A Message Worth Sharing Can Give Learning a Purpose

Zinet Kemal had a message she wanted to share before she knew how to publish a book.

In her Fireside Chat conversation, she described questions from her children about differences they noticed and questions other children asked them. Those conversations helped inspire her first book, which she described as a way to encourage understanding and pride.

Publishing was new to her. She recalled listening to authors discuss the process in online conversations and using those opportunities to learn while managing work, study and family responsibilities. She then took part in a writing challenge and brought the book into being.

Let the audience give the learning direction

The starting point was concrete: questions from real children. That gave the project a purpose beyond the desire to become an author. Learning the publishing process became a means of getting a message to the people who could use it.

An editorial parallel for cyber professionals is the question that keeps coming up from colleagues or a community. It might be the beginning of a useful explanation, a workshop or a short guide. Understanding who needs the answer can help determine what to learn and how to present it.

Kemal's experience should not be treated as an expectation that everyone add a major project to an already full life. It is her account of a personal motivation and the learning she pursued around it.

What makes the story useful is the connection between purpose and action. She did not begin with all the skills required for the finished work. She began with people she wanted to reach, then learned how to reach them.

Listen to the original conversation with Zinet Kemal · Read the transcript

From the Fireside Chat archive: original episode published 2022-10-05. This is an editorial reflection on that conversation, not a new interview or an update on the guest’s current role.