Hi, I’m Farooq. I’m a failure.
Who am I? Allow me to (re-)reintroduce myself:
--
- attended America’s #1 public high school
- earned 3 degrees working 4 jobs in 5 years
- recruited from a non-target state school into
Accenture, the world’s largest consulting firm
- advised Fortune 500s (Ralph Lauren, Moody’s,
Alcatel-Lucent/Nokia, Pfizer, etc.) as the youngest
member of ACN’s then-new 2013 digital practice
- serial entrepreneur, strategist, writer, speaker
- founder of Brown Grass, Burger Heaven, EFZY, MEHRU, PERENNIAL MILLENNIAL, ROOQTube, Rooq’s Resume Review, SF Ali, TRILL MILL, etc.
- proud uncle of the cutest nephews of all time mA
All of the above means everything and nothing to me.
(Except my nephews. I love them more than life itself.)
I’m the textbook Type A, always have been and will be.
The most ambitious, competitive, creative, confident,
driven, eccentric, inquisitive, manic-depressive, massive-
aggressive, masochistic, obsessive-compulsive, oddest,
off-the-walls, paranoid, passionate, patient, perfectionist
person you’ll ever meet. And if not, I haven’t peaked yet.
Like everybody, I like the occasional #humblebrag flex.
In my heart of hearts, I know and see it for what it is.
Ego. Masturbation. Nothing less, and nothing more.
For good measure, I always make sure it’s tempered.
The self-deprecation and self-loathing balance it out.
My proudest accomplishment? Also my biggest failure.
I didn’t succeed in attempting suicide during 2013.
#NationalSuicidePreventionMonth starts tomorrow.
September. Wake me up? I hope it never ever ends.
I’m happy to be your poster boy, if it saves one life.
You can, I hope will, read the rest of my story soon.
Brown Grass, my memoir trilogy, three volumes on
three decades of life, equal thirds soliloquy, saga,
and self-help, has consumed the past thirty years.
It is my life’s greatest work. It will be my legacy.
It is a story of survival. Writing it *saved* my life.
I hope, pray, and wish, it saves many more lives.
There’s no call to action here. CTAs will come soon.
For now, just know if you have the power to save a life,
you should do everything you can to do so. Call, text,
hug, kiss, play, laugh, smile, cry, listen, speak, dance.
This gift we call the present, our lives, is a fragile thing.
I should know. I lost my uncle on the first of this month.
Cherish it with the love and sacred respect it deserves.
Lastly, and this is the exceptional important part to me:
If you or anybody you know ever feels crisis:
please feel free to call/text/email/message me,
24/7/365. Here’s my contact information below:
(917) 982–3849 (yes, that’s my real number)
fzafar1@gmail (yes, that’s my personal email)
[This isn’t new. I have put my info out there
for the past 6+ years. This is not a hobby.
It’s not a workshop or weekend seminar.
It’s what I do. This is real life. It’s my life.]
Alternatively, you can always reach out 24/7/365:
1. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ‘1–800–273-TALK (8255)’
AND/OR
2. Crisis Text Line by texting “741741” via SMS/WhatsApp.
Most immediate and obvious, for yourself and/or others:
You can and should always, always, always first consider:
1. speaking directly to anybody you know and trust;
2. and in case of any/every emergency: dial 911/EMS.
It gets better. Please believe me about this.
I believe this. I know this. I promise you this.
I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.
#HowToSaveALife #ItsOkayToTalk
#MentalHealth #SuicidePrevention
