I was in a plane that made an emergency landing and it dispelled a popular myth
My wife and I were flying back home to Kilimanjaro from a weekend in Dar. We were halfway into the one hour flight, when the pilot announced that he had to turn around to return to Dar due to mechanical problems
After that, every bump of turbulence felt like THE BIG ONE. I found myself deeply contemplating the mechanics of how one dies in a plane crash, and what happens after that, after life.
My wife was gripping my hand. Crying. Praying. I stayed calm on the outside, assuring her that, “honey, it’s just routine, nothing to worry about.” We prayed together.
On the inside I realized how intensely I wanted to live.
I thought of our daughter, Ella, most of all. But also had this intense feeling that I had not done enough with my life. There’s this popular saying that “nobody on their deathbed wishes they’d worked harder” and I found that to be utter baloney. Zooming back to Dar es Salaam in my deathbed, I really wished I had worked harder.
Over that weekend I’d had my first session with a life coach. That helped me realize how important it was to me personally to tell the story of Tanzania, and East Africa, to my friends around the globe.
I’ve missed so many weddings, births, laughs and memories with my incredible family and friends in America, because I believe I am doing something really meaningful in East Africa.
But if I don’t tell that story, they may never know why I’ve left America for Africa.
When the wheels touched the ground, I burst into tears. What a wuss I am! Don’t tell anyone.
Since arriving home, hugging and holding our daughter, I’ve been writing again, every day.
There’s an incredible opportunity to use tech to empower Africa. The returns available to American investors, of all sizes, can far outpace inflation. The impact you can have among the world’s poorest and hardest working people- will be life changing. Have a look at NINAYO to see how you can get involved. I’ll be writing in more detail about that work with NINAYO, the technology, the impact and the potential is incredible.
Eventually, all of our planes will go down and we will meet our maker. I’ve got a lot of work to do before that happens. Some of it will entail writing about how we can connect the globe to create a more verdant and prosperous global community.
