Moustafa is an Award-winning Author, Speaker & Executive Coach.
He is considered one of the world’s top experts on the use of passion for sparking creativity, enticing innovation, and awakening the entrepreneurial spirit of a true leader.
Moustafa is ranked as one of the top 100 leaders of the future (from a pool of over 12,000 applicants) by the world’s 1 Executive Coach Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, and he got nicknamed as Mr. Passion by Prof. Tony Buzan, Inventor of mind mapping.
He has interviewed over 160+ global leaders, experts, authors, coaches, award-winning artists, noble prize laureates, and Olympians on his talk show Passion Sundays, featured on the blog of Thinkers50, which is the world's most prestigious ranking of the top 50 management thinkers alive.
As an international speaker, author, and world-leading passion expert, you have a mission to create more ”Passionpreneurs” across the globe. How did this passion for passion all start?
This journey of creating a Passionpreneur Tribe was rooted in my own personal transformation, which started when I bought a one-way ticket to India. After quitting the life of glitz and glamour, I lived in Dubai. You can read a longer version of my story in my previous book, Live Passionately, but to bring in a little context to this interview. I must invite you to step into my world — or at least part of it.
I was co-founder of a communications firm involved in events, entertainment, and modeling, with 45 full-time employees, a 6,000-square-foot office, and partners who were pretty much ruling the nightlife in town. Our holding group at that time had created the most successful nightlife ventures, one of which was the first global Cavalli Club, a $30 million restaurant lounge designed by the famous fashion designer Roberto Cavalli.
I will leave it to you to imagine how my lifestyle was!
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 and started waking up every day, dreading going to work—the same business that, at one point in time, was my dream come true!
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?”
This question triggered me to start an inner search of true passion, purpose and meaning for a few years when eventually led me to a one-way ticket to India in 2012.
During that trip, I had what 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 I continued my journey across India reflecting on that question, that trip ended in 2013.
When I came back to Dubai in 2013, I delivered a TEDx-style inspirational talk about my journey. A few months later, something completely unexpected happened. A total stranger walked up to me in the street one day and said, “Are you that speaker guy? You changed my life!”
That was a moment I will never forget. I had a feeling that some of you have also surely felt; that moment when you know, you can make a positive impact and be of service to the world.
And this is where my party life met my inspirational life!
One thing I learned from my nightlife days is that you can not have a party on your own, so what is better than me being The Passionpreneur is a Passionpreneur Tribe, and this is how that phase began, launching Passionpreneur Publishing where we help entrepreneurs and professional experts turn their knowledge into international books and then help them use that book to be positioned as a Global Thought Leader.
You are known as one of the top experts helping entrepreneurs & coaches become international authors. Why is it so important to write a book and share your story?
There are many reasons you should be writing a book, and yes, having a profit margin is also one of them, and there are ways to get a tenfold return on your investment. So, what is the most important reason to write a book?
“Author = Authority” – Moustafa Hamwi
Building Authority — Let’s face it, who does not want to be the go-to authority in their field?
As I have said, do it with passion or don’t do it at all. If you are not really bringing your A-game, why are you doing what you do? Think about it: how many people in your field have published valuable books?
Now, you might think there are too many “authorities” in your field of expertise or that your topic is not really new. But the truth is, it does not really matter whether it has been said and done hundreds of times. Your approach towards the topic and the way you communicate your message are new and unique. The way you service your market niche through your book is what will make you stand out from the self-proclaimed authorities.
Furthermore, becoming an author is your entry ticket to a bigger game: becoming a Global Thought Leader. And if you want to play in the Pro League, you need to have Pro Tools.
Other key reasons why you should write a book
Launching Your Speaking/Coaching/Consulting Business
Becoming a highly-paid speaker is the Holy Grail for people who have an important message to share. If you think about it, all the world’s legendary speakers and coaches, such as Tony Robbins and Jack Canfield, have more than one book to their name. Some of them, like Brian Tracy and Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, have over 30 books.
Attracting clients you like.
If you are looking for a steady flow of quality leads — the kind of clients that energize, rather than ones who drain you — a book is the best lead generation tool.
Your book can also help educate them on your methodologies, which means they become much easier to work with.
Sharing your story and leaving a legacy.
Do you have a story that you believe will inspire others, a message to share with the world? Do you want to leave a legacy for future generations?
If your answer is yes, then writing a book is the best way to do that.
In short, whichever way you look at it, books get attention, and attention gives you the power to grow your business and increase your impact.
Many people talk about writing books, but very few take action; why is that?
The answer is A BIG KICK IN THE BUT!
No matter how motivated you are, sometimes there is a barrier (the big ‘but’) that stops you from achieving your dreams. So, if you feel that something is holding you back, don’t worry; because I have a two-step approach that you can follow:
A. Understand the barriers that have been holding you back from achieving your dream of becoming an international author and the authority you deserve to be.
B. Learn the best ways to overcome them.
Let’s start with understanding the obstacles that have been holding you back from becoming an international author.
To date, my team and I have worked with close to 100 authors, which means we have looked at 500-1,000 potential authors to see if they would be a good fit for our publishing program.
In the process, we realized that most people who do not manage to start their journey or start but never finish - had very similar reasons for why they couldn’t make it.
When we analyzed them further, we noticed patterns that enabled us to identify the top five reasons (and the antidotes) why people never finish their books:
1. Do not have time: This seems to be the 1 reason why people are putting off their dream of writing and publishing a book. They are too overloaded with work or family responsibilities and have hardly any time for themselves.
Antidote: If you are saying you are overloaded and do not have time, the solution is to focus. Understand that everybody has 24 hours – and only 24 hours – on any given day. Whether you are a president, an employee, a sports personality, or a business owner, 24 hours is what you get. If you cannot carve the hours required to bring your dream to reality into your schedule, how can you hope to achieve anything in life? The reality is, if something is truly meaningful to you, you will find the time for it.
2. Do not have the money: There are a lot of people who might really want to write and publish a book, but they don’t know how to come up with the money required to make it happen.
Antidote: If the story you tell yourself is that you do not have the money right now, we will tell you one thing. Successful entrepreneurs think, “How can I get a return on investment?” when an entrepreneur knows they will make 10X on their investment, they find ways to bring that investment.
3. Confused about the writing and publishing process: This is something many people come to us and share. Most aspiring writers are not really sure about all the activities involved in writing a book and bringing it to the market.
Antidote: There is so much information about publishing a book out on the internet, we put a lot of educational blogs on our website, and I’m just about to publish my new book, which teaches you the whole process of writing and publishing. The bottom is “if there is the will, there is the way.”
4. Not sure if you have the right content: When writing a book, one might not be convinced that they have the right content, or the right topic, for your project. In a nutshell, they may not be confident about your idea for a book.
Antidote: How many years have you been a professional? Five years? Ten years? Do you believe you can share one or two lessons that you have learned from each year of your professional life? Can you talk about each of those for just twenty minutes? That’s all you need to produce the book that you have always wanted to write.
How old do you have to be before you are confident enough to have the right content to share? Will you wait until you are in your eighties or nineties? Are you sure you are still going to be on the planet by then?
"It’s not about how much knowledge you have, it’s about how much passion you have." —Moustafa Hamwi
5. Last, but not least, the most common excuse is “Tomorrow” This is something many people struggle with, and aspiring authors are not an exception to this. They tend to keep putting off their book until the time is right (and somehow, really, the time is never right).
Antidote: How long have you been saying “tomorrow”? How many dreams are going to die while you’re still saying tomorrow?
My friend, it’s now or never; tomorrow never comes. Your dream is never going to happen if you don’t take action. Now. Out of the hundreds of people I interviewed, anybody who said “I will get back to you” never finished their book. Those who took action immediately achieved their dream. They started their journey with me and my team and finished it, even if it took them some time.
So what is the solution for people to make it happen and finally become international authors?
You tell me. Are you willing to do what it takes to become a recognized authority in your field and stand out from the rest of the crowd?
To help you on your journey of becoming an international author, we have collaborated with Brainz Magazine to bring you a 5-Step Practical RoadmapTo Take You From Paper-NapkinTo Paperback In The Coming 3-6 Months. Just click here to download it.
“You have a message to share… the world is waiting for your book” — Moustafa Hamwi
What Global Leaders Say
“Moustafa is one of the great 100 leaders & coaches of the future.” Dr. Marshall Goldsmith — World’s 1 Executive Coach.
“Moustafa...Mr. Passion, a truly passionate man who loves humanity.” Prof. Tony Buzan - Inventor of Mind-Mapping and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.
“One of the few individuals that truly understands the power of passion. “ John Mattone — World’s 1 Authority on Intelligent Leadership.
"If I can give you one piece of advice: if you lack passion, call Moustafa!" Fons Trompenaars — World's leading authority on corporate culture.
