Maha Abouelenein: The Power of Self-Reliance

12 snips

Mar 26, 2025

Maha Abouelenein, a communications and branding expert with a remarkable background at Google and Netflix, shares her inspiring journey from Minnesota to the Middle East. She emphasizes self-reliance and value creation as keys to her exceptional career. In her insights, she explores the complexities of personal branding, the importance of overcoming imposter syndrome, and fostering meaningful connections. Maha also discusses her book's principles for success, highlighting reputation as a vital currency and the transformative power of authentic storytelling.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Maha's Remarkable Journey

Maha Abouelenein's career journey spans from small-town Minnesota to international communications roles.
Her path included working as a secretary to a billionaire, leading communications for Google and Netflix in the Middle East, and advising the ruler of Dubai.

ADVICE

Focus on Value Creation

Focus on creating value and performing your current role effectively.
This builds a foundation for future opportunities and demonstrates your capabilities.

INSIGHT

Self-Reliance as Empowerment

Self-reliance is about developing skills and resources to handle challenges independently.
It emphasizes personal responsibility and proactivity, not isolationism.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Can a secretary to a billionaire become his business partner and go on to lead communications for Google and Netflix in the Middle East? Maha Abouelenein proves that with self-reliance and value creation, extraordinary paths unfold. Born in Minnesota but building her career across Egypt and Dubai, Maha shares her journey from small-town America to international communications maven. Her book Influence reveals seven powerful principles for career success, including "stay low, keep moving" and "think of your reputation as currency." Discover how creating value without expecting immediate returns built her remarkable career spanning Weber Shandwick, Google, Netflix, and advising the ruler of Dubai. Maha's insights on personal branding, overcoming imposter syndrome, and making yourself indispensable offer a masterclass in authentic relationship building that works in any culture or industry.

---

Guy Kawasaki is on a mission to make you remarkable. His Remarkable People podcast features interviews with remarkable people such as Jane Goodall, Marc Benioff, Woz, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Bob Cialdini. Every episode will make you more remarkable.

With his decades of experience in Silicon Valley as a Venture Capitalist and advisor to the top entrepreneurs in the world, Guy’s questions come from a place of curiosity and passion for technology, start-ups, entrepreneurship, and marketing. If you love society and culture, documentaries, and business podcasts, take a second to follow Remarkable People.

Listeners of the Remarkable People podcast will learn from some of the most successful people in the world with practical tips and inspiring stories that will help you be more remarkable.

Episodes of Remarkable People organized by topic: https://bit.ly/rptopology

Listen to Remarkable People here: **https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/guy-kawasakis-remarkable-people/id1483081827**

Like this show? Please leave us a review -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

Thank you for your support; it helps the show!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.