Ovie Soko - You Are Dope Let the Power of Positive Energy into Your Life.

Publishing Director Sarah Lavelle

Editor Harriet Webster

Head of Design Claire Rochford

Internal Design Katherine Keeble

Cover Design Jack Smyth

Head of Production Stephen Lang

Production Controller Katie Jarvis

Published in 2020 by Quadrille, an imprint of Hardie Grant Publishing

Quadrille

5254 Southwark Street

London SE1 1UN

quadrille.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders. The moral rights of Ovie Soko have been asserted.

Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Text Ovie Soko 2020

Design Quadrille 2020

eISBN 978 1 78713 604 5

DEDICATED TO THE MAN UPSTAIRS: GOTTA THANK GOD FOR THIS JOURNEY IVE BEEN ON SO FAR IN LIFE. IM LOOKING FORWARD TO WHATS TO COME.

Welcome to You Are Dope. Thank you for buying this book and investing in yourself. Thats what this is all about you. Ill be writing about my experiences and sharing some anecdotes and advice, but ultimately, this is about your journey. So well done on backing yourself and starting out on this path. Well be doing this thing together.

The reason why I wanted to write this book is that Ive been through a lot in my life so far. Im still facing challenges now and continue to be pushed and pulled by life and the people around me just like you. Although my particular journey is unique to me, the things Ive learned are universal and its important to draw from each others experiences. Thats what the people who achieve the most in life do they mine other peoples lives and experiences for shortcuts to improve their own. Its like their own personal cheat code for the video game of life. They tap it in and they level up.

This sort of cumulative experience will allow you to do so much more, partly by listening to the wisdom of others, but in some cases realising the missteps that our predecessors have made. It can allow you to skip some of the harder parts of life, not feel alienated by previous battles youve had to fight through or, at least, feel better prepared to face the challenges that can derail things for a lot of people, you and me included. This book brings together some of my life experiences coupled with advice I learned the hard way, so hopefully you wont have to. Its not as if youll read this book and never make another mistake, but perhaps the next time you face a similar situation, youll have it as a reference to help you navigate the problem.

In short: YOUR PATH TO DOPENESS WILL BE EASIER.

You Are Dope sums up 15 years of hard knocks and amazing moments. Its been a long journey and its by no means done yet. Although born in the UK, Ive lived and worked in the US, Greece, Spain and France, and have been on reality TV, becoming a media star in the process. Ive faced challenges that have repeatedly come up in those various situations and surroundings. Ive faced battles with my own mental health, my own culture and finding my place in life. Ive got a lot to say, and you can read, understand and, hopefully, take some inspiration from it.

YOUR OWN UNIQUE PATH

You need to remember that you are a unique individual with your own set path. You are the master of your own destiny. You decide how to play the game and which route to take. However, there are many things that can crop up along the way that can mess with your navigation system. This book will give you a few prompts on how to recognise when youre potentially choosing the wrong path or making a bad decision, what to do when that happens, and ultimately how to fix it to remain true to yourself.

Trust me, when you stop being guided by that inner compass and start being led astray, the repercussions can be huge. For me it meant some really dark times in my life and many wasted months trying to be someone I did not want to be, acting in ways that were not good for me. Listening to and trusting your gut feeling is the most essential lesson in this book because that intuition, that natural beacon that is always operating within you, will take you to the right place youve just got to learn to tune it in, and dial out on all the background noise.

WHAT IS DOPENESS?

Dopeness in the popular imagination is something that is not only desirable but inherently cool. It just is. Its hard to articulate it, but you look at something or someone who is dope and they just are.

Look deep inside yourself and write down your personal goals.

Now, what steps do you need to take to start walking the path towards your destination?

There are no boundaries on the word dope, its not just one thing. There are so many ways it can be interpreted and thats what we are as human beings: individual and limitless. You could stand me next to ten different people and wed all be dope, in very different and distinct ways. There could be a mother, working hard for her family, without the resources or money that many people take for granted. It might be a frontline health worker giving their love, skill and compassion to save lives. It might be a young person just being themselves, full of energy and enthusiasm. In todays world, social media and TV portray dopeness as only existing inside some pretty narrow parameters: looks, money and your presence online. Thats nonsense. That just shows you the way dopeness has been commodified, and sold back to us as a product.

Dopeness is innate, and its in everyone.

Remember: dopeness is not a product, and it is available to all of us.

Youve probably been dope for a lot of your life and didnt even realise it. Remember the time you did the washing-up for your mum and dad without them even asking? Dope. Remember calling your friend and patching things up with them after a fight even though it wasnt your fault in the first place? Also dope. What about the time you decided to dive into something you were interested in even though you thought people might make fun of you? Hugely dope. Remember, taking a calculated risk (even when you think it might be embarrassing) in order to help others or chase your dreams is DOPE.

When you start trying to relate to the picture of dopeness presented to us on Instagram, for instance, you think hang on, Im not like that. It makes you feel strange because you cant relate to the perfect picture. In reality, no one can. I cant. You cant. Its impossible. How can you be as dope as the person with 600,000 followers and a load of sponsorships and endorsements? It isnt going to happen. Ill let you in on a secret: that doesnt matter. Youre thinking about it in the wrong way if youre trying to emulate those people. And dopeness isnt just something that can be sold, its right there in front of you and inside you. We need to change the way we think about dopeness as being something that can be bought, traded or purchased and instead think of it as something that can be nurtured or emphasised. Its something we all possess, that we alone control not some advert on social media or on a billboard.