But did you know your "weakness" was your secret weapon?

I'm going to be honest with you: I've never been very good at Arabic. In fact, my grasp of the language is weak, and as a Lebanese, that makes me feel quite ashamed. It's not like I didn't grow up in Lebanon – I did. But unlike my friends, I struggled with the subject at school, and became even more insecure as a result. Perhaps I should have given Arabic content a chance instead of obsessively bingewatching Hollywood throughout my childhood? Whatever the reason, I struggled.

A few months ago however, something interesting happened. I decided to try my hand at expanding Nad's Reviews on TikTok. I knew there was untapped potential for my brand on the world's fastest growing app, and I was determined to see results. I filmed a few video reviews in English and received moderate engagement. Then a friend of mine recommended I try reviewing series and movies in Arabic. The thought terrified me. I'd been avoiding the language my entire life, and now I was supposed to talk about my greatest passion in a language I didn't feel comfortable in? Nevertheless, I gave it a shot. I filmed an Arabic review and lo and behold the results were astounding. I had finally found my niche.

As it turns out, Arabic-speakers were dying for someone to talk about their favorite English shows in Arabic. Who would have thought that the the very thing I'd been avoiding for 32 years was in fact my secret weapon? Who would have thought that embracing my weakness would help me stand out in a sea of English-speaking reviewers across the globe? I'd spent a decade building Nad's Reviews, and the only way I finally managed to get the engagement and community I was craving was to embrace something I had feared. Of course there's a special kind of irony in the fact I'd spend hours writing in-depth reviews on my site and receive one or two comments, while a TikTok video that takes 10 minutes to film gets 400x the engagement – but that's another story.

So what's the takeaway? Don't shy away from your "weakness". Shine a light on it. Embrace it. And then let it drive you forward. You just might be surprised.

Read more by Nadim:

• Writing saved my life
• But did you know your dreams could change?
• 5 lessons I've learned after a year of marriage

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