Jamila discusses her journey from Azerbaijan to becoming a global ambassador for etiquette and cultural understanding.
She shares her unique approach to etiquette that goes beyond traditional norms, emphasizing respect for cultural differences, and personal development. Jamila also delves into her methods of working with clients globally through private sessions and online platforms, including YouTube and Patreon.
She highlights the importance of consistency, time management, and the mindset shift from dreaming to doing.
This episode offers valuable perspectives on etiquette, cultural appreciation, and the balance between upholding traditions and embracing modern values.
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Full Interview:
Transcription:
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Jamila Musayeva Teaser 00:00
So I really want to bring this softness to etiquette and make people realize that etiquette is not just about how you sit and how you talk and how you, but it's more than that.
It is loving respecting cultures. It is understanding traditions and customs of other people.
Intro 00:13
Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of.
This is the I AM CEO podcast.
Gresham Harkless 00:42
Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. And I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Jamila Musayeva. Jamila, super excited to have you on the show.
Jamila Musayeva 00:51
Thanks Gresh for having me on the show.
Gresham Harkless 00:54
Yes. I'm super excited to have you on to talk about all the awesome things that you're doing.
And of course, before we jump in, I want to read a little bit more about Jamila so you can hear about all those awesome things. And Jamila is a certified etiquette expert and summa cum laude graduate in international affairs from George Washington University. She is a three-time author and YouTube creator focusing on international etiquette based in Azerbaijan.
Jamila was raised in a culturally rich environment. She is fluent in six languages and obtained her master's degree in European political and administrative studies from the College of Europe, Belgium. Jamila conducts private and group workshops on etiquette and personal development in both Azerbaijan and internationally.
She consistently posts her new videos on YouTube for her nearly 1 million subscribers and she creates monthly etiquette review videos of different films for her paid Patreon community. Jamila's mission is to foster open-mindedness, cultural appreciation, and a balance between progressive living and preserving traditions, establishing her as a global ambassador for etiquette and cultural understanding.
And like I mentioned, when I read her bio, Jamila has close to a million. People all over YouTube, and she provides so much valuable content, including etiquette, self-development, and even motivation. And one of the things that really stuck with me as I was preparing for this is she said that etiquette teaches us about cultural and traditional differences and how to respect those differences.
And it's about awareness and Respect. So Jamila, excited to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?
Jamila Musayeva 02:24
Absolutely. Great. Thank you so much for such a lovely introduction. I was stunned by how you've introduced me, but that's so sweet of you. And so lovely. Thank you so much.
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Gresham Harkless 02:33
Yes, absolutely.
What are you doing? So many phenomenal things. I know I definitely wanted to make sure that highlight you as much as possible, but I guess before we jump into all you're doing, all the impact that you're making, let's rewind the clock a little bit here, a little bit more on how you got started, what I call your CEO story.
Jamila Musayeva 02:47
The story really started if I'm going really, really back from where I really started is I was born and raised in Azerbaijan from early age on. I was exposed to multicultural community, super diverse living here. We. Meet and live with a lot of people from different nations, different cultures, different religions.
I was early on exposed to different languages. So I was really interested in cultures and learning about people around the world, their customs, traditions, and just living in general. And I also traveled a lot with my parents growing up. So, when I was 16, I moved to us to pursue international relations degree in George Washington University, as you said, in an instruction.
And so, for years of my life, I lived in the U. S. and Washington, D. C. area and there, when I was studying international relations, I was also exposed to etiquette classes that was offered by Washington School of Etiquette so early on. Starting from living in Azerbaijan, I was exposed to etiquette at home, but also going in university.
I was always surrounded somehow with things around etiquette. I also had a lot of international friends. I did a lot of courses in different languages. So, at core, at my heart, the interest was always in learning more about cultures and learning more about traditions. And so. Then I moved to Europe and I did my master's degree in Belgium, which is very different from us.
So I lived in Belgium for a year again in a very multicultural, very international master's degree school where I had, all the students from all over the world, mostly Europe, though, and I was exposed to again. Now, the European part of living European kind of living. And so coming back to Azerbaijan and then working here at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, me.
I was always surrounded with diplomats. I was surrounded with young minds, young, talented people. And part of what I did is I did courses on etiquette, but I wasn't certified to do it. It was just part of what I taught as a part of, soft skill development, self-development. And so then I decided to get a degree in that.
And I went to London. I got my degree in international etiquette. And ever since coming back, I decided that's all I want to do in life. I want to teach etiquette because I I think it's such an underestimated subject in schools and universities, but it really makes a huge difference as the art of living.
It is something that will make you stand out from the pool of other applicants around the world that where you have all the same credentials, all the same skill sets you graduate from the same universities, same degrees, same grades, but the only thing that really makes you stand out from the crowd is the way you present yourself and that's what etiquette is all about.
Gresham Harkless 05:16
Nice. I absolutely love that. So I know you touched on a little bit, but I want to drill down a little bit more here a little bit more on how you're working with and serving your clients.
I know you have your YouTube courses, but can you take us through a little bit more on what that looks like?
Jamila Musayeva 05:29
So I work a lot with private clients for For the nondisclosure agreements that I cannot name, most of my clients are based in Middle East as well as Asia. Also, often travel to London and us where either I work with companies or personal clients that I work over a course of a couple of days.
It could be a workshop for a week. And then nowadays, I also have switched to a lot online working. So, it's either YouTube is 1 of the ways that I'm teaching patron with paid community. Is that a way of teaching? And also, I. I host individual classes over zoom or Google needs where I meet clients based on their needs.
So one day I can be approached about I'm giving a public speech can help me present myself in the best light. Another day it could be, I'm going for a formal date with my in laws. Can you please prepare me for that dinner? So it's really depends on, it's very client tailored. It's not really a course that they can fulfill online, but it's rather addressing an issue at hand and just tailoring their needs and preparing the course according to that.
Yeah. That is online, but off person, of course, I have a course that's called Business Etiquette. There's a course on Social Etiquette. There's a course on table manners. So in person, it's much more easier to do these courses rather than online. So online is really nitpicking your issues and working with those issues.
Gresham Harkless 06:44
Nice. It sounds like you meet people where they are and you'd be able to help solve, whatever potential issues probably even provide greater awareness on what could happen and what you need to be aware of, which is it was huge.
So I wanted to ask you what you would consider to be what I like to call your secret sauce.
This could be for yourself and business, a combination of both. But what do you feel sets you apart and makes you unique?
Jamila Musayeva 07:03
I think I I would say a couple of things. I think the fact that I am very progressive and modern. So, I am Muslim, but I'm a new, I guess I wouldn't say a new, but that's the way I perceive religion to myself.
So I'm more spiritual than I'm ritualistic or religious. So I am more perhaps liberal than many Muslims would be. But at the same time, I am practicing Islam. So I think I have this image of a person who is very progressive in a lot of cases, but I'm also very traditionalist. And I think it confuses people because when they meet me and see me in person, and then they get to know me, it's usually a clash of image versus the inner world.
And I'm trying to show the world that you don't have to be either or, as we mentioned before, you can be both. Why can't you also be traditionalist and a lot of things hold up certain values in your life, but still be modern in the way you dress in the way you live your life in the way that you want a career growth.
You want, personal freedom, you want expression, but at the same time, you value certain things like family, parents, hierarchy in the family in terms of respect to elders and so on. So, of course, these are things that are entrenched in me. Through my culture. I wouldn't say it's a religion, but it's the culture that I was brought up with.
And I love those aspects. And at the same time, I think I'm just trying to shatter a lot of stereotypes when it comes to etiquette experts. There's a certain image of how it should look like and a lot of them just imagine women in pearls, very strict. There are only certain rules like there are laws, but for me, I'm all for kindness, respect.
So there are many rules that you can play, but there are no rules for learning to. Respect humanity, certain rules are there to know, and you can play by them, but there are sometimes when you can break those rules. But the only way to break rules is when you actually know the rules. So I really want to bring this softness to etiquette and make people realize that etiquette is not just about how you sit and how you talk and how you, but it's more than that.
It is loving respecting cultures. It is understanding traditions and customs of other people. It is learning how to behave at an intercultural level. National intercultural events or places. So it's really about building that kindness from within that comes through knowledge of things. So that would be my story.
Gresham Harkless 09:14
Awesome. I love that. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack.
So this could be like an Apple book or even a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?
Jamila Musayeva 09:26
Oh, absolutely. I think it's time management is the way I get things scheduled. I'm a mother of two. I have a nine-year-old and a six-year-old. They're still very young to manage their own schedules.
So I'm also responsible for their schedules as well. I don't have a personal assistant that would. Take over my personal schedule. So I schedule my own things. I have people that work with me that helped me get collaborations and things like that. But I'm in charge of managing my own day to day schedule.
So, I think that the most important hack that I've learned, and that's. Very true is your tag, your task or your work extends the amount of time that you allocate for it. So if you tell yourself, I have only an hour to work out, you will have that hour to work out. If you just write workout, it might take two, three hours to work out, or the same goes like meet friend for coffee.
If you allocate immense amount of time, its going to stretch out for that amount of time. So, in order to be efficient, I just schedule things in and I write, for example, work out an hour called this much. And so then, when I go through the list, I've completed everything and managed to get everything done and it's not really about the intensity of what I do in terms of workouts or writing, but it's about consistency.
So, even if I can't write. I don't know, 30 pages a day. I make sure that I write a paragraph or 2 every day. So that skill gets polished every single day. Same goes with workouts and goes with, polishing my language skills and anything that I do. So, for me, it's all about regularity, consistency over intensity and making things.
Scheduled and allocating time for those. I think that's it.
Gresham Harkless 10:59
Yeah, I absolutely love that. So what would you consider to be your answer to one of my absolute favorite questions, which is the CEO nugget. So this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice. I often say it might be something you would tell your favorite client, or if you happen to a time machine, you might tell your younger self.
Jamila Musayeva 11:13
I always use this code and I think that's the one that has really got me started with everything that I have now. And that is. I read this quote a long time ago and really got me started and it said, choose one day or day one. And to me, it was just like, so simple, just 4 letters, 4 words, and what it essentially says is you can really choose is this your day 1 of something or day Is it just one day, oftentimes we just wish or dream to get something done.
And it's Oh, one day I'm going to go to the gym or one day I'm going to start a YouTube channel. One day I'm going to have my own company. It's when I'm going to be ready for this is when I'm going to have a X, Y, and Z, but like truth is we're never ready for anything. And so it's up to you to decide for yourself, if it's one day that you are going to have it, Or it's day one of you taking actions toward the goal that you intend to have.
And I was the person that was a dreamer before that was so perfectionist in a lot of things. And I could, I always thought I'm not ready enough. I am not good enough. I'm not ready at this point. I don't have the skillset to start. And then. I did when I saw this quote, and then I thought, okay it's either today or it's just never.
And that really changed my perspective and so many things. And it was just around the time of covert. And I think will be taught us all that, planning that 1 day. I'm going to travel. No 1 day. The world can shut down and you will not be able to travel. So, if you want to travel to day 1, same goes, not just about traveling anything in life.
Gresham Harkless 12:37
I definitely appreciate that because I think so many times we don't realize the difference between one day and day one and how powerful it is because I think it speaks directly to the journey.
So what would be your answer to my absolute favorite question, the definition of what it means to be a CEO and our goal is to have different clinical CEOs on the show. So Jamila, what does being a CEO mean to you?
Jamila Musayeva 12:57
It's very hard for me to say, because I think I'm very interesting kind of a CEO, but I guess these days is a more common kind of CEO, which is I'm my own boss, but I'm also my own employee. So, I can't really, it's I'm the boss, but I'm also the one that has to do the work. So I really don't get a day off.
I don't get a days when I can just not do anything because I'm my own brands. I'm my own employee. So it's very demanding. It is, it has no mercy in terms of no one. You don't, you can't have a sick day because you can't technically if you have a pre-recorded or pre-done a lot of material beforehand, but you really can't delegate it to someone else because you're in charge of filming.
You're in charge of doing your, etiquette reviews, etiquette classes. So, for now, I'm the only person in my company. I do have a videographer. I do have an editor, but that is already the material that gets filmed, but I am the actress, so to speak of my own movie. So I have to show up, but there are, of course, a lot of perks to it.
Because the amount of creativity that I can explore is. Human, there's no one can tell me that's no, no, there's no way you can try this out. I can try anything that I have set my mind to. I have the flexibility of working on my own. I have days again, when I am scheduling, I have three things coming that day.
But then, as I mentioned earlier, when we're talking before the recording, I had two different shoes today and now podcast. So my day was really long today, but then on the other day, I can just. I want to make sure that I don't have anything because I want to spend time with my kids, or I want to delegate this as a family time.
So it's really gives me that flexibility, but again, as I said with these, you have to be very, very strict with yourself schedule your things because you really don't have anyone to check on you. Just yourself. So you have to be a little bit harsh on yourself as well, because if you are not, then there is no one to check on you and tell you, you have to push, you have to do better.
You have to do more. So you're your own boss, but also you're your own employee. And I guess my CEO is also my CEO role has so many different responsibilities that it comes from doing descriptions in my YouTube tags to envisioning what my next two, three months will look like. And I love it because I think it gives me perspective of All different things that I could be doing.
And also I realized that maybe one day when my company grows to become a bigger one, I will know every single GT that anyone is doing because once I used to do that, so it really gives me a better idea of how the job looks like and what the requirements are and also what kind of demands I can make on them.
Gresham Harkless 15:29
Yeah, I appreciate you so much. So truly Appreciate that definition. And of course I appreciate your time even more. So what I wanted to do now was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know.
And of course, how best people can get a view, find about the YouTube, the books, the courses, the one on one coach, all the awesome things that you're doing.
Jamila Musayeva 15:49
They can find me on YouTube. I have a channel there called Gemula Musaiba and as well on my website. You can watch them at your leisurely time and you can also join my patron community where there is a book club and there's also a movie club where I do Etiquette analysis of movies as well as I publish summaries of the books that I read on a monthly basis, just to give you a nitpick of what the book is about and you can just either read my summary or go ahead and buy the book and read the whole thing.
[Gresham Harkless 16:16
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Jameela. I truly appreciate that. So thank you so much for doing that and hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.
Jamila Musayeva 16:22
Thank you so much, Resh. I hope you have a great one too.
Outro 16:25
Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast, powered by CB Nation and Blue 16 media. Tune in next time and visit us iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community.
Want to level up your business even more? Read blogs, listen to podcasts, and watch videos at cbnation.co. Also, check out our I AM CEO Facebook group. This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.
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