Moamen Said and Jaina Gandhi On Being An Active Listener

Moamen Said??

Cairo | Egypt ????

Founder of I-Gamify ??

?? Time Wallet ??- Your success is determined by how you manage and spend your (time) balance. Prioritize your time against your most important goals.

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Moamen follows the 8 - 8 - 8 rule of dividing his days into three chunks to optimize his precious time. Over the years, he has learned to say NO to a lot of good things to achieve great things.

Initially, when I'd just begun my project, I was purely looking for like-minded people open to striking a conversation with me. I found Moamen through a LinkedIn post. He seemed to be super active on LinkedIn and was hosting a couple of networking events around that time. I assumed he might entertain the idea of sharing his story with me and left him a message. Within 20 mins, I actually had a call scheduled.

After the Pebble Story 3, I'd been mulling over the concept of connecting with people and enhancing my communication skills. How to build your network? and How to effectively communicate your thoughts and feelings? ?? These are two of the most important questions I am yet to answer since I have graduated - as I stepped out of the safety net of my University, I immediately realized the need to find my tribe and network ???♀? Out here, there is no hand-holding and no friends readily available, I had to step out of my comfort zone to seek advice and build quality relations.

I decided to ask Moamen because I knew he understands the value of connections. He voluntarily devoted his time and energy to hosting networking events, coaching students, and building employee engagement programs at the workplace. Along with his full-time job, he dedicates his weekends to his start-up and also spares a good time to help and support people along the way. Undertakings like this require good amounts of sacrifices and setting priorities, which meant Moamen likely had an insight or two on this topic.

I found out he had more than just insight or two

Throughout our conversations, he shared one after other stories from his life, restating how just being attentive?? and readily available ???? for others can do wonders. His kind heart and good intentions not only helped him make a place in people's hearts but also gave him recognition and respect wherever he went.

Often we come across people who claim to have a hectic schedule, but Moamen has truly mastered the 'Art of Connecting with People' by being present, available, and fully engaged. In return, many people have reached out to him and thanked him for his constant support and timely guidance.

He has a strong desire to create an impact. He shares his personal number and time with anyone who needs an ear to hear or provides moral support during challenging times. I loved his giving nature.

Moamen is also a gamification expert ?? He uses gamification techniques ( use elements and principles of gaming to create an engaging learning experience) to help companies improve employee engagement and meet their business needs.

What is your passion? ??

“My passion is transforming people in any and every way I can! It’s all about engagement. How to make people engaged? I enjoy coaching students and teaching them the power of ‘Gamification’ to other areas of activity (e.g., marketing) and motivating long-term user engagement.”

He is obsessed with User Engagement. His areas of strength are his passion for leading successful teams, training and coaching people, problem-solving, and analytical thinking.

He is a passionate believer of the Pareto Principle - 80/20 rule ? 80% of results come from only 20% of a person’s actions.

What’s one of the essential qualities of an entrepreneur?

“Making meaningful connections - Reaching out to people, extending support, and building your reputation. It goes a long way! ??”

What advice would you give for my ongoing project on building connections?

• Point 1: Create an introductory poster or an article describing a bit about your project. How did it start? What are you hoping to get out of this? Share this article with people to give them more context into your work while asking them to chat with you. Establishing expectations and creating excitement can help attract people.
• Point 2: Have a value-exchange model. While you are on the receiving end, make sure to show that you value their time and energy by doing something that can help them or make them feel appreciated.

I decided to immediately bring into action both the suggestions. I wrote an introductory article 100 Passionate Pebbles explained and shared it with people. It really helped create a story for my project and fasten the process of finding passionate minds.

The value-exchange concept gave more meaning to my efforts in 'painting pebbles' ??describing each pebbler's passion. I realized it's my way of sending love and gratitude for their time and valuable insights.

He spent the 40 mins we shared together passing along advice garnered over years of experience in building networks and provided tools for time-management. We also briefly talked about avoiding ego in professional relationships and sustaining employee loyalty in the company. 

Soon after our conversation ended, he responded to my thank you note saying - As long as you are following things correctly, always consistent baby steps are better than huge jumps or infrequent attempts ????

Our conversation helped me see my desire for making connections from a larger perspective. It shifted my mindset from meeting to influencing people. ??

There was a time when I was standing on the shore with fleeting thoughts on understanding passionate minds and within a short span, I am already rowing through the pool of passion! That got me thinking of this quote I wrote in my journal ~

"Never leave a scene of a decision without committing to an action ??" ~ Tony Robbins

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Check my previous articles to read more about my passionate conversations.

Pebble Story 1

Pebble Story 2

Pebble Story 3