S4:E124🎙️LIVE with SPC Raman Solanki, U.S. Army

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Hi everyone, my name is Specialist Raman Solanki. It is an honor to join you on the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach BZ. I currently serve in the United States Army as an 80 November Transportation Management Coordinator, and I was recently selected to support the 60th Presidential Inauguration Mission, one of the most meaningful experiences of my military career so far. I'm also on the pathway to OCS, where I hope to continue serving our country as a future Army officer. Alongside my military service, I'm completing my graduate studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and and I work across the Harvard ecosystem at HGSE, at the Law School, at the Business School, and the broader Cambridge community on policy, education, and access initiatives. My work focuses on building systems that expand equity, dignity, and opportunity, especially for communities whose voices are too often overlooked. I'm also the founding partner of Cambridge Collective LLC. A boutique art advisory firm supporting collectors, estate, and cultural institutions. My background in the arts, policy, and global engagement, including, including travel to more than 70 countries, has shaped how I see leadership, service, and the responsibility we all share to improve the systems around us. Today, I'm excited to speak with Coach BZ about what it means to lead across disciplines, from the military to academia to entrepreneurship, and how young leaders can build careers rooted in purpose, integrity, and service. Thank you for having me. I look forward to our conversation.

All right, everyone, thank you for joining us for another episode of the Leadership and Success Podcast. I have a very special guest today. So today I'm really glad to introduce the one and only specialist, Rahman Slenki.

And I really am looking forward to this conversation because he is a soldier, he's a scholar, he's an entrepreneur, but also a global citizen. So Rahman served as an 88N Transportation Management Coordinator selected for the historic 60th Presidential Inauguration Mission and now he is on the path to Officer Candidate School, OCS, currently completing his graduate studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, serving in leadership role across HGSE, Harvard Law School, and the broader Cambridge policy ecosystem. Ram is also the founding partner of Cambridge Collective, an art advisory firm supporting collectors, estates, and institutions across the US and Europe.

From traveling to 70+ countries to working on statewide policy initiatives, supporting museums and cultural institutions, stewarding major art collections, and advocating for equity and access in education. Specialist Solanke embodies what it means to lead across sectors with integrity, discipline, and purpose. Please help me welcome Specialist Rahman Waham Solanke to the Leadership and Success Podcast. All right, Raham, how are you doing today? Doing well.

How are you, Bizzy?

Fantastic. Very, very glad you were able to make this. Maybe to get started, is there one thing that you are grateful for today?

Today I'm grateful for the beautiful weather we have here in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It's not that cold. It's only 42 degrees.

Only 42 degrees. Well, actually, it's strange. I am grateful for the weather too, but I am in the San Francisco Bay Area where it's like 57 degrees, which is beautiful, especially when it is sunny. When I first came to the US, I came through Manhattan, New York. It was freezing.

It was January 1996, and it was below zero. It was absolutely awful.

But any— anyway, I'm glad it's getting a little bit warmer on the East Coast now.

So tell me, what is something about you that most people may not know about?

I thought long and hard about that question. And I think something I want to share with your listeners, I think one of the most important lessons that came into my life was recently losing my mother after a long battle with cancer. It was the kind of loss that rearranges your entire sense of time and meaning. And then during that time, I came across a quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln: Discipline is choosing what you want most or what you want now. And I realized that grief can pull you into a place where everything feels urgent and nothing feels purposeful. And discipline in that deeper sense is what brings me back to myself. Losing my mother taught me that discipline is not just a professional skill, it is an emotional anchor. I think that is something that a lot of folks that interact with me, what makes me who I am is the loss I've had in my life.

Very, very sorry to hear that. I lost my mother too during the pandemic. She died of cancer as well. And I think I will never, never get over it. But yeah, sorry to hear that, but it's really helpful to hear you say discipline is what you choose because I guess as human beings, we still have that agency where we can make choices about what we are going to do next and what's going to be the impact of our lives. So thank you for sharing that.

Let me try to go back to the beginning.

What experiences in your upbringing or early life shape the leader you are becoming today?

I think travel was always, always there. Growing up, I remember with my, with my parents and our family friends, we would travel all across. We would travel to different, different continents. There was always a trip planned to somewhere, somewhere new, somewhere we have never been. And growing up, I, I always remember most— the best memories I've had was always at some remote island where I am. I'm sad because I'm missing my bed at home, or, um, this new adventure that I did not know what to expect or anticipate, and I'm missing my friends back home, but the new adventure that awaits in this new land. So growing up, that was something that taught me a lot more about our beautiful planet and the diversity that's, that's here on this, on our planet, and the different culture, the different foods that are available, the different, different experiences that folks have. But having been to all these travels, um, realize that at the end of the day, we're all humans. We're all just trying to, trying to live our life and live and let live and, um, and, and, and coexist on this beautiful planet. So growing up, travel is something that That made me who I am today.

Wow, that is so beautiful. So you've traveled to over 70 countries.

Which countries are most memorable?

So the most memorable for me are— is Namibia. Namibia next to Zimbabwe and South Africa. And Iceland. Iceland is a country I love dearly. It's not that far from Boston. It's a relatively short flight. It's a shorter flight than California. From Boston to California is a longer flight. I was in Iceland for Thanksgiving break. Had a wonderful time. Was able to see the Northern Lights. I was also there during the summer months where the sun does not set. So even at 1 o'clock at night, the sun was out. It reminds me of my adventures in Svalbard, Norway. In the Arctic Circle, but I was last year where the sun did not come out at all. It was darkness 24/7.

Wow.

I do love the cold, and I do love our northern neighbors, uh, Iceland, Norway, all the Scandinavian nations. So I would choose Iceland over any other place. The food, the people, the culture, and the Northern Lights. It's magical.

Magical for sure.

And with all of your travels, how many languages do you speak now?

Or at least understand?

I speak— I understand a lot of them. I speak fluent Hindi and English. I also understand Sanskrit, a little bit of Latin. I understand French and Spanish, and I spent 6 months in Italy, so I do speak a little bit of Italian.

Italiano.

Very, very good.

I think if you can understand Latin, you can understand a lot of the languages like French and Spanish, because a lot of the words we use there are based in Latin.

That is really wonderful. So traveled more than 70 countries, and you kind of told us already a little bit.

How did these global experiences really shape your worldview, and especially around equity, culture, and human dignity?

I think you can learn more about, you can hear about, you can read about people from different continents, from different experiences. But when you immerse yourself into the culture, when you understand, when you sort of reach across the aisle on the other side and bridge that gap that we are so fortunate to be able to traverse because of either the advancement in technology or just the access of just the internet that we can find our way across using Google Maps, for example. Yeah, just immersing ourselves in that culture, in different cultures, and trying to learn and understand the lessons that their civilization and their way of living can teach us. I often say that traveling is better than any degrees. You will learn more if you go venture out there. But as growing up, I would go with my parents We had wonderful memories, but as I'm getting older as well, there are some travels that I've had by myself and with friends and family members, but solo travel has been wonderful. You learn a lot more about different cultures and a lot more about yourself. Yes. You cannot escape your— of course, no, there's no place like home. Nobody can replace home, but learning more from different cultures, different experiences, different countries. And it gives you this appreciation of our planet. It is such a beautiful world, um, with beautiful humans, beautiful food, beautiful culture, um, this one world family sort of thing.

Powerful.

I can realize, but with travel—

well, that's really powerful because when I came to the US, uh, the first 15 years I stayed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and a lot of people I met there, they didn't travel that much. It's really strange because with the US passport, I think up to today it's still true, you pretty much have a passport to the world. You don't need a visa to go to most countries if you stay less than 90 days.

But most people I met there, they were like, no, I'm born and raised.

No, I was born here, I'm going to die here. But most have traveled maybe 100, a couple of hundred miles from the place they were born. And to me, that was really tragic because if you have a chance to travel like you have, going to other countries and meeting other cultures, when you come back, you really learn a lot and you can see, you know, what's good, what is, what is bad, what's working, what's not working, and, uh, you might be able to know yourself better and improve your, your life and have, I think, a greater impact on your community.

So, um, let me ask you this, um, what inspired you to join the U.S.

Army and, uh, what does your experience as an 88 and, uh, Transportation Management Coordinator taught you about leadership and discipline?

So I joined the Army relatively late. A lot of the folks at basic training, my basic training was in Fort Jackson in South Carolina, were relatively younger. There was a diverse bunch, but I definitely one of the older soldiers there.

I always wanted—

sorry, if I may ask, how old were you when you went to boot camp?

I believe it was 27, 28.

Oh, wow. Okay. Okay. Because when I went to boot camp, I believe I was 24. But wow, that's, that is cool. Yeah, it's true because most of the people there just came out of high school, 17, 18, 19 years old.

They're all a bunch of little kids, but sorry, continue.

Yes, no, there were a lot of prior enlisted folks as well. One of my, one of the persons in our group was, he was an infantryman. He served in Afghanistan. He took a 10-year break and he rejoined the military. And of course there were a lot of folks from, straight from high school, there were folks who were 30, 35. There was a sergeant who moved from the Air Force and was joining the Army and had to go through, mm-hmm, officer, but they had to go through the Army basic training. Yeah, I joined relatively late compared to a lot of folks, majority of the folks, and Fort Jackson, And it is something I always wanted to do as a first-generation service member. I'm— I don't have anybody in my family, anybody that I know closely who has served. It was a relatively new, new experience and always had respect for the service members. I did not know how many branches there were. I did not know Space Force was a real thing. So as a first-generation service members, I did encounter certain challenges. But it was something that I always wanted to do. And like I tell people that, um, you're not going to read about it until you go there and see it for yourself. So I signed up not knowing a lot of things, um, and it has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. And I can't imagine—

I think all of the military branches do it similarly.

So I did mine with the Navy at RTC Great Lakes.

On the first day you got there, did they shave you, get rid of all of for hair.

Yes, of course. Yeah, I, I remember, uh, going there. Like I said, I did not have anybody that I could speak to who's been in the army, and I was like, how is this allowed?

Where am I?

What is happening? There's so much confusion. I remember—

I, I can't— oh, sorry, go ahead. No, I just say Sorry.

Yeah, go ahead.

No, sorry. No, go ahead. Uh, I definitely wanna, wanna hear from, from you. I'm just saying how different or similar the Army and the Navy boot, boot, boot camp was because basically the, the idea, right, is to make you Army green.

It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, everybody's exactly the same. You're wearing exactly the same clothes, you look exactly the same. And, uh, uh, very quickly you, you really become a, uh, family, uh, Did they allow you to sleep the first 2 days you were there?

Nope.

Okay. Navy did the same thing.

Yep.

It is very similar.

I have a lot of friends in the Navy and the Marines as well. They have had some interesting experience.

Marines are crazy. They are crazy, crazy, crazy.

But yeah.

Yeah. I remember the first, they were not let us sleep. It was freezing cold in January and we were sleeping outside.

Oh, that's the worst time to go. I went in Chicago, but it was in May, so it was the summertime.

Yeah, someone I knew told me, don't ever, ever go there in the winter because you're just asking for trouble. So I'm glad I listened.

Of course, like, those are things that you cannot control and they take your phone away. So I've not lived my life without my phone. The phone was always there and I had no idea what time it is.

And it was no TV, no newspaper, completely.

Blocked off from the world.

World War III could have started, you wouldn't know nothing about it.

It's, uh, incredible. But to, toward the end, did they give you a chance to call your parents or family member, at least let them know that you are alive and doing good?

Yes, at the very beginning when you, uh, so during orientation where you're just getting there for 2 nights, when that, that's happening, when they issue your uniform and other, um, all those double bags. And when you go to your, uh, company, um, when you land at your company, they do allow you to make a phone call. There's a script that you're supposed to recite, that script.

And, um, I think it was less than a minute if I remember, but yes, yes.

Wow. We really have a lot in common even though we went through different services.

I like that you say they, they gave you all of your uniform when you enlisted. Government gives you everything. Once you become an officer, however, you're gonna have to pay for every piece of uniform. So I think when I became an ensign, I spent almost, uh, a little bit over $2,000 for my sea bag, the service dress blue uniform, service white, and everything that goes with it.

But, uh, wow, that is, that is really awesome. So, uh, you were selected, like you mentioned, for the historic 60th Presidential Inauguration mission. What did that experience mean to you professionally and personally?

That was a historic event. I had signed up before the election results were announced, and I, and I was— and I love DC, and I was like, sign me up. Only 2 people were selected from my unit. I was fortunate enough to be one of them. I was— I'm in a very good standing in my unit. I signed up way before the election results were announced. And we went to DC in January, late December, early January. We were moving there. I was there for quite some time. We were in all those historic places, all those historic— the history was quite palpable. It was freezing cold during that time. And just seeing the history of our country, the 60th presidential inauguration for the 47th president, Donald Trump.

Yeah.

How not a lot of service members get the chance to be part of that history. Um, understanding more about the, um, the different branches were there. I also remember meeting people from the Royal Air Force from the UK.

Yeah.

Um, in DC and that our strong allies were there. I was in the Joint Reception, Staging, and Onward Movement and Integration Department from in the D.C. Army, taking care of that entire mission. I had a wonderful time learning more from my peers, learning, seeing how in action, how things were taken care of, and all eyes were on us. It was definitely a historic time for our country. So of course, the Army values are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. I'm sure it's very similar for you as well in Navy. And to see them live in action was quite palpable.

That's amazing. One thing I love about the Navy, our core value, it's only 3.

So it's very, very easy to remember: honor, courage, and commitment. That's it. Uh, I think you're in the Army, it's 7, right?

Uh, but anyway, but it's, it's, it's interesting because I was also in, uh, Washington, DC during Trump 1.0.

So that was 2017, right? January 2017. There's really a lot to see in the DC area, all of the monument museum and, and all of that.

Wow.

So now you are on the path to Officer Candidate School. How are you preparing for the transition from enlisted soldier to Army officer? So just like you, I was an E-4 UI specialist.

I was in IT-3 when I was enlisted, and then I went from that to O-1 to, uh, in STEM. So you're going from E-4 to O-1 as well.

So how's your preparation going?

Yeah, the preparation is going well. Um, I'm back to what I said earlier. As a service member, I did not know what to anticipate. I did not know the difference between enlisted and officer. I did not know what, uh, a lot of the military jargons that my, uh, recruiter was using. I'm like, you're talking, speaking a different language. I don't speak it. They would say, I mean, now I know what ASVAB means, right? Now I know what, uh, all these military jargons we use. And at that time, um, um, I did not know what to expect. So when I came back from training, from my AIT, my AIT, the training, the was in Virginia. It was called Fort Gregg Addens at that time. And I was Fort Lee, came back from there, joined my unit, and I was speaking to my captain, the O-3, and I was— they introduced me, they welcomed me to the unit, and they said, you have all these qualifications, why don't you go for OCS? So from day one, they were like, wow, you're on that path to be officer. My unit has been wonderful. The people that I work with, it doesn't matter that it was completely different environment than training environment. Of course, you're supposed to be perfect. You're supposed to be all those army norms.

It's a controlled environment for sure.

Yes, 100%.

And when I came back—

when you eat, when you use the restroom, everything you do is absolutely controlled.

Yes. Even like how many hours of sleep we'll get, what we'll do. How much water do we drink? But when you come back to the unit, you have more— it's more relaxed. Nobody will tell you when you should use the restroom or not. So, uh, just interacting with the, uh, with the command, uh, with the higher-ups and understanding from them. And a lot of them have gone through OCS or ROTC, and they shared their experiences. And I felt at that time that I should sign up. So I had signed up for the— in, in Massachusetts, they do an 18-month OCS format, which did not work well for me because I had been accepted into Harvard for graduate school. So there's— there were some scheduling conflicts that were happening. So to prepare for OCS, I've got a glimpse of what OCS looks like at JBCC in Cape Cod. Of course, you have to be physically fit, but I feel like OCS is more— it demands more academic work, where basic training is more physical. So in classroom settings, um, this is something that I'm learning in my Harvard Graduate Studies as well. Um, the, of course, the different— how to receive an order, a lot more technical side of the business, technical side of the service, uh, is being— is something that I got a glimpse of. So I'm learning more about those things, all the, all the Army all the Army terms, all the codes, all the technical that I have heard, but I don't know where they're utilized. And from my experience in interacting with the higher-ups from my command, I've learned that being an officer, jumping the ship from enlisted to officer, is a lonely experience. And in, in the enlisted side, it's more like a— it's a group dynamic, whereas in the officer side, it's more you're, uh, you have to do the, uh, lay nav by yourself at night, whereas in the end, this is how you have to do it in a group setting. So, um, being independent, um, that is also something that my mother taught me. I think her passing also forced me to lead my life with more intention, more compassion, and more clarity about what matters. And that is something, um, that is, uh, that is helping me prepare well for OCS.

No, that, that is great, but, but I I must say, becoming an officer, it's really what you make of it.

I don't think you have to be lonely because you do have, uh, you know, a lot of peers in the, uh, wardroom with all of the other officers, and you really should be learning from one another. I'm sure once you become a second lieutenant, you're gonna have to first focus on your primary qualification, uh, because you are— you do have to qualify whatever your designator or MOS, I think is what the Army calls it. And you, you really need to be focused on that and also get help from, from your peers and your chain of command, your leadership. So what advice would you give young soldiers who aspire to become officers who might be listening right now?

I would say, um, of course you have to be physically fit, make sure you meet all the physical requirements. And also, it is a commitment. It is a It is a more— it is a more, um, it is a strong commitment compared to the enlisted stuff. Um, and there is that trajectory. There's those leadership skills that you can gain. There's a lot more you get out of those training environments. Um, so it is a strong commitment. It is somewhere where you can challenge yourself to be, to be a better version of yourself and, uh, think about why you signed up. Um, that is something I tell, uh, when I look at the prospective soldiers who are thinking of joining, joining the Army, is that like, why do you want to serve? Why? I know the numbers, uh, say that only a few percentage of the U.S. population is even eligible to serve. Um, and then just think of why you wanna, you wanna serve. What is that, that why? If you have that clarity on that, um, that would be good. And of course, use all the opportunities that are available. It could be the world. You could travel the world. Um, I know folks that are deployed all around the world. Um, that opportunity, you can go to beautiful places around the world, um, and while serving the country. And it's a good way to get back to the community. And of course, the camaraderie that you will build And, and, uh, and the Army, they were— you would— once a soldier, always a soldier.

So true.

Wow, quite, quite amazing.

So you are pursuing your second master's degree over the Graduate School of Education while serving in the U.S. Army National Guard.

What does balancing those worlds teach you?

How are you able to manage that?

It is a lot of work. Um, I remember, um, coming to Harvard, the classroom settings were not as strict and structured as they are in the Army. In the Army, everything is quite structured. If you are not 15 minutes early, you are late. Whereas here, if you're 5 minutes early, you're the first one there. And I think the civilian structure took me for a surprise because I was not used to that structure for a while. And Harvard itself, I've lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts for about 10 years. So I've been, and I used to work at Harvard IT a long time ago before the pandemic. So I was aware of the community here, but going back to school after my second master's, after the military experience was like a totally different world. It took me a few weeks and few months to adjust. To, to the change in rigor. Um, things are not, uh, Harvard is competitive. There's so many things that one can do here. There were way too many opportunities. The people interact with, um, uh, in my first week I interacted with somebody from the Harvard Veteran Association, uh, of which I'm a member now. Uh, met with a lot of Marine officers who wanted me to join the Marine OCS.

Wow.

The introduction that happened, and I think I wish, um, I wish I was 25. I wish I could do that.

Yes.

No, the Marines, God bless them, but no, I wasn't born to be a Marine. Those people are absolutely crazy. Uh, God bless them.

Wow.

AIT, there were Marines. So when we'd go for a company run, the Marines were running as well when we would go on a 5-mile or 10-miler, and the Marines would be carrying a wooden log with them.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're crazy, I'm telling you.

Running at 4 in the morning is, um, for 10 miles versus— are totally different things. And I have huge respect for— but maybe in another life, not in this.

Yeah, yeah, great respect. Because the truth is, I have never ever ever seen a fat Marine.

I've been in the military for 21 years now, not a single time.

I've seen fat soldiers, I've seen fat sailors, but fat Marines, never.

So, uh, God bless them.

All right, so at the Harvard Law School Animal Law and Policy Clinic where you work, you are researching food justice and statewide policy.

Why is equitable access a central theme for you?

So as a graduate student clinician at the Harvard Law School, it's a wonderful, wonderful experience I've had interacting with different clients, seeing how policies are are made, how laws are passed, working with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education here in Massachusetts, working with the USDA, different stakeholders, different districts, learning more about how one could influence policy. So at the Harvard Animal Law Policy Clinic, our clients was— were looking into changing certain policies without going into further details. Into the Massachusetts and California school system and also trying to change and implement policies in DC. So if you want to pass a law, it would not happen overnight. And I have the oppor— I'm working alongside with Harvard Law School students, the 2Ls and 3Ls, and our professor, Professor Mary Hollingsworth. She's wonderful. Learning from their experience. She comes from Department of Justice. She served in Department of Justice for a number of years, and now she's at the Harvard Law School. As at the— in that clinic, I'm able to see how laws and policies are passed, how important it is to know the law, to know how you can influence it. And just learning that being a lawyer is a superpower. I tell that to anybody I meet at the law school. That you can actually influence and change the way we live, the way the future generation— it sort of reminds me of this book I read called Survivor of the Friendliest, which talks about how in the olden days, it used to be survival of the fittest. If you were fit enough to go hunt, you had to be fit enough to go hunt. You had to have this strong personal energy, personal sort of triumph to go out in the wilderness and fight the wild, where there were no— And so you have to be fit enough to survive. If you are not fit, you will not be able to survive. Then during the Ice Age, it became survival of the friendliest. If you were not part of that good gang, if you were not with a good community, if you're not together, you're not going to be able to survive. You could not have lived out all by yourself alone in the woods in the cold. So it became from survival of the fittest to survival of the friendliest. And how that vaccination happens. And it talks about how our ancestors used to live. And then we also look at the recent history of 400 or 500 years ago, where when we look at slavery that was rampant, rampant, or the witch trials that would happen.

Yes.

And how we look at them at a different lens that, oh my God, that's monstrosity. And I'm sure 500 years from now somebody will look back at us and say like, oh my God, people living in 2020, 25, or like the 21st century were monsters. It is possible they might, they might look at us that way.

Yeah.

So to identify that is, is very important. So identifying and learning that and being aware of how I mean, our— like, our eyes might be towards the future, but the— but history has our eyes towards us.

Yes.

Wow, that is powerful. Yes.

And this also reminds me of like, uh, the legacy that one might want to leave behind. What are we? Uh, it also raises certain questions, certain existential questions, like why are we here? Yeah. What do we leave behind? I mean, we— the world used to function before we were born, and I'm sure it will function after we are long gone.

Yeah.

Um, so we are here for a short amount of time, and hopefully we leave it in a better place than we found it.

Uh, yeah.

Wow, that is quite powerful. Now, in the— you do write a lot.

One of your articles in the Harvard Crimson, you wrote, let this pandemic be a catalyst toward an equitable society. And an equitable Harvard. What does equitable society look like to you in practice?

An equitable society is some— is a society where the differences are celebrated, where everybody— as it's rightly said, if you are not at the table, you're probably at the— on the menu. So if everybody's at the table, everybody is considered an important stakeholder in whatever policy that is passed and the differences are celebrated. So that is like the divide. It's very easy to divide. It is very easy to fearmonger. It is very easy to say that no, do not interact with those people, or it's very easy to, to draw, to draw boundaries. But it's, it's better to build a bridge than to use the blade.

That's awful.

It's more makes more sense to— we all can achieve so much together. So that op-ed that I wrote during the pandemic, uh, at that time, um, I wrote the article in the Harvard Crimson called Coronavirus Isn't Colorblind. How that article highlighted that the communities of color were impacted a lot in, in Boston, in Massachusetts. Uh, the numbers were staggering in Black and brown communities. The COVID cases were really high and in that article that was highlighted versus other communities. And, and then how like the pandemic did not care about how you look, but the numbers were saying otherwise. And of course the pandemic was a different time altogether.

Yes.

Nobody wants to remember that. And I felt like at that time writing that article was very important. It was very well received within the Harvard community, um, and It was more like influencing that this is a wonderful opportunity while we are all sequestered in our, in our own apartments and social distancing and all the new protocols that we are following. It's a perfect opportunity to build a better society, a better equitable society where the differences are celebrated and we all are one.

That is quite powerful. Now, we've talked about you as a soldier, as a scholar, but you are also an entrepreneur.

So you co-founded the Cambridge Collective, a boutique art advisory firm working with collectors and estates. How did that entrepreneurial journey begin for you?

So it all goes back to traveling. Um, when we— whenever we travel to all these new places, of course you have to go to the local museum. Of course you have to understand more about their culture, their history. What are they putting there in their museums? I remember, uh, I I recently remember my trip to Oslo, Norway, to the Nobel Museum, or looking at the Edvard Munch paintings there. There's a Munch Museum there. Or recently I went to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Who knew that Cleveland Museum of Art was a wonderful museum? It's one of the best museums out there. Wow. Of course, our very own Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where I'm a patron, and I've been a member of the Museum of Fine Arts for a while. So from all these travel going to different museums, going to different cultures, understanding art and how important preserving art is. Like I said, like, the world existed before we were here. It'll be good. We're only here for a short amount of time, so we should steward the art, we should preserve the art, we should preserve what has been here, the beauty that's there.

Yes.

And so I started collecting from all these travels. So I would place it and started collecting. Another conversation I remember having with somebody in Europe was they were talking about how their grandmother was able to buy a Picasso for $20,000, and now that same Picasso was worth insane amounts. And I was like, of course, I'm sure there was some investment angle as well. In the market, you hear in the news that banana duct taped to a wall is selling for $7 million. The art world is an interesting world. It is an ever-evolving world. There's a lot one could learn. There is a preservation aspect. There's something very profound, very beautiful. We— everybody should be a steward of the arts. And from my experiences traveling the world, started collecting. People in my family also collected. Everybody had some sort of art from either from their travels or that spoke to them. This one painting right here is a painting in the family collection. It's one of the portraits of Duke of Austria. It's an important portrait that we are protecting and preserving. I'm stewarding. It does not belong to me. Even when I'm long gone, the painting will still be here. So I'm only here, I'm only renting the painting, if you may, for my life. And once I'm gone, it'll be here, it'll be gone. So from my travel, I started collecting, interacting with different different museums, different galleries, and that made me realize that I can also do it more efficiently. So I founded Cambridge Collective LLC with Larry Whitlock, and we are a boutique advisory firm. We work with different collectors as well. If a collector is looking for a very specific piece, we help source them because we do have certain connections and certain access. A lot of them are also, uh, one of the important collectors. Um, the Harvard, uh, one of the Harvard schools is named after him. The Harvard Museum itself is a beautiful collection. So there are a lot of collectors here in the Harvard community as well, and I'm able to interact with them, learning more about how, why they started collecting. Everybody has their own story why they started collecting, what is their impetus. And so for me, I started small scale, um, and just collecting art and interacted with different, different members in that community around the world.

Wow.

And sort of brought that to life.

So that's really amazing.

If there's a collector out there who's looking for a very specific piece, whether it's a $50 million Monet or it's, uh, it's a few thousand pounds specific piece that's very important to their collection, yes, we help source.

Wow, that's really amazing. The, the, uh, portrait you just mentioned, the Duke of Austria. To you personally, what is this, I guess, historical significance?

What is the personal connection with you?

So in their family, we did study history long before history was— history could be Googled. And it was a subject matter that was, uh, that was studied in the family. I remember I, uh, we've studied history, studied more about, like I said, different— whenever we go to a new country, we try to understand why, uh, why do they, uh, why are their politics this way, why is the culture this way. So understand the basic understanding from what makes that civilization that civilization.

Wow.

So history plays an important role to learn more about from their past and certain pieces if you get the opportunity. So it was the right time, the piece was on, on the market. Wow. Um, the person who had it could not take care of it, so we also— as well, so the art was damaged. Um, so these are important paintings.

These cannot just—

although they have survived revolutions, they have survived—

that's amazing.

It's, it's older than the United States itself. It has survived a lot. But it needs to be restored and taken care of, and the family that owned it before us was not able to take care of it. So we acquired it from them and restored it, and now it is kept here.

Wow, that is awesome. It's really beautiful art.

And, uh, when my kids were growing up, uh, my wife and I, we always took them to a museum. And the beautiful thing is most museums in America, you can actually go for free as well. You don't always have to pay. They have a special day and things. But yeah, that's quite powerful. Okay, one more question I'm going to ask you before we go to the second segment. I think I have about 10 minutes left. I think we can do it.

So you do have an unconventional but powerful blend of domains, right? Military, policy, academia, and the arts. What theme do you think ties them all together?

What field ties them all together? I feel like they all are all tie each other together. Law is something that covers all of them. Law is something that can influence the arts. Law is something that can influence education. UCMJ, um, that's a law as well. Education itself is, is something that can influence the arts. You have to preserve, you have to educate the, the posterity about the arts. They have to educate the populace about the laws as well. So they're all interconnected. Although there, I tell folks, one of the professors here at Harvard, Professor Doris Summers, she's a tenured professor in the African American Department here at Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. And she, I remember having a conversation with her and she said that, "Oh wow, you wear multiple hats, but you know, right? Although you wear multiple hats, it's all the same. Although there are different worlds, but they're all the same." there's so many things what could apply from one, one hat, yeah, the other, one world to the other. And then how a lot of things sort of, um, they're not segregated, they're all together. Art is everywhere. It just gives you this fresh perspective. It brings a different dynamic.

That is so powerful. Very, very powerful.

Because I think we really need more people to have cross-domain thinking, you know, when you can take something like me, I started in sciences, biology, chemistry, got into tech, technology, and then leadership and the military, and so on and so forth. You take your way of thinking from one domain and you apply it to another domain. I think that's really how innovation comes about. Uh, powerful. Okay, so our second segment, let me ask you this: what do you think is the greatest lesson you have learned so far in general, in life, in leadership?

I think the greatest lesson, um, I've learned would— I would go back to the losses that I've had in my life, the losses that nobody can, um, a trillion dollars cannot fix, uh, passing of the loved ones. I had also lost my sister to multiple sclerosis.

Oh, so that's my mother.

So their passing has sort of the void that they have left, the piece of me that has been gone because of the losses that I've had, sort of forced me to lead my own life with more intent, more compassion, more clarity about what it truly means to live. And it's a lesson that I carry into every room, whether I'm in uniform, in a classroom at Harvard, or advising clients in the business. The legacy is the reason and their legacy is the reason I'm able to lead with this strength but also softness. So strength is something that I've learned from the losses that I've had. And, uh, and, um, I hope— I mean, it's— I remember when my, when my mother died, I was talking to somebody in my family. They said, like, for some people it happens when they're born that they lose a parent. For some people it happens when they're 80 years old when they But it happens like it happened to you, and it, it happens, and nobody prepares you for that. Yeah, I was not prepared for losing such a strong pillar in my life. And, and learning from that, still soldiering on, still moving forward, while also preserving their memory, preserving their legacy, and the void that they had left. And of course, you grieve. Everybody grieves differently.

Yes.

And you go to, uh, the places you visited with them, so you always have that memory. They're all alive in your heart. So even though they're gone, you keep them alive.

Actually, in a way, I'm glad you kind of said that, because I remember the very last trip I had with my mom. I think I was 12, 13 years old. We went to Paris. We went to the, um, uh, Louis XIV Castle, Versailles, Château de Versailles. We went to the Eiffel Tower and all of that, and a couple of museums. The last time I was in Paris was 2 years ago, so I decided to go back to every single place I went with my mom, and it was very, very, very powerful. Of course, she wasn't with me physically, but I definitely felt her spirit, and I went through all of the itinerary we, we had traveled together. I guess that was, uh, what, uh, 20 years earlier. And, uh, yeah. Just that memory, it really made me cry and I felt even more connected. But yeah, that's powerful. Thank you so much for sharing that. What do you think is the greatest advice you have received, the greatest leadership advice you have received so far?

So the people that I interact with that either have this authority, this position of power, whether in academia or in the military. In the military, there are ranking systems, there are different hierarchies, different ranks have different, different functions. In academia, your professor has different power, different authority. They have the power to— and, uh, or the judges that I meet, or the lawyers that I meet in the, in the law school, they all have different powers and different authorities in their respective field. But I believe leadership is, it's, it's more, more than just this power that you, that somebody gave to you or some, something you earn in your career. It is more of a lifestyle. It is more of, um, I would not call myself a leader. I'm relatively young. I've learned a lot of, a lot of different lessons from a lot of different folks, and I'm still learning. And I feel leadership is more, it's, it's a practice. It is a practice that you do every day. You live with leadership. Is, is ubiquitous. Leadership is— it's, it's a practice. And no, but you perfect it every day. You try to perfect it every day. And yes, leave no one behind. Uh, don't you feel that they're alone, that they are, um, that they're not part, part of this group? Do not leave anybody out. Um, wow. That is, that is a lesson that I've learned, and that is a lesson that I learned from my commanders in the Army when I came back from Port Gregg Adams, where they said like, oh, welcome to this. Although there were difference in ranks, but they were welcoming. There are a lot of things that would divide us. It is very easy to divide. It is very easy to say, no, you, you belong here, I belong here. But it— but you bridge that gap once you bring everybody together. And that is something travel has done for me. We're all the same. We're all here for a very short amount of time. We are not going to live forever.

That's powerful.

Let's take care of each other, let's lead with intention, and the short amount of time that we have here, let's make the best of it. It's a beautiful world.

Absolutely. I really like what you say. So what you mentioned earlier is really positional leadership, right?

Based on your title within an organization or a structure of a chain of command. It's true that if you are a director, a vice president, a commander, you automatically become a leader to someone, or at least their manager. But positional leadership doesn't take you very far. People are going to say exactly what you do because they need a paycheck and they have to do what you say or they will not be in the organization any longer. But that is not going to motivate them. As you've seen even the short time you've been in the army, people, soldiers are willing to die for the soldier to their right and to their left. Positional leadership doesn't do that.

It's something a lot more, right, where you really want to follow someone.

If they go to the pits of hell, you're gonna go with them because you trust them, right, because of who they are as a leader and how they have influenced you.

So really, at this essence, in my opinion, leadership is really influence, right?

Nothing more, nothing less. Even as you become a second lieutenant, it's true, at the beginning you may feel like you are all alone there and you may not have direct report at first as you go through your training. But the truth is you are a leader because if you don't lead anybody else, you are leading yourself. You are influencing one person and then eventually you are gonna add it, it, it, a team. But I, I really like the way you are thinking because those are the officers who are really great officers. It's not just about me, myself, and I, but it's about the people who are entrusted to you and then being able to accomplish the mission. So that's very, very powerful. I wish I had learned that, um, when I was much, much younger.

So let me ask you this.

All of the successes you've had in academia, in the military, becoming an officer, in entrepreneurship, and on and on and on— what do you think is the secret of your success? Why are you so successful?

I think the secret is that there is no secret.

You just have to, have to continue turning on, have to soldier on.

You have to— not all the, all the Everything will never be perfect. We're only here for a limited amount of time. Just give it all you got and learn. If you made a mistake, learn from that and do not repeat it. Do not, do not make— don't leave anybody behind. Build, build allyship, build a community. Invite people, be— learn from different experiences, learn from different folks. And that is something like, if one thing does not work, let's, let's revisit it. Let's try it, try it again, try it again. Let's, let's learn from each other. That is something, something that is— and I know it's easier said than done. It's very easy to say like, oh yeah, do this and you will be successful. But of course, everybody is on their own path, their own journey, their own experiences. But the persistence Courage. As long as you persist, you will be able to succeed.

That's very, very powerful. Thank you for sharing that.

You said something about learning.

So as a leader, what are you learning now?

I'm learning that it's easy to divide, it's easy to, to draw a division between people, but the unifying forces in the world are— they're not that many. And do not leave anybody behind. It's better to build— like I said earlier, it's better to build a bridge than to use the blade. So there are not that many bridge builders. If— like, be the change you want to see in the world. And you can try to emulate that. We have so many resources available in the community. Over 100 years ago, if the internet was invented, the people that would have a different life. Like, use the technology, use the advances that the earlier generations have made. They are not here, uh, they planted those seeds. They're not here to reap the benefit of the fruit that we are reaping, and we should not take anything for granted. Whatever it is, and learn from them.

That is powerful. So you kind of alluded to it earlier. I love this cone.

It says failure on one side, success on the other. So success and failure being two sides of the same coin.

How has failure shaped your life?

Failure is something that would bring you down. It would, it does impact. Nobody likes to lose. Nobody is chasing that. Of course, you want to give your best. There have been a lot of failures in my life too. There are a lot of things that I expected or anticipated, but they never never came to fruition. You could work hard, you could try to, try to build those bridges, but when the stars don't align, when you're not able to give your 100%, and when failures— if there is a setback, um, so taking time, sort of like realizing and understanding where that failure was, what went wrong, and learning from them and make— making sure that you don't emulate that in the future. There have been many setbacks, many failures, and learning from them. And it's like I said, as you keep soldiering on, keep moving forward, keep learning, and build, build a strong team, build a collaboration, build bridges.

Yeah, can you, can you share one specific example of what you learned during one of those times when you failed or things didn't go as you expected?

I think I'd give the, uh, one of the Army experiences, uh, during one of the, uh, missions in, in the northern border, um, in Vermont. Um, uh, we were there, uh, for one of the, one of the events, um, and then that event did not go the way I planned or anticipated. I, I had hoped that the plan would go ABC, things would go this order. And I did not anticipate, I did not read between the lines, I did not expect that this certain event could change the— instead of going ABC, it'll be CBA or BAC. So not expecting uncertainty is a failure that I've had in that mission in the Canadian border where that impacted the readiness of the mission it changed the dynamic within the team. And that costed us a few extra hours. So not anticipating, not looking at everything has been one of the failures in that mission. Another failure could be in academia. At Harvard, there are a lot of times when I'm like, How will I be able to manage these certain things? A lot of your, your one session ends at 11:30, the other one starts at, starts at 11:30, and then those are two totally different, totally different buildings. How are you going to be able to— this is not Harry Potter that you can— yes, the other world. So sort of looking at, looking at the larger picture, um, it's been these are some of the failures that I've had. Of course, there have been many other, but I feel like I wish I could have given more. I wish I could have— I would have said that. I wish I could have, could have been more present.

Yeah.

So just living with intention, I think. So these fail— that's what these failures have happened.

That's powerful. You remind me of a quote.

I think it was Mike Tyson who says, right, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Something similar, General Eisenhower, he became president, he says, uh, in preparing for a battle, no, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable. I think I heard General Colin Powell say, uh, no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. Now you can have all of those plans, how things are going to work out, but the truth is when, no, when the what is it, the, the rubber meets the road. That's really where you are going to find out exactly what you are made out of, and you have to be adaptable. Okay, who are some of, uh, the thought leaders that you follow, some of the mentors, people who've had a profound impact on your leadership journey, people you know that we should know as well?

There are a lot of professors in academia that I interact with, learning from their experiences. There have been a lot of leaders, a lot of politicians that I've interacted with that I've learned from their journey. I love to read books. I love to read people's autobiography, the lessons that they're leaving back. One of them pops into my mind is Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy. His experience, his life, he's no longer here, but the lessons that he left in his memoir, biographies. It's been a wonderful— he also lost people in his life and he's had a successful show, successful career, and he's left a legacy. So Alex Trebek is one of the individuals. Of course, I also love history. I love the leadership that happened during the world wars, from Winston Churchill to the US president, how— I remember when Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was here at Harvard for commencement. She had said something on the lines of that we should not take democracy for granted. So Angela Merkel, the former German chancellor, the lessons that and seeing them face to face and learning from them has been, has been wonderful. So all those people in the past that have left this high bar for us young folks to sort of emulate and to be better and to learn.

Yes.

Learn from that.

That is powerful.

And it looks like you may have met one of my years before he passed away. Do you remember this picture?

Yes, of course. Representative John Lewis. Yes.

Yeah.

He was such a wonderful person. He was also invited here at Harvard for one of the commencements. And I remember meeting him, shaking hands with him.

He was so wonderful.

His experience with Martin Luther King.

Yeah.

How he was arrested so many times. And how he persevered. We— I remember around that time, the Supreme Court Justice, uh, Supreme Court Justice had died. Justice Ginsburg had died that time as well. And then a quote that was shared at that time, that a tall tree has fallen in our forest. And when Representative Lewis passed away, I felt that a tall tree in our forest has been chopped down. And yeah, that's the benefit of— I feel humble living in Cambridge and being in the Harvard community, interacting with people that have had a lifetime of challenges and hardship, and they have persevered. And Representative John Lewis, it's an honor of my life to even met him and shook hands with him.

Yes, he's definitely one of those few people I would absolutely have loved to spend even just 15 minutes with him.

So much knowledge and wisdom.

So, uh, if you could choose 3 people to have dinner with, who would you choose and why?

Or to choose a few people, I would choose, uh, Justice Ginsburg. The Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg. She was a trailblazer that worked learn more, learn more from her. Um, I would also have, uh, would aim to have Abraham Lincoln. You know, it might be, um, reading more about his books, uh, reading more about his leadership style.

Yeah.

Um, how in the, like, now, um, our young generation, we would not be able to survive without the internet, and how back in the day they, they fought wars. They, they—

yes.

And I, like I always say, building bridges, that's what he did. He— it's easy to divide, it's easy to, to tear the country apart, but the people who unite us, they're not that many. So Abraham Lincoln and Justice Ginsburg.

One more.

And Ginsburg's work. And, uh, the third one is— he's alive— uh, President Obama. I think I'm left with President Obama. I have, President Obama has been wonderful. I've definitely met a few folks from his campaign. I think some of the Obama Foundation folks are also here in Cambridge. He has had a wonderful life. I think it was his daughter who went to Harvard as well. I remember going to the Harvard Club of Boston and interacting with them. So these three individuals from three different time zones, I mean, Lincoln and Justice Ginsburg and President Obama, and learning from their experiences.

That's powerful.

Okay, I know we are out of time. Can you give me 5 more minutes before we land this plane? Thank you so much. All right, no, this is really quite fascinating.

So what are some of the books that you've read that you think we should read?

I know you already mentioned this one.

Survival of the Friendliest. Why is this book a good book to read?

It talks about the common humanity that we all have, how, how the lessons that we can learn from people who lived 1,000 years ago, 1,500 years, how they survived, how the challenges that they faced, how did they build community, the common humanity, the, the, the person who you And of course, Alex Trebek's, the answer is his wonderful, wonderful life experiences, the challenges that he had faced, the hardships that he had overcame. He had medical issues and he sort of overcame them and then still persevered, still left a mark. Of course, John Lewis's Across That Bridge, how he It also goes back to my interactions in policy and law, how changing the law is sometimes of paramount importance.

Yes.

If you feel there's an injustice done in the world, speak up, share, build community, build allyship, and sort of awareness about it. There's something you feel is unjust, is not right, being vocal about it, being— like I say, we are only here for a short amount of time on this planet. Why not leave a world better than what we found?

Wow, that is quite powerful. I really enjoy talking to you. So let me ask you this.

What is one song or a book or a movie that would be your life's theme or anthem?

Wow, that is a strong question. Nothing crazy comes to mind. I do enjoy reading Harry Potter. Harry Potter books have been wonderful. J.K. Rowling's work, it's a classic. It's something here at Harvard, some of the buildings looks like Hogwarts. We often joke about that. Oh, we are at Hogwarts. Those books have been the writing and then how the musical, how she has left a mark in literature. And, and the written work. Um, and of course the movies followed, all the movies, so many movies, uh, that they had made and they're still making. I think there is a new musical out. So that has been a wonderful book to read. It also teaches you a lot about the, the different powers that the Voldemorts of the world and the Dumbledores of the world and how, uh, to pull— it's very easy to divide, it's very easy to to tear people apart. And of course, who does not love magic? Everybody. I wish I had a wand that I could wave and change a few things.

Actually, I do have a question about that. But Harry Potter, especially the author, she really has a very, very fascinating story.

She's one of the wealthiest person in the world now, a billionaire. But when she started, she was extremely poor. I think she had a child on the train with absolutely nothing, and she had those ideas. She just wrote and wrote. And it took her forever, right, to get her first publisher, but eventually when it got published, like they say, the rest is history. But it goes back to the theme you were sharing about not giving up, being persistent. And it's one wonderful case.

We are running out of time. So let me ask you this. You talked about that magic wand.

If you did have that magic wand and you could solve any problem in the world, when you wake up tomorrow morning, what is one problem you would like to solve?

Wow, um, one problem that I would like to solve, uh, no more suffering. Um, there is a lot of suffering in this world, in this beautiful planet. There is— it's been a lot of suffering. A lot of it is caused by different policies or different, different laws that were passed, or around the world, um, a lot of suffering. A lot of times when leaders, um, in certain in certain nations or certain communities when they, where they try to change policies and politics, they don't look at the folks suffering on the streets. So no more suffering. We're not here to hurt another individual. We are here to build bridges. We're here to be one, be together. And understanding the multiple stakeholders that your action can lead to someone's suffering. It can impact other people that you might not never see, uh, in your life. No more suffering. And realizing the people in the top brass that it is up to you, um, to, to be better, to leave, uh, leave a better legacy.

That is very, very, very powerful because it's true.

Like, even in the military, sometimes when we have planning and we take action, we only think about the primary effect, but not about the secondary and the tertiary effect and all of the ripple effect it would have on some other people, on societies or cultures. Wow, powerful. So if you had one and only one day to live, what would you have liked your final contribution to be?

What my final contribution to be? I think this is something I was discussing with— I'm also in a fellowship at Harvard Empowerment Impact Fellowship, with some of the fellows, like about a legacy that we may plan to leave behind. It's, you could influence somebody else. You could either influence, the more people you try to influence, the quality deteriorates. So if you are able to make a positive change in the people in your close circle, the people you most interact with in your own community, that is something I would like to do to sort of be a positive change in the people that I interact with, the people, and then later they influence other folks and they influence other folks. So that change would be that same sort of, sort of propagates on and on.

Positive ripple effect. That is powerful. Okay, we are coming toward the end of the podcast.

I could talk with you for hours. We really have a lot of things in common. You are an E-4 now, enlisted. Now you're going to become an officer just like I did. Originally from another country, so was I an immigrant, and you speak several languages, so do I. And now you are getting into technology and all of that. And you also went to Harvard, actually you went for your master's, which is pretty, pretty cool.

So we do have a whole lot of things in common. I will definitely be watching your career. I'm really glad LinkedIn brought us together, but you really do have a lot of wisdom.

And I know you are still growing and you are still learning.

So am I.

I think that's really the bottom line with leadership. You never get to the summit. There is always more to learn. And having an open mind, a growing mind, I think is a master key to success. I think the minute you say, I know everything there is to know, you are done. I live here in Silicon Valley.

Looks like every 6 months we come up with brand new technology. So you can't really never rest.

So I have decided, right, I will be a student for life.

So we are coming toward the end. How can we add value back to you?

Thanks so much for spending the time with us today and being one of our teachers. How can we add value back to you?

Uh, yes, to your followers, I would say, um, build a better legacy, better, better life. And if there's anything I can do, you could always reach out to me on LinkedIn or, uh, or through our company's website, um, or my personal website right there. Um, feel free to reach out if there's anything, any way I could help and could contribute in your life or any lessons that I could learn from your experience, I'm always open. So feel free to reach out. And, uh, these important tools, technology, it's, it's a small world.

Yes.

Um, I'm sure you know, as people in San Francisco are building, the world's getting smaller and smaller. It's so easy to interact with anybody. So feel free to reach out.

Yeah, it's really amazing how technology brings us together. I've been able to interview people in Africa, in Europe, in South America, all around the world.

And even people sometimes may not even speak English very well. Now AI allows me to translate my podcast in up to 24 languages. It's just amazing.

Wow. And when people listen to it in their native language, it's perfect. Now, the lip syncing doesn't always work very well, at least not yet.

I'm sure they're going to improve that. But it is quite amazing how technology brings us together.

Okay, so we are toward the end. Let me ask you what I believe is Actually, before I do that, is there a question I should have asked you that I haven't asked?

Anything you wanted to share today you didn't get a chance to?

No, I think you asked a lot of wonderful questions.

I don't have—

Fantastic. Okay. So let me ask you this. I think this is the most important question. If you could go back and give a piece of advice to your 17-year-old self standing at the edge of this incredible career you've already had, and it's going to be even more incredible as you become an officer, get out of Harvard and make all of his money and all of that. So what would you say to 17-year-old Roman?

I would say to a 17-year-old self that we should join the Army right now. Oh, all right. Get back to the now. Um, join the Army.

Join the service. I believe, uh, it is that time of year again. I say go Navy. Beat Army. What do you say?

Well, we say the same too. Beat Navy.

All right, I love it. Okay, so we are coming to the end. So we're gonna land this plane in less than 2 minutes. So we're gonna have a rapid-fire lightning round. So don't take too long to think.

Just what first thoughts that comes to your mind.

One word that defines great leadership.

One word.

Persistence.

Very good. Morning routine or practice that keeps you grounded?

Meditation.

Okay. One book or a quote that changed your life?

You don't have to, uh, know— you will not be able to connect the dots looking forward. You can always do it looking backwards. Steve Jobs.

Wow, that is powerful. Okay, uh, who inspired you the most today?

Who inspired me the most today, um, is the homeless man in, in Harvard Square. Um, in, in the freezing cold, he, he was, uh, reciting poems.

Wow.

He was drawing art. Um, he was, he was persisting, and he was also a Vietnam vet. So, um, he inspired me the most.

That is so sad.

So many veterans, they come back home, you know, they have PTSD, mental challenges, and things Sometimes they get into addiction. That's, by the way, the reason why when I start the show, I always ask about being grateful. We have a grateful moment because it's about 21 veterans who commit suicide every single day. That's just not right. And I believe you cannot be suicidal and be grateful at the very same time.

So thank you for participating. And also, just so that you know, one of my highest desires is to one day get rid of homelessness.

I know in California we've tried, we've spent billions of dollars, but it hasn't done anything. It's a very, very difficult problem to solve, but I feel like with technology and all of the smart people we have in Silicon Valley, we should be able to eventually solve this. But it's just sad.

You live in an area like this, one of the wealthiest zip codes in the world, people are billionaires many times over, but then you have people who cannot even afford a home or anything.

It's just sad. I mean, it's something we need to do something about.

Anyway, okay, ending the show again really, really quick. What did you want to be when you were a kid?

I wanted to be an army man.

Wow, okay, so that's what you've been doing. Very good. So what are 3 adjectives describing you as a child?

3 adjectives that define me as a child? I was quite curious. I was caring. And I was mischievous.

As an adult?

As an adult, I'm calm, I'm collected, and persistent.

Very good. Okay, the very last question, and this is it. What is one word that represents our shared experience together on this podcast today?

Humanity.

And I am very, very grateful. So thank you. Thank you so much, Rahman, for being with us. On the Leadership and Success Podcast. This is episode 124, and really, really appreciate that.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me. Thank you.

Wow. All right, guys, you've had it. So make sure you go ahead and follow Raman on LinkedIn. So we are going to have our grateful challenge. Today is day 15. Okay, I started that on Thanksgiving Day. So every day I am grateful for something. Here on LinkedIn, and every day I challenge someone on my network to go ahead and accept the 21 Grateful Challenge.

So they're going to be grateful for the next 21 days on LinkedIn and also each day challenge someone in the network to accept this challenge.

So today, like Rahman, I was just thinking this, this morning, I am really so grateful for the weather right here in the Bay Area. I mean, this is winter, right?

But it is so beautiful. 57 degrees, the sun is out, and it doesn't get too cold. It's not too chilly. The weather is perfect. I am so grateful for that. Like I said, when I came to this country in 1996, it was January. It was freezing cold in Manhattan, New York City, man. And it was snow everywhere. I wasn't used to that. Very, very grateful for the weather. So let us know what you are grateful for and type it in the chat.

So now I'm gonna share my screen one more time and I'm gonna select someone who is going to— let me get the wheel of names right here. We are going to select someone randomly in my network who I'm going to challenge to accept the 21 Grateful Challenge.

Let's see who that to be.

Take a second.

And in the meantime—

okay, it looks like Charles Johnson. He's the CEO at September 18th, 2023. So, I'm hoping a little bit more, but just thinking about something Rahman said earlier, 100 years ago there was no internet and today we can't do anything without it. It's really amazing. So Charles Johnson from Greater Cleveland, he has more than almost 11,000 followers. So Charles, I am challenging you today and I hope you accept the challenge. So the challenge, if you do accept it, the mission is to be grateful on LinkedIn every single day starting today for the next 21 days. And each day you are going to challenge a member of your 11,000 network to do the same. All right, this is it for today. And thank you so much for being with us. And I'm gonna remind you really quickly that I'm gonna be back here tomorrow. I believe tomorrow I'm gonna have an AI recap on the conversation I had with a previous guest. And then sometimes next Tuesday, I am going to have the great honor and privilege of interviewing Kwame Christian. He's a world-renowned strategist transformational and visionary CEO and a serial bestselling author, the author of How to Have Difficult Conversations About Race, but also Finding Confidence in Conflict. And then on Wednesday, I am going to have the great honor of interviewing one of my heroes, the one and only, he really doesn't need any introduction, is General Stanley A. McChrystal, US Army retired.

He's the man who really single-handedly, him and General Petraeus, changed really the trajectory of the war in Afghanistan.

So we're going to be talking about On Character and Command. It's again a serial best-selling author, but his latest book just came out a few months ago, On Character.

We're going to be talking about that. That's going to be Wednesday of next week.

All right, until tomorrow, have a wonderful rest of your day.

Thanks so much for being with us today. Bye-bye.

Thank you for tuning in to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host Coach BZ. If today's episode added value to your leadership journey, be sure to subscribe, share, and join us again for more wisdom nuggets on how to lead better and achieve greater success. Remember, leadership is the most critical skill of our time. The world will always need leaders to inspire others, drive innovation, and execute meaningful strategy. So why not count yourself among the bold leaders shaping 21st century. Until next time, stay inspired, stay committed, and keep leading with excellence.