Everybody wants to be an influencer these days; it’s like a fantasy, hashtag work goals even...
COVER STORY
Everybody wants to be an influencer these days; it’s like a fantasy, hashtag work goals even, connecting with famous people, going to glamorous places, and getting paid for it. For Humna Raza, it’s a very good feeling to have that sort of influence, to talk and share ideas that you really want to put out there, to have your audience listen to you. But it can be both overwhelming and moving to have strangers come up to you and tell you how the things you’ve said or the stories you’ve shared with them actually changed the way they think. “There are times when it seems like a burden but just knowing that you helped someone through their difficult time and that you are making a change with your influence is very motivating.
But when you’ve loads of pending work and you just don’t know what to do, where to start, which event to attend, why a collaboration is important, how to tackle some domestic stuff, the 25-year old dentist, blogger, wife, and now recently in another role - an entrepreneur, founder Inspire Me - says a planner does the trick.
“Working on the blog for the past two years with an aim to spread positive ideas, I’m my own boss and I’ve no one I’m accountable to, which only makes managing my work stressful,” she shared. “I need clarity. A planner makes it easy for me. Like yesterday, I wrote everything down and today I woke up happier, because I know how to get things done. Otherwise, I wake up stressed out.”
From being inspired to inspiring
About two years ago, I told my followers how any change ought to start with oneself. Like I talk a lot about getting in touch with your emotions, discovering who you are as a person and accepting it because I really believe in self-awareness and self-love. But I was never able to give people a physical way of actually doing that.
For two years, I researched. Since I personally believed in keeping a journal, I thought the same could help others, too; could make them think about themselves first for a change. We are so busy that we don’t get time to actually sit down and ponder over our feelings to the point
that we end up confusing our sadness with our anger and what not. When I write down about my emotions, I think of words for them; when I think of the words, I understand my emotions. The same way, whenever I plan, I’m more productive.
So the first product of Inspire Me is the positivity planner, to help people stay organized, grateful and positive. It includes a ‘self-awareness’ section, followed by a 52-week planner along with weekly reflections. While similar products do exist abroad, this is the first of its kind in Pakistan and that was a huge motivating factor for me. I’ve worked really hard on this; for me, it’s more of something with a vision to create change instead of being just a brand or business.
Positive attitude, positive vibes, positive life - we hear this all the time. What is positivity exactly?
Majority of people think positivity means to be in a good mood all the time. Or just being happy. Or ridiculously optimistic. That is not how I define it.
I believe positive thinking is basically to understand and accept things as they are; it is to change your attitude towards the adversities and negative things in life. As humans, negative thoughts or negative emotions will always exist - we can’t run away from them. It’s not about not having negative thoughts or emotions. Anybody who thinks positively will have negative thoughts and will try to turn them into something or make something out of it, and once they do that, they can change the way things happen in life.
Some people don’t accept it or some aren’t ready to deal with it. I lost my father seven years ago and obviously it affected me and I can never get over it exactly. Around the same time, other things happened in my social life; there was so much negativity around me. I had severe anxiety. Nobody could help me. The moment I took matters in my own hands, I realized the first thing I need to do is change the way I think; I started doing that and worked on my anxiety and prayed a lot. I started feeling better. So sometimes things are out of our control and the only thing we can do is change our attitude towards them.
About the journal
The flagship product is divided into two parts. The first section basically takes you on a self-awareness journey. There are 15 questions like “What makes you happy?” “What makes you unhappy?” and “What are your strengths?”
The next section is your weekly planning where you reflect on the week’s happy moments, things you learnt, challenges, who and what you’re grateful for. Here, you also consider what you’ll focus on during the next week: work goals, personal growth, positive thoughts that you’ll keep in mind, or happy things that you’ll do.
The best thing about this journal is all it’s not a quiz where there is one, correct answer for each question. It’s not one of those ‘personality quizzes’ either where you are categorically told the type of person you are. The answers don’t matter; the fact that it gives you a moment to actually think about those questions and are honest to yourself does.
“It’s the hard that makes it great”
I knew people won’t understand my idea and that the more I’d share, the more I’d receive negative feedback. They might have had my best interest, but telling me “yeh kya hoga” and repeatedly questioning my product would only discourage me. So during the initial days, I struggled trying to make people see how much this meant to me even though it wasn’t a ‘mainstream product’ like they expected it. I couldn’t come up with a makeup brand or a clothing brand “jo har kisi ko chahye ho” because it didn’t mean anything to me!
Another problem which stemmed from this was not being able to make a team. At all. For one, people don’t want to work unless they it’s a ‘profitable’ business. It’s hard to make them believe in you or your vision. Secondly, there were some who wanted to work with me, but I could see that even they don’t understand the whole purpose of a positivity journal; it was difficult for me to work with them. So basically it was just me and my husband who did everything.
Advice for young people who want to start a business
You have to start somewhere to get somewhere. Any journey starts with the first step. The only thing you need to do is take the first step with what little resources you might have. You know, just do it.
Lessons
I think the most important lesson I’ve learned is if you really want to make things happen, you have to go all the way. Day in and day out, hard work is necessary. I mean, especially when it’s a start-up, you have to do things yourself. You have to micro-manage, you have to be on your toes and you have to run after people. It’s okay to give up things and make sacrifices; that’s how anything worthwhile falls in to place. Also that time is everything, it should be valued!
In moments of self-doubt
In moments of self-doubt, I talk to myself. Remind myself why I’m doing what I’m doing in the first place. Remind myself of the purpose, of my real intention. To forget that it’s a product, or brand and to remember what it’s meant for. It brings back the passion and motivation. It make challenges seem easier and every obstacle worth overcoming.
