By Khair Ull Nissa Shah

It was early morning in Saudi. The city was just waking up, but my phone was already buzzing with news: one of our largest international partners had withdrawn from a project we had spent months preparing.

The loss would set us back by a quarter and force a complete redesign of our roadmap.

I sat for a few minutes, silent, staring at the skyline, caught between disappointment and determination.

The city sparkled with ambition, but that morning it felt indifferent. I remember thinking: this is the test.

That day taught me something fundamental about leadership. Not the setback itself, but what comes next.

Do you show up again tomorrow with the same conviction and discipline, even when plans fall apart?

Success, I reckon, is shaped by how you handle the painful setbacks no one else sees. It isn’t about what you do once in a while, but what you do every single day. It’s the choice to stand up, come back, and keep going.

There is a simple, unglamorous truth I have carried through decades of building, leading, and scaling organizations across continents: the hardest thing in life is showing up every day, with consistency, patience, focus, and........

© Kashmir Observer