How can we disrupt our economic model and our education systems to celebrate a diversity of skills, and put joy over profitability? 

Omar Samra is an entrepreneur, adventurer, motivational speaker, and astronaut candidate. Following a career in banking and investing, he founded and lead several companies, including starting a charity in his late wife’s honor. Throughout his educational career, Omar has been fascinated by the correlation between skills and job opportunities, work/life culture, and education structure. He believes we must disrupt our economic model as well as our education model. Helping his daughter through school has shown him the value of individualized learning, and creating systems that prioritize joy and happiness. Omar encourages you to tap into your child-like spirit and marry it with your adult wisdom. 

Omar believes you need to find joy in what you do. You won’t be able to find joy everywhere, especially not by comparison, but if you prioritize joy in what you do and who you work with, it becomes clearer what is meant for you. 

Big Takeaways: 

• Specialization is the way of the past. Now we see the value in mastering many different things and the ability to pivot quickly 
• People want to do the things that they're good at, or that they've achieved success through. It's not necessarily the same thing as what brings you joy, what you should continue to do, or the way you should impact the world. 
• Bottom-line profitability first, putting the shareholder first, is an obsolete model. It satisfies a lot of interest but a new economic model needs to come about that creates a balance between profitability, environmental sustainability, and social impact. Every company should have a responsibility to give back to its own community. 

Follow Omar on Instagram: @omarsamra