Beyond Shahs of Sunset

Beyond Shahs of Sunset

I found a very popular facebook page: Not Shahs of Sunset. Everyday they introduce successful, famous, accomplished Iranians. In a short time, they have gained over 10,000 followers and are very popular.  Everybody is so proud of our accomplishments. Yes of course, we are not the shameful Iranians they portray us to be; we are not barbaric or uncivilized. Look, not only do we have 2500 years of glorious history but we are one of the most educated and successful immigrant communities in the world. Okay, I get it!

So let's size up my life. What have I done? What have I accomplished? What am I leaving behind when I die?

I was very blessed to be born to an educated mother and father who had masters degrees and for their time, this is extra-ordinary. They both came from poor families but they worked very hard and were able to rise up to a middle class status. I had a very happy childhood. I was very different from most of the children my age and most of the time I did my own thing. Then, just before the Islamic Revolution of 1979, I came to America at the age of 14. I graduated top 7 from high school at the age of 16 and went to UC Berkeley.  I later went back to school and got my MBA. Okay that's my academic accomplishments, good but not overly impressive.

What about personal achievements? Here, may be, I've done better.  I traveled around the world by myself for 7 months. I hiked up the majestic Himalayas and ventured into the magnificent temples carved deep in the mountains of Nepal. I saw the breathtaking Pyramids of Egypt and the majestic Colosseum of Italy. I walked up the Great Wall of China and meditated in a Tibetan monastery high above the clouds. I adopted a beautiful girl from Kazakhstan as a single mom. I published a children's book about adoption.  Okay, no so bad for an Iranian woman born 50 years ago.

But let's face it. I am nobody! I have no titles or money or extra ordinary accomplishments.  I don't know any important people and never received any awards. But I know I have lived an extra-ordinary life. So what is the measure for success?  Is it determined by the mountain of things we have amassed, or by the education we were lucky to receive? Is it the status of the family you were born into? What is it that determines our success in life? Well, my life hasn't been about gathering money or becoming famous. I couldn’t care less about those things. My life has been about living with integrity and love. It's been about making a difference one person at a time.

I have learned that we are One and the only thing that matters is love. And that is what I want to teach my daughter, not how to become famous, not how to become rich but how to love and respect herself and others, how to live with integrity and how to inspire others and serve. 

That is pretty much it. I will never make it to the big leagues. I will not be portrayed on the media as this successful Iranian immigrant. I will never be introduced on the Not Shah’s of Sunset facebook page. Yep. I'm nobody. I'm not rich, I don't have a title, I didn't end world hunger or end wars and they don't mention me anywhere!  But if I die today, I will die happy and fulfilled without any regrets. And on my tombstone let it be written that she followed her heart and worked hard to make the world a better place for everyone.