Self-Made?

I am not a self-made man.

You hear that from a lot of people.

"I'm self-made, I came here with nothing and I made it by blood, sweat & tears and now I have everything"

Well that's not me.

I've never said (or I will ever) claim that I'm a self-made man. I mean, I've been driven to do well! Driven to succeed the best I can. Driven to be the best I can be in what I do, but that has absolutely nothing to do with having nothing at the start like most stories you hear.

I grew up being surrounded by amazing, supportive people. My parents have been nothing but supportive as I traversed through different paths and different interests; from being a PR professional to running an Ice Cream truck to an event organiser and now IP incubator in web3- They've tried to understand my motivations and what I wanted to achieve.

My mother always tried her best to understand what I did. I remember her discovering that I've started to do concerts that she was fearful about what I'm getting involved in, but not once did she try to stop me. She called me once right before a show; "Has Mr.Happy performed on stage? Tell him I love his song" (Pharrel Williams, 2014) - and she kept playing the song in her room so much that she named her cat Happy.

My father, although initially against this decision "from get a 9-5 job, what are you doing with your life" to "Go do this for 5 years then come and work with me" to "Okay, how is your business doing?" was exactly the motivation I needed to prove that I can get a group of like-minded people together and achieve the impossible. Step-by-Step and you grow.

My friends - (The true ones, the ones that keep you grounded) have always been there from the start and have always been fascinated by what I'm trying to do and trying to build. They are the people I go to when I'm downed, confused, in a state of euphoria or crying in the corner. They treat me how they met me from Day 1 and that is one of the most valuable things one can have in building.

Your partner is your rock. In my case, it happened to be someone that is running her own business as well - as analytical as she may be about decisions I make, she is also amazingly progressive & thoughtful about traversing how these decisions can affect your life and what ripple effects that can have. This I value so much. It keeps me aware and present in the small things that matter. The journey is part of the fun, not the result!

The team is your dream, and I found that with the good people in Livescape. There are very few that have been with us from Day 1. They understand what we've been trying to build, and they are people that I know no matter what - most importantly they are people that I trust. And trust when you are building something you love; you need the trust to be with people that trust you WILL take care of them no matter what. And I am extremely blessed and proud to say I have those people in Livescape and their eyes are as open as wide as the sea can be in what we are building - and reap the rewards from that.

So am I self-made? No. Did I find amazing, kind, trustworthy and supportive people and have they helped me along this journey?

Hell yes.

Find these people and you will never ever think about looking back ever again.

To the future!

With graittude,

Iqbal Ameer