Have you ever made an excuse about why you can’t do the work you really want to do? Yasmine Dabbous wants to inspire you to own your fate by owning your story!
She has suffered all kinds of health and economic setbacks, but she has used each experience as another chapter in her story to keep moving her career forward. Yasmine is one of those rare individuals who has truly embraced the mantra, own your fate to own your story.
Yasmine is a visual culture artist and currently runs two different art businesses! Her wearable art business, Kinship Stories, features jewelry pieces she has made through the curation of fabrics, objects and stories she has collected from her frequent travels throughout the world.
She also runs a creative space with her sister-in-law that offers affordable art classes for aspiring artists and designers in Lebanon called Espace Fann.
As Yasmine mentions in her interview, protests in Lebanon that started in the fall of 2019 have sent the country into an economic depression. It has forced her to rethink how she runs each of her businesses.
She’s pivoting Espace Fann to start offering online classes for artists across the Middle East. She’s trying to raise $25,000 to fund scholarships for 90 aspiring artists and designers.
You can support her effort by making a donation on the crowdfunding platform Zoomaal.
Lot of great lessons in our conversation including:
- Why she never wants to be limited to just one title.
- How she repackaged her journalism, academic and artistic skills to launch her business.
- The advantages of books over web searches.
- Why it takes a crisis to make a big change in our lives.
- How she differentiates herself in a crowded industry like making jewelry.
Life Skills That Matter In This Episode
- Own your fate by owning your story
- Align your habits
- Reframe your mindset
- Self-direct your learning
How Yasmine Works and Thinks
- Wake up time: 9:00 am
- Ideal work environment: Listening to music or watching a film while she embroiders.
- Superpower: Thinking a lot.
- Regains focus by: Stitching.
- 90-day goal: Raising money to help sustain Espace Fann.
Inspirational Quotes
“In a book…it’s like going directly to the post number 10,000, which is the best post you want.”
“The first thing that is required to become and entrepreneur is to not listen to your anxiety.”
“You can adapt to anything by being creative.”
Resources + Bonus Materials
Support the Espace Fann scholarship fund!
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