, recognition and success stories arrive? This week on But What Do I Know? Podcast, Chidinma is joined by Diane Kone, founder of Swayed, a tech platform designed to make discovering stylists for afro/ textured hair (WAYY) easier. Together, they discuss Diane's journey into entrepreneurship, the problem that inspired Swayed, and the realities of building a tech startup from the ground up (hint: the platform crashed and Diane had to switch web developers about 4 times). From product development and navigating funding to the unique challenges facing Black women founders in Canada's startup ecosystem, Diane shares what it means to keep building while the business is still finding its footing. This is a conversation for the entrepreneurs about learning as you go, and the work that happens LONG before success becomes visible. — Connect with "But What Do I Know?" Podcast: Leave A Voicenote: https://www.speakpipe.com/BWDIKPodcast Podcast Community: ⁠https://www.bwdikpodcast.com/ Subscribe and watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BWDIKPodcast IG: @bwdikpodcast  Tiktok: @bwdikpodcast  — Connect with Diane Kone: @deemtrl Visit Swayed: https://www.theswayedapp.com/ — Episode Credits: Executive Producer: Chidinma Azubuike Audio and Video Editor: Aleks van der Westhuizen   Podcast Theme Music: Hamid Bello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It feels like for the past year and a half every month another company is announcing layoffs BUT what is actually happening in the job market? This week, award-winning economist and author Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman joins Chidinma on the podcast to unpack the shifts happening across work and the economy. They compare what current labour-market trends are telling us in Canada and the United States, why job insecurity can feel so widespread even when the data doesn’t necessarily show a massive increase in layoffs, and what prolonged periods of unemployment and slower hiring mean for workers. They also explore how economic uncertainty is affecting Black communities and Black women in particular, the pressure to choose between traditional employment and entrepreneurship, what gets lost when “start your own business” becomes the answer to job insecurity, and the role Black communities can play in the future global economy. Finally, Anna and Chidinma SPECULATE on what current trends may indicate about the future of work. — Connect with "But What Do I Know?" Podcast: Leave A Voicenote: https://www.speakpipe.com/BWDIKPodcast Podcast Community: ⁠https://www.bwdikpodcast.com/ Subscribe and watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BWDIKPodcast IG: @bwdikpodcast  Tiktok: @bwdikpodcast  — Connect with Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman: @itsafronomics Anna’s Work: https://annagifty.com/ — Episode Credits: Executive Producer: Chidinma Azubuike Audio and Video Editor: Aleks van der Westhuizen   Podcast Theme Music: Hamid Bello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes we lose pieces of ourselves in relationships, while trying to belong, or simply while becoming who we think we're supposed to be.  This week, Chidinma is joined by Nigerian-American attorney and author Kehinde Winful for a conversation inspired by her debut novel, Flooding the River. Through the story of Lolah, a young woman navigating love, identity and a return to Nigeria, they explore what it means to come home, both to a place and to yourself. They also get into the complicated relationship members of the African diaspora can have with home, who gets to claim an African identity, what our romantic relationships can reveal about who we're becoming, and how easy it can be to lose your own voice while trying to be loved or chosen. This week’s conversation is one that touches on love, diaspora, identity, home and learning to trust yourself again. Be well and stay curious! — Connect with "But What Do I Know?" Podcast: Leave A Voicenote: https://www.speakpipe.com/BWDIKPodcast Podcast Community: ⁠https://www.bwdikpodcast.com/ Subscribe and watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BWDIKPodcast IG: @bwdikpodcast  Tiktok: @bwdikpodcast  — Connect with Kehinde Winful: @kenyoureads Kehinde’s Book: Flooding The River  — Episode Credits: Executive Producer: Chidinma Azubuike Audio and Video Editor: Aleks van der Westhuizen   Podcast Theme Music: Hamid Bello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What comes after deciding the work you’re doing no longer aligns with what you value? In the first It’s Your Turn episode, a BWDIK listener shares her decision to leave corporate America and begin building a marketing agency of her own. Host, Chidinma reflects on the difficulty of building something new, why knowing you made the right decision doesn’t necessarily make the climb any easier, and the different versions of freedom and alignment we’re all searching for in the way we work. Have a thought, experience or things you’re working through that you'd like to share? Leave a voice note using the link below! Please remain anonymous by leaving your name out of the recording and submission title.  --- Connect with "But What Do I Know?" Podcast: Leave A Voicenote: https://www.speakpipe.com/BWDIKPodcast Podcast Community: ⁠https://www.bwdikpodcast.com/ Subscribe and watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BWDIKPodcast IG: @bwdikpodcast  Tiktok: @bwdikpodcast  --- Episode Credits: Executive Producer: Chidinma Azubuike Audio and Video Editor: Aleks van der Westhuizen   Podcast Theme Music: Hamid Bello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Disappointment is inevitable, but what happens when you get tired of constantly having to adjust, pivot and make a new plan? In this solo episode, Host Chidinma gets candid about recent disappointments. From moments where it was difficult to show up fully to challenges behind the scenes of the podcast. The episode ends with three reflections helping her move through this current season. Because you can't insulate yourself from disappointment, but you can cushion it. --- Connect with "But What Do I Know?" Podcast: Podcast Community: ⁠https://www.bwdikpodcast.com/ Subscribe and watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BWDIKPodcast IG: @bwdikpodcast  Tiktok: @bwdikpodcast  --- Episode Credits: Executive Producer: Chidinma Azubuike Audio and Video Editor: Aleks van der Westhuizen   Podcast Theme Music: Hamid Bello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can we question the beliefs we inherited without rejecting everything we've ever known? This week, author and spiritual practitioner Juju Bae joins Host Chidinma on to discuss The Book of Juju and what it means to approach faith, ancestry, and spirituality with curiosity rather than certainty. Together, they explore Juju's journey to Ifá, reconnecting with African spiritual traditions, common misconceptions about Ifá, Hoodoo and Vodou, and why so many people are quietly re-examining the beliefs they inherited. More than a conversation about religion, this is a conversation about identity, curiosity, and having the permission to ask difficult questions. --- Connect with Juju Bae:  Support The Book Of Juju: https://www.jujubae.com/ IG: @itsjujubae --- Connect with "But What Do I Know?" Podcast: Podcast Community: ⁠https://www.bwdikpodcast.com/ Subscribe and watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BWDIKPodcast IG: @bwdikpodcast  Tiktok: @bwdikpodcast  --- Episode Credits: Executive Producer: Chidinma Azubuike Audio and Video Editor: Aleks van der Westhuizen   Podcast Theme Music: Hamid Bello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can romance really be easy? This week on the podcast, bestselling romance author Danielle Allen joins host Chidinma to discuss Big Girl Blitz, the final book in the Curve series. Together, they explore what makes a romance story  feel believable, why healthy love can be just as convincing as complicated or toxic love, and how Danielle creates the unforgettable characters - Aaliyah, Nina and Jaz - that bookstagram has come to love. Hopefully, the conversation doesn’t spoil the book for you (if it does, please forgive) but this episode also explores themes of grief, confidence and emotional healing.. OH and some good SMUT so please listen with your headphones and be prepared to blush a few times (lol).  --- Connect with Danielle Allen: Support Big Girl Blitz: https://www.authordanielleallen.com/ IG: @authordanielleallen  --- Connect with "But What Do I Know?" Podcast: Podcast Community: ⁠https://www.bwdikpodcast.com/ Subscribe and watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BWDIKPodcast IG: @bwdikpodcast  Tiktok: @bwdikpodcast  --- Episode Credits: Executive Producer: Chidinma Azubuike Audio and Video Editor: Aleks van der Westhuizen   Podcast Theme Music: Hamid Bello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some of the most important life lessons in your late twenties are often learned when life doesn't go according to plan. In this solo episode of But What Do I Know? host Chidinma A reflects on the 9 biggest lessons she learned at 29. A year that included home ownership that didn't go as planned, a layoff, and unexpected disappointments. From letting go of certain expectations and making peace with job uncertainty to redefining success and learning to trust herself more deeply, this conversation is a reflection on growing through unexpected change and finding meaning in seasons that ask for more (A LOT more). --- Connect with "But What Do I Know?" Podcast: Podcast Community: ⁠https://www.bwdikpodcast.com/ Subscribe and watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BWDIKPodcast IG: @bwdikpodcast  Tiktok: @bwdikpodcast  --- Episode Credits: Executive Producer: Chidinma Azubuike Audio and Video Editor: Aleks van der Westhuizen   Podcast Theme Music: Hamid Bello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first episode of this new season, host Chidinma A is joined by Dr. Cassandre Dunbar for a conversation that feels like an embrace. With everything happening globally, from ongoing conflicts to economic uncertainty,  it can feel like there’s always something to process, even whether you are directly or indirectly impacted. In this conversation, they explore what it means to exist in a constant state of awareness, and how the ongoing exposure to heavy news and stress can begin to show up in the body. From increased cortisol levels to dysregulated stress responses and long-term health impacts, Dr. Cassandre breaks down how this may be processed in the body. Together, they reflect on what it means to carry so much, often without realizing it, and how to begin checking in with the body more intentionally. The conversation closes with a thoughtful look at how to stay informed and empathetic, while also protecting mental and physical well-being. --- Connect with "But What Do I Know?" Podcast: Join The Podcast Community: ⁠https://www.bwdikpodcast.com/ Subscribe and watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BWDIKPodcast IG: @bwdikpodcast  Tiktok: @bwdikpodcast  — Connect with Dr. Cassandre Dunbar: Check out Dr Cassandre’s content: @ bewellsis_podcast Watch episodes of the ‘Be Well Sis’ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@bewellsis --- Episode Credits: Executive Producer: Chidinma Azubuike Audio and Video Editor: Aleks van der Westhuizen   Podcast Theme Music: Hamid Bello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices