Personal life & Work life of Mohannad Elkhouly
The Arabia Times: Explain your background and your Company in detail.
Mohannad Elkhouly: Well interesting question. I am a graduate of faculty of accounting (English section) Ain Shamis University. I have an MBA from German University in Cairo. I worked in Orange Egypt (Mobinil previously) for 15 years and then I left them and worked odd jobs. I finally started to work in E& (Etisalat Misr) end of 2017 until March 2020. I was offered a job in March 2020 to work in a small company in Egypt, were they finally laid me off in April 2020. This is where my mindfulness journey truly began. By end of 2021 I came up with the name Kaizen (which means change for the better in Japanese) with the intent to offer a full mental health and mindfulness experience. However, as I started to dive deeply into mindfulness, I shifted my company to focus on mindfulness by offering coaching services, Workshops and finally included our podcast Wellness with mo and our new YouTube channel. We try offer a complete mindfulness package.
Connect Mohannad ElKhouly
The Arabia Times: Give us one word that describes you the best.
Mohannad Elkhouly: Resilient
The Arabia Times: What does mindfulness mean to you, and how do you incorporate it into your daily life?
Mohannad Elkhouly: Mindfulness to me simply means being present and acknowledging and accepting whatever obstacles and challenges I face. Incorporate mindfulness techniques by daily meditating in the morning, I try and breath when I feel upset, Try and sleep well and I read a lot to exercise my brain every day.
Business’s Strength of Mohannad Elkhouly
The Arabia Times: What do you feel is the biggest strength of “KAIZEN” right now?
Mohannad Elkhouly: Our biggest strength is our podcast channel as we have shifted this season to include different kind of guests from around the globe. Also, our strength is in our coaching services as we truly want to serve our community and be a beacon of hope and positivity.
The Arabia Times: How do you stay motivated to continue practicing mindfulness even when you don’t feel like it?
Mohannad Elkhouly: Practicing meditation, doing my podcast episodes and trying to make a difference in other people’s lives
The Arabia Times: Why did you start “KAIZEN”?
Mohannad Elkhouly: My intent was when I was a corporate employee and even before the pandemic hit to spread awareness with regards to the importance of mental health. I felt that companies here in Egypt do not prioritize employee’s mental health. I have witnessed this first hand as I suffered a lot from depression, anxiety and the feeling of failure. This is why I started Kaizen to spread awareness in Egypt and the Middle East region about mental health and why companies should really look after their employee’s mental health as they are the most valuable resources
Path & Challenges
The Arabia Times: What was the path you took to get to where you are today?
Mohannad Elkhouly: Well to be honest I did not realize I was on a path until I finished the 5am club book written by the amazing Robin Sharma that I realized that all the small steps I was taking was actually putting me on this journey. However, my journey is not over and there is no end. We as human beings, me included continue to grow learn, fail and start over and move on.
The Arabia Times: Can you describe a time when mindfulness helped you navigate a difficult situation?
Mohannad Elkhouly: Mindfulness is always helping me to navigate difficult situations on daily basis, because I am always faced with challenges and obstacles, that requires the person to be positive, resilient, grateful and patient.
The Arabia Times: What are the key values which helped you to overcome the challenges in your path? Tell us something about your memorable incident in your leadership?
Mohannad Elkhouly: Well, my key values would be resilience, gratitude, collaboration with others and also helping my fellow human beings as I believe in the philosophy of karma. What good you do comes around to you in a form of better opportunities and chances.
Benefits & Trends of Mindfulness
The Arabia Times: In what ways can mindfulness be beneficial in the workplace or professional setting?
Mohannad Elkhouly: That is a good question as one of our upcoming podcast episodes I discuss how meditation can boost your career development. In addition, companies and corporate in Egypt if they do the following 4 tips, I would love to share with you:
- Dedicate 15 min meditation break.
- Design a room for meditation where people can meditate and prohibit the use of mobile phones, smart watches, laptops and gossip in general as the create distractions.
- Companies should have 1 hour if wellness daily. In this hour it could be workshops, group discussions or games to help the employees to feel safe, vulnerable and knows no one will judge them.
- Finally dedicate 30 min daily free from social media or emails where employees can talk to each other and get know each other better on a human level.
The Arabia Times: Can you provide an example of how mindfulness has helped you become more present and engaged in the moment?
Mohannad Elkhouly: Well because I am a freelancer (trainer and coach), podcaster and inspirational speaker (I hope I am 😊) I am always faced with problems and challenges. I try and accept my emotions and acknowledge them and tell myself it is ok to feel down today and everything will turn out for the better
The Arabia Times: How have you stayed up-to-date with industry trends and technology?
Mohannad Elkhouly: Well yes in some way as I use social media a lot to share our workshops, tips, podcast episodes
Advice from Mohannad Elkhouly
The Arabia Times: Would you like to say anything else to our viewers?
Mohannad Elkhouly: Meditation and living mindfully is important for all of us no matter what our religion is. Living mindfully helps you become more spiritually aware and changes your view of life. We all have one life to live, so let’s live it to the maximum and leave an amazing and awesome legacy for those who will continue our journey
Connect with Mohannad Elkhouly on LinkedIn
