What's your story?

'Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.' Aristotle

We are proud to present Shamza Khan and our first Storytelling and Q&A Night on Adaptation Through the Lens of Leadership.

Join us this Thursday 6th of April at Drift Dining and Bar. Come join the discussion and listen to challenges and adversities we face together in Leadership.

Want to know more?

Read on for excerpts from Shamza's - Leadership Blog.

After decades of wrangling this - the answer is: I’m an ethnically Pakistani woman who grew up in Hong Kong; my place of residence is Hong Kong; I have British citizenship, but my roots are Pakistani. I view myself as a global citizen and don’t personally ascribe to nationalism, patriotism and institutional beliefs. ‘So you’re a liberal?’ - people say.

I hate compartments.

Being a writer is my universal identity and I cherish the profession deeply. I would like to think my approach to business and marketing writing or to my other stories is the same approach at life: look at foundations (probably because I struggle a lot with honesty and truth).

My parents are really decent people; I take full responsibility for my dysfunctionalities and own my moral blackholes as they are original, organic and entirely mine. My Dad left his village in Pakistan when he was fifteen, looking for a better life and determined to educate his kids. He ended up in Hong Kong and worked damn hard for 30 years, educating us and encouraging us to be who we are. Not embarrassed to be Pakistani, neither encouraging weird elements of any identity to oppress us. I think my parents did a decent job (interspersed with some bad judgments); more importantly - we were never spared love.

As someone slated for an arranged marriage in my Pakistani village, exposed to and been through sexual abuse, loosing my religion in New York, eloping and fighting a revolution to be one of the odds –a free-thinking Pakistani chic (I will introduce to many more empowered Pakistani woman). I’ve had a good life, great mentors and ‘try’ to live my life in an upward framework, but with limited success. Many failures define my life and are core to my leadership story – failures both moral and professional. I’m not a feminist, and also not a huge fan of traditional morality – but I have deep sympathy for humans, circumstances and characters. Absolutely not a big fan of absolutes.

I’ve lived in New York, London, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Houston and more – I know poser and fakes quite intimately; I used to be one of them.

My ‘leadership’ story – and I say ‘leadership’ quote unquote - is published by Harvard University’s affiliate in Malaysia. Essentially, the spirit is not to talk about me; but to create dialogue around what issues are core to all of us, our adversities and maybe a thing or two about adaptation. Also, you’ll hear a little about people like me, unhinged from institutional doctrines; because you know there’s those of us for whom ‘truth’ and ‘leadership’ is a gritty street and not a straight path. That doesn’t mean we’re lost; we’re on a path too, said Goddess Krishnamurti.

Ultimately, there is a lot wrong with our world. But so many reasons to be optimistic, because - guess what? It’s possible to retain our core, despite facing bigots, misogynists and narcissists as our leaders; and while it doesn’t seem like it; I feel we are living in a world in which it is easier to call out these people.

Lets talk.