How Determination and the Desire Not to Disappoint Mama Made Him Dr Tee

Yesterday, 22 October 2026, marked exactly 33 years since Mama died on 22 October 1993. I was 14.

I was 12 when this photograph was taken. Looking at it now, I find myself thinking about how little this boy knew of what lay ahead. Just two years later, he would lose his mother.

He was simply Ike, the boy from Dichemso.

Five years after Mama’s death, in 1998, I wrote Dear Mama. That bestselling novel introduced me to the world and helped define my journey. This year marks 28 years since I wrote it.

Before people knew me as Dr Tee, they encountered me through my writing. Before the academic titles and professional roles, there was a young man with a story to tell and a desire not to disappoint his mother, even though she was no longer there to watch him grow.

That desire stayed with me. Through the setbacks, it remained one of my reasons to keep trying.

Your origin story matters.

When I reflect on the personal branding lessons in Brand Yourself, I recognise how much my own beginnings have shaped my identity.

Dichemso belongs in my story. So does losing Mama at 14. So does writing Dear Mama five years later. I cannot explain the person I have become without acknowledging these experiences.

There is no need to manufacture a more impressive beginning. You can acknowledge where you started without allowing it to set the limits of where you might go. You can also decide how much of your pain to share. Honesty does not require you to make every private experience public.

Consistent behaviour gives your name meaning.

Wanting to make Mama proud gave me a reason to continue. But desire still required action. There was work to do, ability to develop, responsibilities to fulfil and disappointment to face.

Dear Mama helped people discover my name. What I did afterwards had to give that name substance.

This is one of the most practical lessons in personal branding: people learn what your name stands for through repeated encounters with your behaviour. They notice how you prepare, how you treat them, whether you keep your word and what you do when things become difficult.

A title introduces you. Over time, your conduct tells people what to expect from you.

Brand Ike Tandoh evolved through that continuing work.

The author, the communication practitioner, the lecturer and Dr Tee are connected parts of my life. Each role brought new opportunities, but also new obligations. I had to keep learning and give people reasons to trust the work associated with my name.

Looking back, I can recognise a guiding discipline: understand who you are, develop what you can offer, express it through useful work and take responsibility for the reputation your behaviour creates.

I did not have this neatly worked out at 14. I have come to understand it through experience, including the setbacks.

Thirty-three years after losing Mama, and 28 years after writing Dear Mama, I am still learning and building.

Mama, I wish you could have seen the books, met my students and heard someone call your boy “Dr Tee”.

The boy from Dichemso has come a long way. And even now, I still want to make you proud.

#BrandYourself #DrTee #IkeTandoh #SharingIsSpiritual