Shiza Shahid, Malala Fund Co-Founder
Shiza Shahid, entrepreneur and co-founder of the Malala Fund, shares her journey from Pakistan to venture capitalism. She discusses her recent adoption of meditation, detailing how it helps her manage anxiety and cultivate presence in her high-pressure career.
Deep Dive Analysis
13 Topic Outline
Introduction to Shiza Shahid and Her Accomplishments
Shiza's Personal Journey into Meditation Practice
Benefits of Meditation for Anxiety and Self-Awareness
Meditation's Connection to Religious Practice and Spirituality
Importance of Tailoring Meditation Types to Individuals
Shiza's Childhood in Pakistan and Early Activism
Founding the Malala Fund: Origin and Mission
The Malala Fund's Three Pillars: Storytelling, Advocacy, Grant-making
Transition to Venture Capital: Investing in Mission-Driven Startups
Challenges and Homogeneity in Silicon Valley Investment
How Meditation Supports Conscious Leadership and Investing
Philosophical Insights from Meditation: Self as Illusion, Mortality
Defining a Meaningful Life: Impact, Connection, and Values
4 Key Concepts
Body Scan Meditation
A type of meditation where practitioners systematically pay attention to different parts of the body, sweeping through and feeling the sensations present in each area. It can be a powerful and sometimes pleasurable way to meditate, especially for those who struggle with breath-focused practices.
Benevolent Neglect (Parenting)
A parenting approach where parents provide fundamental needs like food, schooling, and safety, but allow their children significant autonomy and freedom to explore and develop independently. This style can foster entrepreneurial spirit and self-reliance in children.
Mission-Driven Venture Capital
An investment strategy focused on early-stage technology startups that not only demonstrate potential for rapid scalability and strong business models but also have an inherent purpose or social mission. This approach seeks to align financial returns with positive societal impact.
Self as Illusion
A philosophical concept, often explored in meditation and Eastern spirituality, which suggests that the deep, ingrained sense of self, along with its associated ideas and expectations that define self-worth, is not an ultimate truth. Understanding this can help manage anxiety and stress by detaching from ego-driven thoughts.
7 Questions Answered
Shiza started meditating when she was exhausted from building the Malala Fund, initially struggling with breath-focused methods but finding success with sound and body scan meditations, which she found pleasurable and now practices almost daily.
Meditation helps Shiza significantly with anxiety, allows her to comfortably be with herself without needing distractions, and enables her to clearly observe and address unhelpful or judgmental thought patterns.
Different individuals respond better to various meditation forms, and what works can also change over time or depending on the situation. Exploring different types, like body scans or sound-based practices, is crucial to finding a pleasurable and effective practice.
The Malala Fund is a global education nonprofit co-founded by Shiza Shahid, which focuses on three main areas: storytelling (sharing Malala's and other girls' experiences), advocacy (pushing for girls' education policy), and grant-making (supporting innovative organizations that help girls access education).
Shiza invests in early-stage technology startups that feature exceptional founders, possess scalable business models, and are fundamentally driven by a purpose or mission, such as a marketplace designed to support new parents.
Meditation helps Shiza become a more conscious leader, enabling her to be fully present with the entrepreneurs she invests in. It also provides mental models, like the concept of the 'self as an illusion,' to manage anxiety and stress inherent in her high-stakes profession.
For Shiza, a meaningful life involves making a positive difference in the world out of a sense of responsibility, fostering deep connections with other people, and adhering to a strong, personal value system that acts as a 'true north'.
20 Actionable Insights
1. Find Pleasure in Meditation
Seek out a meditation style that you find pleasurable, such as those incorporating music or focusing on body sensations, because experiencing pleasure during the practice makes it easier to sustain the habit and keep returning to it.
2. Experiment with Meditation Types
If traditional breath-focused meditation doesn’t work for you or you consider yourself “too ADHD,” try alternative forms like sound-based meditation or body scans, as different types may suit different personalities, times of day, or stages of life.
3. Meditation for Anxiety & Self-Awareness
Practice meditation to reduce anxiety and cultivate self-awareness, allowing you to be present with yourself without external distractions and to clearly observe your thought patterns, including self-judgment and fears.
4. Combine Practice with Philosophy
Enhance your meditation practice by delving into its underlying philosophy (e.g., Buddhism, Eastern spirituality), as the intellectual understanding can feed the practice and provide deeper meaning and motivation.
5. Conscious Awareness of Mortality
Cultivate a conscious awareness of your own mortality and the fragility of life, as this perspective can provide a “massive dose of perspective” and help you live better by prioritizing what truly matters.
6. Reflect on the Illusion of Self
When anxious or stressed, reflect on the philosophical concept of the “lack of self” or the self as an illusion to detach from expectations and ideas that determine self-worth, helping to overcome negative feelings.
7. Strive for Meaningful Impact
If you have the privilege of life and opportunities, embrace the responsibility to make a positive difference in the world, aiming to improve the lives of others or contribute to societal progress.
8. Cultivate Deep Connections
Actively foster deep connections with other people, as these relationships are a fundamental component of a meaningful life and can counteract feelings of loneliness prevalent in individualistic societies.
9. Live by a True North
Develop and adhere to a personal value system that acts as your “true north,” guiding your decisions and actions to live a meaningful life.
10. Flexible Meditation Schedule
Don’t feel pressured to maintain a rigid daily meditation schedule if you are “undisciplined”; instead, allow yourself to meditate when it feels right in the moment, as this flexibility can help sustain the habit.
11. Acknowledge Shared Human Insecurities
Be aware that all people, regardless of their life circumstances or success, experience similar fears and insecurities, which can help alleviate feelings of isolation in your own struggles.
12. Meditation as Secular Prayer
Consider meditation as a secular practice to achieve the benefits of pausing, reflecting, and finding peace, similar to how prayer functions in religious traditions, to become more deliberate about life’s intentions.
13. Conscious Leadership
Employ meditation to become a more conscious leader, focusing on being present with your team and stakeholders to offer better support and guidance.
14. Invest in Mission-Driven Tech
Invest in early-stage technology startups that are mission-driven and have the potential to scale rapidly, as these ventures can combine impact with market forces to create scalable solutions for social challenges.
15. Promote Diversity in Investment
Advocate for and actively promote greater diversity, particularly more women and people of color, in investment decision-making roles within industries like venture capital, to foster broader innovation and better returns.
16. Redesign Workplaces for Parents
Advocate for and support the redesign of workplaces to offer greater flexibility and support systems for working parents, recognizing that current economic structures often disadvantage women’s careers.
17. Work for Purpose-Driven Companies
Seek employment with companies that provide a sense of purpose and meaning, as aligning your work with your values is increasingly important for personal fulfillment and reflects a broader shift in capitalism.
18. Support Girls’ Education
Support girls’ education through advocacy for policies guaranteeing 12 years of free, high-quality education, and by providing grants to innovative organizations, as this is a critical driver for social change and empowerment.
19. Consider Stakeholders Beyond Shareholders
Support the idea that companies should be responsible not only to shareholders but also to all other stakeholders, and that wealth creation should benefit everyone involved in a company’s success.
20. Prioritize Sustainability & Diversity
Encourage businesses to prioritize sustainability and diversity from their early stages, rather than addressing them as afterthoughts, to build more ethical and effective companies.
5 Key Quotes
I think when you're running around a lot, you tend to get a lot of adrenaline highs all the time, and that feels good, but at the end of the day or when that adrenaline rush isn't happening, it can become very difficult to be with yourself.
Shiza Shahid
I think that a lot of more secular societies are now trying to figure out what do we supplement prayer with or religion with.
Shiza Shahid
I think that there is something to what type of meditation does your personality best react to.
Shiza Shahid
If you ask someone anywhere in the world to name a great entrepreneur, who do they name? It's Bill Gates, it's Mark Zuckerberg, it's Steve Jobs. Where are the women, right?
Shiza Shahid
Death is the single best dimension of life. We're all going to die. So we're already naked.
Shiza Shahid