#muxlim

[lostwndr]

I don’t think my drawing could ever capture how beautiful she is but I tried!  I had so much fun making this 😊😍

@astroakira @muxlim I hope you like it!

Here’s the original picture

[stairwaypress]

Why we can’t look away from car crashes by David J. Cord

People have a strange fascination with disasters. Tragedies get more critical success than comedies. A hurricane or tsunami always leads the evening news. And if we see a car crash, it is very hard not to look. 

There are psychological reasons behind our interest. For one, there is the element of danger and excitement without ourselves being actually at risk. Our concept of fairness also comes into play: if someone speeds and slides off a slick road, we think with some grim satisfaction it was their own fault.

But I believe disasters can be instructive as well. Seeing what went wrong can help us avoid the same mistake. But most importantly, I think it can be inspiring to see people deal with failure in noble ways. Maybe that’s why I keep writing about tragedies.

My first book, Mohamed 2.0, is about the failed attempt to build Muxlim, an online social network for Muslims. The grand motive behind this was not fame or profit, but to build a bridge between Muslims and the West. This was a noble aim after 9-11, and it is a noble aim today. It is a shame that the attempt didn’t succeed, but it is inspiring to read about young people like Mohamed El-Fatatry who wanted to change the world for the better.

Dead Romans is my second book. It takes place during the height of the Roman Empire, but the Emperor is only a side character. Instead, I follow ordinary people in extraordinary situations. One character fails in his marriage and fails in his relationship with a vulnerable youth, but he learns from his mistakes and tries to make things right.

The Decline and Fall of Nokia is my most recent book, which examines the collapse of what used to be the world’s greatest mobile phone maker. The best lesson from the fall of Nokia is how they got up, dusted themselves off, and went back to work. I am somewhat pleased with myself in having predicted in the book Nokia would return to the high-tech consumer market, and that is exactly what they are doing. Go check out the N1 tablet if you haven’t done so already.

True inspiration doesn’t come from stories of unmitigated success. I believe it comes from stories like these, where the heart is in the right place and you get up and try again. Everybody fails. But not everybody tries again.

About David:

David J. Cord spent fifteen years in the investment industry, as salesman, administrator and hedge fund manager. He has been a contributor to the Helsinki Times newspaper since its foundation, reporting on business and authoring its most popular column, which includes an eclectic mix of investment tips, angry policy recommendations and laconic observations about the economy. He has also written for publishers as diverse as European CEO and the Finnish Foreign Ministry.

An American by birth, David married a Finn and moved to Finland in 2005. He lives in Helsinki with his beautiful wife Niina.

David is the author of 3 books: Mohamed 2.0: Disruption Manifesto, Dead Romans, and The Decline and Fall of Nokia