During a recent interview I was confronted with two comments; “you must be proud of what you’ve accomplished” and “you have made it as an entrepreneur”. Strangely, these lines rang empty. Sure, I work on creating positive change to those surviving without access to the basic essentials like clean water, fresh food, electricity, and healthcare simply because they didn’t have a job to afford any of it; only there is so much to do and then I cringed at hearing the question “Who is your hero?”
Entrepreneurs are independent spirits. Maybe this is why they become entrepreneurs; it’s an intrinsic part of their personality. I’ve never aspired to be “like” someone, and no one was my “hero”. That was until 2 years ago when I started my entrepreneurial journey with Pi Slice.
When I found my first mentor and coach, he was instrumental in my endeavors to launch Pi Slice and fostered my belief in my values and vision. But you can never know what the unpredictable world and the rollercoaster of emotions that the entrepreneurship journey means until you actually step foot into it. Over time, I have learned that ‘mentoring’ comes in many shapes and forms. It can be a work meeting with someone and they give you candid pieces of advice or it could be the unexpected act of a person passing by that teaches you something so deeply that it hits you like a crash course you weren’t prepared to take. All experiences serve into a deeper personal thread of lessons needed to keep going.
When I was given the opportunity to do CEO Talks, I saw the opportunity to share inspiration in what I call “mentorship on the go”. The talks covered the style of leadership, creativity, business flair and personal traits of some of the most highly recognized CEO’s of the Middle East. We tackled subjects of leadership like the why, the how, motivation, mental toughness, decision-making, ability to change, team, personal traits/values, personal improvement, ambition and more. The conversations were a great opportunity for the audience to get inside the heart and mind of the leaders they’ve watched from afar and ultimately inspire them to take on their own endeavors head on.