Triumphing Over Age: The Inspiring Journey with Dr. William Soliman

Ever thought starting a new venture at 73 was impossible? Think again! Join us as we welcome guest Dr. William Soliman, founder and CEO of ACMA, who shares his father's inspiring entrepreneurial journey of starting Delta Limousine Services in his twilight years. With a commitment to exceptional customer service and unyielding resilience, his father managed to carve out a niche in a competitive market. Imagine the potential if we all harnessed this kind of perseverance and drive. 

We delve into more personal aspects of William's life, concentrating on the father-son duo's relationship and how it shapes his life and work ethics. Prepare to be moved by a poignant discussion on the significance of encouragement, security, and faith in our anxious society. As we venture into William's illustrious career in biochemistry, get ready to gain insights into complex issues like obesity and the importance of maintaining a work-life balance. Listen in as he shares his disciplining techniques and how nurturing family relationships can contribute to a healthier, more fulfilling life. 

Wrapping up our conversation, we immerse into the world of entrepreneurship with William as he enlightens us on the principles that can guide you to success. From his creative pursuits and cultural background's influence to the critical role honesty plays in achieving success, William has got it all covered. As we wind down, we touch on the rising potential of AI tools in healthcare to augment productivity and time management. This episode promises an engaging mix of personal stories, professional advice, and thought-provoking discussions that you can't afford to miss. Tune in now!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome to Dad Puzzles Everything Dad. If you're questioning yourself about dad functions, duties and life in general, you've come to the right place. Parenthood can be tough. Learning to juggle caring for your baby with your career and also keeping things fresh with your partner can be a struggle, but we're here to make things easier with helpful tips for making the most of your situation. Being a dad may seem like a puzzle, but it's one you can definitely solve. Now here's your host, dr Suleiman Ijani.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Ladies and gentlemen, it's our privilege to introduce a distinguished guest who embodies the intersection of innovation, education and healthcare excellence. Please join us in welcoming you know, like I guess, my, you know my very good friend, dr William Suleiman. Welcome, sir.

Speaker 3: 1:01

Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. Thank you, yes sir.

Speaker 2: 1:04

Yes, sir, thank you. I'm so happy for you to you know that to be able to join us today. You are the visionary founder and CEO of the renowned ACMA, which is Academy of Clinical and Medical Affairs. Can you talk a little bit about yourself, because sometimes I notice that it's better for somebody that I have on to maybe talk a little bit about, you know, like themselves, than me trying to read long story about themselves, you know.

Speaker 3: 1:29

Yeah, yeah, sure, that makes sense. So, yeah, I mean, like you mentioned, my name is William Suleiman. I'm the founder and the CEO of the ACMA, the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs. We are an organization that helps to support the pharmaceutical industry, the life sciences industry. We support them really in two ways we are the first organization, the first accrediting body in the industry, so we certify professionals that work in pharma, like the people who work in medical affairs, medical science liaisons, people that work in market access and field reimbursement. We actually have the number one program for field reimbursement of market access professionals, called the Prior Authorization Certified Specialist Program or the PACS program, and we also provide digital capabilities. So just this year, we launched our AI platform. So we have a suite of digital solutions that we offer as well to the industry for various functions. So, very excited to be here. I'm a veteran of the pharmaceutical industry. I worked in pharma for over 20 years before becoming an entrepreneur and, by training, I'm a PhD and excited to be here and talk to you.

Speaker 2: 2:43

Well, thank you, sir. We are really honored to have you on, sir, and I think one of our discussions was about your dad and I wanted that to be the focus today. So we will start up with your dad today, sir. So it's been really what inspired him, or what motivated him, to start his project, the Delta Limousine Services.

Speaker 3: 3:05

So my dad's always been an entrepreneurial guy. That's kind of where I get the entrepreneurial spirit from my father, my uncle. They've always been people that are kind of self-made. My dad came to this country with nothing, from Egypt originally you know, over now 50 years ago and he's always been a go-getter and you know he's always been somebody that likes to feel, likes to be productive and feel like he's bringing value to society.

Speaker 3: 3:34

So you know, one of the things that had happened a few years ago was my mom passed away. You know, god rest her soul. And my mom had passed away. She was young, she was 64, and it was kind of sudden. You know it was within six months she passed away and I think for my dad it was a really big adjustment. You know, I think they had been married for, you know, 45 years at the time and it become, you know, it's your life partner.

Speaker 3: 4:00

And losing that person really, I think, impacted him and affected him a lot and made him reevaluate a lot of things in his life and he decided, you know, recently that he wants to kind of take the next step and do something new in his life. He loves talking to people and doing things with people He'd always had historically. He'd always had businesses in real estate and that's what he'd had for a long time different types of businesses. He sold all that and kind of retired really. And then he, you know, he kind of began this business where he was able to get a few big corporate clients and now he has a few drivers and you know he's kind of built both the company up. So I'm proud of him that he was able to do that. But you know, he's always been somebody that likes to develop and build things up and I think that's part of being a good entrepreneur. So it's definitely something I admire in him.

Speaker 2: 4:55

Oh, that's amazing. And you know normally, you know, starting any project or business is challenging, so you know, at any age. So what can I say? You know what has he, you know seek during, you know, towards this project.

Speaker 3: 5:09

Well, he's definitely calling me, my sister, my younger sister, I'm the oldest of three and my wife sometimes will call for help. But he, you know he's figured it out. He's been able to adapt to the technology. You know, he and his former businesses, he didn't really have a need for relying too much on advanced you know technology and the internet and stuff like that. This is back in the early 2000s and but now, you know, obviously it's everywhere, you can't get away from it. So he, you know he's figured it out. You know he's hired some employees that have helped him on the tech side and he's doing well.

Speaker 2: 5:49

Oh, that's fantastic. And you know this company for instance. You know what sets them apart from the other companies you know in the same field in the metro area.

Speaker 3: 5:59

So far so what was the question?

Speaker 2: 6:02

You know, like, what sets apart his company from the other, you know from the other oh it separates it.

Speaker 3: 6:07

You know, I would say really two things Really excellent customer service. If you call Delta Limousine, they're going to get back to you immediately. That's number one. And I think the second thing is that we're a local company. I mean, he's a local company in the area in New York, new Jersey area, so that he, they know that area very, very well. So if you're, if you're coming in at a state and you need someone to you know, show you different things in the New York area, that's a perfect company. It's going to give you that personalized service that I think some of the larger limo companies may not be able to give.

Speaker 2: 6:46

Oh, that's fantastic. Thank you, sir. And you know, you know, I guess he's wisdom and and his experiences, as mentioned, is something that is probably you know, you know, helping him with managing or just just operating this business. You know, like, you know, like you're noticing most of that right now, correct?

Speaker 3: 7:04

Yeah, I am Absolutely, you're right.

Speaker 2: 7:07

Awesome, awesome. Thank you, sir. So you know, so a lot of times people hesitate to start new. You know, like new challenges later in life. You know, like you know people, when they get 40 or 50, 60, they're like I don't want to start a new project. So his story, I'm sure it motivates folks. You know, like, what do you think about his story, particularly at 73, starting a new project like this?

Speaker 3: 7:30

I listen. It's never too late, right? Like the old saying goes. I think a lot of times what hold us back as people is fear, right? We're afraid. We're afraid we're going to fail, we're afraid that we're not going to be successful.

Speaker 3: 7:46

And there's, you know, more than anything. I think sometimes it's it's the fear that we have inside of us and the pressure we put on ourselves. Right, and you know I was. I was telling my son the other day. I was telling him okay, because he was very worried about, you know, not getting certain grades in school and I said, let's, let's think about it. Let's say you, you know you, you don't do well in this test, what's the worst? That's going to happen, you know. So sometimes in our own mind, we exacerbate the problem and that holds us back, actually, from achieving our full potential, and I see that all the time. One of the things that I love doing at the ACMA why I love what we do and I think what we do so important is we're helping professionals reach their maximum potential. You're at education, certification, training, you know things like that tools, they, they help you, they enable you to reach that maximum potential that you have. You have this talent. Whatever your talent is, you all have different, god given talents.

Speaker 2: 8:48

Right.

Speaker 3: 8:50

But then you know, you need sometimes that enablement, you know, through different processes, certifications, education, things like that, to achieve that potential. So for me, I think if anyone watching out there is wondering, you know, can I do this, can I be successful later in life, can I, you know, is this something that's really realistic? And my answer would be absolutely. You know, if you look at all the successful entrepreneurs out there, oftentimes they failed many times. You know, I am by training, I'm a biochemist and I remember when I used to, I used to be a professor years ago in college and I would tell you know the students, the stories, for example, about how the atomic model was developed, right, the current atomic theory.

Speaker 3: 9:36

But if you look back, you know, at people like Ernest Rutherford and his atomic model. Originally he had to try hundreds and hundreds of times to get it right JJ Thompson before him. So even in science, you know there's a lot of trial and error over and over and over and over again, and it's really full of failure that you become successful. You know, before I founded the ACMA had another company that we started and it was tough. You know, as a first company we were successful, but it was a much harder Challenge because you're going through a lot of it for the first time. So, again, a lot of times that I need to go back To your original question. I think it's the fear.

Speaker 2: 10:20

Right, oh, I see, thank you, and you know, I think, the way you know, I'm happy that you motivated your son that way and I'm sure that is that's gonna be his takeaway in many other things in the future. For me it was For, you know, my, you know my dad offered me, you know, because we're from originally in African Tanzania. We have this exam where you have to pass to go to the next level from, let's say, you know, like primary school to secondary school, and if you fail, you go to, you know, like you know, you know like private schools. And if you go to private school, sometimes you feel like shy, like you're not successful because you fail the test or something like that. But my dad was telling me likes, listen, I see how hard you're working, no matter what grade you get, I'll always be there for you. So that in itself it was more like a compassion in all, like so. So this is amazing.

Speaker 3: 11:09

Listen, it's it doesn't matter how old you are. Okay, I'm in my 40s and, and you know, till now, right, everybody can use some encouragement. I, you know. I think one of the people that I, that I follow and I love the work that he does, is Dr Jordan Peterson. And why, why is has he been so successful? You kind of look at him as a case study. Why is he so successful? I think one of the reasons why he's so successful is because he gives people encouragement. Right, people read his book it's like a 12 rules for life and people get encouraged by what he's doing.

Speaker 3: 11:47

And you'd be surprised how many people, especially a lot of young men, need encouragement. You know, I see that. But young women as well need encouragement and good role models and inspiration. So I think it's that's very, very important, even as it when we're, as adults, having a father that says, hey, you can do this, you know you can, you can be successful. The other day, my father sent me a message, was my birthday and you know, again, I'm in my 40s and he said you know, happy birthday to my number one man. Right, my 40s. He still says you're my number one man, as if I was right, a little kid, but you know it still feels good, right to know that you're loved, you're supported and where you know. We have a saying where I'm from, in Egypt, you know, and to kind of translate it, it's basically saying you know, when you, when you have your mom or your dad or you have people that are there with you to encourage you, they, they kind of they you can lean on them like a wall, like a strong wall, and that gives you security. You know, if you ever watch a little kid with their mom and their dad together, that gives them so much security to have their mom and dad with them, right? So we all need that.

Speaker 3: 12:56

I think that's something innate to the human being is. We need that sense of security, belonging, that encouragement. Everybody needs that in life. That's so, so important, I think nowadays. One of the problems is that People are very caught up in what they're doing on a day-to-day basis and we sometimes forget to encourage each other. One of the things that I tell my team members at the ACMA I always talk to them about encourage each other, support each other, give each other the benefit of that. I want to create that culture because it's it's tough as it is. Man, you know life is tough and there's a lot of challenges in life. So Taking the time to give someone encouragement because you don't know what they're going through, you know you, just you don't know. You don't know what they're dealing with on a day-to-day basis, I just think that's so important for me.

Speaker 3: 13:44

It's one of the values that I think is really key and it's one of the things that my father instilled to me. So I'm Egyptian, I'm Christian, actually by background, I'm an Orthodox Christian, which you know. Egypt's only about 10% or 15% Christian, but you know, for me as a Christian, that's one of the really important values is Encouraging and and caring about others, regardless of you know what their faith is and whatnot, but being there, because that, I think, really is the true spirit of God. Right, and we know, as Christians, we've got his love and being there and my father instilled that in us. You know he really and son, those values they stick with us and I, you know I've I've actually, you know, done that now with my Own children. I have five children. I have four sons in a boat and a girl, but I think that's so important and that's missing sometimes from today's society.

Speaker 2: 14:34

No, thank you. Thank you for sharing that and you know so far. You know, you know this is a great experience. We're, you know, like about your dad. For the last question, you know like about your dad because you know, you know this is the focus here fathers, you know. So how is that relationship with he, you being there for him with his project, impacted your relationship with him?

Speaker 3: 14:55

It's brought us closer, right, because there's a sense of commonality. I think, you know, growing up I used to go with my dad to this, to his businesses. He had, you know, different stores and things like that, so I would go and help him as a teenager. But it's different when you're an adult, right? Because when you see your father as an adult, you it's just a different relationship. It's more as if we're, you know, a friend. So you know, it's definitely brought us closer. You know, like I said, I definitely admire him for what he's doing and his tenacity, because it's not easy, you know. But and I think it's inspirational, right, for me it's a great example of, you know, don't have fear, have courage and go for it, and I'm a big believer in that, and I learned that from my father is, you know, one of the things I really learned from my father is Take risks, do the work, put the work in Right. Okay, put the work in, and that's that's a very important point Take the risk, but put the work in so you're prepared. So when the opportunity arises, there's that match. And and that's one of the big lessons I learned from him Is that you know hard work and good work. Ethic is key and it's again. There's a synergistic Relationship there and I believe with, with, with God, and how God opens opportunities for us in our lives.

Speaker 3: 16:15

But that's really one of the things that I, that I take from him as my father and that I've passed on to my children is you need to put the effort in, whether you're in school, whether you're at work. I always tell you, know, team members, don't worry about the promotion that might come in a year, right now, but do a good job right now. Sometimes we're always focused on you know what's going to happen a year from now, two years from now, but right now you've got to do a good job. Right now, you've got to do a good job right now. You've got to study right now. You've got to you're in that workout right now. You've got to give your all in the workout. So I think being in the present too, in the moment, is important. That's one of the things my dad is actually very good at is not worrying. My dad does not worry about anything.

Speaker 3: 17:00

He's the kind of guy you know if you meet him he's Just not a worrier, he doesn't worry about anything. You know, I've seen him go through a lot of struggles, A lot of difficult things in life, Right.

Speaker 3: 17:12

And he doesn't worry and and that's definitely helped me To learn to have faith. You know, if you have faith and you believe in god, why are you worried? You know there's, you know you have to be able again to have that faith and believe that god's going to take care of things. So that's something that I think helps a lot. I think that's really important, especially today, in a society that's just anxiety ridden. Uh, people are always anxious and worried and you know it's like what is worrying going to do? It's not going to add anything to what you're trying to accomplish.

Speaker 2: 17:41

Oh, man, you know, thank you and you know for, for me, for instance, uh, if I may share my dad, you know, before he passed, you know, in 2017. You know I remember before that there was a time I was going through hardship, whatever with the schooling and all these things, and he was telling me you know, slay, but you know we, we haven't mostly background. You know, but, like you said, all faith through you know based, you know I'm noticing they have an impact with with, you know, with uh, with the betterment of their, you know, like other individuals. So he advised me, faith is believing, you know like. You know like after you have done something, you know you believe that guy is going to take you to, to, to that next step. So I will write that note, that message from the phone call.

Speaker 2: 18:22

I wrote it and then I put it in. You know, like in the mirror. You know Like in the bathroom. Yes, sir, so that took me from from then until today. So, every time you know, like you mentioned, you know like, as long as you put on the effort, just have faith. You know just, no anxiety, my friend, no worries, relax, exactly, exactly.

Speaker 3: 18:40

Yeah, I think I think your dad is 100% right. You know, if you put the effort in and you've given it your best, that what I find is the people that are worried, the people that are hiding stuff, the people that don't do well, it's because they didn't give it at their all and they kind of know that inside, like they feel that inside, that they haven't given their best, and so it makes them kind of like insecure. And then when you have that insecurity that can make you do a lot of things that you don't want to do. You know what I mean, that level of insecurity. So I just, I just think that's really important. I think, again, having a good community of people to encourage you and things like that is important. So, but I but you know, I really appreciate you Giving me this opportunity to talk about my father. It definitely means a lot to me, I know, it means a lot to him, you know, and, and so I appreciate it.

Speaker 2: 19:31

No, it definitely means a lot to us because I'm sure it. You know, he inspires many other dads and you know, you know, like, at different levels, whether you knew dad or you know Like you already seasoned, you know, you know, like himself, this is beautiful. So, boss, let's talk about you, sir, how you know this journey from biochemistry to Investment-baking and finally into pharmaceutical industry, what happened with this journey, what you know like, what inspired that, that transition.

Speaker 3: 19:59

You know, for for me, the biggest thing really was I always loved Business. I was always, you know, like I said, into business and entrepreneurship, but I loved science and education. So for me, the ACMA kind of amalgamates all three of those things together. And Today, especially on the heels of the out of the opioid crisis in America, where hundreds of thousands of people have died and we see, if you watch Netflix as a new, there's a show on now it's great with Nancy Broderick, called painkillers, which it talks about the opioid crisis and talks about what's happening in the pharma industry and how they work, at least specific to Purdue, allegedly.

Speaker 3: 20:38

But I worked, I lived that we're life, you know. I worked in pharma and I always felt like we needed to raise the bar when it comes to how we work ethically, but also to make sure that we're effective. And that was really the. The genesis, honestly, so they meant for the ACMA was that why don't we establish standards of excellence for medical affairs and medical science liaison? That's kind of where the business started. Now these are for the audience that doesn't know what those folks are Medical affairs or medical science liaisons are like. If you know, I it's not a great analogy, but I'll use it. If you know what a pharma salesperson is, they go talk to a doctor. They try to sell a doctor. Well, medical people are similar, but they don't sell. They don't sell, they educate, they generate data and they all have a background in medicine to their physicians, pharmacists or, like me, phd professionals, and they play such an important role when they go educate doctors.

Speaker 3: 21:34

So for me, you know, the ACMA was really about let's establish a standard, and from there the company grew into what it is today, which, like I said, we offer many different things For the life sciences industry, but that was really the passion from the beginning.

Speaker 3: 21:48

You know, it was something that I saw Early on was that we need a standard, and sometimes, when I talk to leaders especially they've been in the industry for a long time they say, oh, we don't need a standard, everything's going fine. It's like really Everything's not going fine, you know. Look at the opioid crisis, look at the myriad of lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, for things that have been going on just even recently, with Speaker programs on physicians, medical affairs professionals, salespeople so I can give a whole litany so it's like, no, we need to have a change. So I definitely think there's still work to be done but you know we're seeing a tremendous amount of attraction and a tremendous amount of Really rallying around the idea that we need to have standards, especially because it's a social responsibility that Corporations have like the pharmaceutical industry.

Speaker 2: 22:40

Oh, that's fantastic, and I think folks that are probably against that. You can find that also in the, in the. You know, like in medicine as well, you have some folks that think it became like a business for people to to do the certification. So maybe, like you can, you know I like the idea of standardization. You know, I guess you can tackle that with what maybe like the time frame between the certifications or you know how does it.

Speaker 3: 23:04

Yeah, well, people, you know, depending we have a, you know several different certifications, now, I mean everyone you get recertified differently. But here's what I would say yes, sir. Would you, if you were gonna have a surgery, if you were gonna have today, god forbid, you were gonna have a surgery would you want to have a doctor who hasn't gone through any type of Credentialing in the last year? Like thinking about medicine, how quickly medicine changes right.

Speaker 3: 23:28

Doctors have to continually keep up their continuing education credit hours to why? To maintain a certain level of knowledge. I wouldn't want to have a doctor Do operating on me if they haven't, you know, read the literature in ten years or even for two years, even two years because it changes so fast. So you know, to me it's like you know why not. What's the downside? So I just, I think a lot of it honestly is that it's a change in mindset. But I think today, in today's society, this is really become the mainstay. If you think about it as a society, we have standards and certification for everything, everything from the restaurant you go to to make sure it has a health meet certain health standards, to your attorney, to your accountant, to everybody. I mean everybody has to. So I believe in the pharmaceutical industry we need standards for individuals.

Speaker 2: 24:22

No, that's it, Thank you, thank you. So so so, in terms of, you know like your work is being just mostly like optimizing the, the, the performance and outcome in the life science companies. So so do you have any examples that of your solutions providing this? You know like the benefits into the company, you know. You know like into the industry as a whole.

Speaker 3: 24:43

Yeah, I mean we had one company that implemented one of our solutions. They have a few hundred people and they saw huge improvements, for example, in the competencies of the individuals in the meeting the key performance indicators for their company. In another situation, the, the company saves a tremendous amount of money Because it was the market access side. They calculated millions of dollars a year Just in being able to streamline access for patients medication. So I mean we have a ton of examples because our organization, the ACMA, we work with over 200 Companies, 200 pharmaceutical companies, farm a biotech diagnostics devices. We work with all them. So we have a lot of examples. And you have to remember, before our existence there was no operating body in the life sciences.

Speaker 2: 25:28

We were the first Amazing boss, amazing.

Speaker 3: 25:33

Yeah, I mean I'm definitely we're proud of that. It's something to be proud of, it's a good thing, it's a good thing for our industry.

Speaker 2: 25:40

Absolutely so. So, sir, you have published many, you know, many you know articles you know like from cardiovascular diseases to to weight management. You know, I know you have a background in biochemistry. What are the things that brought that inspiration to writing these articles?

Speaker 3: 25:58

Okay, you're going way back, yeah. So those articles they referring to, those are articles that I published when I worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a medical director, had a medical affairs or so. In those situations those articles were. You know, the inspiration really was that I was working on those molecules of those products and we were studying them. You know the example of weight loss At the time I was with a company called as I pharmaceuticals Japanese pharmaceutical company that we were baited.

Speaker 3: 26:27

They had a, you know, a headquarter in the US and I was heading up on the medical side the work that they were doing an obesity, they had an obesity product and it wasn't a very interesting area. Obesity is a very fascinating area. I learned a lot about obesity and obesity data and that whole, that whole the whole community of doctors and patients. And you know, because we looked at the effect of pharmacological intervention for obesity as well as surgical intervention and things like that. And you know, obesity similar, I would say, to COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease there's a little bit of a stigma. There's a kind of a negative stigma if you have it like if you have COPD or smoke or you deserve it, which of course is not true, or if you're, if you're obese. You know it's a lifestyle issue. But you come to understand that while lifestyle certainly plays a role in the case of obesity, there are many genetic factors that also play an important role. You know your family history, you know your genetics. Your lifestyle, yes, plays a role as well. So you know, sometimes people need to help with things like that and you know I see that in my own family. So I have six uncles on my mother's side. All of them are obese. All of them had to do gastric bypass surgery and the surgeries are, you know, they're not successful 100% of the time. Many of my uncles regain the weight. So there's a lifestyle component. You know pharmacotherapy and surgical intervention is going to only do so much for obesity, but there's a lifestyle component and this is why you know I mean I'm not.

Speaker 3: 28:01

You know there's some things that Andrew Tate says that I like, some things that Andrew Tate says that I don't like. But one of the things that he says that I really like is I really like when he talks about taking care of yourself physically. I think that's important. He's right. I mean, if you want to be successful, taking care of your body physically is key. It's a mindset, because it gives you a discipline. So that's one of the things that I think that he talks about. That I really like a lot. I think young men and women can really learn a lot from this. Idea of success is related to take care of not just your professional life but your body. You know it shows a level of discipline.

Speaker 2: 28:42

Absolutely, absolutely, and you'll be amazed, you know. You'll be amazed, you know, by by what it can do, for instance, also in your, in your psyche. You know like a lot of times it's depression and all this. You know there's so many benefits, you know we can mention about them. So much, you know. And. But let's talk a little bit about yourself again, about running. You know like a successful career and also having a family, and so how do you manage the time? You know like your time and the priorities as a father.

Speaker 3: 29:16

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 29:16

So what? I believe? You know, we always hear this idea of work life balance, like you got to be balanced all the time, and that's just not true. The truth is that some days I put in more time into work, some days I put more time into my family. I think you, you the main thing is to be present.

Speaker 3: 29:33

What I do with my children personally is I make it a point every night If I'm home from traveling. Every night. We all got to get together as a family. Sometimes, when you live, you know in a big house, everybody's in their own room, they're doing their own thing. You got to make the effort to say hey guys, I want everybody to come down, and we all got to get together and we talk. So you know we'll do different things and I think that is very important as a family to talk about what's happening in the world, and you know what's your family's take. You know what's our families take on what's happening in the world. We often do a Bible study a few times a week where we'll read the word of God, and that's really important too, I think, one of the ways if you want to be a good father, one of the things I would highly recommend for any father, any any parent, I would say for mothers as well, but for fathers in particular is really make sure your children know that one you love them.

Speaker 3: 30:34

They need to know I need to hear that. I know it sounds like, oh well, of course my kids know I love them. But no, showing them that love, showing them that care. A lot of times for me with my children, you know I have. Now my two boys are older there, they're 20 and 18, but I'll put my arm around them, I'll, you know, I'll kind of give them a kiss. They still need that. I'm a big believer of that. That you've got to be affectionate with your children and you've got to. You know, sometimes with my kids I'll play football or soccer, doing activities with them and then talking to them, saying, hey guys, you know what's going on, tell me what's happening in your life and really just getting to understand you know what's going well, what's not. So just making the time, you know, really putting that effort in.

Speaker 3: 31:20

But discipline is also very important. I think discipline is very key to raising good children and having a good relationship. I'm an old school guy. I believe that you have to respect your father. You have to respect your mother. You know, again, being part of our faith, honor your father and mother.

Speaker 3: 31:39

So for me, for example, me, I've never raised my voice to my father. You know, I never cursed at my father. I never spoke ill of my father or my mother. That's just not tolerated. So I raise my kids the same way. You know. They can talk and share their feelings as long as it's done respectfully. But we don't tolerate any disrespect to myself or my wife in the home. I think that's important because I think when the kids get bigger, when they become adults, I think they respect that and they'll grow up and say you know my father, just like I said, you know. But a lot of times I see parents, the kids, talk to their parents like they're talking to their friends. You know, I had a situation, I remember, where I saw a kid, you know, in America I don't know how this is in Tanzania but they gave the finger to the mother, they put up their middle finger, like basically saying F you to the mother and it's like I mean I couldn't believe that the mother, you know didn't do anything about it.

Speaker 3: 32:38

I mean to me, and somebody told me this once and I believe it if you can't discipline your children when they're three, two, four, you're not going to discipline them when they're 15, when they're six, they're just not going to listen.

Speaker 2: 32:50

Right, right, oh, man, that's. That's a challenge, though, because a lot of times I guess you have to be, you have to have a balance. I believe in my belief you have to have a balance, because when you're being too hard, they end up probably like being on the other side. But keep, keep being persistent. You know, because you don't want to get in trouble. You know because a lot of times nowadays they can call 911. By the way, you have to remember that I never said I never said to hit your.

Speaker 3: 33:21

I never said to hit your kids. But what I what? I never said that. But yes, you're right, in America especially, that's become more common. What I'm and that's why I said you've got to give, you got the balance I think that you're talking about today.

Speaker 3: 33:36

Man is the affection. I think you've got it. They've got to know you look, because here's the thing. Think about it. Think about when you were in school, the teachers that were the best teachers. They were hard on you but you knew they cared about you. Because if I know you care about me, even if you're hard on me, I'll listen Because I know you mean well for me. See, that's what I'm saying, that's important, right, but if I don't think you'll care about me or love me, then I'm not going to listen to you. You know what I'm saying, so it's common to me, that's common sense.

Speaker 3: 34:09

So you've got to be able to dispense, you know kind of that balance between dispensing love and care and when it's needed and then when it's also needed, the discipline and to make sure you're guiding them correctly, because they're young and they need that. By the way, they need that, they yearn for that. I'm a big believer that children love structure and routine and they need that guidance because they don't know. I sometimes, you know, I hear these stories a lot of times online. I'm not going to get into that topic, but where they were parents, their kids do a lot of crazy things because the kid feels a certain way. I mean I'm totally against that because, listen, my daughter is 10 years old. She still believes in the tooth fairy, so her understanding is limited. You know, she's got us.

Speaker 2: 35:03

Absolutely, my friend. Oh, yeah, you're right, we'll stay away from that topic and but you know, but definitely, we should definitely make sure that our kids have a utmost respect to the parents, because, you know, like you know, like you say, they will thank us later and also, it's good for them to have the structure and respect, because if you don't do that, it's just you're just going to lose your kid. I mean, the ending is just going to be not so good, my friend. What about, yes, sir, what about the? You know these companies, I know that you have invested in, you know in several life science industry. What advice, you know, do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs that they would like to maybe venture into that?

Speaker 3: 35:47

Yeah, that's a great question. I would say the first thing is really look for what are the areas of unmet need now in the population and society. What do people need? One, two is this a niche area as meaning? Is it an area that there's not many competitors? If there's too much competition in the area, that makes it more difficult. You know and then really analyze what do you need to be successful with team members? What resources do you need? How much time do you think it'll take for you to get the ROI return on your investment or break even? I think you know at a high level. Of course, we can go into a lot of detail. We don't have time for that, but at a high level, that's what it is. And the last thing I would say is don't give up. You got to be persistent. Persistence is key in not giving up, believing in all these things that you always hear about but we don't execute. And do so again. We know it intellectually, but we don't always manifest it or execute it in life.

Speaker 2: 36:47

Right, oh man. So do you really have time to do any? You know, to work on your creative pursuits, you know, given you being the TV personality in the author professional, you know, in all of this great field that you have, you know, yeah.

Speaker 3: 37:06

So I don't know if you knew this, which is why you're asking. I'm not sure you sound like you did your research. I appreciate it, but I actually was a professional musician and I, you know again, being from Egypt, I played. I played Middle Eastern music. So if you look behind me here, actually you can't see in the camera, but I have drums back here and I have.

Speaker 2: 37:28

This is a flute.

Speaker 3: 37:31

This is a flute, but it's not. It's not like a traditional flute, like a Western flute. In Arabic it's called the Nei and this is a. It's actually an instrument that's 5000 years old. You can see there's no mouthpiece on it. It's very difficult to play, actually. So I've been playing this instrument too. It's the instrument that I picked up, but just so you can see what it sounds like. Please, please, that's a little but so.

Speaker 3: 38:17

I that you know that's what I do to relieve my stress sometimes is I play music. I play drums as well. So, yeah, it's just something that I that I do for fun.

Speaker 2: 38:27

I love the culture. By the way, I you know, like a little person of story, my, my wife is is from the oh, moroccan, nice. Yes, yes, so I'm familiar with the tradition.

Speaker 3: 38:38

Yes.

Speaker 2: 38:38

Amazing, amazing, my friend, thank you.

Speaker 3: 38:40

Yes, of course we. We love the Moroccan people, yeah.

Speaker 2: 38:44

Yes, no. Now this helps a little bit. You know, like you said, in terms of the, you know this, you know the stress management and the such. You know, but there's no relationship with your work at all, of course, right.

Speaker 3: 38:58

Listen. It's. It's very important, I think, to have an outlet, I mean for me, I, I, I play instruments and me you know I learned, you know different things creatively just with music. That's for me. But I think if you're out there listening, finding that for yourself is really important.

Speaker 2: 39:15

Thank you, thank you. So far from your journey, you know, in your professional life, your social life, what, what information would you like to pass on to the kids or future generations in terms of the, the principles?

Speaker 3: 39:30

I would say, um, in terms of principles I'm trying to think you know a few principles. I would say the first thing is be honest. Be honest, um. Lying, you know, can, can create a series of problems for you, so honesty is really important. I think that's all and I would even argue it's kind of like a discipline. Uh, lying can become a bad habit, so I would say honesty is is very important. So being honest, um. The second thing is working hard.

Speaker 3: 40:05

We talked about before having a good work ethic, and it starts with things like, you know, making your bed. There's a famous military video of a guy giving a speech, a commencement speech to graduates talks about the importance of making your bed. I love that speech, but it's so important, right? Why is that important? Because when you, when you get up and you make your bed, it it kind of sets order for your day and it goes back to like we were talking about, with working out and things like that. It's discipline. So be learning to be disciplined in everything, learning to be honest, work hard, be disciplined, so not being overly gluttonous with certain things in your life. I think that's really, really important. Um, and showing up, showing up, showing up on time to meetings, showing up on time for events. Why is he showing up on time? Because I think that shows respect, um, and I think that's really important, um, and, and that's really key.

Speaker 3: 41:04

I think nowadays we live in a society and I see this in America especially a very polar ized society, whether it's because of religion, politics, you know, whatever it is, um, we live and I think, again, going back to what I was saying, we, we forget the commonalities that we have as a human race, right, um, and and if we remember that, I think that will help us in many ways to remember, kind of, our origin and where we came from and what we're trying to do. You know, I have, I deal with many different people the, our company, the ACMA. We have learners in 80 countries all over the world, including in Africa, and everybody's, you know, by and large everybody's trying to do the same thing. They're trying to do better for themselves, better for their family, trying to raise good children, um, trying to contribute to society, um, you know, most of us have similar aspirations and sometimes I see a lot of this hatred, uh, towards different groups of people and you know, and, and I just feel like, you know, like that spirit of hatred or that spirit of constant judgment and criticism.

Speaker 3: 42:13

It's just not good, because none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. And I said I'd be encouraging and giving people the benefit of the doubt. I think that's, that's important, you know. I think that's really, really important. Um, we're just so quick to judge others without sometimes even having the full picture. That's happening now with Russell Brand. I don't know if you're following that story. Are you following that story?

Speaker 2: 42:36

No, not, not really.

Speaker 3: 42:38

Yeah, it's a big story now. Russell Brand here in the in. Well, he's based in the UK, but in the U? S where he was, he was allegedly um, you know, um, I guess someone said that he uh committed sexual assault and things like that, like you know, 10, 15 years ago. And now, right away, you know, youtube demonetized him I think Facebook and not Twitter or Rumbler. But but anyway, my point is that, you know, maybe maybe he was guilty and I don't know, maybe he was guilty, maybe he wasn't. But my point is we're very quick to judge the person very, very, very fast and I think that's could be a little premature. We have to be careful. So we've become a society that's very harsh, Very cool.

Speaker 2: 43:23

Thank you for sharing that, because you know the reason why also I I started also doing this project. I was saying, like, even if we're polarized, you know, if we're, we don't speak about it. We, we make that Cultivate, become even worse. And what about our kids? You know, like we know, we want them to be in a in a better place. So this is a very good advice to them to really being, you know, like accepting and giving people the benefit of the doubt as long as they're not bothering you, just just leaving peace and accept people. Don't be, you know, too segregated or whatever the, the bad notion you might call it.

Speaker 3: 44:00

I mean look, there are. There are definitely things in society that we need to speak up about, things that we see that are Harming our children or harming the values of society. What I'm what I'm saying, though, is I think there's a way to go about it, even that there's a way to go about it in a way that's productive, and it still is respect, but a lot of what I see on social media lately is just, even with the news, you know, it's like constantly attacking, complaining, attacking, insulting the other side. You have to wonder, I mean, is that really a good thing for children to watch? Is it really a good thing for society as a whole? What are really gaining by doing that? I'm not really sure. It seems like a power play to me.

Speaker 2: 44:43

Right, right, yeah, politics. My dad used to tell me stay away from politics and and, and. Now, as I grew up, I heard people adding you know, you know religion as well. But, like you mentioned is, those are the things that people probably take advantage of to Polarize folks, you know. So, my friend, what are the? You know, like I know you, you, you're, you're involved with this. You know, with this AI project, you know, without sources for solutions and such, you know, you know how does it contribute the efficiency in the in the medical fair teams?

Speaker 3: 45:16

I know this is a little high-tech, you know high level, yeah, you know as you know I mean with chat, gpt and bar there's been a big transformation With really a lot of the public now using AI tools. What we've done at the ACMA is so we have these AI tools that basically Really can save companies a tremendous amount of time and money and improve productivity exponentially. What our AI tools do is so basically our metaphors. Ai tool is training, the largest company of data and medical affairs, but it can also be custom training on the customers data. So if we're working with a big pharmaceutical company and they want to train, you know they want to get all their data AI trained so they don't have to search at folders, files, drives and things like that, and we saw that time we can help do that.

Speaker 3: 46:01

We have one for market access and reimbursement. We have a tool for medical information call centers where we leverage AI so we really can help people to improve productivity significantly. To give you an idea, people spend time in During their work week so much time searching information. Up to the estimates are up to 30% of the work week Searching for information is trying to look for information. I mean that's a killer. If you have a big company, that's killing your productivity and we can help.

Speaker 2: 46:32

Oh, that's fantastic. Thank you, yeah, for sharing that and you know so so far, this is almost the last question. You know, you know how do you see the future of healthcare, my friend, you being the, you know really, you know, as a pioneer into all these great, you know like great ventures.

Speaker 3: 46:49

Yeah, well, it depends. I mean, you're in Africa, I think, so every there's. There's obviously some nuances that are specifically United States. There are difference in Europe than Africa, than Middle, middle East, or what not? Asia, south America. These are all different.

Speaker 3: 47:05

You know situations, but, as a whole, what I could say to you about healthcare, I think what's emerging is a few things. I think there is going to be a greater intercalation, when it comes to therapeutics, between drugs, devices and pharmacogenomics. I think that's going to transform Medicine and I think that's going to take us into a true era of personalized medicine. The second thing that I would say is I think the advent of technology, including AI, is going to really rapidly transform healthcare in the world over. I think that the rapid access to information is going to change Development, drug development times and time to market so that we can get drugs out more quickly. We saw what happened with COVID, for example, the vaccines, how they got out to market quickly when we needed to do it. We did it because you know the average vaccine can take up to 10 to 15 years. We did this like what? A year or two. So I think these situations are going to really Revolutionize healthcare significantly. So those are the things that come to mind.

Speaker 3: 48:11

I think that in the future we're going to be in situations where a lot of the diseases that we have now that you know are difficult to deal with, are going to be, they're going to be, cured. A good example is company I sort for, gilead Sciences, who Develop breakthrough treatments for hepatitis C. Hepatitis C was a big problem. You know the. The standard of care was pellet Interfume of Arab, of iron, which only had about a 50% success rate. And then, with these development, these new drugs, these new, you know, inhibitors, we see a huge improvement in patients with hepatitis C. So that's one example. Hiv is another one. Needs to be a death sentence now, it's not. So I think we'll start to see more and more of that and more and more of a focus and rare orphan disease space as well, as we get more knowledge. And what's happening on the pharmacogenomics side of the genomics side, oh, that's fantastic.

Speaker 2: 49:02

Thank you for sharing that. And you know we, you know we hope to, to live, to see it, or at least our seeds to get to benefit. You know, you know, you know I just get to benefit this. So this is one of the question. One of my my guests here was Dr Piper Gibson. She shared that. What can we do, you know, what can ladies do as mothers to support us as fathers, because a lot of times we, you know, like we need help, sometimes is hard for us to say so. Do you have any idea? How can they, you know, how can our wives do to make, to make us better?

Speaker 3: 49:39

That's a great question. That's a great question, I would say. Your children are watching. So it, when your children see the mother respect the father, they're gonna respect the father. When no, when the children see that the husband loves the mother and shows care and love and adores the mother, there's gonna be a model for them. So I would say, as a wife, that one of the biggest things you can do is really respect your husband and show that Admiration in front of your children. That will make a huge difference and in the child, in the child's life. There's so many studies, you know, in psychology I'm not a psychologist, but just in the literature that I've read in clinical psychology on the importance of having a Two-parent household and the importance of having the father present, on the importance of the father being the role model, even when it comes to religious activities. So I think having the mom be that, that, that role model, to show respect to the father, I think that's the number one thing.

Speaker 2: 50:35

Thank you so much. And what would you ask another dad in the? You know, like the next guest, you know as a father, Well, you know. What kind of question would you like to pose to them? What do you do for?

Speaker 3: 50:45

what do you do for fun with teenagers? That's what that's what I'm struggling with sometimes with my, my older teenage boys. It's like they know they. There's not as much in common in terms of what they want to do, so anyway, I appreciate that.

Speaker 2: 51:00

Thanks so much. So how can folks find you boss?

Speaker 3: 51:05

So people can reach out to me On LinkedIn. You know I have a profile there. I have a I will Solomon on tiktok and on Instagram. Those are my handles so they can find me there. But you know I'm pretty much readily available on all the social media and stick around tiktok linkedin. Those are the main platforms I'm on thank you so much.

Speaker 2: 51:26

We're really, you know. You know I know for you to be here today. Thank you so much for sharing or. You know, like this great wisdom and we hope you'll definitely make a difference to the world of fathers and and force can really get more information on these and many others. You know from dad puzzles that come and we'll. You know we also have all the social media handles from the website itself. So thank you again for listening to us today. Thank you.

Speaker 3: 51:49

Yeah, thank you for having me have a great day.

Speaker 2: 51:51

Thank you, boss I.

Speaker 1: 51:56

Thanks for listening to dad puzzles. We hope you learned something from today's podcast. Please leave us a review and give us a thumbs up, and don't forget to subscribe to our mailing list and YouTube channel Plus, follow and like our Instagram and Facebook pages or any social media of your choice. You can also visit dad puzzles calm for more resources that will help ease you into your parenthood journey. Thanks again for listening to dad puzzles. You.