September 8, 2025 • 21 mins
Cut The Tie Podcast with Faris Alami
What does it take to rebuild your life—then turn that grit into a mission that helps others do the same? In this episode of Cut The Tie, Thomas Helfrich sits down with Faris Alami, founder of International Strategic Management (ISM), to unpack a journey that spans fleeing war, navigating years of immigration uncertainty, and ultimately creating programs that help underserved entrepreneurs start and scale real businesses. Faris’s philosophy—start where you are—isn’t theory. It’s the playbook he lived, and now teaches across communities from small-town Michigan to emerging markets around the world.
About Faris Alami
Faris Alami is the founder of International Strategic Management (ISM), where he and his team design and deliver entrepreneurship and small-business development programs for communities worldwide—especially underserved and underrepresented groups. Drawing from his lived experience as a refugee and immigrant, Faris equips founders to move from idea to execution through practical strategy, relationship building, and his Resiliency Canvas framework.
In this episode, Thomas and Faris discuss:
- Cutting ties with the life you didn’t choose
Growing up Palestinian in Kuwait, fleeing the Gulf War, and facing homelessness—Faris explains how survival forced unexpected pivots and new definitions of success. - From engineering dreams to entrepreneurship on necessity
The moment a simple T-shirt project sparked a shift from “planned career” to “creating value with what’s in front of you.” - Serving the overlooked—on purpose
Why 90% of ISM’s work focuses on underserved, underrepresented communities—and how representation inside program teams builds trust from day one. - The Resiliency Canvas & ‘Start Where You Are’
How reframing constraints unlocks action, and why focusing on what you do have beats waiting for perfect conditions. - Redefining success: family, service, and spark
Measuring success by the light in an entrepreneur’s eyes—and how that fuels Faris’s mission while providing for the people who matter most.
Key Takeaways
- Start where you are
Stop waiting for perfect resources. Inventory what you have—skills, relationships, time—and move. - Proximity builds trust
Programs led by people who reflect the community create buy-in, momentum, and better outcomes. - Resilience is a muscle
Forward motion amid uncertainty beats “perfect plans” that never launch. - Success is service
When your clients win, you win—income, impact, and identity align. - You can’t lose if you don’t quit
You might change routes, but persistence gets you to the finish line.
Connect with Faris Alami
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farisalami
🌐 International Strategic Management (ISM): https://myisminc.com/
Connect with Thomas Helfrich
🐦 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thelfrich
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomashelfrich/
🌐 Website: https://www.cutthetie.com
📧 Email: t@instantlyrelevant.com
🚀 Instantly Relevant: https://instantlyrelevant.com
Serious about LinkedIn Lead Generation? Stop Guessing what to do on LinkedIn and ignite revenue from relevance with Instantly Relevant Lead System
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Cut the Tie podcast.
Hi, I'm your host, ThomasHelfrich.
I'm on a mission to help youcut the tie to whatever it is
holding you back from success,and that success better be
defined by you.
Otherwise you're chasingsomebody else's dream.
Today, I'm joined by FarisAlami.
I hope I pronounced thatcorrectly.
I crushed it.
Thanks, Faris.
Faris, thanks for coming today.
Take a moment, introduceyourself and what it is you do.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thank you so much, Thomas, for having me.
I'm looking forward to havingthis conversation.
Faris Alami, founder ofInternational Strategic
Management.
We support organizationlaunching entrepreneurship and
small business developmentprograms in the local community,
supporting the entrepreneursstarting or scaling their
businesses.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I like that.
I mean, it's kind of reallylike core to what we love to see
and do.
So thanks, Sub there are,though there's competition
always in that space right.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Why do people pick your organization?
Well, I think the journey thatI personally have taken to get
here, as well as the people thatwe, you know, deploy to deliver
these programs, represent thecommunities that we work with.
So we usually try to make surethat we have an amazing
diversity of people working withus to represent the world that
we live in.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
So you guys are just very representative.
Do you stay very niche to whoyou help and that way they know
you got the back kind of idea?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yeah, I mean 90% probably of the people that we
work with are in the underserved, underrepresented communities
and that includes, like littletown and Michigan to.
You know the big cities as wellas you know the little town
somewhere around the world, sowe try to stay close to that
niche, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
And I think that's great because you know, you know
there are, there are plenty ofgroups in this world that are
definitely, uh, they're justunder advantage for real of, and
when you're in a position ofadvantage or just that was your
life growing up uh, you, youdon't have that perspective and
you never do.
And because you can always lookup but it's hard to understand
down sometimes, right, so a verysmart niche to get into.
(01:59):
I have a guess it has to dowith your journey a bit.
So, uh, before we get into yourjourney and have the ties, so
to speak, that you cut, uh,let's let some people stalk you
while you're talking.
So give them just a one lineaddress, not 10, just one place
you want them to go check outwhy, you know, so the adhd can
go look you up while you'retalking.
Look, you guys die so big hegets bone balls in the middle of
(02:21):
a.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I'm available on LinkedIn and, of course, on our
website.
So myisaminccom would be oneplace and, of course,
linkedincom and Ferris Alamy.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I'll keep it simple with you, all right.
Linkedincom slash N-I-N FerrisM-I-R-R-A-L-A-M-I.
All right, how do you definesuccess?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I have challenged that question right, because I
always say you should not letother people define success.
You should define successyourself.
And for me, success is justwhen we deliver a program where
someone becomes really excitedabout the idea, about their
concept, about their business,and they go for it.
For me, that's success.
Meeting, I usually say meetingthe entrepreneurs where they are
(03:11):
.
For me, success is really beingable to provide for my family.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Well, I like that, so , and those are tied, and I
think I asked this question toeverybody because it does change
over time, but you defined itin terms of success in your
customers.
So when they're successful, youfeel successful, but that
actually feeds your personalmode of success, which is
providing for family, and itsounds like, if I'm sitting here
and it's right, you can't dothat unless you're successful
for your customers.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
You know what?
Do you know what people say?
You want various types of cars.
You're.
You know what.
Do you know what I peoplelisten.
You want barristers.
Your car is gravity.
My sister listen.
As the year goes, I getcheekier and as the day goes, oh
man, I'll be full cheek mode byyou know, december 20th in the
evening, or people I don't know,recognizable at that point.
All right, tell me about yourjourney a bit and what was the
(04:04):
biggest thing you had to cut toget that success.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Well, I think there are lots of cuts that I took.
I'm going to say not becauseintentionally, thomas, it was
really unintentional, right.
So I'm Palestinian, growing upin Kuwait.
There are lots of ties alreadythere that were cut by default
from my parents and then I hadto escape Kuwait to save my life
because of the Gulf War back in1990.
(04:31):
So that's another tie that Igot cut right.
So there's just so many tiesthat I cut, not necessarily
because I was planning to cutthem, but you know it just
happened.
And then, while I'm sleeping in, you know, slash homeless
running around, I was in ameeting and in the meeting they
discussed creating T-shirts.
So that's really where I cut mytie, from wanting to pursue, at
(04:54):
the time, becoming anelectrical computer engineer to,
you know, trying to just eatand have a place to stay.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
It sounds like the life of hardships, right, it's,
is it fair to say it was.
It was giving up on some dreamthat you thought you had at some
point and just surviving towhat's next.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I would say that way past survival.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
So maybe talk about that moment, cause I I do.
I usually I don't dive insomewhat, I try to peel an onion
or two, but this is reallyimportant, because I think in
anyone's life, you feel likeyou're in survival mode, and it
could be, um, you know you getlaid off, and for the three,
four, five, six months you can'tfind a job, but you know you
feel like oh my God, I'm gonnadie.
But you're, you have a house,you have thingsles you, and for
(05:46):
you that's significantunsettling.
It's like, hey, I grew upplaying outside in this one
country.
Then a war breaks out overstuff that you had nothing to do
with, and you're moving, andnow you're homeless, and you're
like we're anyway.
At what point, though, couldyou trust?
It sounds like a tie is whencould you trust to feel like you
felt safe?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Reflecting back, thomas, honestly, I mean and the
truth is it took me years toeven acknowledge even the word
homeless, right?
Because I used to tell people,oh, I've stayed in the mosque or
I stayed with people's housesor cars for a while, and then it
was really an interview likethis, another podcast a friend
of mine and he said, oh, youmean you were homeless.
I'm like, oh, I guess I neverthought about it that way.
(06:24):
So I think you know, so it wasreally maybe.
So, looking back to what you'reasking me to say, you know, when
did I cut the tie or how did Icut it?
I don't think I wasintentionally planning to cut my
tie, right, I was intentionallytrying to finish my school, to
get my electric computer, but inthe process I had to survive
(06:48):
and for the surviving mode I hadto find what I could do with
whatever I had at the time.
Not necessarily that I wassmart enough to think that way,
but this is how I acted and itcould have been to your point to
just try to put some food onthe table.
And I was lucky that I wassurrounded by good people that
(07:12):
trusted me and gave me thatopportunity, and I was lucky
that I was able to deliver thegoods that I promised for them
to do it again and again andopen doors for other people to
do the same with me.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Do you have a moment when you realized the business
you have today?
That's what you were going todo?
The same with me.
Do you have a moment when yourealized the business you have
today?
That's what you were going todo.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I think, on a daily basis, when I see the spark in
someone's eye, especially whenI'm working in remote places or
with people who are really notnecessarily that they're
underserved or underrepresentedfor a lot of reasons, right?
Sometimes it's geographicalreasons, sometimes it's
political reasons, sometimesit's something else I see me in
(07:51):
them, right, I see the spark inme, and I see that because of
the statue that it comes withwhat I do today, it allows me to
say something, for them to openup their eyes and see the power
that they already have whereverthey are today.
For them to open up their eyesand see the power that they
already have wherever they aretoday, for them to move forward.
And to me, that always justsparks more excitement in me to,
(08:12):
you know, kind of like what yousaid earlier, thomas, to get up
and do it again and be psychedmore about it, because, you know
, although I might not getanything out of it, right, but
just seeing the spark and theopportunity that they have in
their life, it sparks me to beexcited about what they're going
to do with, uh, with, with theknowledge or with the spark that
(08:32):
they just got that moment the,the, the trust and skepticalism
of someone who's underserved isvery high.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Uh, because of just a mindset of scarcity and just
growing up and just everythingyou're always getting the shit
kicked out of.
It seems like right relative tothe world served is very high
because of just a mindset ofscarcity and just growing up and
just everything you're alwaysgetting the shit kicked out of.
It seems like right relative tothe world around it.
It's not not any easier.
Social media and you can seeall these wonderful things,
everyone's the greatest life.
And you're like I'm homeless,yet I have a phone which you
need.
Even homeless, everyone bears.
Um, like this homeless guy has abetter iphone than my kids do.
(09:02):
I'm like how anyway I'm, youknow, I told like he, he has
cash, he has no debt, you don'tanyway.
So anyway, the point being isthey can trust you right off the
bat.
They can be like, hey, listen,I, I know where you're at, I'll
even throw one on.
You can have, you know, bombsexploding all around you, like
you had more important ones, butyou had real ones yes, I have
(09:22):
real ones and I've lived throughones and I had to escape one
several times actually.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
So the last one was the life-saving.
But I'm very lucky to have that.
I mean, you know, very lucky tobeen able.
You know the person.
It was a.
What I actually just bloggedabout this couple of weeks ago.
I said someone in a badsituation chose to do the right
thing because it was a soldierwho called up and said you
better leave because they havebetter attention for you.
(09:49):
So I think there are lots ofgreat people that just happen to
be surrounded in the wrong spot, that if they choose to, or if
they awaken their senses as ahuman, then you will realize
that they could save someone'slife or something better and
bigger than themselves.
And I feel that probably sparkthat was given to me
(10:11):
intentionally or unintentionallyis what has carried me through,
to be able to pass it throughto others.
And I agree with you, markThomas.
I mean underserved,underrepresented or
under-resourced community couldbe a little person you know I
live in michigan, as you know alittle person out of a little
small town in kalamazoo orbattle creek that has just no,
(10:32):
no access to the resources thatI may have in the city of
detroit or the bigger city, introy, or a bigger city, uh, you
know, like new york, right?
So the idea would be is justyou know, or if they're
somewhere around the world,because I've been lucky to do
that.
So that's the idea here thatyou know, let's find a spark.
So for me, you know, when youasked me that question, I would
(10:53):
have to reflect a little harder,and I watched a few of your
interviews.
So it's, you know, I knew thatwas coming, I thought it would
be easy, but of course it wasn'teasy did you pre-run onions on
your eyes so you guys I had I'mstart crying a little.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Now you get where I'm .
I buy advertisements if youstart crying on camera, just so
you know, you get way more timewell, it's funny because you
know, uh, it was.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
It was the same when I did some of this another
interview with another, anotherinterview with my friend Gary
and I said when he asked thesequestions and these are really
powerful questions this is whereI tried to really brush him off
.
So my wife gets mad at mebecause she's like you're
laughing, this is serious andI'm like I agree, it's just one
(11:45):
way to overcome it.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah Well, you developed the walls you need to
in life to survive, right, andI'd rather have the humor ones
than the aggressive ones.
Talking a little bit about theimpact, you know I think I got
the how you know, you grindedthrough it and maybe just
changed in the conversation alittle bit and I'm going to like
flow with this.
(12:07):
I want to know about the impact, not so much on your life,
which is interesting, but I wantto know the impact you've done
on other people's lives, whichis the measure of cause.
I'm using your measure ofsuccess to understand the impact
.
So do you have, like arepresentative of the story of
like this one, like you know,twist the heart every time you
hear?
You think about it?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yeah, I mean I'm lucky to do it over and over
every day, so the storiescompile so I can dig deep
through one story from the past,but I think you know I could
share just one story recentlywhere you know I one of the
method I teach is the resiliencycanvas and you know I have a
(12:46):
slogan called start where youare, and the gentleman told me
that that alone just sayingstart where you are have
reshaped how he think, becausehe used to think I don't have
this, I don't have that, I don'thave this, I don't have that.
And once he heard me say startwhere you are, wherever you have
, it kind of like shifted hismindset and allowed him to
(13:09):
really kind of like almost flyto do what he wanted to do
versus what he has been comingup with excuses, not
intentionally right not to dothem.
So start where you are has beenmy model as well as like slogan
for a long time and I don'tknow if you'll potentially been
affected by it, but I will saythat daily basis.
(13:31):
I'm lucky enough to hear frompeople that have been touched by
it to tell me what has happenedin their lives.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
If you cry, I'm going to love it.
I'm just going to know.
I'm going to go full screen.
Hold up for me.
I can't do it right.
If you do it, I'm going likethis Full screen mode.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
No, this is why I'm going to try to fight it.
You keep asking questions.
You're drilling.
He's trying to get me to cry.
I'm going to void it, if I can.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Real men cry.
Well, I cry.
Don't worry, I cry, it's justright over here there's a
perfect size area for a pull-outIKEA couch and I don't put one
there because I would be on itevery day bawling.
It's like why did I do this tomy life?
Speaker 2 (14:22):
I know it, right it.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I mean literally there have been days like every
other.
You know you go from top of theworld to crawling corner and I
think when you've gone throughsuch trauma and hardship growing
up you're like why am I worriedabout this one client?
Why am I worried about thiscontent post?
It doesn't freaking matter thatmuch.
It matters a little, but notreally, and so you can get
(14:46):
through shit differently.
I don't quite have that trauma,so I have to manufacture it
through others.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
That's why I I'm going to disagree, thomas.
I think this is one of thethings I usually say that we all
have our own personal journeyof pain and suffering and,
whether we see it or not,sometimes it's a choice that we
get to make, intentionally orunintentionally.
And the second I'm going to saythat, because you get to talk
(15:12):
to other people, you choose tosuppress the stories that you
have yourself, and I'm talkingabout.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
oh, yeah, I'm public.
But listen, you don't cut thetie and do that without saying,
hey, I had to address ad thisyear.
I had to get on men'stestosterone stuff.
Last year I had to quitdrinking three years ago.
I go through my own.
Yeah, I'm public.
Yeah, that way, and you have tobe.
So there's, there's, certainthings you don't share publicly.
But I am one that says hey, ifI can say I quit drinking
(15:41):
without a drinking problem,cause I thought I would have a
healthier last 10 years of mylife, I'd have more energy If I
said hey, I might live attestosterone's alone.
So I started looking at it andit's like, wow, it is.
And I start feeling betterbecause I start getting.
I'm going to share that withmen because I think a bunch of
us are boiled frogs and we'rejust accepting it as normal and
that's bullshit.
We don't have to be so I'm outthere with it.
That's you.
(16:02):
You don't realize there couldbe something different.
What are you most grateful forright now?
Speaker 2 (16:17):
I'm grateful for a lot of things.
One of the things I'm mostgrateful for is really the trust
and the opportunities that aregiven every day by people or
organizations to provide aproduct or service, and then the
ability to deliver theseproduct services.
Of course, that rewards mepersonally of having my wife and
children and family friends tobe able to be around them, so
(16:41):
I'm very thankful for thechances that allows me to be
home to be supportive of myfamily whenever I can.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Give me the one liner , the one piece of advice you'd
give to a listener.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Well, I think a lot of times we're holding ourselves
back from things because ofillusions that we may have
created, and some of it isreality.
So I don't want to discountthat right.
So I don't want to discountthat I suffered.
I can't discount that.
But I will say is I didn't havetime to think about it, so it's
just allowed me to keep movingforward.
So the one line would be keepmoving forward.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Yeah, if you don't quit, you can't lose.
You may not win, but you won'tlose.
To be clear, you can't lose,you may not win, but you won't
lose.
To be clear, I'm just saying.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
That means you won't lose.
Well, you might lose things inthe process, but you'll get to
the finish line.
Let's just say that.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
To the finish line.
I'll say it that way I'm notthe one you thought you'd be at,
but it'd be better than thevoid.
I'm going to flip a question.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
I usually ask this in positive, I'm going to go
negative on it.
What's the worst businessadvice you've ever received?
Well, and this is what Iusually try not to do right,
it's don't do this, don't dothat.
So the worst business advice isyou shouldn't be doing this now
and you know, I heard thatbefore, and that's really what
motivates me a lot of times isto help the people, to not allow
others controlling themselves.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
So the worst business advice, from my perspective, is
when people try to advise youon things that they don't know.
And if you got to start overtoday, what?
Speaker 2 (18:26):
part of your timeline would you go back to and what
would you do differently?
I would try to avoid all mytimeline, thomas.
What are you do differently?
I would try to avoid all mytimeline, thomas.
What are you talking about?
If it came up to me, I wouldsay I don't think I
intentionally would want to gothrough any wars, right?
So I would say I don't knowwhat timeline I would go back to
, but I would say I don't.
(18:46):
I don't know what timeline Iwould go back to, but I would
say I'm I feel very lucky everyday that I am where I am and I
am able to do what I do and bearound the people that I am
around.
So if I were to think where canI refresh, maybe?
Uh, I don't want to go too farout I'll just say 2020.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Oh well, we could probably do a whole show on that
, just on that year.
Anyway, I'm going to leave thatas a tease, just so people can
say why 2020?
Now they got to contact you todo that.
Before I ask your finalquestion once again, how should
somebody get a hold of you?
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Just on the website or through LinkedIn.
I'm usually responsive.
So myisaminkcom or linkedincom,forward slash and forward slash
.
Ferris Alamy.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Awesome.
All right, there's a question Ishould have asked you today and
I didn't.
What was that question and howdo you answer it?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Oh, if there was that question, and how do you answer
it?
Oh, if there was a questionthat you didn't ask me and you
didn't, what would that questionbe?
Probably, how did I moveforward when I was also fighting
for almost 15, 20 years,something like that, from
(20:11):
roughly 1993 to 2009.
I fought immigration on amonthly basis, going to show up
with a little document to provethat I'm here?
That would be the question.
How did you get up every dayand, knowing that you might be
removed any minute and just keptgoing?
The answer would be is I'mgoing to go back to my because I
(20:37):
don't want to cry.
I wasn't smart enough to figureout that I could lose
everything any minute, anysecond.
I could lose everything anyminute, any second every time I
showed up, but I, at the time,have chosen to be excited at the
moment of where I'm at, doingwhat I'm doing, and not worrying
(21:02):
about what will happen if Iwasn't here.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Awesome, ferris, thank you so much for coming on
today.
You've been awesome and thankyou for the near cheers we're
going to get you next time youcome on the show.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Thank you so much, I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
No, I appreciate you too and listen everyone you made
at this part of the show.
Thank you for listening,watching.
If this was your first time, Ido hope it's the first of many,
and if you've been here before,you rock.
Welcome to the Cut the Tie podcast.
Hi, I'm your host, ThomasHelfrich.
I'm on a mission to help youcut the tie to whatever it is
holding you back from success,and that success better be
defined by you.
Otherwise you're chasingsomebody else's dream.
Today, I'm joined by FarisAlami.
I hope I pronounced thatcorrectly.
I crushed it.
Thanks, Faris.
Faris, thanks for coming today.
Take a moment, introduceyourself and what it is you do.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thank you so much, Thomas, for having me.
I'm looking forward to havingthis conversation.
Faris Alami, founder ofInternational Strategic
Management.
We support organizationlaunching entrepreneurship and
small business developmentprograms in the local community,
supporting the entrepreneursstarting or scaling their
businesses.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I like that.
I mean, it's kind of reallylike core to what we love to see
and do.
So thanks, Sub there are,though there's competition
always in that space right.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Why do people pick your organization?
Well, I think the journey thatI personally have taken to get
here, as well as the people thatwe, you know, deploy to deliver
these programs, represent thecommunities that we work with.
So we usually try to make surethat we have an amazing
diversity of people working withus to represent the world that
we live in.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
So you guys are just very representative.
Do you stay very niche to whoyou help and that way they know
you got the back kind of idea?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yeah, I mean 90% probably of the people that we
work with are in the underserved, underrepresented communities
and that includes, like littletown and Michigan to.
You know the big cities as wellas you know the little town
somewhere around the world, sowe try to stay close to that
niche, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
And I think that's great because you know, you know
there are, there are plenty ofgroups in this world that are
definitely, uh, they're justunder advantage for real of, and
when you're in a position ofadvantage or just that was your
life growing up uh, you, youdon't have that perspective and
you never do.
And because you can always lookup but it's hard to understand
down sometimes, right, so a verysmart niche to get into.
(01:59):
I have a guess it has to dowith your journey a bit.
So, uh, before we get into yourjourney and have the ties, so
to speak, that you cut, uh,let's let some people stalk you
while you're talking.
So give them just a one lineaddress, not 10, just one place
you want them to go check outwhy, you know, so the adhd can
go look you up while you'retalking.
Look, you guys die so big hegets bone balls in the middle of
(02:21):
a.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I'm available on LinkedIn and, of course, on our
website.
So myisaminccom would be oneplace and, of course,
linkedincom and Ferris Alamy.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I'll keep it simple with you, all right.
Linkedincom slash N-I-N FerrisM-I-R-R-A-L-A-M-I.
All right, how do you definesuccess?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I have challenged that question right, because I
always say you should not letother people define success.
You should define successyourself.
And for me, success is justwhen we deliver a program where
someone becomes really excitedabout the idea, about their
concept, about their business,and they go for it.
For me, that's success.
Meeting, I usually say meetingthe entrepreneurs where they are
(03:11):
.
For me, success is really beingable to provide for my family.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Well, I like that, so , and those are tied, and I
think I asked this question toeverybody because it does change
over time, but you defined itin terms of success in your
customers.
So when they're successful, youfeel successful, but that
actually feeds your personalmode of success, which is
providing for family, and itsounds like, if I'm sitting here
and it's right, you can't dothat unless you're successful
for your customers.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
You know what?
Do you know what people say?
You want various types of cars.
You're.
You know what.
Do you know what I peoplelisten.
You want barristers.
Your car is gravity.
My sister listen.
As the year goes, I getcheekier and as the day goes, oh
man, I'll be full cheek mode byyou know, december 20th in the
evening, or people I don't know,recognizable at that point.
All right, tell me about yourjourney a bit and what was the
(04:04):
biggest thing you had to cut toget that success.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Well, I think there are lots of cuts that I took.
I'm going to say not becauseintentionally, thomas, it was
really unintentional, right.
So I'm Palestinian, growing upin Kuwait.
There are lots of ties alreadythere that were cut by default
from my parents and then I hadto escape Kuwait to save my life
because of the Gulf War back in1990.
(04:31):
So that's another tie that Igot cut right.
So there's just so many tiesthat I cut, not necessarily
because I was planning to cutthem, but you know it just
happened.
And then, while I'm sleeping in, you know, slash homeless
running around, I was in ameeting and in the meeting they
discussed creating T-shirts.
So that's really where I cut mytie, from wanting to pursue, at
(04:54):
the time, becoming anelectrical computer engineer to,
you know, trying to just eatand have a place to stay.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
It sounds like the life of hardships, right, it's,
is it fair to say it was.
It was giving up on some dreamthat you thought you had at some
point and just surviving towhat's next.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I would say that way past survival.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
So maybe talk about that moment, cause I I do.
I usually I don't dive insomewhat, I try to peel an onion
or two, but this is reallyimportant, because I think in
anyone's life, you feel likeyou're in survival mode, and it
could be, um, you know you getlaid off, and for the three,
four, five, six months you can'tfind a job, but you know you
feel like oh my God, I'm gonnadie.
But you're, you have a house,you have thingsles you, and for
(05:46):
you that's significantunsettling.
It's like, hey, I grew upplaying outside in this one
country.
Then a war breaks out overstuff that you had nothing to do
with, and you're moving, andnow you're homeless, and you're
like we're anyway.
At what point, though, couldyou trust?
It sounds like a tie is whencould you trust to feel like you
felt safe?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Reflecting back, thomas, honestly, I mean and the
truth is it took me years toeven acknowledge even the word
homeless, right?
Because I used to tell people,oh, I've stayed in the mosque or
I stayed with people's housesor cars for a while, and then it
was really an interview likethis, another podcast a friend
of mine and he said, oh, youmean you were homeless.
I'm like, oh, I guess I neverthought about it that way.
(06:24):
So I think you know, so it wasreally maybe.
So, looking back to what you'reasking me to say, you know, when
did I cut the tie or how did Icut it?
I don't think I wasintentionally planning to cut my
tie, right, I was intentionallytrying to finish my school, to
get my electric computer, but inthe process I had to survive
(06:48):
and for the surviving mode I hadto find what I could do with
whatever I had at the time.
Not necessarily that I wassmart enough to think that way,
but this is how I acted and itcould have been to your point to
just try to put some food onthe table.
And I was lucky that I wassurrounded by good people that
(07:12):
trusted me and gave me thatopportunity, and I was lucky
that I was able to deliver thegoods that I promised for them
to do it again and again andopen doors for other people to
do the same with me.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Do you have a moment when you realized the business
you have today?
That's what you were going todo?
The same with me.
Do you have a moment when yourealized the business you have
today?
That's what you were going todo.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I think, on a daily basis, when I see the spark in
someone's eye, especially whenI'm working in remote places or
with people who are really notnecessarily that they're
underserved or underrepresentedfor a lot of reasons, right?
Sometimes it's geographicalreasons, sometimes it's
political reasons, sometimesit's something else I see me in
(07:51):
them, right, I see the spark inme, and I see that because of
the statue that it comes withwhat I do today, it allows me to
say something, for them to openup their eyes and see the power
that they already have whereverthey are today.
For them to open up their eyesand see the power that they
already have wherever they aretoday, for them to move forward.
And to me, that always justsparks more excitement in me to,
(08:12):
you know, kind of like what yousaid earlier, thomas, to get up
and do it again and be psychedmore about it, because, you know
, although I might not getanything out of it, right, but
just seeing the spark and theopportunity that they have in
their life, it sparks me to beexcited about what they're going
to do with, uh, with, with theknowledge or with the spark that
(08:32):
they just got that moment the,the, the trust and skepticalism
of someone who's underserved isvery high.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Uh, because of just a mindset of scarcity and just
growing up and just everythingyou're always getting the shit
kicked out of.
It seems like right relative tothe world served is very high
because of just a mindset ofscarcity and just growing up and
just everything you're alwaysgetting the shit kicked out of.
It seems like right relative tothe world around it.
It's not not any easier.
Social media and you can seeall these wonderful things,
everyone's the greatest life.
And you're like I'm homeless,yet I have a phone which you
need.
Even homeless, everyone bears.
Um, like this homeless guy has abetter iphone than my kids do.
(09:02):
I'm like how anyway I'm, youknow, I told like he, he has
cash, he has no debt, you don'tanyway.
So anyway, the point being isthey can trust you right off the
bat.
They can be like, hey, listen,I, I know where you're at, I'll
even throw one on.
You can have, you know, bombsexploding all around you, like
you had more important ones, butyou had real ones yes, I have
(09:22):
real ones and I've lived throughones and I had to escape one
several times actually.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
So the last one was the life-saving.
But I'm very lucky to have that.
I mean, you know, very lucky tobeen able.
You know the person.
It was a.
What I actually just bloggedabout this couple of weeks ago.
I said someone in a badsituation chose to do the right
thing because it was a soldierwho called up and said you
better leave because they havebetter attention for you.
(09:49):
So I think there are lots ofgreat people that just happen to
be surrounded in the wrong spot, that if they choose to, or if
they awaken their senses as ahuman, then you will realize
that they could save someone'slife or something better and
bigger than themselves.
And I feel that probably sparkthat was given to me
(10:11):
intentionally or unintentionallyis what has carried me through,
to be able to pass it throughto others.
And I agree with you, markThomas.
I mean underserved,underrepresented or
under-resourced community couldbe a little person you know I
live in michigan, as you know alittle person out of a little
small town in kalamazoo orbattle creek that has just no,
(10:32):
no access to the resources thatI may have in the city of
detroit or the bigger city, introy, or a bigger city, uh, you
know, like new york, right?
So the idea would be is justyou know, or if they're
somewhere around the world,because I've been lucky to do
that.
So that's the idea here thatyou know, let's find a spark.
So for me, you know, when youasked me that question, I would
(10:53):
have to reflect a little harder,and I watched a few of your
interviews.
So it's, you know, I knew thatwas coming, I thought it would
be easy, but of course it wasn'teasy did you pre-run onions on
your eyes so you guys I had I'mstart crying a little.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Now you get where I'm .
I buy advertisements if youstart crying on camera, just so
you know, you get way more timewell, it's funny because you
know, uh, it was.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
It was the same when I did some of this another
interview with another, anotherinterview with my friend Gary
and I said when he asked thesequestions and these are really
powerful questions this is whereI tried to really brush him off
.
So my wife gets mad at mebecause she's like you're
laughing, this is serious andI'm like I agree, it's just one
(11:45):
way to overcome it.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah Well, you developed the walls you need to
in life to survive, right, andI'd rather have the humor ones
than the aggressive ones.
Talking a little bit about theimpact, you know I think I got
the how you know, you grindedthrough it and maybe just
changed in the conversation alittle bit and I'm going to like
flow with this.
(12:07):
I want to know about the impact, not so much on your life,
which is interesting, but I wantto know the impact you've done
on other people's lives, whichis the measure of cause.
I'm using your measure ofsuccess to understand the impact
.
So do you have, like arepresentative of the story of
like this one, like you know,twist the heart every time you
hear?
You think about it?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yeah, I mean I'm lucky to do it over and over
every day, so the storiescompile so I can dig deep
through one story from the past,but I think you know I could
share just one story recentlywhere you know I one of the
method I teach is the resiliencycanvas and you know I have a
(12:46):
slogan called start where youare, and the gentleman told me
that that alone just sayingstart where you are have
reshaped how he think, becausehe used to think I don't have
this, I don't have that, I don'thave this, I don't have that.
And once he heard me say startwhere you are, wherever you have
, it kind of like shifted hismindset and allowed him to
(13:09):
really kind of like almost flyto do what he wanted to do
versus what he has been comingup with excuses, not
intentionally right not to dothem.
So start where you are has beenmy model as well as like slogan
for a long time and I don'tknow if you'll potentially been
affected by it, but I will saythat daily basis.
(13:31):
I'm lucky enough to hear frompeople that have been touched by
it to tell me what has happenedin their lives.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
If you cry, I'm going to love it.
I'm just going to know.
I'm going to go full screen.
Hold up for me.
I can't do it right.
If you do it, I'm going likethis Full screen mode.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
No, this is why I'm going to try to fight it.
You keep asking questions.
You're drilling.
He's trying to get me to cry.
I'm going to void it, if I can.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Real men cry.
Well, I cry.
Don't worry, I cry, it's justright over here there's a
perfect size area for a pull-outIKEA couch and I don't put one
there because I would be on itevery day bawling.
It's like why did I do this tomy life?
Speaker 2 (14:22):
I know it, right it.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I mean literally there have been days like every
other.
You know you go from top of theworld to crawling corner and I
think when you've gone throughsuch trauma and hardship growing
up you're like why am I worriedabout this one client?
Why am I worried about thiscontent post?
It doesn't freaking matter thatmuch.
It matters a little, but notreally, and so you can get
(14:46):
through shit differently.
I don't quite have that trauma,so I have to manufacture it
through others.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
That's why I I'm going to disagree, thomas.
I think this is one of thethings I usually say that we all
have our own personal journeyof pain and suffering and,
whether we see it or not,sometimes it's a choice that we
get to make, intentionally orunintentionally.
And the second I'm going to saythat, because you get to talk
(15:12):
to other people, you choose tosuppress the stories that you
have yourself, and I'm talkingabout.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
oh, yeah, I'm public.
But listen, you don't cut thetie and do that without saying,
hey, I had to address ad thisyear.
I had to get on men'stestosterone stuff.
Last year I had to quitdrinking three years ago.
I go through my own.
Yeah, I'm public.
Yeah, that way, and you have tobe.
So there's, there's, certainthings you don't share publicly.
But I am one that says hey, ifI can say I quit drinking
(15:41):
without a drinking problem,cause I thought I would have a
healthier last 10 years of mylife, I'd have more energy If I
said hey, I might live attestosterone's alone.
So I started looking at it andit's like, wow, it is.
And I start feeling betterbecause I start getting.
I'm going to share that withmen because I think a bunch of
us are boiled frogs and we'rejust accepting it as normal and
that's bullshit.
We don't have to be so I'm outthere with it.
That's you.
(16:02):
You don't realize there couldbe something different.
What are you most grateful forright now?
Speaker 2 (16:17):
I'm grateful for a lot of things.
One of the things I'm mostgrateful for is really the trust
and the opportunities that aregiven every day by people or
organizations to provide aproduct or service, and then the
ability to deliver theseproduct services.
Of course, that rewards mepersonally of having my wife and
children and family friends tobe able to be around them, so
(16:41):
I'm very thankful for thechances that allows me to be
home to be supportive of myfamily whenever I can.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Give me the one liner , the one piece of advice you'd
give to a listener.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Well, I think a lot of times we're holding ourselves
back from things because ofillusions that we may have
created, and some of it isreality.
So I don't want to discountthat right.
So I don't want to discountthat I suffered.
I can't discount that.
But I will say is I didn't havetime to think about it, so it's
just allowed me to keep movingforward.
So the one line would be keepmoving forward.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Yeah, if you don't quit, you can't lose.
You may not win, but you won'tlose.
To be clear, you can't lose,you may not win, but you won't
lose.
To be clear, I'm just saying.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
That means you won't lose.
Well, you might lose things inthe process, but you'll get to
the finish line.
Let's just say that.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
To the finish line.
I'll say it that way I'm notthe one you thought you'd be at,
but it'd be better than thevoid.
I'm going to flip a question.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
I usually ask this in positive, I'm going to go
negative on it.
What's the worst businessadvice you've ever received?
Well, and this is what Iusually try not to do right,
it's don't do this, don't dothat.
So the worst business advice isyou shouldn't be doing this now
and you know, I heard thatbefore, and that's really what
motivates me a lot of times isto help the people, to not allow
others controlling themselves.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
So the worst business advice, from my perspective, is
when people try to advise youon things that they don't know.
And if you got to start overtoday, what?
Speaker 2 (18:26):
part of your timeline would you go back to and what
would you do differently?
I would try to avoid all mytimeline, thomas.
What are you do differently?
I would try to avoid all mytimeline, thomas.
What are you talking about?
If it came up to me, I wouldsay I don't think I
intentionally would want to gothrough any wars, right?
So I would say I don't knowwhat timeline I would go back to
, but I would say I don't.
(18:46):
I don't know what timeline Iwould go back to, but I would
say I'm I feel very lucky everyday that I am where I am and I
am able to do what I do and bearound the people that I am
around.
So if I were to think where canI refresh, maybe?
Uh, I don't want to go too farout I'll just say 2020.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Oh well, we could probably do a whole show on that
, just on that year.
Anyway, I'm going to leave thatas a tease, just so people can
say why 2020?
Now they got to contact you todo that.
Before I ask your finalquestion once again, how should
somebody get a hold of you?
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Just on the website or through LinkedIn.
I'm usually responsive.
So myisaminkcom or linkedincom,forward slash and forward slash
.
Ferris Alamy.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Awesome.
All right, there's a question Ishould have asked you today and
I didn't.
What was that question and howdo you answer it?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Oh, if there was that question, and how do you answer
it?
Oh, if there was a questionthat you didn't ask me and you
didn't, what would that questionbe?
Probably, how did I moveforward when I was also fighting
for almost 15, 20 years,something like that, from
(20:11):
roughly 1993 to 2009.
I fought immigration on amonthly basis, going to show up
with a little document to provethat I'm here?
That would be the question.
How did you get up every dayand, knowing that you might be
removed any minute and just keptgoing?
The answer would be is I'mgoing to go back to my because I
(20:37):
don't want to cry.
I wasn't smart enough to figureout that I could lose
everything any minute, anysecond.
I could lose everything anyminute, any second every time I
showed up, but I, at the time,have chosen to be excited at the
moment of where I'm at, doingwhat I'm doing, and not worrying
(21:02):
about what will happen if Iwasn't here.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Awesome, ferris, thank you so much for coming on
today.
You've been awesome and thankyou for the near cheers we're
going to get you next time youcome on the show.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Thank you so much, I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
No, I appreciate you too and listen everyone you made
at this part of the show.
Thank you for listening,watching.
If this was your first time, Ido hope it's the first of many,
and if you've been here before,you rock.
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