Our place in the world

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Throughout an individual’s whole life the question of identity and belonging arises at some point of life. This is usually when people are exposed to different communities and cultures. “It does so only because there is more than one idea to conjure up and hold together the communities welded by ideas to which one is exposed in our variegated, polycultural world.” (Bauman, 2004, pg.26) I was born and raised in Saudi Arabia. Originally half of my family is from Bangladesh and the other half from India, which made me not strongly associate with a certain ethnic group or community. Living in a family that was brought together by ideas and different qualities I have grown up thinking liberally and being unaffiliated. Saudi culture would come as a shock to most people; the rules are very strict however I was fortunate to stay in Jeddah, which is one of the most liberal cities in Saudi Arabia. Living in a compound, which was a safe haven away from the conservative society, rules and regulations where I was able to socialize with others from various countries around the world. Being a female and a Muslim in Saudi did affect my perspective to a slight extent, as a woman’s freedoms, her situation in life, including placement in society are defined in the chapters and versus of the Koran.( Kavawal Md, 2008) Women’s rights in Islam are not equal at all to men. The society is a very patriarchal society where the man has authority over the women. The situation was frustrating; I always have this urge to do something about the system of life there for women. Moving to Dubai and doing few months of high school there was a great step I made in my life. Dubai is where for the first time I felt the meaning of being a cosmopolitan.

“Cosmopolitan deriving from the Greek word Kosmopolites ; literally means a citizen of the world.” (Molz, 2005,  pg518) Dubai was a place where you find mobile people from all over the world; it’s a flexible, fast moving community where everyone feels an obligation to produce tolerance, interconnectedness and cultural understanding while encountering a variety of differences. Like Molz says “People increasingly find themselves ‘belonging’ to flexbile, mobile, de-territorialized, transnational and virtual communities.” Being a cosmopolitan and a global citizen you belong to the world rather than to a particular country this is usually when individuals are travelling a lot, seeing different people, cultures or images and having a global perspective on the world. With these advantages individuals become more responsible as people become part of the ‘universal community’ they want to start to spread world peace and want to contribute and solve global issues. Being a cosmopolitan one has to appreciate different cultures, be willing to interact with others, take interest in others, have this curiosity, be able to make one’s way into different cultures, be very open.

Cosmopolitanism is said to be “the effects of globalization on nationalism and national citizenship.”(Molz, 2005, pg 519) Thus being a global citizen you have to perform certain duties which is to live in an ethical peaceful manner in the interest of the global public. In the 21st century what is interesting is that things as well as people become cosmopolitan and mobile. The internet has become prominent in truly making all people a global community and influencing cosmopolitism. A variety of information is available online, a lot of travel websites are posted up of daily journals of people travelling around the world where it has connected cultural differences, and when other people read it they feel they have been to all those places without even leaving their country. Not only has the internet allowed for people to exchange cultures but it has promoted to work towards global community, “from sharing photographs of a school child’s smile to sharing the broad vision of global community and technology.”( Molz, 2005, pg.525)

“Travelers perform their national identity.” (Molz, 2005, pg.519) This simply means that when individuals travel to different countries they do promote their country and national values, for example when I came to Malaysia when interacting with people I would ask the culture of Malaysia and they would be curious about my culture, I would tell them all about our traditions, lifestyle. Travelers express their national identity in many ways, small things like national flags, collecting stamps, singing their national anthem. Travelers we are known as ‘cultural representatives’, where we can spread a more positive image of own own nation, like people always had the perception of the Middle east or Saudi Arabia being the place of terrorist acts or very conservative but I did try to show that that they should not be afraid and be aware that there are a large number of people there who are liberal and open minded. I do appreciate cultural differences, try to position my place in those differences and I have gained a ‘flexible eye’  by travelling, moving around through various groups of people and socializing with global communities yet I still have a lot to see and learn. Since we are living in a global village culture is fluid always changing, and this does change my identity.

 “Belonging and identity are not cut in the rock, that they are not secured by a lifelong guarantee, that they are eminently negotiable and revocable.” (Bauman, 2004, p.27) Meaning identity is not fixed; people search for it, or choose from what they have encountered and try hard to keep it. Identity is always in a process of changing and should be discovered rather than invented.  We never knew what a nation, nationality or identity meant until people came together and got exposed to a mixture of ethnic groups, different religions and languages, then pressure was put into one has to have a nationality. Why is there this huge pressure to have a nationality?  Well for one reason people can assume our personal identity and culture by knowing where one is from but this should not be the case as people in the global village tend to move from one place to another, and identities are shaped by the place. Once leaving my home, I felt that I am always expected to ‘self-define’ myself and my identity and most times I find myself associated into varies different Diaspora communities. It is interesting because people always assume things about you when linking you with certain diaspora groups.

It is surprising in contemporary society the term diasporas has so many meanings “now it shares meanings with a larger semantic domain that includes words like immigrant, expatriate, refugee, guest-worker, exile community, overseas community, ethnic community” (Brubaker, 2005, 3). I did not think of myself as a diaspora at first but the term has been universalized that I can call myself one now as I am part of the overseas community. Coming to Malaysia I am always linked to different ethnic/diaspora groups as firstly there is an increasing number of dispersion in space which is the “segment of people living outside the homeland” (Connor, 1986, p.16) where this segment is the minority of the population. The area where I stay in Malaysia has opened up Arabic restaurants, shops and quite a few of the individuals living here have this “homeland orientation” where it makes me feel I am back at home, they are committed to keeping and telling memories of home and where they have a desire to go back home, they are really orientated to their roots where they feel it is the most secure prosperous place and this desire is “an ability to recreate a culture in diverse locations.” (Brubaker, 2005, pg.6)

 Living in Malaysia is where for the first time I knew how much importance was put on ethnicity and race, it was a little shocking. It was really interesting at first being a foreign student and having the Indian or “chin-Indian look” (Chinese Indian) as people assumed that I was not Muslim. I didn’t feel the racial tension between the three races in Malaysia since our university community is very peaceful but you do see it at times in restaurants, shops and especially among cab drivers people associate with other people who are from the same race. During my time I have been living in Malaysia most remembered responses when questioned where I am from and locals would assume I am Indian or Malaysian.Looks mattered a great deal within the colonial regimes of power. Looks mattered because of the history of the racialisation of ‘looks’ , they mattered because discourses about the body were crucial to the constitutions of racisms.”(Brah, 1996, p.3). I was offended that the question about race always had to come up, that they could not just let it go, as throughout my whole life I was saw and learned that questions about race is not brought up unless it is in humor. What is the significance of asking race? Does it really change anything in knowing the race of the person? After learning the history of Malaysia why looks or race mattered I learnt to accept and deal with it through the time.

There is always this tension of how I identify myself, the issue of sense of belonging and home wherever I go. Living away from home for quite a while poses a challenge in how I identify myself, as identity is always in the process which is never complete and changes like your ideas and direction in life. Once one has lived in place other than home country for quite some time they tend to feel it is home, “home as the site of everyday lived experience. It is a discourse of locality, the place where feelings of rootedness ensue from the mundane and the unexpected of daily practice.” (Brah, 2005, p.g 4) .Although you feel connected to this new place, you do always have this real sense of home which is wherever one is born and brought up. It may be that certain food that always gives you that hint of home. Everyone at one point in time will think and desire “the idea of belonging to a people” (Brah, 2005, p.g 4)


At the end of the day I would say that this whole experience of meeting mobile people from all over the world who are liberal and seeing culture changing to being global cultures has changed me, however I think it is a good change since globalization has brought more people moving in the same direction in life who are studying about gender, race, culture, global culture, politics to bring about peaceful benefits to the world. Through this interconnectedness of people we can see the vision of modernity, where cultural differences are overcome, everyone will have equal rights and human beings will be liberated “from the constraints of skin color, ethnic origin, gender, age, nationality and social class.” ( Beck ,2006, p.49) and where individuals won’t be made to feel like the others, religion will not be the heart of conflict ,where history will be the past and come to an end as Fukuyama says, and where old representations will not affect individuals cultural identity of the present. Global citizenship has brought about peaceful benefits such as peace, understanding, tolerance of differences although there are the negative sides such as loss of culture and language but culture is ever changing, perhaps all the peace and communication will allow us to save better records of cultures such as museums, artwork, so it does have the potential to be even more positive.


Written in 2010

Basics of Marketing

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“Bring the best of your authentic self to every opportunity”


So you have finally decided to start that new business, launch a start-up or bring a franchise into the market. You have had your idea for long time now and have identified your market or potential customers. Yet,  you are still not sure how to put it out there? Sound Familiar? This is where market research and implementing marketing strategies come in.

Right, but what is marketing exactly?

In short,marketing is a study of the market and is a key piece to building a strong brand to differentiate your idea, product or service from other competitors. Perhaps, theres a gap in technology services and you think your idea could fill that gap or you think your homemade cupcakes quality are better than the choices in your neighbourhood and you want to launch a business.

Once you have your idea you want to analyse the market to see if people would want to buy your neat idea or how you could offer something better than whats already established in the market. It could be as simple as selling better sliced loafs or sliced bread than your local choices.

Below is a break down of concepts marketing to get a general idea. 

Two Types of Markets 


Sellers Market the focus is on the company and production 

Here you want to develop innovate products and services- Give it some edge


Buyers Market the focus is on the customer and competition 

On the other hand, a buyers market your goal is to find out what exactly the customers want and give them exactly that. 

Now on to strategies, no strategy can be implemented without considering the competitors. Its the competitors that determine your pricing, levels of profit, levels of sales. 


3  Principles of Marketing 


Customer Value

It is simple, you provide and develop quality, authentic and innovative products or services that customers will want to come back for more. Once you deliver and guarantee constant quality customer satisfaction you will gain customer loyalty. 


Differentiation

This is where you want to add value and make your product or service distinguished from the competition. It may be the quality of your product, the competitive price, the customer experience which differs or the technology. 


Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning 

In a customer focused market you can’t deliver value to everyone, you need to segment consumers into groups, establish your brand accordingly to meet the needs of your specific target market. 

Good luck on launching your new business! Feel free to contact me if you need any insights or help.


5 Quotes to be Motivated

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Whether you are running a business, having at a full time job or on the job hunt, we all need a little push to get us going and be able to perform at our best ability.

1. Richard Branson 

“My biggest motivation? Just keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education I never had-everyday I am learning something new.” 

Lesson: By constantly learning something new each day we encourage ourselves to be better than we were than yesterday. Small steps can lead to finding something that we are passionate about.

2.Bill Gates

“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”

Lesson: Failures are on the same road to success. It is an opportunity to grow from our mistakes, be stronger and prepared for upcoming challenges.

3.Napolean Hill

“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.”

Lesson: Small accomplishments can lead to long-term success and boost our confidence.

 4.Bo Bennet 

“Success is not what you have, but who you are.”

Lesson: Personality has always been a determining factor to various successes in life, whether we get the job or build great valuable relationships. 


5.Vince Lombardi 

“Winners never quit and quitters never win”


Lesson: No matter how many times we have failed, we must keep going until we reach our goals

Moving Forward: Learn from Mistakes

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“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” 

This should be incorporated in our way of thinking today. Failures and mistakes are inevitable. Thus, we must stop being afraid of mistakes and stop being so harsh on ourselves for making them.

Don’t dwell on it, acknowledge the mistakes, learn and grow from it. The amount of energy spent on fighting the old can be used on building the new. We must use it to our advantage and push ourselves to be better than we were yesterday.

Brands, companies and individuals learn from the mistakes of others or the mistakes of their past. The most successful people work hard to not make them again. Be conscious at all times of your past, present and future but at the same time live in the moment.

The  book “Mistakes I made at work: 25 Influential women reflect on what they got out of getting it wrong.” By Jessica Bacal, which is a brilliant read for women. It includes interviews of successful women from a variety of fields, talking about how they have used their mistakes as a stepping stone to get to where they are meant to be.

Bacal during interviews talks about the biggest challenges women face in the workplace, how men and women are treated differently which leads to a huge gap income and promotions. However, slowly culture is changing and women are overcoming obstacles by working hard. 


One of her best advices learnt from the interviews is “ Develop a habit of listening to other people and taking their concerns and questions seriously” This piece of advice is essential in any form of communication; seek to understand the other before speaking.

Words for Inspiration

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Women of strength who overcame failure

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They say failure is the road to reaching your goals. Moreover failure must act as a trigger and motivate you towards greater effort. Everyone at some point of their lives will deal with failure but they key is how you deal with adversity that determines the outcome of your business.

Rania Habiby Anderson author of Undeterred: The Six Success Habits of Women in emerging economies, spent four years researching and interviewing more than 250 successful career women and entrepreneurs in developing countries in Asia, Africa, Middle-East and Eastern Europe.

What makes these women remarkable despite their tough circumstances?

Lets look at the 6 habits of successful female entrepreneurs who made it while other women failed.

Habit 1. Be Undeterred

Habit 2. Prepare

Habit 3. Focus

Habit 4. Accelerate

Habit 5. Integrate

Habit 6. Lead

Rania’s research shows us that although its different countries and different cultures but the obstacles these women face in emerging economies are the same. The traits to overcome them as well are similar: It takes resilience and persistence.

“Regardless of where someone lives, their gender or how difficult and environment may be, an entrepreneur with the right mindset, skills and network can overcome or work around any obstacle in their way.”

More importantly, from success stories we know one crucial aspect is not to give up. To bounce back from rejection. Reaching your goals doesn’t happen overnight, some of most strong women entrepreneurs today have been rejected or fired several times in their lives but did not allow that to affect them instead saw it as a stepping stone to achieving their goals. 


International Women’s day, was an opportunity for us to celebrate the women working their way up and for us to be inspired to learn and grow from this. Today, women entrepreneurs are bridging the gap of the social and economic challenges that we face in society.

Undeterred, contains stories of 89 women from 29 countries however what makes the book different are the stories about women from emerging countries. Additionally, contains actions that women can take to become more effective at the workplace especially when the lack the opportunities and resources in their economy.

Whether you are starting a new venture or kicking off your career keep these leading examples in mind to continue with a good work ethic and enthusiasm despite setbacks along the way. 


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Meditation for Productivity

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Meditation brings you inner peace. It helps clear all the clutter in your thoughts. Meditation has brought about positive changes for many.

What is Meditation?

In simple terms it is practicing stillness, allowing you to be in a peaceful state of mind.

Meditating in the morning before starting the day works best and calms your inner thoughts.

In the midst of pressure from work, relationships and the hard times which we all have endured, finding your 'inner stillness' helps a lot.

What are the benefits & traits of Mediation?

1.More focused
2.Helps you relax
3.Boosts your creativity
4. Keeps you balanced
5.Improved self-control

Words from Russell Simmons book has been so encouraging to practice meditation and yoga. Once you do you feel connected to yourself you can connect with others better.As he says

"Traits that will transform you not only internally but also transform your relationship with the world."

The best way is to focus on my breathing in a quiet place sitting on a yoga mat. The key is to be consistent and have patience to practice daily.





 

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