Women With Impact #49 - Mona Ghazi
Welcome to Women With Impact, a newsletter all about the journeys of mission-driven women and how they have a positive impact in our world.
I’m Clara Richter and this is the 49th edition of Women With Impact. If you enjoy this issue, please share it with a friend and like it above.
For this edition, I interviewed Mona Ghazi, Founder of Neuropreneur Institute, where she coaches individuals to learn how to rest and achieve inner peace. A large part of her work involves emotional regulation. Mona currently pursues her PhD studies in Neuro-Entrepreneurship at ESCP, in which she researches mindfulness and high performance. Previously, she founded, led and sold her startup Optimo, an ed-tech helping manufacturing companies to up-skill factory workers by peer-to-peer training. As speaker, Mona was on stages at TEDx and St. Gallen Symposium, among others. She was named “Newcomer of the year 2023” by the German Startup Awards.
Wishing you a pleasant read!
Best,
Clara
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The Journey
Who are you and how do you most like to spend your time?
I am Mona, an entrepreneur and a person that just loves their life. I spend my time by pursuing my PhD and by coaching entrepreneurs. I enjoy meeting my friends to cook together. In general, I would say that I am an individual who especially enjoys learning new things.
You skipped two classes in school and started a bachelor’s degree in business administration when you were 14 years old. How did you know at this young age, into which direction you would be heading career-wise?
I did not know it back then. However, I had this vision that I would be an entrepreneur in the future. The idea that I could be my own boss and decide what I want to do every day very much appealed to me. Additionally, I always wanted to solve problems that society is facing in a meaningful way. So, it turned out that for me, studying at the age of 14 was the best option at the time. The studies were essentially what got me into the arena of entrepreneurship.
You mentioned you had this vision for yourself to be an entrepreneur, did you have any particular role model yourself at that age?
At that age I didn't have one in the field of entrepreneurship. I would say my mom was kind of a role model however, as a woman in the management team of a corporate. At 14, I didn't know any entrepreneurs in my surroundings, nor did I know or follow anyone online. What comes to mind though is a book which I read, that many might know: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter. This book for sure was a starting point for me.
You’ve achieved incredible things by the age of 22, that many dream of to achieve over the course of a lifetime. Just a few examples include having built and sold your ed-tech company Optimo, being an internationally recognised speaker, as well as being named “Newcomer of the year 2023” by the German Startup Awards. What is a most recent success you are proud of?
My most recent success is that when I when I go to a networking event, I don't compare myself to other people. I treat everyone like a human being – I see and acknowledge for who they are as a person. Previously, I had instances where I used to compare myself and think that someone else might be “better” than me, because they might have achieved something that I haven’t had achieved. I made the shift by working a lot on my mindset and mental health, for instance with a coach over the past five years, which helped me to reflect. Now I see everyone as they are and feel really proud for them for what they have achieved.
You are pursuing your PhD in Neuro-Entrepreneurship, where you research mindfulness and high performance. Recently, you founded the Neuropreneur Institute to help entrepreneurs through coaching achieve their best while being more mindful in their daily lives. Would you like to share more about your current pursuits?
It would be my pleasure. I'm currently researching the effect of hypnosis on stress which entrepreneurs experience during my PhD studies. With my company Neuropreneur Institute, I created a space for entrepreneurs who are workaholics and individuals who would like to slow down. I work with those persons who would like to learn how to rest and how to have more inner peace. Essentially, I am helping others to learn about emotional regulation and how to reset their mind. To date, we've coached over 50 people.
The Lessons
Through the coaching sessions which you have facilitated, what's something you've observed helps the most when it comes to letting go of stress? How would you reprogram one’s mind?
I learned that building a higher self-esteem is the key to not caring what other people think. That being said, it's actually not always that easy to figure out why someone’s self-confidence may not be so high. Essentially, it all comes down to loving yourself. Once you love yourself, everything will be better eventually, since this will increase your self-worth and once your self-worth is improved, this is also linked with a regulated nervous system. With a regulated nervous system, you can make better decision, which can eventually lead to more success in whatever you are doing. There are some things you can do to love yourself more – something I always suggest is to write a self-love journal before going to bed. The moment before going to bed you are typically in an alpha state of your brain waves, meaning that you are more receptive to new information. Listening to certain wave lengths can also help you feel more relaxed, which can be a sign that your nervous system is regulated.
What are your favourite strategies to wind down after a long day? Any practices you consider most helpful?
The self-love journal is something I do every night. I also very much like to journal in general. For instance, when I feel triggered about something, I like to journal on it. When such a situation occurs, I typically ask myself: “What is the situation and what triggered me?”, “What is the feeling associated to this trigger?”, “Did I feel this feeling in the past already or is it a new feeling?”, “Are the beliefs I formed back then actually real?”
To illustrate with an example, when someone says that they make more money that you do, one feeling resulting from such a statement could be that you are not making enough money, and you might feel a tension in your chest. Asking yourself a couple of questions as just elaborated, you might find out that this feeling reminds you of a childhood situation when someone got a better grade than you did. Challenging this thought is the next important step: by asking yourself whether it is true, that someone might be better than you simply because they got a better grade. It is significant to find out the real truth and reflect on this past experience, which might have been in that childhood situation, that you had not prepared well for that task or simply were not interested in the subject, which essentially led to that grade. Forming new beliefs around past experiences can be very powerful. Such exercises can be a lot about forgiving yourself and can help you ultimately to feel calmer in the present.
What situation in your life have you most grown from, if you would like to share it?
I think I grew most from my burnout which I experienced in 2022. Next to my self-doubts, I also was going through a co-founder break-up, where we had to negotiate new terms. Additionally, I went through a break-up with my girlfriend back then. That was all quite difficult for me personally and I would say that I grew a lot through this as I learned to love myself more.
Particularly, I learned how emotional regulation works, which essentially means that I'm responsible for all the things that I actually feel. When you let go of the idea that you cannot disappoint someone, it can be quite liberating. Sometimes someone might feel disappointed but that not your responsibility. Responsibility, in my opinion, is to give your best and to apologise if you couldn't give your best. However, you don't have to take ownership for someone else's emotions.
The Inspiration
Thank you for being so open and sharing this experience with us. You are so strong and it’s inspiring to see what you have learned through this experience and what you have changed along the way. Advice can be very powerful in one’s life, especially when it comes from someone you admire. What is a recent advice which you have received?
Act for the version of yourself which you will be proud of when you die. This is linked to asking yourself: “If I die tomorrow, how would I act today?” And also: “If I died aged 100 years, would I be proud of myself for what I'm doing today?”
What's one last message you would like to share with our Women With Impact community?
Ask yourself: “What if no one watched me or cared about me, how would I act?” and “If I didn't get money for what I am doing, would I still do it?” These questions can be very powerful for reflection.
Enjoyed this or have any feedback? Let me know in the comments!
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