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How To Build Financial And Personal Resilience With AJ Odudu

Millie Ngai-Lenoir

AJ Odudu is a TV presenter that you may recognise from programs such as Big Brother's Bit On The Side, Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins, Don’t Rock The Boat and more recently behind the scenes for The Voice UK. In addition to her presenting achievements, she’s also a DJ, a qualified personal trainer, and a contributor to publications including Vogue and Marie Claire.

AJ and I first met a few years ago when she was hosting an event with some girlfriends to facilitate more open conversations around money. With her career going from strength to strength, I was excited to catch up with her to see how her financial journey has evolved. 

Since our last meeting, AJ has purchased her first property, sharing her renovations and interior developments on Instagram. Getting onto the property ladder can feel like an unattainable goal for many millennials with house prices almost 15 times more expensive than they were 40 years ago (Trussle, 2019). AJ opens up on how she made this dream a reality and gives her encouragement for others aiming to buy their first place. 

In this episode of The Wallet, AJ also shares how she remains positive and stands firm in her values when it comes to realising her worth through negotiating pay; how she’s constantly had to overcome the fear of failure and take risks over the course of her career; and how she hopes to tackle the racism and cultural bullying that she has experienced throughout her life. 💕

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You can listen (39 min) and subscribe here:

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1. take calculated risks and develop a mindset for growth

Should you move to a new location to start a new job with a higher salary and greater prestige?

Should you quit your job and start up your dream business?

Should you take on an intimidating promotion to see if you can perform in a more challenging role?

Risks such as these are paramount to career success, provided they are taken intelligently. A 2019 KPMG study suggests that women looking to move into leadership and high-profile positions in their career will benefit from taking more risks over the course of their careers: 45% of women surveyed said risk-taking had helped them gain a new skill set, 33% said it helped them to build more respect among their colleagues and 55% said that they believed those who take on more risks will progress further in their careers than others, yet fewer than 43% of women surveyed were willing to take big risks such as taking on a high-profile project or asking for a pay rise. Further, taking career risks is becoming increasingly important as employers increasingly search for flexible, curious and resilient leaders who are happy to step outside of their comfort zone (Sundheim, 2013) – in this sense, avoiding risk could prove a riskier strategy when trying to get ahead. When you take a risk and succeed, the outcome often produces a higher reward than you would have otherwise received from conservative action. When you take a risk and it does not go to plan, you extract valuable lessons in the process.

Turning failure into an opportunity for growth reclaims the experience into something with purpose and the potential for a positive outcome. By putting herself out there and taking more risk during her presenting career, AJ has built her confidence, learned from her mistakes and bounced back from rejection: “by making more mistakes, you gain power in the knowledge that you will ultimately come out on top”, she explains. Hence, taking career risk begins with developing a growth mindset in which you view failure as an opportunity to learn rather than the limit of your capabilities. AJ adopted a growth mindset when pursuing her dream from childhood of becoming a TV presenter since she was required to take a risk by stepping into a notoriously challenging industry from her traditional academic background, having studied English and Politics at the University of Keele. Off the back of her cumulative successes, AJ acknowledges that she is now in the fortunate position whereby she can choose which risks to take and has the financial power to say “no” to certain jobs that do not align with her core values.

2. Balancing positivity with responsibility: challenging systemic racism

In the wake of the 2020 George Floyd killing and Black Lives Matter protests, many people have sought to become better allies for black people. However, AJ explains, such events have also given rise to an increase in virtue signalling from individuals and grandstanding by companies, as people and organisations have become more concerned about not being called racist rather than doing the work to become anti-racist. AJ has been relentlessly working to balance her characteristic positivity with the weight of her responsibility as a public figure: to have those difficult discussions surrounding systematic racism and to persuade others to challenge their institutionally racist beliefs. 

Systemic racism or institutional racism refers to a form of racism that is embedded as normal practice within society and captures how notions of white superiority manifest themselves in everyday thinking at a systems level. Such systems include laws, regulations and unquestioned social systems. Even with anti-discrimination laws in place, systemic racism continues as a subtly entrenched enemy in education, hiring practices and careers access. Individuals may not see themselves as racist, yet they still benefit from systems that privilege white people. For example, a Harvard study found that job candidates were more likely to reach the interview stage when they “whitened” their name. Only 10% of black candidates got interview offers when their race could be identified by their resume, but 25% received offers when their resumes were whitened. Given that elements of racism are widespread, but can often be difficult to identify, it is crucial that we acknowledge these facts to improve our understanding of the different forms that racism can take and how we can educate ourselves. 

AJ argues that becoming anti-racist requires everyone to acknowledge that they have been raised in a society that elevates white culture over others and will, therefore, hold institutionally racist views. She explains that, as a young black girl from Lancashire aspiring to become a TV presenter, she encountered racism and cultural bullying every day. Being anti-racist is then about challenging those subconscious notions of white superiority. Learning about the history of racism by reading around the subject and consuming content that challenges your notions of race will help you to educate yourself about the complexity of the issues you are confronting. A further stepping stone into your journey of becoming anti-racist can involve becoming a member of a local organisation that is involved in anti-racism efforts. 

3. Understanding your money mindset

Your money mindset is the unique set of beliefs you hold about money. Money mindset is fundamental to the decisions you make surrounding saving, spending and managing money. In fact, the BBC’s ‘Big Money Test’ revealed that, for the over 100,000 people surveyed, attitudes towards money served a greater role in avoiding money troubles than how financially savvy the survey respondents were or how much money they had in the bank. The study also established that there are four ways of thinking about money: money as power (people who are status spenders); money as generosity (people who generously give); money as security (people who are secure savers); and, lastly, money as freedom (people who view money as a means to freedom). From these four distinct ways of viewing money, stem healthy and unhealthy approaches to money matters. Healthy approaches to money include, but are not limited to:

  • I am free to spend, but I do not feel the compulsive need to purchase

  • I do not need to compare myself to others

  • I am capable of achieving my financial goals

  • I enjoy helping others who are struggling by giving

 While less healthy approaches can include:

  • I constantly worry about how much I spend

  • I buy things to feel better (retail therapy)

  • I cannot bring myself to check my bank statement

  • I feel anxious/brash/clueless when I talk about money

Given that your money mindset can impact your ability to meet your financial goals, it is important to understand what your money mindset is and how you can overcome some of your less healthy attitudes towards money. To understand your money mindset fully, it is useful to think about how you arrived at that money mindset in the first place. Research from the University of Cambridge in 2013 revealed that most of our financial attitudes are formed by the age of seven. Hence, how we saw money being talked about and what we were taught about money in our formative years play pivotal roles in shaping our money mindsets which we carry through to adulthood. This means that reflecting on how money was handled in the household you grew up in will help you understand the core for your beliefs about money. For example, AJ explains that, growing up, money was tight and that she understood she needed to make her own money because nobody was going to give it to her; she grew up viewing money as a key to unlock the things she wanted to do, such as going to the local athletics club, and in adult life now regards money as an agent for freedom: the ability to be able to say ‘no’ to certain jobs that do not align with her personal values. AJ also grew up with the belief that, regardless of how much money you have, it is important to remain confident in your own abilities and potential.

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You can listen (39 min) and subscribe here:

Apple Podcasts

Acast

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Resources: 

You can follow and connect with AJ at:

We shared some resources in this episode. All the links are below: