Unleash Your Value: Storytelling, AI, and Brand with Maha Abouelenein

0:28We always recommend Shopify. Everybody just wrapped up an amazing conversation with my really good friend, Maha. This episode, if communication is something you struggle with in your business, we're going to talk about it. But most importantly, we're going to talk about why building your brand is critical. And Maha gives some amazing tips and things that you can do right now to start building your brand. We're going to talk about how you can incorporate AI into all of that. We talk about the goods and branding. We go into her book, The Seven Rules of Self-Reliance. Ladies and gentlemen, buckle up.

1:03Get ready for a superstar. I present to you my good friend, Maha Abuelani. You're listening to Mick Unplugged, hosted by the one and only Mick Hunt. This is where purpose meets power and stories spark transformation. Mick takes you beyond the motivation and into meaning, helping you discover your because and becoming unstoppable. I'm Rudy Rush and trust me, you're in the right place. Let's get unplugged.

1:34Maha, how are you doing today, dear? Thank you, Mick. I'm so grateful to be here. Yeah, it's a little bit chilly outside, but it's all relative. It's chilly, but you said it's not chilly, though. No, it's like in the 40s. That's not cold. That's cold to someone from South Carolina. Like we've been in the 40s and like we're bundled up and like you guys are in the 40s in shorts and T-shirts. For t-shirts, yeah. We're like, what? No jacket. I just came back from lunch and I didn't wear a jacket. See? See? I can't live there. I can't live there. Yeah, you can live here. Maha, I'm a huge fan of yours.

2:07Been a huge fan for a long time. Your teachings, your methods, your mindset, your thought leadership is all shaped a large part of who I am in the leadership space. So I just wanted to tell you thank you for being such an amazing human being. Oh, Mick, you're making me blush. Thank you. I'm so grateful. No, I'm the honored one. And you know, on the show, I love to ask people about their because, that thing that's deeper than your why. And it shifts a lot of times. So if I were to say today, in the presence that you're in, what is your because? Why do you continue to do the things that you do and give the way that you give?

2:45I think my because has a lot to do with my upbringing. I feel like life, I always, you know, my mom had MS, my dad had ALS. Both of my parents were very sick for most of my life. I was my mother's caretaker for 22 years. My dad got ALS and died within two years. But it is because of them that I thought, what is my purpose to bring value to other people? And how can I bring, I learned at home, taking care of my parents, especially my dad, when he was very sick, very quickly, what can I do to bring value to him? What's the small thing that becomes the big thing? What's the little thing that I can do to make him feel a little bit better?

3:25And when I created value for my father, I actually created value for myself because I felt a great deal of satisfaction by putting a smile on his face or making his day just a little bit brighter. And I said to myself, huh, I wonder if I can create value for my colleagues at work. I wonder if I can create value for my clients. I wonder if I can create value for the company that I worked for at the time. And that was my because, is I want to do things because I want to create value for people. Because ultimately, if I serve you or if I serve my team or if I serve my clients, that's great. But what it really reflects on is me.

4:04And it makes me feel good. And it makes me feel a sense of satisfaction. I get the value of saying, I did that. I get the value of the confidence it built in me. I get the value of the achievement or the accomplishment that makes me feel like, hey, I can do something that I didn't think I was capable of doing. I get that satisfaction of knowing I helped somebody out. And when you learn to live your life by creating value for other people, it's a pretty good place to live because you are giving more than you're taking and you're really putting multiple deposits and other people's trust banks along your lifetime.

4:43And that feels really good. That's one of the many reasons that I adore you as much as I do. That was so very well said. And I know that it's a pillar of who you are. And it's a part of the core values that you have. You know, I love the fact that you truly believe in helping people communicate with purpose. Talk to us about why that is so important and is a big pillar of who you are as well. Learning how to communicate is not just a nice to have skill, Nick. It is the ultimate leadership skill. If you can learn how to tell a story, you can learn how to connect with others. If you can learn how to tell a story, you can learn how to build a relationship.

5:26If you can tell a story, you can learn how to build the thing that everything needs, everyone needs today more than ever. And that is trust. Being good at communications is not just a nice to have. It's a top leadership skill. How do you connect with your team? How do you communicate with your family members? How do you communicate with people that you work with? How do you show up in the real world? How do you show up online? Being able to articulate who you are and what you stand for is essential. And when we think about the presence of AI, and I was just telling a colleague a minute ago about this photo I saw online and I was sharing it with one of my clients and then I didn't read the fine print that said this is AI.

6:07Like we just, you don't know what to trust. And so you really need to be good at communications to articulate who you are, what you stand for. And the only thing that will help you defend against the on thrust of technology and AI that is shifting our worlds is you investing in your brand and you knowing how to communicate who you are and what you do. That is so powerful. You know, I've been having this communication conversation with a lot of people over the last several weeks. And I even just did a post on LinkedIn that, and I emphasize how, how you communicate is much more important today than what you communicate, right?

6:49And a lot of people miss it. A lot of people try to put themselves in the middle of a message. Like I'm just the messenger. Don't shoot the messenger. or they don't take enough skill development into how to communicate. Because as leaders, everything is not always perfect. We have to communicate sometimes bad news. We have to communicate losses. We have to communicate even the good news. But how you communicate is much more important than what you communicate. What are some tips, Maha, that you could give those that are watching or listening

7:28into how to communicate more effectively or why to put an impetus on how they're communicating? Yeah, so we want to think about how you're communicating. It starts with you. First of all, it's about what you're going to be saying. In order for you to think, how should I do it? You want to be confident in what you're talking about. So start with something simple. What are you already passionate about? What are you already well-versed in that makes it easy for you not to overthink what am I going to say? Because how you do it is by having a conversation, by not overthinking it, by being your authentic self, by talking about something you feel confident in.

8:09That is the easiest way. I don't want you to fake it to your make it. I don't want you to perform. I want you to be yourself. And the easiest way to be yourself is to talk about something you really feel you know very well. And if it's talking about photography or yoga or football, like we did in the beginning of this call, or talking about something you really know very well, then you will come across as someone who really understands the topic. You will bring that confidence. You'll be able to build that trust. So it starts with what is it that you're going to be talking about that you know you feel comfortable doing.

8:46That's so impactful. So powerful as well. And yeah, how you communicate. Like if I want to tell Maha, hey, Maha, I know you love the Vikings. They're just not that good at football. You know, we were having a football conversation and somehow you interjected the Vikings. They don't play football. But it's how you do that, right? I could have just dismissed you, but I didn't. I let you engage. I listened. Even though you tried to bash my team and I'm like, wait, but look at our record. Look at yours. Look at our quarterback. Look at yours. But it's how we did that. Yeah. I think it starts with that kind of being authentic.

9:23Like I'm a sports fan. I love sports. I love football. You guys had an easy record. So that's why your record is so an easy schedule. But I feel like, you know, a lot of times so many people, because I coach a lot of people, I do a lot of workshops and training besides my clients. And it's always like, what should I be talking about? What's my narrative? How do you help me find that? It starts with what you're passionate about. What are you known for? What do people come to you for? Like, there's a couple of questions I can give you to share with your friends. audience to ask themselves. But then it also comes to like, what's the thing that I can do authentically?

9:56Like, do I, am I good at videos? Do I want to talk on video? I don't really want to be on camera. I'm really good at writing. Is that some way for me to do it? Do I not want to do it online at all? How I can do it is in person, one-on-one, small settings. That's where I feel confident. That's where I feel comfortable or going to bigger events. Like you need to find the speed that makes you be comfortable, confident, and consistent. Those are the three C's I always look at. What's the thing you can do to make yourself confident in a situation? How can you be consistent in doing it and making sure that you have that confidence to take it forward in your communications?

10:34I love that. And I love that you want to give insights to the audience as well too. I'm going to dismiss you talking about this easy schedule that we have. You still have to You still have to play the game, but whatever. You've built communication strategies for Titans, Google, Netflix, and many, many others. What's the core element or what's the core element that kind of translates across all of those stories, even into the solopreneur or the person that runs a small team of maybe five to ten? What's the core element? Yeah, so I've worked at these big companies, the ones that you mentioned. I also work with people.

11:11I work with Gary Vee and other major personal brands and CEOs. And the common denominator for all of those people is tell a story that's relevant in culture. The timing of what you talk about has to be relevant to what people are thinking about. So if you're a small business, you have four or five people, what are you doing to take advantage of Small Business Saturday or things that have to do with small businesses or leaning into local culture or local activities or local community. If you are in the sports industry, what are you doing to make sure you're in the relevant conversations during times during the sports calendar?

11:50If you can be relevant in culture and know what people are talking about and find a way to tell your story, it's going to catch on. People are going to see it. It's going to get the visibility and it's going to get the attention you want. The number one thing I would advise All these big companies or these personal brands and other high profile people we work with find a story that can be relevant based on what people are talking about today. Love that. And another thing that I know you coach and teach also is something I'm proud of. I do a lot of work with emotional intelligence and leaders. And the first two pillars of emotional intelligence, right, is self-awareness, self-recognition.

12:34And I know you've written a dynamic book that talks about self-reliance. Yes. I did not know that there were seven rules of self-reliance. But I do want to talk to you about that. one, what was the initial intent of saying, yeah, I'm going to write a book about this? I want to start there. Yeah. I mean, I mean, my whole life, not my whole life, maybe 10 or 15 years, I really wanted to write a book, right? I grew up Egyptian in Minnesota. I lived half my life in the U.S., the other half in Egypt and Dubai. I thought maybe I'll write about being part of both worlds and both cultures. I work in communications.

13:14I've worked with I've worked with 300 secretaries of state for public diplomacy, Google, Netflix, all these tech companies on the forefront of internet and social and all these companies. And I had gone to a publisher many years ago and said, I want to write like not a biography and not a comms book. I want to write like a hybrid thing. And they're like, people don't do that. I'm like, okay, well, that's not my door. I knocked on that door. It wasn't my door. And so I parked the idea of doing the book for a while. And then I came back and I said, what's the thing that could be the most valuable for the audience would be sort of like telling a story of the through line when I had to think about my 30 year career that could bring value to people.

13:51The book is a practical playbook. It is every chapter has reflection exercises and questions because I want you to put the book to work. And the concept of self-reliance is not like, oh, I don't need anybody. I just need to rely on myself. I know everything. It is in fact the opposite. What the book talks about is it starts with you. What are the things you should do to make yourself valuable and powerful so that when you do want to do something, you got it, you own it, you know how to do it. So the seven rules have to do, for example, with a couple of things of, I teach you how to create value for other people.

14:25When you are a value creator, people are going to want you in their lives. People are going to want to keep you close to them because you know how to create value for them. And that's very, very valuable. I teach you how to build your own relationships and network. I can't come to you and make and say, Hey, Mick, you built a lifetime of building all these relationships with these wonderful people. Excuse me, can I borrow those? I need to be self-reliant. I need to rely on myself to know how to build a relationship with you, how to build and nurture that relationship with you, how to grow my network through you, and how to take that relationship to the next level.

14:59And it's a skill that people can learn. And I want everyone to have in their pocket relationships that they own. Another principle of self-reliance is knowing how to build your personal brand. I say treat your reputation like a currency. It is valuable. What's its worth? What's its value? And how do you grow it? It's like money. It is the most precious thing that you can invest in. Your name opens doors. Your name gets you relationships. Your name gets you more money. Your name gives you freedom. Your name gives you all the things if you know how to invest in it. and make sure you have a strong digital reputation.

15:39So when people Google you, they find what you put out there, not what somebody else put on the internet. Like you have to be smart. People are living online. If I Google somebody, I want to make sure what they have there is what they put there. And if not, then I teach them how to improve those search results. How do you build your brand yourself? And again, this isn't about being a social media influencer. It's really about protecting yourself so that opportunities come to you because you were smart about how you built your brand. This is a masterclass right here. There's so many places that I want to go unpack and unplug, but I want to start with where we just were, which is the brand reputation.

16:21Yes. And I think, especially in leaders and in companies, they forget that their personal brand is almost as more important than the business brand because we're in a time now where, yeah, I love Nike. I do a lot of things with Nike, but it's the people that I actually do business with. It just so happens that Nike is a product. And I think we miss that so much as leaders, as entrepreneurs that we think big brand, but we forget who we are as individuals is the most important brand. Can you talk to the viewers and listeners about that? Yeah, 100%. So this is what I do every day, right? So people are so busy doing their jobs, they don't focus on their careers and their brand and their image.

17:10And I think think of it as your behavior or anyone listening, their behavior. People follow people. They don't follow companies. And you build a relationship with the person and that person might leave that company and go somewhere else. I was coaching somebody earlier today, this morning, who had a job for many years and left that job and was like, now what do I do? And I'm like, well, you go to work and you build your personal brand on LinkedIn. Your skills that you had at that company, the secret sauce was you. You brought the effort. You brought the skills. You brought the knowledge. You need to take those skills, package them up, start sharing your insights on social media.

17:49So for example, you would go on LinkedIn and say, take an article that you see, share your hot takes on it, your insights, your point of view. Those insights matter. People want real lived experiences. So if you work at a company today, you need to build your personal brand because that's your reputation. To get a promotion, to get assigned to the good projects, to get a lateral move, to be someone that is a pleasure to work with, that people will recommend. end. If you work at a company, your personal brand is so important within the organization. So people know who you are and what your contributions are.

18:24Now, if you're an entrepreneur or a CEO of a company, or you work at as a, in a startup, you need to build your personal brand because that's the only way you're going to attract investors or attract the right talent or attract the right strategic partner partnership or sponsor. So we are in the business of trust of relationships and your personal brand is the only thing that will carry that for you. I'm over here taking notes because it is so powerful. One of the things that you said, I literally just did a video on and now I'm going to have to maybe not put the video up because I don't want you to think I took it from you, but people follow people.

19:03They don't follow companies. I literally just did a whole message on that too. because I don't think people understand enough the impact of just who they are now. Social media is the new PR. Like you don't, you can be your own publicist today. For sure. You can be your own marketing agency today. You can tell your own story today. And this is where I know you also, I don't throw the term genius and guru out enough, but you are that when it comes to storytelling. Talk to us about how storytelling for yourself is impactful in today's world, too. Yeah, I think like if you are not visible, you are invisible.

19:49And I really just think about that for a second. You really need to make sure that you have a solid LinkedIn profile. if you're not going to be on anything else on social media, to tell stories about what you care about, the work that you do, the insights you see on industry trends. The reason why storytelling is so important is storytelling is what connects us. You know, storytelling is what makes us stop our thumb when we're scrolling on LinkedIn or Instagram or TikTok. Something moved us. Something made us laugh. Something made us react. A headline caught our idea, our attention span. And, you know, think about the olden days.

20:32We used to sit around the campfire and tell stories. That's where we really would really connect with each other. And I think that's the power, you know, of building a relationship and telling that story is you get that way to do that with your audience and with the people that you care about. And I think of my behavior, who are the people that I follow? Why do I follow them? Because they tell stories that are relevant to me, or they tell stories in a way that makes me understand it better, or they deliver it in a way that it's easy to understand. And I feel like in a world where we're real time, we're 24 seven, there's a lot of social media content.

21:07There's a lot of movement in general in the market. Even if you're not online, you feel a little bit inundated. The things that stand apart are the stories that make you listen. And your goal is to tell a story that makes somebody listen. Totally agree. So for everybody that's listening or watching, how is AI impacting that storytelling prowess? And how are you teaching your clients to utilize or not utilize AI? And more importantly, to stay savvy, no pun intended. That is so funny. I am launching actually a course in January about how to build your personal brand using AI, because I feel like people want to know what are the prompts they should use?

21:51What are the frameworks they need and how could they do it fast? We don't have time. And so we need to figure out a way for us to do this and do it fast. And so AI can be really good at helping you structure and scale your stories in ways unimaginable before. And so for anyone who says, I don't have time to work on my personal brand, Let me tell you, there's a fast way to do it. AI can help you. And there's just specific frameworks that you need to learn how to do about who you are, what you want to talk about, and then you can put it into action. I really believe that it's a powerful tool if you can use it in a way that's authentic to you and your voice and what you want to discuss.

22:33And I use it to help structure and scale stories or analyze a lot of data. And, you know, I teach clients about how to use it all the time, but I feel like get in the kitchen, get your hands dirty, start playing around with it. Stop being afraid of it. Stop, stop like using it to do like Google search work and start to really talk to it more and get it to help you and support you in a way. Yeah. I mean, that's the thing you hit on exactly what I tell my clients as well. You're going to have to play around with different things. Yeah. And you're going to have to find the tool that works best for you with everything now.

23:10Video editing, there's 200 new AI software. Copywriting, there's 5 ,000 new software or AI tools that are out there. Creating images and documents, there's a ton of AI software or AI products that are there. but you've got to understand what works best for you because what works best for Maha might not work best for Mick but the end result should be the same right and I think that's what I teach people too like there's no press a button and it's done let me take that back there actually are press a button and it's done but it won't be authentically you and that's where it has to be trained on you developed by you so that it can think and get the output that you want and I I think there are people that will take the lazy method and you and I can sense that and see that really quickly.

23:58I can tell when someone didn't think about it, they just they had a I build something and it's not them. And it's like, OK, I'm not working with that person. Yeah. And here's one thing. I heard someone say it. I did a workout class about a month ago and it was like a 90 minute or 75 minute endurance class. I'm like, what am I doing here? I can't do this class. And the beginning of the class, the teacher said, it's not hard, it's new. And that stuck with me. And so when we think about AI and learning how to use a new tool or learning how to use a new app or learning something that we never think that we can take it on or understand it, I want you to say to yourself, it's not hard, it's just new.

24:44Amen to that. Amen to that. So back to seven rules of self-reliance. Yes. Where can people buy and get a copy of this book? Because it's game changing. Yeah. Thank you. It's on Amazon. It's available at Barnes and Noble, any of your book retailers that you go to. But Amazon is the fastest way. They'll deliver it and everything in no time. All right. So I'm going to make sure I have links to all the places and obviously support in your local bookstores as well, too. Go to your local bookstores, see if it's there. If it's not there, ask for it, demand it. That all helps authors. I promise you. I promise you.

25:23So Maha, before I get you out of here with my rapid fire, quick five, where can people find and follow you? And what are some things, I know you talk about a course that you have, like what are ways that people can actually work with you or hire you as well? Yeah. So I'm at Maha Gabber, which is my middle name, M-A-H-A-G-A-B-E-R, or go to my website, which is my first name, last name.com. Please join this online course. It's game changing. I'm going to do it in four sessions and I'll do live sessions for the first one. It's an online course, how to build your personal brand fast using AI. It's a perfect way to start your January sign up.

25:59Uh, we'll be on my website, maha.com. I'll have links to that as well. Everybody, please make sure you join, um, do Maha a favor. And when you do connect with her, let her know that you connected through the make unplug podcast that helps both of us just making sure that that we know that the Patriots are the best team in football and okay okay we're getting oh please hit me up on Twitter or on Instagram and say I listen to you on Mick I'd love your feedback on this episode and then I'll also share with Mick that we connected okay Patriots Drake May I can't deny they're a good team it's about time you admitted that you know that's good I will self-reliance is looking in the mirror and saying our quarterback is garbage.