Saba Gul grew up living a life of privilege, studying in Karachi and going on to a degree in computer science at the coveted MIT. Now she runs a business dedicated to empowering adolescent girls and lifting their families out of poverty through education and empowerment.
Business and Life Skills School, or BLISS, is the result of an idea that refused to let go once it took hold of Gul. Seeing young girls drop out of school to become another source of income for their families even as she led a comfortable life didn’t quite seem right to her. By starting BLISS, Gul not only managed to get hundreds of young girls—and their mothers—back into classrooms, but also figured out a way to compensate them.
Read on to discover the inspiring story of Saba Gul, a StartingBloc Fellow, 2011, as well as an Unreasonable Institute Fellow, 2011, who managed to empower and create a community of artisans from the remote villages of Pakistan.
You cannot dream of becoming extraordinary unless you stop following the ordinary.’
Success comes with originality of thought, which is only possible when negativity and ignorance are eliminated. But that is easier said than done, although not impossible.
Being Extraordinary is Atul Magoon’s enlightening guide about the importance of listening to yourself and taking decisions without being influenced by the negativity that’s always prevalent around successful people. Replete with handy tips and genuine advice, read on to find out how you can imbibe the qualities of a successful person.
Genius is crafted through focused effort and continuous improvement.’
There are two kinds of genius in the world: one that is inherent, a quality you are born with, while the other is carefully crafted and honed to such a degree that it sometimes even surpasses the first kind. Most people only believe in the existence of the former, and therein lies the obstacle that blocks the path of most unsuccessful people.
Atul Magoon’s Crafting Genius guides you in moulding and giving shape to your genius and also tells you how to hone it further so you keep improving.
Success breeds where you trust your team, can accept failure and never ridicule an idea There is a special word for those who understand this simple truth: leaders.
Leadership is the most exciting and confounding product of success. Good leadership doesn’t have to be innate; it can be learned. But to reach that coveted position, there are a few simple things to understand and internalize.
People Come First, Atul Magoon’s useful guide, has some insightful advice on how to effectively inspire and manage your teams to be the best leader you can be. Read on to find out whether you have what it takes.
Enthusiasm comes before success.’
Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But you’d be surprised how hard it is to maintain the level of enthusiasm one has at the beginning of a project until the very end. And that is the key difference between successful people and everyone else.
Never losing sight of the target not only keeps successful people going but also becomes a driving force for those around them. Soon enough, it results in a healthy ecosystem of people who believe in lifting each other up.
In The Driving Force, Atul Magoon highlights the importance of sustained enthusiasm and encouragement, and how it is possible to deliver quality every time. A practical and useful guide, this short read is for the entrepreneur of today.
The one thing that usually holds most of us back from achieving our goals is fear. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of mockery. We’re so fearful of change and what it might mean for our lives that often we don’t even consider new opportunities.
Can we reach for success if our fear of failure stops us from ever trying? And how do we overcome these deep-rooted fears?
Luckily, Atul Magoon has the answers we need. Conquering Fear is a simple and effective guide that breaks down the concept of fear and provides real advice on how to tackle it.
Nobody remembers those who don’t win.’
You’ve set goals, executed your action plan, put in the hours, even taken a few difficult risks, and yet, things haven’t turned out quite as you imagined. Time to accept failure and move on? Never.
Failure isn’t the absence of success. Truly driven people aren’t even slowed down by failure. They see it as a pit-stop; they refuel quickly and resume the journey before you can say ‘Go!’ When they say success comes at a price, they’re right. Minor rewards and major failures are all milestones along the path to success. The only option is to keep driving.
Never Giving Up, Atul Magoon’s insightful guide, not only highlights the importance of keeping at it, but also provides useful advice on how you can consciously train yourself to achieve your goal.
In this world of change, risk is not loss—it is actually gain.’
There is a reason why the ‘road less travelled’ often leads to success. And that is because success and risk-taking go hand in hand. However, thinking about taking risks and actually taking risks are two completely different things.
In today’s world, the difference between taking risks and avoiding them could mean leading an ordinary life as opposed to the life of your dreams. So how do you ensure you pick the more difficult side to get the best returns?
The answer lies in Atul Magoon’s The Art of Risk-Taking, an enlightening read about the importance of taking risks in an increasingly competitive world.
You can’t just work tirelessly. You have to work tirelessly towards your goal.
We’ve all heard how there are no shortcuts to success. If there is something you want, you’ve got to put in the effort. But if hard work and dedicated labour is all it takes, wouldn’t all workaholics be millionaires?
The challenge today is about the abundance of opportunities. There are a myriad different ways we can go about realizing our dreams. The trick, however, lies in making the right choice and sticking with it. As Atul Magoon puts it, ‘focused hard work’ is what leads to the pot of gold.
Hard Work vs. Smart Work is an important guide not just for aspiring entrepreneurs but for anyone who wants to make sure their work gives them the results they want.
It’s the start that stops most people.’
We make plans, jot down lists, fill in bullet journals, even work on a vision board, but something’s always missing. There’s always some stumbling block that stops us on the path to success—the economy, the market situation or just plain old timing. So is success only meant for people who never face these obstacles?
Successful people take action in the face of uncertainty, and it is this simple feat that separates them from the rest. Even if you have a plan, it is obsolete till it’s executed.
With useful tips and relatable examples, Take Action is Atul Magoon’s simple yet effective guide for those who have the map but are struggling to take the first step.
