Mona AlHebsi
SALAAM, I’M MONA
and I want to help you beat the odds
A couple years ago, I was like most of you’ll – doing more work, getting less recognition, achieving incredible results, but feeling empty from the inside.
I’ve seen a lot of my friends and co-workers experiencing similar patterns career wise, but are hesitant to discuss these awkward feelings with others, eventually concluding that life is unfair and that they can’t do much about their current scenarios, so they just need to live with it…
WHAT? Live With It?! That’s horrible!
Besides, I felt that life was quite monotonous like something was missing or perhaps I lacked the necessary knowledge or tools that would make me more effective and my work more rewarding on a personal level and impactful on a community level. I then reflected on the most happy and fulfilling moments of my life and realized that those were the moments when I’d decided to be more courageous and take total responsibility for the results I achieved and the decisions I made.
Those were the occasions when I’d decided to Beat the Odds and take different routes in life. The scarier each decision was, the more rewarding the outcomes were for me and the more impactful they were for others surrounding me. I made a deal with myself to keep doing things in an unconventional way and become happier, smarter and more successful as a result.
That was it – I had my mantra in life!
”
So, beat the odds and enjoy the rewards
I’m also well aware that this is a very uncomfortable and scary place to be in, unless you have a very strong connection with yourself. This place may be risky, it may be lonely, it may be uncommon – paradigms that many people don’t want to experience even if the long-term outcomes of those paradigms are rewarding. In addition, choosing to do something that is uncommon or unique requires a hell of a lot of work which most people are not willing to put in anyway because they are lazy.
That’s why many people around us choose to rather stay where they are and settle for mediocrity because in their minds, the current place seems “safer” because it’s “familiar”, or so they say or believe. The reality is, these people lack the courage to look within, acknowledge their unique needs, identify what will get them there and more importantly work out the necessary steps to satisfy those needs.
This is especially true for women as I reckon most of them think that they are doing others a favor, especially their families and loved ones by becoming a martyr and sacrificing their dreams, ambitions and aspirations. I strongly believe and talk from experience that as a woman, you need to empower yourself first in order to empower or impact others. This is applicable to all aspects of life, not only career.
As a woman hailing from a somewhat conservative environment, I have struggled a lot throughout the different phases of my journey, be it family, work or my own internal dilemmas. I was always looking for answers around me. I kept falling and getting up for several years. I was willing to explore new things and put in years of hard work and change my reality just because I didn’t want to have any regrets later in life that I didn’t do all that I could.
I’m someone who is very uncomfortable with being ignorant, therefore, over the years, I’ve been dedicating a generous portion of my time, effort and money in self-development activities such as reading books, listening to any audiobook or seminar I can get my hands on, attending workshops, trainings or conferences, acquiring high-level degrees or qualifications and connecting with every person or expert that I thought can help me expand my horizons and make me the best version of myself.
I will let my results speak for me. Today I’m a multi award-winning Emirati Hotelier, Thought Leader, Coach and Author. I hold several international qualifications, have spoken on different forums and have appeared on many media channels. I strongly believe that there is much more to come because I’m still alive and in action.
I’m very happy and proud of my results and the success I have achieved till date. I also believe that happiness and success get compounded by sharing. That’s why I want to help you experience them, not just because I’ve been there and done that, but also because I’ve got the right tools and guiding principles that enabled me to turn the table around and change my reality…
Mona AlHebsi is a gifted individual to work in the hospitality industry, especially in the Human Resources area because she understands the needs of the employees and the organization. She is one of the first UAE Nationals to start working in the hospitality industry and many people would love to read her hospitality experience, emphasizing the challenges she has encountered and how she has overcome them.