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Episode Transcript
The transcript is computer generated. There may be errors.
Sharad: Hi, everyone. Welcome to How to Live, a podcast that explores ways to live a good life. I'm your host, Sharad Lal. This is episode 87. What's it like to grow up on a small remote island and then go on to shape the future of an entire nation? That's the inspiring story of today's guest, Afeef Hussain. the senior director at Lux Resorts, but his influence extends far beyond his role. He's not only transforming his organization, he's helping elevate the Maldives itself. setting new standards for leadership, education, and impact.
For this special episode, for the first time we've recorded an episode outside Singapore, in the beautiful Lux Resort at Maldives.
Afeef shares his remarkable journey from a tight knit island community to becoming a visionary leader. We talk about how his early values of resilience and discipline shaped him,the challenges
He's overcome the mission to bring world class opportunities and ideas to his country.
We'll explore his leadership philosophy, how he manages his energy to stay on top of his game, and why purpose drives everything he does. I hope you find this conversation as inspiring as I did.
Let's dive in. Here's Afeef Hussain. ​
Sharad: Hi Aiv, welcome to the How to Live podcast. How are you doing this morning and all these wonderful things? Thank you very much. It is such a pleasure. This is the first time we're recording an episode outside Singapore. Yes. It cannot be a better location than the Lux Resort in Maldives to do this.
Hussain Afeef: thank you very much. I'm glad that we can have this conversation today and really look at how we can share some inspirations and probably some great ideas for our listeners and viewers.
Sharad: Sure thing. I'm sure everyone's going to learn a lot from you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come here and work with your team.
And doing this podcast with us.
Hussain Afeef: Yes. The last two days, we had some great workshops around or discovering their purpose and I've got some great comments. I spoke to one of my colleagues last night. I said, how was the train? He said, great. I understood my purpose.
That's wonderful because this is exactly what we wanted, the participants to understand and to learn. Yes.
Sharad: Talking about purpose, Afeef, everyone I've spoken to about you, talks about you living your purpose. And we're going to come to that, but I want to start from the beginning. You grew up in Maldives. Yes. If you can give us a sense of how growing up in Maldives was like for you, because many people know this as an exotic island, but they don't know the reality of that. So enough to start.
Hussain Afeef: So I was born in 1980. Two, in Addu city, Hithadhu, which is the most southern part of the Maldives.
It's a local island. If we were in the capital city, Mali, you take a flight hour and a half to get there. it's not close. not far,to travel. And I would say growing up we had a very easy lifestyle or way you wake up in the morning, you don't really have much stress to think about, you have the food available.
Your parents will look after you. I grew up in a big family, so we had a lot of family members around, but I think the most important thing is the hard part of life. We will never experience it there, because we have to do everything by ourselves. Obviously, even in the early stages, not just me, probably everybody who grew up in that neighborhood or the island, they develop things such as resilience and independence, meaning you can be a bit more independent than the other people.
So for example, even if your mom doesn't. prepare food on time, you develop the mindset of patience because certain things are reliable or dependent on what is happening around the community. And also, I think most importantly, growing up in a community, you develop the values of discipline, respect for people,
So I think my uh, early bringing up was quite good, I would say, and my mom and dad, they invested a lot of time and energy and effort in making who we are today.
Sharad: the qualities you talked about, it was so fortunate to have that independence, resilience, discipline, and that has contributed to who you've become today.
Hussain Afeef: Absolutely.
Sharad: I was wondering as a young kid living in the community, they're feeling safe. What were some of the dreams that you had?
Hussain Afeef: So I would watch TV when we get together. Seeing things, I remember I kept on dreaming things, not just to be on my island, but probably to do something a bit bigger than myself or do something that can help other people. I've always said the idea of serving people,
When I can do something and when someone feels happy about it, or if it can change their lives, I always thought it was cool. so I think that kind of helped me to do a lot with the mindset of giving back to the community and people.
Sharad: So on television, suddenly you saw the world and you saw that the world is bigger than this beautiful island.
I can do a lot more. What was your path to doing it? Was it like doing well in academics so I can do more? what was the,
Hussain Afeef: Yeah. I think the interesting thing is because sometimes when you're in a beautiful light and like that you can easily develop this idea of a comfort zone, no stress, relax, reliable.
But I believe that, seeing the world outside, we all need to have a greater purpose. We all need to do it. So I, definitely, intentionally did a lot, to focus on academics. I wouldn't say I was a smart student or intelligent.
but I think I worked very hard. I intentionally look at how I can use the opportunities I have. So I will always be very much connected to some of the best teachers in the school. So I can spend more time learning things from them. For example, there was an English teacher
I made a deal with her that when I was in grade 10 every week, I'll give her an essay. in addition to the essay, she would give us to do it as a part of the curriculum. So imagine if I did 52 essays per week in a year, I'm already 52, uh, weeks ahead of the other students. in the class because I know I was not a smart student.
So, this kind of relationships I've always developed over the
Sharad: years. That is so powerful of, if you talk about a growth mindset right now with your team, you seem to have that at that young age.
Yeah. And I didn't know it was exactly. And then
Hussain Afeef: I later, when I learned, growth, the, Carol's book on mindset and then later on, then it was developed as a growth mindset. And the term which is heavily used now,
Sharad: So with that growth mindset, you're working hard, but you're also working smartly.
You're building great relationships with your teacher. You identify the best teachers and get the best out of them. How did that move you then from that island? What was the next move and how did that happen?
Hussain Afeef: Yeah. So when I moved into the capital city for further studies, and then I went, yeah, and then obviously I went to study in Malaysia.
I had the opportunity to study in different parts of the world. At one point I was in London. I also had the opportunity to attend a couple of MBA programs in Harvard Business School. So I took myself to many parts of the world. As I moved around, I realized that there's a lot more to do as a human being, not just a full time job or build a family.
In English, there is this wisdom called knowledge is power.
I think people often say that. At a very early stage, I would say I realized that well, knowledge is actually potential power. If you don't apply knowledge or if you don't teach people, it doesn't become powerful.
So I've always learned these different things from different people around the world. I would always want to bring that to the people that may not have the same opportunity as me to go to Harvard or to London or elsewhere. So how can I bring that to the world? and give it to the people. The more I moved around, I realized the bigger the responsibility I have.
And, sometimes you get recognitions and awards and things like that. I always see that recognition or an award is a response.but it reminds you of the responsibility. Yeah.
That is so powerful
Sharad: where you are saying knowledge is power. So you've gone and used your smart, hardworking skills to get more and more knowledge for yourself. But at the same time, you understand that it is about bringing this back to Maldives, bringing it back to the people who are here. And enabling them because you don't want to forget why you did this one.
A huge part was giving back and taking it back to them.
Hussain Afeef: I would say that over the last probably many years. And I look at now, I always ask three questions when I wake up in the morning,
The first question is. What can I give to other people today? The second question is who can I help today? And the third is what can I learn or improve today? And this has always been, in my mindset, I mean, I wouldn't say probably when growing up, I think maybe in the last 10 years, as I saw the world a bit better and different, so
People ask me, how often do you live with all these things? Things that you teach, I say 80%. That's huge. 80 percent is huge. Yeah. I said, you can't leave.
The purpose is to, to strive, to, to live, but you can't live a hundred percent of it. There's no author speaker who lives a hundred percent of what he writes or teaches. And I also learned that from Stephen Curry, because he wrote this book of seven and was one of the first books I read many years ago.
And I think I got the book in my hands when I was probably in grade seven or grade eight. Seriously? In school? Exactly. Yeah. I used to read Reader's Digest and I was probably one of the first guys on my island who used to read them. And because a teacher in my school gets them, an Indian teacher who used to get them and I would borrow from him to read them.
It's a great book and of course, Stephen Covey shares the seven habits and he was even asked the same question, Stephen, how often do you live these seven habits?
And he even said, yeah, probably 80 to 90%. So I think it's all about being intentional, right? Yeah.
Sharad: And letting us know we're humans, we're going to get it wrong. Yeah. We just don't be strict on ourselves and come back. Yeah. Maybe jump back and get to that part of you, you were the smart person on the island who did well.
And an example to everyone. But what are some of the setbacks, the complexes maybe in your head that, these guys, are they smarter than me? What were some of them?
How did you deal with it?
Hussain Afeef: Well, I've never compared myself with other people. It was one of the early stages. I made peace with myself that I'll do what I can. And so I have a, Failures
But most importantly, I think, what I learned is that opportunities don't just come to you. I remember when I was on the, to speak internationally, it took 37 times to try to get an international speaking opportunity. Yeah. And, I wrote to many speaking agencies, speaking platforms, organizers, and.
on my 37th, try on the one company in Singapore, the, you probably are aware, the guys who organized the HR tech summit, but they gave me the opportunity to speak in 2007 and then thereafter the rest is history. If I talk about some of the failures I've had.
I can speak about for a week, but if I talk about my success, maybe one hour, just how it is, because I would say we don't learn much from success, but we do learn a lot from failures if you reflect back. So there were a lot of setbacks. There were lots of challenges.
I would say that all the setbacks I've had have always taught me something. Then I realized, well, it's important to stay focused on your mission.
Sharad: my mission has always been, I would say adding value to people and, I may not get it right, but what can I give back to people? So I think I often do that. A very noble mission. How did you choose HR as a field? Did you choose it throughout? Like you chose HR and hospitality.
These are two things. Was there any?
Hussain Afeef: Yeah. So I was in the hotel operations before, so I've done the food and beverage side, and then of course, rooms division, a lot involved in the operations side, and then later I realized that, everything we're doing in the hotel business is all about people
Both: and
Hussain Afeef: how can I influence not just my little department, but a bigger department, which could be, because, in the hotel operation or in an organization, The HR department has influenced all the employees.
So that's when I got into human resources through training. And then I realized, okay, human resource training quality assurance has a bigger impact because you can influence all the people.
I never thought HR was a department where you sit down in the office and you do administration. Administration is a part of HR. You have your people to do that. But I always found that HR is about helping people. And it's about finding solutions for them. Because in my early stage, I realized that when I go to HR to get service, they will say, It's not available. Oh, you've got to go and check you with your manager. So I feel like this doesn't sound like a human resource. So when I said the day when I get to lead an HR team, I would tell my team, If you're not HR, you are the front office of this resort, how you deal with employees will determine how they deal with the guests.
You can't leave anybody out of our office, feeling unhappy. Maybe you may not have all the answers, but at least you have to tell them something optimistic about their request. You can't send them home by saying, Oh, we don't have this way of self policy. I said, Policy should not be referred to when you speak to them, they come and say, or as a policy, or you should listen to them.
They're a little bit more. You should be compassionate. And I would say my team is striving for that. they do that sometimes we get it wrong, but at least we are aware that this is what we're supposed to do. So that's my vision and, of, I would say I'm living the dream now with, having a very good HR team.
I
Sharad: love the way you, Redefined HR in your view, and some elements that I saw was one painting the vision, taking it to another level. There's another element that I've noticed in my interaction with you. I think you have an entrepreneurial skill that you bring in. Like there's this island. We're here, but I want world class stuff to come in here and I'm going to use my smartness to get the best to help my people. Yeah, is that there and how do you use it? Yeah,
Hussain Afeef: I think any good HR person must have three things. Number one is you have to understand the people's side of it.
And you've got to understand the business side of it, You also have to understand the culture part of it.
There's something I call this. there's resources and resourcefulness, right? resources would be, the, all the things that you can get, let's say your budgets and the skills of employees, but resourcefulness is how can you use the or leverage the connections you have, the network you have and bring these resources to add value.
In a way that can benefit, both parties. So for example, when you look back into these books all here in our library. were actually collected by a mutual friend, Ron Kaufman.
Both: Oh yeah. Wow.
Hussain Afeef: So we partnered with Ron and said, Ron and Jen, we said, look, Ron, we wanted to contribute books to the libraries in Maldives. Because he lives in Singapore, where in Singapore everybody buys books, there's a lot of books left at home. Ron initiated to collect books from various households.
And then he sorted it out, sent it here. So this is an example of resources. And I believe our connection is also, sort of exactly the thinking.I would say I'm very good at seeing the good stuff in other people and look at, okay, how can we get this person to add value to our team? And then that's an example of it.
and of course you need other resources to make it happen. But when, if you have a vision and if you have the willingness to make it happen, you always see a way to make it happen.
Sharad: That's such a powerful point of view. And I just like to highlight it for listeners who may not be aware of how you do it, but you have this island, which is 30 minutes from Mali. It's a small island, very solid, with a good set of people, but you've said to yourself that I want this to be world class.
And to make it world class, I'm going to go in the world and get smart people. You talked about one Ron Coffman, you've associated yourself with associations, you get smart people to come down to the resort. Experience it and then help the staff in different areas. And that way, with all this global expertise, the overall standard goes up.
Hussain Afeef: Exactly. Because our employees on the island and they, Bounded by this beautiful nature and world class service, happy guests, at least in most cases, happy guests. They are extremely happy guests.
Sharad: I can say that. People can look at reviews. Everyone knows they are happy guests.
So,
Hussain Afeef: Yeah, but,also at the same time, if we don't set the standard high, easily we can go into mediocrity because we are living in peace. Peace and tranquility and all this sort of, advantages and we can say, we're doing great. So I think the bar that we have said is that we will never set and say we're happy.
At this point we say, okay, this is great. What can we do better? I think that helped. us to really look for great talents outside and say, look, maybe this person could come and help us. Okay. Let's get him. How can we get it, then we partner with him and see how we can work on it. I often say this in my training and some public events, that if we connect with people and speak to each other on the way to make things happen, you will always find a way.
but if you don't speak and then you only have One side of the conversation that doesn't happen. That's really the approach we have and it helps our people. And like you mentioned, everyone who comes here gives a different view, different idea, different mindset, different way of thinking.
And I know that our team members really get better because of their presence after attending the training, because they also get to connect with these speakers and trainers through LinkedIn. When they follow LinkedIn, they can see the posts by these people and such that inspires them.
Because one thing I always believe is that any amount of activities that you do, there's nothing more powerful than an inspiring leader. When you inspire them and you connect them with people that can inspire them. Their life will change forever for the better. 100%. Yeah.
Sharad: Maybe you could talk a little bit about your definition of an inspiring leader. Yeah. and you're one. So one is of course getting all this best in class for them. What are some other ways that a leader can be really inspiring?
Hussain Afeef: Yeah, I would say um, you know, for you to be inspiring the three things one can do.
There's a lot of literature around this in today's world. Uh, Stephen Covey Jr. wrote a book called Trust and Inspire, I also had the opportunity to meet with him. And he also came down here and he spoke to our leadership team a year ago. It's almost
Sharad: like you've created Howard business school here.
Hussain Afeef: You've got the best in class people in a resort. I have this mindset of when I see someone, they're like, my God, this guy's so good. How can I get him to Maldives? You do that through different options, right? Sometimes you can bring him through the resort or through an organization, right?
But I think going on to the point of inspiring leaders, the most important thing is that you got to be a role model. Role model in the way you speak, you behave, you move. It's very important. Basically a lot of leaders in today's world, they preach good stuff, but they're not able to live by them.
So you've got to practice what you're preaching. Very important. At least 80%. Exactly. Because you won't get it a hundred percent, but at least you have to be intentional. let's say sometimes I may get upset with an employer, I may speak to them in a rude manner, because I get very upset, they do something that offends the company or me.
And you say something that they may not like, so I would actually go back to them and say, look, I just want to make something clear that when we spoke earlier, I knew I raised my voice. I know the way I spoke, you felt sad. I just want you to know that I apologize for the way I spoke, but I want you to know that my message stands firm because that shouldn't have happened.
So at least we cleared the air, right? And that happens. But so you've got to be a role model. The second thing is your energy. You've got to have a very good level of energy when you walk into a room, people should feel a positive energy,when you walk into a room, people should not feel like, Oh my God, here, that's the problem, but when you walk in, people should have that sense of, Energy that, Oh, it's going to get better.
Let's see what he will say. And that kind of a mindset. So energy is everything for a leader. So you've got to have a very good energy. And the third and the most important thing is that the inspiration actually also comes from your action so you've got to take action. To make things better, to make the lives of your people better, you've got to move by that. There are some people, they speak great stuff, but then there's no action. So you've got to really drive. So I would say, like I said earlier, I'm not very smart. I don't really give anything I've achieved in my life because I'm smart or intelligent.
I would say I have developed my intelligence element over the years. I would say I have strengthened my smart competitiveness among others by hard work. And that comes from taking action. Sometimes talking to people, going, connected with different forums.
You know, obviously we got connected through APSS, Asia Professional Speaker Singapore, which has one of the most elite speaking professional bodies in the world. I was the first Maldivian. to become a member. And that was back in 2017. And today I'm a member too.the connections I have made through APSS and the relationships I have built are just world class.
So as a leader, you've got to take action. If you don't take action, good talks. It's only good for a moment, but it doesn't last long. Absolutely. Some of the most empowering, inspiring leaders I've seen in the world are people who actually do these three things: good role models, you got to take the right action.
And most importantly, you've got to have the right energy.
Sharad: Maybe we talk a little bit about energy. Yeah. I have noticed that about you in Singapore and here, and I've seen you in different settings here when you come into the room and stuff. Yeah. How do you have such good energy? What do you do? What is your energy management system?
So that when you're at work, when you're with people, you've got the best energy available. Yeah.
Hussain Afeef: I always say that I don't need a full day to be off without work. So there are certain things that I don't negotiate number one is sleep quality. So I make sure wherever I'm in the world, whatever I do, I sleep.
Sharad: sleep.
Hussain Afeef: So at least six to eight hours, I would say, and even on weekends, I don't sleep more than eight hours because there's a lot of research that shows that sleeping for too long itself is not good. so you got to manage. But I always make sure that at least six and eight hours. And of course, certain days of the week, maybe I may have to study a little bit long hours in the office.
depending on some meetings and online stuff that we had to connect with the U. S. or big time difference. On such a day, I would then take a nap in the afternoon. So I always look at that. And then the second thing is that I know what are the things that drains my energy, like complaining and gossiping
So over the years, I have cut down on my inner circle. Everybody in my inner circle are people who add value to other people. And when we meet, we talk about ideas. We don't talk about the other people
we don't dwell on those things, I would say, we really look at how we can add value to people. So my inner circle, I have hundreds of people, you know, the 10, 20, 30 people I have on different platforms are people who always add value. So these things actually, keep the energy.
Okay. Because. Let's say if you and I are sitting for an hour and the only thing we talk about are the problems we have. it will terribly reduce our energy by 60, 70 percent by the time we finish the conversation. But if you have a good conversation, your energy will go up 80%.
Therefore, when I'm already so motivated by speaking to you. And I know when I go back to the office, sometimes the things that I don't have answers are fine because the energy plays a big role in increasing your view, sight of the world and perspective. So I would say my sleep quality really helps me to perform at a very high level.
Sharad: That's such good self awareness. I'm curious about the inner circle. Like many of us have friends and colleagues that we've got to know by accident for periods of time. And they become part of us. And sometimes, like you said, it could be draining. But you seem to have taken a conscious effort to see, maybe you have many acquaintances, but these X number of people are part of your inner circle.
So how do you decide that? Who are they? Are they people you work with? Colleagues? Friends? What is that?
Hussain Afeef: Yeah. So I always do my very best to keep the lines and the channels quite open, for example,like here we have all the leadership and I respect all the leaders around here.
There's a good trust and trustworthiness among each other, but I always believe that, in order for me to get them to do things, I don't need to have coffee with them every day because I can have coffee with them every single day, but it doesn't mean they'll be more loyal to me unless they are less loyal to me.
I want them to be loyal to the cause and the purpose of why we do our business. I don't want them to be loyal just to me, right? Because if I'm not here one day, they still have to do it. So I always look at it, caring, I always make sure that I care for them. I always check on them. I always have good open communications, but then when I look back outside my walk, there are certain people where I meet them and when we meet, sometimes we discuss the general country's political views.
Sharad: But we're there not to decide on who is good and who is fighting politics. Right. We are there to understand,
Hussain Afeef: understand viewpoints, different viewpoints. and that's the best part of it. So that doesn't drain the energy because of one judgment. Yeah. No judgment. Yeah. And we said, okay, let's say it's a great idea.
Maybe it will work. Maybe who knows, right? So that kind of a thing. And then when we talk, we always look at national issues, how we can help. What are the solutions? What can we do? Who can we help? Who can we connect with? Who are the good talents around that we can approach and say you look for an opportunity.
Would you like to come and speak in a conference or whatever? So these are the things and all each of those missions and meetings and gatherings is something that leaves.if you meet your inner circle and every time you leave your inner circle and you feel drained, that's not the right inner circle.
Now in our inner circle, we also have a very good understanding of empathy. Sympathy, compassion, courage, all of them are there. So if something said happened, yeah, we're very good at empathizing and giving the space it is needed. So we're not trying to say that, we just avoid the bad stuff, right? Bad stuff happens, negative stuff happens.
We will face it as it comes. I think it's all about knowing the people, right? And, most importantly, are the people in your inner circle in sync with the values that you have,
the values become. congruent to each other over the time, not just when you started. Yes. So I think in that, I would say they are serving great stuff.
Sharad: Okay. As you mentioned, talking about the nation, I'd love to, the sense that I get against speaking to you is Of course, you're bringing knowledge for yourself.
You're bringing knowledge for people around you. But an important part is to take Maldives as a nation to another part. So I'd love to understand how the Maldives sit in your heart? And what is your role with Maldives as a nation?
Hussain Afeef: Yeah. So before the Let's say, up on a 2016 17, I was doing a lot of stuff abroad, traveling and walking abroad and seeing the world, speaking. I saw what's possible in our country. So when I, my job made me fully based here. And then I said, what can we do for the Maldives? So we, and then of course, together with three other colleagues, friends of mine. And, you know, of course we got to know each other more closely because of the mission of forming the Maldives Association of HR Professionals.
And now we also have the Maldives Professional Speaker Association. We were able to take the Maldives to this international stage while staying in the Maldives. And I believe that vision and dream came from. If we don't, who else? This is our country. If we don't, who else is going to do this?
So you know, using our intelligence and our motivation, our competencies and capabilities, how can we connect with other people? I think that drove our attention to really look at partnering with whether it's APSS in Singapore. I remember when we first formed the HR Association, we actually went to APS's founders and asked them, yeah, we're forming this association.
What can you tell us that we should pay attention to? And, Frederick Heron and Wendy Tan and Jerome Joseph and Andrew Bryant and, um, of course, have always been very good mentors to me. They all guided me. So I believe we saw a vision and, you know, I think not just me, I believe there are, I must say that Maldives is a small country, half a million, less than half a million people.
The population is about 350 native Maldivians and then you have about 150 of foreign workers here. So half a million people, roughly I would say we have some of the smartest people in the world, very intelligent, really great. but we could work on the work ethics and things.
And while we have some work to improve on that, because we are surrounded by this beauty. Sometimes we say, this is our comfort zone, because your country is always your comfort zone and we have to remember that. but. if you want, you can create that magic zone.
Yeah, exactly. You can just do new stuff. And that's what we have been doing in a starting HR association. This is not easy. Professional speakers are not easy. We just brought the ICF coaching competencies to the Maldives and we just did ICF coaching including me and it was not easy. but the key thing is we saw a vision that maybe others didn't see.
And the most important thing I have and my inner circle colleagues, also an association of co-founders. Ali and Ahmed, but when we want to do something, the first thing we seek or do, look for is not money or the resources of, cash or, how it's why, why we want to do this. So if you're wise. Strong enough, I guess you'll find your how and what exactly. your
Sharad: resourcefulness is there to make that right happen. Yeah, exactly.
Hussain Afeef: You'll find a way to make it happen. So I think that's really the layer of what you are seeing today.
Sharad: If you're a man on a mission, right from increasing your own knowledge and constantly learning with the growth mindset to helping people around you, to helping the company that you work for, to helping the country that you're from.
What a wonderful mission. Thank you. The one question I would have is once we are on a passion on a mission, and I think you alluded to that late earlier. Because the mission is so strong. We forget ourselves and we forget the balance. And I know you've had some experiences where that didn't work out.
Well, how are you thinking of balance and. Yeah. so
Hussain Afeef: I would say that, I always look at it as a way to integrate it instead of balance it. I don't think you can achieve 50 50.Uh, but integration is important. because you can't live without, even if you have your, and again, there are people who say, I have my own business so I can balance it.
No, even if you have your own business, you have to pay attention to the numbers and everything. You know, work will always be there. And the more work you do, the more work you'll find. So you've got to find a way to integrate. So I would say I'm working in progress on that.
and over the years, I know what attracts me and what doesn't, so I need to be more intentional about it. And that way I find more time for myself, for my family and for the people who work with me. So the key thing is how do you integrate your passion for why you do what you do into the rest of the things.
And you don't forget those things along the way.
Sharad: Very powerful. So not balanced, but it's integrated. And then like you have huge self awareness of your energy. So you do your energy management, which then helps you like then to burn out those things that do not happen. And that's why you can go on and the mission is so powerful. Such a wonderful inspiration to so many people. Afeef, I have this last question that I ask everyone. And, at some stage, like at the end of your life, how would you know you've lived a really good life?
Hussain Afeef: I want people to remember, for example, a day where I'm not there, I want people to remember.
That guy, he added value to us. That guy, he did this. That guy guided me, that guy said something that helped me to re challenge my own thing. And so I don't want people to remember me as um, somebody who, who's extremely rich or did this or that a lot of the work I've done, to be honest, I've put my own money into it.
And I'm very happy about it because those things also helped me to become a better person. so, I want people to remember me as somebody who guided people, who was inspiring, who had the courageous leadership to guide and help people. And uh, you know, one of the things, of course, sometimes, in different commons, people see things differently.
And sometimes people also, or maybe he's doing this to get his own fame and this and that. People have this sort of mindset. You know, my way of handling such is I always pray that they find better ways to manage themselves. I never, I never tried to justify, I never tried to say anything bad. I was saying, you know, I, silently pray that they get better than me.
And that gives me peace at night. Ultimately, I ended up having a good night's sleep, which gives you energy to do your mission and live your purpose. What
Sharad: wise words. Thank you very much for spending time on the podcast. And thank you very much for all the good work you're doing for the world. Yeah, sure.
Hussain Afeef: Thank you so much for having this conversation. It's very enlightening and, yeah, the work you do of, how to live, uh, purpose and, you know, bring in this, I think to the world, you have dedicated your life to helping people. And, I wish you very well in your journey and I'm blessed that.
You spent time with Lux in the last two days, over 50 team members have attended your programs. And I know those colleagues will remember your teaching and your time with them. So, a lot of blessings to you. And I pray that we continue our professional relationship and connect for years to come.
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Sharad: Thank you, Afeef, for such an inspirational and powerful conversation. For more on Afeef, show notes. As we close out, I'd leave you with a simple but profound task inspired by Afeef's daily practice. Tomorrow morning, before you start your day, take a moment and reflect on these three questions. What can I give to others today? Who can I help today? What can I learn or improve today? This practice of being intentional, can transform how you show up every day. Best of luck. I hope you enjoyed this episode. The next one will drop two weeks from now. Till next time, have a wonderful day ahead. . Bye bye.
Sharad: Hi, everyone. Welcome to How to Live, a podcast that explores ways to live a good life. I'm your host, Sharad Lal. This is episode 87. What's it like to grow up on a small remote island and then go on to shape the future of an entire nation? That's the inspiring story of today's guest, Afeef Hussain. the senior director at Lux Resorts, but his influence extends far beyond his role. He's not only transforming his organization, he's helping elevate the Maldives itself. setting new standards for leadership, education, and impact.
For this special episode, for the first time we've recorded an episode outside Singapore, in the beautiful Lux Resort at Maldives.
Afeef shares his remarkable journey from a tight knit island community to becoming a visionary leader. We talk about how his early values of resilience and discipline shaped him,the challenges
He's overcome the mission to bring world class opportunities and ideas to his country.
We'll explore his leadership philosophy, how he manages his energy to stay on top of his game, and why purpose drives everything he does. I hope you find this conversation as inspiring as I did.
Let's dive in. Here's Afeef Hussain. ​
Sharad: Hi Aiv, welcome to the How to Live podcast. How are you doing this morning and all these wonderful things? Thank you very much. It is such a pleasure. This is the first time we're recording an episode outside Singapore. Yes. It cannot be a better location than the Lux Resort in Maldives to do this.
Hussain Afeef: thank you very much. I'm glad that we can have this conversation today and really look at how we can share some inspirations and probably some great ideas for our listeners and viewers.
Sharad: Sure thing. I'm sure everyone's going to learn a lot from you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come here and work with your team.
And doing this podcast with us.
Hussain Afeef: Yes. The last two days, we had some great workshops around or discovering their purpose and I've got some great comments. I spoke to one of my colleagues last night. I said, how was the train? He said, great. I understood my purpose.
That's wonderful because this is exactly what we wanted, the participants to understand and to learn. Yes.
Sharad: Talking about purpose, Afeef, everyone I've spoken to about you, talks about you living your purpose. And we're going to come to that, but I want to start from the beginning. You grew up in Maldives. Yes. If you can give us a sense of how growing up in Maldives was like for you, because many people know this as an exotic island, but they don't know the reality of that. So enough to start.
Hussain Afeef: So I was born in 1980. Two, in Addu city, Hithadhu, which is the most southern part of the Maldives.
It's a local island. If we were in the capital city, Mali, you take a flight hour and a half to get there. it's not close. not far,to travel. And I would say growing up we had a very easy lifestyle or way you wake up in the morning, you don't really have much stress to think about, you have the food available.
Your parents will look after you. I grew up in a big family, so we had a lot of family members around, but I think the most important thing is the hard part of life. We will never experience it there, because we have to do everything by ourselves. Obviously, even in the early stages, not just me, probably everybody who grew up in that neighborhood or the island, they develop things such as resilience and independence, meaning you can be a bit more independent than the other people.
So for example, even if your mom doesn't. prepare food on time, you develop the mindset of patience because certain things are reliable or dependent on what is happening around the community. And also, I think most importantly, growing up in a community, you develop the values of discipline, respect for people,
So I think my uh, early bringing up was quite good, I would say, and my mom and dad, they invested a lot of time and energy and effort in making who we are today.
Sharad: the qualities you talked about, it was so fortunate to have that independence, resilience, discipline, and that has contributed to who you've become today.
Hussain Afeef: Absolutely.
Sharad: I was wondering as a young kid living in the community, they're feeling safe. What were some of the dreams that you had?
Hussain Afeef: So I would watch TV when we get together. Seeing things, I remember I kept on dreaming things, not just to be on my island, but probably to do something a bit bigger than myself or do something that can help other people. I've always said the idea of serving people,
When I can do something and when someone feels happy about it, or if it can change their lives, I always thought it was cool. so I think that kind of helped me to do a lot with the mindset of giving back to the community and people.
Sharad: So on television, suddenly you saw the world and you saw that the world is bigger than this beautiful island.
I can do a lot more. What was your path to doing it? Was it like doing well in academics so I can do more? what was the,
Hussain Afeef: Yeah. I think the interesting thing is because sometimes when you're in a beautiful light and like that you can easily develop this idea of a comfort zone, no stress, relax, reliable.
But I believe that, seeing the world outside, we all need to have a greater purpose. We all need to do it. So I, definitely, intentionally did a lot, to focus on academics. I wouldn't say I was a smart student or intelligent.
but I think I worked very hard. I intentionally look at how I can use the opportunities I have. So I will always be very much connected to some of the best teachers in the school. So I can spend more time learning things from them. For example, there was an English teacher
I made a deal with her that when I was in grade 10 every week, I'll give her an essay. in addition to the essay, she would give us to do it as a part of the curriculum. So imagine if I did 52 essays per week in a year, I'm already 52, uh, weeks ahead of the other students. in the class because I know I was not a smart student.
So, this kind of relationships I've always developed over the
Sharad: years. That is so powerful of, if you talk about a growth mindset right now with your team, you seem to have that at that young age.
Yeah. And I didn't know it was exactly. And then
Hussain Afeef: I later, when I learned, growth, the, Carol's book on mindset and then later on, then it was developed as a growth mindset. And the term which is heavily used now,
Sharad: So with that growth mindset, you're working hard, but you're also working smartly.
You're building great relationships with your teacher. You identify the best teachers and get the best out of them. How did that move you then from that island? What was the next move and how did that happen?
Hussain Afeef: Yeah. So when I moved into the capital city for further studies, and then I went, yeah, and then obviously I went to study in Malaysia.
I had the opportunity to study in different parts of the world. At one point I was in London. I also had the opportunity to attend a couple of MBA programs in Harvard Business School. So I took myself to many parts of the world. As I moved around, I realized that there's a lot more to do as a human being, not just a full time job or build a family.
In English, there is this wisdom called knowledge is power.
I think people often say that. At a very early stage, I would say I realized that well, knowledge is actually potential power. If you don't apply knowledge or if you don't teach people, it doesn't become powerful.
So I've always learned these different things from different people around the world. I would always want to bring that to the people that may not have the same opportunity as me to go to Harvard or to London or elsewhere. So how can I bring that to the world? and give it to the people. The more I moved around, I realized the bigger the responsibility I have.
And, sometimes you get recognitions and awards and things like that. I always see that recognition or an award is a response.but it reminds you of the responsibility. Yeah.
That is so powerful
Sharad: where you are saying knowledge is power. So you've gone and used your smart, hardworking skills to get more and more knowledge for yourself. But at the same time, you understand that it is about bringing this back to Maldives, bringing it back to the people who are here. And enabling them because you don't want to forget why you did this one.
A huge part was giving back and taking it back to them.
Hussain Afeef: I would say that over the last probably many years. And I look at now, I always ask three questions when I wake up in the morning,
The first question is. What can I give to other people today? The second question is who can I help today? And the third is what can I learn or improve today? And this has always been, in my mindset, I mean, I wouldn't say probably when growing up, I think maybe in the last 10 years, as I saw the world a bit better and different, so
People ask me, how often do you live with all these things? Things that you teach, I say 80%. That's huge. 80 percent is huge. Yeah. I said, you can't leave.
The purpose is to, to strive, to, to live, but you can't live a hundred percent of it. There's no author speaker who lives a hundred percent of what he writes or teaches. And I also learned that from Stephen Curry, because he wrote this book of seven and was one of the first books I read many years ago.
And I think I got the book in my hands when I was probably in grade seven or grade eight. Seriously? In school? Exactly. Yeah. I used to read Reader's Digest and I was probably one of the first guys on my island who used to read them. And because a teacher in my school gets them, an Indian teacher who used to get them and I would borrow from him to read them.
It's a great book and of course, Stephen Covey shares the seven habits and he was even asked the same question, Stephen, how often do you live these seven habits?
And he even said, yeah, probably 80 to 90%. So I think it's all about being intentional, right? Yeah.
Sharad: And letting us know we're humans, we're going to get it wrong. Yeah. We just don't be strict on ourselves and come back. Yeah. Maybe jump back and get to that part of you, you were the smart person on the island who did well.
And an example to everyone. But what are some of the setbacks, the complexes maybe in your head that, these guys, are they smarter than me? What were some of them?
How did you deal with it?
Hussain Afeef: Well, I've never compared myself with other people. It was one of the early stages. I made peace with myself that I'll do what I can. And so I have a, Failures
But most importantly, I think, what I learned is that opportunities don't just come to you. I remember when I was on the, to speak internationally, it took 37 times to try to get an international speaking opportunity. Yeah. And, I wrote to many speaking agencies, speaking platforms, organizers, and.
on my 37th, try on the one company in Singapore, the, you probably are aware, the guys who organized the HR tech summit, but they gave me the opportunity to speak in 2007 and then thereafter the rest is history. If I talk about some of the failures I've had.
I can speak about for a week, but if I talk about my success, maybe one hour, just how it is, because I would say we don't learn much from success, but we do learn a lot from failures if you reflect back. So there were a lot of setbacks. There were lots of challenges.
I would say that all the setbacks I've had have always taught me something. Then I realized, well, it's important to stay focused on your mission.
Sharad: my mission has always been, I would say adding value to people and, I may not get it right, but what can I give back to people? So I think I often do that. A very noble mission. How did you choose HR as a field? Did you choose it throughout? Like you chose HR and hospitality.
These are two things. Was there any?
Hussain Afeef: Yeah. So I was in the hotel operations before, so I've done the food and beverage side, and then of course, rooms division, a lot involved in the operations side, and then later I realized that, everything we're doing in the hotel business is all about people
Both: and
Hussain Afeef: how can I influence not just my little department, but a bigger department, which could be, because, in the hotel operation or in an organization, The HR department has influenced all the employees.
So that's when I got into human resources through training. And then I realized, okay, human resource training quality assurance has a bigger impact because you can influence all the people.
I never thought HR was a department where you sit down in the office and you do administration. Administration is a part of HR. You have your people to do that. But I always found that HR is about helping people. And it's about finding solutions for them. Because in my early stage, I realized that when I go to HR to get service, they will say, It's not available. Oh, you've got to go and check you with your manager. So I feel like this doesn't sound like a human resource. So when I said the day when I get to lead an HR team, I would tell my team, If you're not HR, you are the front office of this resort, how you deal with employees will determine how they deal with the guests.
You can't leave anybody out of our office, feeling unhappy. Maybe you may not have all the answers, but at least you have to tell them something optimistic about their request. You can't send them home by saying, Oh, we don't have this way of self policy. I said, Policy should not be referred to when you speak to them, they come and say, or as a policy, or you should listen to them.
They're a little bit more. You should be compassionate. And I would say my team is striving for that. they do that sometimes we get it wrong, but at least we are aware that this is what we're supposed to do. So that's my vision and, of, I would say I'm living the dream now with, having a very good HR team.
I
Sharad: love the way you, Redefined HR in your view, and some elements that I saw was one painting the vision, taking it to another level. There's another element that I've noticed in my interaction with you. I think you have an entrepreneurial skill that you bring in. Like there's this island. We're here, but I want world class stuff to come in here and I'm going to use my smartness to get the best to help my people. Yeah, is that there and how do you use it? Yeah,
Hussain Afeef: I think any good HR person must have three things. Number one is you have to understand the people's side of it.
And you've got to understand the business side of it, You also have to understand the culture part of it.
There's something I call this. there's resources and resourcefulness, right? resources would be, the, all the things that you can get, let's say your budgets and the skills of employees, but resourcefulness is how can you use the or leverage the connections you have, the network you have and bring these resources to add value.
In a way that can benefit, both parties. So for example, when you look back into these books all here in our library. were actually collected by a mutual friend, Ron Kaufman.
Both: Oh yeah. Wow.
Hussain Afeef: So we partnered with Ron and said, Ron and Jen, we said, look, Ron, we wanted to contribute books to the libraries in Maldives. Because he lives in Singapore, where in Singapore everybody buys books, there's a lot of books left at home. Ron initiated to collect books from various households.
And then he sorted it out, sent it here. So this is an example of resources. And I believe our connection is also, sort of exactly the thinking.I would say I'm very good at seeing the good stuff in other people and look at, okay, how can we get this person to add value to our team? And then that's an example of it.
and of course you need other resources to make it happen. But when, if you have a vision and if you have the willingness to make it happen, you always see a way to make it happen.
Sharad: That's such a powerful point of view. And I just like to highlight it for listeners who may not be aware of how you do it, but you have this island, which is 30 minutes from Mali. It's a small island, very solid, with a good set of people, but you've said to yourself that I want this to be world class.
And to make it world class, I'm going to go in the world and get smart people. You talked about one Ron Coffman, you've associated yourself with associations, you get smart people to come down to the resort. Experience it and then help the staff in different areas. And that way, with all this global expertise, the overall standard goes up.
Hussain Afeef: Exactly. Because our employees on the island and they, Bounded by this beautiful nature and world class service, happy guests, at least in most cases, happy guests. They are extremely happy guests.
Sharad: I can say that. People can look at reviews. Everyone knows they are happy guests.
So,
Hussain Afeef: Yeah, but,also at the same time, if we don't set the standard high, easily we can go into mediocrity because we are living in peace. Peace and tranquility and all this sort of, advantages and we can say, we're doing great. So I think the bar that we have said is that we will never set and say we're happy.
At this point we say, okay, this is great. What can we do better? I think that helped. us to really look for great talents outside and say, look, maybe this person could come and help us. Okay. Let's get him. How can we get it, then we partner with him and see how we can work on it. I often say this in my training and some public events, that if we connect with people and speak to each other on the way to make things happen, you will always find a way.
but if you don't speak and then you only have One side of the conversation that doesn't happen. That's really the approach we have and it helps our people. And like you mentioned, everyone who comes here gives a different view, different idea, different mindset, different way of thinking.
And I know that our team members really get better because of their presence after attending the training, because they also get to connect with these speakers and trainers through LinkedIn. When they follow LinkedIn, they can see the posts by these people and such that inspires them.
Because one thing I always believe is that any amount of activities that you do, there's nothing more powerful than an inspiring leader. When you inspire them and you connect them with people that can inspire them. Their life will change forever for the better. 100%. Yeah.
Sharad: Maybe you could talk a little bit about your definition of an inspiring leader. Yeah. and you're one. So one is of course getting all this best in class for them. What are some other ways that a leader can be really inspiring?
Hussain Afeef: Yeah, I would say um, you know, for you to be inspiring the three things one can do.
There's a lot of literature around this in today's world. Uh, Stephen Covey Jr. wrote a book called Trust and Inspire, I also had the opportunity to meet with him. And he also came down here and he spoke to our leadership team a year ago. It's almost
Sharad: like you've created Howard business school here.
Hussain Afeef: You've got the best in class people in a resort. I have this mindset of when I see someone, they're like, my God, this guy's so good. How can I get him to Maldives? You do that through different options, right? Sometimes you can bring him through the resort or through an organization, right?
But I think going on to the point of inspiring leaders, the most important thing is that you got to be a role model. Role model in the way you speak, you behave, you move. It's very important. Basically a lot of leaders in today's world, they preach good stuff, but they're not able to live by them.
So you've got to practice what you're preaching. Very important. At least 80%. Exactly. Because you won't get it a hundred percent, but at least you have to be intentional. let's say sometimes I may get upset with an employer, I may speak to them in a rude manner, because I get very upset, they do something that offends the company or me.
And you say something that they may not like, so I would actually go back to them and say, look, I just want to make something clear that when we spoke earlier, I knew I raised my voice. I know the way I spoke, you felt sad. I just want you to know that I apologize for the way I spoke, but I want you to know that my message stands firm because that shouldn't have happened.
So at least we cleared the air, right? And that happens. But so you've got to be a role model. The second thing is your energy. You've got to have a very good level of energy when you walk into a room, people should feel a positive energy,when you walk into a room, people should not feel like, Oh my God, here, that's the problem, but when you walk in, people should have that sense of, Energy that, Oh, it's going to get better.
Let's see what he will say. And that kind of a mindset. So energy is everything for a leader. So you've got to have a very good energy. And the third and the most important thing is that the inspiration actually also comes from your action so you've got to take action. To make things better, to make the lives of your people better, you've got to move by that. There are some people, they speak great stuff, but then there's no action. So you've got to really drive. So I would say, like I said earlier, I'm not very smart. I don't really give anything I've achieved in my life because I'm smart or intelligent.
I would say I have developed my intelligence element over the years. I would say I have strengthened my smart competitiveness among others by hard work. And that comes from taking action. Sometimes talking to people, going, connected with different forums.
You know, obviously we got connected through APSS, Asia Professional Speaker Singapore, which has one of the most elite speaking professional bodies in the world. I was the first Maldivian. to become a member. And that was back in 2017. And today I'm a member too.the connections I have made through APSS and the relationships I have built are just world class.
So as a leader, you've got to take action. If you don't take action, good talks. It's only good for a moment, but it doesn't last long. Absolutely. Some of the most empowering, inspiring leaders I've seen in the world are people who actually do these three things: good role models, you got to take the right action.
And most importantly, you've got to have the right energy.
Sharad: Maybe we talk a little bit about energy. Yeah. I have noticed that about you in Singapore and here, and I've seen you in different settings here when you come into the room and stuff. Yeah. How do you have such good energy? What do you do? What is your energy management system?
So that when you're at work, when you're with people, you've got the best energy available. Yeah.
Hussain Afeef: I always say that I don't need a full day to be off without work. So there are certain things that I don't negotiate number one is sleep quality. So I make sure wherever I'm in the world, whatever I do, I sleep.
Sharad: sleep.
Hussain Afeef: So at least six to eight hours, I would say, and even on weekends, I don't sleep more than eight hours because there's a lot of research that shows that sleeping for too long itself is not good. so you got to manage. But I always make sure that at least six and eight hours. And of course, certain days of the week, maybe I may have to study a little bit long hours in the office.
depending on some meetings and online stuff that we had to connect with the U. S. or big time difference. On such a day, I would then take a nap in the afternoon. So I always look at that. And then the second thing is that I know what are the things that drains my energy, like complaining and gossiping
So over the years, I have cut down on my inner circle. Everybody in my inner circle are people who add value to other people. And when we meet, we talk about ideas. We don't talk about the other people
we don't dwell on those things, I would say, we really look at how we can add value to people. So my inner circle, I have hundreds of people, you know, the 10, 20, 30 people I have on different platforms are people who always add value. So these things actually, keep the energy.
Okay. Because. Let's say if you and I are sitting for an hour and the only thing we talk about are the problems we have. it will terribly reduce our energy by 60, 70 percent by the time we finish the conversation. But if you have a good conversation, your energy will go up 80%.
Therefore, when I'm already so motivated by speaking to you. And I know when I go back to the office, sometimes the things that I don't have answers are fine because the energy plays a big role in increasing your view, sight of the world and perspective. So I would say my sleep quality really helps me to perform at a very high level.
Sharad: That's such good self awareness. I'm curious about the inner circle. Like many of us have friends and colleagues that we've got to know by accident for periods of time. And they become part of us. And sometimes, like you said, it could be draining. But you seem to have taken a conscious effort to see, maybe you have many acquaintances, but these X number of people are part of your inner circle.
So how do you decide that? Who are they? Are they people you work with? Colleagues? Friends? What is that?
Hussain Afeef: Yeah. So I always do my very best to keep the lines and the channels quite open, for example,like here we have all the leadership and I respect all the leaders around here.
There's a good trust and trustworthiness among each other, but I always believe that, in order for me to get them to do things, I don't need to have coffee with them every day because I can have coffee with them every single day, but it doesn't mean they'll be more loyal to me unless they are less loyal to me.
I want them to be loyal to the cause and the purpose of why we do our business. I don't want them to be loyal just to me, right? Because if I'm not here one day, they still have to do it. So I always look at it, caring, I always make sure that I care for them. I always check on them. I always have good open communications, but then when I look back outside my walk, there are certain people where I meet them and when we meet, sometimes we discuss the general country's political views.
Sharad: But we're there not to decide on who is good and who is fighting politics. Right. We are there to understand,
Hussain Afeef: understand viewpoints, different viewpoints. and that's the best part of it. So that doesn't drain the energy because of one judgment. Yeah. No judgment. Yeah. And we said, okay, let's say it's a great idea.
Maybe it will work. Maybe who knows, right? So that kind of a thing. And then when we talk, we always look at national issues, how we can help. What are the solutions? What can we do? Who can we help? Who can we connect with? Who are the good talents around that we can approach and say you look for an opportunity.
Would you like to come and speak in a conference or whatever? So these are the things and all each of those missions and meetings and gatherings is something that leaves.if you meet your inner circle and every time you leave your inner circle and you feel drained, that's not the right inner circle.
Now in our inner circle, we also have a very good understanding of empathy. Sympathy, compassion, courage, all of them are there. So if something said happened, yeah, we're very good at empathizing and giving the space it is needed. So we're not trying to say that, we just avoid the bad stuff, right? Bad stuff happens, negative stuff happens.
We will face it as it comes. I think it's all about knowing the people, right? And, most importantly, are the people in your inner circle in sync with the values that you have,
the values become. congruent to each other over the time, not just when you started. Yes. So I think in that, I would say they are serving great stuff.
Sharad: Okay. As you mentioned, talking about the nation, I'd love to, the sense that I get against speaking to you is Of course, you're bringing knowledge for yourself.
You're bringing knowledge for people around you. But an important part is to take Maldives as a nation to another part. So I'd love to understand how the Maldives sit in your heart? And what is your role with Maldives as a nation?
Hussain Afeef: Yeah. So before the Let's say, up on a 2016 17, I was doing a lot of stuff abroad, traveling and walking abroad and seeing the world, speaking. I saw what's possible in our country. So when I, my job made me fully based here. And then I said, what can we do for the Maldives? So we, and then of course, together with three other colleagues, friends of mine. And, you know, of course we got to know each other more closely because of the mission of forming the Maldives Association of HR Professionals.
And now we also have the Maldives Professional Speaker Association. We were able to take the Maldives to this international stage while staying in the Maldives. And I believe that vision and dream came from. If we don't, who else? This is our country. If we don't, who else is going to do this?
So you know, using our intelligence and our motivation, our competencies and capabilities, how can we connect with other people? I think that drove our attention to really look at partnering with whether it's APSS in Singapore. I remember when we first formed the HR Association, we actually went to APS's founders and asked them, yeah, we're forming this association.
What can you tell us that we should pay attention to? And, Frederick Heron and Wendy Tan and Jerome Joseph and Andrew Bryant and, um, of course, have always been very good mentors to me. They all guided me. So I believe we saw a vision and, you know, I think not just me, I believe there are, I must say that Maldives is a small country, half a million, less than half a million people.
The population is about 350 native Maldivians and then you have about 150 of foreign workers here. So half a million people, roughly I would say we have some of the smartest people in the world, very intelligent, really great. but we could work on the work ethics and things.
And while we have some work to improve on that, because we are surrounded by this beauty. Sometimes we say, this is our comfort zone, because your country is always your comfort zone and we have to remember that. but. if you want, you can create that magic zone.
Yeah, exactly. You can just do new stuff. And that's what we have been doing in a starting HR association. This is not easy. Professional speakers are not easy. We just brought the ICF coaching competencies to the Maldives and we just did ICF coaching including me and it was not easy. but the key thing is we saw a vision that maybe others didn't see.
And the most important thing I have and my inner circle colleagues, also an association of co-founders. Ali and Ahmed, but when we want to do something, the first thing we seek or do, look for is not money or the resources of, cash or, how it's why, why we want to do this. So if you're wise. Strong enough, I guess you'll find your how and what exactly. your
Sharad: resourcefulness is there to make that right happen. Yeah, exactly.
Hussain Afeef: You'll find a way to make it happen. So I think that's really the layer of what you are seeing today.
Sharad: If you're a man on a mission, right from increasing your own knowledge and constantly learning with the growth mindset to helping people around you, to helping the company that you work for, to helping the country that you're from.
What a wonderful mission. Thank you. The one question I would have is once we are on a passion on a mission, and I think you alluded to that late earlier. Because the mission is so strong. We forget ourselves and we forget the balance. And I know you've had some experiences where that didn't work out.
Well, how are you thinking of balance and. Yeah. so
Hussain Afeef: I would say that, I always look at it as a way to integrate it instead of balance it. I don't think you can achieve 50 50.Uh, but integration is important. because you can't live without, even if you have your, and again, there are people who say, I have my own business so I can balance it.
No, even if you have your own business, you have to pay attention to the numbers and everything. You know, work will always be there. And the more work you do, the more work you'll find. So you've got to find a way to integrate. So I would say I'm working in progress on that.
and over the years, I know what attracts me and what doesn't, so I need to be more intentional about it. And that way I find more time for myself, for my family and for the people who work with me. So the key thing is how do you integrate your passion for why you do what you do into the rest of the things.
And you don't forget those things along the way.
Sharad: Very powerful. So not balanced, but it's integrated. And then like you have huge self awareness of your energy. So you do your energy management, which then helps you like then to burn out those things that do not happen. And that's why you can go on and the mission is so powerful. Such a wonderful inspiration to so many people. Afeef, I have this last question that I ask everyone. And, at some stage, like at the end of your life, how would you know you've lived a really good life?
Hussain Afeef: I want people to remember, for example, a day where I'm not there, I want people to remember.
That guy, he added value to us. That guy, he did this. That guy guided me, that guy said something that helped me to re challenge my own thing. And so I don't want people to remember me as um, somebody who, who's extremely rich or did this or that a lot of the work I've done, to be honest, I've put my own money into it.
And I'm very happy about it because those things also helped me to become a better person. so, I want people to remember me as somebody who guided people, who was inspiring, who had the courageous leadership to guide and help people. And uh, you know, one of the things, of course, sometimes, in different commons, people see things differently.
And sometimes people also, or maybe he's doing this to get his own fame and this and that. People have this sort of mindset. You know, my way of handling such is I always pray that they find better ways to manage themselves. I never, I never tried to justify, I never tried to say anything bad. I was saying, you know, I, silently pray that they get better than me.
And that gives me peace at night. Ultimately, I ended up having a good night's sleep, which gives you energy to do your mission and live your purpose. What
Sharad: wise words. Thank you very much for spending time on the podcast. And thank you very much for all the good work you're doing for the world. Yeah, sure.
Hussain Afeef: Thank you so much for having this conversation. It's very enlightening and, yeah, the work you do of, how to live, uh, purpose and, you know, bring in this, I think to the world, you have dedicated your life to helping people. And, I wish you very well in your journey and I'm blessed that.
You spent time with Lux in the last two days, over 50 team members have attended your programs. And I know those colleagues will remember your teaching and your time with them. So, a lot of blessings to you. And I pray that we continue our professional relationship and connect for years to come.
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Sharad: Thank you, Afeef, for such an inspirational and powerful conversation. For more on Afeef, show notes. As we close out, I'd leave you with a simple but profound task inspired by Afeef's daily practice. Tomorrow morning, before you start your day, take a moment and reflect on these three questions. What can I give to others today? Who can I help today? What can I learn or improve today? This practice of being intentional, can transform how you show up every day. Best of luck. I hope you enjoyed this episode. The next one will drop two weeks from now. Till next time, have a wonderful day ahead. . Bye bye.