Gurasis 0:01

before we uh get into the final segment , hamza , I've added this new segment in this season , obviously , and I call it know your host , where I ask my guests to ask me any question they might have okay , all right , well , let me put on my podcast mask .

Hamza 0:16

Let's do this , okay . So question

Know Your Host Segment Introduction

Hamza 0:20

one , one of this , one of my favorite questions to ask people and probably not ask you it on if , when you join my podcast , so when you go into a new passion or experience , there are certain things that you picked up when you go through that experience . So envision like you know those , those , those uh commercials about medicine where it's like before a person you would look like , you look like this after a person , you look like this when you look at my thick accent . Tell me a bit about what you were like as a person before my thick accent and how has your life changed since you started my thick accent podcast ?

Hamza 0:54

so tell me a bit about the before and after of creating

Gurasis 0:56

wow , I love this question and I feel like I've recently answered this offline , but I'll still answer that for you , of course . So you know , when I came to Canada in 2018 , hamza , I felt like I had this spark , like enthusiastic

Regaining the Lost Spark

Gurasis 1:10

fun . Good disease was there , but I feel like , with time , with the challenges I had as an immigrant trying to navigate a life in a new world where life has never existed before for me , right , for the first initial three and a half years , I feel like I lost that spark because I was too , too much occupied with the immigration process . The pandemic was the added pressure , because everything is nice and hunky-dory when you come here , right , but eventually the reality kicks in . The weather takes a toll on you . I think I lost a part of me , sort of , I would say , but when I started working on it and then I obviously started talking to these people , right , and and these people are the people who have been through a similar sort of a journey which I am in right now right , because y'all are , like , I would say , like 20 , some like 10 or 20 years ahead in their immigrant journey than me , right , so talking to them basically reassured me that , whatever is happening with me I'm not alone into this and also because when I went to toronto last year you know it was I completed my one year . I went to toronto , I spoke at networking event and I saw the live reaction of people about the podcast and it was just before the lunch time and during the lunch time I saw the amount of people who came and talked to me and I felt like damn , that Gurasees is back . You know , because I was this person back in India .

Gurasis 2:30

I was into every possible , you name it . I was in that extracurricular activity except sports . I wasn't too much into sports complete opposite from you but I was into , you know , you can say I was into dramatics . I was into dramatics . I was into singing also . I was part of my school choir the dancing also . I have done at one point , I've done a lot of hosting . I've done a lot of rj in my school , organized events , hosting , anchoring so much . But I feel like I never got that opportunity or that stage to really showcase what I had , you know , when I came to canada . But through this podcast I feel like this was a great uh , you know , like a platform for me personally to be able to showcase that who actually I am , you know , which I never got before . So yeah , the the short answer is I feel like I didn't have that spark .

Hamza 3:15

I lost that spark before this , but after this podcast , I have regained my spark and that that energy which I lost before yeah , you know it's interesting because the way I answer this question is , you know , I still develop that fear of talking to people . However , I feel like that there's a difference between wanting to talk to someone and I need to talk to someone . I think I do a better job of needing to talk to someone rather than the want , because on a podcast , you need , like , if you , if you want to have a guest on your podcast , you need to reach out to them . So some people will go through the actual guests themselves , or there's maybe a PR like an assistant manager , whatever . I have to go through them .

Hamza 3:56

Sometimes it can be difficult because they obviously have more , they're obviously managing the person , or maybe they're managing an organization that a guest is part of . So it's like , oh , do I really want to bother them ? But I'm like I kind of need to quote , unquote bother them because if I really want this guest , I need to reach out to them . So I think the need , like they need to talk to someone . If you want me to , if

Beneath the Accent Q&A Session

Hamza 4:18

you say , like , hamza , I need you to talk to this person , I'll do it .

Hamza 4:21

If you say , hamza , go talk , I want you to go talk to this person , he has a podcast or she has a podcast . They'll be like , oh boy , here we go again . All right , hi , I'm hamza . Hopefully this conversation is not a bad conversation . So I think the need , like needing to talk to someone , I'm okay with , but the wanting still a work in progress . But I hope to be at a point where I'm like you know what , regardless if it's a good answer , a bad answer , at least I tried my best so now we're in the final segment .

Gurasis 4:49

I call it beneath the accent because we are knowing each other beneath our accents , unique accents . I'm going to a couple of questions . You can answer them in one word or a sentence , or however you feel like . The idea is just to know more about you . So first is are you an early bird or a night owl ? Oh , early bird , a word that describes you best .

Hamza 5:10

I was gonna say curious , you know , like c-u-r-r-y-o-u-s , but uh , yeah , definitely curious . I like that . Yeah , it just doesn't come out the tongue well , but definitely curious . Just because you know , I'm someone who likes to really know what it's like to be other people and I'd like to know more than what I see . There's more to something than what is currently being presented . Just because you know why , not ?

Gurasis 5:34

it's it's it's fun to learn more you know that's a great idea for a t-shirt . You know careers . I love that I've tried .

Hamza 5:41

I keep like stay curious , but it's just , it's kind of I don't know .

Gurasis 5:44

I'm still working on it no , you , you have to make a t-shirt for that for sure . I love that so cool . All right , what's your go-to comfort food ?

Hamza 5:53

uh , butter , or chicken makhani , chicken makhani all the way . Garlic naan has to be it . Mango lassi , that's my go-to meal and that's like no , you're not taking anything else do you have any hidden talents ? I've been asking really weird philosophical questions from time to time . I think that's the only talent I can think of , but no , I don't know , just just asking weird questions .

Gurasis 6:20

I don't even know about the talent I mean sure you know it's not everybody's cup of tea to even ask a question sometimes , you know .

Hamza 6:26

That's true .

Gurasis 6:27

What's the best piece of advice someone ever gave you ?

Hamza 6:29

Ironically enough , I hated getting this advice when I first started my podcast , but , to be honest , it's never been more true than before . But things take time , and I think it's the most important piece of advice , because you obviously want the good things to happen to you , but sometimes no one's taught me this . I think this is something I've come to realize on my own , which is , in order for something to be beautiful , it has to be ugly in a sense . That Think of , like everything , that everyone that's become successful or created that really incredible product that took a journey that took a lot of failures , challenges , obstacles , other things . And yeah , it takes time . Now , for some people , it may take more time , some people may take shorter time , but it really does take time to develop that thing and you have to make sure that you continue to keep fighting .

Hamza 7:23

And I want to be careful when I talk about this , because there are a lot of people that really wanted that thing , but they never end up getting it . And it's not a knock on them , but it's more like maybe there's something else that they decide to pursue or they just really couldn't do it . So they're something I have to be really careful of . But with this podcast . I really want this podcast to be successful , but I also know that in order for it to be successful , it's going to have to take a journey and whether I like it or not , that's fact . But that's factual and I have to accept that fact well , honestly , I have no doubts it won't be successful .

Gurasis 7:57

So definitely more power to you thank you , appreciate it okay , tell me , if you could describe yourself as any creature , what would it be ?

Hamza 8:06

hmm , that's a good question . Probably a cat , I mean , I think I think the cats movie ruined it for me , that really terrible movie that came out in 2019 , but even then , I mean , I I find cats really adorable . So I don't know

Superpowers and Understanding Others

Hamza 8:20

, cats are just like the type of thing I mean . Also , I think people also like dogs as well , but I don't know what I've noticed . So whenever I see people with cats , they really like being around cats . So that's something I wish if I were to be an animal , probably a cat , just because it's like oh yeah , I just want to be around you , not in a creepy way , but more like in a fun way .

Gurasis 8:39

Okay , who is your go-to person when you feel stuck ?

Hamza 8:43

Okay . So I want to take it into a different route . In the sense , the easiest answer would be my mom and dad , but then , from a more religious standpoint , probably God . I am Muslim , so , for those listening , maybe you may not relate to this or not , but I definitely go to God for help . I consider religion , or like faith , as a gps , so I usually go to that to help guide me as to what I should or should not do , what is right and what is wrong . So if that's an answer that you'll be willing to accept because we obviously maybe different religions or we can't see god , obviously mom and dad is like my go-to people , but if it's other than parents , without doubt God .

Gurasis 9:22

Great answer . What's the most expensive thing you would like to own ?

Hamza 9:26

I'm not someone that likes to spend too much money , probably . I don't know how to say the microphone name , but it's called like Shure or Shure microphone . Yeah , so I've never seen it .

Hamza 9:38

It's one of the best microphones out there because the voice is very professional and crisp . I use a yeti microphone from my podcast but if I were to like make sound on my I'm currently using a desk but if you , I don't know if you can hear this , but you can hear like scratching noises . Sometimes it picks it up on the yeti , but on a sure microphone surey microphone , sure , surey , whatever it's pronounced um , it does a good job of not picking that up . So maybe a shuri microphone is something I'd like to own one day . But then again , like , like I said , I'm not someone who likes to spend . I'm one of those people that likes to spend more money on books . I will probably get like a set of books for , like , the lord of the rings or hobbit , which is like which could be a lot of money because they're like six or seven books .

Gurasis 10:20

So , yeah , probably , probably sherry microphone if you could have any super power , what would it be ?

Hamza 10:26

um , as someone who likes to overthink and be judged and worry about judgment , mind reading definitely like to read people's mind , like I would love to be those people where it's like you know we're having a good time , but I'd like to know are they really having a good time ? You know , I'm one of those people that's like , yeah , you know , you seem like a really good guy . And then you know , in my mind I'm like , oh man , how long is he going to continue to talk about chicken curry and why it's the greatest food on the planet ? What time is it ? Oh man , only three hours left until I can get to my class . I'd love to know that . Obviously , I don't try to bore people out of my love for curry , but it's like I really want to know , because there's a difference between what you say on the outside and then how you really feel on the inside .

Gurasis 11:02

So mind reading would definitely be a really cool superpower if you could create this one law , hamza , that everybody has to follow , what would it be ?

Hamza 11:10

actually interesting enough . Jay Shetty actually has asked his guest some of that question . So I was like , oh , I've always thought about what ? How would I answer this question ? I'm really glad you brought that up .

Hamza 11:20

One law that I would create . I don't know if this is a good law , but I still think it's . I wish it's something that we can all do , which is to be understanding . Everyone is different .

Hamza 11:29

You're one of 8 billion people on the planet , so you might have time , but other people may not have time , and that's not to say that they don't want to be around you . It's that there are certain things that's preventing them from being able to be in your or be able to help you or be able to spend time with you , and it's something that I've had to be patient with , because I used to think , oh , they don't want to hang out with me because of me . Later on I realized , no , there are certain things that are preventing them from doing that thing . So everyone has difficult challenges . Sometimes it that thing , so everyone has difficult challenges . Sometimes it's just one of those things where you don't really understand there's a reason why they can't do the things that you want to do with them , because they're going through something , so just be understanding and be patient totally and to add to that , I feel like it also makes things very easier for your own sanity to accept that why is the reason they're behaving a certain way ?

Gurasis 12:18

so that you don't like overthink and kind of like make your own reasons behind it and you start even start . Sometimes , I feel like when you don't think it that way , you also start criticizing your own self . Is it me ? You start questioning yourself . I was the one who did that . Maybe I spoke wrong at this point . Maybe I did that . You know it's better to think from other person's perspective . At time it's like you know that that classic example of your six might be their nine for sure , yeah , and it's .

Hamza 12:41

And again , it's not something that we understand . If you're waiting for someone to hang out with you and they never respond to you , you might want to demand an explanation . Like , hey , we were supposed to meet up , but what happened ? In these cases you might want an explanation , but there are cases where it's like , whatever they're going through , just let it be , because sometimes you know , maybe it's best to not hear the story . Like , for example , if I say I'm sick , it's easy to go . Is he really sick ? Or if he just , does he really want to hang out with me ?

Hamza 13:07

But if I tell you , uh , I had diarrhea , then you're like , okay , you know what ? I should not have asked that question . So okay , you did not need to ask that , you did not need to tell me that . So there are . Okay , I think it is a difficult slope , but at the end of the day , you know people are people and you know it's . It's some . At some point you need to think it has to be outside of you , it needs to be bigger than you , right ? Not everything revolves around you .

Gurasis 13:32

People have other obligations and finally , if you could leave me with one piece of advice , what would it be ?

Hamza 13:38

so I think the first thing would definitely be , like I said , everything takes time . It's great to find something that you're really passionate about . One piece of advice I'd love to give to people and it's something because I actually asked this question to my guest is it's okay to dislike your passion ? And it's weird because you think that just because you're passionate about something , it means that you're going to love every minute . But it's not necessarily love , it's more of embracing

Embracing the Podcasting Journey

Hamza 14:10

. You know it's weird .

Hamza 14:11

I used to say think of your passion as your spouse , right In the sense ? I'm not married , by the way , but whether it's wife , wife , wife , husband , husband , husband or whatever , you're going to have difficult conversations , you guys are going to fight , but at the end of the day , you're going to stick together because you believe that throughout the difficulty you will still remain as one . Passions in general , it's similar to that . So if you don't like your passion , it's not necessarily a bad thing . It's part of the journey , right ? Because , like one of the things on my podcast , it's not about the destination , it's about the journey . So if there are times where you dislike your yeah , exactly , if you dislike your passion , it's not that you want to divorce from it . It's literally part of what it means to be in the field podcasting yeah , there are a lot of challenges leadership , promotion , good questions , good conversations .

Hamza 15:02

Maybe you're hard on yourself . These self-doubts like that's part of podcasting . Obviously there's more , but these are things that come to mind . So if there are times where you're like , oh , I don't like my thick accent or I'm not liking where it's at , that's a normal thing because , first of all , you care and , secondly , it's part of what it means to be in this field . So love your passion absolutely , but definitely embrace the the negativity , even though it's something that you are really passionate about no , no , exactly .

Gurasis 15:30

You know , there are days , obviously , like I do question it , like okay , what am I doing ? Am I doing it correctly ? Am I done ? So ? I think that's also normal , like you just said , that it's a good thing that you care about it . That's why you are questioning yourself that , what you're exactly doing . So , yeah , thank you for that . And lastly , how would you describe your experience of being on this podcast today ?

Hamza 15:49

It's definitely been a fun experience in a weird way and I hope I don't offend you by saying this but definitely a learning experience , because I'm so used to being the host , not the guest , right ? So , host , you have a set of preparation , you know what to talk about , but as a guest now it's like like okay , I really got to make sure that I do the talking . But then it's like , okay , how do I make sure that I don't ? Like I don't want to talk too much about something , because maybe there's other things you want to talk about . But then I also don't want to be in a situation where I give you like a two or three word answer and then it's like , oh crap , he's done , oh wait .

Hamza 16:25

So it's like for tell me about your time , where you tell me like your favorite podcast guest and I'm like I like this person , and then you're like that's it . But then at the same time , I also don't want to be in a situation where I spend two or three , four or five minutes talking about why I like this guest , because there's a difference . So definitely a learning experience . So , if I apologize if I ramble too much , but it's one of those things where it's a learning experience and I hope that in future episodes I figure out like how to be a good guest , because being a great host is one thing , but being a great guest that's another thing .

Gurasis 17:02

Okay , awesome . Well , on that note , thank you . Thank you so much for being on the podcast today and adding value to my listeners .

Hamza 17:08

Thanks , a lot . Yeah , of course .