The lawyer who quit her job to inspire others
May 08, 2013
Doreen Kanyesigye dared to quit a prestigious job to follow her heart's desire of being an inspirational speaker. She dreaded going to work as a legal officer everyday but unlike some people who just get sucked into the rat race, Kanyesigye chose to quit.
Doreen Kanyesigye dared to quit a prestigious job to follow her heart's desire of being an inspirational speaker. She dreaded going to work as a legal officer everyday but unlike some people who just get sucked into the rat race, Kanyesigye chose to quit.
She embarked on inspirational speaking. She told Carol Natukunda how the career change made her a happier person.
Was she going nuts? Did she even know what she was getting into? And just what was going on in her life to force her to make such a ‘silly’ decision? ‘Silly,’ because you do not wake up one day and resign a good job just like that.
Despite the reactions from every corner of her world, Doreen Kanyesigye Kisakye decided enough was enough with her law profession. She chose to pursue a career in motivational speaking. Looking back, Kanyesigye recalls that she woke up every day with the intention to resign.
“I never looked forward to going to work. I would wake up and find myself stressed and dreading office,” recalls Kanyesigye. “There was no bullying, nothing really bad. But I just did not like it.”
As a matter of fact, Kanyesigye had only worked for three months. She was in the legal department of a bank in Kampala. The pay was good by Ugandan standards. She earned enough to support her parents and siblings; and she could even afford a bit of luxury here and there.
Which is why when she finally made a decision to leave the bank, one of her friends cried out to a group of friends: “Doreen is normally focused and brilliant, but I do not know why she is acting stupid!”
Kanyesigye says; “I knew there was never a right time to do anything. And there will always be a time when you have to listen to your inner self, not to everyone.”
Seeking her passion
Naturally, at only 28, you want to think that there must have been a bigger force behind Kanyesigye’s brave decision; probably something more than meets the eye.
For crying out loud, she has a master’s degree in law! But even after I probe and probe, she maintains that her passion lies in celebrating life.
“We only have one chance at living, so we should make the most of it. There are many people who come to work and they do not even feel like it.
I want people to realise that life is more than an everyday struggle,” Kanyesigye says.
A few weeks before her resignation, she had done a pilot project of potential clients when she chose to bow out. She decided she would start with schools.
She was in for a big shock when she finally resigned, for it seemed like the targeted market was not ready for her.
“I went to a prominent school and sold my idea to a head teacher. She gladly welcomed me. And when I told her I would charge sh200,000 for the session, she declined. I had to go back to the drawing board,” Kanyesigye says.
For a moment, she was discouraged, but giving up was not an option. She was contemplating her next move when someone introduced her to Boston Enterprises, a private organisation that was doing a campaign on promoting life skills in schools.
Call it sheer luck, because the organisation was doing exactly what she dreamt of doing. They took her on and she traversed several schools with them to inspire children about achieving their dreams.
Above all, they gave her a salary which kept her going. She would work for five months, until she finally decided she was fully prepared to face the world on her own. She resigned.
Going independent
She launched her own organisation, Mastermind Alliance, with the aim of talking to employees and students on a part time basis. She works with a friend, Serraine Nyamori, and the two young women work at home.
“Luckily, we both do not have children yet, so if I am not at her place, she is at my house,” Kanyesigye says. “Here, we can sit and concentrate,”she adds.
They normally study a particular company’s visions and objectives so that when they make their presentation, it is in line with performance targets, the goals of the company, as well as the quality of an individual’s life.
They hold an interactive session for about half an hour. And this could be every fortnight or monthly depending on how much time they have to prepare before the presentation.
Kanyesigye looks like a satisfied young woman today. You are likely to find her in a corporate office, selling her services to the management or human resource directors. On a part-time basis, you are likely to find her moving from school to school, inspiring young people to believe in themselves.
Kanyesigye is a talented speaker. She will first get to know a bit about your background before she speaks to you; probably to ensure she does not touch a wrong nerve. She speaks and smiles, often drawing real life examples from her childhood.
But, being only 28 sometimes plays to her disadvantage. For instance, one managing director recently teased her so much; telling her how smart he already was, but Kanyesigye did not give up. She talked about herself and her passion and the managing director was impressed.
Some of the people she talks to are way older than her. “They ask me: what do you know at your age?” She quickly responds: “It is not about age, but ability.”
She has however had no regrets. Since she resigned about one-and-a-half years ago, there is no single day she has regretted her decision.
When she was just starting out, she was getting more ‘nos’ than ‘yeses’. Today, she boasts that the ‘yeses’ have been phenomenal. The people who appreciate her work market her.
Although she does not say how much she earns from a particular session, she reveals that it is often good enough to keep her going until she gets another contract. And in between she is not complaining.
“I wake up with so much energy, even though I work at home,” Kanyesigye says.
Overcoming low self-esteem
With the boldness she speaks, it is hard to believe that this same girl suffered low self-esteem as a child. Studying through posh schools like Kampala Parents School only worsened the situation for her.
“I was studying with children from first class families yet I was from a humble background. I would compare myself to them every time,” she says. “We did not have much, but my dad tried his best to ensure that we went to good schools.”
This affected her so much that she started performing poorly in her academics. She says, when she joined Mt. St. Mary’s College Namagunga for her secondary education, it was not on merit. “My dad knew someone there,” Kanyesigye says.
The first-born in a family of four, Kanyesigye says her father was a politician (whom she would rather not name), while her mum was a housewife.
In 2000, while in her senior three, she started reading inspirational books, discovering real life experiences of successful people. Soon, she realised that she could drop the cocoon of self-pity and move on.
In 2005, Kanyesigye emerged one of the top students in A’level. She scored AAAB in history, economics and divinity. She attained government sponsorship to study law at Makerere University until 2009. She then joined the Law Development Centre for her bar course. In 2010, she enrolled at Warwick University in the UK for a master’s in international economic law.
Five to 10 years from now, Kanyesigye sees herself as an international speaker, earning huge dollars per hour. She credits her husband, David Kisakye for being supportive. Although he is employed in the formal sector, Kanyesigye says he is her best mentor and offers her advice and fresh ideas from the real workplace which she can utilise to her advantage.
She advises fresh graduates to be open to new ideas and exploit their potential. “Do not quit even when society calls you nuts,” Kanyesigye concludes.
Kanyesigye's tit-bits
Born 28 years ago in Ruhoko, Mbarara district.
First born in a family of two girls and two boys.
Studied at Kampala Parents School for primary, and St. Mary's College Namagunga from 1998-2004.
Studied law at Makerere University.
Attained a master’s degree in law at Warwick University, UK.
Got married in December 2012.