Who am I?

For 2023 I have committed to publishing articles every week. So, I’m just going write. Websites usually start with an introduction, a bio, something that explains who I am. Robert Greene says who you are stems from what makes you different, what makes you unique. What makes me different is my ability to speak, to orate, to hype. And hype is something I have always been enthralled in, be it for mosque events, a social motive, or a new technology like cryptocurrencies. But I wonder, is my passion for speaking merely because of my success at it at an early age? It’s hard to tell what is innate and what is imposed on you by society.

The question itself might be pointless. Does who I am matter? It matters. Because who you are defines your purpose. And life’s purpose is to find your purpose. Every human being has a different set of skills, a different placement on earth, a different set of inclinations – and all of these are given by God, and therefore to not pursue your purpose, to not endeavour to discover it, is to betray God.

I haven’t come any closer to answering the question of who I am. But I do have some confidence in my ability to articulate who it is that I WANT to be. I want to be a business owner. I want to manage people, I want to manage relationships, I want to make sales. But these goals are empty still – for how does one accomplish such things? They are too broad, and every man has the same aspirations. So, what can distinguish me? Can it be anything but specificity? These goals can only be given substance through strong plans. And we have a plan. My plan is to be loyal to my roots, to be true to myself and to pursue my purpose.

It is my purpose to be a business owner. Warren Buffet says that good founders, i.e. good business owners, must have three attributes: energy, intelligence and integrity.

On energy: I have a set of habits that I must follow, and these will give me energy. But moreso, energy management is about emotions, because emotion is just energy in motion. Thus, I need greater emotional intelligence; what gives me energy? A habit of constantly checking in on my emotional state and drilling down into the activities that give rise to energy inducing activities will allow me to become an energetic person. This relates to my purpose and who I am. When you are doing things that align with who you are, you will be filled with positive emotions – locating these moments is key to becoming the person I am meant to be and unlocking my latent energy.

On Intelligence: reading reading reading. But theory is nothing without application. True intelligence lies with practical knowledge. And practical knowledge comes only from action. From trying and failing. To enable action a clear mind is necessary: morning walks, frequent journalling and putting my thinking into the public domain will help maintain a clear mind. So, an action point here is for me to publish my work. By summarising books, reporting on emotional turbulence and reflecting on life events – this blog will help with mental clarity. I also need to start a business of my own, for a business is a system of information that makes money, and a successful business is the truest source of intelligence.

On integrity: this aligns most forcefully with one’s purpose. Integrity, for me, means being whole. It means being aligned with your past and with your future goals. For me, these are captured serendipitously in aspirations for my family. They encompass my past and they are the fuel for my desires to be wealthy. Thus, my first attempts at business will be through helping my family. My brother’s removal company: movan.uk; and my brother’s balloon shop: partiloons.co.uk. I will help these grow and I will apply the skills I learn in helping other businesses grow too. There is nothing more wholesome than one’s family, and helping mine is what will make me a person of integrity.

The first draft of this article was much more confused, I remained wedded to the notion that I did not know what my purpose was. But rereading it made me realise something that I have always known: my purpose is simply business – systems of information that produce profit. I hope this blog, and my weekly publications, will keep me aligned with this purpose and in the process, I will discover who I am.