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Faisal Amjad is a serial entrepreneur and founder, with previous start-ups in the EdTech and Smart Home space. He is hugely passionate about knowing yourself, finding your purpose and lifelong learning which he helps people with through his non-profit, KNOW. He writes about purpose, polymathy and fulfilling one's potential.
18 April 2023
Knowledge of Self and Self-Sufficiency: Malcolm X’s Message for Today’s World
“People don’t realize how a man’s whole life can be changed by one book.” — Malcolm X
I didn’t realise how true that sentence would become.
When I look back at my life, there’s been certain things that have shaped me.
One of those was definitely Malcolm X — as he has been someone of real inspiration for most of my adult life.
I remember one of the first ‘adult’ books I read was the Autobiography of Malcolm X, which I bought with a book token (remember those!) given to me by my school. I was 16.
My old tattered copy of the autobiography of Malcolm X, bought in 2000
(I recently re-read (or listened to) the book again on Audible — I highly recommend it, Laurence Fishburne narrates it amazingly and really brings it to life, where the message conveyed hits your heart.)
In a speech he gave in 1960, he mentioned the keys to freedom and empowerment for his people. The first one, which was critical and came before anything else, was knowledge of self. This was the freedom to be able to think for oneself. And secondly, it was the ability to earn for yourself, to become self-sufficient and not reliant on anyone.
When I quit my job in 2014, I was obsessed with this word, freedom, even starting a blog called ‘Threef’ (which stood for 3 F’s — Fighting for Freedom). The blog didn’t last very long but anyone who knows me, knows it’s such an important driver of what I believe.
Now, many years later, when I look at the work I do today, almost all of it has to do with those two tenets.
My company KNOW is all about building knowledge of self, to be able to critically think, to find your true purpose and to fulfil your potential.
And my other company, Muslim CEO is to do with becoming self-sufficient, having more income and impact.
It’s amazing to be able to see how the words of a great leader from over 50 years ago can still resonate so strongly today. The world has changed, but the importance and relevance of his message about knowledge and self-sufficiency remains. It is something that I strive for every day, in my personal life as well as my professional life.
So, how can all this help you in your life?
Muslim CEO, in a nutshell is all about setting up your own ‘knowledge’ business — i.e. courses, consulting, coaching or services. This is an excellent way of you becoming independent and self-sufficient, using the knowledge you already have to provide a solution to someone else’s problem. And it’s aimed at beginners, too. If you’d like to attend our next free webinar you can register here.
At KNOW, we have a program which is more centred on finding the ‘right’ type of work to do which is aligned with one’s true purpose and fulfilling one’s immense potential. I firmly believe that when you find your purpose it is a game changer and your efforts towards trying to fulfill your purpose actually elevate you to heights you never thought possible. If you are lacking in direction and feel lost and confused, this will give you clarity on everything, as well as show you how to monetise it, too. If this is something you’re interested in, you can book in a call with my team here.
Both of these projects have at the heart of them, the pursuit of freedom. In an increasingly tyrannical world, I really want to help people to find their true freedom.
The last word, as it should be, should be Malcolm X’s, on this very subject of freedom.
“It is only after slavery and prison that the sweetest appreciation of freedom can come. ” — Malcolm X
“When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won’t do to get it, or what he doesn’t believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn’t believe in freedom. A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire . . . or preserve his freedom. — Malcolm X
“Any time you beg another man to set you free, you will never be free. Freedom is something that you have to do for yourselves.” — Malcolm X
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