Oct. 18, 2017

Tahar Ali: Fail Your Way to Success

Show Notes
Transcript

Born in Scotland into a family with very little means, and having lost his parents in his teens, Tahar could have made every excuse in the book to avoid achieving his dreams. His road to success was paved with numerous failures, and now these lessons provide real value to everyone who hears his message. You’ll discover how this success was earned with hard work, determination and the drive to find and seize opportunities while learning from his setbacks. Tahar will share his secrets, strategies and stories of facing economic downturns, loss of market share, slumping sales and low morale from his employees with a whole variety of other challenges.

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There are some people that make their
work just another thing they have to do,

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and there are those that make their
work something that they want to do.

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Welcome to Working on Purpose with your
host Elise Cortes. In our program,

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we provide guidance and inspiration from those
people who have found deeper meaning and

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personal connection to their work life.
It's beyond nine to five. It's working

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on Purpose. Now Here is your
host, Elise Cortes. Welcome back to

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the Working on a Purpose Show.
Thanks for tuning in again this week.

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I'm your host, Elise Cortes,
joining you from Dallas, Texas, which

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is home base for me. This
program is all about helping people more meaningfully

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and productively connect with their work and
equipping organizations to do the same for their

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employees. So I bring on guests
of a particular perspective or experience that I

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think expands the conversation about meaningful and
productive work, and I often draw on

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the meaning and work research I've been
doing over the last fifteen years, as

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well as my own consulting experience,
including the work that I do today at

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INSYDNEAM, which is a global management
consulting firm. I'll get to my guest

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in just a moment. But first
a shout out to my media partner and

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sponsor at jobbing dot com. They
are the leading locally focused job board in

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the nation and they are dedicated to
helping employers find quality talent in their own

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backyard while giving jobs to control over
the search so they can find work close

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to home. If you miss the
show live last week, you can always

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catch it via podcast. We were
on the air with Brittany Merrill Underwood.

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She's the founder and CEO of the
Acola Project. We had a most inspirational

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conversation about how the social enterprise nonprofit
company helps pull women and children in Uganda

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out of poverty, while also helping
women in Dallas, many of whom have

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been victims of sex trafficking, orn
a living wage. It was incredibly inspiring

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and I was personally moved to tears
at least twice myself. It was amazing

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what this woman is doing. So
a couple things for you listeners, I

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am changing my format here at a
little bit as we go forward here.

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I love to hear your input on
that. What do you like about the

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show? What would I just see
done a little bit differently? So you

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can always tweet to me at Elise
Cortes Alic cort E Z now with us.

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This week we have a guest named
tahar Ali, who was a successful

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and respected international keynote speaker working around
the globe. He is author of Failure

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Way to Success, which is an
incredible story of what it takes to achieve

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your goals and dreams in life.
He is also the CEO of a billion

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dollar real estate investment business with over
sixteen hundred sales staff. We'll be talking

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about the fascinating and very challenging early
life that he had that helped him make

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who he is today, what he's
learned from any of those experiences, and

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some of his secrets and strategies for
facing economic downturns, among other business matters.

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He joined us today vis skite from
London, where it's currently eleven pm

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after a very full day. Tahart, Welcome to Working on Purpose. Hello

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Elise, Hello, Hello. I
have to say you know I love that

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accent of yours. Yes, everybody
does love my Scottish accent. It's wonderful,

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and then when you look at your
face, it just doesn't make sense.

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It's fantastic. There's just so much
to you. Well, they can't

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complain, told Doc Hans, someone
has that accent. I know, darn

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it, it's terrible. I only
wish we were doing this in person.

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So let me also tell my listeners
that we found each other on Twitter.

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I have really so enjoyed that medium
to be able to meet people all over

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the world and have them join me
on the show. So again, welcome,

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It's wonderful to have you. Yeah, I'm I'm truly grateful. Well

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for this first part of the conversation
here to hire, I really wanted to

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presence the listeners to a bit of
your background. You and I had a

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good initial conversation about just really what
you went through as a young person,

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and boy, you know listening to
that. The reason I want you to

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talk about that is because I want
our listeners to understand that one you really

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do know how to work from adversity
and to what I hope they get out

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of hearing some of this is that
man, you know, there are some

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amazing challenges that people face in the
world world and it helps him make them

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who they are today. So tell
us a little bit about what it was

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like for you to grow up in
your early background. Yeah, Well,

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firstly, you know, a listeners, I would like to know that I'm

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not a silver spoon child. I
don't have any trust funds. You know.

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I just had the determination, the
resilience, and you know, the

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outright just focus on what I wanted
to do with my life. And for

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me, you know, I was
a young entrepreneur at the age of twelve

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years old. I decided to you
know, go into business purely as a

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result because you know, we were
struggling at home. Our family was you

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know, very very tight for money, as most household are around the world

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today, so it's not any different. And for me, you know,

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my father has said to me that
not one person is going to employ you

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at twelve years of age. And
I could have easily have taken you know,

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rediction. I could have said,
okay, Dad, no problem,

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I'll just go back to school.
But I didn't. I went out there

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and I found someone who was willing
to take a chance on me. I

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even offered my services for free so
that they would you see what I'm like

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and believe in me that I had
the ability to do what I needed to

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do. And that's how my entrepreneuri
journey started, just with a bit of

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determination and a bit of grit that
I didn't take no for an answer.

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And what were you doing? What
service or product were you offering? Well,

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most of your listeners might be too
young to figure out, but I

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was selling computer games for the Commodore
sixty four and the ZX Spectrum that was

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the first computers or whatever out in
the market back in the nineteen eighties.

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And for me it was just a
question of those days. The era was

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where you purchased a game for a
computer. Once you finished it, that

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was it. You move on to
the next one. But the people who

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didn't have the means to go out
and buy ex expensive games, I would

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take the expensive games from the children
who had played with them, finish with

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them, and put them in my
market stall and sold them at a lesser

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value, purely so that someone else
can, you know, take advantage of

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that game. And I made a
small profit in the process. Okay,

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really quick, and I do want
to make sure we have plenty of time

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to get to your store. But
how in the will did you come up

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with that idea? It was just
I had started working in the markets for

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about a couple of weeks, and
one of the skill sets that I have

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today, and I'm not sure how
I've got this. A lot of people,

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you know, are very envious of
it. Is I can sit in

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a coffee shop, or I can
be in a business meeting, or I

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could be a networking event, and
I can hear five conversations at the one

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time, so I can practically know
what's going on in all five conversations.

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Now in the markets, when I
was walking around looking at other stall owners

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and how they were selling their products, my focus was on what they were

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doing, how they were selling stuff, and I just thought to myself,

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I could do that. I could
definitely do that. And that's that was

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my first, you know, venture
into it, and I just had to

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think what it was that I could
do that could be very niche of what

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the kids wanted. And because I
was a kid and I wanted computer games,

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I simply couldn't afford to buy them. So I thought to myself,

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well, what the you know,
the kids who have bought them, I'm

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finished with them. What are they
doing with them? Nothing, They're just

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going to go in the bin.
So I took them off them and I

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started selling a stall. I'm so
glad you started with the story teller because

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it'll be a nice book mark as
we finish and talk about what you do

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today in the business world. But
I have to say, it's very a

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very endearing way to start this conversation. And I know that you know there

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were many other things that happened to
you along the way that were certainly not

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fun. So let's let's get into
some of those things that you had to

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deal with. Yeah, well,
the first thing I had to deal with

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was my mother was ill at the
time with cancer. I also had a

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drug addicts sister, and growing up
was tough. It wasn't easy, to

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say the least. And you know, the reason that I went to do

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business at twelve years of age because
my mother just simply couldn't you know,

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work because of her illness to bring
additional revenue into the home. So for

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me, I thought, well,
if I'm going out and I'm helping my

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father with the bills, you know, the electricity, the gas, or

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the you know, the mortgage,
then at least he didn't have the stress

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of not having you know, my
mum, you know, providing for the

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home. Now, my mom did
pass, you know, sadly, and

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I took my off the ball in
business, and I took some time off

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to care for her on her last
few months. And it was very tough,

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you know, as you know,
a young boy at thirteen fourteen years

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of age, losing your mother is
not something that we all went visage and

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life just got a whole lot and
sometimes for me, I had to lash

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out, and I did, and
I got involved with the wrong crowd.

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I was involved in gangs. I
started, you know, stealing motor cars,

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and I spent more time in the
police stations than I did at home.

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And you know, my father was
just getting sick of it because you

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know, every couple of days there'd
be a knock on the door and he

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always say to the officer, you
know, what's he been arrested for now?

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And you know, but he still
stood by me. That was one

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thing about my father, you know, he knew that I had the ability,

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you know, and the mental capacity
to make it. He just thought

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that he's you know, rebelling and
the fact that his mother has passed away

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and he just wants to lash out
and have a placed event. Actually,

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that is wonderful that your father was
in that place that he could actually be

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there for you like that. That
is very commendable. He's an amazing man.

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He really is. And most people
wh have have read my book,

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as you'd mentioned earlier, Failure Way
to Success. I've written very highly about

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my father, and everybody who's read
it I actually loved their my father more

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than they love me. So oh
wow, it's hard for me to imagine

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knowing you. I don't know you
very well obviously, but knowing you a

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little bit that I can't imagine you
being in gangs and stealing cars to her.

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I just can't. Yeah, well, I still almost two hundred cars.

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I'm not proud of it. Wow, you know, I'm not proud

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of it, to be honest with
you. And for me, it was

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I always I was a petrol head
and that's you know, I still am

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today. And for me, you
know, that was the one outlet where

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I thought I could be me,
you know. And it was tough.

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It wasn't pleasant, and you know, spending time and the police sales was

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never easy because you're in amongst different
criminals and they'll ask you, you know,

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what you in for, and you
have conversations with you and late at

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night and you're in a set on
your own and you're you're kind of contemplating

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what you did, but you went
out back. I went back out the

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next day and I did it exactly
the same, you know. So it's

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just stupidity on my part. It's
incredible, It's absolutely incredible. Okay,

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so that's what age. How old
are you at that point when this is

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happening. I was going, oh, this was all going on around at

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fifteen sixteen, okay, all right, and then and then what's next?

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I mean, wait, there's more, Yeah, there's more. The reason

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my father thought that to you know, settle this man down and cam down

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his you know, gang land ways, he would, you know, take

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me on the pretense of a holiday
to Pakistan, and that pretense of a

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holiday was actually indeed that he had
arranged marriage for me. And at sixteen

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years of age, I think,
don't think there's very many kids that think

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about marriage for me. You know. I got there and I overheard them

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having a conversation with some elders and
I said to him, I says,

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you know, they're talking about marriage. And he says yeah, he says,

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we're talking about your marriage. And
I'm like what and he says yeah.

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He says, I thought that this
would you know, calm you down,

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and it would maybe give you some
settling and get you away from the

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gangs and you know, get you
out of trouble with the police. And

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to a certain degree, I says, well, I'm only sixteen. I

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says, you must be crazy if
you think I'm going to get married at

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this age. And then he said
to me, he used the emotional blackmail.

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I was like, you know,
I don't know how long I've got

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left in life, and I would
like to see you settle down, see

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my grandchildren. And I kind of
fell for it because I had to look

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at the fact was here was a
man that after my mother passed away,

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he did absolutely everything for me.
You know, he stood by me through

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all my criminal activities, and he
simply, you know, didn't judge.

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He basically remained as a father loyal
whether I was getting arrested at three in

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the morning, and he would come
out to bail me out, bring me

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home, make me something to eat. So I didn't want to say no

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to him, so I did went
along with it, and to a certain

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degree it did work out. At
least. Yeah, let's make sure that

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our listeners understand because I, of
course I'm looking at your handsome face,

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and they probably don't know what you
mean by coming back to for a vacation

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pretense vacation to Pakistan. Your father
must be from Pakistan. Yes, he

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was originally born in India actually,
and then he went over to Pakistan during

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the war, and I think it
was nineteen forty seven or something, so

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it was a long time ago.
So he had came over to the United

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Kingdom in nineteen fifty eight as an
you know, expat, and he settled

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here. He obviously, you know, married my mother over the from Pakistan

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as well, so it was,
you know, that was the background for

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they were. But I'm born in
Scotland, I'm born in the United Kingdom,

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but you know, my heritage in
terms of you know, where my

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father comes from and my parents is
from another country. Okay, so you've

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got an arranged marriage at sixteen?
Did you actually get married at sixteen?

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Yes, I married. I was
just three weeks after my seventeenth birthday.

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That's when I got married. Okay. And you'd never laid eyes on this

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woman before, not until the day
of my wedding. No, it's amazing.

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00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.080
Can we just talk about that for
just a moment as a person who

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was married for sixteen years together for
eighteen certainly saw my husband before I married

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him. From the Western culture perspective, what was it like for you to

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look down that aisle and go,
that's her, That's who I'm going to

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be married to. Yeah, well, the thing is she didn't exactly walk

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00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:50.399
down the aisle. What happens is
you actually get married first, and then

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once the wedding ceremony is done,
she then comes over to sit next to

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00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:58.279
you as your wife. That's how
it works. So that's how I seen

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00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:01.600
her. So it wasn't any I
hope, it was kind of actually came

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00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:05.399
from a room from behind me and
just sat next to me. And what

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do you remember about that? It
was quite scary, but you know,

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and to a certain degree, I
had to then. I realized that there

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and then that I had responsibility and
I had to get away from the criminals

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and the gangs that I was associated
with because you know, I had a

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duty of care and an obligation to
this woman because you know, she is

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someone's daughter, she's someone's sister,
and you know someone has obviously you know

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that her parents have, you know, put their trust in me. To

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look after her. And that's what
was going through my head. Okay,

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00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:43.480
so you're seventeen years old, you're
married, Now what happens. Yeah,

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well, I came back to the
UK. I, you know, want

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to be my own man, and
I decided to leave my father's home.

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I didn't have the money to do
it, in all honesty, and I

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was working, you know, religiously, NonStop, just to earn money,

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enough money for a deposit to buy
a home so we can our our own

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house. And my wife at the
time, she was pregnant, expecting our

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first child, and you know,
we were still staying our parents. And

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once I had saved the money,
I then purchased my own home, but

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00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:15.639
we didn't have any money to purchase
furniture or anything like that. And I

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said to my father, eventually I
broke the news to him that I purchased

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00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:23.440
my own house and I like to
be my own man, and you know,

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how do you feel about that?
And he just took it badly.

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00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:30.000
He just says, well, I
want you to leave tonight, and I

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says, well, I can't leave
tonight because you know, the house that

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00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:37.559
I've purchased, I don't have any
money for furniture. I don't have money

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00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:40.120
for a bed, you know,
I don't even have anything. And he

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says, that's not my problem.
He said, if you want to be

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00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:49.679
your own man, go figure it
out. Okay. Then, and it

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00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:53.080
wasn't easy. So it was heartbreak
and I had to leave the home.

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And that night I went into my
first home that I had purchased with no

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furniture or anything, and I just
slept on the floor and I was like

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really cold, but I had a
little bit of heating on and I just

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cried myself to sleep. It was
quite tough. I think it dawned on

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me that this is what the world's
all about. It's not going to get

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any easier. And then in the
morning when I got up, I was

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extremely tired, and I decided,
you know, I needed to have a

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00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:27.599
glass of water, not realizing that
I didn't even have a glass. I

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00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:32.559
had to put my mouth to the
tap, you know, to have a

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drink. So that kind of kind
of woke me up. Yeah, welcome

260
00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:38.200
to the real world. Mm hmm. Okay, I'm an adult now,

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00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:45.759
I'm a man on my own now. Yeah, you're right, absolutely somewhere

262
00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:48.799
in there you told me that and
I don't know where this happens in the

263
00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:49.920
story. I want to make sure
that we do presents of things that are

264
00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:53.240
important about your early upbringing. But
you told me there were at least a

265
00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:59.160
couple of times that you were homeless. Yes, that's true. The homeless

266
00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:02.880
stage had had and the first home. Actually, I've just explained to you

267
00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:06.440
that I had purchased and you know, slowly but surely, I was in

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00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:08.680
a job and it was paying,
you know, for the bills, it

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00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:12.440
was paying my mortgage, and you
know, I started to buy household thing

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00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:17.480
like a bed and you know,
a city to sit on and a dining

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00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:21.559
table and you know, cut the
ray forks, parlots, pans, dishes.

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00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:26.599
And then the recession had hit in
nineteen ninety. The interest rates were

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00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:30.759
going through the roof. There was
a lot of you know, redundancies that

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00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:33.960
were going on within the United Kingdom, and I was one of them.

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00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:37.079
So I lost my job. I
just bought my first home. And you

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00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:41.920
can imagine someone has just purchased a
first home, has just now bought some

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00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:45.720
things to make it into a home, you know, And at the time,

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00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:48.960
my wife was expecting, you know, child number two, and I

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00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:55.480
just lost my job. So it
was quite a dawning experience, you know,

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00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:57.680
thinking that, oh my god,
what do I do now I've got

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00:18:57.720 --> 00:19:00.279
no income? How do I pay
the mortgage? How do I pay the

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00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:06.039
bills? And I just started falling
into arrears at least practically with everything.

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It was like I was robbing Peter
to pay Paul. So if I was

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00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:14.880
going to pay my electricity, I
would use the gas money to pay the

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electricity. And at the same time
I had to juggle money to find money

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00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:25.160
for baby formula and diapers for my
children. And it wasn't easy. And

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00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:29.799
I think that was probably the biggest
lesson of learning, you know what it's

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00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:33.599
like to be a payment. Oh
well, that is on that sobering note,

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00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.079
I'm going to stop for a second
year to have us take our first

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break and let let our listeners just
kind of let that settle in for them.

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00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:45.079
And listeners please please interact with us, join us for your senator,

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00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:49.319
your comments or your thoughts too.
On Twitter to Alase Cortes A L I

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00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:52.759
S E c R T. Easy
love to hear what you're getting from this

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00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:56.559
conversation. I'm Alice Cortez, your
host. We've been on the air with

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00:19:56.640 --> 00:20:02.480
Tahar Ali, who was as successful
and respecting international keynote speaker working around the

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00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:06.160
globe. He is author of Failure
Way to Success, which is an incredible

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00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:08.240
story of what it takes to achieve
your goals and dreams in life. He

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00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:11.519
joined it today via Skype in London. We've been talking a bit about his

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00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:15.720
early upbringing. After the break,
we're going to get into some little lessons

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00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:18.319
that he got from those experiences.
Stay with us, We'll be right back.

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00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:34.839
Friend us on Facebook to keep up
with what's empowering the world. Voice

302
00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:42.480
America Empowerment Alis Cortez is a speaker
and engagement and development catalyst. She designs

303
00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:48.960
and delivers professional development, leadership and
engagement workshops and can bring her expertise to

304
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your organization. She will help ignite
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305
00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:57.839
employee engagement, performance and retention.
To learn more or to invite Elise to

306
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speak to your organization, please visit
her at www dot Eliscortes dot com.

307
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She would welcome the opportunity to help
get your employees working on purpose. Have

308
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or search for Voice America. Are
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315
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He may think you're doing everything by
the book, following your own best

316
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practice. Bilis bringing in endless consultants, only to find that your business is

317
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not moving forward. That's where you
need to stop and figure out where things

318
00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:56.160
are going wrong. Enter business Rules
with host Peter Feinstein. Peter and his

319
00:21:56.240 --> 00:22:00.799
guests will break it all down for
you to help you and your business succeed.

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Listen Wednesdays at eight am Pacific time
eleven am Eastern Time on Voice America

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Empowerment. Find out what makes the
most successful people tick. Keep listening to

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the Voice America Empowerment Channel. Voice
America Empowerment dot com. This is working

323
00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:30.160
on Purpose with Elise Cortes. To
reach our program today, please call in

324
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to one Triple eight three four six
nine one four one. Again, that's

325
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one triple eight three four six nine
one four one. You may also send

326
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an email to Elise A. L
i Se at elisecortes dot com. Now

327
00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:52.799
back to working on Purpose. Thanks
for staying with us, and welcome back

328
00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:56.240
to working on Purpose if you're just
joining us. My guest is Tehar Ali,

329
00:22:56.319 --> 00:23:00.559
who is a successful and respected international
keynote speaker working around the globe.

330
00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:03.440
He's author of Failure Way to Success, which is an incredible story of what

331
00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:07.559
it takes to achieve your goals and
dreams in life. He is also the

332
00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:11.160
CEO of a billion dollar real estate
investment business with over sixteen hundred sales staff.

333
00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:17.039
I'm your host at least Cortes so
to her before we went on break,

334
00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:19.400
we were just presenting a bit about
your early upbringing, and I know

335
00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:23.920
we were not quite through with your
bout of homelessness, and so if you'll

336
00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:27.799
fill us in on the rest of
those details. Yeah, as we just

337
00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:32.200
finished before the break, I said
to you that I just lost my job

338
00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:36.119
and things were tight, and I
was struggling for money and they got really,

339
00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:40.880
really bad, to the point where
you know, my electric trust City

340
00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:44.119
was cut off, my gas was
cut off. It was, you know,

341
00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:48.319
just coming up before my twenty first
birthday, and I received an eviction

342
00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:53.279
notice as a gift for my twenty
first birthday. So that morning, you

343
00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:56.079
know, I just looked at it
and I thought myself, well, there

344
00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:00.079
you go. At least I don't
need to worry about the mortgage. I

345
00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:03.559
had arranged, you know, for
us to go to a homeless shelter because

346
00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:07.839
I had still had about a month
or so before I was due to be

347
00:24:07.880 --> 00:24:12.599
evicted. Then my eviction date was
the fourteenth of December nineteen ninety two.

348
00:24:14.599 --> 00:24:18.720
So you know, I packed up
my things and you know, a week

349
00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:22.839
before we were due to get evicted, you know, things were really tight

350
00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:26.200
at home, and had any food
for about a week, and I just

351
00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:30.039
had a box of copper coins,
and all I knew that is I needed

352
00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:34.359
to get baby formula and I needed
to get diapers. And I used the

353
00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:37.680
copper coins, you know, to
the storekeeper to ask him if he can

354
00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:41.680
do that for me. He says, keep your money, just take whatever

355
00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:44.920
it is that you need. And
I was truly grateful, you know,

356
00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:48.839
because it's lovely to see people out
there that can help you in that time

357
00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:52.160
of need, and it was hard, and you know, I looked at

358
00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:55.279
the fact that, you know,
within a few days, I'm going to

359
00:24:55.319 --> 00:24:56.759
be out of a home, and
I just need to make the most of

360
00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:00.599
it. So the day of eviction
came. It was nine thirty in the

361
00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:06.559
morning. I went to the homeless
unit after that and I was doing an

362
00:25:06.599 --> 00:25:10.519
IT training course to learn new skills
so that I can apply them in a

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00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:12.519
job. Because if someone asked me, you know, do you have competing

364
00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:15.240
skills? I didn't want to say
that I didn't. So I was doing

365
00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:19.359
training on a training course which was
provided, you know, free of charge.

366
00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:22.079
And I decided, you know,
that I needed to go there just

367
00:25:22.119 --> 00:25:25.799
to get my head out of you
know, losing my home. That morning,

368
00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:30.519
and that very afternoon at least,
my father passed away at two thirty.

369
00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:36.480
I was so broke that I didn't
even have the money for the bus

370
00:25:36.519 --> 00:25:41.720
fare to go and get his dead
body. That I walked six miles in

371
00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:45.440
the snow, which was practically up
to my knees to the hospital to see

372
00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:49.319
my father. And it wasn't easy. And the first thing I thought of,

373
00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:52.119
you know, was how do I
bury him? Because I've not even

374
00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:56.559
got any money for any you know, funeral. I've not even you know,

375
00:25:56.599 --> 00:26:00.240
had anything to eat in the past
seven days, and can this day

376
00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:04.119
get any worse? So yeah,
that was my one lesson that I learned

377
00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:10.599
that it's all about resiliency, It's
about determination, and life will always do

378
00:26:10.680 --> 00:26:14.440
its utmost, you know, to
break you down today and if it doesn't

379
00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:21.000
succeed, then it's going to make
another attempt tomorrow. Oh my gosh,

380
00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:22.920
there's so much that I could ask
you about this, but let me let

381
00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:29.200
me first just see if you can. How do you think you were able

382
00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:34.000
to respond? I mean you,
this is true resilience we're talking about here.

383
00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:37.319
How do you think you were able
to handle this as seemingly well as

384
00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:41.599
you did? Well believe or not. When I was in my twenties,

385
00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:47.559
I was quite stubborn and everybody's everybody
said that about me. They says,

386
00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:51.519
you know, he's so stubborn,
He's such a stubborn child, And that

387
00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:55.359
was it. I was stubborn.
I was very you know in a way.

388
00:26:55.359 --> 00:27:00.640
I would think I was quite arrogant, cocky even at least and I'm

389
00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:03.079
not saying that these are good traits
to have. And you know, as

390
00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:07.160
an individual now because as the years
of progressed, I know that that's not

391
00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:10.799
something I am. But I think
that's what got me through it. I

392
00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:14.839
had a stubborn streak and I knew
that, you know, that's fine.

393
00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:18.680
I was quite young, and I
realized that no matter what comes my way,

394
00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:23.200
I always felt invincible because as a
child, you know, I was

395
00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:27.200
a big risk taker, and everybody
knew that about me. They says that

396
00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:30.960
he is a big risk taker,
you know, he will I was jumping

397
00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:34.799
out of two story buildings just to
get kicks. I would, you know,

398
00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:38.839
do school field trips, and I
would go into places where you're not

399
00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:42.680
supposed to go when it says no
entry danger and I was the first person

400
00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:48.680
there, you know, So I
didn't have the fear. I genuinely didn't

401
00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:51.799
have the fear. So that's kind
of what got me through that first phase

402
00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:56.279
of being homeless. M H,
I somehow don't have a hard time imagine

403
00:27:56.319 --> 00:28:00.559
you being stubborn and a risk taker. That doesn't surprise me somehow seeing you

404
00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:06.359
today. But what I also do
want to do for our listeners too,

405
00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:08.680
is I think there's so much power
in being able to reflect on these things

406
00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:12.160
that we go through to see what
we can learn from them, And I'd

407
00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:15.680
love it if you can share a
bit about what what did you get from

408
00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:19.039
these experiences? What did they teach
you? Well, one thing I've learned

409
00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:23.039
is that during and I think most
of your listeners will appreciate this as well,

410
00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:29.920
is that during the times of your
need, you can only ever count

411
00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:34.519
your true friends on one hand.
And you know, Will Smith said it

412
00:28:34.559 --> 00:28:41.759
perfectly. He says that when you
hit rock bottom in life, you know

413
00:28:41.799 --> 00:28:47.359
who your rock is when you're down
there. That is a great way to

414
00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:55.039
think about it. So, yeah, I had some fantastic friends because I

415
00:28:55.079 --> 00:29:00.319
had a phenomenal childhood growing up with
those friends and they got me do it,

416
00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:03.400
you know. So it's very much
that we all supported one another.

417
00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:06.720
If I needed to vent, they
were there for me. If I needed,

418
00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:08.839
you know, someone a shoulder to
cry on, they were there for

419
00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:12.759
me. If I needed you know, assistance with moving or or anything,

420
00:29:12.799 --> 00:29:17.839
they were all there for me.
So I value loyalty, you know,

421
00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:22.319
very importantly. That's one thing that
everybody that knows me knows that loyalty and

422
00:29:22.440 --> 00:29:29.559
respect is two things that I cherished
daily. Okay, So friends, loyalty

423
00:29:29.559 --> 00:29:34.519
and respect. I got that all
right. So it's you know, it's

424
00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:40.440
about making sure that you believe in
yourself, you know, because it's easy

425
00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:42.519
for anyone else out there to say, you know, don't do this,

426
00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:47.519
don't do that. And I was
getting, you know, so many people

427
00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:48.960
who would always come in and say
to me, you know, you should

428
00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:52.960
do this and do that, and
my reply would always be the same,

429
00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:57.839
you know, don't judge my life
in a manner that you've walked in my

430
00:29:57.960 --> 00:30:06.039
shoes, because you haven't, you
know, so, and until you've walked

431
00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:10.119
a mile in my shoes, then
feel free to give your opinion. But

432
00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:12.359
if you are going to do so, you're raising my shoes and you're a

433
00:30:12.359 --> 00:30:18.759
mile away, so I'm not even
going to hear you. Yeah, you

434
00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:22.559
know, there is such power,
right, and that whole notion of being

435
00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:26.119
able to really understand somebody's perspective.
The only way to do that is to

436
00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:30.759
really, as you say, either
walking their shoes or get so deeply into

437
00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:33.799
their experience that it's as if you're
right there with them. And then that

438
00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:41.319
takes something, right, really takes
something to do that absolutely absolutely, okay,

439
00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:45.200
got it. So this whole notion
of being able to walk in somebody

440
00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:48.880
else's shoes to be able to have
something to say about their life or to

441
00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:52.480
join their dialogue. Got it?
What else did you learn? What else

442
00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:56.359
you did you get from these experiences? Well? I learned, I think

443
00:30:56.400 --> 00:31:00.920
a lot more to reflect. And
the reflection was very important to me because

444
00:31:00.359 --> 00:31:04.519
you know, it kind of determined
who I was going to become. And

445
00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:07.599
that was important because you know,
I learned that, you know, I've

446
00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:12.279
just had a passing of my mother. I've learned that my father, you

447
00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:15.640
know, had had passed and he
was still supportive of me going through the

448
00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:21.359
periods. And you know, my
mother and father never had a relationship,

449
00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:23.640
right, They never spoke. They
stayed in the same home for you know,

450
00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:29.119
fourteen years of their marriage and they
never had a discussion. They did

451
00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:33.319
not even want to share the same
floor space. Now, when my father

452
00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:37.799
found out that my mum was ill
with cancer, he was, you know,

453
00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:41.680
her primary career. He looked after
her, fed her, clothed her,

454
00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:45.000
bathed her, washed her, and
did everything, you know for this

455
00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:48.119
woman. And I asked my father, I said, you know, you've

456
00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:51.880
never had a relationship with my mum. I said, she's never once,

457
00:31:52.119 --> 00:31:55.119
asked you you know if you were
ill? Can I get you anything?

458
00:31:55.119 --> 00:31:56.279
Can I help you with anything?
I says, you were in hospital for

459
00:31:56.319 --> 00:32:00.160
three months and she never once came
to visit you. She doesn't even acknowledge

460
00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:05.599
the fact that you are her husband. You stay in separate rooms within the

461
00:32:05.640 --> 00:32:08.119
home, You don't speak to one
another. Can I ask you why you

462
00:32:08.200 --> 00:32:13.599
did everything for her when she was
ill? And he said that you know,

463
00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:17.279
if you life, you know,
he said this amazing quote to me,

464
00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:23.920
and he says that anger is the
wind that blows out the candle to

465
00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:30.039
the mind. Oh that's so powerful. Never heard that before. That's amazing.

466
00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:35.599
Okay. Now he says that when
you live your life in anger,

467
00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:40.359
he says that all you do is
you become resentful of everything and everyone around

468
00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:45.839
you. And he says that you'll
never move forward because the energy that you're

469
00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:51.839
radiating from your body just doesn't Nobody
wants to come near it. So he

470
00:32:51.880 --> 00:32:55.920
says, you know, just forgive
and whatever has happened, let it go.

471
00:32:57.799 --> 00:32:59.720
And I had to do that.
So that's one thing I learned.

472
00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:04.000
You know, I had all this
adversity and I just had to let it

473
00:33:04.039 --> 00:33:07.240
go. And I knew that,
you know, nothing in life. Whatever

474
00:33:07.319 --> 00:33:14.559
happened to you, it happens for
you. That's a very powerful perspective to

475
00:33:14.640 --> 00:33:19.079
heart. What I like about that
perspective is it removes the victim mentality and

476
00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:24.720
it's empowering instead. Absolutely. So
I then started to become grateful for all

477
00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:29.720
the hardship, for all the you
know, suffering that I had went through.

478
00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:34.519
And once I started to be grateful
for it, everything, and I

479
00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:37.279
mean everything has started to come into
my life the way I wanted it to

480
00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:42.079
come in. You know. I
was back in the corporate world. I'd

481
00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:45.720
found myself a job. I started
earning good money. I was doing a

482
00:33:45.759 --> 00:33:50.480
part time you know, self employee
basis selling mobile telephones because at the time,

483
00:33:50.559 --> 00:33:53.240
that's when they had just started to, you know, become a thing.

484
00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:59.279
And I decided that I'm going to
save enough money and buy my own

485
00:33:59.319 --> 00:34:02.319
home without a mortgage. And I
did that. So I had the determination

486
00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:07.119
to succeed. I had a goal. I was focused on it, and

487
00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:10.239
it just didn't let anything sat me. And how old were you when that

488
00:34:10.280 --> 00:34:15.159
happened to her? And I was
about twenty three. Wow. Okay,

489
00:34:15.239 --> 00:34:17.440
holy cow, that's quite a turnaround. Okay, I have to go back

490
00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:20.920
to something else you said, because
I'm riveted on it, if you don't

491
00:34:20.920 --> 00:34:24.719
mind. You mentioned something about you
were reflecting on who I was going to

492
00:34:24.760 --> 00:34:30.119
become when all this was happening in
your life. And because I have been

493
00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:36.119
somebody who has investigating not only meaning
in work but also identity for years,

494
00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:39.960
I'm really interested in what was happening
for you when you were thinking about this

495
00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.840
whole, notion of who you were
becoming in this process. Did you have

496
00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:47.400
a target mind of where you were
trying to get to in terms of who

497
00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:52.159
you were becoming. Yeah, because
I wanted to be the leader because that

498
00:34:52.280 --> 00:34:57.639
was important for me. And you
know, I wanted to be the person

499
00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:00.079
that someone could rely on because I
want, you know, my children to

500
00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:04.960
say that, you know, our
father got us out of this whole.

501
00:35:05.320 --> 00:35:09.760
You know. I wanted to be
the person that everybody looked around and said

502
00:35:10.119 --> 00:35:14.880
that, look at everything that this
man has went through, and he's came

503
00:35:14.920 --> 00:35:16.639
out of it. You know,
he's not let anything stop him. He's

504
00:35:16.639 --> 00:35:22.159
not let the people come in and
dictate to him how he should live his

505
00:35:22.199 --> 00:35:28.280
life. I'd learned leadership skills and
that was important because I took ownership and

506
00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:31.679
what you find is leaders. You
know, they always say, you know,

507
00:35:31.760 --> 00:35:35.599
what makes a good leader, and
a good leader is the person who

508
00:35:35.599 --> 00:35:38.880
brings out the best in everyone.
That's what a good leader is, you

509
00:35:38.880 --> 00:35:44.039
know, It's someone who brings out
the best in everyone. And that's what

510
00:35:44.119 --> 00:35:45.960
I wanted to do. I had
to bring out the best and the people

511
00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:52.639
around me, and whilst doing that, that allowed me to grow and be

512
00:35:52.760 --> 00:35:58.880
focused and determined of where I wanted
to be. I really like that definition

513
00:35:58.920 --> 00:36:01.880
to her. I've never heard that. Very very simple, but incredibly powerful.

514
00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:06.119
A good leader is someone who brings
out the best in everyone. I

515
00:36:06.159 --> 00:36:09.079
love that. I love that.
Okay, so you're twenty three years old,

516
00:36:09.239 --> 00:36:15.559
you buy outright your home for your
family, just chronologically, what's next

517
00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:19.280
and what you learned along the way? Yeah, Well, then I went

518
00:36:19.280 --> 00:36:23.079
into the corporate world because I kind
of decided that I needed to take a

519
00:36:23.119 --> 00:36:29.000
safer approach, release and stop taking
the big risks that I was taking.

520
00:36:29.719 --> 00:36:31.320
And I did that. I worked, you know, for a number of

521
00:36:31.440 --> 00:36:37.880
years for a well established bank.
Then I moved into the financial services sector

522
00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:42.480
for a large wealth management company.
And then I spent another you know,

523
00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:49.639
ten years or so within media and
you know, the television industry. Now

524
00:36:49.960 --> 00:36:54.159
I was doing those jobs side by
side because I wanted to learn everything about

525
00:36:54.159 --> 00:36:58.440
the corporate world, you know,
how to do business, how to you

526
00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:01.239
know, learn everything about well investing, financial planning, and everything else.

527
00:37:01.280 --> 00:37:06.119
Because this was knowledge which was important
to me, because I learned that when

528
00:37:06.119 --> 00:37:08.920
I didn't have money, you know, I didn't want to be in that

529
00:37:08.920 --> 00:37:13.599
same position again. I'd really wanted
to invest it and make something with my

530
00:37:13.639 --> 00:37:16.280
life plan for my future and not
be in the same position that I had

531
00:37:16.280 --> 00:37:20.039
to go through again. So it
was very important that I did that,

532
00:37:20.440 --> 00:37:22.760
and the corporate world taught me a
lot of things. It's not something I

533
00:37:22.760 --> 00:37:30.599
would ever go back into today,
but it's been worthwhile. M quite a

534
00:37:30.679 --> 00:37:34.400
breadth of experience you had in terms
of you said you sold cell phones.

535
00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:37.920
Then I heard you say you worked
for a bank, and then financial services

536
00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:42.760
are investing, and then media.
That's actually quite an interesting combination. Yeah

537
00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:45.760
it is. And you know,
the surprising thing is, at least I

538
00:37:45.840 --> 00:37:52.239
started as a temp in all of
those companies, and when I left at

539
00:37:52.239 --> 00:37:57.920
the bank, I was one of
the senior lending officers. When I left

540
00:37:57.920 --> 00:38:00.400
the wealth management firm, I was
a director of the National Account's division.

541
00:38:00.760 --> 00:38:05.920
And when I left with the Media, I was an operational director there as

542
00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:09.360
well. So you know, these
are three roles that I started at the

543
00:38:09.360 --> 00:38:13.719
bottom, and I just worked and
worked and worked and worked and worked,

544
00:38:13.719 --> 00:38:16.840
and you know, left their very
high positions. So I learned everything that

545
00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:20.760
I needed to learn about the business
world and the corporate world, as you

546
00:38:20.880 --> 00:38:23.599
say, not the business side,
but the corporate side of you know,

547
00:38:23.840 --> 00:38:30.559
about fifteen years within those industries.
I think I want to presence that really

548
00:38:30.639 --> 00:38:32.840
quick for our listeners. We all
know how important it is to keep learning

549
00:38:32.840 --> 00:38:36.199
in life, right, we all
know that. But boy, you are

550
00:38:36.280 --> 00:38:40.039
a living, walking testament to that. To heart. Thank you, You're

551
00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:45.679
welcome. We are so close to
going into our first break here. Is

552
00:38:45.719 --> 00:38:49.199
there anything else that you learned from
that period or first rate our second break,

553
00:38:49.320 --> 00:38:51.719
anything else that you learned in that
period that you want to be sure

554
00:38:51.719 --> 00:38:54.239
and share with us. Yeah.
One thing is you need to read.

555
00:38:54.800 --> 00:38:58.039
And a lot of people, you
know, they don't like to read,

556
00:38:58.039 --> 00:39:00.440
They don't want to pick up a
book. But you know, my father

557
00:39:00.519 --> 00:39:06.320
always used to say to me,
he says that learning is earning m M.

558
00:39:07.280 --> 00:39:09.440
And you know, think about it. You know, ladies and gentlemen.

559
00:39:09.480 --> 00:39:14.679
If you're reading one book per week, that's fifty two books in the

560
00:39:14.760 --> 00:39:17.639
year now over a ten year window. If you started at the age of

561
00:39:17.719 --> 00:39:22.559
thirty, by the time you're forty, you would have the knowledge which is

562
00:39:22.719 --> 00:39:30.239
equivalent of a PhD. Wow.
And you know, you have to also

563
00:39:30.280 --> 00:39:34.079
look at the fact that everyone else
who's at forty years of age, who

564
00:39:34.199 --> 00:39:38.239
hasn't read the same number of books
in the past ten years before you,

565
00:39:38.239 --> 00:39:44.360
you're going to be earning ten times
more of them as well. Oh my

566
00:39:44.400 --> 00:39:45.920
gosh, I should send you a
picture of my long old list. I've

567
00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:49.599
got a cue of books that I
that I that are set for me to

568
00:39:49.679 --> 00:39:52.960
read to her, because I'm also
big into reading two in addition to doing

569
00:39:52.039 --> 00:39:55.360
the show each week. So I'm
completely with you. You got one believer

570
00:39:55.440 --> 00:40:00.840
and that's me. All right,
let's take a short break. I'm Elie

571
00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:02.440
Cortez, your host. We've been
on the year with Tahar Ali, who

572
00:40:02.519 --> 00:40:07.880
is a successful and respected international keynote
speaker working around the globe. He is

573
00:40:07.960 --> 00:40:10.800
author of Failure Way to Success,
which is an incredible story of what it

574
00:40:10.840 --> 00:40:15.119
takes to achieve your goals and dreams
in life. He joins us today via

575
00:40:15.159 --> 00:40:19.760
Skype in London where currently it's almost
midnight. After the break, we're going

576
00:40:19.800 --> 00:40:22.159
to hear about how he actually uses
some of this stuff in his business today,

577
00:40:22.199 --> 00:40:25.079
some of those secretions and strategies that
you can take and use as well.

578
00:40:25.440 --> 00:40:42.400
Stay with us, We'll be right
back. It's your world. Motivate,

579
00:40:42.719 --> 00:40:50.559
change, succeed. Voice America Empowerment
dot com. Alis Cortez is a

580
00:40:50.599 --> 00:40:55.480
speaker and engagement and development catalyst.
She designs and delivers professional development, leadership

581
00:40:55.519 --> 00:41:00.239
and engagement workshops and can bring her
expertise to your organization. She will help

582
00:41:00.239 --> 00:41:07.159
ignite meaningful development within your workforce that
will increase employee engagement, performance and retention.

583
00:41:07.480 --> 00:41:10.119
To learn more or to invite Elise
to speak to your organization, please

584
00:41:10.199 --> 00:41:15.880
visit her at www dot Elisecortes dot
com. She would welcome the opportunity to

585
00:41:15.880 --> 00:41:22.679
help get your employees working on purpose. Now there's a new destination for video

586
00:41:22.719 --> 00:41:27.239
content. VoiceAmerica dot TV, just
like our radio channels and so much more.

587
00:41:27.360 --> 00:41:30.599
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588
00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:34.039
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Wave Network now have their own video

589
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590
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591
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quality programs available twenty four to seven
Voice America dot tv. If you think

592
00:41:46.920 --> 00:41:52.639
you've seen online TV like this before, let us surprise you. We all

593
00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:57.159
have unique experiences and outlooks when it
comes to leadership and team building, Yet

594
00:41:57.159 --> 00:42:01.559
sometimes we clash even when trying to
at the exact same goals. Check out

595
00:42:01.679 --> 00:42:07.840
Unleash your Inner Goldilocks How to get
It just right. Your host is doctor

596
00:42:07.920 --> 00:42:13.360
cass Henry. A shared journey equals
success, and every human interaction has the

597
00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:17.679
power to achieve the success by working
together. Tune in every Thursday at four

598
00:42:17.719 --> 00:42:23.199
pm Eastern Time and one pm Pacific
Time on the Voice America Empowerment Channel,

599
00:42:24.679 --> 00:42:37.719
Change your World, Change your Life, Voice America Empowerment dot com. This

600
00:42:38.000 --> 00:42:43.920
is Working on Purpose with Elise Cortes. To reach our program today, please

601
00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:47.400
call in to one triple eight three
four six nine one four one. Again

602
00:42:47.519 --> 00:42:52.880
that's one triple eight three four six
nine one four one. You may also

603
00:42:52.920 --> 00:42:59.440
send an email to Aleise A.
L I s E at Elisecortes dot com.

604
00:42:59.559 --> 00:43:06.199
Now back to Working on Purpose.
Thanks for staying with us. And

605
00:43:06.239 --> 00:43:08.360
welcome back to Working on Purpose if
you're just tuning in. My guest is

606
00:43:08.400 --> 00:43:14.760
Tahar Ali, who is a successful
and respected international keynote speaker working around the

607
00:43:14.760 --> 00:43:17.400
globe. He is the author of
the book called Failure Way to Success,

608
00:43:17.639 --> 00:43:21.840
which is an incredible story what it
takes to achieve your goals and dreams in

609
00:43:21.880 --> 00:43:24.519
life. He is also the CEO
of a billion dollar real estate investment business

610
00:43:24.559 --> 00:43:29.800
with over sixteen hundred sales staff.
I'm your host, Elise Cortes. We

611
00:43:29.840 --> 00:43:32.519
would love to hear what it is
that is really landing for you in this

612
00:43:32.559 --> 00:43:36.559
conversation. What are you getting from
this Conversation'd be great to hear from you

613
00:43:36.679 --> 00:43:40.599
via Twitter Send me a tweet to
Alis Cortes. So, Taharr, one

614
00:43:40.599 --> 00:43:44.360
of the things I wanted to do
if we can, as we were talking

615
00:43:44.360 --> 00:43:47.639
about over the break, I remember
very very fondly something you told me in

616
00:43:47.679 --> 00:43:52.920
our first conversation via Skype. And
I said, well, Gosha, are

617
00:43:52.920 --> 00:43:54.280
you sure you want to come on
the show at that time and do a

618
00:43:54.280 --> 00:43:58.400
live show because it's going to be
eleven o'clock your time and we'll finish at

619
00:43:58.440 --> 00:44:01.800
midnight. And you said, well, I go to bed anyway later anyhow,

620
00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:05.519
And I sleep only about four hours
a night, That's what I do.

621
00:44:05.639 --> 00:44:07.320
And I really am not able to
go to sleep anyway until I feel

622
00:44:07.320 --> 00:44:12.719
like I've helped someone. That's true. I think that's extraordinary. Can you

623
00:44:12.760 --> 00:44:15.639
say a little bit more about this
perspective of yours, this value of yours?

624
00:44:15.840 --> 00:44:20.320
Well, firstly, how I came
about for four hours sleeping? And

625
00:44:20.320 --> 00:44:23.280
I'm very open and honest, and
everybody realizes that about me is I had

626
00:44:23.280 --> 00:44:30.280
a nervous breakdown. And during that
breakdown of eighteen months, I wasn't sleeping.

627
00:44:30.360 --> 00:44:32.760
I was crying myself, you know
when practically when I woke up,

628
00:44:34.199 --> 00:44:37.480
and I was crying myself practically through
the whole day, and before I even

629
00:44:37.519 --> 00:44:39.360
managed to did get some sleep,
I would cry, and I would wake

630
00:44:39.480 --> 00:44:45.159
up having panic or anxiety attacks.
And it was tough. You know,

631
00:44:45.199 --> 00:44:47.840
I stayed at home and I didn't
leave the house. I just didn't want

632
00:44:47.840 --> 00:44:51.800
to meet anyone, didn't speak to
anyone. I didn't even have a support

633
00:44:51.840 --> 00:44:55.480
network because you know, it was
very, very different from me. So

634
00:44:55.559 --> 00:45:02.119
that four hour time constraint had resulted
a period of insomnia, and I then

635
00:45:02.199 --> 00:45:06.199
had to build a routine that I
decided that this is when I'm going to

636
00:45:06.199 --> 00:45:07.679
state, and this is when I'm
going to wake. But one thing I

637
00:45:07.760 --> 00:45:15.440
learned from it is that I obtain
my happiness in life by helping and serving

638
00:45:15.519 --> 00:45:20.760
others. So for me now that's
very crucial. And I speak with almost

639
00:45:20.800 --> 00:45:24.320
between you know, fifteen, sometimes
twenty people in the day who need my

640
00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:30.199
assistance, need my guidance, or
just need that little bit of inspiration to

641
00:45:30.639 --> 00:45:35.119
make a difference or make a change
with the life. And you know,

642
00:45:35.719 --> 00:45:38.039
Will Smith is one of my favorite
actors, and he's probably one of the

643
00:45:38.039 --> 00:45:43.000
best motivational men out there in the
world. And you know, I've seen

644
00:45:43.079 --> 00:45:46.280
an interview of him just a few
weeks ago and he was asked that when

645
00:45:46.320 --> 00:45:50.719
you run a movie set, he
says, why do you take the time

646
00:45:50.800 --> 00:45:54.960
out to speak to everyone who's you
know, like watching in the public.

647
00:45:55.519 --> 00:46:00.400
And he says that he does not
know what they may be going through in

648
00:46:00.440 --> 00:46:05.880
life, but if he can give
them one minute of his time and make

649
00:46:05.920 --> 00:46:09.440
a difference to their day, he
says, it's worth it. And I

650
00:46:09.480 --> 00:46:13.840
have the same mentality, So if
I can, you know, speak to

651
00:46:13.880 --> 00:46:16.960
someone be at twenty minutes, half
an hour and make a difference to their

652
00:46:17.039 --> 00:46:21.719
life, no matter what it is
that they're going through. I know it's

653
00:46:21.760 --> 00:46:23.719
worth it. So the four hours
that I sleep is so that I can

654
00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:31.159
dedicate the twenty to serve others.
Okay, so obviously you clearly are a

655
00:46:31.159 --> 00:46:35.440
man who is living and working on
purpose. You are you, You've got

656
00:46:35.480 --> 00:46:37.280
a purpose statement there, it is
right there. I think that's so important

657
00:46:37.280 --> 00:46:40.039
for our listeners to get to that. This is part of I think probably

658
00:46:40.039 --> 00:46:43.840
what makes you who you are,
too, hor is that you can stand

659
00:46:43.840 --> 00:46:47.199
from that place and you can live
and work on from your purpose. Absolutely,

660
00:46:47.599 --> 00:46:52.559
and that's important to me because you
know, as we were chosen from

661
00:46:52.599 --> 00:46:57.320
one in forty million sperm, we
were not brought onto this planet to just

662
00:46:57.360 --> 00:47:01.119
pay a mortgage and pay bills.
I do, under any circumstances, want

663
00:47:01.159 --> 00:47:07.079
my tombstone to say dead but not
used up. I wanted to say that

664
00:47:07.280 --> 00:47:10.719
millions of people in life never gave
up on their dreams because of me.

665
00:47:12.920 --> 00:47:16.480
Oh, I really applaud that.
I really appreciate that, and we know

666
00:47:16.559 --> 00:47:20.599
that's happening. And I think it's
also important for our listeners to Now.

667
00:47:20.599 --> 00:47:23.679
I think you don't you give away
certain amount of your proceeds from your book

668
00:47:23.719 --> 00:47:29.639
too, Yes, I do.
All my proceeds go to a charity foundation.

669
00:47:29.719 --> 00:47:35.079
From the book sales and from my
speaking engagements, thirty percent goes away

670
00:47:35.119 --> 00:47:40.599
to my charity foundation. And any
consulting work that I receive, that all

671
00:47:40.639 --> 00:47:45.639
goes to charity as well. It's
phenomenal to hear. It's phenomenal. So

672
00:47:46.119 --> 00:47:50.159
for this last little bit here,
we're coming. It'll be soon enough that

673
00:47:50.199 --> 00:47:53.719
we have to close the show.
So let's make sure I listen that that

674
00:47:53.800 --> 00:47:59.719
you do today. Your real estate
investment business. When did that come about

675
00:47:59.920 --> 00:48:01.119
us? A little bit about that, if you will. Yeah, the

676
00:48:01.159 --> 00:48:06.719
business started in two thousand and three. You know, I was sold out

677
00:48:06.880 --> 00:48:12.079
by my corporate world after September eleventh
in two thousand and one and decided that

678
00:48:12.119 --> 00:48:15.960
I wanted to make a break and
go on my own. And it was

679
00:48:15.039 --> 00:48:19.119
risky. I knew that, but
I was always the type of person that

680
00:48:19.320 --> 00:48:22.679
was willing to take risks. I
had met, you know, someone in

681
00:48:22.719 --> 00:48:28.960
property who's still in my business partner
today after fourteen years. Lovely, lovely.

682
00:48:29.199 --> 00:48:30.199
You know, I treat him like
a brother. He treats me like

683
00:48:30.199 --> 00:48:34.480
a brother as well. If the
car and we built the company from nothing.

684
00:48:34.519 --> 00:48:36.920
You know, we didn't have any
investment. We didn't have any you

685
00:48:36.920 --> 00:48:39.320
know, crowdfunding is what we can
get today or you know, investors.

686
00:48:40.119 --> 00:48:45.280
But we just had like an ambition
and a dream to go out and you

687
00:48:45.320 --> 00:48:49.239
know, create a brand, create
a company that could do well. So

688
00:48:49.519 --> 00:48:52.639
we started off very, very small
in two thousand and three, and it

689
00:48:52.679 --> 00:48:55.159
did take a set back at a
later stage because one of my business partners

690
00:48:55.199 --> 00:49:00.320
had stolen all the company funds and
had you know, disappeared off the face

691
00:49:00.360 --> 00:49:05.599
of the earth and went off to
Switzerland to enjoy the money. And that

692
00:49:05.760 --> 00:49:08.239
was the second time that I became
homeless. So there was more business lessons

693
00:49:08.280 --> 00:49:13.440
to be learned there. Hence the
reason why I just mentioned to you earlier

694
00:49:13.480 --> 00:49:15.440
about my nervous breakdowns, because there
was a lot to take on board.

695
00:49:16.039 --> 00:49:21.960
So that started from nothing. But
what I did do was I started selling

696
00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:25.239
real estate at small scale. So
I was doing maybe five or six properties

697
00:49:25.559 --> 00:49:30.599
at a time, and I was
knocking on doors of developers to say,

698
00:49:30.239 --> 00:49:34.920
please please give me your stock so
I can sell it, and every single

699
00:49:34.960 --> 00:49:38.559
developer had practically turned me away,
and I said, you know, okay,

700
00:49:38.559 --> 00:49:40.880
they all said to me, we
don't know you, You're unknown.

701
00:49:42.400 --> 00:49:44.280
You know, we will deal with
the people that we deal with, the

702
00:49:44.360 --> 00:49:47.079
large investment companies and the people that
we were in bed with at our private

703
00:49:47.199 --> 00:49:51.320
members clubs and country clubs and golf
courses. And I said, well,

704
00:49:51.360 --> 00:49:53.320
if you're not willing to take a
chance on me, then how will you

705
00:49:53.360 --> 00:49:58.840
ever know that you know I'm good
enough to sell your product. So I

706
00:49:58.920 --> 00:50:01.199
kept knocking on doors, and I
must have knocked on about eleven hundred doors,

707
00:50:01.239 --> 00:50:07.119
Alisha, And it wasn't easy taking
rejection after rejection. But one thing

708
00:50:07.159 --> 00:50:10.000
I have to say to everyone that's
on listening in is you need to make

709
00:50:10.159 --> 00:50:15.000
rejection your best friend, you know. And I have a principle called the

710
00:50:15.079 --> 00:50:19.880
thirty to one. So for every
thirty people that you're going to ask,

711
00:50:20.280 --> 00:50:22.280
one is going to say no,
one is going to say yes. So

712
00:50:22.440 --> 00:50:25.760
just look at it as if you're
going out dating on a speed dating network.

713
00:50:25.800 --> 00:50:30.079
You know, thirty women are going
to say no to you, and

714
00:50:30.079 --> 00:50:30.719
one will say, oh, yeah, okay, I'll love to go on

715
00:50:30.719 --> 00:50:34.199
a date with you. So it's
the same process and you can laugh about

716
00:50:34.239 --> 00:50:37.440
it because that's the way to deal
with the rejection. And I did that

717
00:50:37.559 --> 00:50:42.559
and eventually, you know, a
couple of developers. They took the chance

718
00:50:42.599 --> 00:50:45.119
on me, and I delivered for
them practically, you know. They gave

719
00:50:45.159 --> 00:50:49.920
me ten sales to do and I
got the ten sales done in a matter

720
00:50:49.960 --> 00:50:52.840
of days, and we slowly build
the business up. But then I moved

721
00:50:52.920 --> 00:50:58.800
to the Middle East and expanded at
a larger scale and I did that and

722
00:50:58.840 --> 00:51:01.320
I brought the business back to the
UK and we just grew it. And

723
00:51:01.360 --> 00:51:04.840
it hasn't been easy, I'm not
saying that. And how do you recover

724
00:51:04.920 --> 00:51:07.880
from the fact that once you build
a business up, you've got phenomenal cash

725
00:51:07.880 --> 00:51:12.119
in the back, you're very cash
rich, you're well established, and then

726
00:51:12.559 --> 00:51:15.599
all of a sudden the rug comes
out under your feet because your business partner

727
00:51:15.679 --> 00:51:20.199
has just cleaned out the company takings
and you know, headed off to Switzerland.

728
00:51:20.840 --> 00:51:24.280
So it was hard. So that's
a big knocking conference and I had

729
00:51:24.280 --> 00:51:27.920
a breakdown on the back of that. But at the end of it,

730
00:51:28.079 --> 00:51:30.280
you know, I decided I need
to give up on my pity party,

731
00:51:31.199 --> 00:51:37.480
and I got back out there and
I started knocking on doors again and building

732
00:51:37.559 --> 00:51:38.880
up, you know, the business, and I built it up to a

733
00:51:38.880 --> 00:51:42.559
great deal when my business partner.
He stuck by me. The two of

734
00:51:42.639 --> 00:51:45.079
us went out and we did what
we had to do. We created a

735
00:51:45.159 --> 00:51:49.639
team. And in business, you
know, your your team is very,

736
00:51:49.719 --> 00:51:53.159
very crucial. No matter how brilliant
your ideas are, you know they will

737
00:51:53.199 --> 00:51:58.960
never work if you don't have a
great team, because your success is all

738
00:51:59.000 --> 00:52:02.840
about execution, and if you don't
have the right people in place, it

739
00:52:02.880 --> 00:52:07.639
doesn't matter what knowledge you have,
how much time and energy that you give

740
00:52:07.679 --> 00:52:12.280
to your business, it will not
succeed. So you have to have great

741
00:52:12.280 --> 00:52:15.159
teams within the business. And that's
what we started to do. We created

742
00:52:15.159 --> 00:52:20.519
a team around is and slowly but
surely, I then decided that I need

743
00:52:20.519 --> 00:52:23.199
to bring on people that will do
the sales so I can then spend more

744
00:52:23.280 --> 00:52:29.360
time managing on the business rather than
managing in the business. So there's a

745
00:52:29.360 --> 00:52:31.840
difference there. You know, once
you manage on your business, it's more

746
00:52:31.960 --> 00:52:38.599
likely to succeed than it is when
you're managing in the business. And you've

747
00:52:38.719 --> 00:52:43.039
just got to, you know,
realize that everything that you want to do

748
00:52:43.119 --> 00:52:46.480
in business, it will never happen
overnight. No one does that. You

749
00:52:46.519 --> 00:52:51.440
know, it takes years worth of
work. It's never going to come easy,

750
00:52:51.679 --> 00:52:54.760
and it's never going to come fast, and you have to learn to

751
00:52:54.880 --> 00:52:58.599
say no, you know, so
when people come to you say, oh,

752
00:52:58.800 --> 00:53:00.920
you know, are you willing to
do that? No, because if

753
00:53:00.960 --> 00:53:05.320
it doesn't matter to you, say
no to it and move on quickly.

754
00:53:05.400 --> 00:53:10.199
Because anybody can fill a day with
nonsense or choices or opportunities and distractions,

755
00:53:10.519 --> 00:53:14.199
but you need to get away from
that. You just need to focus on

756
00:53:14.239 --> 00:53:16.400
what it is that you want to
do. And this was important to me.

757
00:53:16.519 --> 00:53:20.760
So I went out and I decided, you know, this is how

758
00:53:20.760 --> 00:53:22.239
we're going to grow our business,
and we did. We then opened our

759
00:53:22.280 --> 00:53:28.079
second office in Dubai. Our third
office then opened in Hong Kong, our

760
00:53:28.119 --> 00:53:32.280
fourth office opened in Malaysia, and
then our final office opened in Singapore,

761
00:53:32.599 --> 00:53:37.280
and all of a sudden, we're
now a global brand. And we started

762
00:53:37.320 --> 00:53:39.119
bringing in more sales staff. And
then we decided that we're going to start

763
00:53:39.119 --> 00:53:44.599
working with what's known as strategic partners. So if you want to call it

764
00:53:44.599 --> 00:53:49.960
in layman's terms, it's called collaboration. And then once you collaborate in business,

765
00:53:50.400 --> 00:53:54.239
it becomes a lot easier to grow
and you know, create a brand

766
00:53:54.239 --> 00:54:00.280
for yourself and that's important, you
know, So always be willing to work

767
00:54:00.320 --> 00:54:04.519
with other people. Don't see them
as competition, see them as colleagues and

768
00:54:04.599 --> 00:54:07.400
co workers that you can you know, grow a business with. And in

769
00:54:07.480 --> 00:54:10.400
our business, you know, as
big as it is today, we do

770
00:54:10.559 --> 00:54:15.199
sell almost you know, two billion
of real estate plus per year. We

771
00:54:15.360 --> 00:54:20.719
don't have any senior management within the
business. So from the guy at the

772
00:54:20.719 --> 00:54:25.000
bottom as a temp to myself and
my business partners, every person is a

773
00:54:25.079 --> 00:54:29.719
CEO, Alice, every single one. You know, we don't have a

774
00:54:29.719 --> 00:54:32.559
board. We simply do not have
a board at all. And for me,

775
00:54:32.679 --> 00:54:37.400
that's important because I value people.
That's what's important to me, is

776
00:54:37.480 --> 00:54:42.159
I value people. And because they
know that I'm like that, they give

777
00:54:42.239 --> 00:54:47.440
me the utmost performance in creating my
brand and my business. Oh my gosh,

778
00:54:47.440 --> 00:54:52.679
Tohar, this has been an amazing
conversation and we are at the close

779
00:54:52.679 --> 00:54:54.519
of the show. So I'd like
to give my guests the last word,

780
00:54:54.559 --> 00:54:59.440
if you will, so say in
about thirty seconds, what would you like

781
00:54:59.440 --> 00:55:01.360
to leave our lists with today?
Well, what I want to say to

782
00:55:01.400 --> 00:55:06.840
him is your time is now.
You know, we are too busy expecting

783
00:55:06.920 --> 00:55:10.239
tomorrow, next month, next year, but one thing I need you to

784
00:55:10.280 --> 00:55:15.199
realize, You're never guaranteed it.
Okay, it's good to have your savings

785
00:55:15.239 --> 00:55:20.400
accounts plan for the future, you
know, but one thing you need to

786
00:55:20.440 --> 00:55:25.320
remember is that you need to enjoy
life today because the only thing that you

787
00:55:25.440 --> 00:55:30.760
truly have in this world is the
present moment. Boy, and who knows

788
00:55:30.800 --> 00:55:34.760
that better than you. Some of
the I can't believe what you told me

789
00:55:34.800 --> 00:55:38.280
about your one of your business partners
running off to Switzerland with all the money.

790
00:55:38.280 --> 00:55:42.199
That's just amazing. I almost fell
off my chair when you said that.

791
00:55:42.239 --> 00:55:45.519
By the way, I want to
thank you very much to her for

792
00:55:45.599 --> 00:55:50.199
being on the show, for being
you, and for being the example of

793
00:55:50.239 --> 00:55:52.320
a person who we can all be. It's been quite an honor to have

794
00:55:52.360 --> 00:55:55.519
you in this conversation. Thank you
for being on the show. You're mother

795
00:55:55.599 --> 00:55:59.840
welcome. Thank you for having me. If you want to learn more about

796
00:55:59.880 --> 00:56:02.639
tor Ali and his book Failure Weighted
Success, or even his Royals to Investment

797
00:56:02.719 --> 00:56:07.960
business, you can start at his
website, which is tahar Ali dot com.

798
00:56:07.039 --> 00:56:12.440
That's t A T excuse me,
t A H A R A L

799
00:56:12.639 --> 00:56:15.400
E dot com. L I L
excuse me, Go ahead and say it.

800
00:56:15.440 --> 00:56:19.920
For us one more time. Yeah, it's w w W dot tahar

801
00:56:20.679 --> 00:56:25.320
t a h A R ali a
l I dot com. Thank you,

802
00:56:25.360 --> 00:56:30.360
sir. On the air next week
with us will be Chris Patch, who

803
00:56:30.480 --> 00:56:32.960
is the CEO of the VO Way
and he's The conversation will be all about

804
00:56:34.280 --> 00:56:38.480
how to have good and productive conversations
around networking as business people and why doing

805
00:56:38.519 --> 00:56:43.039
so is important way to build our
businesses for long term success. See you

806
00:56:43.039 --> 00:56:45.039
then, remember that workers at least
one third or life, so let's work

807
00:56:45.039 --> 00:56:54.639
on Purpose. We hope you've enjoyed
this week's program. Be sure to tune

808
00:56:54.639 --> 00:57:00.840
into Working on Purpose featuring your host
Alas Cortes, every Wednesday at six pm

809
00:57:00.920 --> 00:57:05.880
Eastern Time three pm Pacific time on
the Voice America Empowerment Channel. This week,

810
00:57:06.159 --> 00:57:07.199
find your life's purpose at work

Tahar Ali: Fail Your Way to Success

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