Gulf Elite # 4

gulf elite

The leading Magazine for the Gulf youth

By the youth, For the youth!

ISSUE 4

PRINCESS LULU

A ROYAL WHO HUSTLED HER WAY UP

KICKASS WOMEN OF THE 21ST CENTURY Why Dirty Business is a must in the way to success Roger Federer: How to win and lose like a champion

ON THE BEAT On The Beat is a monthly music newsletter with track recommendations, concert reviews, and album reviews for Gen-Y

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR ISSUE 4, DECEMBER 2013 It’s really been a crazy month here at Gulf Elite; a lot of stuff has been going on. We´ve been establishing amazing partnerships (InternsME, CBP International), met great individuals and been on great ventures. But unfortunately, there will always be people who will try to push you down, write, say or do anything just to see you fall to the ground. A characteristic we all have embedded into our system to some degree. But the higher you rise and the stronger you get, the harder you´ll hit when you come tumbling down. Just the thought of it ignites the fire that motivates us towards not falling. Because we won’t fall.

Haters gonna hate – it’s that simple. What seemed to be your high school buddies are now shitting all over you. What seemed to be family is now pushing you down because of your grand ambitions. You see, I visualize success as the only tool that actually removes the masks off people’s faces. An attribute that unleashes the beast inside everyone you thought had your back. Now this doesn’t mean that they´ve changed, no, people don’t change. There are only certain factors that merely amplify what’s already there.

But you know what feels better than hating back? Proving people wrong. Proving them all wrong to a degree where you´ll one day look down and laugh and say, “I made it!”.

There are definitely a couple of lessons to be learnt here, because there is no better educator than experience. Embrace the haters and see them as a motivational tool to boost YOU. Make love to the bullshit they throw at you and use it to lift yourself towards reaching whatever goal you want to reach to prove them wrong. On the other hand, remember the ones who stood by your side during the battle. Remember the ones that believed in you and fought by your side when hell broke loose. Because as much as great achievements and success may amplify peoples’ bitterness and jealousy, it also separates the good from the bad. It refines your surrounding and makes you see just a little clearer what and who´s around you.

Using the words of Bon Jovi: “Believe in love. Believe in magic. Hell, believe in Santa Claus. Believe in yourself. Believe in your dreams. If you don’t, who will?” If you don’t who will? Well Santa sure as hell won’t, together with the hundreds of haters out there who will pile personal reactions and emotions all over you just to see you fall. But you know what they both have in common? They’re fictional creations established by society’ lack of creativity to comfort the weak. So stand tall and believe in what you have to believe in in order to fight what you have to fight to finally get a business card that says; “I´m

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bitch”.

IBRAHIM NAJI - EDITOR

simply the best

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issue 3

Index EASY STEPS FOR BETTER CHOICES IN LIFE KICKASS WOMEN OF THE 21ST CENTURY DIRTY BUSINESS ROGER FEDERER: HOW TO WIN AND LOSE ELITE PROFILE: HH LULU AL SABAH ON THE BEAT GETTING STARTED AS AN ENTREPRENEUR DANIELLE CARLSON MAKE FEAR YOUR NEW BFF PHILANTHROPY IN THE GULF FROM HIRED TO FIRED

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www.kairossociety.org

life lessons EASY STEPS FOR BETTER CHOICES IN LIFE

You are what you choose to do, so choose wisely

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ave you ever regretted anything? I think we all have. It is hard not to, it seems at times it can be very difficult to know what the right decision is. In life I believe we all move toward things that make us happy, and away from the things that tune us down or hurts us. I also believe that all people, no matter who they are; are entitled to as much happiness and success as they want. I started cracking on this piece because I know what kind of capacity people potentially have; we are all capable of great things. Here are a few different tools and techniques that have increased my ability to make better choices and have fewer regrets. Read this piece with an open mind and just try some of the ideas out, I mean what is the worst that could happen? Make your life a little better?

1. Say It Right Usually it can be difficult, if not impossible, to make a choice and be certain it was the right choice. One of the biggest factors that will hold people back is that too often we are not completely clear on what type of result or outcome we want from a situation. Think about it, if you don’t really know what kind of result you want, it´s going to be pretty damn hard to know what choices are going to be the right ones.

So what do you do? You clear out your head.

Before engaging in any choices or selections, its essential to think about what you want out of the situation. Consider its short-term as well as it long-term effects. It may sounds easy, but knowing exactly what you want is very powerful, and if you commit to using this tool I´m sure you´ll make choices with ease and certainty. gulf elite magazine

2. Give a little We´ve all heard the golden expression; Do onto others as you would have them do onto you. This is probably one of the most important ideas to keep in mind when making good choices. When we´re young a lot of us develop this me, me, me, attitude. We wanted all the toys, and there was no way we would share.

Now this mentality may get us a lot of toys, but it definitely doesn’t help you establish relationships. Success in this day and age is only reached by working together with others. If we can help others get what they want, they will be much more willing to help us get what we want. So when making any single choice it´s always ideal to think about how can I give in this situation? Who else is involved? How can I help them as well as myself to get what we want?

It’s the perfect formula that definitely won’t fail you. So put some effort into being aware of others, and get out there and give!

3. Class Time Until this day I still remember those crazy words Mrs. Green would say every afternoon when everybody was dying to go home; “its class time”. Now many of us may think that once we´ve finished high school or college the learning is over. Well, I hate to break it down to you, but you’re out of your mind. The only thing that changes is your classroom environment together with Mrs. Green of course. We will always be learning new things, meeting new people, and gathering new data to edge up our minds. Although one lesson that puzzles many of us is that no matter what happens

in any situation, we will always learn from it.

You got fired because you were snapchatting your “meal of the day” on Facebook? Well now you know what NOT to do. So many of us are afraid to take risky choices because we simply don’t want to face the consequential outcomes that will accompany that choice. Yet keep in mind whatever we think about is what we manifest, so unfortunately when we get overly concerned with making the wrong choices we tend to descend it further and further into that fear based thinking that in turn leads us to make a decision that we are unhappy with.

I think it is pretty safe to say that any skill, ability or just about anything else that we have developed in our lives didn’t occur to us on the first try. Most of us want everything to work out the first time and avoid failure at all costs.

Well there is a term for that my friends and its called luck! The reality is that things generally don’t work out the first time, if life was that easy we would all be healthy and rich, but we don’t have to absorb failures as defeats. If you are willing, and a lot of us are too stubborn, to learn from your past you are much less likely to

repeat the failure. The quality of your choices will be directly related to how much you are willing to learn from the previous ones. When you learn from your choices you end up with much less regret and disappointments.

4. Fear Is Your Best Friend When it comes to making choices there can be a lot of fear involved. A lot of uncertainty can be present when it´s time for us to make a decision, be it big or small. The messed up part is that fear can be so powerful at times; it can render us useless, thus we end up making no decision at all. That is what I consider true regret because there is nothing to learn from, no action, good or bad was taken. But we have to remember that fear is there for a reason, and while its there, we have to take advantage of it and choose how you’re going to use it. The discomfort that comes with fear is a signal, a signal telling us that we are on the brink of something new, some personal growth, or even a breakthrough. Fear is there to let you know you are growing, to show you there are still un-

charted territories for you to explore.

All through out history the greatest of the great have felt fear. Surely they were not without it, rather they used it to push themselves forward. Now I am not saying that you have to go down the pages of history, but remember the saying “war is fear cloaked in courage”.

You can have your own victories and triumphs when you choose to make fear your new BFF

shannon graham

that pushes you beyond your comfort zone.

As we move through this journey of life we will surely encounter many valleys, although it´s my strong belief that if you make a sound effort to make these mentioned ideas not only some tips and tricks you know, but to make them a part of who you are. Own them, and they will work wonders for you, they will take you to glorious places and countless peaks.

With a heavy heart here at Gulf Elite we would like to take a moment to mourn the loss of Paul Walker. A remarkable actor that truly left us with memories as we walked down the lane of The Fast and The Furious trilogy.

May you Rest In Peace

women KICKASS WOMEN OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Time to stick up for the other half

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s I was growing up, I’ve spent quite a chunk of my life amongst my aunts; beautiful, successful and empowered women who are all masters in their field, making them financially independent and sincerely confident about every aspect of their lives. Yet due to their academic and professional excellence, they all have something in common, something quite remarkable and, from a very analytical perspective, amusing – they are all single.

It’s really been spectacular seeing how some men nowadays can’t handle being with a woman who´s more successful, more powerful or more financially established than they are, but I don’t blame them. Seeing how today’s society has messed up the gender roles, setting the male gender on a higher pedestal than the female gender due to the messed up incorporated norms society has established, it comes as no surprise to see such mentality or perceptions prevail. I say screw society and the overconfident bros who can’t stand being with an established woman. You don’t like it?

Move on.

Now as men, we tend to like the feeling of being wanted and needed, nothing wrong with that. In contrast, the majority of all independent strong women tend to have an “ I don’t need a man” attitude, which is also considerably understandable due to “historical” male dominance – I’m guessing you’re seeing the correlation by now. Men want to “matter” and take on that decisive role while women don’t need a decisive man because they decide for themselves…and you wonder why the fertility rate is decreasing in Europe? gulf elite magazine

The fact is that we´re still living in a male dominant world, and disregarding the fact that women have the same rights as men and are able to almost pull off the same workload is just nonsense. I mean I get that women have a hard time working on constructions sites, but why is it so damn hard to succeed in the fields of business or politics?

Lets throw on a little history class. If we scroll back a couple of hundred years, biologically speaking, women where pushed aside when it came down to running the show. I mean unless Xena actually existed back in the days, the guys were the ones chasing down wild animals to put some food on the table. This resulted in discussions about the next quest, the next move, the next village to build, the next empire to run, the next country to conquer, all by men – get it? It’s been a biological socio-political process ever since the beginning.

It’s very simple, for a woman to succeed and become independent and climb up the career ladder in male dominant areas like business or politics, they need to become “men”. And as crazy as that may sound, a lot of women have actually managed to pull that off. Now ask me if we like it? Well clearly some men don’t, they’re still stuck on discussing what animals to hunt down –metaphorically speaking-, but as women undeniably become more independent in todays’ world, we’re slowly adapting to the fact that it’s not the body that matters only, but the brains as well. There is honestly nothing more attractive and striking as an independent woman who can take care of herself and her business. A woman that can challenge her man by discussing hot topics and

almost never backing down, help her man see things from a different perspective even though we might not always agree.

But lets not get carried away here. Due to the unfair treatment and perception that has been going on for decades between the two sexes, men haven’t excelled as much as women. There is nothing wrong with admitting that the way things have been set up, males are competing in a market where they are by default meant to be better than women, whether we are talking about getting that promotion or standing out from that huge pool of applicants. Even Warren Buffet said it “I am so successful because I had to only compete with half of the world”. Yes, only half of the world, because women who spend endless nights working hard and giving excellent results ends up being called “bossy”, and the women who try to approach male executives to become their mentors end up being labeled “slutty”. Going through a pregnancy?

Women have a hard time finding understandable managers who can accommodate the work schedule or work place to the needs of the female employee. Do men have to go through all of this?

Today is a time where the individualistic drive to succeed and crush the competition doesn’t cut it anymore. “Alone we go fast, Together we go far”. It is big time we help each other and care for each other. It is time to stand up for all those women who can’t speak out loud in a meeting, who can’t do their work because their boss is staring at their cleavage in a creepy way, who have to either chose to work or stay at home to take care of the family, who can’t ask for flexible schedules when they’re pregnant because the manager will look down on them, who can’t get a fair shot at an executive position because they happen to be perceived as inferior in a male dominated industry. It is time to end this bullshit and say enough is enough, because we all have to win from having a fair

market place. You might want to be advantaged over other females when you’re competing for a job, but you won’t be as happy when the same happens to your wife, daughter or girlfriend.

This is not us trying to play Romeo, this is plain rational thinking. Women can, and are setting high standards across all sectors. From Sheryl Sandberg to Marissa Mayer, Meg Whitman or Indra Nooyi, there is no shortage of success stories and inspiring paths to glory led by stunning women. Now next time you ask a girl to go make you a sandwich in your condescending sexist tone, think again, because women are far more powerful and innovative than what your narrow macho mind can handle.

And for all the amazing women out there, we’d like to just take a second and say a big “thank you” for your amazing –and sometimes unrecognized- efforts.

Starting from Gulf Elite, we’re blessed to have remarkable female writers without whom we would not be where we are today!

Makes me re-think all the sexist jokes men pull off – wait a couple of years, we might be the ones cooking in the kitchen.

ibrahim naji

The voice of generation Y

www.elitedaily.com

business WHY YOU HAVE TO GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY

Business isn’t an ideal path, you’ll have to act accordingly “If you want to accomplish something in the world, idealism is not enough - you need to choose a method that works to achieve the goal.”

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Richard Stallman

couldn’t submit my homework in time because I wanted it to be perfect. I didn’t propose to her because the moment was not ideal. I didn’t launch that product because it is not faultless yet… You know what I’m talking about here: we always find excuses for not doing things under the pretense that it is not ideal.

Many are those who won’t take their game to the next level because they believe they are not ready yet, but guess what? If you never challenge yourself and push yourself forward, then that “perfect“ or “ideal” will never happen, and all you will be left with is a bitter taste of guilt and failure.

Same goes for Business. You’re not living in a utopia where every person around the corner is filled with joy and love, your clients and partners are not all unicorns and fairytale princesses. Life is tough, full of obstacles and of people who will do anything to either bring you down or steal your success. This is not a myth, we’re individualistic by instinct, we all have an ego to stroke and we all want to make it to the top first. The people you deal with in your business are no exception. You might have gone through high school believing that life is pink and full of roses, full of helping hands, that honesty and integrity will always be rewarded, that your friends will always be at your side whenever you need them. The truth? It’s all bullshit. Your

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girlfriend could dump you at any time, your friends might one day just give up on you when you’re in trouble and your boss can fire you for telling him how bad his tie looks like. The more you move ahead in life, the more you realize that we live in a pretty tough world, we live in a jungle where we politely fight each other and kill gently in order to survive.

As an entrepreneur launching your startup or your product, you’ll have to get ready for what is awaiting you, and just giving you a heads up, it ain’t pretty!

“Done is better than Perfect” We all want to give the best out in us, we all want our service or product to be perfect, to show that we’ve spent sleepless nights working tirelessly on perfecting it, but at the end of the day, life is dictated by deadline, and if you cannot deliver on time, then it is worthless for you to have the perfect product. Sometimes you’ll have to realize that although you can do better, you have to provide what you can do in the amount of time you’re given.

“Work Smart, Not Hard” In business, as in life, you can’t always do everything by yourself, you can’t always be the best at everything, but guess what? There will be someone who is. Always find smart ways to get things done by hiring or outsourcing work to people who can deliver the best. Can’t do that website on your own? Someone in in the middle of India will do it for 100$ and you

can charge your clients a 1000$. Don’t pull all nighters working just for the sake of feeling that you’re putting effort into your venture.

Don’t be afraid of being an entrepreneur who doesn’t have to be working all time. CEO’s aren’t credited for their companies’ work because they spend 20 hours a day coding or designing an application. CEO’s get the credit because they managed to find people to do the job, so be the CEO who is featured in Inc. Magazine or Business Insider although you haven’t done anything besides putting the right team together or getting someone to turn your idea into an actual product. See, people might look down on you or might criticize you because you’re getting the credit for things they think you don’t deserve, but at the end of the day, these same people will be the ones standing in line to buy your product or writing you checks.

“The path to success is full of dirt” Climbing the ladder of success will put you in situations you’re not comfortable in. You will have to compromise on your values because

the world is not created to suit you personally.

You’d never lie to save a deal? You can’t take a client to a strip club? You are anti-communist or a religious conservative? Sometimes you’ll have to keep your beliefs and ethics for yourself in order to move forward. You’ll have to go along what your client or boss want and nod even when you think he’s speaking non-sense.

You’ll have to cover up things and omit certain details, and most importantly, the farther you get, the heavier the compromises you’ll have to make.

“There have been many great men that have flattered the people who ne’er loved them.”

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William Shakespeare

Flattering others to get work done is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign that you’re smart and know how to navigate the tough path of business. People sometimes won’t award you the contract just because they don’t like you, or just because you didn’t give them a chance to brag about themselves. We all have egos, and

the best of us are the ones who can put theirs aside and let the others flaunt their greatness and get some attention. Flattery works, and better than what you think. You can’t get it your way all the time, and sometimes you have to let others steal the show and get all the attention. But moderation is in order: never push flattery too far to the extent that it becomes obvious or too fake. You can always find a middle point, so flatter but make sure it comes across as genuine and is grounded on some honest observations.

Moral of the story: being idealistic will drive you bankrupt, depressed or locked in a mental facility. The world ain’t sunshine and rainbows, and as such you’ll have to play along the dirty game of being realistic and practical if you want to get things done.

mohamed amine belarbi

success stories ROGER FEDERER

How to win and lose like a champion

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ot even die-hard tennis fans understand the disappointments the 2013 tennis season brought us. Roger Federer, one of the top highest paid sportsmen in the world, managed to leave the 2013 season without getting into the semifinals of Grand Slams, something that has never happened before. The tennis star obviously had the most unsuccessful year of his career, but as he commented in the interview after his defeat at the Final Showdown at Barclays arena in London, he will continue with tennis no matter what.

It takes an immense amount of courage and boldness to actually not retire after drastic losses. Being a 17-time Grand Slam champion, having contracts with the most prestigious brands such as Nike, Rolex, Wilson, Mercedes Benz and a Wall Street bank Credit Suisse, Federer carries massive responsibilities on his shoulders. The easiest way, and probably the most common way, for him would be to say goodbye to professional tennis, sail around the world on his yacht, and spend days off at the most prestigious golf courses. Well, he’s chosen a different path. Some might say his age, at 32 years, is the reason of Federer’s unsuccessful seasons, and this is partially true.

But what really differentiates him from other athletes is his mentality. The mindset of a winner he has established over the years has helped him sustain the ups and downs in his career. Federer emphasizes with his example on the ubiquitous saying that quitting is for losers. As he said during his briefing, if the body can still do it, there is no reason to give up, even though you are experiencing losses.

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Roger Federer is not just a sportsman. He´s a high profile persona, who managed to develop his own brand with his passion for hard work and prestigious looks. Big iconic business names are still fighting for his brand to represent them. Roger Federer embodies elegance, tranquility, steadiness and perfection on and off the court. His image is not spoiled by adultery, which “boasts” another high-roller Tiger Woods, or by attending crazy Brazilian “parties” as Mr. Bieber casually does.

The image of a perfect family that Federer has created reinforces Roger’s status as the most elegant sportsman of our era.

Wealth is not Federer’s main objective. He is a sportsman who can afford numerous luxuries and treats; however, he doesn’t necessarily indulge himself with the power or importance of money. A few years ago Federer created a charity organization named after him. He is not an arrogant character that many of his stature end up being, taking into consideration his achievements and endorsements. As Federer describes himself with a quote that to his mind suits him best “It is nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice”. Frankly speaking, Federer’s endorsements cannot compete with paychecks of CEOs and other celebrities, but his authenticity and genuine elegance makes him standout more than those who are loaded with a bunch of cash.

The genuine care the guy has for children is impressive - the foundation concentrates on supporting around 80, 000 African children in getting high quality primary education.

As Federer puts it, primary education is the backbone of an academic career, and providing the best education to children in poor regions of Africa is the best he can do.

Tennis is one of the most expensive and prestigious sport games. Not everybody can afford to hire a professional tennis coach, rent a tennis court, buy rackets and other equipment. It takes a long time to become at least a decent beginner. Putting the physical part aside, tennis is also about the power of mind. It is the best representation of the single game. Every time you step on the court, you see your opponent, and have to bear in mind that there will be only one winner - no draws. Tennis is a representation of life and its rules. It´s tough and does not accept excuses. No matter how harsh it might sound, everybody in the world is born alone and dies alone, and tennis is one of the best representations of this saying. The same is on the court. Only your mentality and physical performance can save you from defeat.

Your friends and relatives are watching, cheering you up in their heads, but can that help you? No. You are on your own with your opponent and it’s either you or him who will remain standing on the court singing in front of a camera lens, or exit the battle field through the back door.

Roger Federer has some lessons to teach: First and foremost it´s important to have a mindset of a winner. It is easy to give up after a loss, but difficult to make yourself clench your teeth to keep on fighting.

Another lesson lies in the nature of tennis as a single game: no one but you can help yourself. There is nobody you can blame for your losses. The third one is regarding the rise to success: don’t put yourself up on a pedestal. Don’t let money drive your passion and stream and a garage to stack up his babies, he stays humble and conscious about where his money is spent.

andriy naavhust

The 2013 tennis season is over with Nadal at the top of the list and Federer hanging on the sixth position, the lowest he has been in 9 years. Let us wish Roger a successful Australian Open and hopefully we´ll see the comeback of this great icon next year.

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Greatness is a Choice

HH. Lulu Al Sabah

A ROYAL WHO HUSTLED HER WAY TO THE TOP

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ulf Elite wouldn’t deserve its name if we didn’t go around looking for VIPs and Royals to feature in our publication. Our philosophy stands for bridging the gap between Gen-Y and the older age groups who made it to the top and experienced the ups and downs of life. If we can get the elite to share advice and recommendations with our readers, then we’ve gone a long way forward to make sure that the path of success isn’t tied to age, but to the drive and will to play with the big boys.

This month we had the chance to sit with Princess Lulu Al Sabah, and if the first thing you thought about was the charming princesses in Disney, then you weren’t far off! Lulu Al Sabah, from the Kuwaiti royal family, isn’t your usual suspect: She didn’t grow up not worrying about life, and she didn’t plan her life to live off her family’s status and wealth. Lulu is a royal unlike others; She fought her way to the top and proved to everyone that royal or not, you have to work hard and hustle in order to get what you want! What better life lesson and inspiring story than this?

Lulu Al Sabah, a stunning and bright woman with enough energy and passion to power a Bugatti, took a bit of time to meet us at her Gallery in Dubai where we had the chance to have a glimpse on what her life looks like.

Tough Start While the word “royal” makes you think of someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Lulu had quite an adventurous, and all but fairytale-like childhood. At an early age Lulu had to live out Kuwait because Saddam Hussein couldn’t help but get his army into

the neighboring emirate, following a rather fatal “delusion of grandeur” that ended up not so well for him. Given the sudden invasion, Lulu and her family ended up settling in Paris where she spent quite a while before moving to college in the US and later on in the UK. Living far from home, as harsh as it can seem, can be one of the greatest pushes in life to reach what you want. Knowing that life “ain’t no sunshine and rainbows”, as Rocky puts it, is a realization best learnt while young, because it gives a head start over everyone else: You understand that being tough to face life is not a luxury, but a necessity. Never take things for granted, because even the most basic thing you have, a home, a country, can go away in the blink of an eye.

Know your business and your customers – Don’t compromise One thing we asked Lulu was why she was not holding glamourous exhibitions with millionaires, royals and celebrities coming together to taste some fancy caviar and blow money for the hell of it?

“Those are not my target customers. I appreciate art for what it is. The fake glamour and aristocratic touch of fanciness is not a motivation for my business. I like to bring together people who appreciate paintings, who can sit and look at a masterpiece for minutes without feeling the urge of walking around exchanging business cards or asking about the hottest investment trends in Dubai.”

Well, you thought royalty rimed with arrogance and flamboyant million-dollar openings?

Life is tough, and competition out there Princess Lulu stands for something few is as fierce as ever. If you don’t believe people implement in their businessin yourself and in your potential, no one es: Instead of running after the money will. When you want to reach the top, and changing your product or vision to everything else doesn’t matter: who chase the market trends, remain faithful you’re dealing with, how much older or to your business values and cater to the experienced they are or how much they customers you designed your service for make in a year. You’re the prize, and so in the first place. Princess Lulu is a true you should treat yourself whenever you embodiment of how to run a business walk in a room full of big shots. that aims to create a culture of loyalty, not of cheap profit. Well, if you do Title helps sometimes, but it’s all that you will still make enough money, about the hard work and judging from Lulu’s latest auction through JAMM art, her art consultancy Well in order to not sound too idealistic, firm, half a million dollar was not that being a royal helps get things moving bad after all! faster. Being a princess with those shiny It pays to be honest and truthful to who initials “HH” definitely makes a great difference in life. But the trick is to never you are and what you stand for as a get carried away with it. business, don’t exchange that for anyIt’s easy to get lost in titles, duke this or thing, because those who are willing princess that, but at the end of the day, to trade their customers for easy profit you will be remembered for what impact deserve none. you had rather than what people used to call you.

Don’t be afraid of playing with the big boys

We couldn’t help but ask Lulu how she felt roaming the room with big names in the art world, especially at a young age and not knowing much about what she was getting herself into.

“Well, of course at the beginning it is a bit hard to forge a name for yourself among well established names and exclusive circles in the art world. But with dedication and passion, it comes to a point where who or how old you are become secondary questions, and the focus remains on your achievements and ability to get things done well.”

Morale of the story? Never be afraid of working your way up to the main table.

What strikes you about Princess Lulu Al Sabah is how well composed she is and how down to earth she comes across.

Getting out of her way to meet two kids

Do to m you wan e e t P t Gu rince up wi s t l tha f Elite s Lulu h t p o wi l ! l s ma info sible! ke M soo o n! re

and making them feel as comfortable as if they were talking to a friend, that’s what you call an amazing person to chat with!

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An inspiring story with much to teach us as Gen-Y, it is time we all learn from Lulu and implement these 5 valuable lessons in our lives and businesses:

1. Understand that life is tough, and that you need to be tougher 2. Explore new horizons whenever possible 3. Know your Business and your customers 4. Don’t compromise on what you stand for 5. Never be intimidated by the top guys 6. Always, always avoid arrogance

mohamed amine belarbi

M=entrepreneurship GETTING STARTED AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

Quick steps to hit the ground running

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tarting your own venture as a young entrepreneur is no easy feat. I mean if it was that easy, we all would be entrepreneurs. It takes a lot of risk, ingenuity, hard work and hustle. However, I want to address one issue I continue to see with a lot of young entrepreneurs. They pour their hearts and souls into a startup, but often forget about the most important thing: CASH. Like it or not, cash flow is everything.

1. Develop a skill to make short-term cash on demand.

Rent, food, gas and student debt are real, and they don’t accept equity in your company to pay for it.

Find a part-time job that pays well and does not require 40 hours a week such as, bar

The chances of creating the next Instagram or Snapchat are about the same as chances of winning the lottery (even though you don’t have to be a genius on creating a billion dollar company, taking into consideration that Evan Spiegel turned down a three billion dollar offer form Facebook). Great entrepreneurs start from the bottom and work their way to the top, like Elon Musk, who started his career by basically generating online yellow pages, which in my opinion, is much less ambitious than his next endeavors including, Tesla, SpaceX, Paypal and Solar City. My point is that young entrepreneurs need to focus more on generating cash before starting more ambitious capital-intensive ventures.

You need cash to survive, because you can´t live off of slaving away at your startup making zero dollars forever. With a startup failure rate of 80 percent in the first year, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor, I want to stress the importance for young entrepreneurs to develop a diverse skill set that ensures a greater chance at success. Here are three tips to survive the realities of starting a business on your own: gulf elite magazine

tending, valeting, tutoring, or teaching lessons. For me, I teach kite boarding lessons to pay for the essentials. This allows me to schedule my own hours, exercise in the process and teach an activity, which I am passionate about. For the young entrepreneurs I have met, I know they are savvy enough to find a skill they can teach, and it is as easy as posting a Craigslist ad to get started.

2. Add services that compliment your startup to generate cash quickly.

Engineering a new product, mobile app, or software program takes time. This is a time when you can’t afford to be generating zero income as a young entrepreneur.

Analyze the industry of your startup and identify a niche where you could easily generate cash to compliment your startup. For my real estate tech startup, we started flying drones to take aerial photography of real estate listings. This has allowed us to generate cash quickly and complement the services of my startup.

will caldwell

3. Seek funding, but be very careful.

The funding you receive for your startup pre-revenue is the most expensive money you will ever receive. I can’t stress enough the importance of showing traction and revenue prior to giving up equity for funding. The more you prove your startup as a viable business, the more leverage and control you have in raising capital.

Trust me, if your idea is that great, investors will find you. Funding should be used to scale a business, not give up your idea and business to some angel investor.

What I want to stress here is that cash is king for any young entrepreneur starting a venture.

You are young and inexperienced in relation to the rest of the business world. Investors like a return on their investment, not money thrown at an idea.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Simplicity is the ultimate beauty.

You walk around seeing overly photoshoped models, thinking that beauty is only found in billboard ads and Hollywood movies. Yet we tend to forget that you don’t have to change the color of the background or remove that dimple you have on your right cheek to portray beauty.

Being you is what makes you special.

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coaching MAKE FEAR YOUR NEW BFF

Who said fear cannot be tamed?

F

ear is the greatest single obstacle to success in adult life. Have you noticed it’s not the fear of failure that holds you back, it’s the fear and anticipation of what might happen? We all have failed a couple thousand times in our life but we’re still alive because we have more mistakes and decisions to make.

Are you letting the fear of failure scare you into being overly cautious? We can overcome fear by identifying, defining, and analyzing our fears.

Take a sheet of paper and write down your biggest fears in life.

What is it that’s keeping you from taking the next step? What’s keeping you from going to the gym? Switching careers? Starting a family? Taking that dream vacation, or investing in your future? As you write down this list I want you to think about the 5 areas of your life that matter most and identify the fear in each of these categories: health, finances, work/career, relationships, and image. I want you to stop and really focus on the first things that come to mind.

Now that you have your list I want you to answer these three questions: 1.) How does this fear hold me back in life?

2.) How does this fear help me?

3.) What is the payoff for eliminating this fear altogether?

By asking these three questions we learn that instead of backing away from the fear we move towards it, instead of avoiding the fear we confront it. If you do the one thing gulf elite magazine

that you fear the courage will come afterward. Never before in the history of mankind have we been faced with so much technology and so many obstacles creating fear, trauma, and chaos. Fear is a universal illness. Fear is contagious and dangerous making our mind clouded and intellect confused. We may take action and make decisions we wouldn’t make otherwise. Fear multiplies our difficulties and amplifies our obstacles. It instantly takes us to the worst possible situation. What is the deep root that creates fear? And, why are you attracting it into your life?

You, like many others, are asking Why me?

Why now? And what next? This can’t be happening? You’re not happy with yourself and you’re afraid others won’t be happy with you either. Stop beating yourself up and realize that your vocabulary is a powerful stronghold in your life that affects what you attract.

Stop trying to fix what can’t be undone and start overcoming what fears lie ahead because your future isn’t based on your past.

I love this old proverb which states “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!” If we look at Thomas Edison, he didn’t give up on making the light bulb, he tried, and tried again until he succeeded. Mr. Honda, Walt Disney, Sam Walton, and the most successful and influential people realize that getting down on themselves and giving up isn’t going to change the situation. The only way to change is to make the change yourself.

Alright, so lets follow ten easy steps that might just develop a strategic plan for us.

1. TAKE INVENTORY OF YOUR LIFE NOW First thing to do when setting out to make a change is to evaluate where you are right now.

So, for at least one week, notice how and where you spend your time. Also, notice if things take longer than you “think” they should take you.

Don’t place any judgment on how and where you spend time, just make note of it. Be sure to include weekends so you can compare work days and non-work days. Keep this step simple.

Don’t try to change anything. Just notice your time commitments.

2. CATEGORIZE HOW YOU SPEND YOUR TIME Now let’s categorize each area of your life where time is currently spent. A sample that I like has the following categories: (1) Dreams; (2) Career/Financial; (3) Purpose/Goals; (4) Love/Family; (5) Health.

3. DREAM ABOUT YOUR PERFECT LIFE

Give yourself permission to take a few moments to dream about your perfect life. While this is only imagination, this exercise opens a portal of inner knowledge that can lead you to turn your dream into reality. Don’t judge any of your dreams. These are your true feelings and ones that will guide you in your own proper direction.

4. MATCH UP YOUR IDEAL LIFE WITH YOUR CURRENT LIFE After visualizing where you would like to take your life, compare it with your current life. Be prepared for this step to cause some pain if there is a big difference between the two. But, this step gives you a “starting point” and an “ending point,” both of which are necessary to set out to get from one to the other.

5. ASK, “WHAT SMALL CHANGE CAN I MAKE NOW THAT WILL ALTER MY OVERALL LIFE TRAJECTORY?” Many times, making a small change in your current circumstances has stronger ramifications as your life unfolds because it changes your focus. For example, if you decide to take a 15 minute daily walk just to “percolate” how to take the next step for your life, this small action will move your current mindset from “I’m stuck now” to “What’s next and how do I get there?”

Over time, this will gain momentum as your trajectory of life broadens because your “rocket” is now pointed to a new planet – the planet of hope!

6. FIND A GOOD PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN TEMPLATE There are many personal development plan samples, examples, and templates available online. Look for one that keeps it simple because one of the things I have found that can hinder progress is a plan that is too complicated. This can overwhelm you and lead to failure or abandonment of the plan. In other words keep it simple, attainable, and realistic.

7. GET PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN COACHING When you are planning out a major event such as your life, it’s good to seek an objective perspective. Strategizing with a coach can rapidly increase your success rate when you want to develop a plan to get you from point A (your perceived problem) to Point B (the solution).

Oftentimes, a coach will be able to guide you in that direction.

8. GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO MAKE THESE CHANGES Frequently, what stops people from success when they develop a personal plan is underestimating the time it will take to set goals and implement the changes. When this happens, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up. So, one of the best things you can do is to give yourself plenty of time to make change.

9.VISUALIZE YOUR DESIRED RESULTS Visualization is very powerful, but there is one important component to doing visualization that many people miss. That component is to actually feel the scenario that you are visualizing. This makes the between success and failure.

melissa krivachek

10. HAVE FUN Many times we get overly serious when trying to make changes in our lives. This serious point of view takes all the joy out of the endeavor.

Joy is a critical factor when seeking goals and achievements.

This is not a time for safe leadership, this is not a safe economy, but this is a time for you to tap into your full potential and maximize your performance. These 10 steps are going to help you accomplish just that. If you’re willing to step into your fear, leave your story, resolve your inner conflicts, and truly take massive action, then you WILL get immediate, sustainable long-term growth, and massive results!

Copoon is the leading channel for mobile deals and location based buying. The idea is to bring together business with new customers. For entrepreneurs Coopon is a way to attract new visitors, by coming up with a really tempting offer or taste. gulf elite magazine

Coming Soon

philanthropy PHILANTHROPY IN THE GULF

Ever penny will have an impact from now on

I

say oil rich gulf countries, you think of what? Exactly. Biased portrayals of this region and its wealthy citizens makes you think of rich, spendthrift sheikhs driving Ferrari’s and casually blowing money in Chanel stores. But guess what? Beyond the cheap pictures you find scattered on the web, the Gulf region has been building its stature on the world stage and establishing itself not only as a Business hub, but as a scientific and artistic center as well. We tried to explore farther the great, and sometimes undocumented work being accomplished in this region, and one way to go about it was to sit with Kofi Rashid, advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation for the Middle East and South East Asia.

Why Philanthropy? Because the best way to judge someone is by looking up how much good they do around. Success is not about how many billions you can stack up in your Swiss bank accounts, but is about how many lives you impact through your work. One way to extend a helping hand, especially when you have a lot of dollars flowing through, is philanthropy, and when we say philanthropy, we’re talking big bucks and big scales!

When dealing with charitable work and big endowments, making sure that every penny you spend makes a difference is sometimes much of a struggle. Giving away just as a mean of paying back to those in need is great, but what’s even better is actually impacting lives and ensuring that your money isn’t wasted along the way. This mentality in philanthropy is a brilliant mix of humanitargulf elite magazine

ian aid and business smart spending. Your company’s finances are no joke, and if you are not capable of maximizing your return on investments, then you’re heading towards bankruptcy. Adopting similar attitude in the Philanthropy world is a step forward in cutting with the old blind giving that has proven to be no more than grand failures across the world. Billions are poured in the regions most troubled, and yet years after years the story remains the same: corruption, diseases, illiteracy and whatnot. But again you open a couple more Google pages and you hear about people in the brink of eradicating a disease!

This is no coincidence, because these same people are the ones sitting on their desks and tracking where every dollar is spent and making sure it goes to the right projects and efforts.

The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation are the true embodiment of how successful philanthropy can be beyond the failures of conventional charities, and it comes as no surprise that more and more people are turning towards the visionary behind Microsoft in order to understand and better implement success-

ful strategies that can have a lasting impact.

The Gulf countries and their wealthy individuals are among those who are determined to go beyond charity and start making their donations count.

Kofi Rashid stresses that “Wealthy individuals in the Gulf countries have great records in terms of donations and charitable contributions, but because of the nature of the culture and religion, they don’t talk about it that much.

There is a sense that documenting such actions would amount to bragging. Billions from this region are being spent in supporting ailing economies, distributing vaccines, opening schools and building hospitals across the Muslim world, but they won’t go around flaunting about their latest 100 million dollars donations on TV or in a Magazine.”

But just because they’re silent about it, doesn’t mean they’re not working backstage on improving the ways they give up their wealth.

Individuals from the business and governmental sector are partnering up with the biggest names in the philanthropy world in an effort to bring home the expertise of names that have been around for years. Such partner is the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.

“When Bill Gates invests his fortune in fixing critical issues around the world, and we’re talking billions here, he wants to make sure that his money is well spent, and every dollar is invested wisely. He is managing the foundation with a similar business mindset that he employs in Microsoft. He is rational and very strict when it comes to the operations of Bill & Melinda Gates foundation”. We shouldn’t be surprised then to see Bill Gates increasing his foundations’ efforts in the GCC region where both the wealth and the will is present to create a positive change around.

“We’re working along with high net worth individuals in the gulf. All we do is advise them on how and where to spend their donations. Using our extensive dealings in philanthropy across a wide range of issues, we issue recommendations and show them how they can have an even greater impact.”

Maybe money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can save lives, put a family into a house, bring light to a remote camp or deliver vaccines to those in need. The gulf region is progressively moving towards making sure that its wealth will impact lives in other ways than making Lamborghinis available or bringing exclusive brands over to Dubai. Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, with their increasing involvements and networking with the richest in this area, is not only increasing the pool of dollars that will go into solving the world’s biggest problems, but

is establishing a culture of charity that is highly efficient and impactful. These efforts stand as a confirmation that the GCC countries are moving strongly into establishing themselves as a global center for innovation and leadership across all sectors, and is a standing ovation for the increasing popularity of the Bill & Melinda Gates approach to philanthropy and charitable work.

mohamed amine belarbi

personal branding #FROM HIRED TO FIRED

One hashtag, tweet or like away from disaster

T

he world has been spending a crazy amount of time analyzing and understanding media, its importance in society and influence on our linguistic developments and its importance in society and the role it plays in how we perceive things and more importantly – how we are perceived, particularly when it comes to digital media.

As access to the Internet and the flow of information is more readily accessible than ever (think Justin Bieber can confirm that), societies are now able to demand a greater transparency by organizations and legislators and the powers of democracy are thus strengthened through the use of media. A great example of this is the ”Twitter Revolution” that took place in Iran during the 20092010 elections where the people were able to voice their opinions despite the suppressing regime’s attempts to suffocate its people. A remarkable and appreciated use of media from a collective point of view I shall say.

An aspect to consider, in these times when everyone is always connected to the internet via a computer, an iPad or a smartphone is that we have all become ”Googleable” and very much exposed to everyone else – whether we like it or not. To my understanding, more university admissions, corporations and other types of organizations conduct a very thorough background check on individuals they wish to admit or employ and this unavoidably requires a great deal of understanding by each one of us of the implications at stake here.

The world’s largest online media company Google Inc., has an informal corporate motto which states; ”Don’t be evil”. Alongside is

its desire to spread and increase knowledge about everything and everyone, including you!

That epic party from last weekend was great - you ripped off your shirt and danced on the bar tables like there’s no tomorrow! You lived for the moment and felt alive and couldn’t care any less that all of it was documented on an open profile on Facebook, until you realize that the job you interviewed for went to someone a bit more ”corporate suit and suitable”.

Nowadays, everything you do and say can and will be accessible by the mass media incorporated inside every building or smartphone. What you do and how you do it during your “free time” is going to affect who gets that lucky spot you’ve always been dreaming of – all of a sudden “free time” turns into “show time” where you have to be on your toes whenever and however, because you never know when that snap shot of you gets uploaded to Facebook, Twitter or anywhere on the internet.

In times of recession, scenarios like the above described are more critical to consider in an environment of fierce employment competition where every detail matters. Major companies always conduct a background search on all the candidates before they put forward their CVs to potential clients; as do all recruitment companies and the clients themselves. If you are looking to secure that top job and want to be certain you are showing them your best assets – your intelligence and suitability – then sharpen your ears and listen up, as below I´ll present you with a set of guidelines that can make or break your career – the choice is yours.

•

Media is Manic

Even if you think you can hide from social media networks – you cannot. Once something is posted in the virtual world, you can never retract it. An indecent picture on a social media site can get thousands of likes – people like to get a good laugh at the expense of others; just make sure it’s not at your expense. Beauty fades, but dumb is forever!

•

Proper Pose Prevents a Poor Pay

If you insist on ripping your shirt off at parties and dancing at bar tables, keep in mind that opportunity cost of your actions. Losing that job to another candidate because of a certain unjust image can be more costly than you anticipated. Feel free to smile to the camera – but be slick in a suit rather than drinking out of a boot!

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Act – Don’t React

Rather than having to explain yourself or try to get that post deleted to avoid the public name & shaming; always stay a step ahead and be conscious of how your public profile is presented. Public relations & media management is half the job of any job. Can you represent?

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Privacy is Public

Maintaining your image integrity publicly is in theory possible through the privacy settings available. However, it is evident that there are more loopholes and cracks in the digital media systems than on a CV with incoherent fonts.

Assume nothing – control everything!

•

Live & Let Go

The pressure to be digitally active can result in you losing focus of what matters. A continuous stream of pointless social updates can distract you from the global events you will be asked

ibrahim naji

about at an interview or that could impact an analysis you are working on. Screen spam social media & select specific streaming segments to stay selectively social.

These are essential guidelines that are the key steps to a clear and clean profile across the increasingly critical online social networks. These are recommendations if you want to avoid media manipulation and their dirty tricks. With the above guidelines and advices at hand, I´m confident that you now hold the tools to continuously stay on top of how you can avoid falling prey to social dumbness and be sure to use these networks to you advantage. Although sites can help build your public image and give you that funky, sharp edge that is possibly beneficial in your private life – that same edge is perceived differently in a another social context, such as in the eyes of an employer. Keep in mind, media twists and tweaks of a comment or a picture is sometimes all it takes to get your employment status changed from hired to fired!

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