Generally, we admire people we want to imitate and look up to. We go through various stages of growth throughout our lives, which means that we get to look up to different people in each of these stages. Ahmad J. Azmi notes that having a role model in life is very important as it helps keep you focused on your journey.

Ahmad Azmi is a military veteran and entrepreneur. After serving for eight years in conflict zones, he decided to pursue his interest in entrepreneurship. Like many veterans, Ahmad found the transition difficult at first, but by emulating his role models, he managed to create a successful IT consulting and staffing company, Geek Solutions, along with a bunch of other ventures.

Since he is also involved in investing and flipping real estate, Ahmad J. Azmi says he has different role models for various aspects of his journey. According to him, role models influence your actions and act as a source of motivation and inspiration. Thanks to having role models, Ahmad overcame his weaknesses and made the most of his interest in entrepreneurship.

Role models are also crucial for self-development. Ahmad explains that to improve yourself, you need to have a standard that you strive for and someone to compare yourself to. Therefore, once you pick a suitable role model, you can learn to turn your passion into your profession by taking hints from their blueprint for success.

Moreover, to overcome obstacles in life, you need to know and believe that they are surmountable. Most people doubt themselves when embarking on something new. But when you have a role model, even if in a different field than yours, you get to learn how to overcome roadblocks from them. Your role model should be someone who is a couple of steps ahead of you. This way, they will inspire you to keep pushing forward.

Most people stress about finding the perfect role model. However, the thing to remember is that even successful people have made mistakes. “The right role model will also teach you how to fail forward and overcome the fear of failure,” concludes Ahmad J. Azmi.