IAM2556 – Motivational Speaker and Coach Ignites Leaders to Unleash Their Full Potential

Soulaima Gourani is a globally recognized entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker known for her bold insights on leadership, the future of work, and personal reinvention.

With accolades from the World Economic Forum, UN Women, and TED, Soulaima now focuses on preparing women for the future of work through Women Reignite, aiming to help 60 million women transition away from jobs at risk of automation.

She emphasizes the importance of taking full responsibility for your career, urging aspiring entrepreneurs to commit fully rather than straddling the line between employment and entrepreneurship.

Soulaima uses her “5Fs” model—Family, Finance, Fun, Future-proof, and Fitness as a strategic decision-making tool, helping her align daily actions with long-term goals both personally and professionally.

Soulaima also highlights the importance of trusting your inner voice, sharing that in her early days, she wasted too much time seeking others’ opinions instead of following her instincts.

Website: Soulaima Gourani

LinkedIn: Soulaima Gourani, E-MBA

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Soulaima Gourani Teaser 00:00

So, I'm very focused on future of work. I have a great passion for finding out what we're going to make, what kind of jobs that we're going to have in the future.

And I'm associated with the World Economic Forum as an expert of future skills. And my next book is out in September in Scandinavia, not in the US, but in Scandinavia, on how to design your life.

And right now, I have a great, great passion for building a community called Women Reignite. It's a company, and I decided to start focusing on women and prepare them for the future of work.

Intro 00:34

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 01:01

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 Soulaima Gourani of Women Reignite. Soulaima, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Soulaima Gourani 01:10

And thank you for inviting me. It's a great honor.

Gresham Harkless 01:13

No problem, super excited to have you on and wanted to read a little bit more about Soulaima so we can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing.

Soulaima is a motivational speaker, philanthropist, and author with many years of approximately 200-plus global talks per year.

Soulaima advises major companies on topics such as sales and service and customer loyalty, strategic relationships, building and change management, employee motivation, and the future of business.

In March 2012, Soulaima was selected as one of the 192 management leaders by the World Economic Forum.

In 2012, she was recognized as one of the 20 most business-minded people in the Nordic countries by Nordic Business Forum.

Soulaima has received a number of prestigious awards, including Rising Stars in Talent in 2004, Top 100 Talent in Europe in 2004, 40 under 40 in 2013, and Nordic 20 Thinkers in a Women Economics Influencer Award in 2015.

She was also chosen as a UN Women Advisory Ambassador in 2015, and in 2016 was appointed by the TED Talks as mentor to the speakers. In 2017, Top 100 Women in Media.

In 2019, she was appointed to the Copenhagen Goodwill Ambassador. Today, she resides in Palo Alto, California, where she continues to advise American leaders and entrepreneurs and companies and leaders in areas such as strategy, management, leadership, and as an online coach and mentor.

Soulaima, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

Soulaima Gourani 02:43

Yes, that's true. That's my recipe. It's impressive, right?

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Gresham Harkless 02:46

Exactly. You're rocking and rolling, definitely.

Soulaima Gourani 02:50

Yeah, I never feel that I rock and roll, really. When you read up my resume, I always feel like, oh my god, did I really receive all those rewards?

Because I don't feel like a rewarded person. I just really go do my work every day, right? But it's nice to listen to, and I feel a moment of pride.

But two seconds after, I'm back working again. When you get these rewards and those prizes, it's a big honor, but it's only worth something for a few seconds, and then you should just move on and do something better, right? Keep improving yourself.

Gresham Harkless 03:28

Exactly, no, that makes perfect sense. And I always feel like a lot of people that are accomplishing and rocking and rolling, as I say, a lot of times it's just because you're staying present in the exact day and time and taking care of what you need to take care of.

And when you look back, a lot of times those things start to build into a lot of the words that you have as well.

So, I wanted to go back a little bit and hear a little bit more on what got you started on your entrepreneurial journey and what I call your CEO story.

Soulaimi Gourani 03:55

I was actually, it started with a strategy. I was laid off in 2007, and I happened to be pregnant. I know that is not legal, but that happened. It happens to a lot of women.

It's just a fact. And I decided that I would never be in a position ever again where anyone would be able to fire me. I needed a different kind of security in my life now, becoming a mom.

So, I started my consultant business. Everyone who has a core competence of some kind can start a consulting business. That's not so complicated.

But what I didn't know, little did I know that now many many years after, 11 years later. I have a business that is operating in 35 countries so but it started it started out with being actually a sad beginning because I had to make money, and it was not my passion.

I just needed a paycheck so that was my that was the beginning and today I run four companies and I'm on the board of I don't know how many companies but it started out by yeah, I simply needed to make a living, and I knew what I was good at, and I was good in advising people on sales.

So many people have many great ideas, but they don't know how to get them to do the selling, and I'm good at that, so I was for rent.

You could rent me, and I could advise you on how to get your stuff sold, and I did that, and I did that for many years, and I still do that, and I still love my job, but it started simply with, yeah, I needed a paycheck.

Gresham Harkless 05:28

Yeah, it's always tough to hear when things like that happen, but it's great to hear people like you that are able to kind of have your quote unquote kind of back against the wall.

But you're able to kind of create and build something that's helped out sounds like yourself, obviously, and your family, but also loads of other people as well as you're able to help them build their businesses.

Soulaima Gourani 05:45

I'm one of those women that I had two choices in my life, I can either sit and wait for someone to find me. Offer me a job, hire me, or I could simply just take the destiny in my own hands and build my own career.

And I grew up in a very white community, Moroccan Danish, and with my name, Soulaima Gourani, that's not a very, it's a very rare name.

And even though that I wrote hundreds of applications, I'm not that kind of person who get interviewed, I don't get jobs, so me being laid off me not being hired by anyone was really my burning platform.

And so, I would say thank you everyone who didn't want to hire me because they pushed me in that direction that I am on now, meaning I never considered to being actually employed anywhere.

I mean, I'm not considering anyone to come and rescue me, I'm on my own, and the moment you make that decision can be a good decision because then you stop hoping and you stop thinking that someone else will come and rescue you.

The only way I can make sure that I can pay my bills every month is to keep being the best, keep having great employees, happy employees, and very satisfied clients.

That is the three only things that I can do to make a lifelong career, actually. It's brutal, but that's just how it is. And I think more women and more men should draw a line in the sand and just make a decision.

Do you want to be CEO? Do you want to be self-employed? Or do you want to be employed? And make that decision and stop flirting with both worlds.

You know what I mean? Close the door or open the door. Either or. Make a decision and make it your best decision.

Gresham Harkless 07:31

Absolutely. There's a saying or quote that I always, you know, remember, tell myself is if you want to take the island, you have to burn the boat.

So, you have to make sure that there's no other way to do it. And a lot of times, if you are kind of in the middle, you will try to go back, or you won't go as far out as you could.

So, I appreciate you for doing it yourself, but also for empowering and helping others to do it as well, too.

Soulaima Gourani 07:54

But you know, being a CEO is a big responsibility, and I think a lot of people think, they mistakenly think that it's easy to be employed and that there is any safety going with an employment.

That being said, I know in the U.S. that healthcare benefits does matter, does really matter. I started out in Denmark, it's different because you have welfare, you have security, free education, and healthcare.

So, you will never be completely lost in the system. But now I live in the U.S. on the same conditions as any American, any person listening to this podcast. I'm here on the very same ticket like anyone else, right? And that burning platform does not scare me.

And if you're not afraid of having that huge responsibility for yourself, for your family, and for people, if you sleep well at night, then you have that DNA that is needed to create a good business, right?

And I really encourage more people to start thinking about creating their own businesses because we need more people to create jobs. We need less people to look for jobs. And the unemployment rate is so low right now.

But, in just a few years, a lot of jobs will disappear and will be taken over by robots, artificial intelligence, software, and we need to create new services and new industries.

So, we need many, many more people who dare to live out the entrepreneurial DNA that they have inside them.

Gresham Harkless 09:18

Absolutely. That makes perfect sense. And I guess, could you tell us a little bit, I know you touched on a little bit about some of the things that you're doing to help support the clients and what you feel kind of makes you or your organization unique?

Soulaima Gourani 09:27

So, I'm very focused on future of work. I have a great passion for finding out, you know, what we're going to make, what kind of jobs that we're going to have in the future. And I'm associated with the World Economic Forum as an expert of future skills.

And my next book is out in September in Scandinavia, not in the US, but in Scandinavia, on how to design your life.

And right now, I have a great, great passion for building a community called Women Reignite. It's a company, and I decided to start focusing on women and prepare them for the future of work because, honestly speaking, men and women will be impacted by the future of work.

But most women have jobs that are kind of, in bigger danger than men because they have like those routine jobs that can easily be automated.

So, I've decided to help 60 million women over the next three years to prepare them for the future of work.

And I think that's my greatest passion right now, that is to make sure that women and teenagers, female workers, get into the future in a good way.

So, I think my greatest value right now is that I might be indirectly responsible for people not being unemployed. I kind of like that.

Gresham Harkless 10:46

Definitely, and I'm sure they like it as well, as obviously work is a big part of life, and like you mentioned, the future of work is coming, no matter if you're ready for it or not, it's coming.

So, I appreciate you for preparing yourself and preparing so many people, and so many companies and organizations for that as well.

So, I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack, and this might be an app, a book, or a habit that you have, or even your own book you wanna touch more on, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Soulaima Gourani 11:15

So first of all, I've identified my five values, and those five values are really making sure that I always stay on path, how I spend my time, energy, resources, competences, and money, right?

And first of all, I call it my 5F model. So, I always make sure whatever I decide to do or not to do, how does it impact my family? How does it impact my financial situation?

And then, is it fun? I need to have a little bit of fun in my life. If I never laugh or have fun, then I just die.

And then it has to be future-proof. So, whatever I do should impact the future positively. And then the last F is actually a little bit ridiculous, but it's nevertheless one of the most important things. And that is fitness. That's my last F. I need to stay healthy.

Gresham Harkless 12:08

Nice. I definitely appreciate that. And yes, it's good to hear it's not just me. They get so overwhelmed by so many opportunities, you see, but you can't kind of do everything.

And I love the fact that you have, you know, those five F's because a lot of times, you think success is just one aspect, but if you're not healthy, no matter how successful you are, you may not be able to get enjoyed.

So, to be able to kind of put it through that framework, you can kind of have that somewhat balance to make sure that you are successful in those different aspects, which all add up into being success.

And now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice. Or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Soulaima Gourani 12:43

What would I say? So, first of all, I would trust myself. I've had too much self-doubt. I have been having an issue with trusting my own judgmental state of mind. I have been asking too many people about their opinions.

It can be mentors or sponsors, and there's nothing wrong with that. But at some point, the only one who can make a decision is you.

So, I should have stopped asking people about their opinions earlier. I mean, I should just have trusted my own my own sense of business.

I know that I have a good quality in terms of finding good people to hire and good clients, and I know how to run a business. I shouldn't have spent so much time running around asking people for advice because, you know what? In the end, for you to be successful with your own business, you know what that is?

That is actually how you spend your time. You only have 24 hours a day, and if you spend those 24 hours wrongly, you can never, never, never get those hours back.

And most people are successful not because they have the greatest idea, but because they're good at spending their time wisely, they focus, they execute, they keep on track. They make good decisions.

I should not have asked so many people for advice. I should have chosen maybe one, maybe two, maybe three people only, and I should have kept them as my closest advisors instead of asking so many people.

I was so insecure in the beginning, and when you ask people, you get 10,000s of different advice, and what is the good advice then?

So, I think that will be, that's my key lesson. I don't know why I didn't trust myself in the beginning.

I do that now. I meditate, I just sit down, I close my eyes, and I say, so make a decision, make a decision.

And now I make decisions. I mean, every moment I make decisions, and most of them are actually good decisions, but I listen to myself.

Gresham Harkless 14:30

Nice. I definitely appreciate that. And yes, that's something that, you know, it's always hard to do, especially if you're trying to do something unique, but it's great to hear, you would tell your younger business off that. And it was a great reminder for us as well.

And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is my definition of what your definition of what it means to be a CEO.

And we're hoping to have different quote unquote CEOs on this show. And I know you touched on it a little bit, but what does being a CEO mean to you?

Soulaima Gourani 14:52

It's being responsible. I think that what it means. I'm responsible for people's paycheck. I'm responsible for the success of my clients. So, I would say responsible.

I mean, if you don't like responsibility, then don't become a CEO because you are responsible.

And no matter what happens, no matter what happens, you will always be the one to blame, but never the one to sell. You know, you're never going to be the one that people celebrate completely, right?

You will celebrate your team if it goes well. You celebrate your employees, but when you fail, it's always you that gets the pointed fingers at.

So, I would say, if you don't like the responsibility, then don't be a CEO because you will never get fully the honor, but you will always be blamed.

Gresham Harkless 15:36

Absolutely. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And I truly appreciate your time, Soulaima. What I want to do is pass you the mic just to see how best people can find out about all the awesome things that you're doing and get ahold of you.

Soulaima Gourani 15:47

Yeah, at Soulaima.com. I believe I'm the only one in the U.S. with that name. It's S-O-U-L-A-I-M-A.com, and that's my homepage, and there you can read much more about my books and my talks and my Women Reignite, and everything.

Gresham Harkless 16:02

Awesome, awesome, awesome. We'll make sure to have those links in the show notes as well, just so everybody can click through and see all the awesome things you're doing, but I appreciate your time, and I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Soulaima Gourani 16:11

Yeah, and thank you for having me on your show. Thank you so much.

Outro 16:13

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 at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase; it's a community.

Check out the latest and greatest apps, books, and habits to level up your business at CEOhacks.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.

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