A life-changing experience at 16 became the catalyst for my entrepreneurial journey and spirit of experimentation
But it was almost two decades later that my life truly changed
I like to think that life is a startup and mine went through a pretty major disruption a few years ago. As the process unfolded, I re-wrote the rules for my success so I could live intentionally, pursue purposeful work and live with more ease and joy.
Pivotal moments from early life
Growing up as the child of Pakistani migrants in the north of England, I learned to navigate the complexities of multiple cultural identities early in life. I come from a lineage of feminine repression, but my mother reluctantly dared me to dream of a more meaningful life. The duality was both inspiring and confusing, pushing me to strive for achievement and success while often feeling caged by cultural expectations.
Life changed when I was 16. My dad, an entrepreneur and self-professed workaholic, fell sick. At first it just seemed like a fever, but it soon took on more serious complications. It would leave him conscious, but in a “3-week sleep” fighting for his life. He survived, but was left with a severe brain injury which had wiped all of his adult memory. We brought him home a 53-year old man with a wife and family, but he could only remember being a boy.
The aftermath of something like that can only be described as profoundly life-changing. Despite being a shy, introverted child, I kicked into autopilot mode. At a time where my friends were getting their first boyfriends, I dropped out of school to work multiple jobs and care for my siblings. It was my first encounter with the demands of “startup life”— and it was personal.
After some initial years consumed by survival, I was determined to build financial security and professional credibility. I wanted a better life, one full of joy and comfort. It was sheer grit and audacity that let me believe in a bigger vision.
I’d made it... or had I?
For the two decades that followed, I thrived as a professional, working across four continents. My career has been dedicated to a variety of systemic issues. Everything from green jet fuels, the carbon footprint of food supply chains to building meaningful connection between business and refugee communities and immersive, inclusive leadership development.
I built social enterprises and developed specialisms in Systems Thinking, Human Centred Design in impact-driven startups. I worked in hierarchical organisations, and autonomous, self-organising ones. I learned how to build buy-in and a growth mindset among teams and how to bring a culture-aligned approach to facilitate organisational changes. I developed a people-centric leadership style authentic to my values I nurtured diverse, inclusive and high performing teams.
I poured so much of myself into my work and I was proud of it all. But joy and connection had to fit into the cracks of time that was left. I rarely made it out into nature or found time for my health. Outwardly, I was successful, but inwardly I was depleted. Always striving for more but feeling joyless and a sense of inner turbulence.
Burnout forced me to hit pause & ask the bigger questions.
What do I truly value?
What does it mean to live a rich and joyful life?
What would I do if I weren’t afraid?
This sparked a deep journey of self-discovery. I thought about how my own father’s life was an example of how precious our time and health are.
I embarked on a path to rewrite the scripts for my life, to reconnect with my intuition and what mattered the most to me. I rewrote measures of success for my life, and aligned my decisions with my soul’s purpose. It took vision and a ton of courage and time to break cycles of overwork, to forge new paths, and to trust that my authentic self was enough. But I did it.
As a Certified Psychosynthesis Coach, I bring this spiritual branch of psychology to help others do the same—supporting them to break free from societal pressures, build lives of authentic expression, and align their ambitions with what truly matters to them.
I live in the historic city of Oxford with my son. My life is enriched by purposeful work, travelling to new cultures and landscapes, listening to audiobooks obsessively and my intuition painting practice.