Our Praised Generation

Bombarded with “you are special” like-phrases, our generation has grown up with praise. Praise with a good cause, praise for better leaders. And now, the the praised generation has joined the workforce. 

Unlike previous generations, ours, change jobs easily and experiment different…

The Guy in the Elevator

Elevators are already awkward. We stand still and say nothing waiting patiently for our floor to arrive. Even if you know someone in the elevator, you still have a very awkward short conversation. To top it off, we in Egypt, in some places, would have a guy in the elevator. That guy’s…

Rejected Dreams

A few years back, I have been to a workshop at work by my team lead. Out of the blue, she wanted to share something very exciting with us. She asked us to get some magazines. She asked us to look at the magazines, to share them across, and cut out the pictures that call for our dreams. Dreams we…

Amateurs Are the New Experts

Amateurs are the new experts.

I believe so, but the question remains: What makes you an expert? How long would you have to be an amateur until you can cross borders to the expert part of the equation?

According to Anders Ericsson’s research on…

Stubborned Deficiencies

The more logical scenario is that someone does not know his deficiencies and therefore isn’t acting on them — to improve them. What strikes to be a very odd behaviour is when a leader knows his deficiencies. Instead of standing up and admitting that he just screwed up, for example, and…

What? Me?

What? Me? No way. Only a few lucky ones can make it to “…”

It’s as if we are inherently programmed that we are set to be ordinary. Maybe a little a above average. Why do we idolize stars, champions or successful people in general that much? They have become what they have wanted because they are naturals…

When It Works Just Fine

Little do we learn about the true reasons that make someone a success. Not even for us to learn from it, to take as an example so we can reflect and start to act. Instead, we keep silent. Even when the hardships are there, it’s not publicised. Unless, of course it was already made…

What Are You Living for?

How whole is your life? What are the things that if you have or fulfil would make you happy? What are you living for?

I have been asked this question so many times, and if I answer, I would say because I am not fulfilling the four core corners of a healthy life, and here they were:

Random

Random signs you get from strangers such as a taxi driver who would ask you “Do you know where the good will come from?” You stand still. You can’t possibly answer to this question because wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you still can’t for sure assert and confirm that whatever you were hoping for is…

Judged

The moment you start thinking about being judged is the moment you know you are in the wrong place. Many people go to job interviews everyday. Some are fresh grads, some lost their recent jobs, some fed up with their current jobs, some want a career jump and some want to change their careers. While we strive to…

Weak-Tie Friends

I am currently reading an interesting book by Meg Ray called The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter — And How to Make the Most of Them Now. 

I was resistant to read it as I have read a review about it that made me totally uninterested. I refuse to think that if I didn’t do what I wanted to…

How Dangerous Are Priorities?

Prioritize. You have got to prioritize. You can’t have everything. I look at you and I see you wanting everything, which makes you so scattered unable to focus to get what needs to be done done. 

I have been told. The above, I have been told. 

We grow up being fed that life…

Constructive Criticism

Constructive criticism. I genuinely want you to be better. Are we passing on judgement? 

One of the very recurring habits we have is judgement. Despite the fact that we are aware that judgement is not a nice thing. We don’t want people to judge us, yet, we judge. Consciously or…

Risk Takers

We are all scared — of different things (or maybe even the same things). Truth is, it’s not only you, it’s not only me or him or her. It’s all of us. We are all scared because we don’t know what will happen next. What was your greatest fright that you have gotten over during the past? Now, you aren’t…

“Don’t be afraid to succeed”

It’s funny that for many years I have wondered why do motivational speakers keep saying “Don’t be afraid to succeed”? I couldn’t make use of this statement. I didn’t get it until I started reading the “Mindset” by Carol Dweck. Turns out there are two kinds of mindsets: fixed and…

If It Interests You

It doesn’t matter how stupid it may feel like, the rule is simple. If it interests you, it interests some others as well. If it happened to you, it happened to someone else as well. Although we think of things and wouldn’t have the courage to say them out loud or try them out, if we knew just…

A bad first draft is better than an empty page. Cluttered thoughts soon develop into a cohesive whole. Being ready is seldom close to be near. The chatterbox tells you it wouldn’t be perfect. It wouldn’t fit right. It’s full of ugly lines. Mockers will always be in sight. It takes them just a few seconds. Care less for all you know they are a mess in…

Smart and Talented Are Not a Select Few

I believed that skills can be taught or at least we can learn them on our own. Practice makes perfect. This statement totally talked to me but when it came to skills, not intelligence and definitely not talent. Presentation skills, writing skills, negotiation…

Neglected Existence

Problems. Things we expect that only us alone are facing. Until people start sharing and then you know that we are all the same one way or another. Problems, a constant existence in our lives. An existence that different people treat differently. Some people will:

It wrinkles the heart. Anger wrinkles the heart. When it’s at yourself, there isn’t an escape. Not a single clear thought you can create. You can’t be kind when your mad is taking control.

Blame Game

When you screw up and want to play the blame game, to feel less of a shame. Unlike the usual, your mind is not buying it this time. You keep digging to try to get the excuse and the more you dig the more you realise how much your brain is not comprehending the blame you are pushing away from yourself. The…

An Apple a Day

“It starts as simple as an apple a day. It starts as simple as the first book in your new library. It starts as simple as the first journal that you get and make the first entry that when people sit will say this is the beginning of the study of a serious student. They’re going to be healthy, they’re…