For Infinity Law Group partner Ashar Ahmed, quite a bit.
Ashar recently joined Leaders Creating Ruckus for a conversation about his journey from Pakistan to the United States, his unexpected path to becoming an attorney, the challenges he encountered along the way, and the mindset that continues to shape how he approaches leadership, business and representing clients.
And that journey almost started with a career in engineering.
Ashar came to the United States from Pakistan in 1991 to study engineering at Purdue University. But during one particularly memorable engineering exam, he realized he might be headed in the wrong direction. After struggling to even understand what exam was asking him to solve, Ashar handed the test back to the proctor, walked to the college counseling office and changed his major.
It was an early example of something that would become a recurring theme throughout his career: recognizing when something isn't working, making a decision and moving forward.
Ashar ultimately graduated summa cum laude from Purdue and began his career as a CPA. He worked for two of the world's largest accounting firms before making another major career change: law.
Law school presented Ashar with a different kind of challenge. English is his second language, and his accounting education hadn't required the extensive reading and writing that many of his law school peers had already experienced. Suddenly, he was competing alongside students who had spent years developing skills he was only beginning to master. Instead of allowing that disadvantage to define what he could accomplish, Ashar went to work.
He took additional classes. He studied grammar. He read books. He practiced repeatedly. His philosophy was simple: embrace the weakness and work to overcome it. That experience helped shape a belief Ashar still carries today, that growth doesn't stop at a certain age or stage of your career. Skills can be developed. Habits can change. Weaknesses can become strengths.
The experience also shaped something deeper about the way he practices law.
As Ashar explains during the podcast: “I fight as hard for my clients as I had to fight for myself.” That determination is part of the philosophy Ashar, and his law partner have brought to Infinity Law Group.
After years of practicing law including becoming a partner at a national firm Ashar joined forces with his law school friend and fellow attorney to build their own firm. What began with two people has grown to a team of approximately 30.
Throughout that growth, Ashar says the focus has remained on working hard, adding value for clients and building a team willing to fight for the people and businesses the firm represents.
Ashar discusses what he has learned about becoming a business owner, hiring talented people, delegating responsibility, making mistakes, taking calculated risks and understanding the difference between working in a business and working on a business. His approach comes back to another deceptively simple idea:
“I am going to do this.”
Once a decision is made, Ashar believes in committing to it rather than continually looking backward and wondering whether another path would have been better.
Mistakes will happen. Plans will change. The important part is learning, adjusting and continuing forward. Look forward. Move forward.
For all of the conversations about hard work and determination, Ashar also emphasizes something that can easily get lost in a demanding profession: taking care of yourself.
“Make time for yourself,” he advises. He emphasized exercise, time management and intentionally protecting time for family and life outside of work.
Because leadership isn't simply about how much you can accomplish. You must be healthy to take care of other people. For Ashar, that philosophy applies to his family, his team and the clients who rely on him.
Ashar's conversation on Leaders Creating Ruckus offers a look beyond the traditional attorney biography. It's the story of an immigrant who came to the United States for career, changed his mind (more than once) confronted areas of weakness, worked hard to success for other people and ultimately took a huge risk of building a firm of his own.
More importantly, it's a conversation about the mindset behind that journey:
Grit. Hard work. Determination. Growth.
Ashar Ahmed is a partner at Infinity Law Group, a California litigation firm representing individuals and businesses in matters involving business litigation, real estate disputes, and other complex legal matters.
Learn more about Ashar Ahmed and Infinity Law Group or contact our team to discuss a legal matter.
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