Chasing their DREAMS

Often in life, we get sidetracked by survival. We put our dreams in our back pockets and focus on what needs to be done in order to make ends meet. This year, we're getting back to our true intentions. We speak to three women who changed their lives, all through the magic of intent

- SAVANNA DOUGLAS

MADELEINE ABRAHAMS (43)

LIVES IN EDENVALE WITH HER HUSBAND, RODNEY (55), AND THEIR CHILDREN, ABIANAH (15) AND CALEB (12)

Madeleine began studying and started her new business, Moksi, at 40.

Growing up, I always wanted to study design but ended up taking a corporate route after school, leaving studies on the back-burner. Suddenly, life was all the way with me! First came a wedding, then a husband, kids, multiple promotions and climbing of the corporate ladder and then, bam! I’m age 40 with no degree.

It’s not like I hit 40 and woke up wanting to start studying. I had recently been inspired by my boss, Bain, who had just completed his MBA in his 40s. I knew an MBA would be out of my own reach, but if Bain could take up studies, then I could too.

Then came a whirlwind of research. What should I study? Which degree will translate best in my career and equip me with a well-rounded approach to business and finance? I finally settled on a Bachelor of Business Administration, specialising in marketing management. I enrolled with IMM and took up my part-time studies in the middle of 2019, at 40!

Finding a good study flow didn’t take long. Every morning, before the rooster crowed, I would wake up and get through an hour or two of hitting the books. Starting the day before the rest of my brood meant that I would not need to sacrifice quality time with family, for my studies.

Then, as fate would have it, a question presented by Bain at the airport during a business trip at the end of 2020, marked the start of my biggest career move yet. He asked: ‘What would you do if you could do anything?‘