You cannot change what you refuse to confront.
When Moustafa Hamwi confronted himself with the question of what he is meant to do, he went on to embark on a journey; a journey of inner search, purpose, and meaning.
This journey led him to abandon his successful life in Dubai and fly over to India. Ever since then, Moustafa’s life hasn’t been the same. From experiencing medical miracles to physical healings, from spending countless hours meditating to finding answers to deep-rooted questions of passion and purpose, his journey is not only inspiring but also eye-opening.
In this Exclusive Interview with Exeleon Magazine, Moustafa Hamwi shares his story and much more.
What according to you makes one a passionate leader? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?
To define a passionate leader, we have to define 2 things i) Passion ii) A leader
To give you some context on how much depth the definition 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 definition 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 can call it anything else that you want, but I promise you that it’s not passion.
The shortest definition 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 definitions 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 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 first 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 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-reflection 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?
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 reflect 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 find purpose and live passionately?
I work with high-preforming entrepreneurs of passion & purpose “Passionpreneurs” to help them use 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:
- Does it directly relate to my passion in life?
- If not, does it bring me closer to the direction of my passion?
If neither of the above, I avoid doing it.
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 definition of passion, the first 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 sacrifices. 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 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.
✱ Visit Moustafa Hamwi’s Website
