The 6p Entrepreneur

The 6p Entrepreneur

A Story About Realizing Your Dream

Hussein K. Bawa

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 Hussein K. Bawa

Published in 2014 by Alexander Magee International

Cover design by Arzoo Entertainment

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as expressly permitted by law, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests for permission may be sent to the Publisher:

requests@alexandermagee.com

IBSN 978-0-9920697-1-1

Published in Canada

This book is dedicated to my children Maya and Adam. May the principles in this book guide you throughout your lives. May your lives be filled with joy, passion and happiness.

Love,

Dad

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The 6p Entrepreneur is a very special book, brought to fruition through the efforts of several special individuals. As a result, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to the many people who have assisted me throughout this book. Thank you to all those who provided support, discussed, read and assisted in the editing, proofreading, and design.

First and foremost I would like to thank God. You have allowed me to believe in my passion and to realize my dreams. I could never have come this far, without You.

I would like to thank my wife Shabeen who supported me throughout this process. Her never ending support and encouragement were the fuel to help me complete this book.

I would like to thank Cynthia Abtosway and my sister, Zahra Datoo for their tireless efforts to read and edit my book.

Thanks to my parents Yasmin and Karim Bawa, who helped and supported me throughout my life.

To my friend and mentor, Arif N. Bhalwani, thank you for all the advice and encouragement you have provided me throughout the years.

Last but certainly not the least, I would like to thank and acknowledge my grandfather, the late Fatehali Nazarali Walji, who has had a significant impact on my life. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROLOGUE - ADAM

CHAPTER ONE - JAMES MAGEE

CHAPTER TWO - THE JOURNEY BEGINS

CHAPTER THREE - TRAVELING TO SCOTLAND

CHAPTER FOUR - SCOTLAND: A NEW BEGINNING

CHAPTER FIVE - THE SPARK

CHAPTER SIX - A BURNING HUT

CHAPTER SEVEN - A NEW LOVE

CHAPTER EIGHT - A NEW DIRECTION

CHAPTER NINE - THE SYMPTOMS

CHAPTER TEN - NEW LIFE

CHAPTER ELEVEN - THE QUESTION

CHAPTER TWELVE - AN AWAKENING

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - FAMILY

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - THE ANSWER

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.

~ T. S. Eliot

PROLOGUE

ADAM

Oh my God, what a blizzard! Adam sighed as he stepped inside the lobby of the Canadian Hill Bank. He had never seen a storm as violent as this one, despite being born and raised in Canada. The wind whipped and howled behind him like a banshee. The cold penetrated his layers of wool to numb his skin and chill his bones. The morning sun, which had only barely risen along with the towering skyscrapers that lined downtown Bay Street, had vanished behind sheets of snow. Traffic was at a crawl. Daily commuters were using their coats and briefcases to block themselves from the harsh winds funnelling furiously through the towers that made up the center of Canadian finance.

Adam watched the violent flurries through the windowed walls of the Bay Street high rise. The dark figures of commuters whirled through the revolving doors as they made their way into work. Adam's heart felt heavy just looking at them. What am I doing here?, he thought.

Graduating from one of the leading business schools in Canada, near the top of his class, Adam was now a personal banker at the Canadian Hill Bank. Everyone had congratulated him on his position, but he wasn't quite sure if he would survive another day. This wasn't his calling. He was not alone. Every day, he saw hundreds of fellow commuters with miserable and defeated faces on the train and streets. He felt pity yet solidarity with them.

Adam tromped into his office, hung his damp coat, and changed his wet boots for his dry and polished black dress shoes. As he was settling in for the day, he realized with a sense of dread that he had been working here for one and a half years to this day. The hours were so punishing, and left him feeling depressed. He was not getting any younger, and, at this rate, his chances of becoming a well-known successful entrepreneur were dwindling.

He settled into his daily routine. He checked his voicemail, email and bank account balance. The latter always zapped a little more of his energy away. His student loan and car payments were due every month, leaving him with meagre savings. He could forget about budgeting for entertainment.

There was a tap on the door. It was Adam's colleague, Brian.

We're having a meeting in the lunch room in five minutes.

Be right there, he replied with his cheeriest voice and matching smile.

As soon as Brian disappeared from sight, Adam sighed to himself. Here we go again, he whispered, grabbing a pen and notebook and dragging himself to the lunch room.

The regular Monday morning meetings were the worst part of Adam's week. His manager, Ted, was a rapidly balding man who tried to cover the damage with a laughable comb over. Ted was already talking by the time Adam settled in and opened up his notebook, sandwiched between two co-workers.

We've noticed a significant decline in the number of investment accounts our customers are opening, Ted droned. This just isn't acceptable, so we need to get those numbers back up this month.

It was impossible to concentrate. Adam didn't want to make money for Ted and the bank. He wanted to make money for himself.

After the meeting, it was time for a series of painfully long and boring conversations with clients. He made every effort to put energy and enthusiasm into each meeting, but, to his disappointment, this energy was never reciprocated.

Adam’s job was easy enough. As a personal banker, he worked with the general public, opening and closing bank accounts. The easiest tasks were also the most mind-numbing. He was expected to cross-sell the various plans, accounts and services the bank offered.

His sole interest was working with entrepreneurs. Opening business accounts was the best part of his work, although even this seemed like a dim reward. When business customers left Adam's office, he would lapse into daydreams. He imagined that he was the one with the business plan, opening a business account to deposit large cheques. Unfortunately, he was now stuck in the bank since incurring a massive student loan while at university.

The value of formal education was instilled in him over and over by his well-intended parents, but Adam would sit at his desk and gaze into his computer screen and imagine how his life would have turned out if he had just started his own business after completing high school. The plan had always been to start his own business once he had finished school, but now that had been delayed until he earned enough money. He couldn't drop out of university after the first couple of years. The student debt would have crippled his future.

When I have enough money, I will start my own business, Adam said to himself firmly after filing some paperwork away. Hearing his ambitious dream whispered aloud, brought him some immediate comfort.

Later that day, he had a meeting with a young entrepreneur. Adam was in the middle of his tedious paperwork when he was seized by a sudden interest in his client.

So, I’m curious, how'd you come up with the idea for your business, Mr. Gregory? Adam probed as he typed away.

The man’s faced brightened, and he pulled his iPhone from his jacket pocket.

Well, last year while having lunch with my friend, he mentioned that he had downloaded the entire Bible onto his iPhone. I was amazed to hear that this could be done. That night I researched which books were the most downloaded, and to my surprise they were the Bible and the Quran. Then, I had an epiphany - these resources were incomplete. Adam, let’s say you have a problem or question and you want to know if the Bible or Quran has any guidance. How would you find out?

Adam thought about it.

Well, I guess I would either search the physical book or download the entire book onto my Android.

Exactly. Mr. Gregory gestured at his phone. "The only problem with those solutions is that since these books are long, it’s difficult to quickly find the relevant information in them. Even if you download the entire book, and search by key words, you may end up with information that does not address your question.

You could also search the Internet, but you’re likely to find information that’s biased. Then I thought of a solution. I went out and initially worked with individuals who held Master’s and PhD degrees in religious fields, and we created individual applications for smart phones called ‘And Me’ apps. These apps represent a reliable self-help guide to life's pressing questions, provided in an unbiased and objective format, interpreted from the most authoritative and popular bodies of work in the world. Our apps now include individuals such as Plato, Hume, Jung, Sun Tzu, and Buddha.

Mr. Gregory placed his iPhone back into his jacket. He had clearly given this speech several times, but his passion remained strikingly evident.

That’s amazing, said Adam, nodding with immense interest. He found the whole notion of identifying a common problem and applying the entrepreneurial spirit to develop a solution truly fascinating.

I’ve sold our apps globally with overwhelmingly positive feedback, Mr. Gregory boasted. He ran his pale hand through his thin hair and grinned. It’s all about empowerment.

Well, your line of credit is approved, Adam said while wishing that their meeting wouldn’t end, even though that was inevitable. With some regret, he retrieved the necessary files and completed the transaction. I'm going to need you to sign here and here...

Mr. Gregory signed the forms with a flourish, and after a few pleasantries, left the office whistling a merry tune to himself. Adam remained at his desk in silence. Did he have the courage, skill and creativity to one day be on the other side of his desk, having a business of his own? This question lingered in his mind throughout the day.

Adam left work feeling defeated, as usual. When will it be my turn to experience the richness of life I’ve always wanted?, Adam thought to himself as he made his way to the train station. He thought of how stressful it was for his parents to worry about money. Their short tempers, discouraging attitudes, and lack of courage all came from this stress. He recalled promising himself several times that he would not expose his children to such a negative environment.

The crowds of people heading home from work did not help his mood. Their faces were tired, tight around the eyes and mouth with stress and sadness. Throughout the entire ride home from the train station, Adam was consumed by his thoughts.

He parked his car in his parents' garage, and reminded himself that he would have to face the same routine again in less than twelve hours. He sat in the car, numb, before sighing and turning off the engine. He dreaded coming home because he knew his parents wouldn’t help his mood.

At dinner that evening, he remained preoccupied in his thoughts. He tuned out his family as they discussed their day. Adam was thinking about his dreams. He knew that if he ever wanted a secure financial foundation for his own business, it would take him many more years of working at the bank. It was as discouraging a thought as ever, but he kept turning it over in his head, trying to find a solution.

The next morning was no different. Adam woke up resenting his work. Why not get off at Cooksville Station instead? Adam thought wildly while on route to the office. Just don't show up to work, explore the city, and go on an adventure. Do something different, be someone different. The train doors chimed and closed, but he remained agitated until he disembarked at Union Station and was once again caught up in the rushing crowd of daily commuters. It was impossible to form a coherent thought amidst the people shouting on their cell phones and the rumbling trains and buses. He shouldered past some oblivious travellers in order to get to the street.

Adam forced himself to silence his thoughts and smiled as he walked into his bank. The weather had improved and so his walk was a little more comfortable. The sunshine made him hopeful that things might improve in the future.

While Adam settled into his windowless office, there was a tap on his door. He glanced up to see Brian and was struck by an eerie sense of déjà vu.

Ted wants to see you in his office, Brian said cheerfully.

Adam's heart began to