Appreciating What We Have!

‘On the day of judgment, the honest Muslim merchant will stand side by side with the martyrs.’  --The Prophet (Haditha).

Here in the USA, our Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah holidays are meant for honoring and cherishing those people to whom we owe gratitude.  I gave thanks for those entrepreneurs who are changing the world in small ways and large. Sometimes we lose sight of what is important.

Here in Idaho we can be so quick to complain about all the hurdles we face in growing a more entrepreneurial economy and how entrepreneurs just aren’t understood let alone appreciated. 

True? Maybe. But I look at Tahrir Square on television, a place that I was just visiting, and…

All I can do is think about and worry about all those great students and faculty I met at Cairo University. I hope that they are OK and they stay OK.

The MENA region (Middle East & North Africa) is making huge strides in entrepreneurial activity (check the great blog at www.wamda.com) and it certainly seems that the entrepreneurial scene in Cairo charges onward and upward.

We saw how once again how business models and lean startup tools can transform newbies to seeing themselves as entrepreneurs, especially when we sneak in some IDEO-style design thinking (heh, heh).

When I led them in my usual “I am an entrepreneur!” chant.. at the end of the day, you could see the fire. It is powerful stuff to see people realize that they can be entrepreneurs, they can find new ways to unleash their destiny.

The future of Cairo, the future of Egypt and the future of the whole MENA region rests in the hands of its entrepreneurs.  I fear for the future if events thwart the blossoming entrepreneurs. 

When I look at my television at the events over there, it’s going to be harder for me to complain or worry about the hurdles we face.

To my students, faculty and new friends in Cairo – please know that I am thinking of you, as are your friends in Finland.  How can we help? Norris.Krueger[at]gmail.com ; @entrep_thinking

p.s. Even if you’re not in Cairo… :)  How can I help?

The Prophet also said: “A truthful and trustworthy merchant is associated with the prophets.“
——— Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 50.