EDITOR’S LETTER
H
ere at Gulf Elite our goal is to try to encourage others to have the guts to walk down the entrepreneurial road, to be different by exiting their comfort zones and gaining success beyond imagination. But lets get one thing straight: you can’t make it to the top on your own. What we fail to realize at the start line is that sometimes we will have to swallow our pride and seek out for help in order to move further. I mean, it’s a long journey, eventually you ́ll have to throw in a “hey buddy, can you help me out?” But there is nothing worse than seeking for support, asking for a helping hand and then getting a presidential speech about their “crucially overwhelming” contribution that propelled you into your current position and how you owe them one. I have a problem with cocky “good” Samaritans. There is nothing that drives us crazier than letting someone dictate your actions based on a favor or a service they provided you with in the past. You see, there is no such thing as courtesy, no such thing as a favor. Every personal necessity that is supplied by another individual will always come back and bite you in the ass, because there is no such thing as a free meal. Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t repay the favor one day, of course you should, it’s common sense, you take and you give. My point is that, just because you went to the same school for five years, are friends on Facebook and attended their family dinner once, doesn’t make them an “obvious” option for a first aid kit - they won’t heal your wounds, for free. Independence is the word I’m looking for. Now yes, easier said than done, but it is the only characteristic that is so unbelievably liberating, beneficial, constructive, I can go on forever! It’s a characteristic embedded in all of us, it’s the independence and pride that allows us to avoid humiliating and demeaning situations because you had the bad luck to need something from the wrong person. It eliminates those guilty emotions and replaces them with satisfaction due to the fact that you successfully reached your goals on your own, independently! Now this might result in longer time processes anddelayed actions, but you will be damn glad you did it on your own, because it came solely out of your own pocket and out of your own sweat, blood and tears. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not encouraging a one man team, on the contrary, we praise networking and guidance, and encourage our readers to reach out to various individuals who could help you get to your next milestone. The point is that you always have to think, re-evaluate and consider the possible consequences (both positive and negative) of asking for a helping hand, whether it’s on a financial, academic or even personal level; assess the situation and the individual at all times, and ask yourself, can I afford a helping hand right now?
GULF ELITE 1
Ibrahim Naji - Co-founder/Editor
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