It’s hard to put Irum Rashid-Jones in a box, but she has no problem with that.
Throughout her career, she has worked in pretty much every field imaginable: media, marketing, software development, project management, you name it. During all this, she has also co-owned the electrical and A/C repair company Electrician On Call that she still runs today.
To keep all her various projects in check, Irum uses a Japanese mindfulness method called ikigai. “It’s all about centering your life on what’s meaningful to you,” she explained, and the most meaningful thing to her is collaborating with others to bring about positive change.
“If I was a spokesperson for anything, it’d be collaboration,” she said, pointing out that collaborative people are willing to do whatever it takes for the greater good of the project. “My project,” she adds, “is improving the lives of others.”
This project takes on many forms. She sits on several nonprofit boards, trains organizations on the importance of diversity and inclusion, and is an active member of the Junior League of Collin County.
These various roles help her stay aware of the needs around her. When the pandemic hit, she used her business expertise to ensure that none of her employees were laid off, and used community connections to help coordinate the Everyone Eatz initiative in Plano, an outreach that brought multiple businesses together to offer free food to needy families.
Abbie Alter, who runs the online community Plano Moms, went through the Leadership Plano program with Irum. “I remember vividly spending times with her on the road between local Plano venues,” Abbie says. “She never once stopped – with phone calls, texts and voice notes – and seemingly juggling a million things at once. She sucks every minute out of her awake time and is a skilled multitasker who always wears a smile.”
Irum’s experiences have enabled her to see service projects from multiple vantage points. Now, she’s using her experiences to help emerging leaders build strong foundations so they can be prepared for the work ahead of them.
She encourages people to embrace various roles instead of feeling boxed into just one. “You can be everything you want to be,” she said. “Only you can wear the combination of hats that you are wearing.”
Her own life proves that this is possible.
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