Today we’d like to introduce you to Fallon Ukpe.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Fallon. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a first-generation Nigerian-American who was born and raised in Houston, Texas. After high school, I attended Johns Hopkins University where I earned a Bachelor of Arts in French and Spanish with honors distinction. After graduating from Johns Hopkins, I worked for a start-up for a year, then I went to Duke University where I entered a joint MD/MBA program. I completed a Medical Degree at Duke University’s School of Medicine and a Master of Business Administration degree at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
After finishing at Duke, I worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company for almost four years, then I left to pursue the creation of an investment fund focused on health care. As I worked with my business partner to start the fund, I wound up founding my own company, through which I supported senior corporate leaders and their teams during key transitions (e.g., mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, new product launches).
Then, I made another transition to focus on speaking and writing. This fall, I published my first book, “Life Is A Squiggly Line,” which became a No. 1 Amazon bestseller. I also spend my time advising senior executives and entrepreneurs as well as supporting innovative solutions to address important social issues.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, but it’s been a fulfilling one. There were setbacks, detours, and roadblocks along the way. I think the biggest struggle has been truly learning who I am and trusting myself while creating and following my own path. Also, learning to deal with failure and use that to propel me forward rather than feeling ashamed or letting it define me has been critical. With enough hindsight, I’ve found that the “failures” have always been invaluable in getting me to the next success.
And I’ve certainly made mistakes — but I’ve also learned from them. I’ve found that some of the biggest lessons learned have come from trying follow a path that wasn’t truly mine or didn’t resonate with how I want to create impact.
The biggest turning point is what I call deciding to “own my squiggly.” That meant accepting who I am (strengths and flaws), creating my own vision of success, and deciding to live a life focused on purpose and creating impact.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I help people and organizations set and achieve bold aspirations as well as create meaningful and lasting impact.
That means I’m focusing on two things at any given time:
First, inspiring people and organizations to embrace the “squiggly line” and helping them create a legacy of impact.
Second, creating and investing in enterprises that addresses important social issues, such as improving healthcare, increasing access to higher education, and enhancing access to capital for enterprises and venture capital funds led by women and people of color.
And I’m achieving those two objectives by operating in various roles — namely as a speaker, author, advisor, entrepreneur, and investor.
In a nutshell, I’m pushing to redefine what’s possible and achievable and refusing to settle for the status quo or “good enough.”
Here’s what the book is about – it’s addressing a paradoxical issue and helping provide a solution. As I looked around, I found that we have a big problem: overall, we are more educated, more accomplished and more financially secure but feel less fulfilled than any other generation in history. Why? Because we fell for the myth of perfection.
And the myth of perfection drove us to achieve more but feel less successful because we assumed that any achievement equaled true success. And we stopped defining our own vision of success. Instead of going after what gives us purpose and meaning, we started to play it safe and settle. Now, we’re overworked, underwhelmed by our achievements, and feeling unfulfilled in our day-to-day lives.
So the book talks about how to reject the need for perfection and create a life of meaningful success. I encourage people to embrace their “squiggly line” – my metaphor for our imperfect personal and professional journeys – by sharing stories and lessons from my own imperfect path. And I talk about how to navigate life’s ups, downs, and transitions.
By the end of “Life Is A Squiggly Line,” I want people to be inspired to dream boldly and live bravely. And I want them to walk away with actionable advice that they can start using immediately to create a life of purpose, meaning, and impact – and to stop settling for anything less.
And I’m proud that the book is doing exactly that. I’m proud that the book has helped people. That was the single biggest goal. To be able to share my experience and what I’ve learned so that others could take it, integrate it into their lives and chart their own paths was what I was hoping for when I wrote the book.
What’s different about me is that I’m walking the talk and I’m sharing it — the successes and the struggles. And everything doesn’t end with a perfect bow or a “happily ever after” in my book. The story reflects where I am on the journey as I was writing, and it’s already continued and evolved since the book came out. I share how it’s changing with audiences as I’m speaking, and will share those updates on the book website, www.ownyoursquiggly.com.
I’m sharing the real journey and leaving the open ends as they are so that people know it’s not always 100% clear, and that’s OK. At times, you’ll have to take a step forward without always knowing the next five steps beyond that. It will be scary, at times, and you’ll have to take some risks. But often, there are ways that you can prepare yourself and take more calculated risks to mitigate the fear and the downside.
If you had to start over, what would you have done differently?
I actually wouldn’t do anything differently. I would just have a different perspective as I navigated through the ups and downs — through the successes and the challenges. I would tell my younger self to understand and expect for life to be a squiggly line! That means there is no such thing as a “perfect” path, journey, or decision. And as a matter of fact, perfect is impossible. I would want my younger self to know that many roads can lead to the same destinations. So, instead of worrying and striving for perfection, I’d focus, instead, on giving every opportunity my best, not forgetting to take time out to play, and above all, enjoying the beauty of the journey and the people I meet along the way.
And the people you’re with along the way are so incredibly important. I’ve learned how critical it is to have a great community around you that can help propel you through the tough moments as well as celebrate the amazing moments.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theofficialfallon.com/
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