Omar Zenhom left teaching at 32 to start a business in New York, facing skepticism from friends and his own doubts as a brown Arab-Muslim immigrant with no visible role models. He decided to stop making excuses and become the first person from his community to build a significant business.
When I left my teaching career at 32 and told people I was moving to New York City and starting a business, the reaction was not exactly what I was hoping for. Most people thought I was crazy, and I don't blame them. I had my own doubts. You know, I'm a brown man with Arab Muslim immigrant background. Name one successful entrepreneur you know that has that background. I'll wait. Exactly. You can't, right? I'm not exactly Tony Robbins. There was no blueprint. There was no one who looked like me or sounded like me that had done what I was trying to do. And the judgment was real. I felt it. It was tough. And for a long time, I felt like I was at a disadvantage. Then one day I just said, I've had it. I've had it. I decided just to own it completely. And I would say, I am going to be the first one I know from this background that looks like me to build something that is significant in business. And I wanna be the one that proves it's possible. And the honest truth is the only reason I was able to do this is 'cause I stopped making excuses. I started to own it and I took ownership and said, hey, I gotta own the solution.
