Dale Carnegie once said “If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy” This perhaps rings truest for Mr. Amir Jahangir. As I sit in his comfortable office in E-11, taking in the almost untailored atmosphere, I cannot help but admire the long, often cumbersome, but fulfilling journey that he has had as an entrepreneur.
Mr. Amir Jahangir is a strategic communication and media professional and currently the CEO of Mishal (Private) Limited. He has previously been CEO for SAMAA TV in 2008. He was Program Advisor to the Vinnova-Stanford Research Center of Innovation Journalism and has worked on issues such as innovation in healthcare. He managed Pakistan‘s partnership for the Global Competitiveness Network of the World Economic Forum and is the co-founder of Pakistan’s first journalism awards, the AGAHI Awards, as well as CEO of DBTV, Pakistan's first internet TV with an Artificial Intelligence enabled newsroom.
His list of achievements is endless but success did not come easily. When a young Amir decided to go against his parents’ wishes of him being in the civil service and pursued a career in journalism instead, he initiated the first of many instances where he would simply follow his heart.
Having worked under someone for a considerable amount of time at the beginning of his career, we asked Mr. Jahangir when it was that he realized that he wanted a different life and working environment for himself.
“When I left Samaa TV in 2010, it was a moment of realization. I wondered why I was getting into a fight with the board all the time. I think that was the moment when I realized that I need to make my own decisions and if there is any other body which I have to report to, it will always be a point of contention for me because I will have my own ideas and principles and I would not want them to be compromised because someone else is thinking about them in a different manner.”
Mr. Jahangir had some valuable advice to give when discussing the crucial role your family, friends and those around you play in your success.
“The reason you want to be who you want to be is defined by the people around you. If you are not surrounded by people who inspire you then mediocrity can also become a benchmark for success.”
One would expect that a proud moment in his career would be a time when he gained recognition or reward for his work but Mr. Jahangir’s humble response left us surprised.
“When you start an initiative and then pull yourself out of it and it still runs on its own, I think that’s the moment of real humbleness. When you see that what you created doesn’t require your input in it.”
In the end, Mr. Jahangir had only one advice to give to anyone aspiring to become an entrepreneur. “Get out of the corporate trap and start making money for yourself because at the end of the day, you’ll be making a lot of money and value for someone else. So start your own enterprise. Yes, not everyone’s cut out for it. But give it a try.”
Mr. Jahangir ‘s focused, positive and exceptionally inquisitive attitude towards his work, his desire to lead and not be led along with his constant eagerness to be better, to learn and to grow is not only inspiring to see but also goes to show how important it is to invest your energy and time in what you are truly passionate about.
Loved this, so inspiring!