New Entrepreneur (NE):
Name and surname: Manar Abdelhameed
Country: Germany
Age: 30
Sector of activity: Trainings and digitalization
Did you already start your business? Yes
Name of business/website (if any): DU Digital Urbanism
What is your (future) business? Digital Urbanism DU business is aiming to use the urban theories and studies as a theoretical background to enhance the reality-based urban games concepts and using it as a non-formal education method.
Host Entrepreneur (HE):
Name & surname: Haytham Kamel
Country: Luxembourg
Sector of activity: Education and training services
Experience in running a business (in years): 3
Name of business/website: AGD Alliance for Global Development, www.agd-eu.org
What is your business? AGD is an Alliance that brings non-profit organizations which are active in the field of global development together seeking to harmonize the work of each member organization embedded in the system in a manner that promotes the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Period of exchange: 01/03/2021 – 30/04/2021, 01/06/2021 – 31/07/2021, 01/09/2021 – 31/10/2021
Duration of exchange: 6 months
Are You Sure You Know What “Success” Means? – Open your EYE and enjoy Life
If you don’t answer this question yourself, you will end up pursuing someone else’s version of success. This is the story of my last 9 months which I consider the greatest achievement I got. In a materialistic modern world that we are living in nowadays, our generations are facing very stressful way of living that made me run for years to achieve numbers. Numbers which are constantly flashing unrealistic definitions of “success” in front of our eyes.
Another step up the career ladder. I started the journey to initiate my own business with the hunger for achieving numbers as a definition of success, which seemed the easiest way to define it. I had big non-guided dreams to have a stunning solo-performing business with a lack of onsite experience which led me to enroll in EYE Program as a chance to communicate with an expert entrepreneur. I went to Luxembourg with steady steps and inner will to achieve the best from this trip with the accompany of my HE. He was the key to open my mind to the real business world. I spoke up loud about my dream. At the beginning words were mixed up as well my thoughts. He listened carefully and decided to expose me to real leaders in different fields within his network.
We met people, professionals, entrepreneurs as well as big entities ‘representatives, attending meetings, trainings, and gatherings. My talks with these people started to slow down my acceleration and enlighten different ways of understanding achievements in life. While I seemed to be doing well, there is a feeling as well as signs that did not make me satisfied. I was losing connection with my driven understanding about my success and here where the turning point started with Self-questioning: What is Success? And What Success Isn’t? “If a person doesn’t know to which port they sail; no wind is favorable.” — Seneca
Despite the fact that each person I met has his own success fingerprint, there was something in common. Listening to all the stories of how these big entities started from an idea and with consistency of working and continuously improving and adjusting, they could achieve their step of the success ladder they aimed for. I came up with the common secret of success I should follow. “Building Good Relathionships”. At this point, a whole new world started to be revealed in my eyes. My Parameters to assess my success changed. I valued more the quality of relations with others and the moments that we are investing to success together more than the solid numbers. This is what will last till the end. How we- together- passed through all the difficulties. This is what became my criteria to recruit my team, to choose my strategic partners, to pass through work stress and adjust my business plan. In other words, I can say that my HE as well as the whole experience taught me a life-lesson that I can never repay. Here when I can say “I am glad that the world doesn’t have an ”Undo” Button”.
Concluding Remarks
Manar Abdelhameed (NE): “I never regret failure; it is only the beginning of the next success chapter”
Haytham Kamel (HE): “The moment of giving others from what you have gained in your life, is the clearest moment to know yourself. I consider this the best reward ever”