Discover how Abdi Farah transformed his life through Regent College London’s (RCL) Thinking into Character programme. From bus driver to Head of Natural Intelligence, Abdi’s inspiring journey highlights the power of goal setting, resilience and personal growth.
Abdi originally hails from Somalia. He grew up near a river, and fondly recalls childhood memories of spending his days swimming before returning to his family home for dinner.
In 1994, as the Somalia civil war continued to escalate, Abdi’s family arranged for him to seek safety as a refugee in the UK. He landed at Heathrow Airport in London on his own at just 12 years old, carrying a piece of paper with a phone number to contact his cousins, who were already based in the city.
Abdi quickly settled into the UK and attended school from year eight to year eleven, during which time he became fluent in English. However, he did not get any GCSEs and instead went straight into the workplace.
A career in transport
In a full circle moment, Abdi’s first job was at Heathrow Airport, operating the high lift at terminal three. He progressed in the transport sector by becoming a bus driver.
Over the next 15 years, Abdi ferried countless Londoners along the number 52 bus route from Willesden bus garage to Victoria. He and his wife also welcomed four children during this time, raising them in Kingsbury, northwest London.
“Driving the bus was an interesting job that I really enjoyed,” recalls Abdi. “It put me at the centre of the community.”
Discovering life at RCL
At the time, Abdi was content with his job and had no intention of exploring academia. His RCL journey began by chance. In 2016, he studied an English level one qualification at the College of Northwest London. Two years later, Abdi spotted a poster advertising RCL’s English level two qualification when he was on his way home from work.
Abdi joined RCL at the age of 36. He remembers arriving at his English lessons after work, still wearing his bus driver uniform. His first tutor was our Business & Law lecturer Assad Shamsi, who has enjoyed a similarly profound journey at RCL.
2018 also saw the launch of Thinking into Character (TiC), a transformational programme designed and led by Dr Selva Pankaj, Joint CEO and Principal of RCL.
Across a series of 12 online lessons, TiC inspires individuals to accelerate their personal growth and professional success. Abdi credits the programme for changing his perspective, and ultimately, his life.
The power of setting goals
For Abdi, some of TiC’s most valuable insights have proven to be the principles of setting goals. He highlights statistics that indicate only 3% of the world’s population write down their goals.
“The moment you commit your ambitions to paper, you enter a very small bracket of people,” explains Abdi. “Having a goal means you are not just living day to day. You are pursuing something greater than yourself.”
According to the TiC programme, each goal should meet four criteria:
- It must scare you.
- It must be out of your comfort zone.
- It must be based on your deepest desires.
- There does not need to be an obvious route to achieving it.
In these early days, Abdi wrote down two goals: becoming a transport manager and graduating with a first-class bachelor’s degree in business management. With the support of RCL and the TiC programme, he achieved both goals in just a few years.
In 2021, Abdi became Transport Manager at Savoy Ventures. When he started his degree with RCL’s partner Buckinghamshire New University in September 2018, he became the first person in his family to study higher education.
A transformational journey
Abdi Farah’s story is testament to the power of resilience and ambition, as well as an excellent example of how TiC can help individuals achieve their goals.
Impressed by his transformation, Selva appointed Abdi as Head of TiC in early 2024. He has since been promoted to Head of Natural Intelligence.
In addition, Abdi is currently studying for a PhD in artificial intelligence and bus transport with London South Bank University. He continues to follow TiC principles and begins each day by visualising his goals. He emphasises how grateful he is to have discovered RCL and TiC.
“The end of education is not a qualification – it is character,” says Abdi, reflecting on his remarkable achievements. “Instead of driving buses, I discovered that I could try to lead the industry and have a real impact.”
“If I had spoken to you six years ago, I guarantee that my mindset would be completely different.”
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