Ep #002 | Meet Dr. Sara Al Madani: From Abusive Relationships to Winning Over 140 Awards

Foreign. Welcome to this episode of the mindvalley podcast with my magnificent friend, Sara Al Madani. Now, I have many friends around the world, but amongst my vast amount of friends, they are people who inspire me to such a degree that I feel I need to introduce them to the mindvalley audience. And this woman here, Sara Madani, is one of these people. So just three random facts about Sarah and this is how I love introducing her. Number one, this woman has received over 140 awards in a wide variety of fields, especially entrepreneurship. Number two, she has nine companies right now. Nine companies. She's one of the most brilliant minds in business. I know. And number three, she has 68 tattoos. Now what makes all of this even more profound is that Sarah is Emirati. We are recording this here in Dubai. And she is also a woman who has come true. Two divorces from men who were abusive. You are a single mom who takes your, who has been taking your child with you into the boardroom as you navigated the world of business.

Yeah.

And despite all of those odds, you've accomplished so much. So welcome to the mindvalley podcast. I think you earned your seat here today. But the advantage of us being friends, Sarah, is that I can ask the questions that other people can't ask. And you can ask me those questions too.

You know a lot and you can, you have that personality where you can drag a lot easily. Something in your voice, Vishen, I don't know what it is. They just like puts a spell on us.

Meditative voice.

Yes.

And I'm learning hypnotherapy right now. I'm really get certified with Mindvalley with Paul McKenna. So soon my voice will be even more hypnotic.

God, it's already doing the job. But thank you for having me and thank you for the kick ass intro.

So I want to, I want to share some backstory of how you ended up here at this podcast episode. I was, I run a, an elite group of coaching. So these are, these are the people in mindvalley who go deepest with the Mindvalley systems. It's a program called Chief Life Officer and we assign CEOs and C level executives, five coaches, plus me and some of our top authors who work with them over 12 months to completely transform their mindset, their body, their health, their business goals. It's an intense program. Three hours a week for 12 months. And we were doing a meetup here in Dubai, like a really tight, intimate meetup where all of these founders and CEOs were coming together to connect with each Other and I wanted a really special guest. And so I invited Sarah to come and spend 20 minutes with that group to inspire them. Because what all of these founders want is, is to be iconic. Like every entrepreneur, every CEO wants to be iconic. And what we mean by iconic is that you stand out to the point where people want to understand how you think, they want to emulate you, they celebrate you, because you're setting a standard for way how human beings and leaders operate. I see you as being iconic. So I brought Sarah to speak to this group and for the next 20 minutes, Sarah just blew everyone away. At the end of this two hour meetup, I asked people of everything you learned, what were some of your biggest highlights. And was amazing to see the number of hands that went up and say when Sarah said this, when Sarah said that.

Really?

Yeah.

I wasn't there for that part.

Yeah, yeah.

That's amazing.

You know what you know of everything you said, there was this comment you made about the brain and tofu that really got people, and I'm going to ask you to bring that back here.

Sure.

Okay. And then it was the stories of your tattoos as well and what they mean mean to you. We're going to go deeper in that. So for those of you listening to this on the mindvalley podcast, you might miss out on some of the visuals, such as when I get Sarah to talk about the meaning behind her tattoos and their lessons here. In that scenario, listen to it in the podcast. But if you want to dive into the tattoo bit and actually see her tattoos, you can always check out the video version of this, which is going to be at the Mindvalley YouTube channel. Okay, Sarah, you ready to begin?

Oh, yes. Born ready.

So, Sarah, firstly tell me of these 140 awards so we kind of get an idea of the field that you've been playing in. What are some of the awards you've won that you're most proud of?

There's a lot of like Entrepreneur of the Year awards, which makes you feel like all the hard work you put somewhere, someone out there just notices these things, you know, and it takes time. But there's also a financial award that I won, best Financial Strategy of the year. And then there is an honorary PhD that I received for leadership, business leadership and women empowerment. Although I hate the word empowerment, but it was leadership and women empowerment. And for me, a person who dropped out of university because I had a business at the age of 15 and I chose my dreams over my education to receive something like that, I felt like, wow, Yeah, I felt like, this is amazing.

Firstly, I had no idea you dropped out. I did somehow. I know Your title is Dr. Sara Madani, so I assumed you worked your way up to a PhD. So let's talk about that. What, why did you drop out? Would you. And, and what are your views on college as a necessity?

I, I was studying film directing and acting. But the first three years of college were like the fundamental things, which is like, you know, the math and the, all the basics. You know, we didn't go deep into, into movie directing and acting till like third year. So when I was there the first, second year, I was like, this is exactly the same thing I took in school, but here I'm not wearing a uniform and I have more flexibility. And then I felt like, I don't think I'm going to use this information in my life. And I had a choice to make. To make my parents and my dad proud or to make myself proud and follow my dreams and take care of my business. Because I had a business at the age of 15 and I had employees and I had to take care of them. And at the same time I had to be in class, I had to be in university and have a social life. I was like, I can't. I got to make a decision. So I remember back then I had a Nokia phone, okay? So I recorded on a voice, like the voice recording on the phone. I recorded a classroom and I had another phone with me. I had an Ericsson, I remember, and a Nokia. And I dropped university without telling my parents because I don't want to upset them. So every time they call me, I'd pick up with my erection and I'll play the Nokia and I'm like, I'm in class and they can hear. The background is like classroom. And I did that for four months until they called my dad and they were like, your daughter dropped out. And my dad was really upset, but, but then I told my dad, look, dad, that's your dream. This is your problem to deal with, it's not mine. Do not put me through guilt because of something you want and it's not fair for me to do that. And I decided to just, you know, live my life the way I want. Although my brother and sister, they have their masters and they're like a students and all that. They're like textbook smart. And you got me, I'm the street smart, yet I'm the one who's going further in life and doing much more. And I feel like I am happier because I'm living. I know I'm happier because I'm living not existing.

You're living not existing. I like that. Do you think if you had a university degree it would have slowed down your entrepreneurial journey?

It would have numbed my entrepreneurial journey.

Tell me about that.

Yeah, because I feel like the education system prepares you to like it's a cookie, cookie cutter factory thing where everybody comes out thinking they need the best job, they want to be at the best companies and all that. They never taught me that I should believe in my dreams and how to overcome fears and overcome failure and all that. And I felt like the best university for me at that point was life. Not, not, not the actual.

So what was that company you started at 15?

Fashion. I had a fashion house. I did it for 20 years. But then I realized after 20 years of doing fashion that I never loved fashion. I just did it because I'm a girl and everyone told me that's what girls should be doing. So. And I felt like I was cornered into like an industry based on my gender. But then I was like. And it was making money. I was doing good. I was doing fashion shows all over the world and catwalks and everything, fashion weeks. But I was like, I'm not happy. Even if it's making money, I'm not happy. You know, I'd rather take that energy and do something I love. Cuz I feel like success is not. And I've heard that from a friend of mine. He said, don't love your job, job your love. So don't, don't feel love that. Yeah. And when he said that to me, that hit me and I was like, my business is me jobbing my love. Basically making my passion, my job. Like my own business, my job. And he's like, don't love your job. And yeah, that hit me so hard. And like that's how, that's how I went about it.

And now you have nine companies. I believe you started 16. Nine are surviving right now. Nine. Nine are alive.

Out of like 18. And just nine survived.

Right, right. And that's quite common. You know, I've started companies and then sold them, closed them down after they've served their usefulness. So having nine companies. But at the same time you are also currently in the Real Housewives of D. Real Housewives of Dubai, that hit reality TV show. How are you juggling all of these things? Because you have nine companies.

Got it.

And I, I believe you're, you're one of your newest companies, Halahai H A l A H I, right? Yes.

With Hala High, you can now get personalized video shout outs from your favorite actors, athletes, singers and influencers. All you have to do is go on halahi.com, find your favorite star from our never ending list of talent. That's the company that takes all my time. Because I'm like the legit CEO. I'm the CEO of the company.

Of all your babies, all your companies, that's the one that you're most excited about right now.

Yes, but the rest of my companies, you told me. How do I, I manage my time? Yes.

How do you deal with overwhelm, with pressures? Because you're also, you're also a single mom.

No. So listen to this. Around five years ago, I let go of micromanaging. I used to micromanage everything. I want to be there, make sure the staff are doing the work, make sure everything's going right. They're filming their, their, the marketing campaign. But then I realized by doing that, I am not allowing them to be creative. I am not allowing them to give me their highest potential because they know the boss is going to come in any second to fix it all up. And then it really takes a toll on you as a person, mentally and physically. So I started to let go slowly and it was so hard in the beginning. But then I learned and now I don't micromanage. I have this leadership philosophy where I give a vision and I lead and then my team takes care of everything. But the only company I can't escape that and apply that vision, that vision to it is Halahi. Because I'm the CEO of the company. So I, it's like a full time job. I'm always there. Yeah.

And Halahi is a company where you can go to get celebrities to record videos like birthday greetings. You, you pay a fee for the celebrity. So you'd have people like Jason Derulo on there.

Yeah. Not only, not only videos. So you can get their used clothes, their used items like their closets. You can buy their NFTs, buy their merch. And the merch is all created through, through an AI on the app. The NFTs are created through an AI on the app and we manage the discord for them and everything. And at the same time you can buy videos from them or voice notes from them. So it's like anything celebrity related. It's like a one stop shop. And for brands, instead of going through like four or five agents to reach you, for example, and then you get like 40% cut out of the whole payment. Because of the middlemen.

Right.

We eliminated them. And now brands can send directly requests to you on the app.

That's. That's amazing. I cannot wait. I cannot wait to get on.

You should be. Yeah.

So being a single mom, when you were starting these companies, how did you deal with. With having a child with you?

So when I was pregnant, I was already going through, like, the divorce and the marriage, and the pregnancy happened by mistake. But everyone told me, oh, my God, Sara, you've been hustling since you were a kid. Now you're pregnant. Oh, my God, everything is gonna stop. Life is gonna slow down. No more dreams. Time to be mommy. When I gave birth, I looked at my kid, and just by looking at him, the minute he was born, I was like, you know what? I want to do so much for you. You inspire me. I want to create, I want to give, I want to do. And I was like, oh, my God. Everything I've been told about, like, being a mother is just culture, society, expectation. It's just pollution of the mind, basically. And that's how they limit you as a mother and that you think that this is the end of you. But no, my son was the beginning of me. My son was. Was me becoming more courageous, taking more steps, wanting to do more. And I remember everyone's like, okay, so you have like a three months maternity leave. I'm like, maternity, what? I took the kid in the bag in like a small bag, week after delivering. And he was with me in every meeting I went. I have videos of me. I used to train LinkedIn. So when I go to my trainings, I have a baby, I have a video. I'll show you later. I have a video of him, like, on my hand like this. And while I'm giving a speech to the employees of LinkedIn, I was like, guys, I'm a single mom. If you don't like it, you don't like it. If you like it, I'm more than happy to. To provide whatever you guys need. And I remember while I'm talking, he's like. I was like, not now. But it's like, you know, your only limit is what you've been fed here. This is where I say the brain is like tofu. Whatever you marinate it in, it becomes.

That's incredible. Now, how did people react to that? How did people react to you walking into a meeting in a corporation with a baby over your shoulder?

They don't like it. Everybody, women especially, gave me looks. Men thought it was cool. They're like, oh, my God, a mother on a maternity leave coming to work, she doesn't even care. That's awesome. But then women looked at me and they gave me this mommy shame, mommy guilt, where they're like, oh, are you bringing your kid because you're guilty, because you can't spend time with him so you drag him wherever you go? And I was like, no, that's not why. Why my kid is. I'm a single mom. I provide for this kid. I'm alone, so I need to get this kid with me because that's the only way for me to move forward and to create the life that I want for him. But then, as the baby grew up, everyone would, like, moms would come to me and tell me, do you take your son to soccer to play soccer? You want to come to, like, mommy soccer gatherings and all that? I was like, I don't do that. And they were like, then you're not, you're not being a great mom to your kid. And I was like, no. Who wrote the book on how to be a great mom? I do what I have to do. I do what I can do the way I want to. My balance, when it comes to my life, work, balance with my child is something I decide not society or culture or other moms decide for me. Yeah, I don't go to birthdays with moms. I don't do soccer mom things. I don't, I don't do all these things. But when I'm with my kid, I'm with my kid 100%. So it's not about quantity of time. It's about the quality of time you spend with the child. And I believe the balance is something you create. If I spend with my kid 30% of my time and the rest of it is with my work, then that's it. That's good for you, that's good for me. No one should shame me into feeling like I should spend more with my kid. I'm doing what I have to do. I'm doing what I should do to provide the best life for me and my child.

I love that.

And I hate being judged.

Amazing stories about your kid. Tell us some of the stories. Because you, you've raised your son.

Oh, my God, my son. Okay, so my son is 7, but he acts like a 70 year old. And I remember because he, he sits around entrepreneurs a lot and investors and all that. And I remember once I had a meeting in my house and I was sitting with like a couple of like, VCs and stuff like that. Inviting them over just to break the ice, you know, to talk to them about a couple of projects we're doing. And my son walks in with a bottle of lemon juice and. And plastic cups. And I was like, honey, not now. We're in a meeting. He's like, no, no, don't worry, mom. I've got you. And I don't stop him. If my son interrupts my meeting. I don't make him feel, like, shame or guilty. I explain. But if he has something to say, I stop everybody and I make my son feel important. So he goes up to everybody, and he's like, who wants lemonade? And everyone's like, me, me. And everyone's like, me, me, me. He's like, Dh50 per lemonade. That's like, around, what, $15. So he's like, 50? Let's take it in dollars. He's like, $15 per lemonade. And everyone's like, well, that's too expensive for lemonade. He's like, okay, then I'll give it to you for free. And I was sitting there on the couch. I'm like, I failed as a mom entrepreneur. But then he's like, mom, don't worry. I got you. And then I was like, what are you doing? He's like, don't worry. So he gives everyone a cup, and he spills, like, this much juice inside, like, a tiny sip into each cup. And then everyone's like, but that's not enough. He's like, yeah, because once you taste it and you know it's good, you're gonna pay 15 for a full cup. I was like, did you just sample them so they can try it and fall in love with this? You can sell it to them. He's like, mom, I told you, I know what I'm doing. So that. That came out of him when he was 4.

That's hilarious.

But I get it. I get it.

You told me another story about your son. Something he went up to and whispered to another kid at school who was being grumpy or something.

So first, just to explain to everybody listening, the way I raised my kid, and I'm not saying this is the right way to raise your children. It's the way I believe right for me. Okay? My child was not exposed to children until he was five. He was not exposed. Like, he would see his cousins, like, once a month or once every five months, but he was not exposed to children at all. He was exposed to adults because I felt like, as a child, he is a sponge. He's sucking in so much information. And I wanted that period of his life and for him to suck information for people who knew more about life, about spirituality, about business, about failure, and like all these, like various topics. I didn't want him to mix with children and to limit him. So that's why if you sit with my child right now, you'd feel like you're sitting with like an adult.

I think you said for the first five years you had your child only interact with adults.

Yeah, I did. And then at the age of five, I let him. And now he plays with kids and he loves it. He's seven now. He loves it. But he has a brain of his own. So if kids jump on a couch or tear the wallpaper in the room, he would not join. Other kids would join because they feel like we're children, that's what we should be doing. But my son is like, advising them. He's like, do you know how much money they paid for this wallpaper? Do you know how hard they worked? Do you really want to do this to other people? Would you like someone doing this to your mom? So he has that, that mindset. And some kids go like, you're right. And some kids go like, okay. And they keep on scratching. You know, they don't care. But the story where I teach my son a lot about spirituality and I let him meditate at this age as well. So I remember we were at my friend's house and her kids were fighting. It was a boy and a girl and one of the siblings took a bag from the other kid and the kids started screaming, screaming, like historic, like hysterically. My son goes up to him, he puts his hand on the shoulder. He's like, calm down. Don't focus on the dark side. Focus on the light. It's just a bag and it's still in your house and she's your sister. You'll get it back. Maybe not now, but later you will. And I was just sitting there. I was like, who are you? What are you beautiful? Yeah. But I was proud because this is.

What an amazing mentality, portrayal.

Yeah. This is me opening up to my child and treating him like an adult, even from day one.

Just before we go on, I need to share this with you. When I interviewed Sarah on stage at Mindvalley University, her son was in the audience. And I asked Sarah if I could invite her son on stage with her in front of 2,000 people. This was in Dubai. And Sarah said yes. And her son decided to perform a stand up comedy act in front of 2000 people, people. Check this out. What she says about her son is real. This kid is magnificent.

So my son wants to be a comedian. Do you have a joke to tell them? I have two. Two jokes. Are you washing your car? Ask him. No, I'm watering it so I can turn into a school bus. He's watering it so it can turn into a school bus.

Okay, but. But here's the question, though. You went through some serious issues with domestic abuse. Yeah. Two.

Two.

Two marriages that ended in divorce. Yet you today are one of the most positive people I know.

Yeah.

You are thriving. If I could ask you this, take us back to that dark time. What happened? How did you end up in these horrendous relationships? How did you survive what happened? I was.

Well, I was. I blame it. My choices in men were always wrong, and they were always narcissistic men. But I blame this on my childhood trauma. But I've healed from all of that now, thank God. My. My decisions are completely different, but it was. I was exposed to narcissist when I was young, so that energy felt like home, like family to me. So every time I met a man who's narcissistic, he felt like home. And I'd feel like I've known him all my life, and God has built a connection. My soulmate, I was like, nah, girl, that's not your soulmate. That's a familiar shitty energy that you had in the past. That's why you feel like you know it already. So.

So you were exposed to narcissist behavior from what? From. From uncles, from family. From.

From, like, my bit, like, narcissistic. So this is. This is where it came from. But she. She's loving.

And so you were drawn to men who had narcissist.

My mom's energy.

Right. Right. But define that energy. What. What are. For women who are listening, what are elements of that energy? That.

That.

Both men and women.

Yeah, that you're. You're not worthy of love.

Okay.

And that love is something you have to work so hard and you have to continuously, every single day, prove to get people's validation and love.

So narcissistic personalities in a partner make you feel you're not worthy of the love unless you earn it.

Unless you earn it. It's like conditional love.

Right.

It's not unconditional. So every day you wake up, you feel like, okay, what do I have to do now? So they can be good to me? So they can show me some love so they can do that? And that felt good because it was familiar energy. But after healing it's like you're like, what the hell was I thinking? Like no way I'd accept something like that anymore. Yeah. But I went through physical abuse and mental abuse, although I had child a bit of childhood trauma. But my parents were amazing. Don't get me wrong, they were amazing, but it was like my mom had some slight tendencies. But these tendencies can damage you as a person. And my, you know, our parents don't know any better because that's how they were raised and that's how their parents were raised. So back then mental health and healing did not exist or it was a taboo in the Arab world. So just like growing up, I always knew that no matter how many bad people I encountered, there was always good people. And that was my mantra in life. I grew up like that and knowing that I'm a good person made me believe that if I exist, there's a lot of me that exists. So I should not just take one example of a man that I was with and then cover everyone else with the same blanket. He's not, not everybody's the same. So yeah. And going through physical and mental abuse and begging for the bare minimum, which is love and attention and loyalty and affection, knowing how bad it feels to need it made me take an oath after I healed and I said I will never ever in my life make anyone feel like that because I know exactly how it feels like so my experiences did not make me bitter, they made me better. They did not sharpen my edges, they softened my edges. So I became kinder, more loving, loving, more open. And at the the same period of the divorces, I had a business partner who stole all my money, who was my best friend. So after that, after that court case ended of five years, I went and I met more business partners and I involved myself with more people because I didn't want this to be the end of something that should be normal in life just because of an abnormal circumstance or, or a bad relationship. You know what I mean?

So there's one person who stole from you, didn't make you feel that every future business partner was. And, and, and that's brave. Cuz I had a business partner who tried to kick me out of my own company and I had difficulty trusting other business partners for a while. It took me about two or three years to get over that trauma.

But, but you're trustworthy. So why won't be other visions around you if you are trustworthy? You know, if you.

In my Case, I guess it was just. It was just traumatic.

It is trauma.

It was just traumatic to have your company pulled out from. From. From under you. So it took me a while to trust again. So surely something must have sparked a bout of courage in you to stand up to the man who was abusing you, who was putting you down. There must have been some realization that gave you that energy and that confidence and that courage to just walk away.

Yeah.

And save yourself. What was that? Could you take us back to that?

So let me explain to you how my personality is. I'm a person that will take so much, but once I've had enough, I turn and I never look back again.

Right.

The first marriage, it lasted, like, a long time. It was like 13 years of. Between dating and getting married. So that I gave so much. I was young, I was naive. I didn't understand life at that time. But that. That took so much patience, and I thought that's how it should be. But for my second marriage, I asked for a divorce three months into the marriage, because I immediately saw the narcissistic tendencies. Yeah. And I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. Three months later. And I was like, yeah, I'll give you a chance. I already did. But three months is more than enough for a chance. And I'm. I'll tell you what the problem is. I feel. And this is. This is also a mistake. Like, I. I feel like I'm. You know, it's a light worker.

Right. Right.

So I'm a light worker, and I feel like I heal people, and I'm. And this is my purpose. And I was born. God created me for this purpose. So I want to fix and help everyone around me. But the mistake I did is I did it to people, and I was drawn to souls that are broken in relationship situations. While, you know, I can still help everyone in the world, but I don't have to be dating or marrying someone who needs that. I should be marrying someone who did the work, who's already. I know what they're offering to the table. I know what they bring to the table. I should not be taking a project and trying to fix them. I can do that with people around me because I can walk away from them anytime I want. But when your emotions are involved, you're like, no, that's not how it should be. And I realized that with my second husband, I was like, I'm doing the same mistake again. Trying to fix someone broken and giving them all my resources, and they're using me Financially abusive, mentally, physically, all of that all over again.

Why?

Because I want to fix that person.

So tell us, why is the brain like tofu?

So the brain is like tofu because whatever you marinate it in, it becomes. I use this a lot when I speak about culture, especially in the Middle east, because when people look at me, I'm emirati, she has 68 tattoos. She's not covered. Where is the religion? Where is the culture? Where is that? First of all, religion is between me and God. God doesn't have any secretaries or advocates on earth for them to judge me or tell me whether I'm going to hell or heaven.

I love that line.

That's it. As simple as that. You know? And that's the first thing. Second thing is culture, society, expectation. I remember this is how I woke up one day from this brainwash of society and culture and all that. Some girl that I knew for 10 years after she saw me getting my tattoos and, you know, getting rid of the traditional wear, she came to me and she's like, you've changed. And I was like, what do you mean I've changed? She's like, you're not the same. I was like, wait, am I not a good person to you anymore? She's like, yes, you are. I'm like, am I not there for you when you need me? She's like, yeah, you are. I'm like, am I not kind and loving and warm? She's like, yeah, you are. I'm like, so what changed my physical appearance? I'm like, I am a soul with a human experience. This is a dress. If you don't like my dress, that's your problem, not mine. And then it just hit me. She was personally offended. Personally. She took it personally that I did not look the way she expected me to look. Now, how does that make sense? You're upset because I don't look the way you expect me to look. Who are you? Why am I? Why am I even matching your expectation? Why am I living a life just to satisfy you and to make you feel good? While I know a lot of people are hypocrites, because behind closed doors, a lot happens. I don't like this hypocrisy. What you see outside is what you see inside. I don't hide anything. I don't have to play behind curtains or closed doors. I am who I am. And then as I emerged into the person I am now and being open about who I am and how I feel and how I should look and, you know, all my tattoos and everything. I. I've lost a lot of people. But it feels so good because now I only have people in my life that love me for who I am and for my authenticity. And for the longest time in my life, I felt like I wasn't authentic. I was just satisfying people. And what is culture? It's us satisfying people in the grave. You know they're gone, right? What am I? Why? Why am I doing this?

So culture. Culture is peer pressure from dead people.

Dead people. Yeah.

And I read that online somewhere.

Yeah. So it's, it's like, it's like to me, culture is a box of chocolate. And I always say this to people. I'm like, when you open a box of chocolate, you don't like every flavor. I don't like orange flavored chocolate. So I eat and I pick up whatever I like from the culture. Whatever I don't, I reject, but I respect, you know, that's it. So remember this. The brain is like tofu. Whatever you marinate it in, it becomes. So make sure you're marinating it in something that's tasty.

And I guess this applies to the people around you as well.

100%. Everything. Everything.

Let's talk about those tattoos.

Okay.

Okay. So you're only going to show us the tattoos in your arms, obviously. But what I like about you, Sarah, is that. And I'm going to take out my iPhone and I'm going to do a close up shot of this so that we can put this in the video. When I asked Sarah, do you ever regret your tattoos? What she said is, no, because each of them has a meaning for me. They have a meaning. They have a story. A story, a symbolism. So let's talk about this one. Awaken. Tell us about Awaken.

Awaken happened four years ago. No, no, no. Six years ago. I went on a spiritual journey to find myself and understand my purpose. Why God created me, why am I in this world? Why are we here? And this is when I escaped the Matrix. And I realized that not everything I've learned was right. Not everything I was told was right. So I had to unlearn and reprogram my mind to discover who I really am and forget who I was told to be. By society, by family, by culture, by everything.

I like that. One of the taglines we were going to use for mindvalley is Awaken Greatness.

Yeah.

Now this one is really interesting. So this is a cupid.

This is a cupid because I was always loving and I love spreading love. And you know how Cupid is, you know, sweet and spreading love all the time and all that. But then I learned through life that the same cupid can over here, wear a bandana and have a gun. Because if you don't stand up for yourself, you can be the kindest person in the world, but if you don't stand up for yourself, you're self betraying yourself. So it's called self betrayal.

That is like the Buddha and the badass.

Yeah, I know.

It's just the word rebel under the cupid.

Yeah. Because I've been born a rebel. Yeah. And then this love is the latest one because every time I fell in love, I gave like so much to the person and they say they love me, but then it wasn't true love. So every time I meet people, it's a question mark. Is this true love or. Or not? You know?

Interesting.

Yeah. So love, question mark. So do you really love me or you don't? Bees. So bees. I went to a bee. A bee farm in Italy, and I was amazed to know that bees, the minute they're born, they know exactly what type of bee they are, where their job is, what their job is, and how to do it without even being trained or told. So bees are born knowing their purpose. And I feel like humans are like that. But then education, culture, and all that erases our memory and makes us dependent.

I noticed, to be on this flower.

I love bees. Yeah, that's the Matrix. That's me escaping the Matrix.

That's amazing. Who is your tattoo artist?

Alina. She's amazing. She's an amazing tattoo artist.

That's Instagram. Alina, too.

Alina.

She's from Ukraine.

So good.

She's the one I'm considering for my new touch.

She's a fine art.

Could we see what's on your. On your bicep?

This one? No, this is just like.

That's interesting. That's beautiful.

It's like a flower ribbon on the. On the arm. Because I've done. I have so many. I have immune diseases. I've done so much surgeries. I removed my gallbladder. So my body went through a lot. So for me to honor my body, I put like a ribbon with flowers on because I love it. You know, you've been through a lot, baby. That's it.

Yeah, I like that. So that. That's a beautiful way of accepting.

Embracing, of course.

What about your other bicep? I see light work.

This is light worker. Because I know I am 100% a light worker. Okay. And then I have give Give.

Okay.

Yeah, that's.

That's your giving nature.

That's my first tattoo ever. It says faith.

Why? Why? What did that mean to you?

Because if you have faith and you surrender to God, and you know that God never does anything to harm you, whether it's good or bad, everything flows. Everything flows. Nothing bothers you anymore.

That's amazing, Sarah. Thank you.

You're welcome.

So, Sarah, what. What strikes me most about you is that you've gone through so much shit in your life. From the severe health issues that you. You briefly spoke about to domestic abuse, to battling against sometimes parts of your culture that restricted you, yet you came out so high on top of. And you are such a positive, loving person. Yeah, we're. We're friends. We've traveled to. To countries together. We've. We've gone on holidays together, and we are friends. And I noticed this about you. You are so radiantly positive. That's one of the reasons why you're one of the people I love spending time with. But where does that come from? Because going through so much shit usually hurts people. It closes people up. It has closed me up in some ways.

Yeah.

But you. You don't let that happen to you. What's your advice there?

The thing is, we're all damaged from things we've been through in our life, and we all need to heal from them. No matter how positive or happy we are, how our mindset is, we still need to heal because that will unlock a part of us that has been robbed away from us from a certain experience. Right. But for me, okay, so I've been through experiences where my ex husbands or whatever, all that, they took my money. And they were abusive. They were all of that. But then I sat down, I remember in front of the mirror, and I told myself this. I said, look, they took your money, they took your youth, they took your time, they took your energy, they took your health. It's okay. All of that can be restored. You know, no doubt everything can come back. But if they take away one thing from you and that's who you are and how you are, then they have won because they make you another version of them. Yeah. So if you come out of experience saying, you know what? From now on, I'm not going to be kind, I'm not going to be loving, I'm not going to be fun, I'm not going to be all that.

I.

No one deserves this. I went through shit, so I'm going to give everyone shit. But guess what? You're another version of the shitty person that did this to you, you become another version of them. So how is that even making the world a better place? So, you know, it's all about focusing that and understanding that it's not you who's wrong. You don't deserve this, it's them. And I also would like to tell people, take the time to sit and look at where you went wrong. It takes two to tango, you know? I know. They're shitty people, they've done you wrong, they're bad, narcissistic, etc. Etc. We can't change that. Let's leave that aside. That's not our problem. Now us. How did we go wrong? And how I went wrong is I was always trying to fix men. I, you know, removing my crown and putting on my, like, construction hat. And that doesn't work. You know, a queen doesn't do that. A woman should not do that. You should be with a man that's done the work and ready for you. So basically that. That is like a one thing, one lesson. I learned that this is where I went wrong and forget them and how they went wrong or who they are, I should not be blaming right now. Where did I go wrong? So I went wrong there. I was too naive. I ignored the red flags. And then I went to my therapist and I did hypnotherapy and I told my therapist and she was amazed. She was like, so what's wrong? I was like, yeah, I had bad marriages. She's like, what did they do? I'm like, no, no, no, forget what they did. Let me tell you what I'm doing. And she was like, whoa, this is a person that's already done the work. And this is. This is when you meet yourself halfway through. It's when you look at where you went wrong. Who cares about them? It's not like it's going to change them. It's not like you can change a narcissist or make them better people. Screw them. Let's focus on me. You. How did you go wrong? What did you do wrong? So I focused on that and I realized where I went wrong. And then that's how it made it easier to heal and to go through therapy, because I knew exactly what is the issue. And then I. We linked it to the past, like my past and when I was young and we related it to these things. So healing became easy because I took the responsibility and that's what everyone should do. Take responsibility of your part and then the rest is easy.

I love that that's Such an important, important message. And that message is sinking in for me as well, because they have been situations where I've been hurt in the past. And I closed down. Yeah, I had two of my close male friends who had gone into business with Boat. Boat cheat me. One ran away with $150,000 that we had put in the joint account to. To start a new project. Never got the money back. And for a brief time in my life, I had difficulty trusting. I had difficulty trusting other business partners. That changed. Now I have incredible business partners. But it took me a while, and so I really needed to hear that message as well.

Can. Can I tell you something beautiful? A guy in a mosque once told me, like a. Like a priest, we say in the mosque. Like our sheikh, you know, when I was sitting, I was complaining to him about, why are people bad? Like, I don't understand how do people sleep at night? How do they do that? How do they do this? So he. He said, why do you look at things like that? I was like, so how should I look at things other than I've been screwed over by people all the time and I'm the good person? And I feel like good people don't finish. You know, they finish last always. He's like, no, no, no. Think of it in this way. You have been an answer to these people's prayer. Maybe that person needed love, needed kindness, needed care, and God, like, gave them their prayer through you. Maybe that person needed money. My partner did steal the money because her father was sick. But you didn't have to butcher me and steal the money and all that. And maybe you were an answer to her prayer. So you are always part of a process, part of a story, part of a transformation. We are all souls. And he's like, you were, you know, if. If they took the love from you, they took the time from you, let them keep it. They needed it. They needed it. And he's like, you were part of their prayer. God answered their prayer through you, and you learned a lot through it. And I think him saying that, that resonated so much in me. So every time someone does me wrong. Now, yeah, I'm human, I get hurt, but the pain is not like it used to be. Because I'm like, you know what? I'm sure God answered their prayer through me. And then I look up at God and I say, God, you have such an amazing sense of humor. You know, Sarah, that.

That's beautiful. And it almost brings tears to my eyes because I lost four and a half million dollars When I. When my business partner tried to kick me out of mind, Valley had to buy out his shares, and it was expensive. I went into debt for years and years and years, and you just made me see that situation in a completely different way. Maybe I was simply, in a way, the answer to Espras. Thank you.

Yeah.

You are an amazing soul. And in many ways, people consider you an icon. I mean, you are an icon if anybody were to go and follow you on Instagram.

I'm just human. True.

But. But what I mean by an icon is that someone who dares do things differently and as a result becomes a beacon of light to other people. You are a light worker.

If. If that is simply from being who.

You are, going through the. You've gone through and still shining so bright. What do you think makes people an icon?

Look, if that's how you view me, then purpose served, you know, 100%. But I think what makes people icons is first of all, what they do for themselves, and then what they do for others. I don't believe in. In having my name in a bill on a building or in a street or in a book. For me to be immortal. I believe you are immortal the minute you impact people's lives in an. In a beautiful way, and then you're never forgotten. You're never forgotten. And I believe that when I do something, even when I do something I hate, let's say I take a client that I don't even like, or I take a job for a client that I don't even enjoy doing, whatever I commit to. I give my hundred percent, my heart and soul. I put it in it. And that's how people don't forget me. And I always say I never want to be forgotten. And that's how you don't be forgotten. It's by putting your heart and soul in everything you do. And then you become immortal. So once I'm gone, people remember me because of how I made them feel, you know, and that's how you become an icon. It's that seed you plant in everyone's heart, you know, hoping a tree would grow one day. You know, we're farmers. We're just, you know, harvesting seeds in everyone's hearts.

What would be some of your. Your. Your top advice for founders?

Prioritize your mental health. Healing makes you better entrepreneurs. Leadership over management. Every day. Every day. So that's my top, top three things that I wish someone told me because I burnt out so many times before. I never prioritized my mental health. I never took Time for me, I micromanaged. I was always ill, I was always sick, I was always tired. I even sometimes lost my passion towards something because of how I was treating. That's that thing. So these three things are very important, you know, healing. Healing. Oh my God. Once, once I started healing, better ideas, better, better ethics at work, better culture in, in the organization. I was just, I was just exactly who I should be. Really.

How, how do you create balance so your body and your mind has time to heal?

In what sense?

Well, you're obviously busy, right? You have the Real Housewives of Dubai, the reality TV show. You have Halahi, you have eight other companies. You have a child. How do you create balance?

So I don't. Every single day. I work for certain hours. I don't work on Friday is completely mine. I don't have.

You work a four day week.

That's it. I don't have a child on Friday. I tell my kid, you're not mine, I'm not yours. I don't know. You don't come next to me, you know, and he's like, okay, mom, I got you, you know, and on Saturday, it's his day. So I don't go near him and his friends on Saturday. So I have a day for myself. And then that's very important. It's like religious for me. Massages, you know, scrubs and all that cinema, Netflix. And then I have throughout the week, I only work four days, sometimes three days. And in these four days or three days, I work seven hours.

Wow.

That's it.

So you work three to four days a week for seven hours every day. That's incredible.

That's it. And if I pass the 7 hour, I always tell people, let's try tomorrow. If they can make it tomorrow, in between the hours I'm working, then let's try next week. For me, that's how I manage my business.

You and I have the same philosophy there.

I love it. I love it. That's why we traveling all the time. People think like we're jaded to the company. We can't move. No, it's because we are flexible. And this is an advice Wayne gave us.

Right. I love how you've created that balance. Do you meditate? Do you do any form of exercise? Tell us about your personal growth.

So I, I work out three times a week or twice. And I don't push myself a lot and I don't guilt myself. Meditation. Every morning when I wake up, my hypnotherapist has this voice clip. She sent Me that I have to listen to to rewire my brain every morning. And then I go into meditation after it because, like, it just. It just relaxes you. So I go into meditation to 10, 15 minutes because I'm dyslexic, I'm very hyper, so it's hard for me to go for longer. And then once a month or once every two months, I will still do hypnotherapy or therapy.

And the signature you're doing is rtt, right?

Yeah, rtt, right. Oh, yeah.

So for those of you who. Who are famil, that's rapid Transformational Therapy. That's by my friend Marissa up here. The. The program on rapid transformational therapy is actually on mindvalley. So if you are a mindvalley member, just type in Marisa up here. You'll see she has two programs. Uncompromised Life, which is, as the name suggests, how to lead an Uncompromised life. And then Rapid Transformational Therapy for Abundance, which is where you learn the same protocols that Sarah's going through to. To improve your. To give you abundant health, abundant wealth, abundant relationships. It's right on mindvalley. Go check it out. Okay, so there's rtt. And then.

Yeah, so and then. But every month or every two months, I will still do hypnotherapy again and I. Or I will do therapy because no matter how healed or good or on the right path we are, we still meet some shitty people on a daily basis. We pick up some particles from them. So you need to, you know, let it go. You know, exhale it out and release it. So it's like a cleaning purpose. Like for purposes, for the cleaning, the energy and all that. So I do that a lot. But my priority right now is mental health. Like, my mental health is my top priority. Friends, I've went on, like, a diet with friends. I cut out everyone. Bad. I went on a diet with, like, a lot of things in life. The stuff I watch, the stuff I read, the stuff I listen to, I do not. Even if there are songs that I feel like that are not good for me, I don't listen to them. So it's like my mind is my priority. This tofu is not going to be marinated in anymore.

I love that. And with that.

Yeah.

And this podcast. So proud of you and your tofu.

Thank you so much.

So that is Sara Madani. And you'll understand why I love spending time with this woman, because when I'm in her midst, I feel constantly inspired. Like I was inspired during this conversation even though I've heard some of your stories before because I've, we've had many, many, many such conversations about life and relationships and careers and entrepreneurship and parenting and so on. So check out Sarah. Sarah, how can they find you on Instagram?

It's Sarah. Underscore. Almadani Underscore.

Okay, so Sarah S a R A underscore. A L M a D a n I underscore. Go follow this woman. She is incredible. There's a blue check next to her name on Instagram and follow her adventures and her wisdom.

Thank you, Vishen. And you, by the way. You inspire us all every single day.

Thank you.

Regardless.

Yeah, thank you. I can't wait for your book to come out soon.

Soon. The book is coming out soon.

Yes. Awesome. Guys, that's a wrap and I'll see you in the next episode of the Mindvalley podcast. Sam.