Gulf Elite Issue 7

Gulf Elite

KEVIN HART

ALAN WILZIG A SUCCESS STORY RUTHLESSNESS

EAT OR GET EATEN

THE SECRET BEHIND FUNNY MONEY SINGLE TO MINGLE Issue 7 March

simply the best

STUDINOV MARKETING STRATEGIES DESIGN, CONSULTANCY AND MARKETING SERVICES EMAIL US AT: STUDINOVSTRATEGIES@GMAIL.COM

EDITOR’S LETTER

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emember what you used to answer when your parents or your teachers asked you what you wanted to become when you grow up? Remember how passionate your response was, how serious you were about it: I want to become an astronaut! I want to become a pilot! I want to become the president!

And yet, a couple of years down the line, all you care about is a lineup of decent grades to keep your parents cool, spend your days worrying about graduating and getting an average job. All that would make you happy is an office, a salary and enough food to fill up your fridge.

Dreams? Yeah, to hell with that, you think that your childhood aspirations were just too ambitious, too crazy, just stupid dreams you could have never fulfilled. Well, let me break it down for you, you’re a loser! You gave up on your dreams, you let others tell you can’t do what you want, you settled for average, and you were satisfied with being a nobody when you could have been a somebody. You’re a loser because one day you decided that you’re not that good, that it’s impossible to get where you wanted, that you just have to live with the fact that you, like the other seven billion people, mean nothing and can do nothing.

You decided to become part of the herd, a sheep among a bunch of other sheep, a sucker with no prospect to succeed in life.

Now, look back at what I said, pile all of those negative thoughts up, and just throw them away, because that’s where they belong. It’s never too late to have grand ambitions. It’s never too late to once again dream of becoming a billionaire. It’s never too late to say “To hell with people, I’ll follow my passion”. It’s never too late. Successful people are not born with superpowers, they aren’t Superman or the Incredible Hulk, they can’t read minds or predict the future, all that separates you from them is their persistence and resilience in making their dreams come true. They isolate themselves from negative thoughts and negative people. If they set their eyes on something, they would either get it or die trying. They have that burning passion in their guts that pushes them to wake up every morning deciding to be winners, deciding to prove everyone wrong, deciding that life is not meant to be spent on trivial mediocre pursuits. Our days on this earth are numbered, we’re not immortal, you can’t keep on pushing

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things for later, for tomorrow, because you might just as well wake up and find that there is no tomorrow.

Spend your life like you’ll be dead the day after, and see what miracles you will accomplish. People who are fearless, who have nothing to lose, who give their 100% will always win, will always be on top. People who take risks and decide to go all in will have a shot in life, because they aimed for the stars, and when you aim for the stars, you either reach them or land on the moon, and in either way, you’ve gone a long way from where you started.

I want you to read these lines, take a moment, look back at your self, at your dreams, at what you would have wanted to be if you were not afraid. Now I want you to clench your fists, tighten your jaw, feel the blood pumping, and say to yourself “I will pursue my dreams, I will make things happen, and if there is a goddamn person who tells me I can’t, then I will work even harder to prove them wrong, and I will make sure to come back to them when I become successful to tell them thank you, thank you for hating, thank you for doubting, because you pulled the trigger that fueled my desire to succeed so bad, after all, the best revenge is extreme success”.

Get up, look ahead and smile, because a new life full of surprises is ahead, just take that first step.

Mohamed Amine Belarbi - Co-founder/Editor

MARCH ISSUE - 7

Index

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1

The First Date

2

Ruthlessness

3

Single to Mingle

4

Formal Education

5

Alan Wilzig

6

Marion Cura

7

Kevin Hart

8

Too Girly?

9

Online Dating

10

Goodbye Capitalism

11

Emmanuel Louarn

How to nail it to perfection

Eat or get eaten

The perks of being free

It’s so overvalued

A success story

Young, Beautiful & Bright

The secret of Funny Money

The double standards

Let personal branding in

Welcome Talentism

The perfect moment

www.kairossociety.org

THE FIRST DATE

HOW TO NAIL IT TO PERFECTION

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t’s your first date. You’re probably nervous, reluctant to wake up from your crazy coma and feeling that enormous stomach pain that might just make you puke any second. Well calm down, this is all normal, I mean after all, you’re going out with a beautiful woman you´ve had some kind of crush on. But rather than living your life vicariously through animated degenerates, understand that no date has to be that scary. Women love confidence more than Todd Carney loves a tattooist’s gun. You’ve done the difficult part; you’ve got her number, and got her to agree to go out with you. All you have to do now is not to mess it up! Women are generally unpredictable, so there’s no scientific formula for the perfect date – there are only general rules of thumb, let me break them down for you.

WHAT TO WEAR Don’t dress above your means Don’t dress above your means – If you’ve saved 12 months for that Givenchy printed tee, but lived like Tom Hanks in Castaway to do so, it will become glaringly obvious to your date, if you manage to secure date two. Dress accordingly to where you’re going – because you sure as hell won’t wear a

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suit if you’re going for a nice quite walk down the city and you won’t wear a casual outfit if you’re going to a fancy dinner. Now you can’t dress accordingly if you´re not clean– groom yourself! Find your signature scent, get a clean shave and for gods sake, trim your fingernail (trust me, she will notice)

WHERE TO GO Much like not dressing above your means, don’t take her for a 15-course degustation dinner at a high-end restaurant if it means that you’ll be eating Weet Bix for the next month to save money. But on the other side, that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to take her to Maccas or your favorite kebab place that’s been red flagged by the city health inspectors. The idea is to get to know this girl, to talk to her, and, most importantly, listen to her. Take her somewhere casual, somewhere that will allow you both to converse without yelling, and without the risk of constant interruptions.

HOW TO ACT Be a gentleman. Sounds simple, but few truly understand what it means. Everyone has their own version, but I abide by these rules:

MARCH ISSUE

Pick her up and drop her off Yes, you’re going to be more nervous than a drug mule in customs, but man up.

Don’t be late If before you leave your house for dinner you require more bodywork than a written-off F1 car, give yourself enough time to do so. She’s no doubt going to make you wait while she gets ready, but she’s got two x chromosomes, so indecisiveness is built into her DNA, not yours.

Listen Pay attention and try not to interrupt her. This can be a strategic advantage for securing date two – remembering her favorite movie, or even her best friend’s name, will put you in good stead.

It also demonstrates that you were listening while she was talking, even if you were really trying to avoid getting caught staring at her cleavage.

Pay for dinner I can’t emphasize enough on this one.

If she has to pay for dinner, she’ll also be paying for a cab ride home. Oh, and guess what, you’re not invited on the ride.

The goodnight kiss ‘Should I lean in?’ it’s the eternal question. Remember when I said that women were unpredictable, so ignore every romantic comedy you’ve ever watched – you’re not Hugh Grant, and we discovered that Hitch was useless. I can only speak from experience. A first date doesn’t have to herald the beginning of new relationship. But, if by the night’s end, you want to see this girl again, and you get the vibe she’s into you, hold off until at least date three.

And if you never want to see this girl again, don’t be a douch about it. Say goodbye to her the same way you greeted her, as a gentleman.

SYDNEY MEN’S FASHION GULF ELITE 5

RUTHLESSNESS EAT OR GET EATEN

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MOHAMED AMINE BELARBI

here are people we know we shouldn’t mess with or push to the limit, and there are some we pick on just for the fun of it. There are those you cant possibly upset and those you can fail without fear of repercussions. There are those you always meet on time, pay on time, deliver to on time, and those you don’t give a damn about because, well, they have no value to you.

to see how they can help. People are driven by either incentives, or fears, these are our basic animalistic drives for survival, and as humans, we will always prioritize our self-interest over the public good. If your colleague can become the next CEO by screwing you over, then he most probably will.

If your friends decide you are becoming too much of a liability when they go out to drink and have fun, they will cut you out. You see people will Now if you want to be the guy or girl only carry through if it is beneficial who everyone takes for granted, who for them. And if someone ever does earns as much respect and fear as the you a favor, expect it to come back neighbor’s little kid, then read no fur- later biting you in the ass. Now comther because you are not cut for real ing back to the idea of incentives and life, you are not cut for success and fear, we cannot always afford giving sure as hell not cut for power. But if away things to keep people in check. you are an individual who wants to You can’t always pay extra to have cut through the crap and get work them show up on time, because that’s done instead of wasting time asking what they are supposed to do in the people again and again to deliver, or first place, and every dime that goes standing alone in the room waiting for their way is a dime out of your pockpeople, who where supposed to be et. Now, this doesn’t only happen in there 10 min ago, then this is for you! the workplace, this happens in college, in relationships, friendships and all sort of interactions, and the soon“And the butchery begins” er you learn how to deal with it, the Don’t fool yourself thinking that peo- better. Let me walk you through the basics of ruthlessness as learnt from ple around you are all saints waiting Francis Underwood.

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The nature of promises is that they remain immune to changing circumstances Promises. Yes, we all have a hard time with them. “She promised she will vote for me”, “he promised to submit the file on time”, “he promised not to tell them”.

You see, promises are one thing, reality is another. People who promised you something are not necessarily going to be the same people when the time comes to hold onto their promise. If they think they can just promise now and get out of an awkward or tough situation, they will no matter what, and chances are that they will just go about their life and forget what they promised in the first place. People promise to get out from a situation and buy time knowing that they will be better off later and not compelled to stick to their word. The only way you can make sure people will stick to their promises is to show them that the alternative to them breaking their assurance is going to be disastrous. Always make sure that you have the upper hand, that you have a plan B for those who play you up, that you can destroy them in cases they don’t deliver.

Don’t be forgiving; once you say it’s ok the first time, you are giving them a free pass to do it again. Not only that, but you are also signaling to others that it’s ok to cross you, that it’s ok to promise you one thing and later tell you that circumstances changed so you can’t stick to your word. If you have the chance to, make an example of someone who failed you. He said he will put that report first time in the morning on your desk but didn’t deliver? Then cut him out, fire him, take him out of the deal, show him and

people around that you have a problem with mediocrity and false promises, that you don’t tolerate being told one thing and getting something else. Next time someone promises he will get you that file the next hour, be sure he will hand it to you 10 minutes sooner because he knows that the alternative is not that appealing.

I have zero tolerance for betrayal You are sitting in the boardroom, 12 faces with blank stares looking all tense.

It’s a confidence vote, your ass is on the line, but you are confident because your associates and friends said they got your back and will vote to keep you in that chair. Hands start rising and before you realize it you’re already being called former chairman. What happened? Betrayal, your friends went for the front-runner, they voted for the guy who bought them with the larger bonus.

See, this situation can happen during a board meeting, but it can as well happen in our everyday life. Your friends bail out on you, your buddies sell you short, your partner stabs you in the back. Now betrayal usually happens when people think that you’re finished, that once you are backstabbed your only option left is the garbage bin. People will weigh the pros and cons of supporting you, and if they are better off kicking you to the wolves, then god bless, because they’d rather be on the bright side.

The trick to save yourself form these situations? Make sure they understand that leaving your ranks will have far more terrible consequences than anything. They have to understand that if they don’t show up for you, you will dedicate your life to haunt them down, that you will

dedicate every second of your remaining life to break them to pieces. Make it clear that you going down means the whole goddamn boat will sink, that you won’t be going to hell without bringing everyone down with you. If you are ruthless, chances are people don’t want to have you as their enemy. If you feel there is a faint smell of blood, don’t wait and take action right away. You caught someone plotting behind your back, don’t say it’s fine if they tear up and promise never to do it again. Strike hard and fast, and make sure everyone knows. Never tolerate betrayal or insubordination, because it’s usually the first crack in the building that leads to the total collapse.

In this life, what you see is a bunch of buildings, people, cars, smiles and order, but the truth is, life is a jungle full of wolves, there is chaos, fake smiles and a lot of tension in the air. You either eat or get eaten; there is no third option. If you’re not going up the ranks, then you are sinking down to the bottom. Never accept mediocrity, never tolerate disobedience, and if people don’t live up to your standards, don’t lower them, just look for someone else who can deliver.

It’s good to be forgiving and soft, it’s good if you want to settle for average and have patience for disappointments, but if you are determined to make it to the top, then you’ll have to be radical in the way you deal with indiscipline and unfaithfulness. Always have a plan B, always have an exit strategy, and always hold your enemies and friends at close proximity. There will come a time where you will have to make a decision, take action, and if that day comes and you’re not ready, then congratula-

tions you’ve just been served on someone’s plate, but if you are fully equipped and ready to deal with the situation firmly, then god have mercy on the person who crossed your path.

The voice of generation Y

www.elitedaily.com Coming Soon

SINGLE TO MINGLE

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THE PERKS OF BEING FREE

t’s been that time of the year again, the day all women were waiting for to see what their men were really made of, if they could step up their game and pull off the event of the year – Valentine’s Day. The day all men feel the pressure of doing something special and romantic, something that will set the tone for their relationship for yet another year. But I´m not here to preach about what you can do to pull off the ultimate Valentine’s Day or how to make your relationship work out, no, this for all the singles out there, the people who feel all blue and down because they got no one to cuddle with on a Saturday night. The people who are so desperate to share their love with someone, that they would honestly date anyone just for them to hear the three magic words. Well calm down, you see, while you are so blinded by the obsession of finding the right man or woman to satisfy your needs, there are so many benefits and perks of actually being single. Let me break it down to you.

THE PRESSURE First things first – the pressure! Can you honestly imagine all the pressure and constant gravity of thoughts each partner has – what they have to do and how they have to do it, planning weeks ahead what they have to buy for the right occasion and of course, the necessity for constant spontaneous thoughts in order to keep the spark GULF ELITE 15

alive. Now yes this may all be worth it when you’re in a relationship, but you’re not, so snap out of it! For the “singles clan”, pressure is not on the list! There is absolutely nothing to worry about, no women to satisfy with an expensive gift and no man to please. And as much as you would like to celebrate New Years’ Eve or Valentine’s Day with someone you love, take this time to love yourself first. Get on the phone, buy yourself some take-out, get cracking on a couple of good movies, jump into your most comfortable PJs and embrace the moment of “me” time, because in-between your hectic schedule and visiting your family every Friday, you barley have time for yourself!

THE OBLIGATED TATTOO Is it just me or does it actually seem like for every relationship we “fall for” you’re obligated to tattoo your woman’s name on the side of your arm or to script your mans’ initials on your wrist just to show that you’re “for real” this time. And unless you’re certain that this is your “happily ever after”, somewhere deep down you’re going crazy about how you’ll be able to cover it up if things go off track. I mean you have no idea how many friends I have that have tried to make the name “Sofia” or “Mark” look like a designer flower…. its hilarious! But yet again, if you’re in the “singles clan”, nothing to worry about, as a matter of fact, why don’t you

run down the closest tattoo studio and or a woman to make yourself happy! And in-script “single to mingle bitch” just be- even though plenty of people have that cause you can! mentality, it’s crazy! Why would you chain your happiness to another man or woman that’s sooner or later going to turn THE WALLET into an obsession because “you can’t live without them”? The question is not if you It’s not like it’s some hidden truth or can’t live without them, it’s if you won’t myth, and there is absolutely no shame live without them. in saying it - yes you do save a ton of money while being single. Now just beYou don’t need anybody to make you cause you’re stating this doesn’t mean happy, get it? Being happy is a decision that you’re cheap, no, it’s simply stating you make, not a consequence of your cira fact. And don’t lie to yourself saying cumstances. Learn and accept that you that it doesn’t affect your wallet, when it are, in fact, allowed to be single and hapdoes! It’s her birthday and you want to py (simultaneously), because once you buy her that new Chanel bag that she´s do, life will become so much simpler. So been talking about for weeks now. He clean yourself up, put on your ultimate just got promoted and you want to throw outfit and do what ever you want to do, him a little party to show your love and with whoever you want to do it with, not support. Small expenses like these play because you can, but because you dea vital role in keeping a relationship susserve it. tainable, and more importantly, keeps the spark alive. Now I understand how receiving a gift from a partner you love can be NO COMMITMENTS more satisfying than ever because of that overwhelming feeling you get, but under- Couples are couples, committed and destand something; You do not need a man voted to each other and no one else. Their

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time and efforts are almost solely concentrated on their relationship, trying to keep the spark and their feelings alive. And sometimes as much as you might be into another woman or interested in another man, you can’t really do anything about it without putting your current relationship in jeopardy. Now I’m not saying that you’re limiting your options when being with one partner, you’re probably very happy with whom you’re with now and can’t wish for anything else – great! All I’m saying is that you’re not as emotionally chained as all the singles out there – I mean after all, they are emotions, and just like the stock-market you never know how they´re going to act or react, whether they go up, down, sideways or in freaking circles – you simply don’t know.

Hello singles! Yes take this opportunity, not to run out and find the closest and best fish you can get your hands on, but to mingle around and see what’s out there on the market. There are no commitments to any man or woman. No cupcake Tuesdays and certainly no family dinners you have to attend. As a matter of fact the only thing you have to commit to right now, is for you to be happy and nothing else! Once you´ve had your “me” time, felt fulfilled and content about your current state in life – then you can bring out the big guns and try to go for it.

EIGHT LETTERS, THREE SYLLABLES I almost forgot, the three magic words; I Love You. Now before we move on any further, lets just get one thing straight; these three words might just be another three words in your English vocabulary, but for GULF ELITE 17

some people, they mean the world. The three words that make you feel those gigantic butterflies in your stomach all over again, the three words that put that huge smile on your face, the three words that makes that moment unflawed and puts everything into place. So lets imagine it’s New Years’ eve, you’re minutes away before the clock strikes midnight which means a new beginning of a new year and more importantly, a new clean slate, a new page of your two year long relationship. Now he might be glancing into your gleaming eyes waiting for you to spill out the words you´ve been dying to hear – but nothing comes out. He keeps on waiting thinking you’re just as caught up in the moment as he is, but you can’t seem to say it anymore.

ing, single people tend to see nothing but happy couples, and in contrast, couples tend to see nothing but happy singles.

You do the math.

Now yes, if you do have the opportunity to share your intimacy and love with someone you care about, then all the headlines above are probably worth it.

But the people in the singles clan are not forced to say the “three magic words” due to the immense mental pressure you might have to say it. We´re not obligated to share the “three syllables” just to make it official. You can wait, wait as long as you like, figure out the right time to met your man or women, go on a couple of dates, see what’s hiding behind the curtains, and then, then you can start thinking about saying “I Love You”.

And if you’re still not convinced that you don’t need another man or woman’s presence to make you happy, I’ll leave you with one last thought; Statistically speak-

IBRAHIM NAJI

FORMAL EDUCATION IT’S SO OVERVALUED

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remember sitting in class one day, I must’ve been in the 11th or 12th grade, and I looked up at a poster pasted on the wall. On the left side stood a construction worker covered in dirt, visibly worn down as if he’d just put in a hard day’s work, on the right was a doctor, smiling as if the world was all sunshine’s and rainbows. You could tell what they were trying to say even before they said it, but below the two images in bold writing was something along the lines of, “Get an Education”. The idea was that a doctor was something “good”, something that paid well and something to aspire to be, while the laborer was “a failure”, and something you do when you’re completely out of options.

I honestly go crazy just thinking about that image. The propaganda, the cowardice, the underlying economics of an industry trying to keep paying students in their funnel rather than earning and learning in the real world. And this very same poster was in other schools all over the world! It subtly influenced a generation to view labor as the last option, and a degree as the goal.

Now, we suffer for it.

it doesn’t. Education is learning, I’d argue that you do more learning in the real world hustling and working, than you would in a classroom filled with its distractions and content that isn’t applicable to the stuff you’re going to have to learn once you get out of the system. A formal education isn’t the only option, and those who pitch it as such are ruining our society.

A NATION BUILT BY THE HANDS OF MEN As we demonize labor we lose the values that built our society, literally. And we lose the men that built our society to jobs that pay less and provide less value to the rest of society. Was our society built by men?

Yes! This isn’t a sexist remark, our society, the buildings, roads, bridges, and borders, were all built primarily by men.

Somewhere, somehow, we’ve morphed into a society that doesn’t value the kind of people who leave their imprint on our fabric with their sweat and tears. We’ve turned into a society that looks down on manual labor when it’s manual labor and hard work that´s necessary for us to live in the ease that we cling to.

This piece isn’t an attack on education, not at all, actually the opposite. It’ll provide a different narrative and an alternative solu- I remember there was this Sopranos epition. It’s challenging the notion that “an ed- sode when Tony was meeting Meadow, his ucation” requires a diploma, when actually, daughter, at her school. He picked her up GULF ELITE 20

and they walked by a church that was close by. Tony brought up the familiar story – at least familiar to her – of his grandfather building that church when he came over from Italy, the first to do so in his family. You could see the respect in Tony’s eyes, how his grandfather’s hands helped build this wonderful monument to God. He wasn’t the foreman, he wasn’t the architect, he was a laborer. Then here’s Tony, whose kind is, whether we like to admit it or not, respected and glamorized far more than his grandfather’s kind by movies, media, and our imaginations.

marketing and good old fashioned sales were taught in colleges and in universities, but they are not.

Some people want to earn a living, and just because you’re paying to get an education in an institution, doesn’t mean you’re not getting an official education in the real world and getting paid for it.

If there are two people pitted against one another to get a job, which one are you going to choose; the guy who’s spent four years working for your company, performing far beyond expectations, breaking sales records, making you more Our society was literally built on the backs money, or the guy who just finished colof individuals who worked hard, physical- lege and who’s never got his hands dirty? ly. It’s even said that there are three million “labor” jobs in the States that no one More and more companies are seeing the wants. Jobs that are dying to be filled and value of actual experience, especially the that, believe it or not, pay SIX FIGURES start-ups of today’s world. You may have because we’ve devalued the labor indus- to start lower on the totem pole, but if try. We’ve developed a bunch of self-en- you’re a hard worker, if you’re ambitious, titled douchebags who take more from and willing to work more than anyone society than they give, and to be honest, else in your firm, four years spent in the it’s the educators’ faults and the politi- field rather than studying about your field cians who push the notion that “everyone may end up doing you more good than a needs an education”, when our society, fancy piece of paper. Plus you’ll have four and maybe even you, would be better off years being paid as a worker, not four without one. years paying to study.

WANT DEBT? GET AN EDUCATION Even though it may sound like it, I’m not anti-education, not at all. I just don’t think it’s for everyone, and that’s a good thing!

Not everyone wants to be thousands of dollars in debt after four or five years of learning nothing they can really apply in the real world. I mean sure, if response

Chad Howse GULF ELITE 21

ELITE PROFILE

ALAN WILZIG

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here are people in this life who give up, and those who fight their way up. There are people who hide behind excuses, and others who make plans. There are many who don’t have the guts to pursue their dreams, and few who go after their goals or die trying.

We had the chance to interview an individual whose journey is nothing short of an inspiration to all of us, an individual who didn’t take life for granted when he could have easily done so, a visionary who built his success stone by stone and never stopped pushing the limit when he could have enjoyed a lifelong vacation spending his wealth and time caring only for his own self.

Alan Wilzig is man unlike others. A graduate of Wharton Business School, financier, philanthropist, semi-processional racer, entrepreneur, investor, restaurateur, loving father and husband, Alan kept himself busy for years now, but to understand his story, one has to look at the tale of his father first.

THE FATHER FIGURE Alan Wilzig’s father didn’t have it as easy as his son, in fact, he didn’t have it as easy as anyone of us, the reason being he was mistreated in Nazi labor camps and lost most of his relatives in Auschwitz. For someone to withstand the GULF ELITE 24

suffering and pain of such experience is simply a miracle, a miracle Alan knows all too well is a constant reminder about what his father went through to offer him the chance to grow up not worrying that he will be next in line to enter the gas chambers in Nazi Germany. Alan’s father moved to the USA with no family, no money, but with a determination and resolve to start all over again no matter how hard it would be.

“I worship my father spiritually and intellectually: He came with 10 bucks as his net worth to America flying away from Nazi Germany. When he landed here it was snowy, and the first 50 bucks he made in the US was through shoveling snow. 30 years later he ended up owning a bank and an oil company that are publicly traded on the NYSE.” Why would you look up to Steve Jobs or Barack Obama when you had such a person in your life? Sometimes we tend to forget that what we think we are entitled to is something given, something obvious for us to have and own, but just a couple of decades back, people had to fight and die in their attempts to enjoy the most basic of things: freedom, a decent living, the right to live and equality.

If you think today that you are putting enough efforts in your studies, in your business, in your relationships, believe us, you don’t know what putting an effort into getting something is.

The admiration Alan has for his father was noticeable throughout the interview, and the way he talked about him was a clear indication that the father was more than just that: He was a mentor, a friend, a confident, a teacher, a partner and a role model.

“He would be happy to see me doing this today, mentoring bright young people that have incredibly great idea. I understand that for a lot of people out there, the first step is the hardest, getting the first clients or landing the first contracts. Those are the toughest times, and my father used to tell me that much.

The first one is the hardest one, the first dollar, the first million, the first billion. If you’re smart and prudent, it’s easier to double or triple a fortune than to create one. This is something I have learnt and incorporate through my venture capital work. Giving startups and enterprises that first funding breakthrough means the world to them, because once that first investment goes in, everything else follows. But again, it’s not like we accept anyone and invest right away. You have to send people off so that they can polish their ideas, you have to reject them a couple of times until they get the right product, and then you throw in some cash. I mean, it took my father 20 years as a salesman before he could afford to buy his first share of stocks. He had to teach himself through newspapers, he had to work hard to earn that first breakthrough. Discipline and perseverance is key in these case.”

EDUCATION Who needs to study when you have money, a family business promised to you and nothing to prove to anyone?

Well, even though it might be tempting, and although you might think school is so overrated, education is and will always be a big part of who you are, and without it, you’re definitely missing out on something.

“My father used to say, as a source of both embarrassment and pride, I can tell you exactly how the federal reserve monetary policy will affect the prices of the bond or stock market because I lived it. I taught it to myself everyday riding home on the subway or the train when I was just a worker. It started making an intuitive sense to me, I understood the metrics, I understood right away how companies were valued, when a firm was overvalued or undervalued, but he would say, because the Nazis ended my education at 13, that’s what I miss the most, I wish I could have continued my education because I may well tell you about fiscal policy, the IMF, but I can’t tell you how this watch on my wrist works and keeps time.”

Yes, you might be a great programmer because of the 10 years you spent writing codes in your bedroom, but if you’re going to play with the big boys, sit on the same table with the executives and enjoy an intellectual discussion with your fiancé, knowing only how to code wont make the cut. There are things you can learn in life that school cannot offer, but there is also plenty to learn in a class-

room that the street will never teach you, so humble yourself and open up that textbook and earn that degree, it will come in handy at some point.

Alan Wilzig learnt this the hard way: His father, who went through the hardships of life and realized how valuable education can be, didn’t go soft when it came to sending Alan back to his books.

“My father would come in and snap off the television with such an anger, and would turn to me and say: turn that thing off and read a book. He didn’t want us to suffer what he had to go through”

WORKING HARD PAYS OFF If there is anything that we can learn from Wilzig’s journey to success, it´s definitely that working hard does pay off. Now you´ll meet those who say that success is the result of luck, of connections, of having someone else looking after you, but I’d love to see those people say the same nonsense to a person escaping the Nazi camps after losing his family and building a fortune in the US out of shoveling snow.

“The great thing about the USA is that you don’t need to be born a Rockefeller to be a Rockefeller. Everyone can make it, and that’s the story of my grandfather who came to America and made a fortune through various entrepreneurial ventures. I mean you see today, you can be a bunch of kids developing innovative

apps out of your parent’s garage, and next thing you know you are selling your app for 19 Billion USD”.

But working doesn’t mean you won’t have your share of troubles! Alan is far from the successful guy who jumped from one good deal to another. He had his troubles and tough times as everyone else; the secret is to never let those moments drag you down. As Rocky would put it “It ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s how about how hard you can get hit and keep on moving forward. That’s how it is done!”

“My life hasn’t been all successes, I have had my share of failures but I have been fortunate enough that my successes far outweigh my setbacks.”

MOTORSPORTS PASSION It’s in his Facebook profile, he talks about it with his wife, kids, friends and anyone interested in knowing who Alan Wilzig is: Motorsports. Now it looks like an addiction, sounds like an addiction, so it probably is one. Motorsports have been Alan’s passion for a while now, that’s why it comes as no surprise that he´s built the largest private racetrack in the US – in his backyard. Taking it too far one might think, but when it comes to one’s passion, it’s never too much!

“For me, growing in a house where there was no watching of sports or television or participation in clubs, was hard. I was deprived of the things many young people spend an awful lot of time playing, and talking about. Anything remotely

connected to sports was, for my father, a waste of time. Later on as I moved to college, I started joining competitive teams, and I felt that sports were a perfect medium to distress and let the steam off, but these were mostly distractions. My passion was for motorsports; racing cars, hitting the gas and listening to the tires tear off the asphalt. People are obsessed with European soccer teams or NFL players; I am obsessed with the Dakar rally and the 24 hours of Le Mans!”

It’s never too late to follow your passion, do what you love and fulfill your dreams, never too old to tick off those boxes in your bucket list. Alan, at the age of 45, decided to give it a try, and today he’s never had a single regret about it.

“I would have never though that at 45 I would say let’s go racing against professionals who were 22 years old, had the fastest cars on the track and were karting even before they started walking. You see, I breathe motorsports, I live motorsports, I eat and sleep motorsports. I dedicate a lot of free time to my passion, now my backyard is blanketed with 1 meter of snow, so while I would usually race lotus cars on the circuit, I am now skiing and driving snow hawks.”

you better do it at home! My farm with the private circuit is a couple of hours from my house, which allows me to bring my kids and wife over here to have fun, drive a different car every now and then and enjoy my time with my wife and kids. Although motorsport is my passion, it doesn’t have to be all about me. My wife Karin and my kids have a blast driving these fine machines aswell.

They love it as much as I do, and that’s what makes the whole experience that much more rewarding because my family can be a part of it.”

NOTHING IS PERMANENT ASIDE FROM YOUR DEATH Alan recalled the philosophy of his father, a philosophy that could help us move a long way if only we applied it in our everyday life, and coming for a guy who survived the holocaust, it should have a great deal of truth to it.

“Only your death is permanent, everything can be changed, can be improved, there will always be hope for renewal, a chance for renaissance.”

Yes, you have no excuse to stop pursuing your goals, the only time you should Some of you are probably still stuck with give up and stop hustling is when you the idea that Alan owns the largest priare buried 20 feet under, but until then, vate racetrack in his backyard, so here every second matters, every decision something more on that: you make, every person you meet, there is always a chance to keep on moving “Having a private circuit is the dream of forward or reinvent yourself completeevery motorsport enthusiast. I mean if ly. I mean, look at youth today, the way you want to drive at 200 mph without they just surrender to the “harsh” realilooking over your shoulders for cops,

ties of life. You talk to Gen-Y and all they have to say is that there is nothing you can do, the markets look bad, there is no way to find a decent employment, the political leaders are failing them blablabla… When you hear this whining, just stop them and say: What are you going to do about it?

“Gen-y has lost confidence in the corporate world, lost confidence in big companies, lost hope in Wall Street. I mean I don’t blame them at first, they saw their parents or relatives getting kicked out after 40 years of service with a small thank you note whenever the company is restructuring or moving offices, they started understanding that loyalty means nothing. But when there is a will there is a way. Instead of begging for a job around, invent your own. Become an entrepreneur, work for yourself; this is the new way of doing things, the new American dream of never having to work for anyone else again. If my father did it decades ago, and if young people still do it today, then you will have no excuses!”

To sum it up, Alan is someone who teaches us that we should not take things for granted, that we should work hard every day in order to pursue our dreams and prove ourselves. Having a dream is always worth running after, because it’s never too late to succeed, it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. As long as you’re passionate about what you want, nothing can stop you. But remember, your successes are the result of your work and other people’s contributions at various points in life, so make sure you pay back and make a difference in other people’s lives.

We have only one world, and whether we like it or not, we have to share it, and the best way to make it a livable place is by making sure everyone is chipping in.

You have a skill; put it at good use. You have wealth; let others have a taste of it.

You have a story, share it with the world and inspire people around you.

MOHAMED AMINE BELARBI

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MARION CURA

YOUNG, BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL MOHAMED AMINE BELARBI

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oung, bright and beautiful, that’s Marion Cura in a nutshell.

The French young model and aspiring lawyer comes from a city that matches her grace and elegance, namely Montpellier in southern France.

Marion Cura started modeling just a year ago, with the intention to just find a stress free hobby and having some fun away from the intense law courses back in university. But as it usually goes, one thing led to another, and soon Marion felt that she has a thing for modeling. It wasn’t the fame, the money or the being in the spotlight. Modeling allowed her to explore new things about herself, to discover her body and beauty even further. She could feel real, relaxed and happy during a photo session, and she would leave that for nothing.

Marion still models during her free time, using the shoots as a time to relax, to let things go, to smile at the camera and feel like she owns the world, but the striking model isn’t planning to shoot pictures for a living. Behind that calm and sensuous smile is a girl with grand ambitions for professional growth. Marion’s plan is to finish her law degree and excel in the courtroom. One thing is for sure, anyone crossing her path in a legal case should worry twice, because if she doesn’t strike you down with her charming grin, her legal expertise will do the job!

Photography Cannon Ball Picx

KEVIN HART

THE SECRET BEHIND FUNNY MONEY

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ncle Richer Junior the certified thug, Cousin All the Christian, The literal step dad and last but not least the crazy ex-wife we´ve all heard about.

This all sounds too good to be true and would make the ultimate story, if you added all the right ingredients to it. Sugar-code the drug problems, over- exaggerate your women’s craziness and overdo your level of honesty and you got yourself one hell of a cocktail! Now all you would need is a crazy little man to pull the stunt off, but who? A man who’s unbelievably relaxed but yet has the confident attitude to satisfy the public? An individual who does killer facial expressions along side of the habitual poignant “story telling”? Or someone with a complete open honesty who lets everyone have a taste of his life craze, giving them a close and upfront insight of what it’s like to be… Kevin Hart!

This guy was born and raised in Philly, with a “whollahopping” father who spent most of his time in and out of jail during Kevin’s childhood – not really your “typical” upbringing that first comes to mind. But he kept on pushing it dealing with small local stand-ups while working as a shoe salesman in Philadelphia. A rough start to what was going to be an amazing career, because it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine’s: at the start of his career he got booed on several stages and even had chicken thrown at him once! Imagine being so bad you get chicken thrown at you. But this shoe-salesman busted his ass off, fighting through every comedy club, proving to himself and the public that he is, in fact, a living legend. Now long story short, I still keep on asking myself “how

did a shoe-salesman become one of the most iconic brands in show-business today?” How did a kid, who did stand-ups at amateur nightclubs during his late teens, get a BET Platinum Mic Viewers Choice Award, Star in Hollywood blockbusters together with Ice Cube, Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Kelly Rowland AND make millions of dollars by being the face of the most historically prestigious brands in the world? Well I’ll tell you this; it sure as hell wasn’t easy.

CHILDHOOD TRIGGERED DESIRE Kev grew up watching comedy that came from the best of both worlds, embracing his fathers’ “dirty” comedians such as Eddy Murphy and Richard Pryor while listening to the more “clean” comedy his mother used to watch like Bill Cosby and Jerry Seinfeld. Two different contrasted comedy genres that really set the tone for Harts astonishing career, allowing him to mix and combine the “dirty” together with the “clean”, which has really propelled him into unimaginable skies, presenting us with a whole new type of comedy. But what really drove him to go after what he has achieved today? Could it really be as simple as watching comedians growing up, or is there something a little closer to the chest?

As mentioned before, Kevin grew up with a coke-head as a father who was barley present during his childhood (unless his was supporting him during his Spelling Bees, wearing no

draws) leaving him with Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby as his main heroes, someone he looked up to and could identify with. These were his father figures who triggered his immense passion and drive to reach the level of success they had and that he knew he was capable of achieving. A level of success that was going to put him on a whole new pedestal, making him a legend amongst legends.

The point here is that how and what you embrace and learn from your childhood experiences really establishes the foundation for your future success, no matter how you define it. If your childhood was tough and you didn’t have access to the same “privileges” as the other kids did, good! Use those memories to motivate you and to push you into reaching the unachievable. Use those experiences and tell yourself “I won’t let my children go through the same life as I had and deprive them from the childhood experiences they deserve”, because that exactly what Hart did, and boy did he make it!

ORIGINALITY AT ITS FINEST There are thousands if not millions of comedian out there who are trying to climb up the ladder of success, but fail. Year after year there are only a handful of individuals who actually manage to get into the spotlight and ride the wave of success, yet there has not been anyone like Kevin Hart who reached this type of global achievements and recognition. So what makes this comedy so much more entertaining, so much better than anyone else at this point of time?

Kevin seems to have some kind of natural ability to open up about the craziest stories, explaining how he once caught his ex-wife in the back of his trunk or the way he exploits his “short” characteristics in order to make fun of himself – making something out of everything. But that´s exactly it, there are very few comedians out there who are willing to open up and sacrifice personal stories that are close to the chest, in order to achieve that momentum and that climax of entertainment. I mean if I told you that I had a dumb baby that kept on getting in the damn oven every time he felt like it, you´ll be cold not to laugh.

Kevin Hart uses weird, unusual and personal stories that most people would almost find offensive and uncool, and turns them into something out of the unusual. All of a sudden people where laughing at

his drug-addicted father and even at him dropping the casket at his moms funeral, it might not have been for real, but you would think that laughing at dropping a casket wouldn’t be funny. He does what most comedians have not managed to do! Learn from it! Use your weaknesses and your drawbacks as advantages in anyway possible. Don’t let other people exploit your shortcomings for you, exploit them yourself because it sends out a vibe of confidence that you actually managed to gain something positive out of your setbacks.

PERSONAL BRANDING When was the last time you saw a picture or a video of Kevin Hart? That’s right, you can’t remember, because he’s been all over the freaking place! From the big screen to Manchester City’s Etihad Arena. From Madison square garden to TV commercials. From NBA games to billboard pictures – he´s literally all over the place! Now some people might be saying that “he’s blurring out his sacred identity as a comedian when dealing with different “areas of business”” - shoot yourself! Hart has created a name for himself by hosting and representing huge international brands, and that’s been putting him on the map. A strategy that gives him that celebrity outshine that he will forever maintain, even if everything goes wrong. A backup that he can use to lean on whenever it all crashes. Why you ask? Well because there is something more valuable than money that comes with fame, a renewable resource. Connections. Do you have any idea how connected he must be if he´s been in the “celebrity industry” for at least a year? The people you know, the individuals you´ve met are so much more important in the long run, than all of the money in the world. It’s your connections; it’s your network that allows you to branch out into greater ventures.

It’s the people you know that lend you a helping hand when you’re heading vertically down.

I guess the lesson to be learnt here is, don’t just focus all of your energy and ambitions on one particular place, and don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. Try getting your brand all over the place, branching out into every industry and injecting your trademark into every corner of the world, because you would be sure that, if one thing screws up, you have nine more to go. Spread the focus of your drive on multiple activities to ensure that you will be seen and remembered!

A MULTITASKING LITTLE MAN If we would take a look at Kevins’ CV, we would probably see “Stand up Comedian” at the top followed by: TV/Film Producer, Actor, Screenwriter and last but not least “a good public speaker”. Get it? No only is his brand all over the place, but he is too. As mentioned before, he used his incredible talent in different spectrums of the industry in order to flourish as a businessman. A man who definitely knows how to multitask and has proven the biological myth wrong, that it’s not only women who know how to do it. Let me hit you up with an example; Hart was performing in London not so long ago, at the same time, he got his ass on a couple of interviews, movie promotions and to prove everyone he´s not to be messed with, he scored a glorious goal against Manchester City’s superstar goalie, Joe Hart – now if that’s not multitasking, then I don’t know what is.

Multitask! Forget the BS articles you read online or the physiological “factual” experiments that were pulled off, once you get used to it, once you know how to multitask efficiently, you’ll be killing it! This doesn’t only save you time, but just as Kevin Hart did, it enables you to work within several fields at the same time, and you WILL benefit from it.

Lets end this piece by confirming that this guy is so much more than just an everyday comedian. He´s a global brand that has gained international recognition through a unique and upfront way of preforming. A performance that is unlike anything else because of Harts’ transparent character that has the ability to literally fire up a stage and an audience. We´re talking about a character who grew up with nothing but the love for comedy, having the desire to make people laugh and enjoy the present as it is. Kevin Hart is the ultimate definition of success, working his way up, dominating his chosen field of business. A maestro showing the world how it’s done.

Ibrahim Naji

TOO GIRLY

THE DOUBLE STANDARDS MARIAM EL ZOGHBI

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was furiously trying to cover up the horrifying spot on my chin with my magic set (i.e. my on-the-go make up bag) when my concentration was broken by a group of preteen girls having a very heated discussion. Mall bathrooms usually attract all ages, and usually provide very entertaining discussions. Just as I started to tune in to the conversation I realized that one girl (Girl A) was teasing the other (Girl B) about the amount of make up she was wearing, or likes to wear. Now, Girl B was close to tears, trying to no avail to defend her makeup habits, and to blame Girl A’s teasing on her non-existent make up-applying skills. No matter what she did, Girl A did not find it in her to spare her friend the misery, and continued to call her everything from a show-off to being “too girly”.

What in god’s name is too girly?

As a girl, growing up in the diverse culture of pop-culture, I never knew the definition of “too girly”. Some people expect you to be girly and in result, get offended when you wear too much black and add skulls to your belts. Others were offended when I wore make-up, “Ew, how much product do you have on your face?

Are you like some type of Barbie?”

No, I am not a Barbie.

In the past few years, our society has started to speak up against the feminine ideal put forward by the media industry, starting to realize that women should not be expected to

wear pink and high heels all the time, that a woman should have the freedom to dress the way she wants, to groom her hair the way she wants, to wear whichever perfume/cologne she wants (or not to), and to not have to resort to tremendous amounts of make-up. Women have started to speak up when someone calls them masculine, or not feminine enough.

Women have started to shop in men’s sections, and people don’t look at me strangely anymore when I look for the smallest size (Okay, so maybe not the smallest size) in men’s plaid shirts.

We have come so far, and I am truly proud to say that I am a 21st century female. Recently, however, I came across the grossest, most stereotypical, assumption. I like to – unoriginally – call it “The Double Standard”. Girls are free to do what they want, to wear what they want, and they should not conform to society’s expectations, however they should not be too girly, we’re not in the 50s.

What? How is this okay?

A girl wearing “too much” make-up is a show off, or “just trying to get guys”. A girl wearing heels and a pretty dress is “over dressed”. A girl who gets a nice manicure is told that “it’s not her freaking wedding”. A girl who spends time getting dressed up is told to “get over herself.”

Nice. Real smooth, society.

I love make-up, and dresses, and heels. I love buying new nail-polish, or telling my girlfriends about the new eye-liner over coffee. I actually enjoy this, I do not do it because of the “media”, I don’t do it because of the people, I do it because I want to! I feel good about myself, just like another girl feels good about herself when she is sans-make-up and in track shoes.

That does not make her less of a girl, and what I choose to do should not make me some embarrassing example of the modern woman.

We have become so fixated on the idea that we are being controlled by the media, by society, by men, that we judge each other now. We teach each other that no woman actually wants to dress up, but isn’t that the same thing? The assumption that we are all the same, that we all want to be “Free” of the feminine ideal, and by doing that we condemn whoever is different to ridicule. Why should I not be able to wear what I want just because I am scared of the comments I will get? Why should you assume that the only reason I wear what I wear is because I am conforming to medias pressure? (And we all know what assuming does to you and me).

Wasn’t that the whole point of the idea that women should wear what they want. To each her own?

I mean, I love sweatpants as much as I love chocolate and flip-flops are creations from heaven. But I also love dressing up, I love being “girly” – and that brings me to the use of that word. “Girly”. When did that become offensive?

And how is that not offensive to the person using it? I mean, if I’m girly by wearing what I’m wearing, then that means you are considering yourself “not girly”, meaning that you are conforming to the idea that a woman is only a woman when she does dress up in pink and heels. The use of the word in that context defeats the whole purpose of what you are saying; a girl should be a girl no matter what she is wearing (or not, for that matter). Also, why is being girly bad? I am a girl, I am one, I swear.

So why should I not embrace it?

Why should Girl B cry because Girl A called her too girly? Why did I spend two years not wearing heels because other girls said I was “overdressed” or that they dident want to wear heels and so I would be “taking all the attention”.

Why should I cringe when I hear someone call me girly, thinking they are actually offending me – instead of taking it as a compliment, as I would like to? Why should I lie, tell people I don’t wear make up, so that I wouldn’t be harassed and told that I am “fake”, that I am a conformist? To each her own. I am girly, and I love it!

Also, if you were wondering, I did not say anything to Girl A. I am actually scared of pre-teen girls. They can be malicious at times. Trust me.

ONLINE DATING

LET PERSONAL BRANDING IN

T

his is a typical setting in todays dating scene: you went through college dating a bunch of people and never thought of relationships beyond graduation. Suddenly you hit your mid 20s and you’re either with a job or wasting your time at home and you soon realize that one night stands or passing hookups are not cutting it anymore, because you need someone who can stand by your side, someone you can spend the next couple of years with, someone who you can talk to without trying to pick up someone in a bar, basically, finding a partner.

2 weeks ago someone approached me after reading the article on personal branding, and wanted some advice on how to tailor his personal branding and online presence in order to find his sweetheart. In college you can just take a class with your crush, bump into her in the hallway or ask her best friend to vouch for you. But after college, things get a little more complicated!

Here is the call for help; these couple of words would resonate with thousands out there who are facing the same problem: “My friend Andrew and I are both approaching our mid 20s and are single. We decided to give online dating a shot. Neither one of us have received as much at-

tention as we thought we would. And after rereading my profile I realized it lacks luster. So after reading your article I’ve decided to reach out and try to refocus and update my social media profiles and online dating profile as an experiment.”

there are the overly attached, the ones attracted to intelligence and achievements, the gold diggers - you cannot take the first step and change where you are unless you know where you want to be. So, what’s your type of dream girlfriend?

Now, ask yourselves; if I were a startup or a company, how would I appeal to prospective clients, employees, partners and sponsors? Exactly! The same tools used for business promotion online can be used for personal brand exposure. It all boils down to thinking about yourself as a company rather than an individual, once you do that you start becoming strategic about every step you take rather than doing stupid things for the sake of having fun or coming across as genuine. Posting your pictures from last night puking all over or wearing a bra may gain you some friends and a couple of laughs, but if you’re looking for a serious relationship, you better start treating your online presence as a CV and a cover letter.

If you’re a graduate and are looking for a serious relationship, then you’d most likely look into appealing to independent, classy, goal oriented and smart partners.

You are seeking a deeper relationship because time to have reckless fun is over.

You had your shot in university, now is time to refocus and get your life in order.

So first things first, what’s the kind of girls you want to appeal to, because if you’re going to update your social profiles, you want to update them in a way that will

If you’re looking for a deep relationship and having girls reach out to you, you’ll have to change the way you post photos, status updates and any content you share. You want to portray an image of a guy who is independent, a guy who has a vision, a goal and that doesn’t need someone in his life, at least not desperate for it (the less you show you want it, the more attention you get because it all boils down to ego, a girl will no waste effort on pursuing the guy who stares at her boobs but would rather go for the guy who didn’t give her a glance because only then will she start doubting her power).

Less is more in this case, and you want to make sure that the pictures of yourself you put out there are highly selected.

Don’t post your pictures staring at another chick’s cleavage, don’t post the cute pictures where you still look like a mama’s boy, only post pictures where you look like a boss, if you keep it that way, girls will start believing that that’s your life, that all you do is show up in tuxedos or suits, network with important people attract the certain type of girls you have and do astonishing things, they will start in mind. There are the one night stands, thinking about you as “A Boss” because

you didn’t give them an alternative image we’re all guilty of: Don’t over post your of yourself to look at. hangouts with your buddies, don’t stress too much on how you like hanging out It’s also good to post pictures with girls with your boys. It shows that you are just who look up to you, who want you, who another fraternity freak who wants his you really don’t care about about but beer and his “boys”. A girl who wants to seem dying to have your attention. If you settle wants a guy who’ll spend time with show them that there are chicks out there her, who’ll take care of her and who will competing for you, then they’ll join in to not get out of the house every evening to get you because suddenly you look like a hang out with is pals. Instead, show how prize, a challenge, and man. much of a risk taker you can be. Post your latest pictures skydiving, hiking, speaking As much as you check girls online, they do at a conference, traveling to new places the exact same thing, and if you are not or reading a book on a Caribbean beach. clear about what your goals are or how Woman will think that you are a somedetermined you are in life, they´ll start body who has the balls to take risks asking questions; “is this guy for real?” and go into adventures, she will assume He doesn’t seem to know what he wants? things, dramatize you in her mind, and asHe doesn’t seem to have a set direction sociate you with the romantic characters in life” and trust me, they don’t want to she heard or read about again and again settle with a man who doesn’t know what and again. he wants in life.

But most importantly, you have to align One more thing, and this is something your online reality with your offline be-

havior. Make aspirations your everyday reality, don’t project yourself as something on the web and be something else in real life, because this usually fails and trust me, girls see right through it.

More people today are living most of their lives online, spending the day on Facebook and the night tweeting on how amazing their dinner was. Social media has made us more connected than ever but also more vulnerable because privacy nowadays is something of the past. You are an open book, anyone can check you out with one click, and if you are spending every morning in front of the mirror taking care of your image or practicing your lines, you may just as well start spending that much effort on rehabilitating your online profiles. The twist is, if you are an open book, you might consider writing your own pages and engineering your own story line. Getting a meaningful relationship is hard, and to attract the right people is often mission impossible in the midst of millions and millions of online interactions. It’s like fishing, you have to be patient, and choose your bait carefull.

If you put an attractive, compelling, and carefully designed hook out there, catching the right fish may just be a matter of time.

MOHAMED AMINE BELARBI

GOODBYE CAPITALISM WELCOME TALENTISM

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s a generation, we’re experiencing a radical change of era, a change that encompasses everything, from relationships and interactions between people to the ways of making money. The rise of telecommunications and computing technology for example has made the access to information free and plentiful. All these changes means that the traditional method of learning based on

To take full advantage of the new world, we must know precisely how this new system works, and this can be summarized in one line: Goodbye Capitalism, Welcome Talentism!

Yes, in today’s societies, and especially in the Western world, changes happen daily, and we have almost no time to assimilate them. But being able to adapt quickly to these changes is the key to success in all spheres of life. With respect to work / business / companies, we are witnessing an era of mass unemployment (especially in southern Europe), in which many people see their life plans based on the traditional “go to school, study hard, get a secure job, work for 40 years, and finally retire” is coming down at an astounding speed.

Big companies are even forced to make adjustments to their business models, in which there are concepts becoming increasingly more important like automated work, outsourcing, departments of Research, Development and Innovation. We are in a transition towards an economic model that does not favor physical labor, whether it’s in factories or offices, and replaces human monotonous and repetitive tasks by less costly alternatives. These kinds of labor intensive jobs are migrating to emerging powers such as China and India, where the cost of labor is much lower than in the USA or Europe. In this new framework, the ideas you have is what’s really important, not how many boxes you can assemble in an hour.

memorizing is becoming obsolete, and that mass communication is allowing us to have a bunch of more relationships with a bunch of more people we barely know, giving us a way to expand our network easily beyond limits

So why are people with ideas so well paid? It´s simple: Because ideas are the only thing that cannot be produced in series. There is no machine in the world capable of producing ideas.

The singularity is yet to come, but for now, human beings are in a higher hierarchy than machines precisely because of our creative minds and our abilities to have astonishing ideas, to

imagine, to create and to find solutions to the problems we face in our daily lives.

to do things right if they want to keep us coming back to their store to line up our dollars.

The financial collapse changed the rules of the game in 2008, and the fact that we are still suffering from its repercussions has shown us that the economy, driven by the all-powerful giant companies listed on stock indices dedicated to making a few people millionaires on Wall Street, doesn’t work anymore. That economic model is coming to an end. The 9 to 5 schedule in front of a computer screen in an office with an extra 500 people dressed exactly like you don’t cut it anymore.

We are witnessing, as Daniel H. Pink mentioned in his book “Free agent nation” a new economy, the freelance economy, where professionals meet to carry out projects, and each one is paid according to the value that it actually brings. This is why there is a growing emphasis on entrepreneurship, being an entrepreneur, the individual who has an idea and develops it into reality through innovation and dedication.

And with the swift access to the Internet we have and the new technologies that are emerging at an ever-affordable rate, it’s becoming so much easier to access, to gain and to develop new products and services.

In advanced economies, the real value creation is based on creativity and design. It’s based on the ability to see beyond what lies ahead of us, on the belief that individuals are now capable of reaching the highest levels of success by bringing to the next big thing to the table. Today we’re moving to a work ethic where a company should not only serve the interests of its shareholders, but also those of society and the world we live in. In today’s world the consumers have the power, because we all have the capability of gaining access to information and data about the top companies - what they do, how they do it, and that means that they have

We´re no longer machines, we don´t act like that anymore. Gen-Y hate authority as much as they hate staying in on a Saturday night. We no longer accept stuck up bosses telling us what to do and how to do it. The future of the economy is relying now more than ever on this generation and it won’t be based on the 9 to 5 work schedule, but on talent - and that talent is already flooding the streets as we speak.

Iago Rey

EMMANUEL LOUARN THE PERFECT MOMENT

MOHAMED AMINE BELARBI

B

orn, in Paris, Emmanuel lives in Nice on the French riviera for 15 years now. Working on evening events in Monaco, he randomly discovered his calling for photography. A day in 2007, a friend lent him a film camera.

After showing his first developed pictures, he was actively encouraged to move into professional photography. Using sensuous fashion and beauty sets, Emmanuel loves to shoot and sublimate women. Fighting against exaggerated poses, outrageous make-up and stereotyped images, he tries to capture the most genuine instants with the perfect mix of vulnerability and power.Three years ago, he met Stephane Rodriguez Delavega, a famous photographer with a similar philosophy. He became his faithfully assistant and improved a lot his technical and creative eyes.

Emmanuel doesn’t see photography as a one man show, it’s a delicate job where you have to put so much emphasis on team work, you have to be in tune with the models, with the set, with the camera so that you pictures can come to live and deliver the desired effect.

Inspired by how much photography taught him in such a short while, Emmanuel began to develop his own projects, trying to furhter explore what photography has to offer. Now, he continues to collaborate with Stephane’s Studio but also works for his personal clients, traveling in foreign countries and freezing beauty in a fine shot whenever he catches the perfect moment.

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