I will never forget the third Wednesday of October 2012. I was getting ready to leave for my sister in laws engagement (which was to take place in Minnesota), but still had a lot of work that needed to get done prior to my departure. I stepped into the hotel (I was the Director of HR of a world-class brand at the time) and something just didn’t feel right. I took pride in the fact that I was in love with my job so much, that my identity as a person was attached to it. My entire sense of being was linked to the fact that “I was the Director of HR of a renowned hotel.”
However, in October of 2012 my entire sense of being and existence was dismantled. To paint a vivid picture, my boss at the time (he had only been in the role for a few months) came to visit me in my office (a rare occurrence), and in a typical heartless fashion, quickly and quietly informed me that my Human Resources Department was being eliminated and that my services were no longer required. To be honest, everything he said thereafter was a blur. All I could think about was for the past 7 years, I had dedicated my entire existence to this job. I had sacrificed my social life, time away from my family, and my own well-being for the hotel and its employees. And now, my thanks for all my years of service, was a nicely gift-wrapped envelope that he had placed in my hands as I sat there in complete shock and awe.
As of this moment, I can honestly say that I have yet to fully recover from this moment that rocked my world. I will spare you the details, but I will share with you the fact that I did go into a very dark place; one that I hope no one ever must endure (and a key reason why I created this guide and organization). However, the good news is that I did manage to put myself together again, but it was a long and painful journey. I read every self-help book, watched countless hours of inspirational videos on youtube and engaged with countless experts, to figure out “at my core” why I was feeling SO miserable over the loss of a job and how could I move forward?
This search-finding escapade lead me to the following conclusion: My identity was tied to my job, and when this was lost, I felt as though I had lost myself. The sad truth is that, who we are as people is not defined by what we do for a living. Therefore, the goal became to search for who I truly was as a person and for what would make me feel alive that was in direct alignment with who I was as a person. But how does one even begin this journey?
I consider myself lucky that due to my circumstances, I was forced to go on this journey, but it was still not easy to re-connect with myself and truly understand what my purpose in life was. The sad reality is that most of the world’s workforce is “dead.” 78% are disengaged with their jobs and in the hospitality industry, it’s no different, in fact, it might be worse. Now, don’t get me wrong, the best industry to work for is hospitality; The life skills you learn are universal and the lessons you take will last a lifetime. However, if not prepared, one can lose who they truly are (like me) and this is the sole reason why our organization was created: to engage all hospitality professionals to achieve long term fulfilling success by discovering what they are truly meant to do! Please join our community in this pursuit as we revolutionize the mindset of the hospitality industry!
DOES MY STORY RESINATE WITH YOU? I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR STORY. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH ME!
Please join us in our pursuit to engage all hospitality professionals/organizations in achieving long term fulfilling success by discovering what they are truly meant to do.
We would love to hear your thoughts on our content and would very much appreciate any thoughts and suggestions on future material.
Mohamed Meghji
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