The nice thing about being invited to speak in other countries is the research that I do to understand my audience. This week I am in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the President of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University. It is the largest female university in the world and the president is a woman. I met her in France when she was a panelist at an economic summit in Aix-en-Provence. She was amazing and I knew I had to connect with her and learn how she manages to run a university of 33,000 students. That led to an invitation to speak at their 15-year celebration gala. I had never been to Saudi Arabia, and I wanted to know more about the University’s namesake: Princess Nourah. She was born in 1875 and lived until 1950. She was a fascinating figure in Saudi history. She exemplified Courage, Compassion, and Connection which was the perfect recipe for influence.
She was courageous to learn how to read and write which was rare for women at that time. She had a compassionate heart giving to people in need. She founded the first charity for the poor and orphans in the country. And she knew how to connect with others. In fact, coming from the royal family, she still had the ability to connect with people from all walks of life. Because of these amazing qualities, she influenced her brother, King Abdul Aziz, to come back to Riyadh after being exiled. He turned to her for council on several occasions which showed how much influence she had.
My speech was to be in alignment with the celebration of the university and the vision from the original team of designers and architects who were present. That inspired me to speak about their amazing accomplishment and how it was more than a building, it was a place of legacy. My theme was you never know how much impact you have on others, and YOU are the architect of your own life. You hold the blueprint to make choices every day to build the legacy you want. I hope you build it on a foundation of courage, compassion, and connection.
Your Head Usher,
Marilyn