Business Leader, Bella Disu, received a standing ovation at TEDx Ikoyi after delivering a powerful talk titled “Say Yes Now: Why Readiness is a Myth.”
Her message was simple but arresting: we do not become ready before we begin — we become ready by doing.
In the talk, she explores why people and organisations hesitate at the very moments that require bold action. Drawing from business cases, she explained how Kodak stalled, how Blockbuster dismissed innovation, and how Apple accelerated — not because it was the largest, but because it acted with clarity and conviction.
Disu shared a deeply personal reflection on meeting her “whole self” at 38 — the creative, changemaker, lifelong learner — not in a moment of perfect readiness, but in a quiet decision to stop walking within familiar walls.
“Readiness is not a destination,” she says. “It is a posture. Every meaningful shift begins with a single yes — sometimes inconvenient, often uncomfortable, always transformative.”
Her message is already resonating across leadership and personal development circles, echoing a universal truth: courage is contagious, and when one person moves, others feel permitted to begin.
Watch the TEDx Ikoyi talk here:
Say Yes Now: Why Readiness is a Myth
Bella Disu
TEDxIkoyi
I was 38 when I finally met my whole self. Bella used to be the change-maker, the creative, the lifelong learner. The woman who was afraid to keep evolving. It’s interesting though, I didn’t meet her in a moment of perfect readiness. I met her after I got tired of constantly walking within the same walls. Today, I’d like to share the story of how I stopped waiting, what it taught me, about why we hesitate, and what happens when we finally say yes. A while ago, I decided to try something new, not in business, but in my years-long fitness journey. At one point, I weighed 110 kilos; at another, 64. By my mid-thirties, I found a rhythm: 160 G, approaching a day of strength training 4 times a week, 10000 steps daily, slight work, right? I had three walking pads, one in my bedroom, one in my study, and one in the office. Don’t ask. I’ve never been one for small measures. But it worked. Of course it did. Until one day I realised this is my life walking in place and staring at the same walls. So I thought, maybe it’s time to move differently. Maybe I should learn tennis. Yet. As soon as the thought came into my mind, I hesitated. I asked myself, should I do it? Should I wait? Wasn’t it too technical? Too hard. Too late. After all, who starts tennis at 38? Despite not feeling quite ready, I found a coach, showed up on the court, and soon I was playing tennis three, sometimes four times a week. And then, to my horror, I discovered that tennis doesn’t even give you that many steps. All those side-to-side moves don’t count. But by then, it wasn’t about steps anymore. I was hooked. And now I’m often amazed at the physical and mental growth that has happened since, or because of, one small decision. I asked myself, should I do it? Should I wait? And something in me answered, Say yes. But I thought about why I hesitated in the first place, and it’s that, for years, I thought I had to wait for the right moment to gain more qualifications for a different version of myself.
Psychologists call it destination addiction, the belief that happiness lives at the next milestone. So a certain weight, title or degree. And I know I’m not alone. How many of you have asked yourselves, Should I do it? Should I wait? What if I fail? We all know that familiar voice that whispers. Not yet. So if the antidote is that simple, say yes. Now, why don’t we all do it? We don’t, because hesitation is a conundrum. It wears the mask of readiness. And I used to mistake readiness for a finish line. Then, in 2014, I met a coach I had invited to facilitate an inter-session. And after the session, he said, So tell me about Bella. I froze. I really did. I could talk about my work, my father’s mentorship, even my wedding, which was probably my biggest claim to fame at the time. But about me, I-I really didn’t have much to say, so I was thankful when he offered me a complimentary session and said, Let’s talk to Bella from ten years ago.
What would you tell her? And ten years ahead, who is she? To be honest, that future Bella was hazy, but his questions drew interests and passions I once buried. So he then said, “I’ll stop you from going after them.” It can be many things at once. So I said a mental yes to his words, and it opened doors to pursuing diverse interests. The first master’s, later an MBA, writing and publishing, my first children’s book, impacting lives by building a foundation and gaining the courage to walk into rooms that once intimidated me. You see, each step reinforced something critical. Readiness is not a destination. It’s a posture. And we become ready by doing today, I’m no longer a woman hesitating in life or business, and that transformation has seeped into the organisations I lead. I’ve led through this comfort many times. I’ve restructured the board and redesigned corporate strategies. And I’ve dealt with the late nights, the doubts and that familiar restlessness that keeps leaders awake thinking we have to make this change. Yet conviction, grounded in facts, gives me a sense of urgency. And that’s what leadership is to me: seeing what could be and moving towards it in the moment, as a journey towards clarity, not chaos. And this is particularly important because organisations wrestle with hesitation, just like individuals do. Some companies choose to wait for perfect timing and lose their moment.
Others say yes now and change industries. I’m sure you all are familiar with these three companies that sat at the same intersection in the 1990s. Remember Kodak? Kodak saw digital images coming and froze. Blockbuster saw Netflix and laughed. Why? Organisational loss aversion is the fear of letting go of a successful past to pursue an uncertain future. In contrast, Apple saw the same digital future and accelerated the difference. Two companies chose to protect their past and failed. One chose to create its future and thrived. And that story isn’t foreign. It’s happened right here at home, too. Just think of how we went from seeing the glory days of a popular, quick-service restaurant that defined our childhoods to the success and triumph of newer ones like Chicken Republic and Kilimanjaro. We’ve also seen the rise and agility of Fintechs pushing banks to challenge their long-held ways of doing business, and in doing so, opening entirely new markets and customer segments. The companies that say yes now prove that courage and speed matter more than size and comfort. Therefore, the companies that thrive, the leaders who excel, the people who grow, they all share one thing. They’ve come to recognise the mask of hesitation and take it off. When hesitation says, not yet.
They know that doing creates readiness. And when comfort offers this gentle cage, they choose the discomfort that leads to growth. Indeed, when I look back at every important shift in my life, it began with a small yes, often inconvenient, sometimes uncomfortable, occasionally irrational. Saying yes to tennis at 38, saying yes to learning again. Saying yes to growth when it would have been easier to just stay still. But here’s what I didn’t expect. Saying yes never ends with you. My teams learn to challenge comfort because I did. The women I mentor raised their hands because they saw me raise mine. And my daughter Paris picked up a racket because I picked up courage. Every yes we give ourselves becomes a light, and tells someone else it is safe to begin. So right now, in this room, someone is sitting on an idea, starting a new business, changing roles, writing that first page, booking that class. Maybe you’re waiting for the perfect timing, asking yourself, ‘ Should I do it? ‘ Should I wait? You already have your answer: the traffic light is green, so move. Say yes, but most of all, say yes. Now, thank you.
