Starting from zero

The world is filled with self made people, who start from the bottom, and climb their way up to the position they dreamed of when they were young. Anyone who challenges the hurdles of life to reach a goal impresses me, and today, I want to tell you the story of two people, Mohammed and Moha, both in their sixties, that I know from my network, and I would like you readers to reflect with me on these profiles.?

Mohammed is a successful businessman who travels around the world, and enjoys the comfortable life he created for himself.?

Moha is a retired government officer, who is still sought after because of his sharp mind and his expertise in his field.?

Both of them claim they started from zero to reach the life they have today, and this zero they’re talking about is what intrigues me.?

Mohammed grew up in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, his father was a shoemaker who grew his little shop into one of the biggest factories in Morocco, and his mother was a government employee in the finance ministry. Mohammed was enrolled in school in Rabat, and when he finished high school, he wanted to get his college education in the US. His mother had to sell her jewelry to pay for his ticket to the US. He went there with only 1.000$ in his pocket, and had to pave his own path from there. He never got a dime from his family again, got his degree, and got into business, to become what he is today.?

Moha grew up in a village 400 kilometers away from Rabat, his father was a shepherd, and his mother was a rural housewife, which means that when his father was out all day with his sheeps, she was in charge of all the rest. Moha was six when he started primary school, a school that is 120 km away from his home. Although he was supposed to help his father earn a living for them, he chose to be the first one of his family to get a formal education. Every September, he would walk and hitchhike through those 120 km from his village to the nearest school, live in the dorms during the entire year, studying during the day, and working evenings and weekends and holidays, to support himself, and to help his family, and then go back home every June the same way he got there. He did that for 12 years until he finished high school. Then he got his college education in one of the best engineering schools in Morocco, and got his job with the government right after graduation.?

Both these men are impressive, respected and admired today.

Both are self made.?

Both started from … zero.

I guess you all know where I’m going with this. And I can’t help but reflect on this concept of zero. Because at the end of the day, no matter where they started, both Mohammed and Moha are considered to have led wonderful lives, and reached wonderful achievements now that they’re in their sixties.?

Even thinking about my life, I can’t really claim I started from zero, because my parents have created a comfortable life for me, and provided me with amazing opportunities to learn and to travel and to grow into the privileged person I am today, and part of why I am doing what I am doing is because I am impressed by the resilience of some people in the face of life.

But when I think about my people, those rural communities I am living with and working with, I am not sure they actually have the same opportunities to achieve what these men have achieved. I am not sure that even with all the government programs, the non profit organizations efforts, the businesses supported, and the billions of funding targeted to these communities, we can create other Mohas and Mohammeds, self made, successful, and starting from … zero.