In these covid times, this takes on a new meaning, “it takes a village to raise a child”. Last night, my husband, Chad and I were talking about the network effect and how having a big family provides a built-in support network when things get tough. Chad is an only child and I have three …
It’s not a surprise that people want fulfillment in our personal and professional lives. It can mean different things for each of us. For one person, it may be having a big house by the beach or traveling the world. For another, it could be helping poor children in Africa. Regardless of what it means …
I recently read the book 1984 by George Orwell about a hypothetical society where the government constantly monitors and controls people’s thoughts and actions. The term “big brother” was coined in this book. One prominent theme in the book is the concept of doublethink that refers to a person’s ability to hold two contradictory beliefs …
When I was just a few days old, you carried me in your arms on a long flight back home. You kept your arms extended, so I could sleep in peace while you watched me and others watched you. To this day, I sleep peacefully like a baby. When I was four, my little sister …
You sat there on a chair in the back office of our new business. I had not seen you so scared before. It was opening week and you had no idea what all this meant. You had never worked outside the house. Hell, you didn’t even know how to speak English back then. How were …
People often ask me if getting a MBA is worth it. Besides my belief that any kind of education is always worth it, I liked being back in an academic environment with smart and interesting people I could learn from. One memorable interaction I had was talking to a professor over lunch about his views …
Everywhere I look, people are busy trying to prove themselves better than someone else. We are taught from a very early age to be competitive and measure our success by how well we compare to others. Part of it is human nature but part of it is all the institutions in our society that teach …
In Pakistani culture, it is common for parents to give their daughters a dowry when they get married. Many people spend their life savings on their daughters’ weddings or even go into debt. Some unfortunate girls can never get married because their families are too poor to afford a dowry. The rich ones of the …
Lately, I have heard a few stories of teenagers in America being depressed, abusing drugs and/or even attempting suicide. Stories like this are so heart breaking and make you wonder what’s happening to these kids. Many of them come from good families, attend good schools and live in wealthy communities. On surface, the environment around them …
All my life, I have wondered what my passion is and could never answer this simple question. I know that I have always wanted to be able to help people. But what does that mean, what does it look like? As a child, I dreamed of being a politician, a teacher, an actress. I wanted …
