Dr Kate Anolue’s Time for Purpose is a peek into the fascinating life experiences, culture and career of a remarkable woman who let nothing get in the way of her dreams.

Dr Kate Anolue – affectionately known to her local community as ‘Aunty Kate’ – has worked as an NHS midwife for 40 years, delivering thousands of babies. She has been a councillor for the London Borough of Enfield for 20 years and served as Enfield’s Mayor twice! However, the circumstances that led to her attaining these wonderful accolades was not straightforward by any means.

“She has been a councillor for the London Borough of Enfield for 20 years and served as Enfield’s Mayor twice!”

Dr Kate Anolue was born in Nigeria, the eldest of seven children, but she had to give up her dream of becoming a teacher due to the devastating Civil War to become a second mum to her siblings. A move to the UK for an arranged marriage soon followed, and she embraced the changes, studying to become a midwife. Whilst working full-time and after having four children, tragedy struck when she suddenly became a widow when her youngest child was just 18 months old. A short time after her husband’s untimely death, she found herself being the main breadwinner and returned to work full-time.

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In her book, Time for Purpose, Dr Kate reveals her life lessons, and shares the importance of faith, motivation, resilience, purpose, mindset, drive, and service, among other values which have gotten her to where she is today.

Explaining her motivations for writing her book, Dr Kate said: “Having lived for more than seventy years, it is about time I share my experience, expertise and wisdom with a new generation of women.”

We have selected an inspiring extract from her fascinating book that illustrates why determination, drive and listening to your inner voice are the keys to living life with purpose and meaning.

Read the Time for Purpose by Dr Kate Anolue extract

When I reached my forties, I finally was able to fulfil my dream of becoming a lawyer. What’s important is that if you have an intense desire and plan, it does not matter how long it takes to achieve it; believe that you will when the time is right.  I want to share a deeper aspect of how I overcame many challenges due to keeping my eye on my goal.  I had a vision linked to my purpose of being a great family lawyer serving vulnerable women in my community.

One of the lecturers asked me about my current situation at my interview.  I was a single mother of four children, working full-time as a midwife and was one of the team leaders in the maternity unit at the hospital.  They wondered how I would juggle all of these things at the same time, given my commitments.  They explained that the degree I had applied for was one of the most cognitively challenging courses, requiring time, dedication and commitment.

Of course, the thought of being told ‘NO’ was not in my field of vision, and I had already proven that once I set my mind to something, the only path to choose is the one that leads to success.  Focused, determined and driven to achieve this lifelong dream, I overcame anything that stood in my way. I did whatever I needed to do to hold that degree in my hand.

I left that meeting knowing I had two weeks to consider my position. During this time, I had to consider my options, particularly around childcare. I have to say it is during these times that you grit your teeth as you need to dig deep, be vulnerable and ask for help.  You will never know what you can achieve if you allow pride, doubt and worthlessness to block your possibilities. I was surrounded and blessed with many good, non-judgemental friends who were only too happy to help me achieve my dream.

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From my story, it is clear that my drive links to the intrinsic motivation of fulfilling a dream and vision related to my purpose of becoming a great family lawyer, serving vulnerable women in my community.

When you listen to your inner voice and follow your heart, the answers and opportunities to succeed magically appear before you. You believe in yourself and visualise yourself doing what is, at one stage, a dream.

What does your inner voice say to you? Do you listen or silence it, believing it is impossible for you? You are the only one limiting yourself. Like all the other brilliant people whose stories I have shared with you, everything is possible when you begin to trust in yourself and follow that dream.  We all know our purpose when we choose to connect within and hear the voice of wisdom that is our birthright.

The importance of having a vision

A vision is something bigger than you that you want to achieve in the future – the bigger the dream, the better the drive.  It allows you to look forward to the end.  One of the necessary ingredients is self-discipline which is vital to moving forward as you take small steps each day towards your vision.  Consider yourself the master of your destiny; think of yourself as the ringmaster encouraging you to reach your vision each day.

“That’s when I knew I wanted to be a nurse” – Dame Elizabeth Anionwu

Let me tell you a story…

When I arrived in England from Nigeria, I had a vision of becoming a nurse to fulfil my father’s wish for me.  I used to see the nurses and visualised myself in that role. But it was a more significant role, not just as a staff nurse but as a Sister in charge of the ward.

Once you establish a clear vision, you can set about how you will carry out your mission, which is related to your idea and driven by your values. It ignites the passion and motivation within you to succeed, overcome challenges and strengthen your resilience.

Once you establish a clear vision, you can set about how you will carry out your mission

Of course, life is never simple, and often, hurdles are placed in our path.  At this time, I was married, looking after my husband and baby.  I soon learned that it was necessary to juggle everything to achieve my vision.  When you make such a firm decision, you need to practise self-discipline each day. Fuelling my drive was determination, as I needed this in spades to rise above the challenges I faced.  One of the main challenges was that I now lived in a new country, where I had to acclimatise to the cold weather, build new relationships, and get used to the environment.

As each day passed, my goal grew into the same vision as my father’s wish, and I made it my mission to become a nurse.

Time for Purpose by Dr Kate Anolue, published by Book Brilliance Publishing, is available now.

Buy it here.