Honourable Onyemaechi E. Okoro
Never Let Challenges Distract You From Your Goals
Onyemaechi Emmanuel Okoro is a lawyer and coach, personal motivator dedicated to inspiring youth and young adults, especially those with behavioral problems. Okoro is also author of the books ‘God’s Best Gift in an Ugly Wrapping’ and ‘The Ultimate Victory’ which was described as ‘thrilling, motivating and inspirational’ by the New York Times Book Review.
Okoro is vice-chair of the Igbo Nigeria Catholic Community in Philadelphia, PA. and as such represents and helps lead the church community at events hosted by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Igbo Catholic National USA and African Cultural Heritage.
Defining moments: I am someone who likes to work with the youth and young adults. I like challenges and all the moments of my life have rotated around this. And anyone who has ever worked with youth knows that it is indeed a challenge. Much of my life’s work has been trying to motivate people.
Significant accomplishment or project: I have written two books; the latter is completely dedicated to inspire youth and young adults. I use the books to further my mission to motivate people and show them that the things often thought to be impossible, are often possible.
Advice for young people: Never take no as an answer. When you think things are impossible, that’s a challenge and possibility for you to prosper because when something is easily gotten, you don’t value it. When you work hard for something you appreciate it more.
Never let challenges distract you from your goals. Life is replete with hardships, challenges, setbacks and difficulties but these are part of the journey which should be anticipated and overcome not a cause to give up and quit. Always accept challenges as part of your success.
How to build relationships within the African Diaspora: The number one thing is cooperation. We have to work together. If I don’t know what you’re doing, and you don’t know what I’m doing, there is no way we can work together.
All of us have to come together and we have to have a unified front. Just as the Chinese living in the U.S. typically maintain prosperous and self sufficient communities with a strong economic base. They do business among themselves. Only when they cannot find something among themselves that they go outside themselves. Europeans are the same, globally
Why can’t we, all Black people, work together and do things among ourselves? If we take care of our own people, people outside will give us more respect. Another problem complicating the matter is that far too often, those among us who typically consume their goods and services from sources outside their communities only see the negative things about the goods and services offered by their own people. But when we work together there will be great progress.
