The spirituality of being a CEO

Well, you can be spiritual being anything in any form for sure.

Why spirituality while being a CEO? Well as one, it struck me how much of the content, insight, knowledge, information, and opinions that I consume from globally renowned leaders like Sinek, Sharma, Vaynerchuck, Corcoran, Nooyi, Robbins, Graziosi, Jobs, Hill, and so many others, talk about the spirituality of discipline, self-belief, manifestation, deep desire, and the same 24 hours that we all have.

The spirituality of discipline, self-belief, manifestation, hard work, and deep desire will never be discounted or argued. They are the metal of the motherboard for your success. But success in spirituality is the idea that these things yield different results of versions of success for everyone. The achievement of this success in everyday life is directed by a component that we all own, have a measure of - precious precious time. The constant is time. The uncertain is the ability for us to achieve given any number of factors at any given moment. In those moments, there is a time for the 'certains' - brushing your teeth, cooking, parking the car, taking an Uber, ordering food, picking up the kids, typing a message; you get the picture - you live the picture.

As I grow on this journey of being a leader, I'm often in conflict with myself and the leaders I'm listening to about understanding their concept of the constant we have. Time. We don't all have the same 24 hours. Sure the discipline to drive the same 24 hours is available to us all. But that does not mean our lives are built to live those 24 hours. You can make choices to burn the boats and cut off people, stop cooking, wear the same t-shirt every day and just do deep work. Work is considered a form of mediation - sometimes. I know this as a workaholic. But. When I look at myself as an example. I'm a Muslim woman; strongly tied to my value system underpinned by my faith which gives me the blueprint to direct the workings of my life with enough room to articulate, understand, reason, and embrace difference while being true to my own. A practical example of my faith intertwined in my 24 hours is my 5 daily prayers. For anyone not familiar with the Islamic faith, our belief system is directed by 5 Pillars that every believing Muslim lives by.

1) The Oneness of God (not associating partners with him and believing in his Divine being called Taqwa in Arabic)

2) Salaah or Prayer - we have 5 daily prayer: Fajr, Zohr, Asr, Maghrib and Esha. These prayers are performed at specific parts of the day and have a unique structure

3) Zakaat or Charity - every believing Muslim shall pay a portion of their wealth to the less fortunate and look after widows and orphans

4) To fast in the month of Ramadaan

5) To perform the pilgrimage to the Holy land of Makkah and Madinah called Hajj at least once in a lifetime if a person has the means

I want to focus on one of the pillars - Salaah or Prayer. Our prayer is carefully and strategically allocated throughout the day. Starting an hour before dawn is Fajr, it is 4 units of prayer conducted in a specific way. At lunchtime or around 12.30 pm for 1 pm is Zohr. This is 12 units of prayer. In the late mid-afternoon is Asr - 8 units of prayer. Maghrib is exactly at sunset and is 7 units of prayer. Esha is about 1hr 45 minutes after but can be performed throughout the course of the evening right until the early hours of the morning before the first prayer of the day. It is preferable to perform prayers at their allotted time.

Sounds like a lot of praying? The time is surprisingly short to complete them all. Well while it takes discipline, it becomes a guiding force to direct the day towards greatness and peace. I can't imagine my life without these divine moments of inspiration and connection with my Maker. Immense research has been done on the benefits of the 5 daily prayers. One of the most interesting parts of the research is the prostration we perform in prayer. This is an act of total submission to the Almighty and a connection with the earth, deep humility, and a grounding of the self. It is also found that the act of prostration bringing the chest and forehead close to the ground enhances the magnetic force of the earth's energy with our own human aura and energy. Grounding, cleansing, and fortifying one's spirit.

I have explained a core component of what guides my time in my day and I'm pretty sure you have a few critical components that take priority in your day. It is about priority. And priority is those things that give meaning to life; that shift your needle in the clock of living in the present while manifesting the future and learning from the past. Success - working for it and dreaming about it and learning from it.

I have learned that the spirituality of being a CEO or leader is not about how well you follow the 24 hours of motivational speakers and renowned leaders. It is about how well you follow your own 24 hours. Sometimes it takes 6 months to get that lucky break. Sometimes it takes 6 years. And while you are toiling diligently, there are priorities that make sense to your life and purpose. They will not be extolled in virtue by leading experts; who may not have the full benefit of cultural and religious nuances to completely understand the other side of success. Do not be fooled by the New York Times bestsellers punting total deep work and tumeric lattes. These things must be considered in context.

Making sure that I don't have meetings between 12.30 and 1pm and sometimes other parts of the day, or breaking from a meeting to get prayer done is something that is common knowledge to my team, clients, business associates and anyone else working my company and I. This is my priority which directly contributes to my success.

I will eat last as a leader, wake at 5am with the 5am Club or earlier for prayer, and stay hungry and foolish but I will always remember that the value system underpinned by my core humanitarian and religious belief system is my top success driver. I am successful no matter what. And tomorrow is another day to continue this journey of creating, believing, manifesting, and working for a better future.