Written by: Hala Dagher Chibani, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The day I stepped foot in America after fleeing an endless war, corruption, suppression, and uncertainty was the first time I felt safe in a long time. Thoughts raced in my head: Today is the beginning of a new life. A life I’ve only seen in movies and magazines. I’m a new world, a world full of opportunities to create the life that I know I was born to live.
But the story didn’t go exactly how I envisioned it, and it probably doesn't for many of the immigrants and their families. While we are excited to start a new life, we are also feeling disconnected, not only from our country, families, culture, and everything we once knew. We are feeling disconnected from our own identity.
The journey to becoming fully ourselves in a new country is one of resilience, growth, and unspeakable courage and transformation. A transformation that often leads us to find ourselves again, owning who we are so we can live our best life.
Today we celebrate National Immigrants Day. Let's celebrate stories of high achieving immigrant women and daughters of immigrants who pushed the status quo on a daily basis and triumphed in reinventing themselves. What’s even more tremendous is that by doing so they created a ripple effect of impact and transformation for others.
This has been my story and the stories of Stephanie Zhong and Erna Blooms.
Stephanie Zhong- Brand Storyteller, Marketing Coach, and Founder of Dear Ann Media.
Being raised by immigrant parents, my life straddled two worlds: the American Dream, and the Chinese culture my parents brought over with them. My mom was a talented writer and a painter who put her dreams on hold and took a job as a university librarian to support our family. While I had her creative passionate spirit, I felt the same pressure to pursue a practical career.
For years, I zig-zagged between careers that made money or made me creatively happy. Each time I pivoted, a small part of me got left behind. On my 45th birthday, I couldn’t play this game anymore. I took the day off to sit in the discomfort and listen to what my heart wanted for my life. I saw a vision of a graveyard of broken dreams and promises behind me and a blank canvas in front of me.
The next two years I reconnected with the best, hidden parts of myself and wove them into a clear, cohesive story of who I am, my purpose, and my unique lane of expertise. I launched a brand storytelling business that helps you captivate your audience and clients with your authentic, unique story.
I’ve learned that what makes you different is your greatest differentiator. You've got a unique combination of identity, personal and professional experience that no one else on the planet has. When you can articulate this story to yourself and others, you reveal unexpected value and become unstoppable.
Erna Blooms - Character Branding™️ Expert, Growth Action Coach, and Founder of Blooming Aces Creative.
Growing up in Indonesia, I learned from my parents how they created their businesses from the ground up. From opening a small cinema, starting a T-shirt silk-screening facility to expanding a seafood exporting business to Japan and USA. Two memorable lessons that my Dad shared from his entrepreneurial journey were being honest and taking responsibility no matter what mistakes we made as long as we learned from it, and treating his employees with respect and care as if they were our own family.
When I started my first full-time job as a Graphic Designer, designing behind the scenes for big major brands, I had a fear of not being good enough because English wasn’t my first language, and I didn’t have much work experience in America. Fortunately, my VP at the time patiently mentored me whenever I got a challenging task, which expanded my expertise until I was promoted to the Creative Director position. Through working with her for almost 13 years, I learned a great deal about how she made people in her charge feel safe to do our work well and grow from our mistakes and new opportunities. After she left the company, the upper management changed and the corporate culture was no longer aligned with my core values. I saw a vision of the unlimited potential of wealth and fulfillment through entrepreneurship, and I feel connected with a purposeful mission which is to utilize my talents and business experience to help good people win.
What surprised me during my entrepreneurship is that most of my business came from the people who remembered and appreciated how I served them or treated them during my corporate job, and until today, still refer me to more business opportunities. With this realization, I have become humbled and extremely passionate about helping people discover their unique character strengths so they can build an authentic lifetime brand that sustains their business in the most fulfilling ways.
Hala Dagher Chibani- Business Coach, Online Growth Strategist, and Founder of Next Level Entrepreneurs.
Growing up in Beirut, Lebanon in the midst of a civil war that lasted 16 years, I watched people put their dreams and their well-being on the back burner in order to survive. I saw firsthand how hard my mom and dad persevered to support us. Despite that, they always had a smile on their face, encouraging us to dream big and go after what we want. They showed me the importance of being resilient in overcoming challenges and staying mentally strong during tough times. It nudged me to take bigger risks. With a 6-month-old baby in my arms, my husband and I fled the country on a boat and embarked on a new journey in the U.S.
For the next 15 years, I embraced work-life as a young professional, tenaciously working towards building a better future. Back then, I equated success to building a great career, however, the journey to building this great career completely changed my views on success and life in general. After climbing the corporate ladder for many years, I had reached the kind of success I thought I wanted, however, it didn’t feel as satisfying or as fulfilling as I expected. On the outside looking in, things looked great, a good career, a beautiful family, home...etc. But what no one knew is that on the inside, I was feeling unfulfilled, burned out, and looking for more out of life. I learned that success looks different for each one of us, and until we understand and define what it means to us, we will continue on going through life with blinders on, seeking society’s version of success, trying to fit in someone else’s mold, and will continue to be disappointed and uninspired.
When my corporate career came to a halt and I was laid off along with 17,000 employees, I saw this as an opportunity in disguise. I saw a pivot into entrepreneurship as the way to make a bigger impact and do work that is both meaningful and fulfilling. I embarked on a self-discovery journey that brought an awakening I didn’t even expect. Each day I was peeling off layers of conditioning, beliefs, and expectations that no longer served me. It helped me uncover and connect with my true identity again, show up more authentically, and get crystal clear on my purpose and mission in life. It transformed my life.
Through helping other immigrants embark on similar reinvention journeys, I realized how much we have in common. A lot of us have dreams that we push to the side thinking they’re unattainable or unrealistic. The underlying reason is often a lack of awareness of who we are, what we want, and value. This became my new mission- To help other immigrants and diverse women connect with their true self again, uncover and embrace what makes them unique or what I call our ‘superpower’, and leverage it to make a bigger impact on the world. Thereby realizing our full potential, living in alignment with who we are born to be, and creating success on our own terms.
When we align our hearts and minds in one direction, share our unique gifts passionately with the world, we are lifting each other to new heights, and supporting missions and people we care about. That is our Next Level of being.
As immigrants, we understand the ‘work-hard’ mindset quite well.
But, it is time to break free from it.
It is time for us to leave draining careers to create a life we fully and wholeheartedly love. It is time to live in alignment and take the lead on orchestrating success on our own terms.
Please stop dismissing the calling you have to be more, explore more, and leverage more of your given potential. You are being guided to where you need to be. You’re led to uncover your true purpose, to share your superpower with the world, to make more impact, and live the life you were born to live. You might ignore this calling in the beginning, or convince yourself that it’s selfish and ungrateful of you to want more. But, let me just tell you, your calling won’t go away- EVER. It needs to be fulfilled because it is the only way for you to live your best, most authentic life.
If you’re feeling stuck in a meaningless career, feeling called for something bigger, and seeking clarity, set some time aside to reflect on these prompts:
1. What big dreams do I have today that I no longer want to ignore?
2. What expertise and lessons have I learned that would be valuable for others to know?
3. What passions, talents, and intricacies light me up and bring me joy?
4. What would an aligned reinvention look like for me?
Open your heart.
Decide that you are ready to live in alignment, expand your impact and maximize your potential. Decide that you’re ready for life and career to be more joyful, more rewarding, and more fulfilling. You deserve that!
Happy National Immigrants Day!
Hala Dagher Chibani, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Hala Dagher Chibani, is an award-winning leadership expert, business coach, online growth strategist, and founder of Next Level Entrepreneurs. She supports high-achieving minority women in business to pivot from employees to entrepreneurs to make a bigger impact, find fulfillment, inspiration, and balance in their life again. Hala empowers professional women to leverage their expertise & God-given gifts to transition online as new coaches, consultants, and service providers.
Previously, Hala held various leadership roles with fortune 50 companies ranging from the Middle East to North America where she received a number of awards for exceptional leadership and top business results YOY.
When she’s not advocating for gender equality, bringing visions to life, coaching and mentoring leaders, Hala is indulging in culture and food with her husband and two girls.
Get in touch with Hala and Next Level Entrepreneurs and connect on social media.
