What do You Stand For? - Syed Sultan Ahmed (Founder, Edumedia India)

Syed Sultan Ahmed is a first generation entrepreneur and a real change maker. His organization, EDUMEDIA, is one that enriches the lives of children and works to educate and provide life skills to children all over India. He is a charismatic and passionate person who truly loves what he does. In his Paper Napkin Wisdom, Sultan says: “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” It’s his belief that the purpose and rationale behind what you do are extremely important. All the small steps you take on a daily basis, he says, are adding up to a very large goal. For him, that goal has been to help children and by keeping his focus there, he keeps himself grounded and gives himself a clear vision of where he’s headed. Sultan feels that he picked up on the importance of focus at a very young age. He tells the story of how, as a child, he and his family had a family Doctor who would spend about half an hour with them when they were ill and charged roughly $50. He recalls that when he was younger they had to take his grandmother to a specialist for a heart ailment and though he only saw her for 5-10 minutes, the visit was far more expensive than their family Doctor. He asked his mother why the specialist cost so much when he only saw his grandmother for a small period of time and she explained that it was because he was a specialist. It was a lesson that would become an ingrained part of him. Sultan says that as a child he’s always asked himself what it was he would be a specialist at. Sultan says that his biggest satisfaction comes from working with children, so it’s only natural that would be what he became a specialist at. The world values specialists, he says. In hindsight, Sultan thinks that he sounds like he was very strategic, but he says that he just followed his heart and that having his focus and following it in this way is what has gotten him to where he is. He loves working with children; it doesn’t feel like work to him. He loves what he does and feels blessed. He says that one of the best parts about working with kids is that when you look at their face, you immediately have feedback. You don’t need surveys or interviews, the look on a child’s face tells you what they’re feeling immediately. Sultan says he’s a very hands-on person and likes to think that he leads by example. When he wants his team to be involved in a particular way, he leads by example and makes a conscious effort to show them the result of what they’re doing. He talks about an event he brought a colleague to a few days ago where children where painting pictures and he told her “For all you know, we have just created a painter,” He asked one of the kids if they enjoyed doing their painting and they lit up. He told his colleague that light in the child’s face was what they were working for. “The gratifications are there to be seen,” he says “If your eyes and ears are open to see it.” Past Paper Napkin guests like Brian Price have talked about the importance of focus, especially when it’s regarding something you love. It is through diligent focus and through making himself a specialist that allows Sultan to accomplish as much as he does. Add his extreme passion to that focus and you have a truly winning combination. Listen to the conversation with Sultan here: