MY VOICE | ISSUEVOL1 2013 | 1
MY VOICE | ISSUEVOL1 2013 | 2
MY VOICE | ISSUE1VOL3 2015 | 4
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 5
ROLE MODEL
I DON'T NEED SCHOOL, I'M THE NEXT BILL GATES!
Whenever studies get hard, do thoughts such as "Bill Gates was a dropout," or "Mark Zuckerberg was a dropout," start going through your head? Well, sorry to break it to you, but... you know what, I'll leave it to the end to explain why Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg dropping out isn't the same as anyone dropping out. For anyone who thinks that having a proper career is too dull and mind numbing, let me tell you the story of an exemplary and successful Muslim entrepreneur (who I had the honor of interviewing) named Taha Umer. He came to Canada as a teen. He had always been creative, and just like any free spirit,
Jamil: On the note of enjoying your job, when did you realize your passion was making attar? Taha: Well, as a kid I was always artistically inclined. I went to university for accounting (alhamdulillah for that, a degree is a strong asset, especially if you get to apply it in real life like I do every day with my business), which is of course quite a 'dry' area of study, especially for someone with wildly artistic inclinations. Anyhow, so perfumery more specifically... even as a kid in my younger
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 6
school bored him. He always wondered what he wanted in a career. For the most part he would tell others that he wants a job that gives him an office, a table and chair and a computer. He got all that when he was able to work for a prestigious company. Yet, something was still missing. Even through all the tediousness of working the 9−5 as an accountant, he was able to keep his hobby of making attar alive at home. He now owns Agar Aura, a company that makes oud (perfume) out of agar wood. He now gets to travel to the most exotic locations, all the while acting out his passion of making perfumes. The following is an excerpt of the interview that took place between me and Taha.
years in Saudi Arabia, I loved dropping by Jamil: MashAllah! I suppose the one oud and attar shops. I was always mesmerized thing stopping people from going into by the complexity and richness of the scents entrepreneurship to do what they love is I encountered. worrying about the Many years later, We should have the duniya in our bank account. For as a business you personally, were intelligence analyst, hands and not in our hearts. you ever worried one day I decided about money, or did that instead of just collecting and dabbling you leave that out of the equation to your in perfumery as a hobby, why not turn it happiness? into a business? Things really took off, and now I am in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, doing Taha: Money is important. We, as Muslims, exactly what I love! are told not to get attached to the world.
" "
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 7
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 8
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 9
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 10
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 11
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 ISSUE3VOL1 2015 2014 | 12
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 13
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 14
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 15
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 16
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 17
MY VOICE | ISSUE1VOL3 2015 | 18
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 19
MYVOICE VOICE || ISSUE2VOL3 ISSUE3VOL1 2015 2014 || 20 20 MY
MY MY VOICE VOICE || ISSUE3VOL2 ISSUE2VOL3 2015 2015 || 21 21
MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL3 2015 | 22
MY VOICE | ISSUE3VOL1 2014 2014 | 23 | 23 MY VOICE | ISSUE2VOL2