Iyad Uakoub
I personally believe that we cannot not have a blog just about this amazing person, Mr. Iyad Uakoub. Mentioning all his inspiring advices and reflecting on them will make this blog incredibly long, so I will just mention few.
One of my colleagues asked a question during the Hikayatna Q&A session, addressing the importance of networking and how can we improve our networking skills. All the gentlemen gave answers that I loved, but Mr. Iyad’s answer was my favorite. He said, “be present when you talk to people.” To me, this was the quote of the day, and I interpreted it as follows: networking is nothing but connecting to people, and connections cannot be real and meaningful unless both ends are fully present to build that connection. If you are partially present, the connection will be poor and you will not be able to get the best out of that conversation. In conversations, we are actively exchanging (receiving and giving), and hence, to be present you should mindfully listen, as well as, interact. If you miss the first part (being a good listener), then you will miss out on valuable learning opportunities, and following up will be hard. If you miss the second part (interacting), then you will not be able to leave an impression, and hence, all the efforts you put to make this conversation happen will be for naught since the other person won’t remember you. We live in a world filled with distractions, and hence, “be present” is a golden piece of advice that I will always try to maintain.
How will this leave an impression anyways?
Answering another question, Mr. Uakoub said another valuable advice, “Don’t impress, just express.” which was one of the points he talked about in his article, “Seven Things I Wish I Knew When I Was an Undergraduate Student.” As young people with less experience, we might feel partially less confident, and hence, it is just normal for us to feel the need of impressing other people, rather than expressing who we really are. This will make it easy for us to lose track of our inner voices and follow the outer noise. By doing so, we will make sure to smash every possibility of growing any potential great characteristic we have. In his article, Mr. Uakoub explained, “Original people are the ones who nurture their inner voices and filter the outside noise. They are the ones with ideas worth spreading and move the world forward.” People who are aware of this are the ones who will help you develop, reach your dreams, and make a change, and hence, when you find them, don’t miss out on this opportunity by trying to impress them. He continues: “To be original, know who you are, be consistent with your values, be brave, speak up, and learn how to freely but respectfully express your emotions, ideas, and concerns. You are unique, and there is a good reason why you are in a certain place in a certain time.”
And I believe that there was a very good reason why Mr. Uakoub was in Stanford hall when we were visiting. A young college kid here needed to hear all these treasured advices.
M.Anaya
References: “Seven Things I Wish I Knew When I Was an Undergraduate Student.”















