Innovative Business Leaders | Martin Mobarak | Exeleon Magazine

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Elyse Kaye: Uplifting Women

Martin Mobarak KEEPING THE LEGEND OF FRIDA KAHLO ALIVE

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CONTENTS

12 MARTIN MOBARAK

CONTENTS

30 DAYNA ALTMAN

CONTENTS

42 JEFF HEGGIE

COVER STORY

MARTIN MOBARAK Founder | Frida.NFT

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KEEPING THE LEGEND OF

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COVER STORY

– FRIDA KAHLO

he legacy of an artist can often be determined by the impact and in luence their art holds across generations, across communities, and across geographical boundaries.

Renowned as Mexico's most popular painter – Frida Kahlo was an example of excellence whose artistry continues to have an impact in our lives and in our society.

Her artistic legacy molds into the form of an incredible biographical narrative in which, using drama and rich symbolism, Frida shares the story of her intimate experiences, her despair, her beliefs, and her values.

Growing up in Mexican City, Martin Mobarak was someone who was introduced to the works of Frida at an early age. He was fascinated with her paintings and the cultural impact Frida had in extending the history of Mexico.

As Martin grew up, his

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understanding of art expanded and simultaneously his appreciation for Frida's work and her life beyond.

Today, Martin Mobarak, a global entrepreneur and visionary, aims to immortalize the legacy of Frida Kahlo with Frida.NFT, a pioneering innovative blockchain technology reforming the charity industry to increase transparency, donation frequency, and donor incentive.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Martin grew up in a Lebanese/Mexican household with a strong in luence of Lebanese culture.

For him, the food, the music, and art were a different world altogether. He discovered Mexican culture as he started his high school years.

Through his school trips to cultural sites, Martin grasped more understanding of the country's rich history.

He recalls his irst visit to the Museum of Frida and getting introduced to her artworks. “It was a very typical ield trip on every school in Mexico. But to me it was extraordinary as I was immediately fascinated with her paintings, like love at irst sight, even though I visited the museum several times during my school years, each time was like a irst time.”

Martin's involvement with arts increased during his high school years, when he signed up for artistic shop classes and plastic arts school.

“One of my best friends was a prominent painter, and a teacher in Mexico City in the school of Plastic Arts, which is how I got more serious with art and education myself in the school.”

Martin eventually moved to a different state, pursued college, and started his professional journey. However, he brought his love for admiring and collecting art with him in this journey.

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As a Mexican Native, Martin's vision is to bring the work of Frida Kahlo into the metaverse and bring together a community of collectors, creators, and lovers.

Frida had an impactful presence in Martin's growing up years. As he learned more about her life of pain and suffering, it impacted him to take notice of her struggles and how she conveyed these emotions through her paintings. Martin mentions, “Frida Kahlo lived a tumultuous life to say the least, from Polio, to being told she would never walk again after a terrible bus accident, to

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marrying a notorious womanizer Diego Rivera, Frida painted her emotions and life until her painful death.”

He adds, “I share her feelings of pain in this material world, and yet, still not giving up helping the needy and try to ix the broken system. In my case it is the health system and the people that suffer from it.“

Through Frida.NFT, Martin hopes to share the artworks of Frida with the world, instead of holding it in his possession while making a global impact.

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COVER STORY FASCINATION WITH TECHNOLOGY Throughout his professional journey as an entrepreneur and business leader, Martin has been a passionate visionary of technology.

He mentions “I owned one of the irst ISP providers in anchorage Alaska. I was involved in the development of the Internet between 1993 - 1998. I've always been involved in technology.”

Moreover, when Martin was introduced to the burgeoning blockchain technology and Bitcoin in 2009, he became obsessed with the potential of the industry. The led him to start his own cryptocurrency AGCoin, which is a silver-backed crypto.

“AGCoin is the irst crypto platform to invest in Silver, and it's the next generation precious metal tokenization model with continuous access to liquidity and availability. Creating a silver-backed tokenomy while tokenizing vault deposits, we have attempted to produce innovative solutions that address customers' needs but also provides consistent support. “ Martin learned about blockchain through various different conferences in Dubai and the US, while in the last year, he has learnt all about NFTs. FRIDA.NFT

Martin realized the potential of the NFT market and how the technology can be leveraged to bring forth a change in the charity

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space. This prompted him to introduce Frida.NFT.

Frida.NFT's vision is to create the bridge between the traditional art world and the expanding potential of Web 3.0. This community-driven initiative has a vision to introduce Frida's work into the metaverse and leverage her powerful likeness to bring together a community of collectors, creators, and art lovers on a mission to merge the traditional art world with the digital art world's expanding potential and immortalize humanities story.

“Like a Phoenix rising from its ashes, this collection of 10,000 NFT's represents the rebirth & immortality of a timeless piece by Frida Kahlo “Fantasmones Siniestros or “Massive Sinister Ghosts.”. This piece will be transformed to live eternally in the digital realm.”

NFTS AND CHARITY According to Martin, NFT holds the key in revolutionizing the entire charity industry!

He elaborates, “Blockchain technologies are the answer, if managed correctly to raise capitals for many industries, why not charitable ventures? It's a very viable solution for possible perpetual pipeline of funds, transparent and secure.”

Over the last decade, Martin has collected timeless pieces of history.

“As the current owner of the paintings, I have a vision of creating perpetual donations to multiple organizations for the needy with royalties from the NFT sale and collection.”

Valued over $10,000,000, Martin has decided to take this to be the irst perpetual royalty charity initiative.

Martin's goal is to make an impact by providing donors full transparency of foundation funds, increasing donation frequency through perpetual donations, and dramatically increasing a much larger incentive for the community to donate.

He mentions, “Each Fantasmones Siniestros NFT grants the holder membership to our exclusive artdriven charity foundation along with a host of ever-evolving bene its including, but not limited to, access to luxurious amenities, unique experiences, and exclusive events around the globe.”

Owing to scandals surrounding mismanagement of donors' gifts and general lack of transparency, public con idence in charity leaders has seen a sharp decline in the last

The mission for Martin and team is to create a consistent donation stream to charities, while rewarding the ones who are willing to be a part of this journey.

The charity industry has struggled to keep up with the advancements in technology and digitalization, thereby prompting the public to take notice. “Inef icient bookkeeping, unpleasant user experiences, and distrusting donors make for an industry that is quickly losing public interest.”

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decade.

According to the Give.org Donor Trust Report, 32 percent of respondents trust charities less today than they did ive years ago.

GIVING BACK

For Martin, giving back to the society is an integral part of his value system. Moreover, his personal experiences with his daughter have given him this unique perspective “It is bigger than, me, you, and Frida would have understood it if she was alive.”

During his early years living in Alaska, Martin's irst daughter was diagnosed with a rare congenital disease and due to this he had spent countless sleepless nights in the hospital, broken and helpless. This was 30 years ago. And that changed him completely.

“I was myself in need of a place to

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stay, and these inancial and logistical dif iculties, as well as the broken health system in this country, made me want to take things into my own hands, just like Frida had done. Years later, when I became wealthy, I helped countless patients, their parents whenever I was in the hospitals, this time for my second daughter Elektra (now 11 years old) who was diagnosed with Crouzon Syndrome. Anytime, I see a person in need in the broken health system I had to interfere.

Therefore, the proceeds from the sale of all the NFTs will go to the Charities that are dear and near to my heart and very important for my family,” he recalls.

Similar to him, Martin saw a number of other families who were facing this struggle to afford the care they needed. He tried to help them in whatever capacity he possibly could. Along with his daughter's battle, Martin prepared himself to combat the broken

healthcare system of the country.

“While my daughter had surgery after surgery (21 surgeries in total) and recovery of 3 months each time….it was dif icult, but I managed, I got help from a loving family and other giving people.

There are many families in need of help all the time and not enough resources.”

This impacted Martin to make a bigger difference and impact.

Through Frida.NFT Martin is dedicated to bringing forth a disruption that contributes to the overall welfare of the industry and the society at large.

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IN-FOCUS

David Pawlan Co-Founder | Aloa

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IN-FOCUS

Leading Transparency in the Software Development Economy T

In a world where anyone can innovate freely, there is still a barrier because software development is a pain point for far too many.

Driven to ix the problems in this process, a 24-year-old entrepreneur started to ind sustainable solutions for it. David Pawlan is the founder of Aloa— a platform for outsourcing software development for startups. Four years later, since his college days, David has grown Aloa to a multi-milliondollar business.

As an ardent believer in changing the world, he is also involved in social initiatives like Fifth Star Funds. David, along with other Chicago entrepreneurs, recognized the inequality in the entrepreneurial landscape and decided to make a difference by helping startups grow.

His ultimate goal is to create wholesome environments that empower innovators to plan, experiment and build incredible things.

In an Exclusive Interview, David talks about his journey and Aloa.

What according to you makes one a transformational leader? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?

In my opinion, all leadership should be built upon the values of transformational leadership. An effective leader is one who empowers those they are leading to a point W W W. E X E L E O N M AG A Z I N E . C O M

where the leader is no longer needed. That is exactly how I view it as an integration to business leadership. My goal is always to eliminate my own job, and it's the most fun part of it. In this way, I'm helping to build an effective and self-suf icient organization.

Talk to us about your growing up years.

What prompted your interest and subsequently your foray into the tech space?

I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but I really was never a tech kid. I didn't play video games; they never really caught my attention.

My interest in tech I think is just a consequence of the way the world is moving.

Brief us about Aloa and what led to the inception of this platform.

Aloa is a platform for outsourcing software development for startups. You can think of us as software outsourcing infrastructure.

While in college, we were building out apps and doing student tech consulting. We wanted to expand our development team, so we began looking for resources. We looked domestically, but it was too expensive, so we outsourced.

We had a horrible experience. To us, that didn't make sense. Why haven't we been able to igure out a predictable and consistent experience for software, the most remote industry there is.

At Aloa, we believe in a world where anyone

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IN-FOCUS can innovate freely, and at this point, we see software development as a barrier to innovation for far too many. So, rather than trying to build a blanket solution as a dev shop, we studied the pain points themselves and fell in love with the problem of outsourcing software development itself.

Four years later, since those college days, we've grown Aloa to a multimillion-dollar business. We've vetted through 10,000+ software irms around the world and have quali ied just 8 to be in our Network.

We built Aloa Manage so anyone, even non-technicals, can manage their dev team. We built AloaPay so clients don't have to deal with foreign transaction fees or international tax compliance. A dedicated Account Manager will curate a match to the proper irm in our network. We'll build out custom development strategies and continuously audit. The beauty is that we've automated so much of our process that we can do all of this at the same rate as other outsourcing competitors. In our opinion, just providing you a developer isn't suf icient.

Being the Co-Founder, what role do you play in the day-to-day proceedings of the company?

As a Co-Founder, you're wearing tons of different hats. My main role is de initely sales and lead generation as ultimately that is what keeps the lights on. However, most recently I've been spearheading a lot of our marketing efforts as well as working on process and operational ef iciency.

I'll also serve as our legal liaison 26

and help out with taxes. There are no two days that are the same!

What is the approach followed by the company when it comes to providing optimal client satisfaction?

We're a very mission driven company, so that is what truly guides our decision-making. Each one of us tries to act sel lessly: what would I truly do if I were in their position? We lead with empathy, resonate with the client experience, and ensure that we prioritize the core mission of what we're doing.

As long as we maintain our integrity and quality of service, the pro its will come.

You are an ardent believer in changing the world. Talk to us about some of your social involvements and why it is important for you.

The most important social involvement I have is being the CoFounder of Fifth Star Funds. Along with other Chicago entrepreneurs, we recognized the inequality in the entrepreneurial landscape and decided to dedicate our nights and weekends to make a difference.

Only 1% of VC capital goes towards Black founders, and more curiously, from 2009-2017, only .0006% of VC funding went to Black women. Now, let's take this one step further. The average Black-owned startup has roughly $500 of outside equity when starting. The average Whiteowned startup has roughly $18,500 of outside equity.

Fifth Star Funds is a venture philanthropy evergreen fund seeking to address the funding

epidemic in America where only 1% of venture capital is awarded to Black founders. We accomplish this by investing in Black tech founders in Chicago at the early stage “Friends & Family” round. We believe the funding gap at this stage is the most critical to address, as centuries of inequity have prevented these potential entrepreneurs from having the initial capital to start their businesses. 100% of all returns from our investments are reinvested into the fund, so as the startups we invest in grow, the fund inherently does too, making our impact compounding.

What has the journey been like for David Pawlan over the years?

Looking back, what would you have done differently if you were to start again?

It’s been a journey of perseverance.

I've always been starting things, always trying to build companies.

When talking about it to others, I always say it just feels like I'm playing a real-life version of Rollercoaster Tycoon. I always had a little side business growing up.

My Senior year of High School and Freshman year of College I dove into my irst of icial startup. It failed. I learned a ton. In my Senior year I joined the Aloa founding team and I haven't looked back ever since.

This second part of the question is pretty funny to me because I'm actually working really hard on myself to avoid that thought exercise. I need to stop looking back and questioning every little decision, it's debilitating. So, I guess in this context, I'd say that I'd tell my younger self to stop looking E X E L E O N M AG A Z I N E

IN-FOCUS Entrepreneurship is really hard.

Money won't come right away.

You're going to fall. You're going to cry. You're going to question everything. Only passion, a true intrinsic motivator, a belief in what you're doing, will be suf icient to push you through the journey with a smile on your face.

What has been the biggest roadblock during your journey?

What has been your biggest learning?

I myself am my biggest roadblock.

I'm really hard on myself.

Confrontation scares me. I take things too personally. I'm not sure what my biggest learning is yet because I'm still in the thick of it.

Finally, what does the future look like for you and Aloa?

We believe in a world where anyone can innovate freely. We want to change the world, and we won't stop short of doing just that. Today it's software, creating a pathway where non-technical entrepreneurs and tech-giants alike can predictably build their technology.

I'm so proud of our team and what we've accomplished, but we're far from the inish line.

back. Be present. Live in the moment. The past is the past. You can learn from it, but your mind should be on the present, on what is in front of you, not behind.

What would be your advice for aspiring and emerging business leaders?

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another. The irst is to fall in love with the problem, not the solution.

If you are in love with the problem, then any roadblock or set back is actually a step forward, because you found another way that doesn't work. In the same vein, do something because you're passionate about it, not because you're chasing the money.

I don't know what we'll be in 10 years, but I do know that as long as we continue to follow our mission, we're going to create the proper environments to let innovators do some truly incredible things.

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IN-FOCUS

Dayna Altman

Author & Mental Health Entrepreneur

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Healing and Empowering People Through Acceptance ***

S

ince the dawn of time, staying true to life and sharing stories has been part of humanity. We have always told stories to pass on knowledge and lessons to future generations. We are constantly learning, making new discoveries through storytelling.

However, the most signi icant advantage that humans have garnered with storytelling is our ability to embrace our and others' stories, giving us strength and the will to carry on in dif icult times. These stories show us that we are not alone in this world, and it is support from others during harsh times that motivate us to move forward and lourish in living the life everyone deserves.

Dayna Altman, a mental health entrepreneur, author, and public health professional, couldn't be a better example to showcase the power storytelling has in healing people. Overcoming and learning from the challenges that started in her college years, Dayna embarked on a journey to help others by creating her organizations specializing in mental health advocacy.

Exeleon exhibits the empowering story of this bold entrepreneur.

THE PROACTIVE MINDSET

Dayna can distinctly remember how she has always been a leader, even from a young age. Growing up, she loved musical theatre and every other aspect related to dancing, acting, or singing. Even so, she created her own show during her second-grade year. “I coordinated a rehearsal schedule with my friends' parents. I did the costumes and set design as well as the advertising,” shares Dayna.

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IN-FOCUS And when the show was over, all Dayna could think of was when she would be able to do something like that again. This was the active mindset with which Dayna grew up, and 20 years later, she still feels the same. She says, “Every time I get to lead an initiative and work on a project that I love, I am so grateful and can't wait to do it again!”

However, before she could take this proactive mind into the open world, Dayna saw herself struggling with mental health issues, taking a signi icant toll on her life.

ACCEPTING THE IMPERFECTIONS Dayna began struggling with her mental health at the start of her college years. It was there when she decided to jot down her experiences in hopes of publishing a book about living with mental illness someday.

What worked for Dayna was the acceptance of her struggles and her will to embrace the imperfections the fate had thrown at her. Those early years when she couldn't accept it, Dayna was in the perception that something was wrong with her, and she needed to be happy all the time. “I think something that held me back from getting help earlier on was not really 'knowing' about mental health or seeing other people openly speak about their struggles,” shares Dayna.

“Had I seen someone living openly and simultaneously talking about their mental health struggle, I think things would have unfolded differently.”

And this is what Dayna has been doing by now. She has led an authentic life by staying true to her 32

life's imperfections. Her work is inspired by her struggles and being the person who embraced it. “I like to both lead and live authentically, which means living with mental illness.”

This strength to live up to herself empowered Dayna to help others with her book Bake it Till You Make it: Breaking Bread, Building Resilience. It is a cookbook with recipes, stories, and resource pages that encourages people to realize their inherent power in their own stories. It combines the mental health stories and recipes of over forty different contributors.

The book humanizes mental health and mitigates people's discomfort when talking about it by using recipes and food. Tied together with resource pages and a diverse number of perspectives, the book is written in such a way that anyone can pick it up and feel the greater sense of living with imperfections.

CONTINUING THE PROACTIVE MINDSET

Dayna picks up after her childhood habit of longing after productive work even after so many years. To her, it is essential to lead by example, especially with vulnerability and authenticity. In Dayna's dictionary, a transformational leader is someone who has a passion for what they are doing and believes in their message, so many others want to become a part of it.

And as a leader in the mental health space, Dayna does not pretend to appear 'perfect' or 'completely recovered' and takes on the

leadership role in an authentic manner. “I show up like me and do my best as well as speak to what I am passionate about and what I know. I have found that vulnerability and authenticity are contagious,” shares Dayna. She continues, “Leading with vulnerability has not only allowed me to help inspire others, but it has also allowed me to create meaningful relationships with people who wanted to be 'seen and heard'.”

Dayna describes being humane as the solution to understanding the current gap in the mental health industry. In her opinion, the more the subject is humanized, and people are reminded that they are not alone, the more acceptance will be followed, and there will be more ways to help struggling people.

Whether it is in a big way through a community event, book, or workshop, Dayna wants people to be invited to be vulnerable and want to be supported.

That's also the reason why Dayna inspires emerging and aspiring women leaders to get rid of any reasons to hide their struggles. She advices, “Struggling with your mental health is not shameful; in fact, it probably makes you an even more in-tune and empathetic leader.

You do not have to struggle alone, nor do you have to lead alone.”

A WILL TO DO BETTER

Dayna's journey has been long and circuitous, and she has overcome a lot of roadblocks to reach where she is today. Her journey has also been painful, but these moments brought her the most clarity in what she wants to achieve today.

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for her has been the judgment and pressure she put on herself.

Dayna says, “I put so much pressure on myself to continue to churn out products and inspiration and be a beacon of light for everyone at all times. When I am learning in reality, the best thing I can do is be honest and be myself, even if it is messy and not necessarily pretty.” And for the

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next phase of her life, she wants to continue to learn that and practice what she preaches. She wants to grow by what she is inspired by and not think about the extra pressure of feeling good enough.

And to do that, Dayna imagines a future where there will be a continuation and broadening of all things Bake it Till You Make it. She

will mix everything from new books, workshops, and multimedia elements to live by her mission.

On the personal side of things, Dayna hopes to continue to live authentically and continue to be close to those she loves, both metaphorically and literally.

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IN-FOCUS

UPLIFTING WOMEN Elyse Kaye Founder & CEO | Bloom Bras

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ashion has always been at the forefront of human evolution.

As human civilization has continued to grow and expand, trends in fashion has simultaneously evolved.

In many cases, fashion has been a voice for change and a statement of progress. Recent years has seen brands becoming more and more aware of their audience, prompting them to commit to a more inclusive 36

future.

At the heart of this change is Elyse Kaye, the Founder of Bloom Bras.

For this transformational leader, a quest to ind the right sports bra led her to research and subsequently engineer a line of body-inclusive bras that customizes according to your body type.

Through Bloom Bras, Elyse is uplifting women across ages and

sizes by not only offering them comfort but also addressing real health issues.

In this Exclusive Interview, Elyse Kaye talks about her idea behind Bloom Bras, the industry, and the future.

What according to you makes one a powerful women? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?

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IN-FOCUS

A powerful woman is one that surrounds herself with people who can help her to achieve success.

Bringing on mentors early in my career not only helped me to become the leader I am but also taught me how to mentor others.

Talk to us about your growing up years. What is your earliest memory as a leader/entrepreneur that you can remember?

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I was the kid who ran every lemonade stand, created the babysitters club with games and activities, joined every leadership club. My parents instilled in me I could be anything that I wanted to be. My irst job out of college was working for the company that makes Lava Lamps. My boss was let go a few months after starting (nothing that had to do with me) so I did not have a boss. I pulled out my old marketing notes and built a

marketing plan to present to the CEO. To my surprise, he said “great, it is all yours.”

I was 22, bright-eyed and ready to take on the world. First phase was to build out a licensing department.

This brought in ancillary income and allowed me to hire a team. One of the potential licensees asked if we could get one their characters to loat around in a Lava Lamp. The R & D team and I started playing 37

around in the lab which got me hooked on innovation and product development. The glitter lamp outsold the Lava Lamp that year opening up new channels and consumers. That became the path for me.

What was the idea that led to the formation of Bloom Bras?

I could not ind a sports bra that worked. 70% of women in the US are a D-cup or above. The average dress size is a 14 - 16 which is a 44 46 band and yet no companies were focusing on this. It is not the same mechanism to lift a 3 lb rock as a 12 lb so why would we not engineer a product that works with larger breasts. I brought in top minds from NASA, Oprah's corset maker and shipping/packaging experts to bring the vision to life. We are now the most body-inclusive line on the 38

market ranging in sizes from 28C 56L designed to lift vs. squish.

Talk to us about the engineering challenges of designing a bra and how Bloom Bras are standing out from the competition.

The Bloom Bra features patented lifting straps and cinching cups allowing the bra to customize to your body and exercise type. It has been designed without underwire, both for comfort and to address the health concerns.

Working like a shelf to lift the breasts rather than squashing them, the Bloom Bra distributes weight throughout the back and sides rather than putting pressure over the shoulders and across the ribs, allowing for natural movement of the breast and uninterrupted circulation of the body's essential

systems. State-of-the-art compression materials and cooling, moisture-wicking power mesh combined with a reinforced front zipper to “lift, not squish”.

More and more brands are now talking about size-inclusivity.

What prompted this shift in the industry?

The demand continues to rise, Brands like Nike have been printing money for decades producing the same bra in different colors, adding a feature, changing a material.

Adding new sizes is not as simple as taking that bra and making it bigger. It is a different engineering challenge. If you put 10 people who are a 38DDD next to each other, we hold differently with different expectations on how a bra should it. Our bodies change 10% a month naturally. For a B cup, not a big deal E X E L E O N M AG A Z I N E

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I would have paid more attention in my accounting classes. It is the area that I always feel the least comfortable in. I also would consider a co-founder. Being a leader is amazing but can be very lonely. I tell all of the aspiring entrepreneurs that your company will take everything - your money, time, personal life, energy so make sure you have a strong support system.

Finally, what does the future look like for you and Bloom Bras?

The new product development pipeline includes channel and product expansion. Using the patented functionality, the next three major categories include preand post-maternity (4 million new moms annually), breast cancer survivors who have gone through non-elective reconstructive surgery (1 in 8 women) and the evergrowing active senior population (<20 million women).

but for a DDD, that is a full cup size.

If you have children or a major shift in weight, imagine what that does to our breasts.

Being the CEO and Founder, what role do you play in the day-to-day proceedings of the company?

As the CEO, it is my responsibility to lead the strategy. The mission statement of Bloom Bras is to empower women of all shapes, sizes, and stages of life to feel good W W W. E X E L E O N M AG A Z I N E . C O M

while moving. Everything we do encompasses that. Our social media and events are designed to support our community. Every hire matches our ethos. I make decisions daily from mil thickness of a business card to whether we take on outside funding so staying the course is one of the most important roles I can play as a leader.

Using our patented adjustable lifting system, we will design beautiful, comfortable safe solutions in sports bras, sleep shirts, and tops, Bloom pays homage to my grandmother, a casualty of breast cancer. I will always offer the option for contributors to donate bras to breast cancer survivors and we will match.

Looking at your journey, what would you have done differently if you were to start again?

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THE GROWTH MINDSET JEFF HEGGIE

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E X E L E O N M AG A Z I N E

IN-FOCUS

What according to you makes one a transformational leader? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?

We live in a fast-paced world where things are changing rapidly. In the past, many businesses developed a culture where employees resisted change. Change was uncomfortable, and they didn't want it. I believe over the years we have seen more and more transformational leaders rise to the top of organizations as they have to be willing to change and adapt with the world around them.

A transformational leader helps to guide a team and organization forward with growth and advancement. It's a leader that isn't afraid of change and stepping out of their comfort zone.

This means that they are willing to accept the possibility of failure to achieve their bigger vision.

Implementing this type of leadership requires great communication within the entire organization. The team has to understand the direction they are going, what the plan looks like, and why they are doing it.

Talk to us about your growing up years.

What is your earliest memory as a leader that you can remember?

I grew up in Southern Alberta and had the opportunity to be involved in many different W W W. E X E L E O N M AG A Z I N E . C O M

sports. Sports were a great place for me to experience leadership at a young age and learn a lot from my coaches. There are many things I learned as a young athlete that are a part of my life today.

What prompted your interest and subsequently your foray into the business coaching space?

I've always loved business and entrepreneurship. As a bank manager I had a lot of opportunity to spend time with entrepreneurs. I learned a lot from them and a lot about their businesses. Throughout the years I had many opportunities to mentor and coach entrepreneurs. As I was running my business, I had many conversations with one of my business partners, Dave, about the lessons we were learning from our successes and failures and how I wanted to use that to help other entrepreneurs. After many years of this, in addition to some coaching certi ications, I decided to become more serious about the coaching.

What is the process followed by you to take entrepreneurs to the next level with your coaching?

I don't have a speci ic set process that I use with every client because every client is unique and so are their businesses. But one thing that I do put a lot of effort and focus into is helping them to understand their own mindsets and 43

IN-FOCUS how to improve them.

A lot of the work I do with my clients focuses a lot on the individual to help them become more successful in all they are doing, which, in turn, directly impacts their leadership and decisions in their business.

By helping them improve their mindsets, they in turn have more powerful thinking, learning and behaviors which makes them more successful in their work, life, and leadership.

Being an entrepreneur, industry leader, success coach, father, and a husband, how do you ensure work-life balance?

I believe it's important to understand that a work-life balance is a myth. At different times, some things are going to carry more weight, priority, and time than others. It's not a balancing act. To me it's important to have a clear understanding of your goals and priorities in all areas of your life so you can allocate the appropriate time and energy.

For myself, I do put a lot of time and effort into my coaching. But my family is my number one priority overall. That doesn't mean that I spend more of my time with my family than my work necessarily. But it does mean that when it comes to things that are important with my family, they take priority, and I am there.

Nine years ago, when we adopted my son from the DR Congo, I moved my of ice to our home and have worked from home since then. Even if I'm working longer hours, I can still be close to my family.

I have been a basketball coach for 20+ years and many of those years were coaching my daughter. Recently I actually coached with her as her assistant coach.

What has the journey been like for Jeff Heggie over the years?

As with any entrepreneur, the journey is a roller coaster. There have been the highest of 44

highs and the lowest of lows.

But the experiences have been invaluable.

There have been many lessons from all of my businesses, both good and bad. Some of the failures have been extremely hard. They've caused incredible anxiety and stress. But even with the incredible lessons learned, that didn't make it any easier. Those were some tough lessons to go through.

It has been all about the people. Everything you do as an entrepreneur involves people.

Customers, suppliers, partners, investors, staff, and on and on. Just like some of my failures, I've had failed relationships. But overall, I look back and the relationships I built were incredible. Everyone from employees, to customers, to investors were unique and great relationships. I had people I worked with on our team who I have such a deep respect for because of the people they were.

My mentors and business partners have been amazing and are still people I look up to today.

Looking back, what would you have done differently if you were to start again?

That is such a tough question because some of the hardest failures were my biggest lessons.

But if there is something I could change it would be to accept sooner that failure is an option. In the end I made some decisions in my manufacturing company that were based on emotions too much. I took a “failure isn't an option” attitude because one of my number one concerns was protecting our investors. But the reality is, we had already past the point of recovery and failure was going to happen. The only thing that dragging it out longer did was created a bigger hole and bigger losses.

What has been the biggest roadblock during your journey? What has been your biggest learning?

Starting such a capital-intensive company was dif icult. It was such an expensive operation to set up and run that cash low was often a E X E L E O N M AG A Z I N E

problem. This put us in a position to base decision on cash low, even if it wasn't the best option for the business. In hindsight, I wouldn't have started a business that was so capital intensive.

Then going back to what I said earlier about acknowledging that failure is an option would have made a big difference for me personally.

At the point I should have accepted failure, I continued to try to save things with my own funds, some of which were leveraged. This obviously caused more pain when things didn't work out.

What would be your advice for aspiring and emerging business leaders in this current changing work environment?

get a coach or a mentor. Someone who is not close to you and will hold you accountable for your success.

Finally, what does the future look like for you, professionally and personally?

I will continue to grow both my mortgage business and my coaching business. I will continue to coach clients one-on-one but will expand my reach with more of my group coaching programs and courses. My podcasts will grow and be a positive in luence on many.

I'll continue to work with elite athletes in The Con ident Athlete Program. I will always keep my family Number One!

Regardless of your background and experience, W W W. E X E L E O N M AG A Z I N E . C O M

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IN-FOCUS

Where Passion Meets

Leadership

MOUSTAFA HAMWI

What according to you makes one a passionate leader? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?

To de ine a passionate leader, we have to de ine 2 things i) Passion ii) A leader

To give you some context on how much depth the de inition I am about to give you has: I spent years of research on the topic of passion where I travelled the world to conduct in-person interviews of 160+ leaders, authors, speakers, coaches, celebrities, Olympians, and Nobel Prize laureates talking about one topic…PASSION So, the de inition that came out is: Passion is consistently doing what you love, what you are good at, and what is of value to the world

So, if it doesn't tick all these boxes, I'm sorry but it's not passion. You 46

can call it anything else that you want, but I promise you that it's not passion.

The shortest de inition I can give you of a leader is “someone who takes ownership and demonstrates courage, humility and discipline to walk the talk” So put both de initions together and will be “a leader is a person who walks the talk to deliver on their true passion”

Brief us into your journey of an inner search and your experiences traveling to India.

My journey started by trying to answer a question: Do You Know What Makes You Tick?

Without knowing the answer to this

question, you will always feel like something is missing, no matter how successful you are, which is how I felt many years ago when I was running a multimillion-dollar business in Dubai while living a seemingly successful life.

Although my life looked super successful on the outside, like the stuff you see in movies and rap videos, I was all empty on the inside. Sure enough, I had a nervous breakdown

My business was great, and my lifestyle was enviable, but I wanted more out of life than this golden cage. I kept asking myself, “WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?” It became increasingly apparent that having clarity about one's passion

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IN-FOCUS and purpose affects one more than just direction; it impacts the quality of life and increases the probability of success!

This question triggered me to start an inner search of true passion, purpose, and meaning.

After years of courses, workshops, and books I'm still lost so I was at the stage now where I had to go deeper on my journey inwards before I looked for resources outwards. I remember waking up one day with a jolt of energy and a thought that got stuck in a loop in my head: “I'm going to India.” And so, I bought a one-way ticket to India.

The story of my journey from Cavalli to Manali is a whole book in itself, but not the purpose of this interview. I will, however, share two key incidents that stand out for me and that were pivotal in my life.

The irst of them could be described (for lack of a better word) as a coincidence—meeting Swami Yogananda who had been meditating in caves for over 13 years. He had just stepped out of a life of solitude and meditation and started teaching wisdom-seekers in his ashram in a small village outside the town of Manali in the Himalayas. On one of my many deep conversations with him, trying to get an answer about life and the purpose and meaning of everything, he said, playing with his long beard, in an Indian accent, “Do you know what you are thirsty for? If you do not know what you are thirsty for, you cannot quench your thirst.”

His words made me realize that while I had bought this one-way 48

ticket to India seeking an answer, I did not even have the most essential element right: the question!

As my journey continued from one place to the next, across the span of this vast, beautiful landscape that is India, I experienced another coincidence (if you still believe in coincidences). One day, on my way to the meditation center, I decided to walk into a hospital to get myself checked up. When the results came in, I felt as if my life stopped and everything crumbled and collapsed around me; I was told that I had benign prostate enlargement that was, at that moment, labelled medically as an incurable disease!

The summary of that healing journey is that I dedicated all my time and energy towards healing with the help of everything I had access to: Ayurveda, vegan diets, juicing, and all kinds of meditations (including laughter meditation and crying meditation). You name it, and I did it. And as you might have guessed, I eventually healed!

however, this interview is not about physical healing and medical miracles.

I am here to talk to you about the self-re lection I had to go through when I faced the reality of a serious “WHAT IF…?” What if these were the last days of my life? DID MY LIFE REALLY MATTER?

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Imagine you live your life, thinking you are on top of the world— you're ruling, you're the king, you're “it.” And then, you realize none of this is worth it. When it's time for you to die, you are going to re lect on your life in a totally different manner

That is what triggered me to make a 180-degree shift in my life and focus on spreading passion & purpose in the world.

How are you helping leaders and entrepreneurs ind purpose and live passionately?

I work with high-preforming entrepreneurs of passion & purpose “Passionpreneurs” to help them use W W W. E X E L E O N M AG A Z I N E . C O M

passion to DOMINATE THEIR MARKET NICHE and leave their mark.

That's what I call the Way of the Passionpreneur.

I do this through either one-to-one coaching but that is very exclusive as I can only handle a handful of entrepreneurs, so they need to be dam serious and already having a serious level of success, so my job is to take them to new heights.

Or by helping underdogs write & publish their books and then use it to spread their message to the world, build their personal brand and

What does a day in the life look like for you? How do you ensure work-life balance?

On the long term the work-life balance is a myth. I aim to have a life that I do not need much of a break from. That is a truly passionate life. The way to do it is to always ask before you do something: 1. Does it directly relate to my passion in life?

2. If not, does it bring me closer to the direction of my passion?

If neither of the above, I avoid doing it.

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IN-FOCUS With time you will not need a break from what you love. This takes some time and depends on what responsibilities in life you have. But remember the de inition of passion, the irst word is “consistently” so if it really matters to you, then you will not quit on it Looking back at your journey, what would you have done differently when starting out?

Very good question, I would have started the pursuit of what my passion is at a much earlier age, and then would have stayed consistent with it till it paid off. Starting late has advantage of being more mature but it's much more challenging as you make a lot of sacri ices. It's like investing, the earlier you start the better it is on long run

What would be your advice for aspiring and young business leaders?

Find your real purpose as early as you can and dedicate the rest of your life to make it happen, you only have this life to make an impact. Regardless of you believe in reincarnation you cannot guarantee what format you will come back in as it might be less powerful. So why leave it to another life. It's all about this life to make an impact and leave your 50

legacy.

Finally, what does the future look like for you, both professionally and personally?

I have achieved my goal of hitting a 100 authors at Passionpreneur Publishing (as of date of this interview) which is the seed for Passionpreneur Organization where we are building a community of Passionpreneurs who are on a journey of changing the

world and having fun while doing it.

As this becomes more in motion, I am redirecting my attention toward bring more healing to the world.

Think about it, “Compassion” is the other side of “passion.”

That will be through writing more books, speaking, doing retreats in nature that involve healthy food, yoga, therapy, etc. Everything that I used to heal myself in 2012 and then launch my passion into the world and connecting all of that into social impact be it for people or the planet now it's time to be less on the business side and more on the giving.

We all need it, i want it for me and for the world remember, one life to leave a legacy

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