Enjoy the journey — life will have more failures than success and people will speak ill of you to bring you down, but it’s your belief in yourself that brings your own success and your success is not monetary but emotional. Once you are able to always emotionally win, despite what others say about you — you will have monetary gain in leaps and bounds. Ending it with your own thoughts has more power over you than anyone else.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Malini Saba.
Dr. Saba is a successful business-woman with a commitment to serve humanity, through proven achievements in investment, real estate, commodity and PC industries. Dr. Saba repeatedly produces sustained revenue growth in dynamic and changing markets and ‘reinvests reivests reinvests’ with a special interest in women-led ventures.
Dr. Saba has helped millions of underserved women and children in South and Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, and the US gain access to life-saving medical facilities, educational services and achieve economic stability.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I never wanted to raise and beg others for money to make a difference in the world, I have always wanted to use my own money so that I could make a difference in causes that meant a lot to me, and that is women’s issues.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
Over the course of my business life, I have met all walks of life. Good, bad and ugly but one that stands out the most was how a group of individuals teamed up to scam me. Despite the years of experience, I never saw it coming. It was a domino of things that occurred within a period of three months, and it took strength and courage to pull myself out despite the threats and harassment that resulted from these people when they knew I found out what they were attempting to do.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake I made was years ago at an event with dignitaries, and I was young and naive. I was being introduced to a variety of people who were known to the world but not to me. As I moved through the room I met a man standing alone in a suite and I introduced myself to him and asked him “So what do you do for a living?” He looked at me with great surprise and responded “Well I am the prime minister of Ireland.“ I could have gone into my shoe and disappeared, lol I felt terrible. That night I learned to ask questions in a more appropriate manner and know your crowd before you go into them.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
We have been around for almost 22 years now and we have made a huge impact on education for young girls around the world, by not just through scholarships or material matters, but by addressing social taboos that affect their ability to attend schools — like for example — menstrual cycles.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
This was years ago when we had just gone to war with Iraq and I had a call from a woman who asked me to help a young lady who had just been admitted to medical school in the USA from Iraq. She needed to be able to have financial assistance to leave her country and attend university in the USA. We helped her, and gave her the stepping stone to get her life back.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Yes! When we help a woman, we help a community and then ultimately the nation. Business, Humanitarianism, and Politics have to work together despite being strange bedfellows. We cannot have one without the other because business influences politics and politics influences humanitarian causes. Thus we have a responsibility as business people to support the right humans to represent the people. The money we support these individuals should NOT go in vain. We should use more discretion and understand that we don’t want criminals on the power seat. They should not have a rap sheet of human trafficking, or raping a woman or the young, be selfish about themselves and their lining of their pockets. We should hold them to a higher standard. All people of the world are equal regardless of color, religion, or race. We all want and need the same things to sustain ourselves and we cannot have politicians we elect divide us. Thus the three have to hold each other accountable at all costs.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Being a leader is a responsibility. You have to be understanding of the cause but strong with conviction and deliberate on execution.
If you look at all leaders in the world they all have one thing in common — conviction. They don’t sway. I strongly believe to be a great leader you cannot have biases, and you have to always lead with light in your heart. You are the beacon that people want to and choose to follow. This should not be taken lightly.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
To be honest I was so headstrong no matter what people told me I never listened. I believed in myself, and never had the luxury of someone advising me. I rose in a time when a woman was always an afterthought. Money went to men before being invested in a woman. Thus I had to find my way through the darkness and feel the environment as I built myself.
Looking back, I would tell myself:
1) Always stay calm — because through the calm you see the answers.
2) Stay positive always as your thoughts control your future — by this I mean, everything you are manic about, you can create as an obstacle for your growth.
3) Believe in your convictions and know you don’t have to do what everyone else does — by this I refer to not everything has to be done the same way others have done so.
4) Life will always have its ups and downs but it’s how you rise every time that matters — I refer to the stops and starts of any business.
5) Enjoy the journey — life will have more failures than success and people will speak ill of you to bring you down, but it’s your belief in yourself that brings your own success and your success is not monetary but emotional. Once you are able to always emotionally win, despite what others say about you — you will have monetary gain in leaps and bounds. Ending it with your own thoughts has more power over you than anyone else.
I don’t have many stories, but one time years ago I was attacked by the press because I enraged a political rival and he vowed to ruin me and my business, and he went on a rampage with lies and photos that were photoshopped. I woke up to a nightmare, all I could think of was my child and her school mates. I sat on my bed, took a deep breath and said to myself you can lead by example here Malini, and show your child how to deal with situations like this with grace and strength, or give all your power away to someone who has massive insecurities. I changed my thinking which took the fear out of the equation, and told my child to hold your head up high because sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt you. This has been my mantra as years have passed and I realized that when you get big enough your enemies grow as well and it’s how you handle it internally that gives you victory.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It would be to feed the world. We have enough food in the world to stop millions from hunger. I would stop the political control of food and large corporations having the ability to dictate which society/country gets the availability of food and when. Food is a human right and is free for us all — we cannot and should not, allow politics to dictate how this is distributed.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Never, never, never give up.” — Winston Churchill
I have had a hard life with everything including the kitchen sink thrown at me, but if I gave up I would not be standing here today talking to you. It’s very easy to throw in the towel because nothing in life is easy, if you want it bad enough then we have to sail through the rapids to calm waters, and that requires resilience.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would love to have a massive breakfast with all the mothers who brought up the presidents and prime ministers of the world. I want to understand what they instilled in their child that led them to these heights. For it’s a woman who creates leaders not the man.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I am not much of a social media person but I can start at some point lol. They can follow me on Instagram and Facebook or YouTube @ Dr. Malini Saba.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Dr Malini Saba Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.