Role models
Can you think of one person you idolize, admire and want to be like? Someone who has given you hope in life, perhaps a goal, someone who makes you feel like your dreams are not so far-fetched, after all.
Last night, I was filling out an application form, and the first question asked me about my role model in life. Only one name came to mind. Maybe on some level, application forms aren’t such bad things after all. More often than not, they make you reflect upon your aspirations and your stances in life.
Here’s what I answered:
‘When the world was busy running up corporate ladders and minting money, one man rose up to the challenge of poverty and pledged to create opportunities for the poor. Professor Mohammad Yunus. For me, he is the epitome of social entrepreneurship. What started as a US$27 loan is today a flourishing micro-credit industry, so alluring that even corporations are seeking to exploit it! Professor Yunus struggled against the conventional banking system, upheld his conviction in the credit-worthiness of the poor, and gradually won his way in establishing the Grameen Bank.
As an economics student, I am enticed by the way an academic and an educator like Professor Yunus has been able to stretch the sphere of education and blend into it entrepreneurship and a social cause. He has started something bigger and greater than just micro-credit; I believe that micro-credit is an agent of change, a legacy that will slowly bridge the income gap, and transform our world. I hail Professor Yunus’ belief in universal entrepreneurship – entrepreneurship that thrives irrespective of social background and financial status, entrepreneurship that takes birth in talent, drive, dedication and belief. Despite being renowned as the ‘World Banker to the Poor’, Professor Yunus is a picture of simplicity and humility. His work has convinced me that ordinary people indeed hold the power to change the world. For that, he is my idol, and for that, I am forever grateful.’Â
Who is your role model?
Welcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.
Role Model……hmmm…..well, there are many people I am impressed with, but there is no-one that I have chosen to be my ‘role model’.
Thanks for sharing information about Mohammad Yunus. It made me somewhere positive.
~Namaste~
Dr. Younus indeed is a collossal figure who has changed the destiny of so many powerty-sticken Banglades through his pure intellect and dedication.
If social tranformation is to be a criteria, my role model would definetly be Imran Khan — the multi-dimentionally telented cricketer turned social worder turned politicians whom a whole generation of young Pakistanis look up to. As a cricket team captain he turned an immature pakistani team to be the world beaters in the world cup of 1992; the only time pakistan won a world cup. As a social worker he campaigned and completed Pakistan’s largest cancer hospital and very recently a university which has visiting faculty from as prestigious as oxford university. He hasn’t been as successful in pakistani politics though given his unflinching approach among the horse traders and turn coats — the necessary traits to be successful in a higly traditional political scene in Pakistan. All his credentials are well supported by a charismatic persona which gives him a title of ‘hero’ for the younger masses
Wow, I hadn’t ever looked at Imran Khan from such a well-rounded perspective. Some great work there.
Allow me to be slightly philosophical here: For me the role model will be Karna, the tragic hero of the mahabharata, who was the epitome of goodness, generosity and loyalty. Looked up wiki and it says Vasudava Krishna, the Lord himself, had to say this about him “Devoted to Brahmanas, truthful in speech, engaged in penances, observant of vows, kind even unto foes”