We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Urmi Hossain. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Urmi below.
Urmi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
I think the best investment is the one you do to yourself, whether it is through a cooking class, reading a book, or just learning a language. I am a big proponent of self-investing and long-life learning and I can tell you every time I invest in myself, it pays off in the long – run.
My best investment so far was getting into the Toastmaster club, a nonprofit International public speaking club.
Hesitant and scared at the beginning public, I am glad I followed my fear and decided to stick to it and get better at public speaking. It has been years that I have been part of it and I have been working on my ambitious goal of delivering a TED talk eventually. So far, this investment has led me to articulate and communicate better a concept, handle interview questions better during a job interview, opened me the door to being interviewed at various podcast shows, give workshops in different organizations, and open my youtube channel.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a full-time employee in the financial services industry, currently working in the wealth management division of a big Canadian bank. Besides working full-time, I am working on getting my CFA designation which is one of the highest and most prestigious designations in the financial industry.
I am also a self-published author and I published my first book in July 2022 after writing it in 30 days. The book is called Discovery Your Identity, a Rebirth from Interracial Struggle. In this book, I make confessions and talk about what it feels like to be a third-culture kid.
During my free time, I dedicate my time to teaching Italian and English to students looking to improve their speaking.
I also work on creating content for my blog and youtube channel, but most importantly I dedicate my time to volunteering for an organization called Speak Up which fights child marriage in Bangladesh. Through this organization, I raise awareness through my social media about the problem that many countries have when it comes to women’s empowerment. I am a big advocate of women’s empowerment and it is a must that every girl should have the right to education instead of being sent off to marriage at a young age.
Lastly, I am part of the Toastmasters club as the president of the club and also a member where I practice my public speaking skills on a weekly basis.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One of the biggest lessons I have learned in my life is that my fear is my greatest friend. Often when it comes to making a change or starting a business, a lot of hesitation comes because of the fear of failing, the fear of being judged, or the fear of giving up.
A quote that resonated with me so much that I read from a book is “Fear is the light that is meant to guide us” by Meera Patel.
The quotation struck me so much that it changed my perspective of what fear can do to us. As we say in finance ” higher the risk, higher the return”, I like to believe that this is what fear does to us. With so much uncertainty ahead, we will never learn about the return it is holding for us unless we let it guide us.
Fear has been my best friend especially when I embarked on my journey of public speaking. Even though I was dead scared, with sweaty hands the very first time, I am glad I followed my fear because now I am a much more confident woman who can speak for herlself and for other people.
I do believe fear is the path to growth and success.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I really enjoyed the book called the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. I think this book should be read by anyone who is running a business, managing and leading a team as well as for general knowledge. We all want to be successful, but success comes with building off good habits, and sometimes there are habits that will set you apart and give you an edge compared to the rest.
Contact Info:
- Website: myways.ca
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urmamio/
- Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/urmi-hossain
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@urmihossain
- Other: my book: https://www.amazon.ca/Discovering-Your-Identity-Interracial-Struggle-ebook/dp/B0B75X14G7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2POKQGES7N01D&keywords=urmi+hossain&qid=1668393380&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjM2IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=urmi+hossai%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-1
- The organization I mentioned in the answers – https://www.speakupforthepoor.org/