My father transferred from Germany to Iran when I was in my early childhood. I spent my teenage years in Iran during the heart of the revolution. I saw military power blanketing the streets of my new home and at night witnessed the shooting of protesters who were rebelling against the government on the roof of their homes. I watched the overthrow of a 54-year old monarchy and a regime change that was so instant that it came without any regulations and threw the country into instant chaos. The dust finally began to settle and normalcy seemed to set in when the Iraqis plane attacked the city of Tehran with their bombs two years later. I can still clearly remember as the flair from the anti-aircraft chased the Iraqi planes, people stopped their cars in the streets and started fleeing for their lives, running for shelter and not knowing if tomorrow would ever come. 

 

Three years later, I was able to exit Iran and make my way back to Germany. I went from a country in chaos to one of order and authority.  I had to relearn and adapt myself once again to a new way of thinking and living. A few years later I followed my Mother to the United States. 

 

After completing High School in the United States, I joined the US Navy in pursuit of my college education.  I was young and wanted to see the world from the vantage point of strength. I had an opportunity to sail the seas on a 30 billion dollar ship carrying 5000 souls and 98 aircrafts with price tags of 50+ million each. I’ve sailed across 11 seas, crossed the Equator and the Arctic Circle with sea swells of 75 ft and 53 knots windchill. 

 

I spent six of my 12 years in the Navy working for the Navy’s C-suite made up of 238 of the US Navy’s Top Admirals responsible for 390,000 members of the Navy and in control of a $130 billion annual budget. At the time, I was the youngest NCO ever serving the Chief of the Naval Operation (OPNAV), at the top echelon of all high ranking C-suites.  It was there, while monitoring the world, that I learned how to sense and respond to any situation, to any crisis, and to tune my attention towards getting results during a time of crisis.

 

A few years later I found myself in my own crisis.  I learned a hard lesson on the hazards of not having work/life balance.  Unmanaged stress weakened my immune system.  It took over my life and almost took my life. Today, as a cancer survivor, I can say it saved my life.  I learned how to manage my work-life balance and give the right balance and priority to what is important to me, and to live a more purposeful life, a happier life.

 

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