A message to Mahmoud

"When you make someone laugh, you are inducers of hope, embracers of strangers, eradicators of hopelessness...you are physicians and peacemakers." These are just some of the words of Anthony McCarton, who gave a TEDx talk back in 2015 in München, Germany on the topic of “Laughter.”

After watching his TEDx talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=343&v=b2qM1I-JCEQ&feature=emb_logo that my lovely wife, Lama, shared with me, this only reminded me of Mahmoud, the Human Resource Manager at one of the leading banks in the region, how he confronted me for having too much fun in one of my training sessions.

So, here's the story.

About a year ago, I delivered a training course to one particular financial institution in the region. The training went so well, the delegates were so engaged, and our laughter, on several occasions, was quite loud. Although, the vast majority of my 20 + delegates were astoundingly happy with the atmosphere that I had created in general and with my training approach in particular, Mahmoud, the HR Manager, on the other hand, was not quite so happy. Such a fun atmosphere was not to his liking at all.

During the break, he asked me to step into his office, and of course, he made it clear to me that I needed to get my act together and take it easy. I could tell right away that he was quite bothered by such a joyful atmosphere. I guess he could not understand that it is OK for his employees to have some fun every now and then and that there is no harm when delegates have the opportunity to really laugh and enjoy a day at work.

Unfortunately, though, I could not grant Mahmoud his wish. To become such a boring trainer is just not me.

"Those who lose the power to laugh...lose the power to think." "If we can laugh together, we can live together." These are also some of the words of Anthony McCarton.

After the first day of training, I could tell from the get-go that I had gotten on Mahmoud’s sh*t list. Yikes ??.

After this 3-day training course was over, he called the director of the training company in Dubai that had hired me to deliver the training and he gave him 3 major complaints about me. Oops ?? …I guess I had committed a big booboo.?

So, here are Mahmoud’s complaints about me… Ready? Here you go.

The first complaint was in regards to the colorful green-framed eyeglasses I was wearing at that time (the ones you see me wearing in the photo up there.) Although I did receive a lot of nice comments about my eyeglasses, I guess colored-framed glasses do not appeal to Mahmoud.?So, the guy who had hired me to deliver that particular training suggested that I needed to invest in the typical traditional eyeglasses that almost everyone wears.?Ok, no issue there.?I promised him that I’d wear my gray-framed glasses the next time I head there for another assignment.?Wow!!! I never expected that I would be extravagantly flashy for Mahmoud.??Oh well...

The second complaint was directed at the lack of my dress code. Yikes, I’ve never had but one nice compliment after another when it comes to my professional attire.???But here was my grave mistake.?On the third day of training and after we got done around 4:00 pm, I stuck around for another hour or so to check my emails and to kill some time before heading to the airport to catch my flight back to Dubai.??Since it was already after hours, and since I was all alone in the training room, I took the liberty to get a bit more comfortable, and so I simply slipped my tie off.?Even though it was after hours, I guess I was supposed to have kept my tie on no matter what. Of course, the only ones there were Mahmoud, his secretary, and myself. What a crime that was on my part! How dare I take my tie off while Mr. boss was still around??Holllllly Molly!!!

All right, now for the third complaint. It was all about my darn backpack, believe it or not! Yup...that was a serious offense indeed. Mahmoud simply did not appreciate that I had a backpack instead of a roll-on hard case to carry my laptop. I just don’t know what to say.?Please forgive me, Mahmoud, for I have sinned.?Ouch ??????.

I never expected that people can be so stiff over every little detail.?I mean I really feel sorry for people like Mahmoud. Oh well...life goes on :)

Anthony McCarton says that “seriousness is dangerous. Not just for ourselves but for society... The forces of seriousness will limit us to narrow thinking, rigid ideology, cruelty, and tunnel vision,... whereas humor obliges us to have an open mind, it obliges empathy and forgiveness.”

So, here's a message to you Mahmoud. life is beautiful…but, remember, it’s too short.?Try to take advantage of every day you experience in this very short life we all live through.?Each day we get to live and experience is a blessing.?When my grandfather found out that he had a cancerous brain tumor, the very first thing he said is that "this is nothing but a blessing."?He didn’t allow something like that to stop him from appreciating the days he has left in his life.?He fell more in love with what he excelled at and he produced one masterpiece of art after another, up until the very last day he lived.?Be happy, enjoy your life and make sure you laugh every now and then.?There’s nothing like a good laugh from the deepest of your heart.?Believe me, it’s healthy and joyful.

Unfortunately, Mahmoud is not on any of the social media platforms.?Not even on LinkedIn.?I guess he’s just anti-social.?So, I just hope one day, he will stumble upon my article, one way or another, and he’ll get the message.?Until then, I truly wish him all the best and a very speedy recovery.

All the best and love to you all reading this article.