What being Lebanese taught me - 10 things I would not be otherwise

A 1982 Middle East Airlines advertisement (Lebanese official Airline) reads: Beyrouth, elle est mille fois morte, et elle a mille fois revécue. Translation: Beirut, has died a thousand times and resurrected a 1000 other times.

And like our city, my love for Lebanon keeps dying and rising. Over and over. And you can't blame me or any Lebanese for this love / hate relationship, for our plight is to find pleasure in the unstable. 

Having returned from a short trip to Beirut despite the awaited bombs, and the syrian war flair, I watched people still go on with their lives, occasionally joke, always hustle and still hope; I felt an immense gratitude and pride for being Lebanese. 

On my way back I reflected on how much of me is Lebanon. How much of the "good me" is actually Lebanon.

1- The entrepreneur:

Every Lebanese person you meet, will tell you they run their own business. While some may be exaggerating, entrepreneurship is a big part of our culture. And no it is not the tech one necessarily. It is running your own grocery store, owning a taxi car, basically being your own boss. Watching my mom become an entrepreneur as well, has inspired me since my young age to one day want to start my own thing. Rightfully so. entrepreneurship comes with instability and uncertainty - two things that wars can easily teach you. One time someone asked me in a job interview how do I feel about chaos in a start-up, I simply responded "I have lived through war.. what was the question again?"

2- The party animal: 

Living in Beirut, is living as if there is no tomorrow. And so since age 14, I frequented clubs, and up until now, partying like a Lebanese remains the real party. Wether it is dancing till sunrise at a club, buying everyone many rounds of drinks at a bar, or hosting an epic dance celebration at home, we know how to do it. In fact, one of our clubs BO18 was voted in the top 10 clubs in the world. 

3- The hustler: 

You gotta hustle to live. Things don't always come easy to you in Lebanon or during war times in general. For you need a visa to go anywhere, and while in your country, it is almost impossible to get anything done right given the chaos, so you learn to find different ways, keep trying and rarely give up. 

4- The people lover:

Lebanon is known for its hospitality. And so growing up in a country where your GDP relies on serving people, I learnt early on to love them. And so being surrounded by a family and community, my love for people, and what they call soft skills became a second nature. 

5- The trader: 

The Phoenicians, our ancestors were amongst the greatest traders of their time and owed much of their prosperity to trade. When the Lebanese were forced to immigrate during the wars, they became globally known for setting up trading businesses around the world, including Africa, Mexico, Australia. Lebanese are indeed the most successful immigrants, according to Freakonomics. Whenever there is a need for bargaining, my friends turn to me. And I do it for the pleasure of trading a deal.

6- The explorer: 

When the Phoenicians left the coast of the Levant, they explored other cities around the Mediterranean and settled in some. But most importantly, the 30 year civil war drove the Lebanese to settle abroad. Over 10 Million of us live outside of Lebanon versus roughly 4 Million in Lebanon. At an early age, I knew I wanted to go explore. And I went to Dubai, then San Francisco, and started again each time, because that's what we do.

7- The creative: 

Lebanon is the creative hub of the Middle East. Wether it is advertising or fashion design, being at the intersection of the east and the west, housing over 16 sects, and the conflict times, have led to a diversity that translates into creativity. Many of the leading designers in the Arab World are Lebanese. For example, Elie Saab for example is Red Carpet favorite. 

8- The Generous: 
Being generous and inviting friends, family and even strangers is a norm in my country. And so you will only find Lebanese and maybe the Irish, fighting, literally, over whom is going to pay for the bill. I carried this with me to the US, where people generally split the bill, and I occasionally offer to cover for another person, and enjoy the pleasant reaction I receive. 

9- The revolutionary: 

At age 19, I found myself in the middle of revolution as a student leader to ask Syria to leave Lebanon. And so I learnt that it is okay to disagree, and sometimes it is necessary to start from scratch, and ask for a change out loud. My revolutionary spirit comes up in my work and my personal life, and when well done it inspires others to want to make a change.  

10- The fashion lover: 

Moving to the US threw me into a fashion and style shock. People in San Francisco wore free t-shirts and uncoordinated colors. To my advantage, I became known for my fashion sense, and I took a few engineers on a personal shopping spree, but I owe my style to the many Lebanese women, who spend all of their income, or parent's money on Chanel and Hermes: your style and passion have inspired me. 


No country or society is perfect, in fact so much is broken in the US too. But I love it here, and I love being from Lebanon, and I appreciate and I am grateful for what each place has taught me. 

I invite you to take a moment, pause and reflect on what good about your personality, your attitude towards your life, your skills your country or hard times have gifted you. Share them in the comments below, and let us celebrate the beauty in every experience.

Photo credit: pinterest, ebay

The 10 women that inspire me

A week ago, my friend Karla asked me if I had a female mentor in the Bay Area, so she can feature us in her Cuyana Mother's day campaign.

My first reaction was one of disappointment: I do not have a female mentor or any mentor! 

However, this invite got me thinking of the many women who have mentored me knowingly or unknowingly without having to be my official mentor. Every single woman that was taking a risk, looking within, giving generously and following her passion.

In this post, I want to pay tribute to the 10 women that have pushed me, guided me, given me hope and taught me that anything is possible; and share with you why they inspire me. 

- Sorry Sheryl, you did not make the cut - 

1- Yolla Semaan - mother and entrepreneur

Born in a modest family of 9, birthing me at 16, my mother and her minimal school education, started her company in Lebanon, at 21. She survived bankruptcies, heartbreaks, wars, and continues to be a restless warrior. Today she runs a very successful company of 40+ employees and is a wonderful mother of two. 
And if I may say, her love for life and cigars lighten up every place she is at. If it were not for her drive and inspiration, I would not be anywhere close to where I am now.

2- Frida Kahlo - artist and revolutionary

If I had to choose the phrase to describe my muse, it would be her famous quote:

"I was born a bitch i was born a painter."

Despite the tremendous pain she endured through her existence, Kahlo lived her life with passion and courage. …

"one of history's grand divas…a tequila-slamming, dirty joke-telling smoker, bi-sexual that hobbled about her bohemian barrio in lavish indigenous dress and threw festive dinner parties for the likes of Leon Trotsky, poet Pablo Neruda, Nelson Rockefeller, and her on-again, off-again husband, muralist Diego Rivera."

3- Rumi - Poet and enlightened

Yes Rumi is a 13th-century Persian male poet and Sufi mystic, but in my eyes he represents the abundance and depth of the feminine divine.

Rumi's writing inspires me to start looking within, while his love story (or tragedy) with Shams, opened my eyes that it is impossible to know where your next inspiration may come from or who might aid furthering your growth.

4- Venetia Pristavec - creator and friend

I met Venetia the first day on the job at Airbnb. Little did I know that this lovely lady, is going to enrich my personal journey. It was such an inspiration to watch: her start her own project, and get more people into the habit of creating every day, embrace being single and find growth and peace in it. 

5- Simone De Beauvoir - Philosopher and feminist


Simone is the woman who ignited the fire of revolution and feminism in me and my high school friends. Author of the celebrated the Second Sex and an early feminist militant, Simone's life inspire me to rebel, make my own choices while keeping a big smile on my face.

6- Brené Brown - Research Professor and author 

I remember accidentally stumbling on her powerful TED talk, and falling for her. I used to secretly believe in the power of vulnerability, and thanks to Brené, the word on authenticity in the workplace is spreading. 

7- Margaret Thatcher - Prime Minister and leader

Whenever I start fearing that something is impossible, I picture the Iron Lady and her life from a grocer's shop in Grantham to the highest office in the land. There are many other reasons to admire her, but aside from her incredible leadership, Thatcher had a successful and loving partnership with her husband.

8- Marina Abramovic - Performance artist and luminary 

"Picasso pushed the limits of pictorial representation. Marina Abramovic does the same thing for comfort zones." Out of her confort zone, Marina pushes her body to extremes and creates art out of it. Watching Marina's performances inspire me to push the boundaries, and do what I do with heart and passion. Here is my favorite moment of her, in her Artist is Present act at the MOMA. Watch it..

9- Coco Chanel - Designer and genius

By thumbing her nose at the haute couture styles of the 19th century, Coco freed women from the clutches of corsets and bustles and created a fashion revolution that would influence every designer that came after her. Coco is the entrepreneur that Steve Jobs was in many ways: she worked really hard, did not follow the norms, and listened to her intuition to figure out what is the next revolution in fashion. And as an aspiring entrepreneur, Coco inspires me.

10- Elissa - Phoenician Princess and Founder

Our Phoenician ancestor, Princess Elissa was one of the female leaders who expanded Phoenicia (Lebanon) into the celebrated city Carthage, thanks to her wisdom and "mathematical intelligence". While her story remains a legend, Elissa and all the lebanese women, who on a daily basis refer to their wisdom to overcome our region's endless internal and external instabilities, remind me that whatever I am doing is not just for me, but for them too and the generations to come.

Share with me, which women inspire you? and why?

What about your start-up?

"Good leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion." Jack Welsh

New year's eve 2013 went by rather quietly, and i found myself the next day staring at a bunch of resolutions and a 2013 Jessica plan realizing how useless this all were. 

It felt the same as working long hours on creating a business plan for a start-up whilst having no vision or idea why you are doing the start-up. 

Or spending sleepless nights on a consulting deck that is eventually going to end up in the client's trash. 

And exactly like the deck, I threw my plans in trash, decided to lock myself down for a weekend and brainstorm the vision and mission for my start-up: me.

The 5-step process

"the discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen"

But first, the ingredients

Pens, colorful ones, highlighters, lots of them. A board, sticky notes, or anything you can write on. Somewhere quiet and alone. Your favorite beverage, a day with no plans and patience.

1- Brainstorm - who am I

Spend half an hour to 45 minutes, throwing down all words that define you, mean something to you, inspire you, or simply come to your mind when you think of you. Remember no judgement: one of my words was neon colors. 

Next, cluster these words into themes; mine were 5:

Innovation, inspiration, revolution, feminine power, hard work

Now that you have all of these themes out of your head, take a break, and change scenery.

2- the 3 questions - your purpose

Come back re-read your words, then ask yourself these three questions:

- What do I wish to be remembered for after I die?

- If money was not a problem, what would I find myself doing?

- What matters most to me and why?

3- Map your life - your happiness

Create a graph of how happy you are and what were the major events. 

I surprisingly found out that during the perceived happiest events, for example starting stanford business school, I was in fact miserable. 

The purpose of this step is to help you understand what brings you happiness.

4- Your learnings

27 years on this earth, i actually had never took a moment to write down what I have learned during this journey. Check out my previous blog entry on my learnings. It is an empowering feeling to have them all clarified.

5- The outcome

So what was the synthesis of all of your mind porn?

Just like a company, I came up with

A mission

A vision

Guiding Principles

I am excited to share mine with you.

Mission: Inspire and support a world of seekers

Vision: a world full of people choosing meaningful lives

Guiding Principles: forgiveness, creativity, change, self-love, passion, vulnerability, gratitude, giving, courage

What next

I pinned my mission and vision in my bedroom, to remind me every day why i wake up and want to be part of this world.

While I have not figured out my detailed life plan, I as the CEO of myself have a clear direction. I now have a why, and it helps me make decisions faster, more confidently and from a place of trust.

What's your why?

photo credit www.celestenoche.com