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One of the hardest challenges in life must be to go against the path your parents envisage for you.

Take the example of Gemma Chan.

When the now actor graduated from Oxford and turned down an opportunity with a law firm,

instead going to acting school, her parents did

not approve. But that conviction to follow your dreams can pay off. And in her case, although she and

her father didn't speak for months after she turned down the legal job, Chan has become a successful

actor starring in hit movies like Crazy Rich Asians and the sci-fi TV series

Humans. I'm Evan Davis and in this episode of The Decisions that made me, the show from the

bottom line team where we get up close with business leaders, I'm going to hear a similar story.

And if you're a regular watcher of the BBC show The Repair Shop, this guest

requires little introduction. Sonaz Nurunvari, known simply as Sonaz, has been the resident upholsterer

since Series 2. But setting up her own business was no easy task.

So I'm half Iranian, half English, as my name suggests. I was born in Iran. My

parents lived on a merchant navy ship and then eventually came to the UK by the time I was about

18 months old and one of three siblings and back and forwards to Iran a couple of times back to the UK.

But I've spent most of my life in the UK.

And school in the UK?

It's mostly in the UK.

A bit of school out there.

And at home you spoke?

English.

...