Full Name – Leul Mamo
Country of Origin – Ethiopia
Current City and Country – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Affiliation With Break Diving: Member of our staff!
1. Who are you in just a few sentences, including some of your greatest accomplishments?
I’m a simple dude with big dreams and no limits (even the sky–in a way– is not a limit). I’m an enthusiast, a pacifist, an idealist, a book worm, a project management rockstar, a wanna-be world traveler, a wanna-be web developer, a wanna-be writer, and a wanna-be blogger.
I don’t believe I have achieved anything ‘just’ yet except I just did a wonderful tour of duty of volunteer work in Mozambique. I do believe I am on the path towards greatness to achieve more, and that I am destined for great things. After a few years I am going to publish at least 3 globally or nationally phenomenal inspirational books, have the most amazing blog, help Break Diving soar in the African, Asian and Europe region (since, I will be doing a lot of traveling) and a few other awesome things.
2. What was it about Break Diving that appealed to you and what surprised you the most?
A lot of things, I would need a book just for this question, haha. The break diver’s creed really inspires me: No Rules, No Excuses, No Regrets. And the idea of taking a dive towards your dreams and helping others at the same time–what other company does that? At Break Diving, there is no judgment, no discrimination, and absolutely no fake people. But what surprised me the most was the fierce passion, loyalty, hard work and professionalism of the Break Diving staff towards the cause and the love and respect towards each other and others. At Break Diving you just don’t get stuck with some boring task: you are required to broaden your horizon and learn and learn like I have never even thought I would learn before. For example, I have to learn coding and now I’ve fallen in love with it. I am enjoying messing around with concepts that I am not familiar as well. And at Break Diving, you are required to be a leader not just a staff member. Every one of here at Break Diving is a leader.
Also, I need to talk about the amazing leadership of Dr. Monroe Mann. Thanks to him, for the first time I realize what it means to be a leader and what it takes to be one. He is the first live person to truly inspire me in life. Only dead people like Martin Luther King inspired me before! The genuine love and kindness of the people in the community like Juhi Shinde in India and Akira in China, and the like. And I love making friends from around the globe, and not just meeting people, but making true friends–that is a tough thing to do, and staying connected even harder, but now thanks to Break Diving it is possible for me to make a friend from 10,000 or even 1,000,000 miles away; there is no such thing as long distance friendship at Break Diving, it is like there is no distance between us all in the community.
3. What was your life like before Break Diving?
I was lost. Life was just boring and a little dull. 3 months before I joined Break Diving I went to a volunteering position in lar sao francisco in Maputo, Mozambique. So, life after that was a little better, and I had a purpose, helping others to succeed. That opportunity helped me to find myself but I needed a new adventure or it was back to my old boring dull and depressing life in Ethiopia. And then I surfed onto VolunteerMatch, applying to different organizations as a volunteer, but none of them were serious or professional: they were lazy or lacked vision or goals for their organizations within a few weeks. But, when I found Break Diving I was sucked in for good within a second (and I hope it stays that way for the next few years).
4. How has your life changed for the better since becoming a part of Break Diving?
It has made me feel alive again for the second time; the first time I felt alive is when I did some traveling abroad. Break Diving has given me a mission and purpose that has resonated with me in just a second. A mission and purpose that will stay alive even if I leave Break Diving!
5. What are your biggest regrets over the years and what have you learned?
Making wrong career choices, and fear of ‘what will people say’ if I follow my dreams. I learned long ago that life is short. You are the one who is accountable to the way you live your way of life.
Not doing the things I love. I have learned that later in life you will regret the things you didn’t do rather than the things you did.
Creating my own self-limitation through the believe of luck. I’ve learned that there is no such thing as luck or destiny or at least there is way around it and we create our own destinies.
Wanting to take short cuts. I learned that there are no short cuts to anything good in life, and that short cuts only leads to the cliff. You need to enjoy the scenery and see what is ahead and that will help during the long journey. But, if you try to move any further it will be a good bye. Good things are achieved through patience, perseverance, and hard work.
Procrastination. I learned that life is too short for procrastination.
Not being grateful for what I have. I have learned to love what I have before life teaches me to miss what I had.
Thinking that I am immortal. I don’t want this to be a downer but it is a fact that we will soon be in the grave. So, I have started this thing called live ten years within 1 year. By the time you have lived 50 or 60 years, you will have lived 500 or 600 years. What do I mean by this? Do what you would have done in ten years within just a year, this is what I call living life to the fullest!
6. Where would you like to see yourself in five years?
In five years I am going to move to a new country. I have a potential list of 8 to 10 countries on my list. I am going to make a career change into the tech, business, and design fields. I am going to soar with Break Diving (finger crossed). I am going to have a good number of followers on my blog and publish a book (after 5 years). I am gonna be a decent coder/developer and build 2 apps that I have always wanted to build.
7. How will being a part of Break Diving help you reach those goals?
Break Diving is the spoon which stirred the dreams that were dead in my heart. Break Diving is the source of inspiration that assured me that there are absolutely no limits to my dreams. Break Diving gave me the courage to dive into the cold, icy, and shark-infested waters and make my own breaks!
8. How are you making the world a better place?
I had no clue how at first. But, now I know that through Break Diving I am making the world a better place. I help the Break Diving community by making our members smile, encouraging them to believe in their dreams, and by overseeing and managing many Break Diving activities. I’m also helping by bringing Break Diving to Ethiopia, by publicizing the change Break Diving would bring to the lives of my people. Personally, I have started writing my book and through that I plan to make the world a better place as well.
9. If you had to describe Break Diving to a friend, what would you say?
Do you want a big world-wide family that truly cares about you? Do you wanna live life to the fullest? Have you ever dreamt of a unique social media non-profit company that cares about its community members first and foremost, and where money is not the most important thing? All of the above is true and it is called Break Diving and we are called Break Divers and you should come check it out.
10. What are some projects and websites you would like to promote?
Well, nothing personal for now. But, I would like to promote the Break Diving blog. There are so many inspiring articles on there; and you will see me on there soon too. [Editor’s note: YOU MADE IT LEUL! YOU’RE A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!] When I have completed my projects like my blog and book I will be sure to share them with you.
The Break Diving 10 is a repeating set of the same 10 questions asked to members of BreakDiving.io that allows members to share with the world who they are, what they’ve accomplished, what their dreams are, and why they love Break Diving!
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