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, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
My generosity comes from internal and external factors.
I have always been a selfless and altruistic person. Since I was young, I helped out by devoting my time to volunteering at the school library, sharing food with friends and family, and donating money found on the street to charities.
As I grew older and earned an income, I started to support financially causes close to my heart through donations. We often forget that not everyone is privileged like us and giving up on a $5 latte to give back to the needy ones won’t cost you so much.
The external factors also played a role in making me a generous person and teaching me the importance of giving back. Historical figures, teachers, mentors, friends as well as important celebrities shaped my identity of being more generous.
For instance, when I would see celebrities volunteering for big organizations like Unicef or United Nations, they would inspire me to do the same in my local communities. I can’t change 100 people’s lives as actresses or singers do, but I, sure, can change the life of a single person.
In addition generosity is not just money or time, but it is an action. It can translate into a simple act as offering food to a homeless person, buying lunch for a friend, or even smiling at a kid
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I work in finance as an investment associate and I have recently received the CFA Charterholder. Besides working full-time, I am also a blogger, youtuber, self- published author and an advocate for women’s empowerment. I also volunteer for an organization called Women in Leadership as social media lead where I promote events organized by the organization and spread the message of women in leadership and gender equality.
In my free time, I also like to tutor Italian and English and I have recently published an e- book about travelling to Italy with must- know expressions that you need when visiting Italy.
In addition, I am big on exploring and trying new things. My biggest passions are boxing and public speaking skills.
I am part of the Toastmasters club as the VP of Education and a regular member where I get to participate during the weekly meetings and perform speeches. In addition, boxing is my happy place. It all started out of curiosity and turned into a hobby. I love how boxing builds physical and mental resilience in me.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I would say develop these 3cs: Curiosity, creativity, and comfort.
1. Curiosity – I believe this trait will bring you far ahead. A curious mind will look beneath the surface and see the world from different perspectives. When meeting people, and doing things, always be open and curious about learning. With a curious mindset, you will always feel more knowledgeable, rich, and powerful. By having a curious mind, you will always be one step ahead of others.
2. Creativity – This trait will help you to think outside the box, be more adaptable, and create new opportunities. Being creative broadens your horizon, makes you more open-minded, and allows you to be innovative. You will have a different mind perspective when it comes to solving problems. You become creative only when you read more, listen to podcasts, take courses, and watch TED talks.
3. Comfort – Growth comes when you go out of your comfort zone. Being comfortable with the uncomfortable opens the door to endless possibilities, untapped potentials, and discovering yourself. Everyone is scared of being outside of their bubble, but my advice is if you are afraid of something, do it anyway.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I do like the idea of being a more well-rounded person and improving in areas you are not strong in. Like we say in finance “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”, the same applies when it comes to enhancing skills.
Why just focus all your energy on one thing when you can develop so many more skills and use them jointly?
For instance, I used to be terrible at creating content on social media, but then a couple of months I was given the chance to be the social media lead for an organization called Women in Leadership ( for the Victoria chapter in Canada).
Did I take on the role? Yes, I did even though I knew it would have been a challenge. I was asked to create reels, post on a weekly basis, and conduct Instagram Lives. None of these things were my cup of tea.
At the same time, I was also using my free time to work on my public speaking skill at Toastmasters. While public speaking and social media have no direct relationship, guess what, I found a way to use them together.
Indeed when creating reels, or promoting an event you need to know how to speak and how to communicate well, so here is how I leveraged my skills together. I used my communication and public speaking skills learned at Toastmasters to create reels and talk on camera for the Instagram page of the Women in Leadership organization
Contact Info:
- Website: myways.ca
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urmamio/
- Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/urmihossain
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@urmihossain
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/wil_victoriachapter
