My Best Friend; Seven Steps to Repossess Your Life Inner Riches, Change and Happiness

They say that your birth name shapes you. For example, my name "Khalil" means "My Best Friend". That is why I relied on myself to overcome my personal and business circumstances.

As I grew up, I faced life-threatening incidents. That included living in a war zone, having Parasomnia, subject to bullying, getting displaced from our home, experiencing life-threatening incidents, getting cancer, being rescued from kidnapping, going through the recent pandemic, and lately, the latest influx of refugees in Europe. I was lucky to survive all of these, yet many did not. Post the pandemic, I realised that mental health was an issue. Many had an economic crisis. Families were separated, and I experienced the same. So, I felt the need to share my story and contribute in my way and support others.

As a boy, I lived in a war zone. I was born in the southern city of Tyre, Lebanon, to a family of Lebanese immigrants. Writing about what I went through during my childhood was not an easy thing to do. But, over the years, I learnt to face my worst nightmares, and probably you have done so too. In this book, I want to highlight issues related to beliefs, mindset, and how they shaped our identity across the years.?

I was born in Tyre, South Lebanon, and I was always amazed by the Tyrian’s resilience stories across history. Across the centuries, we were always subject to grave incidents, yet that never stopped our progress. In Greek Mythology, Zeus abducted the Tyrian Princess Europa, after which the continent of Europe was named. While trying to get his sister back,??Europa’s brother Cadmus introduced the Phoenician alphabet. Another Tyrian princess, Alissa, established the settlement of Carthage after escaping a power struggle with her brother.

The alphabet widely spread in the ancient world as the Phoenician Merchants traded across the Mediterranean, Europe, and Africa. That rich history always inspired me and motivated me to move forward.

That rich history always inspired me and motivated me to move forward. Maybe that is my destiny, and many of my friends and family immigrated, seeking a better future for themselves and family.

I consider myself a positive person, which helped me look at a half-full rather than a half-empty cup in different parts of my personal and professional life.?

Exposing our emotions and feelings is not a means for others to take advantage of or feel sorry for us. On the contrary, it helps them understand that we share similar experiences, basic human needs, and values. Furthermore, we are resilient beyond our imagination; we need to take the first step to overcome our challenges. Hence, it is critical to embrace the learnings, build on them, and move forward.?

People have had different journeys, making them more robust and resilient or simply “breaking” them. By sharing my story, I understood that I was not on my own. That led to a better mindset and mental health. In this book, I share my: story, lessons, and the necessary and relevant actions I needed to take that led to my success. As you read my book, I encourage you to reflect on your life story, extract your takeout, and reflect on what contributed to your success.

As a child, it was difficult for me to face all tantalising issues, yet what was important is that I did not lean on my excuses but rather acted, though late, and pivoted. By reflecting on the past, I understood where my breakthrough was and how that helped me become a better person with new beliefs and a healthy mindset.?

However, after writing this book, the lesson I learned was not to be trapped in the past. On the contrary, the past was the catalyst accelerating my success process.

I modestly admit having achieved immense success, both personally and professionally. I also overcame different obstacles I faced in my life. It all started with a single step when I stood up for myself. At that instant, I took action, and my mindset changed forever.

With my didactic story, my objective is to benefit my audience, aiming for a better future. Therefore, please consider my story and learning as a token of contribution to a better world.?

This book sheds light on some of the most significant turning points in my life that influenced how I: approached issues, perceived the importance of friends, and assisted others. These experiences have shaped my life, personally and professionally.

They say, “The pen is mightier than the sword”, significantly when misused words. My experience with “words” is another aspect discussed in this book. Words have affected me in different situations. When misused, words can be so destructive that they inhibit human progress.

Everyone needs a tap on the shoulder or something to lean on to survive, then improve and thrive. All I needed was some positive motivation to excel. When I talked to others about my various experiences, they realised that they were not on their own and divulged their own experiences. That made them feel safe, and they shared their experiences.?

By sharing my story, I intend to contribute to achieving a better world by helping others rid themselves of paralysing beliefs. Sometimes, all I needed was someone to listen without blaming and shaming me, a procedure some would call “nagging.” However, I call it “flushing” since it helped me release the toxicity out of my system.?

Instead, I like to reflect and take in the lessons learnt to work forward a road map. The past is in the past, and we can do nothing about it; I need to make the best of today.?

I am sharing my pain and gain. The moments that affected me most and what contributed to my breakthrough and mindset change. I have learned that I attracted the good and bad moments myself. When I acted, I established my identity on confidence, enjoyment, resilience, and determination to control my destiny.?

In this book, I used different verses from the Holy Quran that shaped me and helped me overcome the various challenges. These are relevant to me, yet I believe everyone can lean on something similar in the faith they follow. Moreover, search for similar anchors to help you confront hurdles as they arise.?

Here is a verse that I will mention in this book and is relevant to the different chapters I am taking you through.

Al-Baqarah – The Cow; Verse 155

?????? ??????? ??????????? ???????????

??????????????????? ???????? ????? ????????? ?????????? ???????? ????? ??????????? ?????????? ?????????????? ????????? ??????????????

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Merciful, "We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops. Give good news to those who patiently endure."

This verse always helped me perform and move forward. Nevertheless, it is intertwined with continuous hard work to achieve my aims. Hence it is essential to set our reticular activating system toward the goals we want to achieve. Guess what, it does happen!?

With my many years of experience, I seek the forgiveness of anyone I might have personally affected. I also reflected a lot, forgiven and reconciled with myself, which is the last step of acknowledgement, dumping that bag I carried. It is time to step on it and move forward.

If we are determined to change and overcome a situation, nothing will hinder our way. No matter how difficult or challenging the situation we are in, always there are ways to overcome it.

Reflecting on the lessons learnt helped me develop a road map, T.R.I.U.M.P.H., Transformation, Resilience, Identity, Unity, Mindset, Purpose, and Honesty.

My Best Friend, How to Repossess Your Inner Riches, Change and Happiness, is available for a pre-order in an eBook format at a special price. The launch date for the eBook and the paper copy is June 16, 2022.

The Author – Khalil Arouni

Khalil is the eldest son among four children of a Lebanese-British family. He lived his childhood in a war-torn country and was subject to many life-threatening incidents.

He graduated from the American University of Beirut with a teaching diploma and a bachelor's degree in mathematics. Two years later, he earned his MBA at Dundee University, Scotland. Post-graduation, he started his career path working as a Marketing Assistant at a leading advertising agency in Dubai. A couple of years later, he joined a market research agency and became its General Manager.

He had an opportunity to lead and set up the Marketing Research & Tools Department at a leading MBU in Dubai. He helped set up their research tools in different countries across the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, he was actively involved in business pitches for new client acquisitions.?

In 2007, he accepted a new challenge within the same company to lead its operation in Saudi Arabia. During his ten years as their Managing Director, he grew the business and the team. He prepared the right platform for growth. He managed to secure a significant business before taking his next challenge and moved to London, the United Kingdom, with his family.?

Khalil is married to Sarah and the father of three boys, Yusuf, Mohamad, and Karim. He moved to London to secure a better future for his family and provide his children with further education, tools, and skills for a better future.?

Khalil's mission is to invest in his children's education and development and himself and his lovely wife, Sarah. Going the extra mile is second nature to Khalil; he helped his local swimming club with their competitions by becoming a qualified J1 Swimming Judge. And J2T but couldn't complete the J2 assessment due to Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. Learning never stops; he invested in the continued development and became a certified business coach, DISC and Behaviours practitioner.?

In addition, he established his business coaching and marketing company, Sterling Marketing Consultancy; He aims to provide a better engagement between these companies and their prospects, healthier profitability and providing them with a more significant return on their marketing investment. He is a Chartered Manager of Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Life is also about having fun. Khalil travelled with his family around the World to many countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe. One of the most exciting trips he took was driving 2,500 miles across Europe with his family, visiting different cities across France, Spain, and Italy. His youngest was six months, and they enjoyed it.

In addition to travelling, Khalil enjoys keeping up with technology trends. When he is tired and needs to re-energise, cooking is the best platform to reflect and help in preparing a healthy meal for the family.

Pre-Order your copy: My Best Friend, it is currently at an introductory price, which will finish on June 15, 2022.

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