Zulfaqar

Not only a phenomenal story for AI and brand building - this guy has regularly spoken up about Palestine. You can imagine the hate he will have gotten in return, so to still do this is extraordinary. Also emphasises why we need to build more proper tech brands and companies. The impact on changing lives is huge, as well as changing society. But the influence that also comes from it puts it on another level. Think of your brands as more than just profit generating enterprises. Because they are so much more than that. Especially at a time when we need to realign focus of brands legitimately uplifting humanity as opposed to destroying it as long as it makes a profit.

Your mind is an intricate maze, buried deep inside is the Minotaur... ...symbolic of fears, doubts, insecurities, anxieties, ego and self deceptions. In today's world, one of the biggest self-deceptive Minotaurs is faux-outrage. Getting angry, upset and worked up about everything and anything. Not because it's entirely legit, but because it gets attention. Even when it's legit, the Minotaur creeps up and turns sincerity into rage-baiting attention seeking. Don't succumb. Reflect instead using the TECA framework: Think Evolve Contribute Ascend Inner work and deep thinking is the only way to evolve. Once you improve yourself, then you can contribute by helping others. Done for the right reasons, and not for attention-seeking ego, is what leads to spiritual ascension.

Anytime I’ve not got to where I want to be… …it’s been because I refused to change my habits & behaviours. Thinking is easy. Changing behaviour is hard. Don’t default to believing strategising is progress. Don’t think results will come without dealing with your internal Minotaurs. Visibility won’t come without exposure. Exposure is daunting alone. Get the support you need to overcome these trainable issues. The Minotaur Video Exemplar programme was built for this…message me.

There's a rise in Muslim brands, which is great to see. However, there's an element to be weary of if you decide to do the same. And that's you will be held to a higher standard, but also you'll attract comments from peeps who won't like the religion being used for branding purposes. It's also down to how quite a few are doing it all wrong by utilising over-hyped American style marketing. Might work in America. Doesn't work in the UK. Certainly doesn't align with many Muslims' standards. This is not to discourage it from happening. But to just be ready for judgment, even if your intentions are pure. And to use the right type of marketing; because if not, the backlash will be severe.

They tell me it’s over for Muslims in the UK. My LinkedIn feed has been full of wonderful iftaris happening up and down the country. I’ve attended 3 this year: - Manchester - Bradford - Batley Every single one has been great. Not only is there a lot of talent in our community; we have professionals and entrepreneurs at the highest level. The above pics were taken at the Bradford iftar. Lovely surprise to see Waqas Barbar in our ends all the way from Burrrmingham. Shoaib Khan’s a kool-kat I met for the first time in Manchester and then again in Bradford. And Naheem Khaliq - my former law firm partner - didn’t hesitate to take the opportunity to try and convince me to come back into law 😂 Shout out Rehan Ahmed of Quantuma for the invite again - and Rooful Ali for taking some amazing snaps 📸 I might still be in the minority, but I’m very optimistic about the UK.

Day 18 Minotaur Ramadan Challenge and i've been on the ropes last couple of days. Iftari dinner on Friday night wasn't too bad, albeit really tempted with the fizzy drinks. Yesterday the family ordered take out food. The pizza was calling to me like crack calls to an addict (so I imagine 😂) Despite even my son tryna tempt; we stayed strong. Final iftari dinner tonight, which hopefully should be the last big test. So let's see. How you getting along with your challenge?

Intelligent people and professionals are held back because they care about what people think. I’m not sure if this was due to corporate programming or what. But the fear stems from being judged by their peers. It’s why you often see the “corporate, professional telephone voice” or demeanour which changes compared to how they are in person. What holds them back further however, is not being able to admit to themselves they care about what people think. And funnily enough they’ll be the ones with their chest out proclaiming they don’t care. Recipe for disaster. If you can’t admit to yourself you have an issue, how do you expect to fix it? I speak from experience. I used to say I don’t care what people think, when I clearly did. Once I admitted it to myself, I was then able to work on doing something about it. Honest self assessment is the first step. Inner work is needed. And then taking action to improve yourself. If you need a systematic way to do this, send me a DM. The Minotaur Video Exemplar programme will rip this out of you, and have you releasing videos to build your brand/project without being held back by what people think.

Every. Single. Time. You’d think after the Epstein Files, it might be different. But nope. Only way to respond is to build yourself, build your community and build your own media.

Post-career era is upon us. This is in part due to a generational shift. Exacerbated by the advancement of technology. Millennials were never comfortable with the traditional “career ladder” Most checked out mentally. They either started their own thing. Or stayed in what became known as “quiet quitting” But now with tech, there are so many more options. The generations after won’t partake in a traditional career for long. Most will elect to either do their own thing or work as part of a small team. Work will fit around lifestyle, not the other way around. Cross-dimensional skills will be paramount. Focus on being an expert in your field but also: - communication skills - visibility; and - AI

Day 14 Minotaur Ramadan Challenge. Nearly half way there. But two potential difficulties on the horizon this week with iftari dinners.

Life in the UK: Calm Peaceful Pleasant weather Life on online: The world’s burning. Only a matter of time before more people start to build locally for their communities. Being online for long periods is a net negative. Use it to get visibility. Take the visibility offline.

Focus on building 3 things: Self Esteem - the relationship with yourself Confidence - the relationship with others Communication - the bridge between the two You need all three. Most however neglect the first and work on the other two. But if you don't focus on yourself and do the inner work, everything else collapses. Esp. in an age where there are so many angry-birds online waiting to take digs in the comments of your posts, which unfortunately is the reason most choose not to put themselves out there. This was another video lost in drafts, but resurrected and edited by my 9 year old 😁

Minotaur Ramadan Challenge Day 12 and we continue. Really craving the samosas today; will be challenging to refrain. Less about the diet now, and more about developing discipline. Discipline in one area leads to discipline in other areas. Something we're all going to need with the idiotic war that's been started.

People in Dubai are getting a lot of heat and mocking when there should be sympathy. This is the result of all those influencers and people that used Dubai as means to flaunt wealth, status and material success. This will be the result for anyone that flaunts this; which happens a lot with online marketing. The people ahead of you will lose respect for you. Your peers will envy you. The ones behind will resent you. It’s bad energy you don’t need; and people will rejoice at your downfall when struggles come. This type of marketing has becoming so dominant, that young people are following it and implementing. Don’t do this. Stay authentic. Document the journey. Be you. Share lessons learnt. Build brand, reputation and goodwill for the long term.

The great disruption is on us, and we’re now already in the post-career era. The traditional career route of school, university, profession, career ladder is over. Having experienced that in the first part of my own career, that was already dying which is why I quit in the first place. The post career era will be more individuals and small teams using AI and other skills to function as bigger outfits. Which goes back to my video the other day about everyone now requiring cross-sectional skillsets. The rate of change means bigger outfits will not keep up. Therefore expecting them or anyone else to train you and prepare for this new future is folly. You have to take ownership and train yourself across different areas. You have to take ownership and lead yourself into different aspects. (That is if the Epps-teeen Regime doesn’t wipe us all out before then)

Minotaur Ramadan Challenge Day 10 and we’ve had a wobble. Despite the iftari dinner, still stayed away from junk food, fried food and fizzy drinks. The gajrela however compromised the no dessert part of the challenge 😭 Nevertheless we continue. Had a great time at the event though, met some amazing people, and had some great convos. 1/3 down - we move.

No caption necessary.

I've posted 94 times since the start of 2026. But it's not 94. It's 94 pieces distributed across 5-7 different platforms. There'll also have been duplicate uploads on different brands on social. So technically it's 500-650 posts in about 2 months. No social media team. No ghostwriters. And even though I use AI, I don't use it for my written content because I like writing and prefer my writing style. Videos are all scripted, recorded, edited, and uploaded by me too. And I do my best to reply and respond to every single comment I receive. Sadly I can't respond to every DM I get, just not feasible with all the spam and pitches. There is nothing magical about what I do. It's just volume, discipline and an efficient system. The majority are now videos, which is crazy considering I started out with a fear of being on camera. Which brings me onto the point of this post... ...I still hear from people say they've "tried" social media and it didn't work. When I ask how many times they've posted and how long; it's like 1-3 times a week on ONE platform, for a month or 2. Most severely underestimate how much work it takes to break through the noise today. This isn't just about social media. It's about building any project, business or side hustle. There's nothing wrong with posting 1-3 times a week on one platform - as long as your expectations change from immediate results to long term play. The issue comes from two things: - Demanding QUICK results - Fear of visibility The latter is the real issue for professionals. So much to offer and so much to say, but held back by the fear of how they'll be received. So they tentatively post occasionally, on the pretext they're busy. Overcome this fear, and trust me, you'll be whackin' out more than me. Esp considering you have a lot of value to offer (you just talk yourself out of it being valuable because of that fear). Your journey is yours, and it will take a long time no matter how much these online gurus try to sell you quick fixes. Do the work. Overcome your Minotaurs. Enjoy the process.

We’re now in a post career era. You need cross dimensional skills on top of your main line of expertise. In building BEC I’ve been trying to develop some of those skills as well as create a relevant asset for the future. Only after doing it myself, can I then recommend and support others to do the same. You are a media company on-top of whatever your industry is. Communication skills are now essential. Learning AI is essential. Visibility is essential. This is how you’ll keep your job and in fact become a magnet for opportunities.

Now I can’t unsee it. Whilst this is tongue in cheek, the reason it hits because there is an element of truth. I’ve been vocal about my experiences in the corporate world, I thought I was alone. Turns out millions have been feeling the same, just never voiced it. Boomers and Gen-X told you to get on with it. Millennials, despite being deeply dissatisfied became split: Some just carried on. Others tried to find alternate paths. Gen-Z’s are already checked out from that system and are looking for different paths from the start. Gen-Alpha are going to grow up in a world none of us can predict right now; most of us won’t even understand it. What can be said however, is the corporate world won’t be the same in a few years time, let alone in a decade’s time. How do you see it changing?