The question that brought me back to my ‘why’
Children often have a way of asking a question that makes you rethink your whole life
Yes, it’s that time of year. I’m about to fly back to the UK for a couple of weeks and with that comes the usual pre-travel chaos. I’m sure you all know the feeling. I’ve started creating lists about the lists I have yet to complete.
I haven’t been back to ‘Blighty’ for a year as I’ve been so busy in Gulf News HQ. It’s been a challenging but rewarding time with a team that amazes me every day. Now feels a good time to jump on an aeroplane and spend some time reflecting on the previous months (in those brief moments between my boys fighting, dropping food and moaning about the time).
On top of getting through those lists (I am failing dismally), we held the first Gulf News ‘Inside the Newsroom’ seminar this week. 15 passionate young people full of intrigue and energy spent the full day with us, finding out about news publishing across platforms and the opportunities and challenges we have in an ever-changing world. They also had an incredible tour of the print plant. The scale of it and the advanced technology blow me away every time I see it. It’s a modern wonder of the world.
Children often have a way of asking a question that makes you rethink your whole life. I was hit by this sidewinder during one of the breaks: “Why don’t you do something that makes more money, like sell property?”
A pause, a flashback to my grandma asking me when I’d get a ‘proper job’ and then back into the room after shaking off the thoughts of a bigger bank balance. He had a point, but he’d entirely missed the point at the same time.
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During my session, one of my main messages to the group was discovering their ‘why’. I watched a TedTalk by US author Simon Sinek many years ago called ‘Start with why’ and it inspired me to think differently about work. It’s worth looking up if you haven’t watched it. While it relates to business, it also helps with personal decisions. I explained that if their ‘why’ was about money or having an easy life, then journalism wasn’t for them. If their ‘why’ was about doing something that changes by the second, that helps you see the world from different angles and allows you to meet incredible people on an almost daily basis, then the noble profession of journalism is a great career to choose.
Being back in the UAE over the last 12 months has helped me rediscover my why. The team at Gulf News has given me back my journalism spark and reminded me why I sat through all of those shorthand sessions in a dingy university room all of those years ago.
The seminar this week hopefully taught the children, teenagers and young adults a thing or two about running a content business, but it also taught me to not forget how my own journey started and how lucky I am to sit in this chair.
I’ll be missing Gulf News over the next couple of weeks but I know we have a huge few months coming up as the blistering summer ends and the season begins. Time to recharge before the calendar fills up again.
On the subject of weather, I was looking forward to a proper British August: fish and chips on the beach as a gale blows and rain suddenly arrives from nowhere. I now seem to be heading to a version of the UAE without the aircon. There is scorching temperatures, drought and a transport network that melts as soon as the sun pops out from behind a cloud. Wish me luck.
Anyway, back to those lists. We’ll speak again soon.
