Chrishan Wright: Close your eyes and imagine living a life you love. Unapologetic and unbothered. Free from daily micro-aggressions from Karen's and Ken’s, free from the fear of police brutality and systemic racism. Wouldn't that feel amazing? Now, open your eyes. What if I told you that it's possible. Hear inspiring stories and get the actual blueprints from brothers and sisters of the diaspora who are living out their wildest dreams abroad. You've heard the term, now be inspired by the movement. I'm Chrishan Wright and this is Blaxit Global.

You're in for an incredible episode. If you were to Google ‘Black girl magic with a zen vibe’, my next guest would be the number one search result. Deirdre Amola is the founder and phenom behind Black Travel Fest, a travel company that offers epic curated travel experiences from melanated professionals. She's joining me today from Bali, Indonesia.

Deirdre Amola: Well, thank you so much for that gracious introduction. I really appreciate it. 

Chrishan Wright: You're most welcome. Thank you for being on the show. Let's start at the beginning. You had a career and by all accounts, we're living the American dream.

You were educated in an HBCU, you had a corporate career, and now you're in Bali. Let's talk about that time period before you ended up in Bali. 

Deirdre Amola: I was definitely someone who was like collecting all of those life stamps, right? After I went to FAM U, I went to work at Chevron corporation, and then I went to get my MBA at the University of Chicago, which the year that I was there, it was actually outranked Harvard business school.

I kind of felt like after I finished that Booth, the natural progression would be for me to go into management consulting, which is what a lot of people do. I kind of went into it, knowing that I probably wasn't going to just relish and love the experience but...

I knew that it was going to be great work experience and I would gain a ton of skills and I would probably be ready to kind of transition into entrepreneurship after kind of finishing a very grueling career.

And so right before Bali, I was still in management consulting. Like I was a corporate strategist working on the light side, 65 plus hours a week. And then on the heavier side, I was working like more than a hundred hours a week, like Monday through Sunday. And it was just insane. I wouldn't change it for the world, right?

Like if you asked me to go back and make the decision of whether I would do that job again, I would absolutely do it, but I will never do that job again, like my family jokes that I literally came out of the womb ready to sell and try to like be an entrepreneur. So. I mean from, from the age of maybe four, five max, I was already like pedaling things to the neighbors…

and like each summer, like each month it was like a new hustle, and that kind of continued into middle school, into high school, into college. I was sourcing goods from China and selling them on campus, lace fronts, wigs, and just different things because I could never let that fire go dim. The passion has always been there, but I think what was missing a lot of the time was like the financial viability, which is very important.

And then also like being passionate about whatever it is that you're doing. And I've found that when I discovered Black Travel Fest so... 

Chrishan Wright: And that's amazing. I mean, before we jump into Black Travel Fest, let's talk about Passion and purpose because I think that's really important. So for someone who's struggling with finding that nexus between their passion and their purpose, what advice would you give?

Deirdre Amola: I really hate to like, say anything that sounds cliche, but it's true. You have to do something…

like, I think anyone's business should be around something that like. Let's say we live in a world where everyone gets paid the exact same. And in this world, you get to pick whatever it is that you want to do. 

And everyone's getting paid the same. Like what would you be doing in that world? That's what you should be doing and in the world where we live, right? Because there's something about removing the money factor that lets you know how much you truly are passionate, how much you love, whatever it is.

Finding that passion within your business is so important because there are going to be so many things thrown your way. That if, if you don't have that passion, like money will not keep you going when the times get hard, right? Like money keeps food in your fridge, keeps your lights on, and all of that, but it does not necessarily motivates you to keep pushing forward in terms of like figuring out what that passion is…

I would say like, if the money factor were removed, what would you choose? And then go with that because the money will come.

Chrishan Wright: I love what you just said because sometimes you're going to put things out there and it's not going to work. You test and learn as you go. But having that passion will feel you over those challenges that you may face.

What exactly brought you to Bali? Because you had this corporate career and then you are now living in Bali. So there's that in-between time period. Had you been thinking about going to Bali? How did that happen? 

Deirdre Amola: I had already quit my corporate job. I had waited until the bonus cycle came at the end of the year.

I knew that ...

Chrishan Wright: Smart

Deirdre Amola: Yeah exactly. Like you gotta get that money, right? I already worked for it. So I want my check. I knew that like after the bonus period I was going to quit, I also was very comfortable with the idea that I had no idea what I wanted to do next...

And also I knew that I did not want it to be another corporate opportunity. And I have thoughts about like, why like corporate will always be there. I looked around, I was like, okay. So what are all the things that like, I couldn't do necessarily while I was working that management consulting job. I mean, I couldn't take extended trips. Although I traveled quite a bit, I couldn't really take like a two or three-week trip because you only get so much vacation time.

Visiting Southeast Asia was something I've always wanted to do. I actually had not even been to Asia at that point, Bollywood honestly was never on my radar. I was thinking like Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia. It just happened that Vietnam had like a bit more of a hurdle to get over in terms of like the Visas to like visit.

And I just am kind of anti like doing extra paperwork. And so I literally just opened up the map, looked, and I was like, Oh, maybe we'll just go to Bali instead of Vietnam. And so Bali got on the radar, made it onto the itinerary. Literally the second day of my vacation about it, I was like, hmm. For some reason, I feel like I need to move here.

And my sister just looked at me and she was like, okay, you look very serious. And I'm very nervous now because I have to go back and tell our parents that you have this notion in your head. And usually, whenever you say things like this, you go ahead and do it. She was looking, she was like,  like her mouth was just open four months later.

I actually did move to Bali. So that was in, um, back in 2017. 

Chrishan Wright: Wow. So you were on vacation, Bali wasn't even, or planning a vacation, Bali wasn't even on the radar, you went to Bali 48 hours in, you realize that's where you want it to plant yourself. So it's like Bali chose you in a lot of ways. 

Deirdre Amola: That's what it feels like.

I would say, I feel like a lot of people don't love that answer when I say, Oh, well, Bali chose me. Um, man, like you gotta give it. So, um, but I feel like there was something like I was called to be here so that I could do all of the things that I'm doing now, like in, in hindsight. Right. But at the time I just felt this, pull that like, oh, I need, I need to move there.

Chrishan Wright: It sounds like Bali spoke to your spirit in a way that you can't quite understand, you know, you're following that internal compass, if you will. That's incredible. Your sister gave you that look like, “Oh oh, I think she, I think she's about to leave”. Let's talk about, you know, that jump in that time period and navigating family and friends and preparing them because you said you went on vacation and then four months later, you're like, I'm out.

Yeah, I know you hail from the South and I have Southern relatives. That's where my family hails from as well. They have been very distinct personality traits. So I'm quite sure that, you know, there had to be some, some careful nuances that you had to navigate as you managed telling both your parents that you were planning to leave. Can you talk about how you manage through that?

Deirdre Amola: Okay, I will first say I'm like a bit of a, “Hey, this is what I'm going to do. So everybody get on board” type of person, but I did recognize that I needed to be kind of considerate and respectful of like the fears and the concerns that my family would have, because I was like, there's nothing you're going to say, that's going to stop me from doing this.

However, I do feel like it's my job to make you as comfortable as possible with my decision to do this. Um, my dad, interestingly, he's from Nigeria. So. He's already experienced for himself like the immigrant experience. So he immigrated to America from Nigeria and his biggest concern was. If you go, I know we'll never get you back.

Okay. Well, I mean, I'm pretty sure you're never coming back because he did the same thing. Right? My mom was more so like more resistant, just I think her biggest concern was would I be safe and would I have a community? Like, what if something happens to me, who will know about it? How does she find out, like all those types of things I was able to kind of just relate to her.

All the amazing people I've met on my first trip to Bali and you know, how having a community wouldn't necessarily be an issue. And, um, I also had my sister act as an advocate for me because she's very level-headed and so also the fact that she'd been with me on the trip, she was able to share her perspective and just get everybody kind of calm about it.

My friends were just like, yay. I have a new place to visit. And so they weren't so much of an issue, but I think like my mom. Just, you know, mothers of course, if their biggest concern is like your safety and your wellbeing. And so just getting her to a comfortable place and then convince my dad that I wasn't going to be like in financial ruin as a result of it.

Chrishan Wright: Yeah all valid concerns.

But it sounds like, you know, one of the things that you said that resonates most with me is just understanding where they are and being able to make them comfortable. You know, you may not get that 100% buy-in but it's really about your journey and just giving that level of reassurance and just maybe taking different approaches depending on the relationship.

It's great that you had your sister to be that champion for you. 

Deirdre Amola: And I feel like behind the scenes like she's literally still doing it every day. I don't bring them like concerns or fears to me. They're like talk to her and then she talks to them off the ledge. And then like, no one talks to me about any concerns.

Chrishan Wright: So when, when you got to Bali, I mean, did you have ideas about going into entrepreneurship and creating a travel company, or did you have different plans? Because obviously getting there, you have to, as you mentioned before, finances are a huge issue. You made the jump within four months, your father had concerns about how you'd be able to support yourself. So what's that time period, like from the time you land to launching Black Travel Fest? 

Deirdre Amola: In the background also from a very young age, like from the time that anyone ever first gave me a dollar, like I've been the saver. So I was in a financially comfortable place because my natural inclination is to save as opposed to spend.

And so I had like a good amount of money just like on reserve. And so I actually spent the first seven months, I was generally unconcerned about figuring out how would make an income. I was more focused on relearning, like what makes me happy, and what do I actually enjoy to do? And the absence of work.

Like what would my ideal life look like? So that during that time I chased the waterfalls, I visited rice fields. I went to the beach like I did all of these things that were just never a part of my life previously, because everything was about work. Like I was just wake up, work, go to sleep. Wake up, work until you go to sleep.

And like, just repeat on that cycle. I really gave myself space to just live and just be, and see organically, like what will come out of it. Like that's one thing is, when you start a business and you're living abroad, you generally don't want anything that's going to require you to be operating on the same time zone.

You're going to lose sleep. It's just really exhausting. I was just kind of like giving myself a chance to look around, talk to many people, experience different things. Eventually, an opportunity came up where a friend of a friend was having a wedding in Bali. She reached out and was like, hey, can you help me organize tours for my wedding party?

And I was like, Oh sure because my job previously was to always be able to do anything. It was basically like, be a Ninja, like whatever they ask the answer is “Yes”. And so I was like, Sure I can. And so I reached out to all of my contacts in Bali and like organized all this stuff and it went off really well.

And at the end, the guests were like, well, is this what you do? Like, what do you do? I was like, no, it's not. And they're like, do you plan on continuing to do this? And I was like, no, I don't. And it was interesting because like, I always had this notion that like, if I took what I love and turned it into my business, my love for that thing, that thing being travel would over time like just diminish or just go down.

I was very hesitant to go in that direction, but so many different opportunities kept coming to me. So like, after that group of another friend who has like a boutique travel company reached out, I was like, Hey, can you organize our tours to Bali? Then another group reached out. Then another group reached out and then like an influencer reached out.

And then eventually, like I said, okay, I should probably just be doing this as a business. Cause I seem to enjoy it. It works pretty well. I should just give it a shot for myself. And so that's kind of the first time I really started getting serious about, um, making an income, but I'd already been out of the States for like seven months.

Chrishan Wright: Wow. So, I mean, it sounds like Bali chose you again and again, all the signs were there and you just had to step into the flow and then let it evolve and it's blossomed into something beautiful. So let's get into Black Travel Fest in your words, what is Black Travel Fest? 

Deirdre Amola: Black Travel Fest is literally a company created with the sole purpose of creating amazing, like epic mind-blowing cultural experiences.

And when I say cultural experiences, I mean, both the cultures that we are visiting. So let's say we're in Bali, like the Balinese culture, the Kenyan culture, and then also Black culture as well, right? because wherever we go, we take that with us. And so I always like to make sure that we're getting to celebrate Black culture and then also celebrate, and explore the culture that we're visiting.

And I really enjoy like finding a good balance and being able to bring both of those elements into place. 

Chrishan Wright: I also know people who have gone on your amazing trips and they have used either travel companies in the past or gone on solo trips and the feedback that I've heard is that it is unlike anything they've ever experienced.

So kudos to you for putting this all together and for being so attentive to the needs of the people. I mean, that's incredible. So talk about some of the epic adventures that Black Travel Fest participants get to encounter.

Deirdre Amola: I'll start with, uh, Morocco, one of my favorite experiences. Um, we did Morocco, the ultimate Moroccan road trip we did last year 2019. My favorite experience from that trip is a stop in, whereas is it, which is between Marrakesh and the Sahara desert, it's the simplest thing, right? Like it's literally, you're just at a Riyadh, which is like a traditional home that they've turned into like more of a hotel. We have like this group of like drummers and they come in and they just have like all this energy and we literally like just drum and dance with them for the entire night.

It is so, their energy is so crazy. Like, it's so amazing. And I mean, there are, of course, many, many, uh, great experiences on that road trip, but that's one where it's just very high energy, very local, like local culture meets like traditional African-American culture and it's like the perfect mashup and just so much positive energy exchange.

Another of my favorite experiences would be just some of the parties that we throw. 

Chrishan Wright: That's what I'm talking about. 

Deirdre Amola: I love curating over the top party experiences. And so one of my favorite trips that we've had was in Kenya and we were at a beach resort in Kenya, and we have like this amazing setup. And like, you can just hear the waves crashing in the background, and then you have like the Kenyan dancers, and we had like the Kenyan DJ, and just so many different amazing elements were pulled into that. One of my favorite parts about it was like, after the Kenyan dancers finished like we all had our cameras out during that show. And then when our music came on and people like started torquing and doing all that, literally every Kenyan who was there had their cameras out there just like, look at them, go like that was our time.

Yeah. Like that just makes me so happy because it's, you know, it's like a fair exchange. We get to see and experience something from their culture and then they get to like, see and experience something from ours. And it's just like, perfect. um, medley, I guess. 

Chrishan Wright: Oh, my goodness. That sounds incredible. So when you think about the culture right in the continent, you know, there's been, and there are some misperceptions about African-Americans and how they'd be received on the Continent.

You've had experiences in different countries within the Continent. He talked a little bit about that. I mean, how has your experience, I know you can only take it from your point of view, but how has your experience been on the Continent as someone who is an African-American, 

Deirdre Amola: You can't have a better travel experience than being an African-American person traveling in Africa, right?

Like everywhere I've gone, including Morocco, which is kind of odd because it's like, culturally, I feel like North Africa has like a bit of a different spin, but even in Egypt, even in Morocco, all that I've heard was welcome home. And Kenya welcome home and Ethiopia welcome home, same name and Senegal. And so I feel like there is an interesting rift between Africans and African Americans in the US.

And like, as someone who is, I'm literally 50%, at least 50% Nigerian, and then I'm half African-American. So like I've heard both sides of the story, um, growing up and I understand both sides, right? Like Africans don't understand how they're able to come to America and like quickly excel, get on, get on a certain track and like make waves right?

But they perceive like why haven't the African-Americans been able to do that? That goes, comes down to nurture and your environment and like what you even can believe as possible, right? Like if you're in the system or you're oppressed, your perception of what's possible and what you can do, and even what you should be striving for is different than if you're coming from a culture where the president for your entire life has been black, everyone around you who's empowered as black, like everything around you is run by black people.

Your perception, if you're coming from that environment is different than if you're in an environment where it's flipped. And so I don't understand why African-Americans, haven't gotten further and then African-Americans feel like, well, You know, Africans are coming over and they're just like, they're coming from the Bush or like they're looking down on us.

And so like that creates a lot of tension, but when you go to Africa, that's not the case at all, 

Chrishan Wright: it is important that you raised that because it is important to challenge and demystify the Continent. We have in the US, been fed a lot of, you know, basically propaganda, some are rooted in truth, right. But I was just having this conversation with my mother yesterday.

I have not yet journeyed to the Continent. COVID has put a monkey wrench in that for right now. But nevertheless, coming up as a kid and looking at images on TV, it was always serving babies with flies, you know, on their faces, right. TV is a powerful medium. And so the sub context of that is you are better off here because if you were there, this is what you'd face.

Deirdre Amola: Yeah. I just want to say, like, for me, there's no greater joy and peace that you can experience than being a black person in a black society. You kind of don't know what true peace is until you've really experienced, like just being in the majority, right? Like no one is out to get you, you’re welcome. You're included.

You have the same level of opportunity as everyone else. For most people, once they experience that, it's a complete paradigm shift. Like for me, I love Bali, right? Like we've, we've talked about it for so many different reasons. It's an amazing place, but I was meant to be like transitioning into Ghana this year, but COVID has kind of put a stop on that.

Hopefully next year, I will be transitioning into spinning at least half of my year in Ghana and then like the other half in Bali. 

Chrishan Wright: What is calling you to Ghana? 

Deirdre Amola: Yes, so it's my favorite... hopefully my dad does not hear this. Yeah. Yes. I've been to Nigeria many, many times, but Ghana is just,  it's such an easy place. It's kind of like Bali, but in Africa, right?

Like everybody is super laid back. Everyone is so welcoming. It's super safe. Yeah. It's just, it's easy to navigate, to make friends like local friends. I have so many people that I've met the last time I was there that I've kept in touch with and they're just like waiting for me to get back, right. I feel like it's just, it's just an amazing, easy place to be.

It's an amazing, easy place to be. And I don't necessarily feel like that about every single country that I've visited in Africa for sure.

Chrishan Wright: Wow. And if I remember correctly, you've been to over 60 countries, is that right?

Deirdre Amola: Yes.

Chrishan Wright:  Incredible. well-traveled.

Deirdre Amola: Incredible or insane. I don't know. I'm like, what am I doing? I need to sit down somewhere. 

Chrishan Wright: Go on Deirdre's Instagram feed. She goes by ‘Deirdre Dares’. Oh my goodness. It's a treat for the eyes. Every picture looks like it can be on the cover of a magazine.

Deirdre Amola: You’re very sweet, Thank you.

Chrishan Wright: So did you set out, I know you were talking about the entrepreneurial bug, but I don't know a lot of people who own travel companies that have over 22,000 followers and are essentially you're an influencer. So is that, how did that come about?

Deirdre Amola: Okay. So I have an interesting relationship with the word influencer. It was definitely not intentional, right? Where I am now. I like to think of myself as an entrepreneur with influence.  I'm actually a really private person. And so in the early stages, I was very torn about posting and like sharing what I'm doing.

And like, you know what I'm experiencing pretty early on what happened was I started sharing some of my adventures in Bali. People were giving me feedback. Like, Oh, this is giving me hope. This is inspiring. This is making me imagine a life outside of what I see and what I am experiencing day to day. And so when I started hearing that, I was like, okay, so me posting and sharing is not vanity or it's not like just sharing for the sake of, oh, I'm doing such cool stuff. It's actually helping people. And that is why I started posting more because I'm like, okay, if every time I'm posting it,  just one person is positively inspired by that then it's more than worth the effort, it's more than worth me getting past my discomfort of like sharing because, from the time when I signed up for Instagram, like in 2012, up until 2017, I posted like maybe five times.

Chrishan Wright: I would never know, looking at your bead. 

Deirdre Amola: Yeah. Other than 2017, like I posted and people are like, Oh my gosh, this is so amazing. Keep sharing. I want to see more like this is giving me hope. And I was like, Oh, well I better like, who am I to not give people hope, 

Chrishan Wright: Keep hope alive!

Deirdre Amola: And how selfish can I be? So then I started posting more and that's kind of how it came about.

If I look at what I had planned for Black Travel Fest, 2020, it was insane. Like that calendar would have probably sent me to the loony bin by the end of the year. And you're like, what's too much. But I was like, Oh, we're going to give all these amazing experiences to the Black Travel Fest family. We're going to crush it with like, we owe it to them, but I rarely put myself in the equation and I didn't really consider what it would require me to actually execute that calendar. And so I feel like with COVID coming in, it gave me a chance to just stop and say, okay, where are we? What's feasible. And of course now, like everything has been canceled, but I've had so many different projects that have just been literally looming in the back of my mind.

Like on repeat over the last four months, I've gotten my Move Abroad Masterclass launched, which was something that I literally was talking about back in towards the beginning of 2018 and this is a crazy full-circle moment. There was a friend of a friend who visited Bali in 2018. I was telling her about how I was going to do this course and help people figure out.

Like how to move abroad the way I did two years later when I finally was able to like, create the materials and launch the course or the masterclass, she was in the class. 

Chrishan Wright: Oh my gosh. 

Deirdre Amola: Crazy. Right? Yeah. Time to create that. And now I'm actually moving on to the next big project that's been in the back of my mind, which is teaching other people how to host and plan group trips and retreats because apparently, I've made people are like, yeah, you have like some type of special formula. And like, the way you go about is very organized. And so if anyone's going to get into it, I'd love to equip them so that they don't have to like face challenges and struggle because I've seen people struggle. I think group travel and it's not pretty, 

Chrishan Wright: it's really important, especially in this environment to be malleable, I've taken your Move Abroad Masterclass, and it was incredible. And I'm hoping that you will launch it again very soon because there are so many people that are anxious to leave the US. It really takes an in-depth look at all of the steps that you need to take in order to successfully move abroad.

So I highly encourage listeners to jump on that course and definitely I will be signing up for your next course, because I am so excited to learn about everything related to group travel. 

Deirdre Amola: Awesome. And I actually feel like you would be very well poised to do group travel. Well, I don't know if anyone out there has experienced your, your podcast process, but it's so orderly.

And like, so it's just, it's very impressive. I felt very good coming into this podcast. You have like, you know, an information page and like a whole process and, um, that's pretty much how you have to approach group travel. And so I think you're already your skillset, aligns with it already. 

Chrishan Wright: So you are a lot of places and I'm sure that as soon as this episode is over, people are going to want to find you.

So where can they find you? 

Deirdre Amola: I can be found at Deidredares on Instagram. That's D E I R D R E dares like daring. You can find Black Travel Fest @blacktravelfest on Instagram. And beyond that, I can always be available via email Deidre@deidredares.com.

Chrishan Wright: Thank you for being a guest on Blaxit Global, because this has been such an amazing and inspiring conversation for me to hear your perspective on everything from where you began, to where you are now, and then what's to come.

So thank you so much for being here. 

Deirdre Amola: It's been an absolute pleasure. I really appreciate your time and I appreciate you having me on.

Chrishan Wright: You're welcome.

Are you inspired to live your best Bali life after listening to this episode? Deirdre was kind enough to make her popular move abroad master series guide available just for my listeners.

Be sure to check the show notes for this episode. Remember, it's not only possible to live out your dreams, unbothered, and in full color. It is your birthright.