People often ask me what it means to be self-made. For years, I have smiled at that question because the answer has always seemed more complex, and far more beautiful, than the phrase itself suggests.
Yes, I worked relentlessly for every opportunity that came my way. I embraced uncertainty, accepted risks that many thought were impossible, endured failures that no one saw, and learned that resilience is built one difficult day at a time. I am proud of those choices and of what they made possible. But I have never believed that I made myself alone. If my journey has taught me anything, it is that none of us reaches our fullest potential without the people who encourage us, challenge us and believe in us.
Where Resilience Begins
My journey began in Iran, where my childhood was shaped by revolution, war, uncertainty, and loss. Before I understood the meaning of resilience, I was already living it. I learned at an early age that everything familiar can disappear overnight, that security can be fragile, and that sometimes hope is the only thing no one can take from us. Those years gave me lessons that no university could ever teach. They taught me courage and adaptability, but most importantly, they taught me to keep moving forward even when I could not see where the road would lead.
When I left my homeland and rebuilt my life across Europe and later in the United States, I had to begin again more than once. Every new country meant learning another language, another culture, and another way of thinking. Each culture expanded my perspective, each experience deepened my understanding of people, and each transition stretched me beyond my comfort zone. Over time, I came to understand that growth rarely happens where life feels easy. Looking back, I can see that every chapter was quietly preparing me for the next and teaching me that our greatest strength lies not in our differences, but in our shared humanity.
Perhaps that is also why I never grew up believing that my gender defined my potential. Throughout my career, I was fortunate to encounter extraordinary leaders who judged me by my character, my work, and my ideas rather than by my gender. They challenged me, believed in me, opened doors for me, valued my voice, and expected excellence from me. Their confidence helped build confidence in myself. I wanted to be recognized for my integrity, my work ethic, my ideas, and my commitment to improving the lives of others. This does not mean that the road was easy; it means that I was fortunate to be surrounded by people who believed that talent, determination, kindness, and leadership have no gender.
Throughout my life, mentors have generously shared their wisdom with me, business partners have trusted my vision, colleagues have inspired me to strive for excellence, friends have reminded me of my strength, and my family, especially my parents and my son, have made quiet sacrifices so that I could pursue bold dreams. Each of them became part of my story, and above all, my faith became my foundation.
There were periods in my life when I could not see the next step, when every plan felt uncertain and every answer seemed just beyond reach. In those moments, faith carried me. It reminded me that purpose is often revealed through perseverance and that we are never truly walking alone. Faith taught me gratitude, gratitude taught me humility, and humility taught me that every success carries the fingerprints of countless people.
Living across four countries also taught me something profound about humanity. Cultures, languages, traditions, and histories may differ, but people everywhere seek many of the same things: dignity, opportunity, purpose, love, and hope. Those shared values became central not only to the way I see the world, but also to the way I lead.
Purpose Beyond Achievement
As my career evolved, biotechnology became much more than my profession; it became my purpose. At Pharmacyclics, I had the privilege of experiencing one of biotechnology's most extraordinary journeys. Together with remarkable scientists, physicians, investors, colleagues, and partners, we helped develop a treatment that transformed the lives of patients living with blood cancer. What began as scientific hope became a therapy that changed the treatment of blood cancers and brought new possibilities to patients and families around the world. Being part of that journey remains one of the greatest privileges of my professional life.
People often measure success by acquisitions, valuations, financial milestones, or the size of the companies we build. I have come to measure it differently. To me, success is knowing that the work we did helped people live longer, celebrate more birthdays, watch their grandchildren grow, and create memories they otherwise might never have had. Success is the moment when hope begins to replace despair. Numbers on a balance sheet may tell one part of a story, but the most meaningful measure of success is found in the lives that become possible because someone refused to give up.
Yet life has a remarkable way of reminding us that even those who dedicate their lives to fighting disease are not immune from it. Years later, I faced one of the most personal battles of my own life when I became a cancer patient.
Nothing truly prepares you for hearing those words. In an instant, your priorities become crystal clear. The future you carefully planned suddenly becomes uncertain, meetings that once seemed urgent become insignificant, and the ordinary moments of life take on an entirely different meaning. Cancer did not define my life, but it transformed my perspective. It taught me that resilience is not the absence of fear; it is the decision to continue moving forward while you are afraid. It taught me that gratitude is not reserved for life's victories and that sometimes our deepest gratitude is born during our greatest challenges.
Most importantly, cancer strengthened my faith. There were days when I could not see the next step, but faith helped me take it anyway. There were moments when answers never came, but faith reminded me that purpose often unfolds one day at a time. Through every success and every setback, one principle has continued to guide me: never give up. Not when circumstances become difficult, not when people doubt you, not when failure seems closer than success, and not when life asks more of you than you believe you have to give. Persistence has never guaranteed me immediate victory, but giving up would have guaranteed that I would never discover what was possible.
The Currency of Time
If cancer taught me the value of life, motherhood taught me the value of time. Like millions of women, I often faced the silent expectation that one day I would have to choose between family and career, motherhood and leadership, ambition and presence. I never believed those choices should define us. I believe women can have both a meaningful family life and a meaningful career, but we should also be honest about what that requires. It does not happen without sacrifice, extraordinary discipline, support, difficult choices, and the acceptance that perfection simply does not exist.
There were times when balance felt impossible. There were early-morning and late-night conference calls, international flights, missed school events, missed moments, difficult decisions, and the guilt that so many working mothers understand.
Then came a moment that forever changed my definition of success: One Christmas, I asked my son and several of his friends what they wanted for Christmas. One wanted an iPad, another wanted an iPhone, and another wanted a bicycle. Then I asked my son. He looked at me quietly and said, "Mom, I want to buy some of your time."
In that moment, everything around me seemed to stop. No board meeting, billion-dollar transaction, professional recognition, or business accomplishment had ever touched my heart the way those words did. I suddenly understood that success gives us a great deal, but it also asks a great deal of us. Sometimes it asks for hours that our children experience without us, and those hours cannot simply be returned because the company succeeds or because the professional sacrifice ultimately pays off.
My son's words became one of the most important leadership lessons of my life because they reminded me that time is life's greatest currency. It is the one thing we can spend but never earn back. From that day forward, I stopped searching for perfect balance because I no longer believed it existed. Instead, I began searching for something more meaningful: presence. When I worked, I wanted to work with complete purpose, and when I was with my son, I wanted him to feel that nothing else in the world mattered.
That lesson changed not only the way I lived, but also the way I led. Leadership is not simply about creating value for shareholders; it is about creating value for patients, families, colleagues, communities, and future generations. It is about remembering that behind every title, every balance sheet, and every organization is a human being.
That experience also reinforced something I want every woman to know. It is possible to build a meaningful family and a meaningful career, but we should never pretend that the journey is effortless. It requires sacrifice, organization, extraordinary support from the people who believe in us, and sometimes the ability to forgive ourselves for not doing everything perfectly.
Watching my son grow has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. More than any professional accomplishment, I hope he remembers not the meetings I attended or the companies I helped build, but the values I tried to live every day: faith, integrity, perseverance, compassion, and the belief that the greatest success is found in making a difference in the lives of others.
What Self-Made Really Means
Looking back today, I no longer define myself primarily by the companies I helped build, the partnerships we created, or the milestones we achieved. I see the little girl who survived war and rebuilt her life across continents. I see a businesswoman who was privileged to help transform cancer treatment, a cancer survivor who discovered gratitude in unexpected places, and a mother who learned that love and ambition can coexist even when the journey demands sacrifice.
I also see all the people who walked beside me along the way. I see mentors who believed in me , colleagues who challenged me to become better, business partners who trusted my vision, friends who reminded me of my strength, and family members who quietly sacrificed so that I could pursue dreams larger than myself. Above all, I see God's grace woven through every chapter of my life. Every country I called home, every challenge that strengthened me, every success that humbled me, and every setback that quietly prepared me for something greater became part of the person I was meant to become. Looking back, I have come to believe that even the detours had purpose.
People often celebrate those who are described as self-made because of their hard work, perseverance, discipline, and personal responsibility. Those qualities matter deeply, and we should be proud of the effort and courage required to build something meaningful. But being self-made has never meant refusing help or pretending that we accomplished everything alone. To me, it means honoring every opportunity, every lesson, every mentor, and every act of generosity we have received, and then transforming those gifts through courage, integrity, hard work, and purpose.
No one can live your purpose for you, make your choices for you, or climb your mountain for you. We must each accept responsibility for our own lives and have the courage to do the work. But no one reaches the summit entirely alone.
The People Who Shape Us
That realization became one of the deepest inspirations behind my book, The Magic of Normal. The magic was never about perfection or extraordinary circumstances, and it was never about proving that I could do everything alone. The magic was discovering that an ordinary life, lived with courage, curiosity, compassion, gratitude, resilience, and faith, can become extraordinary.
That magic lives in the conversations that change us, the mentors who challenge us, the colleagues who inspire us, the families who quietly support us, the friends who refuse to let us quit, and the communities that welcome us. It lives in those moments when someone believes in us before we fully believe in ourselves, and in the moments when faith carries us because our own strength is no longer enough.
None of us becomes who we are in isolation. Somewhere along the way, someone encouraged us, someone challenged us, someone opened a door, someone forgave us, someone prayed for us, someone stayed, or someone believed. Acknowledging those people does not diminish our achievements; it gives those achievements greater meaning.
As women, we are often celebrated for our independence, resilience, and ability to carry extraordinary responsibilities, and those qualities deserve recognition, butI believe our greatest strength also lies in our willingness to build meaningful relationships, lift one another, seek wisdom without shame, and offer the same encouragement to others. Success is never truly a solo performance; it is a symphony of trust, generosity, resilience, faith, and love.
When I look back on my journey, I do not simply see accomplishments. I see faces: teachers, mentors, colleagues, business partners, friends, and family. I see people whose quiet influence became part of the person I am today, and I see God's grace woven through every chapter.
If there is one message I hope people carry with them from my journey and from The Magic of Normal, it is to dream boldly, work relentlessly, lead with integrity, love deeply, have faith, and never give up. We should stand proudly in our accomplishments while never forgetting those who walked beside us.
That is because none of us is truly self-made. We are shaped by our experiences, strengthened by adversity, guided by mentors, lifted by family, inspired by friends, sustained by faith, and transformed by ordinary moments that become extraordinary because someone believed in us when we needed it most.
Life has taught me that our greatest wealth is not what we accumulate, but how we spend our time: time loving, time learning, time serving, time believing, and time walking beside one another. In the end, perhaps that is the true measure of a life well lived.
And perhaps that is the greatest magic of all.
To me, that is what being truly self-made has always meant.
