Book of “Failures” (2) - bigger (2017-2019)

Section II:

[Fall/winter of 2015/2016] Not making varsity and playing JV football

• "Reward: I learned patience, resilience, commitment, and senior year I started and we won the state championship, were #1 in the Tri-state, and top 25 in the country"

[Summer of 2017] Basically cheating on Skylar and ending the "relationship" abruptly

• "Reward: I learned not to rush into things, communicate and be honest, only do it if you truly need it not if you just want a girlfriend, lastly I learned to be a better partner as the relationship progresses"

[2017-2018] Getting denied from 8 colleges, including West Point, and only getting into Drexel

• "Reward: It all worked out in the end Drexel is better than any school I applied to. The school is in Philly, which is rich in history, there are a lot of non-related Drexel events that are great, and there is much to do. In regards to Drexel, academically it is great, the school is innovative, it is extremely diverse, and there are many events to attend." "The world works in your favor if you do the correct thing and truly aspire for something"

[1/3/18] Being lost in life! Not knowing where to go to college, what to major in, and what to do with ROTC (and if I don't do it, then how to find a solution). I don't realize it but I do. Because this is the biggest obstacle in my life up to this point.

• "Reward: Although it seems unbelievably terrible now, I know this is a great part of my life. Sometimes, the worst things in life are also the best. I'll leave it there"

[6/6/18] I went out with Tom and friends on Saturday night (Tom came to Philly). It was my first time out in while since I have been focused all year. In saying that, I let others influence me and I chose to drink and smoke too much. Because of that I was paranoid, didn't go out, laid in bed, effected my weekend, worried others around me, and ruined their night. From this I learned I need balance in moderation. Balance in moderation is better than no balance at all or A LOT of balance!

• "You are better than that ANT!"
• Well, like always I live and learn
• "Reward: Knowing that I need more balance, fun, and frequent downtime in order to not burn out or crash HARD!

[7/13/18] I had a talk with Aslan (janitor at the REC during the end of my shift last night. I am upset it took me this long to realize and it took this long to surface, BUT you live and learn. When we talked he mentioned how the treadmills are dirty, especially in the areas that are hard to reach. He mentioned how the fit floor staff cleans for the first two weeks of the term and then don't do it after that. We put on a facade. We are basically not doing our duties. AND the job is so easy already! C'MON!

• "This made me realize 1) I had no integrity and commitment. I always preach that 'how you do anything is how you do everything (Ryan Holiday)'. Then, I don't even do the easiest hob and clean what I'm supposed to. Bad job Ant! 2) I succumbed to what other's DIDN'T DO. Since I've been working in the fall most kids wouldn't do their duties during their shifts. I saw that and mimicked their habits. DON'T fall into the majority and NORM anymore. 3) I feel bad for Aslan. BUT I need to thank him for saying that and I need to apologize to him for not doing my job and giving him more work!"

[9/10/18] The Iceland trip taught me a lot and obstacles came at us (Sufi, Maruf, me) often. We dealt with it properly. Many lessons learned.

[11/11/18] See note book for details, but this entry is about asking my mom for money last second before going out. I failed to take ownership and ask for help when needed. I put my mom in a weird spot (probably nothing crazy for her though). But it made me feel bad and guilty. I took away a lot from that

[3/25/19] A look back in time. A couple events to note:

1. Parents situation/family turmoil for a short period of time at my young age
• No need for a description of the scenario. It is well known within the confines of my mind. An analyzation of the situation is the most important thing here

• Be honest/transparent with loved one's
• Learn from the past but don't dwell on it
• Help family, even if it hurts in the short-term
• Know your families behaviors, so you can have empathy to their dealing of a situation
• Ask for help when needed
• "We don't have it all together, but together we have it all"

1. My large sum of student loans
• It's 2019 and I am done with sophomore year. I have approximately $80,000 in students loans and no other debt. Just the repayment I want to make to friends and family for helping me in life (but that can be done when I'm comfortable and able). I used to see these loans (and future loans) as a burden, BUT now I am seeing them as an opportunity to learn, be strict with my personal finance, learn how to operate and live with little, and be a master of creating more streams of income/finding ways to make more money
• While at the same time -> not trading my time for money
• I am following the Dave Ramsey strategy, I learned from my parents bad financial habits, and I am developing strong characteristics to get out of this debt situation and thrive in life

[5/11/20 and 7/10/20]

Copy from what I had in the "Life Learnings" section:

• "You can't scale if you don't get your foundation right in the beginning. Even if you do, your success will bring you toppling down because of an unstable foundation.
• Example:
• Dream BIG didn't have a set vision as of May 2020 (still). So, it caused us to rethink why we were doing what we were doing. We couldn't be both a media company and creative agency. We had to choose one. And thank God this happened now rather than later. We saved our self a ton of failure and mistakes
• In the beginning, it's important to get your foundation right. It's important to iterate your product until it is actually useful. Only from there can it be scaled out and used by the masses
• And that's another topic for another day. Scaling is hard in and of itself
• Great quote to remember here:
• Just emphasizing what I said here. It is important to work smart, have good models/systems, and be going in the correct direction."

Section II:

[Fall/winter of 2015/2016] Not making varsity and playing JV football

• "Reward: I learned patience, resilience, commitment, and senior year I started and we won the state championship, were #1 in the Tri-state, and top 25 in the country"

[Summer of 2017] Basically cheating on Skylar and ending the "relationship" abruptly

• "Reward: I learned not to rush into things, communicate and be honest, only do it if you truly need it not if you just want a girlfriend, lastly I learned to be a better partner as the relationship progresses"

[2017-2018] Getting denied from 8 colleges, including West Point, and only getting into Drexel

• "Reward: It all worked out in the end Drexel is better than any school I applied to. The school is in Philly, which is rich in history, there are a lot of non-related Drexel events that are great, and there is much to do. In regards to Drexel, academically it is great, the school is innovative, it is extremely diverse, and there are many events to attend." "The world works in your favor if you do the correct thing and truly aspire for something"

[1/3/18] Being lost in life! Not knowing where to go to college, what to major in, and what to do with ROTC (and if I don't do it, then how to find a solution). I don't realize it but I do. Because this is the biggest obstacle in my life up to this point.

• "Reward: Although it seems unbelievably terrible now, I know this is a great part of my life. Sometimes, the worst things in life are also the best. I'll leave it there"

[6/6/18] I went out with Tom and friends on Saturday night (Tom came to Philly). It was my first time out in while since I have been focused all year. In saying that, I let others influence me and I chose to drink and smoke too much. Because of that I was paranoid, didn't go out, laid in bed, effected my weekend, worried others around me, and ruined their night. From this I learned I need balance in moderation. Balance in moderation is better than no balance at all or A LOT of balance!

• "You are better than that ANT!"
• Well, like always I live and learn
• "Reward: Knowing that I need more balance, fun, and frequent downtime in order to not burn out or crash HARD!

[7/13/18] I had a talk with Aslan (janitor at the REC during the end of my shift last night. I am upset it took me this long to realize and it took this long to surface, BUT you live and learn. When we talked he mentioned how the treadmills are dirty, especially in the areas that are hard to reach. He mentioned how the fit floor staff cleans for the first two weeks of the term and then don't do it after that. We put on a facade. We are basically not doing our duties. AND the job is so easy already! C'MON!

• "This made me realize 1) I had no integrity and commitment. I always preach that 'how you do anything is how you do everything (Ryan Holiday)'. Then, I don't even do the easiest hob and clean what I'm supposed to. Bad job Ant! 2) I succumbed to what other's DIDN'T DO. Since I've been working in the fall most kids wouldn't do their duties during their shifts. I saw that and mimicked their habits. DON'T fall into the majority and NORM anymore. 3) I feel bad for Aslan. BUT I need to thank him for saying that and I need to apologize to him for not doing my job and giving him more work!"

[9/10/18] The Iceland trip taught me a lot and obstacles came at us (Sufi, Maruf, me) often. We dealt with it properly. Many lessons learned.

[11/11/18] See note book for details, but this entry is about asking my mom for money last second before going out. I failed to take ownership and ask for help when needed. I put my mom in a weird spot (probably nothing crazy for her though). But it made me feel bad and guilty. I took away a lot from that

[3/25/19] A look back in time. A couple events to note:

1. Parents situation/family turmoil for a short period of time at my young age
• No need for a description of the scenario. It is well known within the confines of my mind. An analyzation of the situation is the most important thing here

• Be honest/transparent with loved one's
• Learn from the past but don't dwell on it
• Help family, even if it hurts in the short-term
• Know your families behaviors, so you can have empathy to their dealing of a situation
• Ask for help when needed
• "We don't have it all together, but together we have it all"

1. My large sum of student loans
• It's 2019 and I am done with sophomore year. I have approximately $80,000 in students loans and no other debt. Just the repayment I want to make to friends and family for helping me in life (but that can be done when I'm comfortable and able). I used to see these loans (and future loans) as a burden, BUT now I am seeing them as an opportunity to learn, be strict with my personal finance, learn how to operate and live with little, and be a master of creating more streams of income/finding ways to make more money
• While at the same time -> not trading my time for money
• I am following the Dave Ramsey strategy, I learned from my parents bad financial habits, and I am developing strong characteristics to get out of this debt situation and thrive in life

[5/11/20 and 7/10/20]

Copy from what I had in the "Life Learnings" section:

• "You can't scale if you don't get your foundation right in the beginning. Even if you do, your success will bring you toppling down because of an unstable foundation.
• Example:
• Dream BIG didn't have a set vision as of May 2020 (still). So, it caused us to rethink why we were doing what we were doing. We couldn't be both a media company and creative agency. We had to choose one. And thank God this happened now rather than later. We saved our self a ton of failure and mistakes
• In the beginning, it's important to get your foundation right. It's important to iterate your product until it is actually useful. Only from there can it be scaled out and used by the masses
• And that's another topic for another day. Scaling is hard in and of itself
• Great quote to remember here:
• Just emphasizing what I said here. It is important to work smart, have good models/systems, and be going in the correct direction."