A Year of Exploration and Emotional Growth

This episode invites listeners to explore the transformative power of stepping away from routine through the inspiring journey of Charles Achampong. We discuss the evolving concept of adult gap years, the importance of emotional intelligence in balancing work and life, and how personal experiences shape our values and perspectives.

• Discussing the modern relevance of gap years
• Exploring the shift in work-life balance perspectives
• Historical insights on the origins of the gap year
• The significance of emotional intelligence (EQ) in the workplace
• The need for a balance between intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ)
• Insights into Charles’s corporate journey and personal growth

Charles Achampong

•  Instagram: @aroundtheworldinfamilydays 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesachampong
• Website: https://www.charlesachampong.com
• Email: info@charlesachampong.com

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Chapters

• 0:03 Exploring Adult Gap Years
• 10:35 The Balance of EQ and IQ
• 20:02 Career Impact Across Sectors

Transcript

Voiceover: 0:03

Tales from the wild, stories from the heart. A journey into the mind and soul of fired up business professionals, where they share their vision for the future and hear from a different non-profit organization every month as they create awareness of their goals and their needs. Dive into a world of untamed passion as we join our host, Shireen Botha, for this month's episode of Friends from Wild Places.

Shireen Botha: 0:36

All right, welcome back, Shireen. Here I am your virtual boutique bookkeeper and QuickBooks advisor. By outsourcing your bookkeeping services, you'll save time, reduce errors and free up valuable resources to focus on growing your business. Don't miss on the opportunity to streamline financial processes and improve your bottom line. Contact us today to learn more about how Shireen's Bookkeeping Services can revolutionize your business. If you want to know more, go check me out at www. shireensbookkeeping. com and allow me to keep your books clean so you don't have to Welcome back listeners. You are listening to Friends from Wild Places with myself, Shireen, and my amazing co-host, Tanya Scotece. Tanya, please go ahead and tell the listeners a little bit about our subscriptions.

Tanya Scotece: 1:40

Yes, so we have had our Friends from Wild Places podcast on many different platforms and we feature monthly guests and we had decided in 2024 to do bonus content. And bonus content is kind of behind the scenes, kind of some diving deeper into subjects that our listeners want, but it is a paid subscription, but it's less than a Starbucks cup of coffee. So for $5 a month you can actually subscribe and get the bonus content and feel free to ask us on anything that you would like to hear more of. So that's what's going on here, and back to you, shireen.

Shireen Botha: 2:18

Thank you so much, tanya, and sorry, listeners, for the sound adjustment. I just realized my mic wasn't plugged in so I must definitely sound a little bit different right now. It's only just because I've now plugged my mic in, but let's carry on. So. Thank you so much, tanya, for just letting the listeners know about that. Let's get straight into introducing our guest.

Shireen Botha: 2:45

So Charles Achampong inspires others to embrace life's unexpected pauses and reconnect with what truly matters. With over 20 years of experience across the public, private and non-profit sectors, he transformed his perspective through a life-changing journey around the world with his family, an adventure chronicled in his debut book Around the World in Family Days. Part memoir, part guide, the book weaves together humorous moments and universal lessons about stepping away from routine to embrace life's surprises. Through his writing and speaking, charles helps individuals and families discover the transformative power of pausing, a lesson learned through his global journey he shows us intentionally. Stepping away from life's constant motion creates space for deeper connections and authentic living, replacing future anxieties with present moment gratitude. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two kids, so welcome, charles. We're so happy to have you on the show.

Charles Achampong: 3:59

Thank you so much, shireen, for having me, and Tanya as well. It's a pleasure to virtually connect with all of your listeners and to have me join your podcast.

Shireen Botha: 4:09

Yes, absolutely. We're so excited to get into chatting with you, but I thought you know a little bit of an icebreaker. We normally have a short little segment in the beginning. In the beginning normally is with all the crime, um, you know, with all the the latest criminal cases that are ongoing. But today we're going to do a little bit something different.

Shireen Botha: 4:33

So I'm very intrigued about the fact that you upped and took your family around the world and, just, you know, left everything behind, which is so interesting, and you know what it's not. You're not the only one that I've heard do that. I have heard quite a few people doing that in later on in life, which is quite interesting, um, so yeah, let's the topic of discussion quickly for a few minutes is just, we've noticed how adults are more and more often taking gap years, and so I'd love for us to just go around the room and, you know, discuss if you've actually noticed this change and if you would be that person. I know Tanya and I would be that person. I think I've done it a few times already, as it is as a, a youngster and even now, with my business traveling all over the place, that's. You know always what I wanted to do. But you know, tanya, what about you? Are you? You know, have you heard adults in their older stage in life just leaving everything behind and taking a gap year? And would you do that?

Tanya Scotece: 5:43

Yeah, so over the years and, charles, welcome I'm super excited to have some in-depth conversation today with you. So in my history I read about people who, for example, left the United States. I'm based right outside of Miami, so I've heard about people like relocating, let's say, to Costa Rica, like I read of a family that did that, but I personally have never met anybody that did that. So I'm super excited for you know, to hear about your journey and your story.

Tanya Scotece: 6:14

For me, you know it's I just feel like there's always some quote unquote reason and maybe it's my own mind to stay rooted. So my daughter's here in Florida and Orlando, my mom is here also, so I don't feel that at this moment in time it would be something for me to do. However, I love to travel, so traveling I caught the travel bug. So I just actually got back from India last week and super, super trip. I've never experienced anything like it. So I do have the travel bug, but I want to hear about this journey, charles, because maybe you can inspire me to do it. So maybe next time anybody listens I'll be zooming in from some random place.

Charles Achampong: 6:54

I love that. I mean this notion of an adult gap year. I think if we take a step back, like many of us are used to, this model of the learn, earn, return model, right? So you spend your first 20 or so years learning, the next 30 to 40 years earning and then the 20 to 30 years you have left, sort of returning or retiring, right. And I think that old school way was very simple you worked until you know, worked your job until retirement, and I think more often than not over the last 10 years, 15 years. So people started realizing hey, why wait until I'm 65 to actually live my life? You know, I think COVID played a huge wake-up call for many of us, like lots of people were stuck at home thinking is this really what I want to do for the next 30 years?

Charles Achampong: 7:44

And I think the other piece too, in relation to COVID as much as, unfortunately, many people lost their lives piece too, in relation to COVID, as much as, unfortunately, many people lost their lives, you know there's quite a few people who were able to figure out what they could do and derive benefit and value from, you know, the time that they had all together in in one small location or one place as a result of COVID. So you know people save money. People realize you know the enjoyment that they had with their family. You got to know your family members a lot better. In some cases you know that was a bit of a challenge. In other cases you know there were opportunities there as well.

Charles Achampong: 8:17

I think working remotely showed everyone that things can be done differently too. If you can work from anywhere, why not work from Thailand for a bit or take six months off to learn about a new language or new skill? And I think the other piece is that burnout is. Burnout is real, right, and more people are admitting that it's become almost much more socialized and acceptable to say that you're you're burnt out right. And I think taking proper care and taking a proper break is not seen as career limiting anymore, and so it's actually viewed as sensible self-care, to actually look after yourself and to take some time off for yourself. I think the gig economy has helped too. You know you can pick up freelance work and work to fund your break or ease back in when you return. So I think there's this growing feeling that collecting experiences and skills might actually help you, make you much more valuable work and not less. So I think gone are the days when a gap year in your resume was sort of a you know career limiting for your career and everything you know. If you have an interesting story to tell as a result of your pause, then I think that's something that you can also add as value add compared to other candidates or other individuals looking for those same opportunities.

Charles Achampong: 9:29

So it's important for people to realize that you know the origins of a gap year were way back when, if anything, it was sort of post sort of World War II in the UK, and you know so we've. Europe has gone through a significant hit as a result of the World War II. Many people have lost lives. The social, physical infrastructure, mental infrastructure of the world has gone through a significant hit, and so this concept of a gap year in the UK was used to try and get people to you know as a way to be able to foster relationships and connections with other parts of the world. And so you know the UK being part of the head of the Commonwealth in terms of a number of countries that have the Queen as their head of state, became much more popular in Australia and New Zealand, by extension, here in Canada, as much as we've been part of the Commonwealth, we're very influenced by the US, so it's now, I think, more recently becoming much more of the norm than the exception. But really the origins were sort of post-World War II, where there was a sense that we wanted to get people to mix and mingle and to exchange and learn much more about each other, and so it's become much more popularized now because it's becoming more mainstream in many ways.

Charles Achampong: 10:35

And this idea of it's not, you know, you almost have to think of not a gap year or a pause as a comma in a sentence. It's not a full stop, it's not an exclamation mark, it's not the end, it's a pause for you to take a step back, breathe, relax, sort of think, and contemplate before continuing on, you know, with the rest of your sentence. So I think that is, you know, the thinking around. It has changed significantly. I think that's the reason why, and for those reasons why we're, you know, we're starting to see such a an increase in interest in the idea of a adult gap year right, Right, right.

Shireen Botha: 11:09

That's so interesting. I love it. I mean, if you're talking to me, I absolutely love the concept, but instead of the gap year, I'm actually just living my nomad life, but at the same time I'm taking my work with me. So again, you know, since the pandemic, as you said, things have changed and I'm able to do that, so I'm very grateful. So let's move on to quote of the day.

Shireen Botha: 11:38

Right, we love having our quotes of the day. It's very important because there's some good ones out there and it's always a great way to motivate ourselves. When we find something that sticks to us, we always seem to let it go over our heads in time of need and it always seems to help us out in really tough spots. So today, the quote of the day comes from Charles. He didn't actually create the quote, but this is the quote that he refers to when he needs it. So the quote goes never confuse education with intelligence. This is from Richard Feynman, American physicist. So I would love to hear from you, Charles, why this specific quote and what does it mean to you?

Charles Achampong: 12:30

to hear from you, charles, why this specific quote and what does it mean to you? Yeah, it's. I have many quotes that I appreciate and sort of ruminate on, but this one really sort of stands out for me because I think we've all witnessed firsthand, you know, sort of this idea of being book smart versus being street smart, and so, you know, it's almost as if you know, we've witnessed firsthand in boardrooms, in classrooms and in life, people who are extremely, you know, people who have a wall full of degrees but can't handle a basic social interaction, you know. And so what makes this quote so powerful for me is that it reminds us that intelligence comes in many different flavors. It's a continuum, right. So sure, some people can solve complex equations, but struggle to read a room, right. And so being able to recognize that true intelligence isn't about collecting gold, stars or degrees and that you need to be able to balance it out with being not only sort of having a high IQ but also a high EQ and emotional quotient.

Charles Achampong: 13:25

So I think there's a number of people we come across, or at least in UBC, you start to see now that emotional quotient and being able to have those soft skills or being able to have being able to read a room are skills that are becoming even more in demand, in addition to, or that you have to complement with, having the hard skills in terms of being a subject matter expert or a journalist in a particular area, are agendalists in a particular area.

Charles Achampong: 13:50

So it's just something that stands out to me because, if anything, I saw on our recent trip that, as much as you, there are a number of people who sort of stood out for us in terms of, you know, individuals who have come back from a variety of backgrounds, skill sets, expertise and experiences, and it's amazing how intelligent they are in terms of their understanding of the world around them and current events in history, without really having that formal education in mind as well. So it's one of my favorite quotes. It's something that stands out to me and I think it's something that I think we should keep in mind going forward. That the world will be is really for those who have a strong EQ, who can complement it with an IQ, and not either or.

Tanya Scotece: 14:29

I like that a lot.

Shireen Botha: 14:33

That's so true I mean no, it's just out of Just talking about EQ and IQ. I was, or am still today, more the EQ kind of person. You know, growing up, when I was in school, I was the sporty one. I wasn't getting. I had to work really hard to get a good B, a solid B, you know, on my scorecards, but when I was doing sport I excelled like it was nothing. So over the years and my gap year that I took when I was a youngster, um, and you know my life and my journey, um, you know, my EQ is definitely, uh, I'm the EQ side of things, definitely, right, yeah, tell me, what about you? Are you the EQ or the RQ?

Tanya Scotece: 15:20

So I'd have to say 50-50, because I'm in Connecticut and Italian-Irish background and academics was not in my journey at that time. So it wasn't until many years later that I tried academics and was successful. So I actually started my associate's degree at the age of 35 years old with a single mom, with my daughter, and it was. It was a journey, and at that time, when I finally got the hang of school, I liked it and I excelled. So I went straight through from my associates all the way through my doctorate in one and without any break, like you know, fall spring summer, fall spring summer. So from 2003 to 2015,. It was immersed. However, with a big however.

Tanya Scotece: 16:13

I don't claim to sit in an ivory tower. I did not have the degrees you know earlier on. So I feel like you know there's some people I mean rightfully so. I mean people go to school. You pay the money you know earlier on. So I feel like you know there's some people I mean rightfully so. I mean people go to school. You pay the money, you know like you earn it. But there's also the pretentious folks out there. You know we all know them and I just I do my best. I'm not one of them. I don't identify with an ivory tower. I'm as real as real can be.

Tanya Scotece: 16:36

So I think my initial formative definitely was on the EQ. So I think I'm balanced, I think I'm a 50-50. And I can sit here and say you know, there's many people that don't have formal degrees and are, you know, it doesn't equate. It's just like if somebody has the desire for, maybe, a certain job that requires a certain degree, or is just compelled to study, for example, my doctorate is actually in curriculum and instruction, with an emphasis in adult education, so it's not a medical doctor. But you know somebody that wants to practice medicine. If they go the medical doctor route, obviously there's proficiency exams and many things in that arena. So when I sit back, you know, I just think the old expression you can't judge a book by its cover is very true, because people have skills that are not even relatable to academia and they can excel in that respective field and vice versa.

Charles Achampong: 17:43

Yeah, I might add. I mean it's a great, the further you moved ahead in an organization, that you would have not only exceptional IQ but you would have a strong EQ as well. But I was often very surprised at individuals you'd come across, whether you know those who are very sort of public celebrities. Whatever you are, politicians are politicians you know, or even your colleagues and peers that you work with, and you would assume that that further up you were being rewarded for having sort of that 50 50 split. You know, being a strong subject matter expert or being able to work through people to get things done as a people manager, but also being able to work through those people by having a strong eq um and not the command and control style. And so I was often surprised like, wow, this person is quite senior in the organization, but you can tell, or there seems to be a bit of a handicap or some coaching that would be required in terms of ensuring that they have a strong EQ, that they can read a room.

Charles Achampong: 18:35

You know, I think, of previous managers and you know from the over my career where they are just exceptionally smart individuals in terms of being able to.

Charles Achampong: 18:41

You know from the over my career, where they are just exceptionally smart individuals in terms of being able to, you know, being able to distill very complex topics in a very simple, easy to understand manner for the lay person, but in terms of knowing when to stop talking because the others are, you know, fiddling on their phones or looking around or looking up, or not being able to read those verbal cue or nonverbal cues or verbal cues right, not being able to kind of fill in the blanks in those areas. That's where I was like wow, I'm surprised they don't see that or they haven't been exposed enough to know that. But we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and so I was often amazed or amused by the fact that, you know, it's sometimes, in many cases, we have either 50-50 or default to one or the other, and I always assume that, as you moved up in your career or as you moved up in an organization, that people would have an exceptional ability to do both. But that's not always the case.

Shireen Botha: 19:28

Right, yeah, that's great. Yeah, I think I loved your quotes and it's so interesting about the EQ and IQ and where on that line do you find yourself? Just in your upbringing and in your adult life? So quite interesting. Thanks, charles. So talk about you. I want you to just tell the listeners a little bit about who you are and your background in the corporate world before we jump into the massive decision that you made.

Charles Achampong: 19:59

But please, yeah, sure, thank you, sheree.

Charles Achampong: 20:02

So I think you touched on a few things earlier on in my bio, but I've been working for just over 20 years across public, private, not-for-profit sectors, really with a focus on supporting communities, and so you know whether it was orchestrating parts of the Vancouver Olympics, where we hosted the Olympic Games in 2010,.

Charles Achampong: 20:23

To navigating the banking world, working for one of the big five banks in Canada, with Scotiabank on the philanthropy side, so investing in communities that way to working on nonprofits, being able to help newcomers to Canada find employment and to help integrate them into the local labor market. Here in Toronto, I've had a very rewarding and vast career, my early days working with the United Nations as well, in Uganda and East Africa. I'm a proud dad to two daughters and a husband to Janice, who inspired really our trip around the world, but I think that's my biggest achievement being a dad to two fantastic daughters, 11 and eight, and being, at least, I hope, a good husband to my spouse, janice, as well. Yeah, and so that's really been my career, working in a variety of those organizations, all with a focus on being able to demonstrate impact for communities that I've, I've worked for and worked in.

Tanya Scotece: 21:25

Tune in next week for part two from Friends from Wild Places.

Voiceover: 21:31

You've been listening to Friends from Wild Places with Shireen Botha. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast from the links to catch every episode and unleash your passion.