Despite his visa application being rejected over 10 times, my guest this week found his way to the states and is currently holding the position of associate dean at the College of Business at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM). Dr. Mohamad Oskoorouchi migrated from Iran with the dream of joining Rutgers University but found his way to G…… Montreal at 25. Dr. Oskoorochi’s determination to materialize his dream was inspiring and his resilience and focus continue to inspire his students and staff.
As a coach supporting immigrants in their career endeavors, I have seen confidence to be one of the major obstacles in the growth of my clients. As a successful immigrant and educator, Dr. Oskoorouchi shared an important insight into how immigrants can build their confidence: accepting and admitting to their mistakes.
“You should never be afraid of admitting that you were wrong. I think that gives you confidence. I make a lot of mistakes. Every day, I make lots and lots of mistakes. But I’m never ashamed of apologizing. I do it even publicly. I’ve sent emails to the entire university apologized for something I said in a senate meeting, for example.
and he continued "I don’t know if I am answering your question but it gave me a sense of confidence that yes I try to be right; I try to do the right thing, but if I made a mistake, it’s not the end of the world. I should humbly apologize. If you don’t have that sense, if you think that you cannot make a mistake, you should not make a mistake, then you lose confidence.”
He also shared a novel way to look at our failure. Instead of looking at failure as falling down, he challenged our minds to look at it as falling up.
“Don’t call it you are falling down. You fall, but you get up and move up. You become a better person”
When asked about a success tip, he shared many including being focused, investing in doing what you enjoy doing, not sacrificing life to achieve material goods, letting go of our ego, and much more.
As someone heavily involved in creating courses for youth, he also gave few insights on necessary skills for the next generations to develop during the rise of Artificial Intelligence.
To hear Dr.Oskoorouchi's complete interview, click on the link below and subscribe on YouTube, iTunes or Stitcher to be updated on other successful immigrant stories. You can also follow me on Instagram for daily tips on growing in your career.
What was your favorite take away? Who will you share this episode with?
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Did you hear Dr.Daneshmand's story (Super successful OBGYN and a founder of Miracle babies) or Nelson's (Biotech VP who migrated as an adult) yet. How about Homa a Refugee who made a great sacrifice?
P.S.
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