The moment I turned CEO
Pablo Picasso said “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
It might be disappointing I ain’t able to mention my gift herein this writing, but let me tell you what reason I am writing for. I am deliberately excited to give my gift away!
Why Now?
Several reasons behind sharing this part of my life with others. A profound one is that I found that nothing in life, nothing, is worthwhile than finding meaning and purpose for life. I claim I found mine. I got to know my gift. Realize my purpose. And accordingly recognize my potential to give it away. By inspiring other people the way I got inspired. Inspiring other people to find their gifts and make an impact on humanity.
It is all about Mindset
We were not taught that life shall throw us some curves. Life is, and was, never straight path nor predictable, in most of the times at least. The more we progress in life, the harder the challenges became. The better we progress in life, the deepen the fears grew inside us.
We were not taught to embrace failure. And success only comes after failure, many failures.
We were not taught how to make money work for us. Not having us working for money.
We were not taught that when we fail, we fail big. We fall forward.
We were not taught that we progress solely by taking chances.
And most importantly, we were not taught how to learn from life.
Nelson Mandela, one of greatest leaders of mankind once quoted…
‘There is no passion to be found playing small — in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.’ — Nelson Mandela
Life can only teaches us all of this the hard way. Adversity has been acknowledge as a blessing by globally recognized leaders. Life achievements cannot be easy and shouldn’t. Ease is the largest threat to progress than hardship (quoted from Denzel Washington).
Not easy but it is surely doable for those who may want it.
My Moment
To cut it short, let me focus on the ending and pin onto that moment I titled my speech.
I am now the CEO of an organization at which, I believe, I make an impact on every single day. Truth is, I never wanted to be a CEO. I never wished to be on top of an organization. I would rather be an influencer than an authority, I thought. But a CEO? No way, it is not me!
Then at a moment, or actually few moments, I realized that the CEO is the leader of the organization not the manager of the organization. The CEO inspires the organization to recognize its purpose then leads it towards accomplishing that purpose.
The moment I started finding meaning to whom I am, my true self, not my resume. The moment I connected the dots backwards. The moment I acknowledged my strengths and weaknesses. I accepted my mistakes and pitfalls.
The moment I learned that a good leader learns everyday how to be a good leader. The moment I understood that innovation is a process not an event.
The moment I realized that life is an infinite game. It is not about wining and losing. It is about learning how to thrive well.
The moment I realized that pain is the high cost of growth, it’s the only way to grow. And that pain is not permanent, pain is temporary.
The moment that I comprehended it is not about me. That very moment is when I turned CEO, a leader one.
Denzel Washington once quoted…
“Don’t just aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference!” — Denzel Washington.
And I reply Amen!
I know this might not be a typical story of how someone develops a career towards the top of an organization. But that’s the reality. Yes, I had always had the commitment, the discipline, the consistency and the enthusiasm to succeed. But I never had that much sense of self-awareness and self-management. I never had the clarity to why I am doing what I am doing.
That clarity about meaning and purpose of life. That what paved my way towards self-satisfaction and happiness. Money and power were and will always be just results to what we are doing, and should never become the purpose. We get lost in life when we set them as purpose.
My Gratitude
Truth is, I wouldn’t have never done it alone. Yes growth happens ONLY from within. But we get help and support from others all the time. We learn from success stories. We learn more from failures. And Thank God, there are plenty of those all around the world. We just have to seek to find them, and learn from them.
Looking backwards, I cannot thank enough Tarek Refaat. My first team leader who had shaped me and taught me about everything during the early days of my career.
And I cannot describe how blessed I am to have a mentor and a friend like Medhat Karam. You experience true leadership from people like Medhat Karam. Medhat is genuinely charming in the way he leads and, I believe, in his relationships whatsoever.
I am grateful for my friend Ahmed Essmat who believed in me since we knew each other back in 2008, since we both never knew we will be working together again. I am grateful for the opportunity I had at appenza eight months ago to become my first destination for my leadership capacity.
I cannot undermine the vast inspirations I had from people whom are leaders in what they are doing whatever that is. Steve Jobs, Denzel Washington, Melissa Perry to name a few.
Sincere and special gratitude to Simon Sinek whom his unprecedent speeches and content wired my mindset to always start with Why and how he fueled my spirit with the bits of optimism he spreads everyday.
Thanks to everyone I worked with and learned from.
Thanks to my wife for her patience and her bet on me the moment she decided I am her life partner.
Though my sole gratitude will remain to God and his mercifulness and generosity.
Hoof! Well, that was my moment and my inspiration. I wish you all find yours.
Whether I know you or not yet, please make it easy to send a note.
Stay inspired. Stay grateful. See you in life!
