How the World Inspires me in Business and Life
When I was growing up, my parents would often say that well-travelled people see the world differently. As a child, my travels (not at all fancy) would teach me about the different terrains of Pakistan - plains, mountains, forests, urban lands etc. But my father instilled in me a sense of curiosity, blended with putting things together. “Look at these cute kids, they’re running around in slippers on these steep mountains so fearlessly!” He’d point out as we would be driving on the Himalayas. “It’s all in your head, how you perceive the world” he’d continue. “Khushi, darr, bahaduri, sab sochne se milta hay. Mind jaisa set karo ge waisa ho jae ga”. [Happiness, fear, courage, everything is linked to how you think. Your mind will adapt and perceive reality the way you want it to]
This was one of the many times when going somewhere my dad would paint a picture of the world for me in a way that it would completely change how I was looking at things.
”Paani ki power dekhain, pathar pe aik aik qatra parr ke, uss ko tabah kar deta hay” [Look at how powerful the water is, drop by drop, it breaks down these huge boulders"]. Dad would observe when we stood in Neelam Valley. “What does that teach you?” he’d ask as I would just stare at the water looking at the pretty round pebbles. “It teaches you that consistency is the one thing which will let you conquer whatever you want in the world”.
Badshahi Masjid, Lahore, Pakistan
As I grew up, I internalized this was of looking at the world. In A Levels, I got my first car, and as I’d drive to school, I’d observe the little tea shop by the signal light. My thoughts would go from “man, people reallllly love chai. Pretty sure their veins transport tea, not blood” to “OMG that’s 4 people going in the store in 90 seconds. Even if there’s one person ordering one cup of tea per minute, that’s 480 cups of tea ordered in 8 hours. If this store is making a profit of PKR 100 per cup, that’s 48000 rupees of profit per day. Which is a monthly profit of around 1.4 million rupees ($5100).” My understanding of the world started running in multi-faceted directions, as I’d see people experiencing joy and sorrow in bizarre circumstances.
Duke Kunshan University, China
In college, I went to China, and my lessons from travel continued. Chinese culture was so similar to Pakistani culture - insane hospitality, regard for elders, gifting, etc. etc. I also realized, everything I knew about how the world worked was all wrong. I was a huge fan of papers like the Economist, and NYT. But living in China made me realize that media outlets, are media outlets, and the winner is whoever writes history. I learnt to get out of my own mental shell, and made a conscious effort to see people, places and cultures for who and what they are instead of what I used to think they were.
This, coupled with my overachiever, annoying tendencies of asking questions (I think all my classmates from college should get an apology from me for holding back classes and events because I was such a yapper fr), taught me a ton about the social fabrics of different countries. I saw firsthand how China was SO successful. Innovation, efficiency, and commitment at its finest. Beijing was were all the political powerful lived, Guangzhou and Shenzhen were areas where you’d find…mini cities of whatever thing you can possibly imagine - shoes, bags, leather, wood, lights, wires, doors, cars, engines, windshields, luxury designer wear raw materials, needles, cement, cement alternatives, fibre optic cables - I mean you think it, it’s there. And it’s there in a stretch of land so big, you need a month to just visit each store that’s selling something related to it. China taught me that this world is HUGE. And businesses will grow as big as you 1. want them to and 2. think they can grow. I’m not sure we understand just how BIG planet Earth is, and what that means for how much demand there is for literally ANYTHING. China helped me get rid of the scarcity mindset in business.
Then I went to the US for my final year. Once again, it was nothing like I thought it would be (to be fair, my thoughts were 100% based on Hollywood so that’s maybe on me). While some part of the dating culture traumatized me based on how shockingly different we see relationships in Pakistan vs the US, other parts of it also healed me. I was mesmerized by Manhattan every single time I went, and so so inspired by the people at Duke Campus. I saw people stay up and working for 20 hours straight, I saw big tech in Seattle and was completely starstruck by the roads there (like the steepest possible road and I kid you not my anxiety through the roof if we had to park the car at a 30 degree angle… Idk how they do it). I saw bustling college life in Boston and lived out my Elle Woods dreams with my best friend (What? Like it’s hard?). I saw crazy (in the best way possible) VCs and entrepreneurs who would invest in anything if the story was good enough. America taught me that brilliant people will not only imagine but actually create the most unhinged thing you can imagine, but also that growth should never ever come at the expense of people. I’ll never forget walking in Wall Street, as I was on call with an accelerator and just stopping dead in tracks because of the contrast I saw of extreme wealth and extreme poverty on the same plane.
Somewhere in Seattle, USA
Graduating and coming back to Pakistan just reaffirmed my belief that emerging markets are it. I know this is unreasonable when you compare it to the 6 figure salary one can make, but if you actually understand how much the samosay walay bhai in liberty make in a week, you’d throw hands. Do the math ;) Besides, there’s no fun in doing business just for yourself/money. Emerging markets have so much need for improvement, your work, if done with honesty and integrity, will directly impact people positively, and that’s a huge part of success for me.
Dubai, UAE
Edinburgh had me in a daze - how did we, as humans construct such beautiful gorgeous buildings so long ago, and why do we just make concrete boxes now? London was the city that underdelivered. Maybe I just didn’t spend enough time in it, maybe it didn’t like me, maybe I saw it through the eyes of someone who wasn’t as happy there - but still, maybe I’ll give it another chance. Maybe I’ll also see something British in the British Museum ;p who knows?
And now, the United Arab Emirates. A blend of East and West. A country where the local population is just 13% and, as I write this piece sitting here in Abu Dhabi, I have seen things I didn’t even know I could want to see. Maybe I’m closer to having my pre frontal cortex developing, but the UAE is teaching me on how global the world is. I’m once gain unlearning and relearning things I knew about life, the world, business and people. I hope to have a heart as big as the Arabs, to always have space on my dinner table for everyone, and to have a community of people around me that even if there are no more seats left, we always scoot over a little bit and make room for one more.
The Emirates have taught me a whole new way of ambition, generosity, tolerance, and respect.
Maybe the world around me will never change, but what going to a new place inside or outside Pakistan has always taught me is that the worst kind of life we live is that of when we get the arrogance of superiority and perfection. Travelling reminds you to stay like water, flowing, malleable, strong enough to carve your own path, and also take others along for the ride.
Khor Fakkan, UAE