“This can be your gift. To be the person that ignites ideas and encourages people to bring forth their best self. It is easy to look for flaws and celebrate the process as critical thinking. It is a lot harder to find positive aspects, to see the potentia
We discuss how students can keep their focus, standing up for them and how could this have been handled better by all the parties involved.
CAIE June 2020 Recommendations for A Level Students
I sit down with Asad Hashamali, COO, Backspace, and regular of my podcasts. We discuss some smart and efficient changes to his daily routines, and how they, at backspace, have been keeping a certain work-from-home culture running with daily checkins, flexible hours, venting and mentoring times one-on-one. Linking backspaces work from home manual [here]The apps we discuss on the show: Discord for voice chat channels and text channels.Slack for work chat.Basecamp for project management.Notion for organising your life and work.Podcasters and bloggers to subscribe to:Tim Ferris, James Altucher, Dr. Peter Attia, Dr. Ali Abdaal, Peter McKinnon, Matti Haapoja, Matt D'Avella. Vicent's music I talk about in the episode (the French guy): Loose Yourself by Vicent Vinel
I talk to Yousuf about what drives me, what I am passionate about and till where will I go before I rest.
A conversation with Asad Hashamali on life's purpose, the work we do, what money means to me and the pressing need for entrepreneurship.
I sit down with Ali Anwerzada and Nausher Alam in discussing the launch of Alt Academy.
From Behind the Grind: Bilal is someone who I met at the age of 19 and since then have been very close to. He's a mentor of mine doing great things in the education space for Pakistan. Listen on to learn about his life and some lessons he's learnt along the way. Asad's Channel [Behind the Grind]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfG_N864Q4O7Syo7C4hBBhA Video: https://youtu.be/0U5X3iOwWUo
[00:00:00] Hey, guys. Hi. I would take a few minutes out to talk to you about somebody I was listening to and reading about the last week and some fascinating insights about life that he's reiterated for me. And the person's name is Adam Robinson. Does a lot of things. You can look him up. I heard him on a Tim Ferriss podcast. I think this was part customer 210. The show was brilliant. If you got a chance, please headed out. It's a two hour, one and a half hour episode called The Very Best Version of You. Now, [00:00:30] some of the things one of the questions posed to the two item was that if you give three pieces of advice to somebody, what would they be?[00:00:40] And.[00:00:42] It he articulated what was needed to say. He said very beautifully. Like, I it just it just made me feel alive. I was absolutely decimating everything he was saying. The first one he said was he talked about enthusiasm. And he said that I understand that life is [00:01:00] happening for you. This life exists for you. It's not happening to you. So our disease is happening to you the whole life around you. As for you, what you need to understand is that every single thing in life that you do, you have to do it with enthusiasm. You have to want to do that. And if you don't feel like it, you got to create that enthusiasm. If you want success in it, you will never, ever get success in life if you don't put enthusiasm behind it. And it spoke to me so directly because that's how my life is either. [00:01:30] And this is something else. Somebody else said on another day for this podcast. His name was dance. Servers are on servers. I'm sorry. I will link the guys in the podcast later. He said that in life, when you are given a decision to make about something, you should do something or not. In my head, that's what I do. I think about it. If that idea is a hell, yes, I do it. If it's not, I'm not going to do it. And that's a beautiful word of simplifying life. [00:02:00][00:02:00] You don't have to do everything unless, of course, it's a hell. Yes. And for the hell, yes. Get the enthusiasm going for now. If you guys are very about studying exams and all of that stuff. And that's because my audience is mainly students, I understand that the studying part might not be a hell. Yes. But then think about your goals, your careers. Are they? Hell yes, if they're not. You've got to change them if they are. Maybe you're doing that for families or the family becomes a hell. Yes. So if the hell yes. And you got to give it that enthusiasm. Because the other thing is the reason is because you don't [00:02:30] live alone. I mean, you're not sitting behind a desk all day, 10 hours a day. It is not that kind of job unless it goes you want to be a freelancer or even that you have to go meet people. And the reason I say enthusiasm is because people will feel your enthusiasm. People feed off that the energy you give to them to transfer to them. That'll come out into in the enthusiasm. So the first thing I'll tell my kids is and this is something I live by. Absolutely. And at times I would be honored to be doing something that was giving me enthusiasm or excitement or. Hell, yes. And [00:03:00] I was like, you know what? I'll only do something if it's a hell.[00:03:02] Yes, I am. I'm too or not. I'm almost 40. I got a few years left. I want to only do things that are hell. Yes. And I'll tell you this. Also, make your life more about the hell yes moments and do whatever you need to do with enthusiasm. You meet people, they feed off the enthusiasm that you will have and it will be contagious. People will have much more respect for you. You live a much better impression on them. They will want to see you again. So somebody else said this and I can't [00:03:30] I don't remember the name again, reiterating some smart person. These are all things that somebody else has said. I'm just curating the content for you guys out there. One of the persons said that, you know, that the effect you have on people is the most important or the strongest or the most valuable currency you have. So if you want to have that leverage or that advantage, leverage sometimes is not a positive word. But if you want to have an advantage in relationship, you've got to treat that relationship or any encounter [00:04:00] with that in full enthusiasm. And people would feed off that and they will respect it and they will want it and they will want to meet you again and again and give you that respect. That's one. The second thing that was Adam had shared was that make connections you can use.[00:04:17] Here's a guy who's lived life alone. He's a very smart guy who dental who tended to live his life as a teacher and then a business man and this and that in a very close circle. He didn't want to meet people, but the number of people doesn't matter. But as long as you understand [00:04:30] that in your life, you need to connect with people. Living is connections with people. You can't live alone. There is no way in hell you can go through life living by yourself because living means to connect with people. And that's important, because when you connect with people, you connect with them with a smile, a hug. Awesome. Or just a laugh or a handshake. And that matters now. And you realize it whenever you're miserable generally because you don't have a friend to share that misery with or to just [00:05:00] unload. But if you have that, the misery becomes a lot less painful to live it. And in this day and age of people having a lot of things that put there that they're happy, feels and pulls on, they're happy because it makes them feel a little inadequate and not happy. It's you you understand that. It's it's that you need to make connections with people and make a few very strong connections. And then they are always there for you in every regard. And if somebody is not a genuine, you move to make [00:05:30] a new connection.[00:05:31] And right now, at your age, mostly, I know you guys are 18, 24 and online is a perfect time to make connections, meet new people, just go up, be happy, be enthusiastic in that conversation and. A way to meet people is the third thing he mentioned was that whenever you meet somebody, you gotta expect magic. And I shared this on my Facebook of a bit ago and the court wasn't all I'd like to read it out exactly that. If you expect magic in every moment, you are [00:06:00] going to get it and absolutely, absolutely believe in that. It's like a much more, more cuter, more connection connected version of saying the glass is always half full versus half empty. It's better to say it's magic. It's really magical. If you go into every morning meeting, every discussion, anything that you meet, somebody, just expect even a spark of magic. And that even the five minute conversation, the one minute conversation will be so much better be at your driver or be it a guy that you [00:06:30] buy stuff from in store or be it anybody, be a mom, be a dad, be at your grandparents meeting anybody go there. And the moment you meet them, anybody, every moment you expect magic aspect and magic come from the connection. So you win all these three things together. If you go forward with enthusiasm, trying to want to make a connection with people.[00:06:48] That's where the magic will happen. And you've got to capitalize on that, because that's what life is. Life is just a collection of those magical moments. All your job is to be able to collect as many of those magical [00:07:00] moments as you want, and they're not. Found behind a TV screen or a laptop or an iPad screen looking at Netflix. Glad there make real connections. And I tell you not I'm not getting you. I'm a guy. I was a computer geek. And the last two months, I haven't on an average look at my laptop screen for not more than 20 minutes a day.[00:07:22] I am just making sure that I that I'm reading are actually meeting people and talking to them. And I am so lucky I've actually [00:07:30] connected and reconnected with some. Amazing individuals that will be a bring on the show. While talk to them. I'll tell you what, what the settles. And so, you know, I read I said, well, what am I missing? So last eight, six months of my life, I've actually been living like this and it's been superb. And in the last three months, I've been the happiest of my life. Just simple foot forward that every connection is absolutely beautiful and magical. Now, all [00:08:00] those things are happy and great. But why not? One thing I would add and end the conversation often is that I know another thing Adam had said he had mentioned about this bullfighter. His name was Juan Belo Monte or something like that. And he he quoted I mean, this is a life lesson to also keep in mind. And he quoted something which is he quoted. He quoted Henry Juan Bellefontaine, Belo Monte. I'm sorry, Juan Belo Monte. He [00:08:30] had said so many.[00:08:30] One of the books that no life worthy of the name consists of anything more than the continual seeds of struggles to develop one's character through whatever medium you choose to live your life by courier school. Anything.[00:08:47] So understand that life is a simply as a continuous series of internal struggles to develop your character. And that matters because the Nene then your name [00:09:00] matters. A point that has very well highlighted by a brilliant movie I saw last month or this month.[00:09:06] It was called Molly's Game and Molly's Reasoning for doing what you did not revealing names if you've seen that movie was that my name is all I have and the name is All You Have defines your character. And the character is built not by one action, by continual steps of actions that define your work and your life. It doesn't matter what work you do. It's the craft and the that you do it with [00:09:30] the care and the character you develop over time with it because that is in finite. People will always remember someone's character. And this isn't important because you seem to become a nation where that is being lacking. So you guys are the future. The most important thing you can do in life is to have a vision and an idea of what your character needs to be like or what do you want to be remembered by. And that is God to know nothing with money and [00:10:00] friends and money and send money again because that's what people defined it by. It's about you and your character. That's important. That will be keeping you. I'll keep you rich beyond money, and you cannot undervalue that. And I'm telling you this. It's character. So I hope what I've shared with you. This is not my stuff, by the way. This is just some really smart people saying some really awesome things and.[00:10:24] I'm back and.[00:10:26] I'll be definitely be talking to you guys much, much more than [00:10:30] I did. I took a long break. The next episode, I shall tell you. What was I doing with the last three months of my life? But thank you so much. If you're listening to this, you don't give up.[00:10:39] Thanks. Chow.