Dear friend,
I would like to acknowledge, celebrate and be in gratitude for being part of a family business that provided the opportunity to choose what I wanted to do after graduation.
In order to start our entrepreneurial journey in Eastern Europe and Hong Kong over 30 years ago, my father provided us with seed money in the form of loans. I will always be grateful for this and even more so for his hands off approach allowing us to sink or swim.
Family businesses and family offices have an opportunity to provide family members the freedom to choose and express themselves without the pressures of having to fulfil basic day to day needs. Individuals can pursue their own dreams whether within the family business, embarking on their own entrepreneurial journey or being involved in other ventures.
For there to be full expression of self within the family, there also needs to be an acknowledgement of the “me” within the “we”. Unfortunately for many of us in Asia, the “me” is often lost within the “we”.
We have seen how expectations and impositions from the generation before can have great impact on how we as a next generation express our truth not only in a verbal stance but also in realizing our dreams and aspirations.
We ultimately have the power to choose the meaning we want to give to the expectations and impositions. We can reframe, bring intentionality, and take ownership of what we have and move forward, instead of blaming the previous generation.
Let’s build the bridge with an authentic “me” to create a unified “we”, solidifying harmony as a family.
With love and gratitude,
feisal