Adversity affects people in different ways. Many people become anxious and experience stress in a time of hardship, and rightfully so. But there are others that embrace it and perform their best in times of uncertainty and turmoil, and these people are admirable. By having a sturdy mindset, they can serve as inspiration for anyone struggling with their circumstances to overcome adversity in their life and shine. Jad Kantari, an immigrant from Beirut, Lebanon, is a perfect example of one of these people.
As a child born into a lower middle class family, Jad had big dreams of being a soccer player in Europe just as many boys do. But he also had dreams of being a businessman like his uncle, a dream that not many other young boys happen to have. Once he realized his soccer career wasn’t going to workout, he became devoted to making a life for himself in the professional world.
Going away to college is a trying time for any teenager, leaving home for the first time and acquiring a lot of new responsibilities as they make the adjustment to their new home and get over homesickness. For Jad, his experience was amplified a few times. Being from Lebanon, he decided to immigrate to America at 18 years old to attend college and make a better life for himself and his family. Going completely alone, he had to navigate a completely new country as he attended USC to obtain a degree in civil engineering. Rather than give in to the difficulty of the situation, he blossomed into a completely new person. After graduation, he got a steady job as a project engineer. Even then, after sorting everything out in his new life, he still wasn’t satisfied.
His relentless mindset coupled with an itch for entrepreneurship lead him to ecommerce, something that he would wind up excelling in. But, he went through his fair share of failure at first, even racking up $10,000 in debt as he learned how to use Facebook for marketing his products. What helped him find success was his attitude on failure. Experiencing a setback would be a perfect excuse to move on and find a new venture or pursuit, and it’s one of the main reasons why many entrepreneurs don’t find success. Rather than burning out, however, Jad stayed the course and learned from his failures. Just 6 months after racking up his debt, he turned out a six-figure sales month for his business. Had he given up, his dreams of becoming a successful business owner and providing for his family back home could very well have been dead in the water.
The biggest accomplishments lie on the other side of fear and failure, and Jad can attest to this first hand. Trying times will test your courage and mental state, but they exist for a reason. Persevering through a struggle will prove to be the most gratifying thing to ever happen to you. If you don’t believe that, believe Jad Kantari, the immigrant from Lebanon who made his way in America by never wavering in the face of a challenge.