All-Rounders: Nemo Ashong on Trust and World Joy
Part Two of the interview by Christy Davis and Ysel Fresnido
Part One of our interview with Nemo Ashong, founder of Empjoyment, explored inclusion and the need for inclusion in order to experience true innovation. In this second part of the interview, we learn about the ‘World Joy Movement’ that Nemo is championing, his unique approach to trust, and his advice for aspiring all-rounders.
“Why settle for World Peace when we could have World Joy?”
World Peace is an all-too-oft mentioned goal for our future that many people consider a pipe-dream. But, Nemo asks, why not set our sights on something higher?
Nemo sees World Joy occurring in a world where we don’t just get along with or tolerate each other but instead celebrate and value one another for our contributions to society and the world through our unique talents and gifts. According to Nemo, the opposite of war and competition is not peace, but joy and collaboration! The next revolution is not a technology revolution but collaboration revolution — this is something that he sees as possible in this lifetime and he’s committed to making it happen.
Read more of our conversation with Nemo…
So Nemo, tell us more about the World Joy Movement
I’ll start with these three lenses — ’competition, cooperation, and collaboration’. We can have discrimination, we can tolerate one another, and we can have inclusion. If we apply these lenses on a global scale, we had world war, we can have world peace, and we can have something beyond world peace which is world joy. The World Joy Movement is about helping people show up as who they are and feel comfortable with who they are. My hypothesis is that when you come from a place where there’s inclusion and empowerment, you have the means and resources to take ownership. You move away from a scarcity mentality, and instead to an ‘abundance’ mindset — being yourself and acknowledging your own talents and gifts, which when combined with others’ allow you to achieve more!
Sounds like Combinatorial Innovation!
Absolutely! There’s an incremental or linear approach where you do things by yourself, but when you take a combinatorial innovation approach — people coming in together in different ways — there’s a multiplier effect in terms of growth. Who doesn’t want that?
I think it’s important to know if you believe in collaboration and innovation, that you are part of the ‘silent majority’. How can we have a world where people are coming together to create innovative ideas, where they are all doing what they do best and bringing that to the table? That’s what started the World Joy Movement. I enjoy what Asia P3 Hub is doing because I think it’s important for people to see that there is a path, and once we bring in more people’s viewpoints and see the possibilities, exponential growth takes place.
Let’s shift gears for a second and talk about ‘trust’. When we bring amazing people together to collaborate, cooperate, and maybe compete, how do you grow trusting relationships? And is it required to get these huge aspirations off the ground?
First of all, I start with the baseline of trust, and I realise that this is a different way of operating from most people. You don’t have to build trust, but start with trust. I intentionally look for people who are willing to see their world differently, and engage in conversations to get to know them for who they really are. Secondly, it’s about being interested, not interesting, and spending time understanding where the other person is coming from. I find it an amazing way to build trust along the way.
The most powerful way to build trust is to be vulnerable. I think what makes someone able to lead or influence is their ability to be vulnerable and authentic. Being yourself is important for cultivating trust and partnerships.
Some people might find me too aspirational for them. But for people who are the right partners, they see that I’m genuine and find it attractive. I’ve realised the more trusted, vulnerable, and authentic I am in a partnership, the more willing I am to express my vision and be interested in others, and to give myself the space to have deep conversations, and get to even more meaningful levels of trust. And I can see there is trust because my partners introduce me to their friends. I’d rather be honest and authentic, and create the space for those kinds of relationships. I’m not about attention, interactions or connection, I’m about relationships and community. I choose to start playing at the relationship level, and I think that helps build trust right off the bat.
If you go the “why date when you can just go get married” stage, does it intimidate people? Even if they are willing to enter at that level, they may still need the “getting to know you” time. How do you manage that? And what do you do when trust is broken?
My approach of going straight into a level of depth does intimidate some people. I ask them a lot of questions — and some people are not comfortable talking about themselves, I get it! It goes into my general philosophy of knowing thyself. If you do, someone becomes more open to you. Movers and shakers recognise each other; there are so many opportunities that have opened up from this approach. If my approach makes someone uncomfortable or if he/she’s not ready for me yet, I am fine with that. There’s someone else out there who will be ready and say “this is exactly what I need!” I let my results speak for themselves.
Are you often perceived as overconfident or arrogant?
Let me share the story that led to my transformation: I participated in an event and within the first hour, my name was mentioned twice on the microphone. I thought, “Nemo, it’s only been 15 minutes and you have been featured already twice in the community here. You’re good! For the next two days, just lay low and create space from what’s going on out there.” I shared what happened to a small group I worked with at a workshop, and told them that I feel that I’m too much for most people. The group leader said, “Nemo, leave them to have their own experiences. They are adults, they are reacting to you based on their own experience. Perhaps, you’re rubbing against something that makes them think about the path that they have chosen,” his words changed my life!
I often have people coming up to me saying that they think the same way but have never been able to articulate it, or that they like working with me because I’m able to say good things about myself without being arrogant. I bring people in to play a bigger game — within my walls you can’t be arrogant enough. If I’m going to help you get to your next level, I need to know what you’re great at; humility doesn’t have a place. I’m mindful of not being humble, I will not turn myself down to be on your level. When I create a space for people to expand whenever I expand, then I can expand further. That’s where I see the impact taking place.
Looks like you live an energetic, exciting life! How do you rest and recharge?
I’m fortunate that my wife’s goal is travel, mine is growth. We find the opportunity to go away once a month. My rest comes when we take trips together, or just from being with her, or turning on Netflix at the end of the day.
In terms of energy and recharging, there are three things that I usually do:
- I cultivate energy. My morning starts with meditation and priming exercise by Tony Robbins to get myself in the right mindset and to bring out my energy through gratitude, first and foremost.
- I organise my business and actively manage my time to spend it on things that fuel my energy and filter out things that drain it. My work is energy-draining, so I’m aware of who or what I spend my time with. I’ve spent a lot of time understanding what my unique strengths are. I ask myself, “What can I do that gets 10 times the results using just 10 percent of my energy?” I do things that are energising towards an overall objective. For example, when building relationships, some people make handwritten cards. That’s not my way. Instead, I make a 2-minute video message speaking my thoughts, then just send it, done!
- I am real and authentic. In my podcasts, if somethings pops up in the background, like a dog or leaves blowing, I’ll just say, “Oh, there’s a dog in the background, let’s continue.” So it allows me to manage my energy very differently.
What advice or pearls of wisdom would you offer to people who wants to become an all-rounder?
It starts with self-awareness, being mindful, and not just reacting but choosing to respond. No matter where you are in your journey, you have that ability.
Another piece of advice is, ‘be more you’ rather than ‘be you’. What’s the difference? I look at ‘being more you’ as choosing to be the the version of you that you actually are, versus the version of you that other people expect. For example, I could have come to this conversation trying to be what you think an all-rounder should be, but I made a decision that I will be who I am. And it’s about choosing to be ‘more you’ even in moments that don’t seem to matter. My mentor always says, “how we do anything is how we do everything.” As you continue ‘being more you’ with self-expression and self-awareness, it becomes self-belief — you can start from there.
You can think about where you are now, where you want to be, and what steps you need to take to get you there. But I think a game-changer is, instead of asking yourself how get to your destination, ask what it would be like if you come from that place. For me, a destination is not a place to get to, but it’s a place to come from. World joy exists right now in every conversation that I have; it’s my core way of being.
We hope you learned a lot from this interview. If you want to read more from our All-Rounder series, click HERE.
