Legacy, What is it? Are these My Eyes? #66 #cong24 #legacy

Synopsis:

This piece is a reflection on what legacy means to me, both personally and professionally. I don’t typically think about legacy when starting a job; my focus is on doing my best, even if it leads to stress and self-doubt. Through my work in I.T. and educational technology, as well as moments shared with my son, I’ve come to wonder whether a legacy can be more multifaceted than just one defining achievement. I’ve realized that it’s okay to be remembered for a mix of contributions and experiences. In the end, stepping outside my comfort zone—like writing this for Congregation—reminds me that embracing imperfections is part of my legacy, too.

Total Words

1,168

Reading Time in Minutes

5

Key Takeaways:

The irony of writing about takeaways is there ARE no TAKEAWAYS in Cong

  1. Legacy is Diverse: A legacy isn’t limited to one grand accomplishment; a person can leave behind multiple legacies through various roles, achievements, and moments in their life.
  2. The Importance of Effort: What matters most is consistently giving your best effort in whatever you do, even if the outcome isn’t always perfect or universally praised.
  3. Embracing Imperfection: Being remembered isn’t necessarily about flawless success; it’s about showing dedication and sincerity in your endeavors, despite challenges or self-doubt.
  4. Reflective Growth: Taking time to reflect on your experiences, even if it’s difficult (as with writing in this case), is a way to understand and shape your legacy over time.

About Hassan Dabbagh:

I Am Hassan: A Passionate I.T. Trainer and Creative Technologist

I’m Hassan, an experienced I.T. trainer based in Balla, County Mayo, with a mission to empower community groups across Ireland through technology. My love for photography, computers, and all things tech has naturally blended into both my professional and personal life.

Over the years, I’ve built a reputation as an engaging educator and innovator, dedicating my career to working in the tech and education sectors. My workshops are designed for learners of all ages, helping them build confidence and develop valuable skills in an ever-changing digital landscape. Co-founding a company with my best friends has been one of my proudest achievements, along with contributing to a national organization that helps communities preserve their heritage through digital archiving—proof that history can be preserved in modern ways.

But it’s not just about the work for me. I cherish the light-hearted moments, like sharing jokes with my 6-year-old son and nurturing a sense of humor that teeters on the ridiculous. Writing is a challenge I’ve always faced due to my dyslexia, but I push myself to step outside my comfort zone. My reflective posts and talks at events like Congregation are examples of how I’m willing to share my journey, even when it scares me. I’ve learned that embracing imperfection is an essential part of growth.

Through my work, I hope to inspire more than just tech proficiency—I aim to spark a real passion for learning. My goal is to leave behind a multifaceted legacy that connects with both the minds and hearts of the people I meet.

Contacting Hassan Dabbagh:

You can connect with Hassan via email, Instagram, Twitter : (It will AWAYS BE twitter) or Telepathy : “Can you hear me now? “

By Hassan Dabbagh

What will I leave behind? What’s my legacy? I’ve been fascinated by the idea of writing your own obituary—seriously, why not? Think about it: who better to capture the essence of your journey than you?

Now, I’ve never started a job pondering what legacy it would leave. My approach has always been straightforward: do the best I can, with whatever resources I have. If I walk away from a disaster (and yes, it has happened), I can rest easy knowing I gave it my all. That said, my standards are sky-high, and I’m never fully satisfied with the results. Cue the sleepless nights, stress eating, and those wonderfully destructive habits that come with it. But wait, there’s more—what if they don’t like the project? And who are they, anyway? Why do I care what they think? If I don’t care what they think, do I still care about my legacy? So many questions. I guess that’s the point of these posts—to dig deep.

For someone with dyslexia, writing is a fear-inducing task. I hate that it takes me hours to put down a few paragraphs. I hate that when I read back what I’ve written, I instantly question: What was I trying to say? It feels like someone else wrote it. But back to the important part: Why? Why do I fear writing? Is it because I’m not good at it, or am I worried about what others will think when my ramblings go public? Let’s park that mini-counseling session and talk some more about legacy.

Legacy, in its simplest form, is what’s handed down. And as someone who works in I.T., legacy is part of my daily grind. Old code, outdated software—it’s all “legacy” that should have been retired years ago but somehow lingers, like the 32-bit folder in Windows (if you know, you know).

As I’m mulling over this, my 6-year-old son bursts in with a joke. I won’t repeat it, but let’s just say it involved a piano, a woman, a stool, and a hairy banana. It was un-PC, borderline rude, and absolutely hilarious to him. Is this my legacy to him? A sense of humor teetering on the absurd? I’d like to think he’ll get more than just that.

When I reflect on my work, legacy is a tricky word. I’ve been fortunate to work in two jobs I love: one with a company I started alongside my best friends, and another with a national group that supports people and communities in preserving their heritage through digital archives. Yes, my best friend is involved in that one too—because why not? Naturally, the “Heritage Gig” came to mind when I started writing this. Isn’t heritage just another form of legacy? Maybe they’re close cousins. The groups I work with create archives to preserve their heritage, but ironically, it’s the website showcasing the archive that becomes their legacy. Am I overthinking this?

So, how will I be remembered? I’ve spent years as an educational technologist, working with learners of all ages and achieving varying degrees of success. Would I like to be remembered for doing something well? Sure. But I realized that if I tackle each job with the mindset of “I’ll give this my best,” then I’ll be remembered for many different things. And I’m okay with that.

As I look back, I notice all my submissions to Congregation have a reflective tone. Maybe that’s because writing isn’t my strongest suit, so sticking to what I know—me—is the only way forward. Coming here and writing this post still scares the hell out of me. I’m so far out of my comfort zone. So, what will they say about me? What’s my legacy? Maybe it’ll be: “Nice lad, but can’t write for sh******.”

November 21, 2024 2024 Legacy 1 comment

Purpose #52 #cong22

Synopsis:

Realising purpose, do I have a purpose ? has to be the one of the most commonly asked question . I talk about me and how I discovered my purpose. I’ve attempted to get as many cliches into one piece as I could .

Total Words

770

Reading Time in Minutes

3

Key Takeaways:

  1. Purpose
  2. Look inward
  3. Realisation
  4. Just be

About Hassan Dabbagh

I am an Educational Technologist who has extensive experience working with teachers on an individual and whole school basis. I enable teachers to get the best from the technology they have available to them which allows them to enhance their teaching in new and inventive ways.
​
I am a keen interest in using technology in conjunction with his Maker skills to create projects utilising electronics, computers and PCBs to build activities for all ages.

Dad of two and living life and loving and loving the music

Contacting Hassan Dabbagh:

You can reach Hassan by email or search for him in the internet ….. he is the other one

.

By Hassan Dabbagh

What I do? What’s my purpose ? What is purpose ? Why does this one word send me into a spin? Do I have a purpose ? It’s this last question that keeps me awake at night.

In order to answer all these questions I can only look inward, you can’t change the world looking outward change comes from within. JESUS… three lines in and I’m talking about changing the world….. such notions .

I’m an educational technologist, I want to reinvent the classroom as a learning space, That’s my purpose , I also love being an I.T. Trainer because it gives me such joy showing someone how to do something, better again, when I see them trying out the new skill that they’ve learned and succeeding it gives my brain that endorphin hit that it craves so much… but only enough to say….. “do it again and I’ll give you more”

It wasn’t always like this, for a long time I had no sense of purpose no sense of being, what am I here to do and thats because purpose doesn’t just drop like a Netflix series, it doesn’t just land in your inbox purpose is realised over time and is the combination of all of your life experiences, it’s about all the decisions you’ve made to get to this point.

Purpose is realised without realising it, it’s something that happens over time and one morning you wake up happy that you’re doing something you love doing, you then ask yourself “when did this happen?” And by the way ……. EVERYBODY wakes up tired/ sleepy OR grumpy . ( just sayin’!) The issue is If you find your alarm clock going off in the morning makes you deeply unhappy OR going to work is making you sick then you will never find your purpose *, how can you if your unhappy, you’ll only realise your purpose if you’re doing something you love. What do you love doing? What is the only thing you would love to do FOREVER then go off and learn how to be the best at it, it won’t give you purpose but it will point in the right direction.

Now that you have purpose, what’s next? World domination ? Turn that startup into a “Stripe” Or “PayPal” the answer isn’t that straight forward, having purpose doesn’t mean you have all the answers it just means your ship is pointing in the right direction, having a clear purpose and clear goals and dreams will help your drive, people with drive and no purpose find themselves often going around in circles asking “how did I end up succeeding in another job that I hate?”
Some over achievers tend to find themselves in jobs that we are good at but we hate! Never let your job try and outline your purpose for you.

Lets see if I can finish off this with as many cliches as possible, having a purpose is finding your gift, that one thing your amazing at and sharing it with the world, maybe even turning it into a job, if you’re waking up every morning and you love what you do then I think you’re on the right track and if you’re reading this and still don’t know what your purpose is then not to worry, it will come, find things you love doing, find time for you! Be happy just the way you are, do things because they’re right not because others say so . Just Be!

December 14, 2022 2022 Purpose No comments yet

What is a Leader? #45 #cong21

Synopsis:

Who are good leaders? are leaders and managers the same person? is the journey to being a great leader taking away from the job of being a good leader.

Total Words

1,357

Reading Time in Minutes

5

Key Takeaways:

  1. Look inward
  2. Caffollas have fine chips
  3. McDonalds do great coffee
  4. Dannollas have great chicken

I may have used that Dad Joke before

About Hassan Dabbagh

I asked my son Who are You!

I’m Me, I’m great .

I hope you don’t mind but for the next bit I’ll speak about myself in the third person.

Hassan is an Educational Technologist who has extensive experience working with teachers on an individual and whole school basis. He enables teachers to get the best from the technology they have available to them which allows them to enhance their teaching in new and inventive ways.

He has a keen interest in using technology in conjunction with his Maker skills to create projects utilising electronics, computers and PCBs to build activities for all ages.

Contacting Hassan Dabbagh

You can see Hassan’s work on MakerMeet or email him.

I’ve an irresponsibly large digital footprint,

Reachout say HI FYI, if you googled me, I’m the other one.

By Hassan Dabbagh

What is it to be a leader?

This is a tough question, when I heard the theme of Congregation this year I thought this will be an easy write, I’ll stick on the YouTube watch a few TED talks and BOOM the post will write it self but that wasn’t the case.

Being a leader and leadership means so many different things to so many different people, Jacob Morgan says Leadership is everywhere. Work, Sport and kids playing in the playground all show examples of leadership so I’m going to ask you now…. Please define leadership in not more than 3 lines.  I’ll share the results with Eoin who on the weekend of congregation is our leader, OR is he?

In my leadership research I came across this video, and it’s true, if you want to know something ask a child. STOP thinking APIs and KPIs and IPs and CRMs and think like a child …… the rest will come, in the meantime take a min and watch this you won’t be disappointed .
Another thing that struck me is everyone on the internet is talking about how to be a great leader, is just being a leader not good enough do we all need to be great leaders, it may be the case the journey to being a great leader is taking away from the job of being a good leader.

Why would you become a leader?

This question is another one that caught me by surprise, WHY, it’s suggests that one day be decide to be come leaders, a second part is WHEN do you make this decision, does it happen on the way to work OR before you go to bed OR at lunch, “I’ll have the chicken roll and oh yeah, today I’ll be a leader”.

There’s very few people out there that describe themselves as leaders other than team leaders which was put in replace to remove that old term “Manager” which when you say it suggests ties and meetings and rottas, a team leader is your buddy, a team leader is your go to person a team leader doesn’t wear a tie?

If you’re a leader can you also call yourself a manager? so many questions so little time.

To me there’s no different between being a team leader and being a company leader, the traits are the same. For some reason we go from being a worker to being a team leader then being a dreaded manager but then as you grow in your organisation the two become one, but it’s my opinion that it’s your skills as a good team leader that will keep you in your job rather than the skills of a good manager …. It’s a personal thing but in my eyes I attach more importance the leaders in a company rather than the managers. Leaders will take us to the next stage and good managers will make sure we get there logistically. I was once told that Steve Jobs was a terrible manager but he was a great leader, to be fair his people skills needed a bit a of work but he did put Apple where it is today, however Tim Cook it’s a great manager and logistics person and as yet I have heard what kind of a leader he is, I’m struggling to see his vision

Who are the leaders I most admire?

“Great leaders don’t look-down at research papers and trends, great leaders see around corners”

I don’t know who said that, it’s seems like something I would have heard on a TED talk, but it rings true, I’m thinking of all the great managers and leaders I’ve had over the years and there’s been loads, I’m almost 50 years old and I still don’t know what I want to do, the most successful leaders I’ve had have not known they were leaders, they brought out the best in me by pushing me and by giving me direction and somehow convincing me it was my idea to take this direction that was I vehemently opposed to 15min ago.

Like the rest of this essay this is a very personal thing but I once asked a company boss I had what drives them, a few of us were working late and …Yes I was THAT guy! …. I was curious to know what kept them going but and how they get to where they are now, they said hard-work (i was expecting that one) and loving what I do, loving the job, if you love what you’re doing it will make the difference, they also said that being a manager was just NOT for them, they hired a manager to do all that kind of management-type stuff,

“so you’re here today because you loved what you did and because you got someone else to do the stuff that was necessary but you didn’t have the interest in doing?” I still speak about his reply today

“not quite!, I’ve hired people to do jobs that they loved doing so I could continue to do what I loved doing which is growing this company and oh yeah, I remove obstacles !”

“Obstacles???????????” and this is the bit I’ve forever quoting, he said “I remove obstacles that prevent people from becoming amazing / achieving /reaching targets / enjoying their work, because if they’re happy and successful in their work then I know I can call on them when the time comes, Look at you!, you’re a DJ at the weekends and you work here, you love both jobs but on a Monday you were impossible to work with so I removed Mondays and Fridays for you and put you on a three day week, you’re productivity went up so much that it was like having you here five days a week and lets not forget it’s 1am and you’re here helping us move premises”.

Who do I admire most… I admire the leaders that make a difference.

In summary I don’t know what it is to become a good leader, there’s no time to become a good leader, it’s just something that happens, I don’t know if we all have it in us but what we do have is the ability to love what we do, the rest will follow, “look after the points and the goals will look after themselves” again don’t know who said that but I’m sure it’s look after the pennies and the pounds etc. etc.

Leaders need to be able to see around corners and see what others don’t, if its a fall in the market or a way to enable someone to be their best self. If you’re reading that and you’re a manager then ask yourself honestly, are you a good leader? Only you can answer that and don’t forget to remove the obstacles including your own.

November 24, 2021 2021 Leadership No comments yet