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Speaker 1: This episode of CZA is brought to you by Belvite's

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Speaker 1: new Bakes and Coconut Bites, tasty gluten and nut free

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Speaker 1: snack options for on the go.

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Speaker 2: Don't rush. Don't feel like you have to figure it

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Speaker 2: all out by the time you're twenty five, because there

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Speaker 2: will be so many different forks in the road. If

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Speaker 2: you go through your life and sort of say, these

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Speaker 2: are experiences and I'm going to build one on top

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Speaker 2: of the other, you might step sideways. But there's absolutely

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Speaker 2: nothing wrong with that. And it's very all school thinking

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Speaker 2: to think I'm only going to do X and that's

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Speaker 2: what I'm going to become, and that's what I'm going

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Speaker 2: to do and I'm going to die having done that.

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Speaker 2: You've got to take chances on yourself because if you're

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Speaker 2: not going to take them, absolutely nobody else's. It's the

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Speaker 2: same thing when you know when people put themselves down,

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Speaker 2: I'm like, don't do that. Lots of other people will

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Speaker 2: do that for you. Don't do it to yourself. Know

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Speaker 2: when to lead, no when to follow, and know when

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Speaker 2: to get the hell out of the way.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the cs the YA Podcast. Busy and happy

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Speaker 1: are not the same thing. We too rarely question what

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Speaker 1: makes the heart seeing. We work, then we rest, but

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Speaker 1: rarely we play and often don't realize more than one way.

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Speaker 1: So this is a platform to hear and explore the

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Speaker 1: stories of those who found lives they adore, the good,

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Speaker 1: bad and ugly, the best and worst day will bear

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Speaker 1: all the facets of seizing your Yeay. I'm Sarah Davidson

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Speaker 1: or Spoonful of Sarah, a lawyer turned funentrepreneur who swapped

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Speaker 1: the suits and heels to co found matcha Maiden and

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Speaker 1: matcha Milk Bar. Ses The Ya is a series of

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Speaker 1: conversations on finding a life you love and exploring the

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Speaker 1: self doubt, challenge, joy and fulfillment along the way. While

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Speaker 1: last week's episode was one of those chats you know,

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Speaker 1: I love that show a different side of someone you've

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Speaker 1: probably already heard of, I equally love introducing you to

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Speaker 1: people and stories you might not already know. And whiles

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Speaker 1: sometimes that's because our guest is earlier on in their

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Speaker 1: journey or in a niche behind the scenes area, for

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Speaker 1: Fara Mohammad, it's more the opposite. Playing on a global,

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Speaker 1: life changing scale beyond most of our day to day lives.

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Speaker 1: We met during our incredible trip to Necker Island with

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Speaker 1: business Chicks around this time last year, where I first

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Speaker 1: heard her story and was absolutely captivated by every word,

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Speaker 1: as I'm sure you guys will be. You don't expect

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Speaker 1: the guest speaker to then sit down with you for

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Speaker 1: a casual chat afterwards, but Fara is humble and attentive

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Speaker 1: in a way that absolutely belies the incredible way she

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Speaker 1: is shaping our world for the better. She is interesting

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Speaker 1: in so many ways, from her own experience as a

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Speaker 1: Ugandan refugee of Indian heritage and Muslim faith who fled

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Speaker 1: to Canada in her early life, to then serving as

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Speaker 1: CEO of the Malala Fund, inspired by Malala, who survived

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Speaker 1: an assassination attempt by the Taliban for going to school

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Speaker 1: and became the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel

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Speaker 1: Peace Prize. And Farah loves to laugh, which left us

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Speaker 1: in stitches many times, in a beautiful, heart wrenching and

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Speaker 1: heartwarming blend of the serious and the which you guys know,

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Speaker 1: is what I love about Cza the most. There is

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Speaker 1: so much in between, but I won't reveal anymore here.

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Speaker 1: I will let Fara tell you the rest herself. I

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Speaker 1: hope you guys enjoy as much as I did. Fara Mohammed,

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the show.

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Speaker 2: Thank you. I'm so excited to be joining you.

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Speaker 1: I'm excited. I was absolutely blown away by you on

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Speaker 1: Necker Island last year when we met, and even more

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Speaker 1: so now after diving deeper into your story. So thank

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Speaker 1: you so so much for joining You're such a joy

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Speaker 1: to be around, as are you.

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Speaker 2: I remember very well the moment that we met on

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Speaker 2: Necker Island and the sheer beauty and kindness and playfulness

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Speaker 2: you exuded. So I'm so thrilled that we're chatting. It's

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Speaker 2: I guess about a year after we first met.

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Speaker 1: Oh my god, this is pretty much our anniversary, it sure,

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Speaker 1: for sure. I just remember how amazing it was to

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Speaker 1: watch someone speak about the incredible things they've done, but

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Speaker 1: then get to sit down with you afterwards and do

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Speaker 1: my re a kind of fangirl thing of like, oh

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Speaker 1: my god, I love you so much. I'm someone excited.

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Speaker 1: But then for you to be so attentive and warm,

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Speaker 1: and you just gave us so much of your time

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Speaker 1: and attention. It's not that common for people doing such

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Speaker 1: huge things in the world to really listen, and you

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Speaker 1: just remembered so many small things about me that I mentioned,

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Speaker 1: even just at the start of this conversation. You're just

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Speaker 1: you are one in a million.

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Speaker 2: Far Well, thanks are going to make me blush. But

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Speaker 2: I've got great role models, you know. I've been surrounded

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Speaker 2: by really amazing people, men and women who have just

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Speaker 2: taught me that to listen and to stop and to

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Speaker 2: really be present is one of the best things you

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Speaker 2: can do. And so you know, I was grown up

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Speaker 2: by two parents who gave us a voice. Right, you

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Speaker 2: would ever said, well, that's you know, this is adults

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Speaker 2: business or whatever. So I feel like I'm I come

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Speaker 2: by it pretty naturally, and I'm always so curious to

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Speaker 2: learn about other people and their stories because you always

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Speaker 2: learn something, right, if you take the time, you will

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Speaker 2: learn something, and most often you'll be described.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely. One of my favorite quotes is everyone you meet

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Speaker 1: knows something you don't, and it's to your greatest detriment

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Speaker 1: if you dismiss someone as maybe not being your person

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Speaker 1: or not being relevant to the path you might be on,

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Speaker 1: because if you dig deep enough, there's always something.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, a point of connection everywhere.

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Speaker 1: Right totally, So before we kick off. I start every

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Speaker 1: episode by asking guests what's the most down to a

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Speaker 1: thing about you? Because I think, particularly in the digital

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Speaker 1: world we live in, our identities are all titles and

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Speaker 1: what's happening on the surface, which of course is part

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Speaker 1: of the picture, but doesn't really reveal the human beneath

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Speaker 1: it all. And it's that humanizing that allows people to

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Speaker 1: identify with you and really learn the most from your story.

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Speaker 1: And you have some pretty impressive achievements to your name,

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Speaker 1: but humanize yourself to get us started. What's something really

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Speaker 1: relatable about you?

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Speaker 2: I love to laugh. I think it's I have a

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Speaker 2: great sense of humor and that allows me to laugh

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Speaker 2: at myself. But I do. I think that's the most

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Speaker 2: relatable thing, you know. I always say that, you know,

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Speaker 2: no matter how tense it is, how stress it is,

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Speaker 2: how much pressure you're under, you have to be able

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Speaker 2: to have a giggle. Maybe not in the moment, but

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Speaker 2: at some point along the way. Laughter has been sort

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Speaker 2: of my prescription for all things crazy or insurmountable or

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Speaker 2: even sometimes sad. And so I think that's the most

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Speaker 2: normal thing about me, is my propensity to laugh.

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Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, that's the perfect SoundBite for this whole show,

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Speaker 1: that idea that it's very easy to take ourselves and

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Speaker 1: our lives so seriously. I mean, we're just talking about

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Speaker 1: the idea before we start a recording of how much

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Speaker 1: we stifle our playfulness and laughter as we become adults

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Speaker 1: and just get really bogged down in the serious responsibilities

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Speaker 1: of life. But keeping that ability to find joy even

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Speaker 1: in really stressful, serious moments is what this show is

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Speaker 1: all about. And I love that that's something you really value.

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Speaker 2: Too, especially now in COVID rightlutely, I think more and

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Speaker 2: more people are trying to figure out what debt they

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Speaker 2: have to be serious about. Thinking about some of my

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Speaker 2: friends who are really thinking about their careers and their

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Speaker 2: lives and just how serious they've been, and now they're

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Speaker 2: sort of like, you know what, I want to get

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Speaker 2: my crazy back. I want to get my creative back.

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Speaker 2: I want to put all those things in those dreams

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Speaker 2: that I had in motion. Yeah and not wait. So

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Speaker 2: I think that, especially in times like this, that ability

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Speaker 2: to sort of step outside yourself, laugh a little, and

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Speaker 2: think outside the box a little bit is like a

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Speaker 2: real joy. It's sort of like a silver lining to

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Speaker 2: this craziness that we're living in.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think for many people it's actually the

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Speaker 1: first time they've ever broken that autopilot's circuit and ask

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Speaker 1: those questions about what do I want to leave behind?

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Speaker 1: What do I want to take with me? And I've

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Speaker 1: always been fascinated by those kinds of sliding doors, moments

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Speaker 1: that give you a whole new perspective and shape your story,

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Speaker 1: even though it might just be one tiny conversation, It

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Speaker 1: might not be a global pandemic, but just even a

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Speaker 1: fleeting moment in time that totally changes your path. I

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Speaker 1: think you already know this, but being adopted, my whole

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Speaker 1: early life was defined by the idea that but for

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Speaker 1: one small thing, I could have lived a completely different life.

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Speaker 1: And coming back to your own story, of course, the

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Speaker 1: first section is your Wayta, which is tracing back from

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Speaker 1: your earliest beginnings. To remind everyone there are many chapters

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Speaker 1: before the one we walked in on. You didn't start

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Speaker 1: off in Toronto and had a different but similar experience

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Speaker 1: to my own, being of Indian heritage but born and

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Speaker 1: raised in Uganda up until the time when idiom And

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Speaker 1: expelled Indian Ugandans from the country and gave everyone ninety

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Speaker 1: days to leave, which is just unimaginable. So tell us

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Speaker 1: about those early days. Was it your parents that instilled

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Speaker 1: in you this ability to, you know, come from really

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Speaker 1: stressful moments and still be able to find a beautiful life.

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Speaker 1: Do you remember any of that time? How formative was

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Speaker 1: it and how has that led to where you've ended up.

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Speaker 2: You know, it's funny if you would have asked me

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Speaker 2: this question. I just turned fifty this year, But if

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Speaker 2: you would have asked me this question in my thirties,

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Speaker 2: I would have been so uncomfortable answering it. Wow, mostly

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Speaker 2: because yeah, mostly because I never really understood, accepted, acknowledge,

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Speaker 2: spoke about being a refugee. As you said, I've got

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Speaker 2: Indian heritage. I was born in in Africa, in Uganda,

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Speaker 2: and at the age of two, my parents had to

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Speaker 2: flee and they came to Canada. And ironically, in two days,

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Speaker 2: it'll make forty days.

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Speaker 1: I think fire meant to say forty years here.

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Speaker 2: Guys, since we landed in this unbelievably amazing country. Oh my,

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Speaker 2: I was at my parents' house. Yeah, I was at

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Speaker 2: my parents' house for lunch yesterday. My dad said, I

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Speaker 2: want to show you something, and he took out this

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Speaker 2: certificate that was stamped with the Canadian entry stamp and

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Speaker 2: it says October twenty eighth, nineteen seventy two. Wow, And

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Speaker 2: it shows where we came in in Quebec. And I cried,

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Speaker 2: like I teared up, and just because I'm so, I'm

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Speaker 2: equally proud of being Canadian as I am proud of

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Speaker 2: being a refugee. And again I would never have said

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Speaker 2: that twenty years ago. But you know, so I'll tell

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Speaker 2: you a little bit about what I know. And on

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Speaker 2: preface this by saying that this is my parents' story

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Speaker 2: more than it's my own, my early days, right, because

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Speaker 2: they had to make all the decisions, and when they

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Speaker 2: decided to leave Uganda, they left everything they had. So

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Speaker 2: they were brought up in you know, middle class, wealthy families.

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Speaker 2: They had everything they ever dreamed of. A political situation

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Speaker 2: made it impossible for them to stay and so they

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Speaker 2: came to Canada. And the reason they came to Canada

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Speaker 2: was and this will speak to networks. This is a

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Speaker 2: perfect example of how networks matter. But our Prime minister

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Speaker 2: at the time was pure Elliott Trudeau and the Aga

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Speaker 2: Khan is our spiritual follower and the two of them

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Speaker 2: studied together at university, I know, right. The story goes

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Speaker 2: that the Aga Khan had reached out to the Canadian

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Speaker 2: government through his friend Perry Elliott Trudeau, and had made

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Speaker 2: it known that the thirty thousand Ismaelis, which is our

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Speaker 2: sect of being a Muslim, needed a place to go.

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Speaker 2: And so a lot of Ismailis came to Canada at

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Speaker 2: that time. And so we were one of the many

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Speaker 2: families who came here in nineteen seventy two. And you know,

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Speaker 2: my parents started over. You know, they worked in you know,

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Speaker 2: jobs that they would never have had to work in otherwise.

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Speaker 2: They came here with two kids, a couple suitcases, and

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Speaker 2: a couple hundred bucks and started to rebuild. And until recently,

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Speaker 2: Malala wrote a book called We Are Displaced, and she

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Speaker 2: asked me to be one of the chapters. And yeah,

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Speaker 2: the reason I mentioned that was because at first I

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Speaker 2: was like, no, no, I don't want to be a chapter.

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Speaker 2: It's not my story to tell. And then I went

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Speaker 2: to talk to my parents and I asked them permission

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Speaker 2: to tell their story. And I learned a lot of

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Speaker 2: things about our departure that I didn't know as a kid,

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Speaker 2: as a teenager, as a young adult, and then as

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Speaker 2: a grown woman. We had never talked about the actual departure.

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Speaker 2: So it's been a real journey. It's been an incredible journey,

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Speaker 2: and I feel so blessed. I feel blessed to be Smiley,

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Speaker 2: I feel blessed to be Canadian. I feel very blessed

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Speaker 2: that I was born in a place that was known

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Speaker 2: as the pearl of Africa, and I'm quite certain that

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Speaker 2: at some point in my life I will do something

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Speaker 2: to make that country better. Yeah, so it's sort of

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Speaker 2: full circle, right.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And that reminds me that identity is something that unravels,

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Speaker 1: like it's definitely very messy in your teens, even messier

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Speaker 1: in your twenties, and just keeps getting more complicated. But

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Speaker 1: then at a certain point you just start to sort

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Speaker 1: of unravel all the layers and become really comfortable in

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Speaker 1: who you are. And I think, like you, a lot

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Speaker 1: of people find that a big part of their identity,

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Speaker 1: or what becomes part of their identity in adulthood, is

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Speaker 1: they start to have conversations with their parents. Are parts

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Speaker 1: of time that they don't necessarily remember and that you

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Speaker 1: might have been even oblivious to for a lot of

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Speaker 1: your life until you realize, actually it's my parents' story

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Speaker 1: and not my own, but it's also how you became

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Speaker 1: who you are, So absolutely it's a part of your identity.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, I think the story was I didn't feel

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Speaker 2: that was one that I could tell because I wasn't

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Speaker 2: sure how open they had been, and so for me

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Speaker 2: to tell their story through a platform like a Malala

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Speaker 2: book was you know, I felt like I needed to

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Speaker 2: seek permission, right, And I'm so fortunate, Sarah. I don't

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Speaker 2: remember a thing about leaving Uganda. I have cousins who

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Speaker 2: are five six seven who remember everything, and their memories

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Speaker 2: are not pleasant. Right, So I'm incredibly blessed to have

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Speaker 2: the parents who I do have, who felt the need

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Speaker 2: to protect us, and then, when the time was right

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Speaker 2: for me to understand, opened up their hearts and poured

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Speaker 2: it all out again. Because remember that unleashes a lot

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Speaker 2: of memories, right, and unleashes a lot of angst and

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Speaker 2: hurt and disappointment. But at the end of the day,

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Speaker 2: it also unleashes this sense of gratefulness that my entire

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Speaker 2: family has for being Canadian.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so, at what point did you still to think

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Speaker 1: about what you wanted to be and what you wanted

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Speaker 1: to make of yourself in life, because I think one

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Speaker 1: of the most interesting things is that as children, it's

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Speaker 1: so straightforward our wants and needs and likes. If we

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Speaker 1: like something, we do it. If we don't like it,

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Speaker 1: we don't do it. And then at some point layers

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Speaker 1: of expectation and societal norms and all these things start

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Speaker 1: to cloud our judgment and then you know, at some

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Speaker 1: point we have to decide what's going to be our vocation.

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Speaker 1: And looking at what you chose at UNI, political science

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Speaker 1: and government at Queens and then international relations, I would

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Speaker 1: have thought that it was influenced a lot by your beginnings,

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Speaker 1: but I actually listened to you in another podcast and

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Speaker 1: heard that you hadn't even spoken to your parents really

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Speaker 1: about the story until UNI. So how did you get

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Speaker 1: to that? How did you figure out that that's what

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Speaker 1: you wanted to do?

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Speaker 2: So I actually thought I'd be a lawyer, so I

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Speaker 2: went to Queen's University, I know, right, So I went

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Speaker 2: to Queen's University in a political science degree. And I'll

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Speaker 2: just back up for and you know, we're at Smiley's

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Speaker 2: and we're very liberal and Muslims. But the majority of

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Speaker 2: the Smiley's kids are either doctors or lawyers, and so

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Speaker 2: when I chose Queen's, there weren't any smileies. In fact,

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Speaker 2: there were very humanorities when I was there. And so

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Speaker 2: I chose the school, and everyone made the assumption, including myself,

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Speaker 2: that I would go. I had finish my four years,

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Speaker 2: I'd applied to law school, I'd become a lawyer. And

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Speaker 2: in my first year I started to really pay attention

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Speaker 2: to student government. I started to pay attention to what

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Speaker 2: the world looked like now I thought it looked like.

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Speaker 2: And when I came out of UNI, I started to

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Speaker 2: volunteer in a political campaign. It was nineteen ninety three.

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Speaker 2: I had just finished traveling around Europe. I made a

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Speaker 2: deal with my parents, if I got on the Dean's

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Speaker 2: honor roll, would you split a trip around Europe with me?

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Speaker 2: And so I got on the I know right there

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Speaker 2: there are great deal makers, I mean.

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Speaker 1: The great deal maker.

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Speaker 2: So I graduated from university, got on a plane and

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Speaker 2: met some of my friends in Europe and spent a

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Speaker 2: few months and a half traveling around Europe. I went

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Speaker 2: to Russia and it was, you know, it was incredible.

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Speaker 2: I went to pull in and I went to Russia

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Speaker 2: because I had studied American Russian politics and the time

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Speaker 2: of Detonte. You're too young to remember that, but I

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Speaker 2: decided I wanted to walk under Red Square anyway, So

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Speaker 2: I did that, and I was really hungry to understand

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Speaker 2: world politics and the dynamics of world politics. But I

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Speaker 2: got back in the job that I was supposed to have.

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Speaker 2: I was taking a gap year between my undergrad and

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Speaker 2: my master's. The job that I was supposed to have

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Speaker 2: was given.

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Speaker 1: Away so rude, it was brutal.

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Speaker 2: It was I was like, what I spent all that money? So,

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Speaker 2: you know, my parents incredibly hard working people, but it

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Speaker 2: was the summer, and my father and my mother said, well,

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Speaker 2: you can't sit around, so you have to find something

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Speaker 2: to do. Anyway, there was an election on nineteen ninety three,

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Speaker 2: and I started volunteering for the liberal candidate, Patty towards me.

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Speaker 2: She was thirty one years of age and running in

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Speaker 2: a riding that nobody thought that she could win, and

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Speaker 2: she won. She won this unbelievable campaign, and so fast forward,

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Speaker 2: I thought I was going to get a job. She

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Speaker 2: was over at my house on Friday night. She was

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Speaker 2: laughing at me for this, But she said, you remember

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Speaker 2: when I didn't hire you right away and you wrote

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Speaker 2: me a letter and you said, here are all the

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Speaker 2: people why you should have hired me. Do you have

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Speaker 2: to continue to tell that story? Anyway?

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Speaker 1: So describes your initiative though I love that. Anyway.

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Speaker 2: I took a joe job at a landscape company. I

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Speaker 2: was the accountant clerk there. Then I went to my

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Speaker 2: master's and halfway through my masters, Patty called me up

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Speaker 2: and said, now I think you're ready. You said you

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Speaker 2: were going to do your masters. You did your masters.

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Speaker 2: That's why I didn't hire you. By the way, come

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Speaker 2: to Ottawa and so I worked in the constituency office

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Speaker 2: and that started my love for politics and sort of

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Speaker 2: pave the way. So go into you know, you go

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Speaker 2: into school to be a lawyer, you come out working

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Speaker 2: with politicians. And I just feel that I've spoken to

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Speaker 2: enough lawyers that the training was fantastic for them, the

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Speaker 2: way that you think, the way that you surmond, the

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Speaker 2: way that you debate. But I know very few, I

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Speaker 2: know some, very few, really happy lawyers. So I think

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Speaker 2: I ended up exactly where I needed to be.

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Speaker 1: Oh, I hear on the lawyer thing I know you,

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Speaker 1: but I truly believe, on the other hand, that there

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Speaker 1: are some people who's yay is a corporate context where

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Speaker 1: their talents are channeled and where they have structure, and

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Speaker 1: they love black letter law. But I feel like the

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Speaker 1: majority of us have gone into LAWA is a clever

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Speaker 1: way to use our brains and do something respectable because

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Speaker 1: we don't actually know what else we want to do,

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Speaker 1: which is fortunate because it does actually equip you for

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Speaker 1: pretty much any other direction that you might want to

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Speaker 1: go in. But I also love tracing back through chapters

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Speaker 1: like this because it's good to remember that there was

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Speaker 1: a Parah who didn't know what she wanted to do

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Speaker 1: and who didn't know what was going to come next.

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Speaker 2: Oh gosh. Yeah, and that far has sprung up from

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Speaker 2: time to time, Like at one point I thought I

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Speaker 2: would run in politics, and then I, you know, I

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Speaker 2: passed ten years working with some incredible politicians, Patty as

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Speaker 2: I mentioned, but also Anne McClellan, and I started with

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Speaker 2: her when she was a Minister of Justice, and then

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Speaker 2: we went to health and then she became the Deputy

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Speaker 2: Prime Minister and so by the time I was out

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Speaker 2: of politics, I kind of felt like, no, I'm not

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Speaker 2: sure I want to run now. You never say never.

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Speaker 2: I'm fifty, there's still time, you know. I just sort

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Speaker 2: of feel like it's incredible the path, like you know,

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Speaker 2: legal training, political training sets you up with such incredible success.

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Speaker 2: You know, again, the way that you think about the world,

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Speaker 2: the way you meet, the way you network, the way

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Speaker 2: that you see yourself and the way other people see you,

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Speaker 2: your understanding of how politics and economics and social issues

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Speaker 2: interconnect and all that kind of stuff, and so, you know,

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Speaker 2: I guess it could be said that there are some

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Speaker 2: people who go into politics to become politicians, and some

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Speaker 2: people who go into politics not necessarily to have their

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Speaker 2: name on the ballot, but to do so many other

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Speaker 2: things in different ways. Same almost as a lawyer. There

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Speaker 2: need to be lawyers who continue on as lawyers because

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Speaker 2: the world needs them, and there need to beat people

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Speaker 2: who are the trained and you know, maybe never practice.

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Speaker 2: But that's the beauty of education. It opened so many

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Speaker 2: doors that you didn't even know exist.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely and that maybe didn't exist at the time you

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Speaker 1: started studying to get into what you wanted to get into.

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Speaker 1: But they're kind of unraveled. As you know, the world

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Speaker 1: is moving so fast. It's an exciting time to think

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Speaker 1: that a job that's your perfect job might not even

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Speaker 1: exist yet exactly. So I think that was really interesting,

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Speaker 1: and I did want to ask you whether or not

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Speaker 1: you ever aspired to be a politician. But I think

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Speaker 1: it also brings out the idea that even if you

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Speaker 1: spent you know, a decade or a huge amount of

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Speaker 1: time in an industry that you don't end up staying in,

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Speaker 1: nothing is ever a waste. I think people really lament

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Speaker 1: that they've invested all this time and energy into relationships

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Speaker 1: or a career or something they ultimately walk away from.

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Speaker 1: But I think you just reframe it. You're not walking

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Speaker 1: away from anything. It was just a stepping stone towards

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Speaker 1: whatever comes next.

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Speaker 2: I absolutely believe in building blocks. Yeah, I really really

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Speaker 2: do you know? When I was working in my first

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Speaker 2: plital job, I learned about communications like I literally had

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Speaker 2: to deal with the media and not knowing anything about

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Speaker 2: formally trained people who are in communications to deal with media.

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Speaker 2: But I learned trial by fire and that became largely

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Speaker 2: the area that I've played in right partnerships communications. I

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Speaker 2: would never have gotten that kind of on the light

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Speaker 2: on the job training as I did in that job.

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Speaker 2: So all these things are building blocks, and I think

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Speaker 2: you're right, and it makes me sad to think that

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Speaker 2: people do limit the time that they spend in certain things.

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Speaker 2: But look, I when I speak to young women, I

433
00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,119
Speaker 2: sort of say, don't rush, like, don't don't feel like

434
00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:39,480
Speaker 2: you have to figure it all out by the time

435
00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:41,879
Speaker 2: you're twenty five, because there'll be so many different forks

436
00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:43,800
Speaker 2: in the road and each of the things that you've

437
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,159
Speaker 2: done in the past will point you in the right direction.

438
00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:48,359
Speaker 2: I don't and it's hard, right. I have the benefit

439
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,159
Speaker 2: of many, many years now, But I do think that

440
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:53,600
Speaker 2: if you go through your life and sort of say

441
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:55,639
Speaker 2: these are experiences and I'm going to build one on

442
00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:58,320
Speaker 2: top of the other, you might step sideways. But there's

443
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:01,760
Speaker 2: absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I think we have

444
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,840
Speaker 2: to train young people to be comfortable with that, because

445
00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,879
Speaker 2: it's very all school thinking to think I'm only going

446
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:09,600
Speaker 2: to do X, and that's what I'm going to become,

447
00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:11,199
Speaker 2: and that's what I'm going to do and I'm going

448
00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,639
Speaker 2: to die having done that, versus the many different careers

449
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,640
Speaker 2: that you can have now. And as you say, really

450
00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,480
Speaker 2: you are spot on. There are so many jobs we

451
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:21,360
Speaker 2: don't even know of it.

452
00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:24,159
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I love what you said about folks in

453
00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:26,600
Speaker 1: the road as well, because I think if I want

454
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,040
Speaker 1: to use this platform to remind anyone of anything, it's

455
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,960
Speaker 1: that your pathway to joy, or to fulfillment, or to

456
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,000
Speaker 1: whatever you want to achieve in life is not linear.

457
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:40,160
Speaker 1: It's not supposed to be. It's a sideways, backwards forwards

458
00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:43,840
Speaker 1: around you know, circles. It's just a total rollercoaster. But

459
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,439
Speaker 1: every part, you know, I always say, you don't have

460
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,639
Speaker 1: to see the whole staircase to take the first step.

461
00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:53,560
Speaker 1: Every step, whether it's backwards or forwards, is still formative.

462
00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:55,960
Speaker 1: It's just, you know, finding out something you don't like

463
00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:58,399
Speaker 1: is just as valuable as finding out something you do like.

464
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:00,480
Speaker 2: You know, I just have a visual have to share

465
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:04,199
Speaker 2: with you. So I'm embarrassed to admit. And now this is.

466
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:09,480
Speaker 1: No, this is kind of goofy too.

467
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,080
Speaker 2: Until recently, I hadn't watched Harry Potter movies, but I've

468
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:15,359
Speaker 2: been spending a lot of time exactly. See. I know,

469
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,080
Speaker 2: my name is Fara Mohammed, and I started watching Harry

470
00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:21,119
Speaker 2: Potter in my fifties, but I'm over just turned fifty,

471
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,159
Speaker 2: just for the record. But my niece comes over. She's like,

472
00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:24,720
Speaker 2: Auntie Para, what do you want to watch? And I

473
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,399
Speaker 2: think the sweetest world words in the world are anti

474
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,240
Speaker 2: Fara by the way, So Auntie Phara, what do you

475
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,560
Speaker 2: want to watch? And of course she's she was twelve

476
00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,320
Speaker 2: at the time, she's now thirteenth, just recently turned thirteen.

477
00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:37,440
Speaker 2: I said, anything you want to watch. She's like, great,

478
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,960
Speaker 2: We'll watch Harry Potter. So I was like, okay, do

479
00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:41,760
Speaker 2: I tell her? Because you want to start off with

480
00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,680
Speaker 2: like number four, right, I'm like, do I tell her that?

481
00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:48,879
Speaker 2: I've never seen it? Anyway, Cold Rady weekend and we

482
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,199
Speaker 2: watched all of the Harry Potter movies. But as you

483
00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:54,160
Speaker 2: were just talking about staircases, I just had the visual,

484
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:56,359
Speaker 2: you know, when they're walking up the staircase and then

485
00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:58,000
Speaker 2: it pivots and it goes in a different direction.

486
00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:01,560
Speaker 1: That's an exacting movie exactly.

487
00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,359
Speaker 2: That's exactly what I just thought of when you said that.

488
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:06,720
Speaker 2: But you know, you also said something else, Sarah, And

489
00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,679
Speaker 2: your language is so intentional, and I love that about you.

490
00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,680
Speaker 2: I think you're so clear and you're so clever about

491
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:15,520
Speaker 2: the words that you use. But you just use the

492
00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:20,440
Speaker 2: word backwards, and we as I think, you know, well intentioned,

493
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,679
Speaker 2: well educated people are so uncomfortable with the idea of

494
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:28,280
Speaker 2: going backwards to go forwards. And it drives me absolutely bonkers,

495
00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,400
Speaker 2: because I don't know when we got it into our

496
00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:34,720
Speaker 2: minds that you couldn't It's okay to step sideways. In

497
00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,480
Speaker 2: our minds, it's okay to step ten step what's forward?

498
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:39,240
Speaker 2: You know, even if you have to take two steps,

499
00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,120
Speaker 2: you know, another direction. But the moment we say we've

500
00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:45,320
Speaker 2: had to go backwards, people see that as a sign

501
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:50,440
Speaker 2: of failure. And I just wish we could stop that nonsense,

502
00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:53,920
Speaker 2: because if you don't step back, how are you ever

503
00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,800
Speaker 2: going to be able to see what's really in front

504
00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:58,919
Speaker 2: of you? I really, this is the one thing that

505
00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:03,880
Speaker 2: just drives me absolutely batshit crazy. Right, is this idea

506
00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:07,919
Speaker 2: that we always have to be moving forward, always, always, always, yes?

507
00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:10,119
Speaker 1: And do you know what also frustrates me on that

508
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,040
Speaker 1: point is that we would rather be furiously running on

509
00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:16,080
Speaker 1: a conveyor belt that goes nowhere than go backwards. We're

510
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:19,200
Speaker 1: so gratified by momentum and scared to take a step

511
00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:23,040
Speaker 1: backwards that we'd rather just consume ourselves into burnout. Running

512
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,960
Speaker 1: on the spot than take a step backwards.

513
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,240
Speaker 2: Do you think that will be the case post COVID?

514
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,280
Speaker 2: Do you think people have slowed down and see, you know,

515
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,960
Speaker 2: the benefit of not moving at the speed that we've

516
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:35,800
Speaker 2: been moving at.

517
00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:39,280
Speaker 1: That is a great question, and I hope so I

518
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,040
Speaker 1: think yes. I think most people have had to take

519
00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:43,760
Speaker 1: stock of their life in a way that they've never

520
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,960
Speaker 1: had time for and never been forced to sit with

521
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,840
Speaker 1: a bit more stillness and take that step back and

522
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:53,200
Speaker 1: just ask who am I when I'm not productive? We've

523
00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:55,680
Speaker 1: all had the chance to choose what we put back

524
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,080
Speaker 1: into our life and what we choose to leave behind.

525
00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:00,679
Speaker 1: It's the clear slate that we've all hoped for. You know,

526
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,520
Speaker 1: we always say I wish I had a minute to

527
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,600
Speaker 1: just restrategize and breathe, and we've had a year to

528
00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,400
Speaker 1: do that. So I hope that of all things people

529
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:11,639
Speaker 1: do take out of this year, it's that they realize

530
00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,200
Speaker 1: they have more conscious choice over where they go next,

531
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,359
Speaker 1: and they can, you know, realize they've struck the wrong

532
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:20,320
Speaker 1: balance for so long and correct it.

533
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:23,040
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, see right, I wish I could do some benchmarking,

534
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:28,560
Speaker 2: you know, my LinkedIn anybody who you know fits this bill,

535
00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:30,760
Speaker 2: and then you know, a year from now, do the

536
00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,320
Speaker 2: survey again to see how many people actually made a

537
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:34,320
Speaker 2: change and stuck with it.

538
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,200
Speaker 1: A great study, the Phiophiles.

539
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:39,840
Speaker 2: I was, that's so funny. A friend of mine was like,

540
00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:41,679
Speaker 2: do you want to launch a podcast? I'm like, what

541
00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:44,639
Speaker 2: would you call it? And he said, he's so smart,

542
00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,120
Speaker 2: he's crazy creative, and he said, let's call it the Pirophiles.

543
00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,560
Speaker 2: And I was like, aside from my mother, who was

544
00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,560
Speaker 2: going to listen to that?

545
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:55,560
Speaker 1: Well, me, so that's too big.

546
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,399
Speaker 2: And then exactly two people that's worth it. And then

547
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:00,280
Speaker 2: I wanted to do one cold I can't make the

548
00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:00,800
Speaker 2: shit up.

549
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,840
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, hap to do that, right, isn't that great?

550
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:07,520
Speaker 2: And that other people like Richard or you know, I'd

551
00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:10,840
Speaker 2: try to get really funny people on also that just like, really,

552
00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:12,520
Speaker 2: if you think about the moments in your life where

553
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,080
Speaker 2: you're like, oh my god, I could not make that

554
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:14,560
Speaker 2: shit up.

555
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:17,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, remember my hands the Bachelorette. Richard was like in

556
00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:20,760
Speaker 1: a toilet paper dress. I was like, you actually cannot

557
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:21,680
Speaker 1: make that shit.

558
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:24,639
Speaker 2: Up exactly who would have thunk it? Huh?

559
00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:26,680
Speaker 1: Oh my god. I still I'm like, if there wasn't

560
00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:28,600
Speaker 1: a video. I would actually think that I just like

561
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,080
Speaker 1: took mushrooms on the island and just dreamt up a

562
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:32,840
Speaker 1: whole thing that never actually happened.

563
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,320
Speaker 2: Oh no, but what's what happened in Necker Island's days

564
00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:40,480
Speaker 2: in Necker Island? Right? That's the rule? Absolutely no, But

565
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,600
Speaker 2: I do think that there's something to be said about

566
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,879
Speaker 2: you know, as you sort of mention just now reflecting, right,

567
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,680
Speaker 2: reflecting and being okay with not being on a warp

568
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:50,040
Speaker 2: speed all the time.

569
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:54,200
Speaker 1: Hello, lovely neighborhood. Just jumping into the episode to share

570
00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 1: a tasty update from today's partner in Ya, bell Vita. Now,

571
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,320
Speaker 1: you guys know how much I love celebrating YEA and

572
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,800
Speaker 1: Belvita's new bakes and coconut bites are the perfect way

573
00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:08,760
Speaker 1: to start your day with YEA. Deliciously designed to brighten

574
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,560
Speaker 1: the morning, Belveta's Australian made bakes and coconut bites are

575
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:17,359
Speaker 1: also gluten and nut free, with no artificial colors or flavors.

576
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:21,160
Speaker 1: Each snack provides a source of fiber, guaranteeing more out

577
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,320
Speaker 1: of every bite. It is the perfect for a morning snack,

578
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,280
Speaker 1: especially to get me through editing. These episodes for you guys.

579
00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:30,399
Speaker 1: Check out these new bakes and bites available now at

580
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:36,560
Speaker 1: Coals in the portable Breakfast Aisle. And it's really interesting

581
00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:38,520
Speaker 1: that you said it's hard, because I'm talking with all

582
00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:41,680
Speaker 1: these years of experience. I actually think it's easier for us.

583
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,200
Speaker 1: We should be listening to you because you have the

584
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,080
Speaker 1: benefit of hindsight and can look back and safely reassure

585
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,640
Speaker 1: us that all of those chapters might not have made

586
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,240
Speaker 1: sense at the time, but they now make sense even

587
00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:55,520
Speaker 1: if you didn't stay in them all forever. You are

588
00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:59,240
Speaker 1: the exact person who has the perspective to say, honestly,

589
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,040
Speaker 1: don't worry. You're not meant to have your forever plan

590
00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:04,600
Speaker 1: right now. So if you're not in a chapter that

591
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,080
Speaker 1: you love, just find the thing it's teaching you for

592
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,280
Speaker 1: the next one. Like sit in every part of your

593
00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:10,680
Speaker 1: life as if it's preparing you.

594
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:14,800
Speaker 2: For what you know exactly. And you know what I

595
00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:16,440
Speaker 2: love about what I've been able to do is I

596
00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:18,400
Speaker 2: have a lot of young women who reach out to

597
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:20,400
Speaker 2: me and can you be a mentor? And one of

598
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:22,280
Speaker 2: the things I promised is that I wouldn't be a

599
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,320
Speaker 2: mentor to one person because unless you can do it

600
00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:27,080
Speaker 2: really really well, and spend the time they're not really

601
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:28,960
Speaker 2: doing it, you know, you're not doing service to that

602
00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:31,880
Speaker 2: person who is sort of putting their faith in their trust.

603
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,000
Speaker 2: So I've been doing this thing where every week I

604
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:37,640
Speaker 2: speak to you two young women around that and just

605
00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:39,920
Speaker 2: sort of talk to them about their life and their career.

606
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:42,000
Speaker 2: And they always ask me the same thing, what would

607
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,680
Speaker 2: you do differently? And I always say, look, I would

608
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:47,959
Speaker 2: have taken advice and actually really listened and acted on that.

609
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,040
Speaker 2: And one of those pieces of advice that I remember

610
00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:53,760
Speaker 2: a lot of people telling me is slow down, don't

611
00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:57,200
Speaker 2: be in such a hurry. And they're like, yeah, yeah,

612
00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:01,840
Speaker 2: and what else and what's next? No, no, no, seriously, And

613
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:04,440
Speaker 2: I don't live with regrets like I'm you know, I

614
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,120
Speaker 2: guess I'm very fortunate that way. I just, you know,

615
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:09,880
Speaker 2: not everything works out, but when it doesn't, as we've

616
00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:12,120
Speaker 2: already said, you learn from it. But I was just

617
00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:14,920
Speaker 2: laughing with this young woman today and she's trying to

618
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:16,440
Speaker 2: figure out how to make this move, and she's like,

619
00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:17,880
Speaker 2: how do you know when it's right? I'm like, do

620
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,400
Speaker 2: you sleep make the decision? And then if you sleep

621
00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:22,680
Speaker 2: really well, then you know You've made the right decision.

622
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,200
Speaker 2: She's like, you don't honestly believe that, do you. I'm like,

623
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:32,400
Speaker 2: made a lot of decisions that way to her, and

624
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:35,520
Speaker 2: she's like, oh, okay, I think you know she expected

625
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:37,520
Speaker 2: me to say something that was just like a.

626
00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:39,560
Speaker 1: Real, like profound strategy.

627
00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:41,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I'm like, you have to trust your gut.

628
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:43,840
Speaker 2: My point was you got to trust your gut, right,

629
00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:46,440
Speaker 2: you got to You got to take chances on yourself,

630
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,680
Speaker 2: because if you're not going to take them, absolutely nobody else's.

631
00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:52,120
Speaker 2: It's the same thing when when people say, oh, I'm

632
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,520
Speaker 2: just the whatever, or you know, when people put themselves down.

633
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:57,680
Speaker 2: I'm like, don't do that. Lots of other people will

634
00:30:57,720 --> 00:30:59,600
Speaker 2: do that for you, don't do it to yourself.

635
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:03,080
Speaker 1: Amazing advice, And I love the idea as well that

636
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:05,600
Speaker 1: it's incredible to be a mentor one on one, But

637
00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,440
Speaker 1: if that's not your ultimate calling and it doesn't suit you,

638
00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:12,880
Speaker 1: it does deprive the masses of being able to access you.

639
00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:15,080
Speaker 1: You know, you can be an example and a role model,

640
00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:19,040
Speaker 1: and you have absolutely done that and created such wonderful,

641
00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:22,440
Speaker 1: bigger platforms for so many young girls and women. And

642
00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:25,560
Speaker 1: I think that's you know what you've described as galvanizing

643
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,560
Speaker 1: the world's greatest resource young girls and young women to

644
00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:32,040
Speaker 1: cultivate a new generation of leaders, which I just think

645
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,320
Speaker 1: is so incredible. But before we move on to that chapter,

646
00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,520
Speaker 1: i'd love to ask, because I think it's something that

647
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:40,960
Speaker 1: if you haven't had a lot of people in your

648
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,840
Speaker 1: network or had a reason to learn much about it,

649
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:50,040
Speaker 1: just because of life circumstances, not everyone understands what it's

650
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:54,120
Speaker 1: like to grow up Muslim and what your experience has

651
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:58,040
Speaker 1: been like, particularly in the last few generations. I imagine

652
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:02,000
Speaker 1: it's been quite a difficult experience in recent times, and

653
00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:04,840
Speaker 1: i'd love to hear if that was ever a challenging

654
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:08,320
Speaker 1: part of your upbringing. You mentioned earlier that you describe

655
00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:11,760
Speaker 1: yourself as a minority. Have you felt that way, Has

656
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,480
Speaker 1: it been something that has been really present in your

657
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,360
Speaker 1: journey or you asked.

658
00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:18,160
Speaker 2: The tough questions? So I thought this was just going to.

659
00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:22,560
Speaker 1: Be I know, it's so full for nonsense and yea,

660
00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 1: but with the dose.

661
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:29,240
Speaker 2: Of the they're all really they're all really thoughtful questions. Actually,

662
00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:34,200
Speaker 2: when I was in my young teens, I was beat

663
00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:37,680
Speaker 2: up and called a packy and rolled down a hill

664
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:40,360
Speaker 2: and it kept a and I don't talk about it, Sarah.

665
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:42,880
Speaker 2: To be honest, I really don't talk about it. And

666
00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:44,520
Speaker 2: this is probably the second time I've talked about it

667
00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:47,440
Speaker 2: oh far. And it was such a defining moment for

668
00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:55,000
Speaker 2: me because I was really confused, hurt, ashamed, scared. Only

669
00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:57,400
Speaker 2: my sister knew. My parents didn't even know. I don't

670
00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,880
Speaker 2: even think my parents know now. We lived in a

671
00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:02,320
Speaker 2: called Hamilton, which is a really great place, but we

672
00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,880
Speaker 2: lived in Hamilton, and shortly there after we moved to Burlington,

673
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:10,200
Speaker 2: and Burlington at the time was very not ethnically diversed,

674
00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:12,720
Speaker 2: like not anywhere shape or form. I think my sister

675
00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:16,040
Speaker 2: and I were the only people of color in our school,

676
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:22,640
Speaker 2: and I always felt like a minority. Always growing in Burlington.

677
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:26,160
Speaker 2: You feel like a minority going to Queen's University, you

678
00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:30,120
Speaker 2: feel like a minority going to Western check that box again.

679
00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:33,640
Speaker 2: But I never allowed it to define me. And I

680
00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:38,239
Speaker 2: use the word allow purposely, so I knew I was,

681
00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:41,000
Speaker 2: but I never let it hold me back. And I

682
00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:44,400
Speaker 2: watched a lot of my friends who I think felt

683
00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:47,520
Speaker 2: held back. So I had three or four things going

684
00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:51,400
Speaker 2: for me. Unbelievable parents and an incredible network of cousins

685
00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:56,200
Speaker 2: who trail blazed things like being in sport, or being

686
00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,840
Speaker 2: really successful business people, or being entrepreneurial. Like there was

687
00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:03,160
Speaker 2: no deficit, There was no you know, it was not

688
00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:05,600
Speaker 2: hard for me to find really great examples of really

689
00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:09,440
Speaker 2: successful people in my family and in my parents' friends

690
00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:11,839
Speaker 2: and my parents as well. So I think I had

691
00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:15,440
Speaker 2: really great role models of people who were ethnic, who

692
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:18,640
Speaker 2: were different, who were Muslim and very successful. So my

693
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:21,600
Speaker 2: mindset was already, you know, was programmed for a certain

694
00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:27,000
Speaker 2: level of success. But when I was at Queen's, I

695
00:34:27,160 --> 00:34:29,960
Speaker 2: worked at a bar. I know, we had to do

696
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,040
Speaker 2: the sensitivity training. So we were doing the sensitution and

697
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 2: now remember this is like two decades ago. Okay, we

698
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:37,439
Speaker 2: were doing the sensitivity training and I was the only

699
00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,400
Speaker 2: person of color there, and the person who was giving

700
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:43,160
Speaker 2: the chorus said, so, let's talk about, you know, working

701
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,880
Speaker 2: with people of color, minorities or whatever the language was.

702
00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:47,319
Speaker 2: I think it was minorities at the time. I don't

703
00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,319
Speaker 2: think it was people of color. I think that's a

704
00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:52,920
Speaker 2: relatively new term all we all use now. But and

705
00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:54,960
Speaker 2: they then he called on me, and I was like,

706
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:57,279
Speaker 2: well that was really effective, Like call it the one

707
00:34:57,360 --> 00:34:59,960
Speaker 2: brown person in the group. And so there have been

708
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:04,440
Speaker 2: moments like that where I have felt very very brown

709
00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:08,600
Speaker 2: when you when you ask me about being Muslim. You know,

710
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:13,400
Speaker 2: my parents are spiritual religious, yes, but not you know,

711
00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:15,520
Speaker 2: we don't go to Kanye. We don't call it Mosqus,

712
00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:18,000
Speaker 2: we call it Kanye. And we're also very very liberal

713
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,560
Speaker 2: when it comes to being Muslims. But they did instill

714
00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:23,760
Speaker 2: in us, you know, the five different tenets of being

715
00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:27,400
Speaker 2: being a Muslim. Right, So there's regular attendance, there's giving

716
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:30,000
Speaker 2: dussel and then dussalon is like you give an x

717
00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:33,680
Speaker 2: percentage of your salary to charitable causes. You know, there's

718
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,399
Speaker 2: volunteerism and they're all these things that they taught us.

719
00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,200
Speaker 2: But they taught them to us as our faith, but

720
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,600
Speaker 2: as people. So I don't think they taught it to

721
00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:43,640
Speaker 2: us because we happen to be Muslim. I think they

722
00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:45,200
Speaker 2: taught it to us because they happen to be really

723
00:35:45,239 --> 00:35:48,280
Speaker 2: good people. I'll just say this, the beauty of being

724
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:52,120
Speaker 2: Muslim is that it is an understood religion by many.

725
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:56,720
Speaker 2: The challenges that it's a misunderstood religion by so many

726
00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:59,880
Speaker 2: as well. And the when that came to light from

727
00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:03,759
Speaker 2: was obviously during nine to eleven. So I was at

728
00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:06,360
Speaker 2: a nice little place called White Point, Nova, Scotia with

729
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,560
Speaker 2: all the ministers of justice and all the solicitors general

730
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:13,080
Speaker 2: and are you the head of corrections right if you

731
00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:14,759
Speaker 2: want to put it that way in terms of Australia

732
00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:17,680
Speaker 2: or even America. So we were all gathered together for

733
00:36:17,719 --> 00:36:19,840
Speaker 2: an annual meeting of all of these people, and it

734
00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:21,680
Speaker 2: was nine eleven. It was the actual day. We were

735
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:24,719
Speaker 2: in this very remote place in eastern Canada and the

736
00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:28,279
Speaker 2: planes hit the buildings and my boss was called back

737
00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:31,600
Speaker 2: to Ottawa on a government plane which I went with her.

738
00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:35,799
Speaker 2: And I then served out as the director of communications

739
00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,520
Speaker 2: to the Minister of Justice dealing with nine to eleven.

740
00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:42,120
Speaker 2: So I was on the front page of papers, Fara

741
00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:46,359
Speaker 2: Mohammed Muslim being for this and it was very, very,

742
00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:50,360
Speaker 2: very trying time because whether or not the intention was

743
00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:54,440
Speaker 2: to spotlight the role of Muslims during nine to eleven

744
00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:58,239
Speaker 2: and the tragedy and the atrocity of what happened in

745
00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:02,720
Speaker 2: New York, that's what happened, right, And so Muslims became

746
00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:05,800
Speaker 2: the picture that everyone thought of when they thought of terrorism.

747
00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:08,440
Speaker 2: And I found that really hard, you know, there were

748
00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,160
Speaker 2: things like there were certain things I was not allowed

749
00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:14,839
Speaker 2: to do anymore for safety reasons. And I remember being

750
00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:16,879
Speaker 2: on a plane and a man accosting me and telling

751
00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:19,520
Speaker 2: me that I should be embarrassed. And I'm sort of

752
00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:23,800
Speaker 2: accused me of being a sellout to the Muslim population

753
00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:27,400
Speaker 2: because I was the government spokesperson, and that was painful. Like,

754
00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:29,920
Speaker 2: you know, my parents' house got aged during that time.

755
00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:34,239
Speaker 2: So there are moments where I just think to myself,

756
00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:37,839
Speaker 2: we have to be better than this, right, we have

757
00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:39,640
Speaker 2: to be more open than this. We need to be

758
00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:45,640
Speaker 2: more understanding or curious or accepting. And because a bunch

759
00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:48,680
Speaker 2: of I wouldn't even call them Muslims, because Muslims are

760
00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:53,160
Speaker 2: not programmed to be that way. They're not programmed to hate.

761
00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:56,279
Speaker 2: We're programmed to love. We're not programmed to go to war.

762
00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,760
Speaker 2: We're programmed to build peace. And so because of these

763
00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:04,959
Speaker 2: nasty individuals, I feel like Islam has never been seen

764
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:09,120
Speaker 2: the same. Yeah, And for that, I feel very, very sad.

765
00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:12,240
Speaker 2: I think there are some people who understand and welcome,

766
00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:14,319
Speaker 2: and there are others who don't want to understand, who

767
00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:17,719
Speaker 2: do not want to welcome and will never ever take

768
00:38:17,719 --> 00:38:22,520
Speaker 2: the time to understand what the Muslim faith really is about.

769
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:25,640
Speaker 2: Long long answer to your very short question, but it's

770
00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:27,239
Speaker 2: a very complicated issue for me.

771
00:38:27,719 --> 00:38:31,600
Speaker 1: I'm so so grateful for you sharing that experience. And

772
00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:35,640
Speaker 1: I think the reason I ask tough questions sometimes and

773
00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:39,160
Speaker 1: try to cover topics that fundamentally aren't as sort of

774
00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:44,560
Speaker 1: yay and fluffy as other topics is because helping people understand,

775
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,160
Speaker 1: like it's such a huge barrier to so many people

776
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:50,120
Speaker 1: to their joy to face things like this, to face

777
00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:53,160
Speaker 1: issues like this, And I think the more we talk

778
00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:56,719
Speaker 1: about them and normalize conversations like this about what it's

779
00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,960
Speaker 1: like on a human level, the more it helps combat

780
00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:03,720
Speaker 1: that kind of behavior, because yeah, people can humanize the issue,

781
00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:09,279
Speaker 1: and you see people's families and themselves get targeted and

782
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:14,239
Speaker 1: so affected. And I think there are incredibly fundamentalist minorities

783
00:39:14,239 --> 00:39:17,080
Speaker 1: in every religion, and not just every religion, but in

784
00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:20,120
Speaker 1: every sector of society, in every kind of small group.

785
00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:21,000
Speaker 2: Absolutely.

786
00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:24,719
Speaker 1: You know, I can't empathize, but I sympathize so much

787
00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:28,560
Speaker 1: with how one incident has made a lot of people's

788
00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:30,080
Speaker 1: lives very difficult.

789
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:33,279
Speaker 2: It does, though, you know, the one thing I'll say

790
00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:36,480
Speaker 2: is I think it's given me even more. I use

791
00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:40,120
Speaker 2: the word you did empathy, compassion, understanding of what other

792
00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:43,400
Speaker 2: people go through too. I think if you've never experienced

793
00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:46,840
Speaker 2: that kind of hurt, it's really sometimes very difficult to

794
00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:48,920
Speaker 2: stop and try to understand somebody else's hurt.

795
00:39:49,239 --> 00:39:51,879
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm so grateful for you sharing that. I find

796
00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:55,320
Speaker 1: that so interesting because unless people are willing to share

797
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:58,400
Speaker 1: experiences like that with you, you can't understand the depth

798
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:01,120
Speaker 1: of the issue or how complex it actually is.

799
00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:03,600
Speaker 2: But I didn't used to. It's really been in the

800
00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:08,120
Speaker 2: last ten years I felt more comfortable being that honest

801
00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:10,680
Speaker 2: because I think that people might hear that and go oh, X,

802
00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:12,480
Speaker 2: Y or Z, And now I just don't seem to

803
00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:16,080
Speaker 2: care what people think, right, So that's something that comes

804
00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:17,600
Speaker 2: with each.

805
00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:20,240
Speaker 1: I think that is one of the most liberating things

806
00:40:20,239 --> 00:40:23,839
Speaker 1: you can do for yourself, is just stopping such a

807
00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:28,880
Speaker 1: slave to other people's opinions and thoughts and beliefs. So

808
00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:33,080
Speaker 1: you've gone on to have many more chapters and are

809
00:40:33,120 --> 00:40:36,960
Speaker 1: on the cusp of another, which is very, very exciting.

810
00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:40,960
Speaker 1: You know, the last decade has been a really formative

811
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:44,040
Speaker 1: decade for you, and that's pretty much been the decade

812
00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:47,839
Speaker 1: since you founded Girls twenty in twenty eleven, and then

813
00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:51,640
Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen, Or appointed CEO of the Malala Fund

814
00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:54,880
Speaker 1: and then worked for the Toronto Region Board of Trade

815
00:40:55,120 --> 00:40:58,640
Speaker 1: and are now agitating for a new chapter of change.

816
00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:01,560
Speaker 1: So before we talk about the agitation and bring us

817
00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:04,000
Speaker 1: up to speed with the now, can you talk us

818
00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:07,279
Speaker 1: through founding Girls twenty what it means for you to

819
00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:11,279
Speaker 1: be creating such a beautiful platform for education, entrepreneurship and

820
00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:14,799
Speaker 1: global experiences. And then also, I mean I could talk

821
00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:16,720
Speaker 1: to you for hours. I'm sorry I've lived so little

822
00:41:16,719 --> 00:41:19,680
Speaker 1: time for these topics. But talk us also through working

823
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:24,200
Speaker 1: alongside Malala, because what an incredible human being. For those

824
00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:26,160
Speaker 1: who don't know, I don't think there are many people

825
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:29,160
Speaker 1: who don't know. But if you don't know Malala's story,

826
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:32,960
Speaker 1: she survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban just for

827
00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:36,920
Speaker 1: going to school and became the youngest person ever to

828
00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:39,560
Speaker 1: receive the Nobel Peace Prize for the work that she's

829
00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:43,480
Speaker 1: done since then, and far aheaded up the Malala Fund

830
00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:45,960
Speaker 1: from twenty seventeen to.

831
00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:47,359
Speaker 2: For a couple of years.

832
00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:50,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, a couple of years. So tell us about

833
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:52,280
Speaker 1: that part of your life.

834
00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:55,320
Speaker 2: Sure, So, yeah, I'll start with Girls twenty, so really quickly.

835
00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:58,720
Speaker 2: Girls twenty was born out of a need. So nowhere

836
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:01,600
Speaker 2: the world was anyone really talking about female labor horse

837
00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:04,920
Speaker 2: participation and the impact that has on a country's GDP.

838
00:42:05,040 --> 00:42:07,800
Speaker 2: And the reason that's important is because if we don't

839
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:10,120
Speaker 2: have women working at full capacity, we're not going to

840
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:13,520
Speaker 2: have the kind of robust economies we need for clear

841
00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:16,840
Speaker 2: and impactful healthcare systems. We're not going to have the

842
00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:21,040
Speaker 2: kind of innovations we need to keep countries growing and

843
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:24,680
Speaker 2: attracting the best talent. So, you know, we created this

844
00:42:24,719 --> 00:42:28,120
Speaker 2: platform at the Clinton Global Initiative, and it was under

845
00:42:28,160 --> 00:42:30,719
Speaker 2: the Bolindostronic Foundation to begin with. Actually, we created this

846
00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:34,200
Speaker 2: platform that really brought together politics and economics, and we said, look,

847
00:42:34,239 --> 00:42:36,799
Speaker 2: the G twenty. I know, not so hard, right, this

848
00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:40,080
Speaker 2: is not a rocket science, but the G twenty was

849
00:42:40,200 --> 00:42:42,640
Speaker 2: born in an economic crisis and it was meant to

850
00:42:42,640 --> 00:42:45,120
Speaker 2: deal with how do we get our economies back on track. Well,

851
00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:47,920
Speaker 2: one of the best investments you can make is in women.

852
00:42:48,239 --> 00:42:51,600
Speaker 2: Two stats. Women spend ninety percent of their dollar every

853
00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:55,480
Speaker 2: dollar they make on their family. Men spend about thirty percent. Okay,

854
00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:58,319
Speaker 2: so that big disparance and you can sort of see

855
00:42:58,320 --> 00:42:59,960
Speaker 2: where does that money go into. It goes into educ

856
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:02,880
Speaker 2: it goes into healthcare, it goes into feeding the family,

857
00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:06,799
Speaker 2: et cetera, et cetera. So there's an economic spinoff from

858
00:43:07,080 --> 00:43:10,279
Speaker 2: employing a woman. The second thing is that if you

859
00:43:10,360 --> 00:43:12,799
Speaker 2: add I think they sort of said, if you even

860
00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:15,799
Speaker 2: got women, and this stat might be old now, but

861
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:18,600
Speaker 2: if you got women to work even at I guess

862
00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:21,240
Speaker 2: two thirds of what men would work, it would add

863
00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:24,480
Speaker 2: trillions of dollars to your economy. I mean, it's crazy

864
00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:26,920
Speaker 2: the impact. So look, we looked at it went what

865
00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:30,160
Speaker 2: you want resources? Do you want quick fixes? Do you

866
00:43:30,239 --> 00:43:32,640
Speaker 2: want something that's going to make sense and that impacts

867
00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:35,480
Speaker 2: fifty percent of your population at least it's female labor

868
00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:38,520
Speaker 2: first participation, So we created this platform. We then started

869
00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:42,160
Speaker 2: to harass G twenty leaders to get this on their agenda.

870
00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:43,960
Speaker 2: It got on their agenda and at the same time,

871
00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:46,160
Speaker 2: so we had this global summit, one girl from each

872
00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:49,400
Speaker 2: G twenty country. They'd gathered together in the country that

873
00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:52,520
Speaker 2: was hosting the G twenty, So it was Canada first,

874
00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:57,839
Speaker 2: then Paris, then Mexico, Turkey, Japan, Argentina. I'm not doing

875
00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:04,200
Speaker 2: this in order Russia, you know, unbelievable Beijing. And what

876
00:44:04,200 --> 00:44:05,799
Speaker 2: we did was we always made sure we were on

877
00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:08,320
Speaker 2: the agenda of the G twenty. And at the same time,

878
00:44:08,719 --> 00:44:11,560
Speaker 2: these young women would come together for ten days, they'd

879
00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:15,120
Speaker 2: get unbelievable courses. So Bain and Company would teach them

880
00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:18,080
Speaker 2: how to strategically think. Edelman would teach them how to

881
00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:22,800
Speaker 2: communicate and do media interviews. Somebody else, Norton, rose Fulbright,

882
00:44:22,840 --> 00:44:26,960
Speaker 2: this unbelievable woman called Carolyne Edwards would teach them about

883
00:44:27,040 --> 00:44:30,680
Speaker 2: leadership capacity. Now imagine you have all of those skills

884
00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:33,719
Speaker 2: in your eighteen They get their first business card from us,

885
00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,400
Speaker 2: they learn how to shake a hand from us, you know,

886
00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:39,440
Speaker 2: all of these things that just make you stand out. Anyway,

887
00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:42,280
Speaker 2: they'd go back home, they'd launch their own social profit venture.

888
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:44,359
Speaker 2: And the only thing we said was you pick what's

889
00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:47,080
Speaker 2: important to you, but make sure it impacts women and

890
00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:50,200
Speaker 2: girls in your own backyard. And then just as I

891
00:44:50,239 --> 00:44:52,280
Speaker 2: was walking up the door to Malala Fund, I launched

892
00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:55,560
Speaker 2: something called Girls on Boards. And this is a program

893
00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:58,600
Speaker 2: that teaches young women how to be on a board.

894
00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:01,440
Speaker 2: So they go through an actual did a program and

895
00:45:01,480 --> 00:45:03,480
Speaker 2: how to be on a community board. They get matched

896
00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:06,960
Speaker 2: with a mentor. That mentor also takes the program. They

897
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:10,240
Speaker 2: then get matched to a social profit charitable board somewhere

898
00:45:10,239 --> 00:45:12,920
Speaker 2: here in Canada, and they serve on that board for

899
00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:16,080
Speaker 2: at least one year. And so now they've got training,

900
00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:19,440
Speaker 2: they've got a mentor, they've got a program, they've got

901
00:45:19,440 --> 00:45:22,520
Speaker 2: a placement, and they've now beginning to start their networks.

902
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:26,120
Speaker 2: And you and I both know networks matter. So that

903
00:45:26,239 --> 00:45:28,560
Speaker 2: was Girls twenty and I did that. I think It's

904
00:45:28,640 --> 00:45:31,080
Speaker 2: been like the most amazing thing that I've ever done

905
00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:33,680
Speaker 2: in my life, putting girls on boards. If I do

906
00:45:33,760 --> 00:45:37,640
Speaker 2: nothing else again, that will be I think, my most creative,

907
00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:41,080
Speaker 2: no brainer solution to some of the challenges we face.

908
00:45:41,719 --> 00:45:44,719
Speaker 2: Then I got recruited to work with Malala, and nobody

909
00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:49,840
Speaker 2: can say down noted that that opportunity, you know, unbelievable,

910
00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:54,240
Speaker 2: unbelievable opportunity. Malala had been through so much, and loads

911
00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:56,560
Speaker 2: of people would have just sort of said, I've done

912
00:45:56,600 --> 00:45:58,400
Speaker 2: my part, I'm going to go live my life. And

913
00:45:58,440 --> 00:46:01,719
Speaker 2: she didn't. Yeah, time and time again, she stood up.

914
00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:04,560
Speaker 2: And what I loved about working with Malala was she

915
00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:07,160
Speaker 2: made it her business that every time she was invited

916
00:46:07,160 --> 00:46:08,960
Speaker 2: to something so it didn't matter if it was the

917
00:46:09,080 --> 00:46:13,279
Speaker 2: UN or a meeting with this philanthropist or that philanthropist,

918
00:46:13,320 --> 00:46:15,200
Speaker 2: she would always take a young woman with her.

919
00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:16,200
Speaker 1: Wow.

920
00:46:16,239 --> 00:46:18,520
Speaker 2: And she did it so that people could see that

921
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:22,719
Speaker 2: there are thousands of Malalas out there, girls who just

922
00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:26,200
Speaker 2: want an education. It made people see things differently, right,

923
00:46:26,360 --> 00:46:29,719
Speaker 2: So it was such an amazing honor, you know, laid

924
00:46:29,719 --> 00:46:32,680
Speaker 2: the groundwork for a strategy plan. I was honored to

925
00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:35,759
Speaker 2: bring her and her family back to Pakistan for the

926
00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:40,040
Speaker 2: first time since her attack, raised millions of dollars and

927
00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:45,160
Speaker 2: set up great partnerships with organizations who really care about

928
00:46:45,200 --> 00:46:52,080
Speaker 2: young women and their futures. So like Apple, City Bank, Starbucks, Airbnb,

929
00:46:52,239 --> 00:46:57,040
Speaker 2: you know, these companies that just needed the opportunity and

930
00:46:57,080 --> 00:47:00,240
Speaker 2: I will say that just needed the opportunity to give back.

931
00:47:00,520 --> 00:47:04,120
Speaker 2: And so working with Malala was phenomenal, you know. And

932
00:47:04,160 --> 00:47:06,759
Speaker 2: the best part, as amazing as it was to work

933
00:47:06,760 --> 00:47:09,640
Speaker 2: with Malala and the team at the Malala Fund, it

934
00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:12,480
Speaker 2: was when we went to Nigeria, are Iraq or Brazil

935
00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:15,439
Speaker 2: or Mexico and we met with those girls. It's their

936
00:47:15,560 --> 00:47:17,960
Speaker 2: stories that have stuck with me and will stick with

937
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:21,040
Speaker 2: me till the end of my years, because it's their

938
00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:24,480
Speaker 2: faces and their plights and their stories and their successes

939
00:47:25,239 --> 00:47:27,960
Speaker 2: that actually make you feel like, Okay, the work I'm

940
00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:31,560
Speaker 2: doing here really is impacting a life, and with every

941
00:47:31,560 --> 00:47:34,040
Speaker 2: life you impact, you're going to impact that many more

942
00:47:34,640 --> 00:47:38,560
Speaker 2: so selfish, But sitting with those girls on a dirt floor,

943
00:47:39,040 --> 00:47:42,520
Speaker 2: you know, in Kurdistan or somewhere in Iraq, there are

944
00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:46,040
Speaker 2: no words to tell you, to tell anyone how blessed

945
00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:46,480
Speaker 2: I feel.

946
00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:51,400
Speaker 1: I mean, you are just such a truly exceptional human being.

947
00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:55,360
Speaker 1: And I knew that already, but I'm so incredibly privileged

948
00:47:55,400 --> 00:47:57,399
Speaker 1: to know you and be having this chat with you.

949
00:47:57,880 --> 00:48:00,520
Speaker 1: I can't put to words how many goopsby this has

950
00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:04,040
Speaker 1: given me. And one of the things that springs to

951
00:48:04,120 --> 00:48:08,880
Speaker 1: mind on the whole topic of pathways and fulfillment and success, Firstly,

952
00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:11,000
Speaker 1: you've used the word success a couple of times in

953
00:48:11,080 --> 00:48:13,520
Speaker 1: terms of the young women's successes, in terms of your

954
00:48:13,560 --> 00:48:16,839
Speaker 1: own successes, and I think something that's very difficult when

955
00:48:16,840 --> 00:48:21,359
Speaker 1: you operate at this incredibly impactful global level is what

956
00:48:21,520 --> 00:48:25,320
Speaker 1: is your next chapter when the last one literally saved

957
00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:29,160
Speaker 1: people's lives or literally changed education for a country. You

958
00:48:29,200 --> 00:48:32,080
Speaker 1: know what I mean, Like, how do you ever live

959
00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:35,600
Speaker 1: up to your own experiences then when you're living at

960
00:48:35,600 --> 00:48:39,240
Speaker 1: this huge at a Nobel Peace Prize kind of level.

961
00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:41,600
Speaker 1: And I imagine for Malala as well, I mean that's

962
00:48:41,640 --> 00:48:42,480
Speaker 1: a huge question.

963
00:48:42,760 --> 00:48:44,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm very proud of her. She's taking a year

964
00:48:44,600 --> 00:48:48,520
Speaker 2: off and she's coming of her own board and she'll

965
00:48:48,560 --> 00:48:50,520
Speaker 2: go on to change lives and I hope her own

966
00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:54,160
Speaker 2: and really, you know, keep doing what she's doing. As

967
00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:56,799
Speaker 2: for me, I've left the Board of Trade and it

968
00:48:56,840 --> 00:49:00,359
Speaker 2: was a great experience. I came back to Toronto and

969
00:49:00,520 --> 00:49:04,200
Speaker 2: now I'm going to use your word, Sarah, agitating to

970
00:49:04,239 --> 00:49:06,640
Speaker 2: do something. This is something that will be And I

971
00:49:06,640 --> 00:49:08,759
Speaker 2: can't say too much because I've got a partner and

972
00:49:08,800 --> 00:49:11,799
Speaker 2: we're working on a new venture, but I'll just say this.

973
00:49:12,040 --> 00:49:14,960
Speaker 2: I want to go back to impacting lives. I want

974
00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:18,520
Speaker 2: to go back to working in service to young people,

975
00:49:18,680 --> 00:49:21,600
Speaker 2: or to refugees, or to women, and maybe even a

976
00:49:21,640 --> 00:49:23,840
Speaker 2: combo of all three. Is all I can say. But

977
00:49:24,840 --> 00:49:27,279
Speaker 2: I think what I've learned is I'm fifty. I want

978
00:49:27,280 --> 00:49:29,800
Speaker 2: to work for the next five years, and in those

979
00:49:30,520 --> 00:49:33,439
Speaker 2: five years, I really want to make sure that every

980
00:49:33,480 --> 00:49:36,520
Speaker 2: single day I'm doing something that's going to impact someone else,

981
00:49:37,200 --> 00:49:39,319
Speaker 2: And I think that's a reflection of who I am,

982
00:49:39,320 --> 00:49:41,640
Speaker 2: but also how iways brought up and what I want

983
00:49:41,680 --> 00:49:44,839
Speaker 2: to be leaving behind. Is this idea that you can

984
00:49:44,880 --> 00:49:47,360
Speaker 2: best serve your country if you really focus on what

985
00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:50,920
Speaker 2: you're passionate about and make that passion sort of land

986
00:49:50,960 --> 00:49:54,040
Speaker 2: somewhere every single day. So I'll tell you what if

987
00:49:54,080 --> 00:49:59,240
Speaker 2: I do I can't make this shit up podcast or farrophiles,

988
00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:02,200
Speaker 2: then come back gone. We'll have a chat and then

989
00:50:02,239 --> 00:50:04,160
Speaker 2: I promise you I'll tell you then what am I

990
00:50:04,160 --> 00:50:04,800
Speaker 2: about to lunch?

991
00:50:04,920 --> 00:50:08,120
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, it's so excited? Is that a deal? Absolutely?

992
00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:13,080
Speaker 1: A deal perfect? How do you know, though, when you're

993
00:50:13,080 --> 00:50:16,920
Speaker 1: doing something that is hitting all of your criteria and

994
00:50:17,120 --> 00:50:19,440
Speaker 1: is you know, building towards the legacy that you want

995
00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:22,799
Speaker 1: to leave. I think we outgrow our roles, right like

996
00:50:22,840 --> 00:50:25,920
Speaker 1: you do start to feel those little niggles of you know,

997
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:28,319
Speaker 1: I need to agitate for change, and this chapter might

998
00:50:28,360 --> 00:50:31,239
Speaker 1: have you know, once it was my dream, but the

999
00:50:31,239 --> 00:50:34,279
Speaker 1: comfort zone catches up to you. So you know you've

1000
00:50:34,280 --> 00:50:36,640
Speaker 1: always sort of once you hit those goals, you have

1001
00:50:36,680 --> 00:50:40,560
Speaker 1: to keep evolving. And for other people who are experiencing

1002
00:50:40,880 --> 00:50:43,920
Speaker 1: maybe those first little hints of maybe I've become a

1003
00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:46,520
Speaker 1: bit comfortable, or it's time to move on. How do

1004
00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:49,040
Speaker 1: you make that shift? How do you take a jump

1005
00:50:49,120 --> 00:50:52,160
Speaker 1: when you're approaching, you know, the next phase.

1006
00:50:52,440 --> 00:50:54,960
Speaker 2: Look, you have to be comfortable with risk. When I

1007
00:50:55,040 --> 00:50:58,200
Speaker 2: left Belinda and started Girls twenty, I didn't I was

1008
00:50:58,200 --> 00:51:00,760
Speaker 2: not taking a salary, I didn't have a lot of savings.

1009
00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:02,719
Speaker 2: Well I had some savings, but it was a risk.

1010
00:51:02,760 --> 00:51:05,040
Speaker 2: You have to be a comfortable with risk. I would

1011
00:51:05,040 --> 00:51:08,000
Speaker 2: say too. You really have to have faith in yourself

1012
00:51:08,040 --> 00:51:10,399
Speaker 2: because there's going to be some really hard days when

1013
00:51:10,440 --> 00:51:12,640
Speaker 2: you go did I make the right decision? You know,

1014
00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:15,080
Speaker 2: when I think of something, if it makes my heart

1015
00:51:15,239 --> 00:51:17,879
Speaker 2: flutter and I think about it again five days later

1016
00:51:17,960 --> 00:51:21,200
Speaker 2: and my heart's fluttering even more, then I know that

1017
00:51:21,239 --> 00:51:23,719
Speaker 2: I've I'm not in the right space. I know that

1018
00:51:23,760 --> 00:51:25,680
Speaker 2: sounds kind of flippant, and I don't mean it that way,

1019
00:51:25,719 --> 00:51:28,680
Speaker 2: but I sort of think about am I sleeping? Well?

1020
00:51:28,880 --> 00:51:31,680
Speaker 2: Am I happy? Do I want to get out of bed?

1021
00:51:32,560 --> 00:51:34,520
Speaker 2: Do I want to talk to people about what I want?

1022
00:51:34,600 --> 00:51:37,960
Speaker 2: What I'm doing? If you can't describe your you know

1023
00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:40,359
Speaker 2: what you're doing, how you're spending your time, what your

1024
00:51:40,440 --> 00:51:42,440
Speaker 2: job is with any amount of passion, and I think

1025
00:51:42,440 --> 00:51:45,120
Speaker 2: it's probably time to move on. That's sort of how

1026
00:51:45,120 --> 00:51:48,120
Speaker 2: I've done it. I also, again, so fortunate to have

1027
00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:52,360
Speaker 2: really incredible people in my life, some really amazing girlfriends,

1028
00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:56,120
Speaker 2: unbelievable mentors, great guy friends who will sort of say, Farah,

1029
00:51:56,160 --> 00:51:59,560
Speaker 2: you know, just stop talking about it and do it. No,

1030
00:52:00,120 --> 00:52:03,000
Speaker 2: you got to surround yourself with enablers, right, people who

1031
00:52:03,040 --> 00:52:05,040
Speaker 2: can sort of say, Farah, your eyes are not that

1032
00:52:05,120 --> 00:52:07,120
Speaker 2: bright when you talk about X, but when you talk

1033
00:52:07,160 --> 00:52:10,600
Speaker 2: about why, wow, we can't contain you. That kind of

1034
00:52:10,840 --> 00:52:14,600
Speaker 2: confidence building is helpful. So having enablers, being able to

1035
00:52:14,600 --> 00:52:18,160
Speaker 2: sleep on your decisions, trusting yourself, being comfortable with risk,

1036
00:52:18,480 --> 00:52:21,400
Speaker 2: even if it's small risk, you know, even baby step risks.

1037
00:52:21,480 --> 00:52:23,480
Speaker 2: I think those are the ingredients that have worked for me.

1038
00:52:24,120 --> 00:52:26,239
Speaker 2: There'll be variations of that and a few other things

1039
00:52:26,280 --> 00:52:28,440
Speaker 2: that other people will look to, but that's sort of

1040
00:52:28,440 --> 00:52:32,879
Speaker 2: been my recipe for change. And I've never been one

1041
00:52:32,960 --> 00:52:35,400
Speaker 2: to tread water. Somebody said that to me really early

1042
00:52:35,480 --> 00:52:37,920
Speaker 2: in my career. You need to get out because you

1043
00:52:38,320 --> 00:52:41,680
Speaker 2: don't tread water. And it's true. Though I like to swim,

1044
00:52:41,760 --> 00:52:43,759
Speaker 2: I do not like to tread and I can tell

1045
00:52:43,760 --> 00:52:46,000
Speaker 2: when I'm treading water, and then I just get antsy

1046
00:52:46,120 --> 00:52:49,319
Speaker 2: and I get a little disappointed in myself, and then

1047
00:52:49,800 --> 00:52:52,040
Speaker 2: I give myself the pep talk about Fara. You can

1048
00:52:52,120 --> 00:52:56,000
Speaker 2: do this, So you know, there's all those things right.

1049
00:52:56,040 --> 00:52:58,720
Speaker 2: I wish there is one recipe for everyone to follow,

1050
00:52:58,840 --> 00:53:00,640
Speaker 2: but I think we just got to know again, how

1051
00:53:00,640 --> 00:53:02,319
Speaker 2: do you want to be remembered. I don't need to

1052
00:53:02,360 --> 00:53:04,319
Speaker 2: have my name in the lights. I don't need to

1053
00:53:04,360 --> 00:53:07,760
Speaker 2: have I just want people to know that I cared

1054
00:53:07,920 --> 00:53:09,080
Speaker 2: enough to make an impact.

1055
00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:11,560
Speaker 1: I think no one will be in doubt of that.

1056
00:53:11,680 --> 00:53:14,800
Speaker 1: You have an incredible legacy. If you stop working today,

1057
00:53:15,040 --> 00:53:17,080
Speaker 1: it would have achieved more than most people.

1058
00:53:17,480 --> 00:53:19,000
Speaker 2: Well, thank you. That's incredibly kind.

1059
00:53:20,120 --> 00:53:24,120
Speaker 1: So the very last section is your Playta. We've kind

1060
00:53:24,120 --> 00:53:26,239
Speaker 1: of i mean, there's a whole section on Nata, but

1061
00:53:26,280 --> 00:53:29,200
Speaker 1: we've kind of weaved that into the story. So this

1062
00:53:29,400 --> 00:53:32,200
Speaker 1: is the part where, particularly when you're passionate about your

1063
00:53:32,320 --> 00:53:35,480
Speaker 1: job and you know your great passions in life overlap

1064
00:53:35,520 --> 00:53:39,280
Speaker 1: with your profession, it becomes very all consuming and difficult

1065
00:53:39,360 --> 00:53:42,160
Speaker 1: to kind of safeguard a part of yourself that just

1066
00:53:42,400 --> 00:53:45,759
Speaker 1: enjoys life. And you know the step backwards that we

1067
00:53:45,800 --> 00:53:48,160
Speaker 1: talk about I think you can only really be good

1068
00:53:48,200 --> 00:53:50,359
Speaker 1: at what you do, even if you love it, if

1069
00:53:50,360 --> 00:53:52,480
Speaker 1: you do get some distance every now and then, and

1070
00:53:52,600 --> 00:53:54,879
Speaker 1: just you know, let your brain forget what time it

1071
00:53:55,000 --> 00:53:58,120
Speaker 1: is is how I describe it. So in between all

1072
00:53:58,160 --> 00:54:00,799
Speaker 1: of the incredible things that you're doing, I can't say

1073
00:54:00,800 --> 00:54:02,840
Speaker 1: that there'd be many hours left in between. But is

1074
00:54:02,880 --> 00:54:06,000
Speaker 1: there anything you do just for fun, just for ya

1075
00:54:06,320 --> 00:54:08,799
Speaker 1: that totally makes you forget your to do list? And

1076
00:54:08,880 --> 00:54:10,080
Speaker 1: you know that you get lost.

1077
00:54:09,880 --> 00:54:15,040
Speaker 2: In Maya has been always travel for fun, and now

1078
00:54:15,239 --> 00:54:17,520
Speaker 2: more and more and more, my ya is hanging out

1079
00:54:17,560 --> 00:54:20,160
Speaker 2: with my niece and my puppy. I am a new

1080
00:54:20,200 --> 00:54:22,840
Speaker 2: puppy owner, but so it's my niece and now a

1081
00:54:22,880 --> 00:54:25,920
Speaker 2: combo of my niece and my puppy because I have

1082
00:54:25,960 --> 00:54:29,800
Speaker 2: a cute little cockapoo in my life. Now she's five months.

1083
00:54:30,080 --> 00:54:32,560
Speaker 2: She's the most adorable fig Her name is Stella. And

1084
00:54:32,840 --> 00:54:35,319
Speaker 2: I do forget what time it is, I really do.

1085
00:54:35,400 --> 00:54:38,319
Speaker 2: I mean, just hanging out with Haley, we can fall

1086
00:54:38,360 --> 00:54:40,799
Speaker 2: into a game of Uno, like no word of a lie.

1087
00:54:40,880 --> 00:54:43,160
Speaker 2: We can play Uno for an hour before I'm like, hey,

1088
00:54:43,200 --> 00:54:46,440
Speaker 2: are you hungry? I'm hungry? About half an hour ago,

1089
00:54:46,800 --> 00:54:48,880
Speaker 2: I really tried to be present, more and more and

1090
00:54:48,920 --> 00:54:51,040
Speaker 2: more present, not look at my phone, not worry about

1091
00:54:51,080 --> 00:54:53,719
Speaker 2: what's going on, and it makes me forget what time

1092
00:54:53,760 --> 00:54:56,840
Speaker 2: it is, and it's lovely. I've never been this person before,

1093
00:54:57,200 --> 00:54:59,480
Speaker 2: and I started being this person when I moved back

1094
00:54:59,480 --> 00:55:01,640
Speaker 2: to Toronto after living in London for two years, because

1095
00:55:01,640 --> 00:55:04,520
Speaker 2: I missed my family and I missed my friends, and

1096
00:55:04,640 --> 00:55:06,960
Speaker 2: so being back, that's what makes me go yay is

1097
00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:10,800
Speaker 2: spending time with my niece and my puppy. Obviously my friends.

1098
00:55:10,840 --> 00:55:12,239
Speaker 2: You know, there's a little bit of wine and air,

1099
00:55:12,280 --> 00:55:17,960
Speaker 2: so you do forget the time, but exactly, but as

1100
00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:20,680
Speaker 2: my bubble gets smaller, Yeah, those are the things that

1101
00:55:20,719 --> 00:55:21,520
Speaker 2: I hold most dear.

1102
00:55:23,120 --> 00:55:25,880
Speaker 1: So second last question, just to finish up, what are

1103
00:55:26,040 --> 00:55:29,040
Speaker 1: three interesting things about you that don't normally come up

1104
00:55:29,040 --> 00:55:34,400
Speaker 1: in conversation, like weird middle names? Potty is so crazy?

1105
00:55:34,480 --> 00:55:36,920
Speaker 2: So okay, so crazy? Is I don't have a middle name.

1106
00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:39,359
Speaker 2: I really always wanted a middle name. I always wanted

1107
00:55:39,360 --> 00:55:42,320
Speaker 2: a middle name when I was going through security issues

1108
00:55:42,400 --> 00:55:44,720
Speaker 2: with my name because my name is just simply far Mohammed,

1109
00:55:44,760 --> 00:55:46,359
Speaker 2: and I ended up on a couple of lists after

1110
00:55:46,440 --> 00:55:48,200
Speaker 2: nine nine to eleven, my friends were like, why don't

1111
00:55:48,239 --> 00:55:50,160
Speaker 2: you change? Yeah? I did. My friends were like, why

1112
00:55:50,160 --> 00:55:52,680
Speaker 2: don't you change your name to Mary Elizabeth Margaret. I

1113
00:55:52,760 --> 00:55:54,600
Speaker 2: was like, I don't think that's help look at me,

1114
00:55:55,920 --> 00:55:58,879
Speaker 2: you know. So, okay, weird things about me, so things

1115
00:55:58,880 --> 00:56:01,319
Speaker 2: that never would come up. You was that refugee part,

1116
00:56:01,360 --> 00:56:04,200
Speaker 2: But now I think the story is blown on that one. Okay,

1117
00:56:04,600 --> 00:56:07,319
Speaker 2: weird things are I fall a lot, so I have

1118
00:56:07,360 --> 00:56:09,560
Speaker 2: the knees of a thirteen year old boy. I do.

1119
00:56:09,719 --> 00:56:12,319
Speaker 2: My knees are so scooped up. It's like, you know,

1120
00:56:12,840 --> 00:56:16,760
Speaker 2: I have broken my hand. Walking from the villa door

1121
00:56:16,920 --> 00:56:20,320
Speaker 2: to my car, I tripped and fell, broke my hand

1122
00:56:20,480 --> 00:56:24,000
Speaker 2: and now I'm missing a knuckle. That's a weird thing. Yes,

1123
00:56:24,040 --> 00:56:26,120
Speaker 2: I had to have an operation and so they had

1124
00:56:26,120 --> 00:56:28,320
Speaker 2: to fuse my bone and so my knuckle fell.

1125
00:56:28,440 --> 00:56:29,600
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh.

1126
00:56:29,640 --> 00:56:31,160
Speaker 2: So it's a party trick. So I put it up.

1127
00:56:31,200 --> 00:56:33,040
Speaker 2: I only have like three knuckles.

1128
00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:37,920
Speaker 1: Okay, So that's that's amazing.

1129
00:56:38,120 --> 00:56:40,120
Speaker 2: That's something that doesn't come up in kind of conversation.

1130
00:56:40,200 --> 00:56:42,680
Speaker 2: But people like, it's not like I can, you know,

1131
00:56:43,080 --> 00:56:45,200
Speaker 2: do weird things with my arms and stuff. But if

1132
00:56:45,200 --> 00:56:46,879
Speaker 2: you just do that at a party, people are kind

1133
00:56:46,880 --> 00:56:48,239
Speaker 2: of grossed out by it. I'm like, it's just a

1134
00:56:48,280 --> 00:56:49,200
Speaker 2: knuckle that's missing.

1135
00:56:49,440 --> 00:56:51,279
Speaker 1: Yeah, I found that Halloween is coming up and you're

1136
00:56:51,320 --> 00:56:52,120
Speaker 1: already a quick.

1137
00:56:53,600 --> 00:56:56,560
Speaker 2: No my favorite Halloween costume. This is so bad but

1138
00:56:56,760 --> 00:56:59,200
Speaker 2: so good in a pinch. One year when I was

1139
00:56:59,239 --> 00:57:01,160
Speaker 2: at university, the like come at a Halloween party and

1140
00:57:01,160 --> 00:57:03,080
Speaker 2: I'm not really one for a dress up, but I'm like, okay,

1141
00:57:03,080 --> 00:57:06,040
Speaker 2: i'll go. And so I'm brown. So I took packets

1142
00:57:06,040 --> 00:57:07,640
Speaker 2: of sugar and I put them all over me and

1143
00:57:07,640 --> 00:57:09,040
Speaker 2: people are like, what are you. I'm like, I'm brown.

1144
00:57:09,040 --> 00:57:13,200
Speaker 1: Sugar's amazing.

1145
00:57:15,200 --> 00:57:17,360
Speaker 2: So that was my I've headed at the door.

1146
00:57:17,680 --> 00:57:18,000
Speaker 1: Okay.

1147
00:57:18,080 --> 00:57:21,400
Speaker 2: So yeah, so I fall a lot. I fall a

1148
00:57:21,400 --> 00:57:24,960
Speaker 2: lot and I'm missing a knuckle and what else? Oh

1149
00:57:25,040 --> 00:57:27,200
Speaker 2: when I take my glasses off, So I wear glasses

1150
00:57:27,240 --> 00:57:29,360
Speaker 2: a lot, like most of the time, but when I

1151
00:57:29,400 --> 00:57:32,840
Speaker 2: take my glasses off, my right eye goes inward like

1152
00:57:32,920 --> 00:57:34,640
Speaker 2: almost immediately and then bounces back.

1153
00:57:34,960 --> 00:57:37,760
Speaker 1: Whoa, but it bounces back.

1154
00:57:37,800 --> 00:57:40,640
Speaker 2: So it's like it's like it's like within a second

1155
00:57:40,760 --> 00:57:42,600
Speaker 2: it goes in and then it goes back to normal.

1156
00:57:42,760 --> 00:57:44,520
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, just figuring itself out. It's like I'm

1157
00:57:44,560 --> 00:57:46,040
Speaker 1: just right writing, just give me a moment.

1158
00:57:46,120 --> 00:57:48,120
Speaker 2: Yeah. I didn't know this. I was I was having

1159
00:57:48,160 --> 00:57:50,520
Speaker 2: like a picture taken for something, and the guy's like,

1160
00:57:50,560 --> 00:57:53,280
Speaker 2: I'm going to give your eye a moment to settle.

1161
00:57:55,800 --> 00:58:00,720
Speaker 2: I was like, my eye a moment to the subtle

1162
00:58:01,120 --> 00:58:03,240
Speaker 2: that I've never forgotten it and I don't know whether

1163
00:58:03,280 --> 00:58:05,440
Speaker 2: to tell people. But now I wear context everything that

1164
00:58:05,480 --> 00:58:10,600
Speaker 2: I have to be in a picture. Those are words

1165
00:58:10,640 --> 00:58:12,120
Speaker 2: I never want to hear again in my life.

1166
00:58:12,280 --> 00:58:16,320
Speaker 1: How diplomatic of him, though. It wasn't like dude, what

1167
00:58:16,360 --> 00:58:17,600
Speaker 1: the fuck is happening with your eye there?

1168
00:58:18,120 --> 00:58:21,120
Speaker 2: It was Actually it was fashion magazine. And people laugh

1169
00:58:21,160 --> 00:58:23,040
Speaker 2: when they hear me say that because I dressed in

1170
00:58:23,040 --> 00:58:26,520
Speaker 2: black constantly and my big fashion thing is beats. But

1171
00:58:26,600 --> 00:58:28,920
Speaker 2: they called me up. I was in Italy on vacation.

1172
00:58:29,000 --> 00:58:30,720
Speaker 2: They're like, oh, we're trying to find far Mohammed. I'm

1173
00:58:30,720 --> 00:58:32,840
Speaker 2: like your founder. They're like, it's Fashion magazine. I said, oh, no,

1174
00:58:32,880 --> 00:58:35,320
Speaker 2: you've found the wrong farm. Wrong. There are two of

1175
00:58:35,400 --> 00:58:37,000
Speaker 2: us here. There are two of us here in Toronto

1176
00:58:37,280 --> 00:58:39,120
Speaker 2: and they're like, no, no, aren't you the Girl's twenty

1177
00:58:39,160 --> 00:58:41,160
Speaker 2: founder And I'm like, yes, yes i am. They're like, well,

1178
00:58:41,160 --> 00:58:45,440
Speaker 2: we're doing a shoot on activists. I was like, oh so,

1179
00:58:45,840 --> 00:58:48,160
Speaker 2: I was like, okay, well, I'll just send you a picture, right.

1180
00:58:48,200 --> 00:58:49,960
Speaker 2: They're like, no, no, no, we do a whole fashion shoot,

1181
00:58:50,040 --> 00:58:53,040
Speaker 2: bring like six outfits and la la. I'm like, I

1182
00:58:53,080 --> 00:58:54,920
Speaker 2: have I'm going to bring two and you're gonna have

1183
00:58:54,920 --> 00:58:56,920
Speaker 2: to pick. They're both black. And then I showed up

1184
00:58:56,920 --> 00:58:58,920
Speaker 2: for this thing and the guy's like, oh yeah, I'm

1185
00:58:58,960 --> 00:59:00,800
Speaker 2: just going to give your and I am a moment

1186
00:59:00,840 --> 00:59:03,560
Speaker 2: to settle. So strange.

1187
00:59:04,440 --> 00:59:06,960
Speaker 1: Well, there's another formative moment in your way.

1188
00:59:07,240 --> 00:59:09,160
Speaker 2: Yeah. So those are my top three. And I don't

1189
00:59:09,160 --> 00:59:11,680
Speaker 2: think I've ever shared that last one with anybody because

1190
00:59:11,680 --> 00:59:13,360
Speaker 2: I just thought so weird.

1191
00:59:13,760 --> 00:59:20,960
Speaker 1: Anyway, exclusive content that's amazing. And the very last question,

1192
00:59:21,360 --> 00:59:22,640
Speaker 1: what is your favorite quote?

1193
00:59:22,800 --> 00:59:26,120
Speaker 2: Oh gosh, this one does not have an author, so

1194
00:59:26,120 --> 00:59:27,320
Speaker 2: but I'm going to give it to you anyway because

1195
00:59:27,320 --> 00:59:29,760
Speaker 2: I think it explains a lot of how I operate.

1196
00:59:30,520 --> 00:59:34,000
Speaker 2: My favorite quote or saying is no when to lead,

1197
00:59:34,320 --> 00:59:36,240
Speaker 2: no when to follow, and know when to get the

1198
00:59:36,240 --> 00:59:36,960
Speaker 2: hell out of the way.

1199
00:59:38,680 --> 00:59:42,160
Speaker 1: That's such a good one. I am a walking quote

1200
00:59:42,160 --> 00:59:44,240
Speaker 1: dictionary and I've never heard that one before.

1201
00:59:45,000 --> 00:59:46,600
Speaker 2: What's yours? What is yours?

1202
00:59:46,920 --> 00:59:50,440
Speaker 1: Ah, it's the Maya Angelou quote. People will never remember

1203
00:59:50,440 --> 00:59:52,320
Speaker 1: what you said or what you did, They will always

1204
00:59:52,360 --> 00:59:53,720
Speaker 1: remember how you made them feel.

1205
00:59:53,960 --> 00:59:56,720
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is so beautiful. Actually, you know what. That's

1206
00:59:56,760 --> 00:59:59,760
Speaker 2: perfect for you? Ah yeah, I know it is, like

1207
00:59:59,800 --> 01:00:02,040
Speaker 2: I and I think that's why I said yes to

1208
01:00:02,080 --> 01:00:05,960
Speaker 2: this podcast, because you know, we didn't. It's really interesting

1209
01:00:05,960 --> 01:00:08,120
Speaker 2: because you guys had all sort of met before I

1210
01:00:08,160 --> 01:00:10,360
Speaker 2: got there. You guys were there a full day before

1211
01:00:10,360 --> 01:00:12,800
Speaker 2: I arrived on Necker and you guys were all so

1212
01:00:13,040 --> 01:00:16,400
Speaker 2: warm and welcoming. And I remember when I came in

1213
01:00:16,440 --> 01:00:18,440
Speaker 2: and you know, there's those back seats that were on

1214
01:00:18,480 --> 01:00:21,000
Speaker 2: a higher chair. I don't know if you remember this,

1215
01:00:21,120 --> 01:00:23,560
Speaker 2: but I'm not tall, so getting on some of those

1216
01:00:23,640 --> 01:00:26,680
Speaker 2: chairs sometimes it's not the easiest thing for me. And

1217
01:00:26,880 --> 01:00:28,480
Speaker 2: you said to me, come sit here, and it was

1218
01:00:28,520 --> 01:00:30,400
Speaker 2: a lower chair. Did I you did?

1219
01:00:30,840 --> 01:00:32,440
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh that.

1220
01:00:32,400 --> 01:00:34,880
Speaker 2: It was very very kind. I thought it was so kind,

1221
01:00:35,400 --> 01:00:37,840
Speaker 2: Like if you're really kind, I do I remember things

1222
01:00:37,880 --> 01:00:39,959
Speaker 2: like that, because when you're short, you're like, we're are all

1223
01:00:39,920 --> 01:00:46,080
Speaker 2: the tall people and what are they doing? I want

1224
01:00:46,080 --> 01:00:49,960
Speaker 2: to no, I remember that because I went and you said,

1225
01:00:49,960 --> 01:00:51,680
Speaker 2: why do you come and sit here? So either I

1226
01:00:51,720 --> 01:00:53,280
Speaker 2: look like I was like, as I said, I ball

1227
01:00:53,360 --> 01:00:54,920
Speaker 2: a lot, so either I looked like I was going

1228
01:00:55,000 --> 01:00:57,600
Speaker 2: to take one of my amazing tumbles, but I think

1229
01:00:57,640 --> 01:00:59,960
Speaker 2: maybe you're just being incredibly kind. And it was like,

1230
01:01:00,120 --> 01:01:01,960
Speaker 2: that woman is not going to get on that.

1231
01:01:03,920 --> 01:01:11,160
Speaker 1: I was doing the math, and I was like, and that's.

1232
01:01:10,960 --> 01:01:12,440
Speaker 2: When I remember of our first meeting.

1233
01:01:14,440 --> 01:01:17,240
Speaker 1: Oh I love that, and I'm so so so glad

1234
01:01:17,240 --> 01:01:20,520
Speaker 1: that I did that because it's just been such such

1235
01:01:20,840 --> 01:01:24,840
Speaker 1: so many reasons. I just saw your knuckle and I

1236
01:01:24,880 --> 01:01:26,960
Speaker 1: was like, oh man, this is this is going to be.

1237
01:01:26,920 --> 01:01:29,240
Speaker 2: An issue, Like look at her eye, her knuckle. I

1238
01:01:29,240 --> 01:01:30,360
Speaker 2: got to help that one.

1239
01:01:31,040 --> 01:01:32,840
Speaker 1: I was like, oh my god, where is she even looking.

1240
01:01:32,880 --> 01:01:40,800
Speaker 1: I'm so confused, Oh my god.

1241
01:01:39,560 --> 01:01:44,600
Speaker 2: I mean, there's nothing like a good.

1242
01:01:44,480 --> 01:01:48,760
Speaker 1: Laugh, serious, absolutely, and that's every episode. I'm like, I

1243
01:01:48,880 --> 01:01:53,240
Speaker 1: love to cover really important things, to give a voice

1244
01:01:53,240 --> 01:01:55,840
Speaker 1: to really important issues, but then like have a massive

1245
01:01:55,960 --> 01:01:57,920
Speaker 1: chuckle at the end as well. It's just about the

1246
01:01:58,040 --> 01:02:01,360
Speaker 1: ridiculous stuff that comes out that that is.

1247
01:02:01,320 --> 01:02:03,840
Speaker 2: So brilliant show.

1248
01:02:06,120 --> 01:02:08,919
Speaker 1: So much mutual admiration going on right now. Farah, thank

1249
01:02:08,960 --> 01:02:10,760
Speaker 1: you so so much for joining.

1250
01:02:10,920 --> 01:02:12,280
Speaker 2: Thank you. That was a lot of fun.

1251
01:02:13,080 --> 01:02:16,000
Speaker 1: What a hysterical way to end. I could barely breathe

1252
01:02:16,000 --> 01:02:18,439
Speaker 1: at this point, but that's why I love this one

1253
01:02:18,600 --> 01:02:20,600
Speaker 1: so much. We could chat about some of the most

1254
01:02:20,640 --> 01:02:24,240
Speaker 1: solemn topics from September eleven and perspectives I'd never heard

1255
01:02:24,360 --> 01:02:28,400
Speaker 1: so intimately to giggling about the activity of an eyeball.

1256
01:02:30,240 --> 01:02:32,960
Speaker 1: That's what I love about making this show so much.

1257
01:02:33,640 --> 01:02:38,400
Speaker 1: Of course, as always, please share away tagging at Farah Mohammad.

1258
01:02:38,520 --> 01:02:40,280
Speaker 1: I will include the link and the spelling in the

1259
01:02:40,280 --> 01:02:44,440
Speaker 1: show notes and myself. We love to know what you think,

1260
01:02:44,720 --> 01:02:47,080
Speaker 1: what this sparks for you so we can reshare and

1261
01:02:47,160 --> 01:02:50,919
Speaker 1: also help keep our lovely yahborhood growing. And if you're

1262
01:02:50,920 --> 01:02:53,760
Speaker 1: not in the Facebook yeahborhood just yet, there are some

1263
01:02:53,880 --> 01:02:57,680
Speaker 1: extra weekly giveaways or giveas as I call them, and

1264
01:02:57,840 --> 01:03:00,600
Speaker 1: funny games in there too. Link is also in the

1265
01:03:00,640 --> 01:03:04,200
Speaker 1: episode notes. Hope you are having an amazing week and

1266
01:03:04,280 --> 01:03:07,880
Speaker 1: are seizing your yay