What My 16 Year Old Taught Me About Purpose, Passion and Perseverance

Three years ago, my daughter Jana, then a freshman in high school, set on this journey of self-discovery, trying to reconcile the disconnect between how Muslim women are portrayed in the media (often agent-less), versus the strong Muslim women in our family and circle of friends. She asked: What role, if any, did women play in Modern Middle East?

In her research, Jana stumbled upon Princess Fawzia, sister of the Last King of Egypt and former Empress of Iran. Her curiosity about this Princess’ life took her - and her little brother and I in tow! - to several archives around the world: The British National Archives (the Kew), archives at Oxford University, The American University in Cairo and even the residence of one of the Princess’ cousins. While these archive trips were “work” for Jana, we thought of them as family adventures! 

Love this article that Milton Academy wrote about Jana’s work. A few things about Jana’s journey apply to entrepreneurship as well: 

1- Purpose: Our school’s mantra is: Dare to be True, encouraging every student to be true to who they are, what they love and what they stand for. At the root of Jana’s journey is daring to be true to who she is: an Egyptian American Muslim young woman growing up in an increasingly polarized world. As a founder and entrepreneur, I know that to be true: you have to have a strong sense of purpose that drives you day in and day out, and especially when the going gets tough.  

You have to have a strong sense of purpose that drives you day in and day out, and especially when the going gets tough.  

2- Passion: When you love what you do, it won’t feel like work. Jana has spent over a thousand hours on this: researching, reading, writing, presenting, exploring, building. Her research has resulted in an exhibit honoring Princess Fawzia’s life at the American University in Cairo. To date, the exhibit has welcomed more than 500 guests, everyone from 3rd graders to several Ambassadors to Egypt. She took the TEDx Youth Beacon Street stage, where she kickstarted a social platform Bantoota for Muslim young women around the world to connect, share their stories and inspire others. Its a ton of work, in addition to her academic work, but because she does it with love, she is motivated and finds it fun. True for us adults too - passion feeds our soul, so do something you love. 

Passion feeds our soul, so do something you love....

https://www.ted.com/talks/jana_amin_changing_the_narrative_one_muslim_woman_at_a_time

3- Perseverance: As is often the case - and especially so in Startup Land - people only see the successes; the many setbacks are often invisible. In trying to get access to these archives, Jana ran into a lot of skepticism and red tape. She had to navigate a lot of “No, you can’t get access to this or that because you’re too young”! Or “But wait .. why exactly do you want access to the letters that the UK government sent to the Egyptian Royal Family in the 1940s”. She had to persist. As anyone in a startup knows, obstacles get thrown your way in all shapes and form everyday; and the trip is to not let those obstacles stop you. 

People only see the successes; the many setbacks are often invisible.

My guess is Jana, at 16, is still only at the beginning of this journey. But I am in awe of her passion, her curiosity, her perseverance and hard work. She’s a good reminder that anything worthwhile takes grit. And lots of it. Thank you Jana for inspiring me, and keep changing the narrative, one story at a time.

https://www.aucegypt.edu/news/princess-fawzia-exhibit-portrays-duality-egyptian-womanhood-through-western-and-egyptian-eyes