Ahmed Ali has had an incredible road to success, beginning with his escape from terrible poverty, serving in the military, starting his own business, and making an appearance on Shark Tank. He offers the four most important things he has discovered thus far.
The individual, who left Bangladesh as a poor child for opportunities in the US, has since returned as an expatriate with a successful background in media, business, and financials. As a result of her immigration from an extremely poor family and her experiences in the previous fifty years, the author has encountered many difficulties. As a young adult, she has had to deal with racism and has attended ten different schools.
CEOs often feel pride in overcoming personal and professional challenges, but they often overlook the importance of these experiences. These challenges have strengthened them into the leaders they are today, responsible for others’ livelihoods. The author shares lessons from their own experiences, encouraging CEOs to cherish these lessons for future success.
Discover your central beliefs
After Bangladesh separated from Pakistan in 1971, many people there lived in abject poverty, earning less than $1 per day. The author’s parents lost their first child to pneumonia, and their father, an engineer, sought better opportunities in the United States to prevent the same loss.
The author reflects on their early life in the United States, where their parents worked multiple jobs and lived in low-income neighborhoods with high crime and drug use. Despite these hardships, they are grateful for the values they learned, including hard work, loyalty, and confidence in the future.
The author emphasizes the importance of values in avoiding drug and crime in youth and fostering professional success. Entrepreneurs take bold steps, creating the foundation for their roles as leaders, mentors, and world-changers, which are crucial during tough times.
Know who you are
Great leaders possess a robust self-identity, influenced by external circumstances and others’ opinions. The author learned their identity from their parents and had to re-discover it as a practicing Muslim in the US post 9/11.
After six years defending his adopted country in the Persian Gulf, the author returned home to off-color jokes about potential danger, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness against discrimination. As an immigrant, South Asian man, and Muslim, he cannot leave his identity behind.
Trust can be built through skills and integrity, and people judge an individual based on their character and actions, not by their minority status or perceived disadvantages.
Shark Tank saw women entrepreneurs from historically unequal countries stand out for their ideas, tenacity, and leadership. One woman, who played up her identity by wearing a cowboy hat, showcased her core values of patriotic pride, military service, and growing an American company. This memorable gesture highlighted her core achievements on the international stage. Remember, your identity is yours and a core part of your success.
What’s your passion?
My parents’ determination to improve my life inspired me to pursue passion and pursue something bigger than myself. The movie Top Gun inspired me to enter the military and give back to my country. After earning an IT degree, I served three tours in the US Navy.
After being discharged, the author founded TISTA Science and Technology Corporation to provide IT services, employ thousands, generate hundreds of million dollars in annual revenue, and engage in philanthropic work, emphasizing the importance of understanding passions.
Consider teaching, contributing to mentorship and continuing education programs, leveraging your passion for numbers in accounting, or developing systems for analyzing firm metrics. Great leaders have a plan to achieve their ambitions, even when careers don’t align with their passions, and can achieve them repeatedly in new and improved ways.
Defining your legacy
The author, inspired by their father’s legacy, founded TISTA, a company named after the Tista River in southern Bangladesh. They aim to use their success to help others, focusing on the people and places that nourished them.
The author has opened three orphanages in Bangladesh, partly to honor their baby brother and one in their father’s village. They aim to build a dedicated girls’ orphanage and a co-ed school, demonstrating the importance of perseverance and forging ahead.
It’s important to trust your approach and stick to your plan during tough times instead of becoming sidetracked by far-off objectives. Even when faced with ambiguity about leaving doors open, bear in mind the bigger picture and what you want to leave for future generations.
