Before you start reading, I’m hosting my first Live Anki Tutorial soon and wanted you to hear about it first. More information at the end.

What the hell is networking?

I never really understood networking.

‘I’m going to this event, it’s great for networking!’

What?

So you meet people..then what? How does that help you?

I hated that saying.

I never understood it.

If you don’t understand networking, you feel like you’re missing out.

Is there something I’m not doing?

Is this the reason behind my problems?

Am I not likeable?

I get it, I was once confused too.

Now I get it and I see how life-changing a good network can be.

Let me explain.

Here’s another word you need to know before we go further, Serendipity.

It’s when something happens by chance that is good for your life.

Imagine you have an interview at a medical school and you bump into a current student on the way there. You get chatting and she tells you all about it. What to expect. What to say. How to manage the nerves.

That’s serendipity.

Networking and serendipity go hand in hand.

You don’t go out with a problem and look for the person to solve it through networking.

Instead, you build a network of people across all fields. Resourceful, wise and helpful people.

Inevitably, you will experience problems in life.

A time will come when you have an issue, but someone in your contact list is ‘THE GUY’ to solve that problem.

I’ll give you an example.

In my 2nd year of medical school, I made a friend who’s a software engineer. It was during an Islamic Society dinner where I was the photographer (my old side hustle). We started going to the gym and hanging out. Around a year later, I mentioned in passing that I was looking into the USA as a location to work.

‘One of my best friends is a doctor in America, shall I put you in touch?’

That’s serendipity.

Networking works like that.

It might be a friend, a co-worker, a social media contact or a relative.

The point is that resourceful people are good to have in your life.

Imagine you knew somebody from every walk of life. Every profession and location there is.

How useful would that be?

Planning a holiday to Singapore? Ask your Singaporean friend for recommendations.

If your son wants to be a Lawyer, ask your Lawyer friend to to talk to him.

This is networking.

Here’s the beauty of it. It’s not about using people. The people in my network are happy to help me, equally should they reach out, I’m more than happy to help them too.

The most successful people in the world are great at what they do, but they’re nothing without their networks.

It couldn’t be more true.

You need to learn to help others without expecting anything in return. Be a resourceful person. Be nice.

Another person’s success doesn’t take away from yours.

If you have a network of hard-working, successful and helpful people who are willing to do favours, that says something about you. It shows that you’re a deserving person.

In the last 2 years, I started using my social media as leverage to build my network. Since I have a blue tick I figured I should shoot my shot more often with creators and other influencers.

All I can say is, the biggest opportunities and best experiences have all come through my network.

Start building yours now.

Anki Masterclass

I will be hosting my first Live Anki Masterclass this year. Spaces are limited and I’m not sure when I will be doing this again. Click here to register your interest.

Medical School Update 🩺

We're still waiting on the results from the UKMLA. A friend texted me today and said he's worried about them. Here's some advice if you're stressed about results. Whether you worry or not, the result is the same. Your worrying isn't going to change them. Instead of waiting for them anxiously before you start enjoying summer, try your best to just enjoy it regardless. If you pass, then it's a boost, if you don't then at least you got to enjoy some of your summer before knowing.

I know students who really struggle with this and it's largely due to the mental importance they give to exams. Let me illustrate this for you. Do you care who wins the Euros or Wimbledon today? Maybe you do a little, but will you be crying yourself to sleep because Lamine Yamal scored a hat-trick against England, or because Alcaraz knocked out Djokovic? I doubt it.

That's because Wimbledon and the Euros aren't important to you. Now I get it, your exams do matter. Med school matters. So what do I mean? It is possible to give importance to medical school, to work hard and try your best without giving too much importance to results and exams. I know this because it's what I do. I really don't care what happens because I know my life is much more than this degree, and so is yours.

It takes mental training to have this mindset. I wasn't born like this. I meditated for some years consistently, read some books about neuroplasticity and figured out how to control my emotions to an extent.

You can't control the exam.
You can't control the results.
But you can control your mind, with some work.

All the best to all students receiving results this summer, I hope and pray you are successful, have a restful and enjoyable break and most of all, I hope you don't take grades too seriously.

Cool Stuff 👇🏽