Shownotes:
In this episode, I sit down with communications expert and global strategist, Maha Abouelenein, to dive into her fascinating journey of resilience, adaptability, and self-reliance. From navigating major life transitions to working with global tech giants, Maha shares how the power of storytelling, relationships, and taking initiative can shape both personal and professional success. Listen in to hear her invaluable insights and discover which of her seven rules you’ll focus on first.
About Our Guest:
Maha Abouelenein is a strategic communication expert and entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience. As the CEO and Founder of Digital and Savvy, a global communications consulting firm with offices in the United States and United Arab Emirates, Maha has been instrumental in orchestrating transformations in communication strategies for clients that includes global corporate giants, high-growth startups, sports organizations, top governments, CEOs and high-net-worth individuals.
Book:
Thrive Global Article:
7 Rules of Self-Reliance with Maha Abouelenein
About Lainie:
Lainie Rowell is a bestselling author, award-winning educator, and TEDx speaker. She is dedicated to human flourishing, focusing on community building, social-emotional learning, and honoring what makes each of us unique and dynamic through learner-driven design. She earned her degree in psychology and went on to earn both a post-graduate credential and a master's degree in education. An international keynote speaker, Lainie has presented in 41 states as well as in dozens of countries across 4 continents. As a consultant, Lainie’s client list ranges from Fortune 100 companies like Apple and Google to school districts and independent schools. Learn more at linktr.ee/lainierowell.
Website - LainieRowell.com
Twitter - @LainieRowell
Instagram - @LainieRowell
Evolving with Gratitude, the book is available here! And now, Bold Gratitude: The Journal Designed for You and by You is available too!
Both Evolving with Gratitude & Bold Gratitude have generous bulk pricing for purchasing 10+ copies delivered to the same location.🙌
Just fill out the forms linked above and someone will get back to you ASAP!
Transcript:
Lainie Rowell: Hello, friends. I have the distinct honor of welcoming Maha Abouelenein. Maha, thank you for being here. And I'm super excited for people to hear your story.
Maha Abouelenein: Well, thank you for having me. I'm a huge fan of Thrive Global and, you know, everybody has a story with their origins and how it shapes them, which, you know, mine is no different.
I'm born and raised in Minnesota. I grew up 100 percent Egyptian in not a rural town, but a very small town in southern Minnesota. I grew up here, lived here my whole life , high school, undergraduate, master's degree, worked. I worked for General Mills doing sports marketing. I worked at Weber Shandwick as an intern, worked my way up to Account Executive.
And then at 27 years old my mother had multiple sclerosis. At 27 years old, my parents, who had, you know, basically I was born, raised, lived my whole life here, said, we're moving to Egypt. And I'm like, okay. And my mom was very sick and I was taking care of her. And so I'm like, I'm going to come with you.
I'm going to take care of mom. I'm going to move to Egypt with you. I moved to Egypt for personal reasons. Obviously, I went there at 27 years old. So, you know, you're a professional, you're working. I don't have a lot of friends. . I don't have a network. I'm having to find a job.
I don't speak the language. My mother is, is very sick. And you know, I had responsibilities and I moved to Egypt thinking, okay, this is my new life now. And I need to figure out how to build a new life in a new country. You know, I had been to Egypt as a kid growing up for summer vacations and Christmas holidays, but to visit somewhere is very different than to live somewhere and to be there day to day and have to build a life there.
So I had interviewed for different jobs. I'm like, okay, I got to find a job. I'll either work at the P and G's or the Coca Cola's or the Pepsi's, like an American company based in Cairo, or I'm going to work for a local business. And I got offered a job to work for a billionaire who ran a tech company.
And I'm like, oh, that sounds great. And it's like technology. And, you know, he was launching cell phones and was going to launch the internet. And like, this is 1997. So just when all of tech is about to take off. And he offered me a job to be his office manager. And I went home just upset. I'm like, wow, like I don't, I don't know.
I'm like, I have a master's degree. I worked for a Fortune 500 company. I was working for other known brands like General Mills and Wheaties and Betty Crocker and exciting job. And now it's going to be an office manager. And I didn't feel like I was qualified. I was overqualified to be an office manager.
And my dad said to me, listen, you just moved here. You don't know anybody. The office manager in the Middle East is like a chief of staff. And if I were you just put your head down, put in the work and turn it into a role you want it to become and really focus on bringing value for him. And if you do that, then you can ask for a different job or a different role once you've learned the business.
And I didn't have the foresight that he had. And so the next day, much to my chagrin, I went in and I accepted a job as an office manager, essentially a secretary for a billionaire. And it was the best thing that happened to me. I learned how to bring value, how to listen, how to learn. I read every paper going in, every paper going out because I'm like, okay, I have to learn things in order to know where to bring the most value for him.
So I was a student and I was volunteering to do anything I could for him. Anyways, I stayed at that company for several years, working on the largest IPO in the history of Egypt, the largest acquisition in the history of Egypt. I went on to be the head of communications at Google, the head of communications and launched Netflix in the Middle East for five years.
I worked for the ruler of Dubai. I built 18 offices for Weber Shandwick, a global PR firm in the Middle East and was the regional managing director based out of Cairo. And I spent 23 years doing communications and reputation management in the Middle East, for some of the biggest tech companies in the world.
And then. The pandemic hit in 2020. And I was like, I, do I want to be stuck here in Dubai away from my sister and her husband and kids? And my father got ALS and passed away. My mother had MS and passed away. And so I was like, okay, I think I need to make the move and move back to the state. So in 2020, I moved back and built a company during the pandemic, a communications firm.
And I've been for the last four years now here in the U S I still have an office in Dubai, but I help people tell their stories and help build their reputations and their personal brands and learn how to communicate better and I'm having the time of my life.
Lainie Rowell: Well it shows and I just have to say I get to meet a lot of authors and I'm an author myself and I just know that the journey to a book is different for everyone and having the honor and the privilege of getting a sneak peek because we're recording in September and the book comes out October 8th and I got to read Seven Rules of Self Reliance and I have to say that as I'm reading it and I'm hearing your story I've Never come across a story where I'm like, Oh my gosh, this person's whole life was leading up to sharing this message.
Do you know what I mean? Like it just was so true to you to talk about self reliance. And I really want to hear your definition of self reliance because I think people probably have their own ideas about what self reliance is. And feel free to go in the direction of what it's not, if that helps. Because sometimes it's helpful to be like, this is not what I mean.
And so tell us what does self reliance mean ?
Maha Abouelenein: Yeah, I mean, the reason I wrote this book, The Seven Rules of Self Reliance, is it's not about the what. It's not about what I do in communications. And you read the book, so you know a little bit about some of the stories I share in my career to give you real life examples.
It's about the how, how do I do things? How should people think about doing things? So self reliance to me is not about being independent or going alone and not needing anyone. It's the exact opposite. It's about betting on yourself. It's about investing yourself. I don't want to be left behind because I don't know things.
So I want to invest in myself and be a lifelong learner so that I can absorb everything that the market has to offer. And so I feel like. Self reliance is something I just want people to learn because I want them to trust themselves. Too often we're asking for permission from others or we're waiting for other people to decide for us or we're waiting for other people to give us our opportunities.
And what I want people to know because I lived it and I believe it and it's true, if you rely on yourself, that becomes your superpower. That becomes the value that not only you create for yourself, but for other people too. And it's just. a concept that I really want people to embrace and to love.
It's not about being independent or selfish. It's about being valuable and invaluable to others.
Lainie Rowell: I love the idea of it's not about being independent. I'm going to do everything on my own. It's that you have self worth, that you're self confident, and I do a lot of work around gratitude.
And one of the things we say with gratitude is it doesn't mean that you have to be self effacing. Like I never did anything. Everyone's gifted everything to me. Like it can be both. And I think that's an important nuance. It can be, I worked really, really hard. And in your case, I took the job as the office manager, even though it didn't feel like it was a fit for me And then through that other people helped raise you up to other opportunities.
Maha Abouelenein: Somebody who read the book was like, Oh, I read that. I'm like, I need to trust myself more. Like people are often outsourcing things to others that they know what's best for them. They just don't listen to their gut. They don't listen to trust their own intuition, or they don't have the confidence to think, gosh, I don't know if I can do that.
But my question is, why not? Why not you? Why aren't you capable of doing it? You are. You have access to information and guess what? It's free. Everything on the internet is for free. So I feel like there's an enormous opportunity and abundance and having that mindset of thinking, Hey, I can rely on myself to do this, and it, I can also get help from other people who can help me get to the next level.
And I feel like, Asking for help is definitely not a weakness. It's just I want people to know when to practice that. What do I have a high level self awareness of what I know? What am I missing? And how do I get there? And this book gives you the tools for today's world, like a modern playbook for how you can rely on yourself and become powerful.
Lainie Rowell: I mean, as humans, we're meant to be connected, so it can be both.
Maha Abouelenein: Yes. Yes.
\
Lainie Rowell: I have to say, you are easily one of the most hardworking people, and you really give us that motivation, that inspiration to be like, I can do the thing that seems just bananas. I can just go for that and I love that so that's really helpful to me and I think sometimes what is a struggle for people is they see someone like you they see these people who are super successful but they don't see all the work that they had to do to get there and you've got a chapter in the book Stay Low Keep Moving And I'd love for you to talk about that because to me, that's part of it.
It's the part that doesn't get seen, but it's so critical.
Maha Abouelenein: Yeah. I mean, I'm 54. I've been doing this for 30 years, right? Nobody is an overnight success, I have failed multiple times. I have been fired from jobs. I have had my share of setbacks, not just in having to take care of two parents with neurological diseases while I'm trying to find my career and find my voice.
But the reason why I started the first chapter of the book of talking about stay low, keep moving is I had heard that term and then it became a metaphor for my life. So, stay low, keep moving is a military term where you're on your stomach and you're crouching forward to stay low and keep moving so you don't get hit by arsenal.
But the reason why I took it for a metaphor for my life and I made it the first chapter of my book is, I want people to focus on staying low. This doesn't mean stay low profile. It means stay low, like stay focused, put your blinders on. There's so many distractions, social media, friends telling you you can't do it, people who are doubting you, you doubting yourself.
So I'm saying stay low, like just put your head down, put in the work, put in the effort, and try to avoid these distractions. Keep moving. You are gonna face setbacks. You're going to fail. Life is full of challenges. Life is messy. Take a deep breath. regroup and keep moving because I had my share of setbacks in my career and in my life.
And you know what I did? I was like, I just need to win today. I don't need to blow the ocean and overthink it. I'm the queen of overthinking everything. I always like have to take a step back, take a deep breath. What can I work on today? What can I win today? And then try to get to the next day. And that's what makes people successful is when they think of the small steps and the small habits and the small points of progress, knowing that life is going to be its ups and downs.
And that's the premise of stay low and keep moving, because I want people to think it's not all bubble gum and roses. You are going to face setbacks. So you have to make an effort to focus. You have to make an effort to not be distracted because it's like your inbox, for example, If you just sit in front of your inbox all day and field incoming emails, those are priorities that other people have to interrupt your day.
So I always tell my team, like, close your email so you can focus on what you actually need to get done. So that you can work on your priorities because there's going to be constant reminders of other people sending you work on email that may not be your focus or priority for the day. And that's a really good example of staying low.
Like I need to stay focused so I don't get distracted.
Lainie Rowell: Let's talk about other people because one of the other stories that really resonated was you talking about an experience with a client who is reluctant to share information that you needed to effectively tell their story. Yeah. You had to adapt your approach.
And where this really hit for me is I have a background in education, but it doesn't really matter what your role is. I'm thinking like healthcare providers there's just all these different roles where we're here to serve other people and they don't always make it easy for us.
And we have to be adaptable and remove those barriers for them. What advice do you have for people who are practicing self reliance to remove those barriers, not just for ourselves, but for other people.
Maha Abouelenein: So first of all, I love this question. I feel like you need to be curious and know how to ask the right questions, right?
Because if you're going to create value for somebody else, if you have a client that you need to serve, a project you want to tackle, something you want to achieve in your life, you're going to have to start asking your questions. What do I know? What do I need to know? What am I missing? What are the areas where I need to focus my time?
What are the areas where I need to focus my learning or get some skills or acquire some knowledge? So I think it starts with asking the question, and I always encourage people to ask open ended questions. That way you can just feel the answers and sift through it on your own without having to be so specific.
Like if I really don't know what I need, I'm just going to ask an open ended question to see what information they give me. And then build from there. So I think that's a really helpful thing. If people want a chart to figure out, like, if I want to be self reliant, where's the first place to start? It's being curious and trying to acquire knowledge.
Lainie Rowell: In the book you talk a lot about growth mindset and at the end of the book, this is not just to prove that I read every page, but at the end of the book, you do talk about AI and where we're headed with different things. And tell us a little bit about your perspective on growth mindset and why that's so critical with everything we've got coming at us.
Maha Abouelenein: Yeah, I mean, the reason I wrote this book was that times are changing and you need to know how to keep up and be ahead of it, actually. And so the last chapter of the book, after I go through the seven rules, I talk about key things that are on my radar that I want people to know people to really start to think about, and one of them is AI.
So have a sense of curiosity around it. How can it help your business? Don't be intimidated by it. Everyone thought that AI is gonna come and take away jobs. Well, everyone thought that when the internet came out and look what happened? It created enormous amount of jobs. It created e-commerce, it created social media, it created all these digital platforms and apps that we live by now.
We can't even imagine our lives without them today. So I feel like for AI, you got to get curious. You have to learn it, lean into it, start dabbling in it. You know, sometimes we don't like a food until we try it. So like we need to try it to have an opinion about it. So that's the first thing. The second thing I talk a lot about is storytelling.
Like everyone, no matter how much AI or technology is prevalent in our lives, even with social media and the internet, you're never not not need to know how to communicate. Communications is something that will never go out of style. How do you connect with an audience? How do you move someone?
How do you tell a story, whether it's for your business, or for your brand, or for your family member? Knowing how to be a good storyteller is really important. is emotional, but it's also practical. It's something that you need to be doing at work. Like if I'm not good at how I show up at work, I'm not going to get that promotion.
If I'm not good about telling a good story about my accomplishments, I'm not going to get the next project to work on to help move me to the next level. So I feel like understanding what connects us, what moves us, how stories work, how stories communicate and how they carry. I think that's also really key.
Lainie Rowell: And I hear you saying really storytelling is a part of our well being. Is that fair to say?
Maha Abouelenein: Yeah. And I talk a lot about the most important story is the one you tell yourself. Like how much are you in tune with who you are and what your purpose is and what you stand for? How much are you using your gifts?
So many people have unique talents and gifts, but they're not doing it. And the reason they're not doing it is because they're afraid what people will think. Well, that's a terrible way to live. Like I'm afraid of putting myself out there on social media because I don't want people to think, well, who does she think she is?
You know, you have unique talents and skills. Share it. You don't have to do it through social media. You can do it one to one with your neighbors in your community. But I just feel like so many people are sitting on your unique talents and aren't using it. And I feel like that's such a big opportunity for us.
And it makes me excited to think about if someone reads this book as an inspired, you know, to start telling stories or to help somebody with a skill that they have, then that just is, is worth every ounce for me. And I just, I feel like people should be empowered to do it because we're only on this planet for so long. So go ahead and not sit back on your talents.
Lainie Rowell: When I see someone who is such a high performer like you, I have to ask them how do you navigate not getting burnt out? Maybe you do and you shift out of it.
How are you managing stress?
Maha Abouelenein: You know what, it's a lot, it's self awareness, so knowing myself, like, what stresses me out, what do I know when I've had too much, and I, I really focus on my time management, like, a lot, like, I have no meeting Wednesdays, where I don't do calls and meetings on Wednesdays, because I want to make sure I have a day to focus and think and strategize or plan.
I'm very active in sports, either playing sports or going to sports. I enjoy going to sporting events. I feel like I know what recreation fills my cup. I spend an enormous time with other people. Relationships are the connective tissue that I thrive on. And so either my friends, my family, and I book things, like I make those plans.
And I also take time off to do nothing. scheduling time to really decompress, step away from my computer, take those vacations, go on a daily walk, that's like my non negotiable, I have to do that every day, and so it's just having that barometer. Okay, I do get stressed out I know I have a one of the things I do with me and my team is we do this thing where we do this exercise where we ask each other, okay, what drains you?
I need to know from my team members what drains them. So I know when they've had too much or what they're like when they're stressed out. And then when they came to ask me, they're like, what drains you? I'm like, traveling, traveling too much, traveling back to back. takes me away from my dog, takes me away from home cooked meals, takes me away from my workouts, takes me away from my bed.
So I want to make sure that I ask myself the same questions I ask my team members to make sure like we have to take that temperature so that we know there are going to be times when we're stressed and there's going to be times when we can like take a step back. And so it's really, really important as an executive, as a leader, as a daughter, as an aunt, as a sister, that I'm, I'm doing all those things to make sure that I can keep myself sane.
And to be a value creator for other people and contributor, I got to take care of myself first.
Lainie Rowell: I think it's really thoughtful to ask what drains you, rather than assuming we know what drains people. I mean, I could see someone taking something off of a teammate's plate because they feel like, oh, this is probably burning them.
But maybe that was actually what was driving them. Maybe that was what got them out of bed in the morning and got them excited. So I love this very intentional, what drains you. And then not that we can always take it off their plate, obviously, but if there's ways that we can help maneuver it. So for you, if it's travel, maybe there's ways that we can be more strategic about the trips.
I mean, I'm on a plane a lot. I know how draining it is. It's not as glamorous as it looks.
Maha Abouelenein: I did a stint between end of May and I was like five weeks. I was on the road every week in a different, and I was like, London, Toronto, Sweden, like back. I'm like, it's great.
Those are important events and I need to do them. But also what's the toll that that takes on time with my team, time with my family. time on my health. So just making sure that you think about those things. And so I try to plan it in spurts and be better about it. And I think just also asking team members, like, how do I know when you're stressed?
I disappear. I go underwater. I panic. I reach for help. I go underwater and I don't ask for help. You need to know, you need to know as a leader. One, you need to be an empathetic leader to understand what makes your team pulse and what do they like, but you also need to know, so when you see the signs, you can step in to support them so that if they're stressed, they're not probably going to ask for it.
Lainie Rowell: And I also appreciate you sharing some of the ways that you're recharging physically, intellectually, socially. I heard you talking about the no Meeting Wednesdays which is so lovely and for anyone that can actually make that happen in their work situation, even if it's just an afternoon of no meetings, I think that really helps us get into flow, which for me is a super important thing.
I just don't think I can get to the next level of performing if I don't get at least a little bit of time to get into flow. And then you also said the just being, which is like, We're human beings, right? What's that saying? We're human beings, not human doing. So give yourself some time for that.
Maha Abouelenein: Exactly. I also think a lot about my calendar, like my mornings.
I try not to book meetings in the mornings because I also think when am I most productive? My creative writing or thinking, I like to work out first thing in the morning to send a signal to myself that my priority is my health first and
foremost. And so obviously I do a lot of early morning calls with Dubai or the Middle East, but I don't do them every single day so that I can have those mornings to do things.
So I try to plan. I mean, best case scenario. So I can have at least four of my mornings free to do that thinking time. Cause I know when I'm most productive and more effective, I can't do writing like a strategic or hardworking things in the afternoon.
Lainie Rowell: Oh, and yes, the working with different time zones, I mean, if you're not really careful with that, you can end up being up very early, staying into the middle of the night, like, it's really, really hard, so I feel you on that too. I want to give you an opportunity, what is something that either you can't share enough, or something that you haven't had a chance to share before and you're just like, I really want to make sure people hear.
Maha Abouelenein: Easy. Easy. Okay. Can't share enough. The importance of your personal brand and your reputation. So let me explain. You've probably heard a lot of people talk about, I need to build my personal brand, my personal brand. And they think your personal brand is like, being a social media influencer. And what I'm trying to help people get their arms around and their head around is that personal brand equals reputation.
So you need to be obsessed with your reputation. So your reputation is what people say about you, obviously, when you're not in the room, but you can have the best sales, the best marketing, the best supply chain, the best pricing, the best product or service, but if you don't have a good reputation, no one will want to work with you.
Right? So I want people to think a lot about investing in their personal brand. If you have a social media account, you are a personal brand. If you have a job, you have a personal brand. It's how you show up at work. It's how your manager sees you. It's how your coworkers see you. What do you want them to know about you?
How do you show up on Zoom calls? What does your personal brand say about you? And that's why I think if I reframe it, instead of saying personal brand, calling it reputation, then of course, everybody cares about the reputation. No one's going to say, sign me up. I don't care about my reputation. So I think paying attention to your reputation and being intentional about it is key, especially in today's world.
And, you know, personal brand for me is not about personal life. It's not about sharing everything you're doing, where you're going, all your vacation pictures, your personal life, your children, your family. It's really about what is your story, what is your message, what is your narrative. Your personal brand is kind of made up of three things.
It's your skills, your experiences and your your personality. So what is it that I want people to know about me? I play tennis. I am a dog mom. I love communications. I grew up in Egypt, but I also want people to see the business stuff. Like, how do you do communications and personal branding and media training?
So I feel like Everyone should think about like, what do I stand for? How do people see me? And I feel like because of the internet and there's a lot of messages and if you're not doing it, somebody else will do it for you. So take the proactive step of building a personal brand that you're proud of, because that's how you want to represent yourself, whether you're an entrepreneur.
You need to build your personal brand because people follow people. They don't follow companies. And so are you a thought leader? Do you want to put things out on LinkedIn? Do you want to speak on stages? Do you want to speak in your local community? It doesn't necessarily have to be online. And I feel like in fact, your offline reputation is more important.
Like how do you treat your customers? How do you treat your employees? How do you treat your team members? That's what I mean when I say people get on this bandwagon of investing in your personal brand because it is so valuable, not only for you and your career, but for your reputation.
Lainie Rowell: Thousand percent. As you're listing off all these different, whatever your role in the world is, I think about yesterday was the first day of school for my kids and the personal brand, AKA reputation of the teachers. They're going to. be in a classroom with six hours a day, five days a week for 180 some odd days, it matters.
Luckily, their teachers are amazing and they went in knowing that these were good people. But if that was not the case for these kids to walk in, that's a lot to overcome. It's so much harder. It's harder to rebrand or redo that reputation if you can just stay in front of it like you're talking about and be proactive about it.
That's just such the better way to do it.
Maha Abouelenein: Yeah. And I think it's for a lot of like business leaders when I talk to them about, building their personal brands, like they don't want to start with zero followers or they don't want to put themselves out there. And there's so many ways you can build your personal brand without having to be your face on a video or creating content yourself.
If you like to write, maybe write a blog post or an article. If you like to speak in public and meet with people face to face instead of doing it digitally, there's so many ways you can build your reputation and your personal brand, but it's something that you need to do over time, right? So think of like the companies or businesses that you admire.
You admire them over time because they built up that goodwill, that good reputation, that airline that always delivers, the brand that always is there for you, is sturdy and durable. That's how you build a reputation. It's, it's putting in the reps over time. If you didn't, you already start building your reputation, there's not too late.
You just need to try to figure out, okay, what am I willing to do that's going to help me put my best foot forward and making sure that I'm doing that. And then just be consistent about it.
Lainie Rowell: Absolutely. Well, I am super excited for Seven Rules of Self Reliance to drop. People are listening to this on the podcast or reading the article in Thrive Global, it has already dropped and I will make sure that there is a link in the show notes or a link in the article so you all can grab your copy. I mean, first of all, Maha, your life is just fascinating. Like, just, Full stop, right? But also the wisdom and the practical, tactical strategies that you give us are so helpful.
And you know, you're a great storyteller and we learn through stories. You do a beautiful job of that. So I'm excited for this.
Maha Abouelenein: I love it. So in every chapter, this is a playbook. Like I said, in every chapter, there's takeaways for like a chapter summary, but there's reflection exercises so you can put these rules to work for you.
So when I teach you about being a lifelong learner, that's one of the rules. Like, how do we learn today? What are the resources I should go to learn? What are some of the ways I can do that and how can I be a lifelong learner? You get a playbook for that. There's a whole playbook on how to build your personal brand.
My favorite chapter in the book has to do with being a long term player and that is about putting deposits in other people's trust banks and by that I mean relationships. We live and die by our relationships. I want to work hard and teach people how to build their own networks and their own relationships.
How do you master the art of a DM on LinkedIn? How do you DM somebody on Instagram that you want to do business with? What's the best way for me to build my own network and relationships? So if I need something, I don't really need to rely on you,, to say, Hey, can you ask one of your friends to do a favor for me, or to help me with an opportunity with a client.
I want to have all the cards in my hands and those cards are skills, experiences, and relationships. And relationships are key. What if we happen to have another pandemic and you need to do something and call on someone in your network to help you? So building up the skill of how to go into a room and meet people and walk out with every business card, how to show up on a zoom call and network with other people, how to go to an event and make the most of that event. So you can build relationships. How to build a relationship with someone if you wanna be a speaker or a moderator, you gotta build a relationship first. So how do you do that? You bring value to them. So that's also in the book. And I feel like the practical experiences and the playbook on how to network especially remotely is invaluable.
And so many people have tried what I've taught here and, and it works.
Lainie Rowell: Absolutely. , like I said, I'll make sure the link to the book is in the show notes and the article. I would love for you to just share with people what is the best way for them to connect with you and your work.
Maha Abouelenein: Okay. First of all, I have a Facebook group called Seven Rules where I do free masterclasses and workshops. So I'd love everyone to join me on that Facebook group. They can go to my website. Mahaabouelenein.com/ or follow me on Instagram @Mahagaber..
Lainie Rowell: We will be looking for this to be in the hands of as many people as possible.
We know it's going to do great things. And Maha, I just really thank you for your time here.
Maha Abouelenein: Thank you so much. And I'm curious, which seven rule Are you going to start to practice today?
Lainie Rowell: Oh, that's such a good one. I do think that the one that I feel like I am good at but need to get better at is the stay low, keep moving I just think there's a lot that comes at us and it's very easy to lead a distracted life So how can you really stay focused and it's something i'm typically good at, but something has been slipping a little bit lately.
So
Maha Abouelenein: Seven Rules of Self Reliance. I'm excited for everyone to get their hands on it and give me feedback on which is their favorite rule and which one they're going to tackle first.
Lainie Rowell: All right. Thank you all for listening.
And again, Maha, thank you so much for being here.
Maha Abouelenein: Thank you for having me.