This is Mind Shift Power Podcast, the number one critically acclaimed podcast where we have raw, unfiltered conversations that shape tomorrow. I'm your host, Fatima Bey, the Mind Shifter.

And welcome everyone. Today we have with us Hussein Halleck. He is out of Canada and he is the founder and CEO of Next Decentrum. This man is not your average businessman. He's very unique and I'm really excited about this conversation. So Hussein, how are you today? I'm doing very well, Fatima. Thank you for having me. Thank you for coming on. So I like to dive right into it. So tell us who are you and why did you come on this podcast today?

I guess I describe myself as an entrepreneur and I'm also a mentor and an author. I love to talk to people and help them figure out their life and their business because they're interrelated. And I'm here because you hold great conversations that talk to the youth, are, some of them are my kids who are the youth, part of the youth. And I've...

had the privilege of mentoring a lot of youth and it's one of the most enjoyable things that I've done. And your ability to connect with youth is partly why you're on here, but you are a different thinker. You are not average. And we're going to talk about that. So most people chase innovation for profit and you have blended innovation with purpose. So you don't just build, but

you build to influence culture. And that is very different. So what brought you to make that choice? I think throughout my life, I've always wanted to do something that mattered. From my upbringing, the kind of influences that I had, the name that I carry, which is the name of my uncle, how my family looked at me. I've always thought that if I want to do something, dedicate time for it, it's

It better matter to someone and it better add value to someone. It's going to be equally as hard, which I did. I tried. I'm not a saint. I went the path of trying to make a lot of money and I tried to do stuff that, you know, gives me status and I look good in front of people. And the things that brought me the most, would say joy, happiness, and the things that fulfill me the most were the things that

added value to people because whenever I'm alone, like things don't have meaning. The things that enjoy the most are usually with someone else, sometimes more. So that is how I became, you know, obsessed with doing something that adds value to people, that has a purpose, that takes us somewhere, whether it's me and the people around me. And it's wonderful to...

to bump into people who will come in and tell you, know, I really thank you. I enjoyed this. I had value with this because it's the best feedback that you can have, not just to build yourself up and, you know, feel important, but you see the value of the things that you worked on and how much impact they have.

And that is awesome. So I'm gonna pull out, I'm gonna extract some of what you said because I wanna point out a principle, a key principle that I wanna really highlight out of what you just said. And that is that you went the path of chasing money down, chasing, know, ooh, look at me, I got the fastest car and the most money, ain't I great? And that didn't satisfy you. So you chose, and it is a choice, you chose to go a different route.

You still make money, none wrong with that, but to make money while also fulfilling purpose. And that is a narrative that I'm constantly teaching and preaching. And I love that you're going to tell us how you did that. So what we haven't talked about yet is what does that look like in practice? What is it that you build? Well, in regards to choice, I make a lot of choices. The only way to know that you're making good choices is to make a lot of bad ones.

The way we understand choice, found that, I mean, even me when I was first starting is that if you give the choice too much power in the sense that this choice is going to make or break me or going to govern what I do for the next 20 years, most of the time, no choices are like that. And you can always make a different choice the moment after unless like it's really consequential choice. There are some choices like that.

But most choices in life are easy choices that you can make and make again and again. So the more choices you make, more often, the more practice you have. So that's how I got around to do that. And what I do in daily life is I actually help people who are building businesses to build a far more, I would say, influential, impactful business that adds value. Because at the end of the day,

A great business, a business that grows is a business that makes a great promise and delivers on that promise. At the end of the day, your clients want value from you. So you have to constantly be involved in how you deliver value. make businesses so much, business has so many moving parts, but it's as simple as a car. If you look at a car, of course you can open it up and it has like a, you know, I don't know, a hundred thousand pieces.

But at the end of the day, the principle of a car is simple. You go from A to B. And depending on what kind of car, it can be a Formula One or it can be, you know, a Toyota. And depending on where you want to go, a Formula One may sound like a great car, but it doesn't serve you on the regular streets and in the busyness of a city. And a Toyota doesn't work on a NASCAR, let's say, ring. So it's really a business, it's just a mechanism.

deliver value. So I like to simplify things when I work with business leaders and when I work with entrepreneurs, when I work with even youth who are trying to build something and trying to understand this, how do they find their place in life? I like to simplify things, teach it to them, help them do it. And I've been lucky that I've been able to help some young entrepreneurs build hundred million dollar companies. I love to simplify things. I love to teach. And that is

the core of what I do and everything I do. So it sounds like you teach principles first, detail second. Would that be an accurate way to say it? That's a great way of saying it, yeah. I do too, and I love it. I believe very strongly in it because when you do that, then it helps people have the right mindset. I see you as sort of a mindshifter in certain areas of business. And I think that's a beautiful thing because

What you just described is exactly that. Sounds like you help people to think differently, see the principles, and then let's talk about the details of how to accomplish that. instead of just one, two, three, you're robot, follow this formula and everything will work out. It doesn't because it doesn't always because we need our minds in the right place to handle that one, two, three first. And I love that you're doing that. So can you give me an example of

in whether in art or tech where you have where you've done this for one of your businesses. Yeah, absolutely. In our current business, actually, right now, we're opening a business in Egypt and you're starting a new market that you know very little about. We have a team member there that is running with the business and it's challenging to figure out

You know, every market has its own details, has its own mechanisms, has its own forces and things you can't predict because we're not there. We're not on the ground. And even though I traveled there, I stayed there for a month, I could never understand all the things, all the forces that control the market and change the market. So when we come down to certain principles and certain details that are, uh, avoid, would say the details and come back to the, what the core of the business is.

Even throughout the challenges of language, throughout the challenges of culture, people relate to that. Because when you simplify things, people can understand them, can grasp them. And right now we moved from a business that just started a few months ago, and now we're just about to sign really big contracts. And the people we're working with, they want to put us in front of the kind of the biggest names in that market. Because

we were able to simplify things and we're able to have a conversation with them that, you know, we don't throw a pitch deck at them and a one hour sales meeting. Our meeting with them is like 15 minutes. Here's what we do. Here's how it adds value to you. Here's how it will add value to other people. And people love that. It's like, if I'm inviting you, you know, if I'm saying, come, let's meet up and we'll figure it out and like, okay, I'm not sure. But if I say, Hey,

I have a great meal, you know, we're to eat sushi, for example, you know, come along. It's, it's a simple ask. It's like, yeah, of course I want to eat and you can make a choice there to eat it or not. Or maybe you don't like sushi, but that is how simple a conversation should be. We make business far more complicated than it needs to be. And in big companies, maybe it is, but at the small level of building a small company and growing it, usually the simplest principles.

are the most powerful. Yes. And let me ask you this, because I think I already know how you're going answer, but you've built businesses in Canada, correct? And now you are helping to build businesses in Egypt, or at least a business. Do you handle them differently?

Hmm. I, if I look back, I don't. I usually, I think one of the things that, that are unique to me is my consistency in how I apply certain things. think when you stand to serve for certain principles, like I learned branding while I was in Dubai, I grew up in Syria, but then I worked in Dubai and I was fascinated with branding and everything I read about branding was built for America. America is the kind of the

The kings of marketing, the kings of branding, they invented this stuff. So I'm learning about these things, but then you need to apply them in a different market, in a different setting. And a lot of people would come in and say, we need to apply them in a different way. And I've found that if you actually strip things down to the, I would say the key principles, the foundation,

Things will apply in every single market. You just have to remove all of the fluff around them. because at the end of the day, people are the same wherever you go. There are cultural differences, but if you look at the things that are universal, what we love, the things that we enjoy, they're kind of universal. At their heart, they're universal. So that's what I found. And I think if you simplify things and you ask yourself, what do people

really want, what is the thing that will touch on the heart of almost everyone, you will be in touch with those principles that work anywhere you go.

The reason I ask that is because it goes back to what I was saying earlier and how you and I both think we believe in principles first, details second. And there's a lot of people that would say, okay, well, you built businesses in Canada, the culture is very similar to the US, Western civilization. You go over to Egypt. Egypt, they speak Arabic, the men are dominant, most of them are Muslim, and they're in the desert. So therefore, everything must be different.

But I see that as those are just details. The principle is the same because you're right. Humans are humans everywhere you go. I don't care what color they are, what language they speak, what continent they're on. We all want the same things as humans and the same principles work for all of us. We may apply them a little bit differently. So the work is gonna be done in Arabic instead of English. That's a minor detail, but a relevant one, obviously, but the principles.

the principles, and I say that because I just want to extract every lesson I can out of you. The principles don't change. And that's why I asked you that, because I knew you were going to say that. You know, if we just stop getting stuck in details and bring it down to the bare bones, as you say, strip it down to the principles and start working from there, we handle things differently. I'll tell you, I used to tutor math. I used to teach in tutor math.

I actually love math. The way algebra works, my brain is wired that way. You break things down, you take them apart, put them back together, and I see all the moving parts and connect all the dots. I naturally do that. So for me, that math was easy. But for most people, math is hard. If you're not a mathematical thinker, it's really difficult. And I understood that. So what I would do is instead of teaching them, OK, here's how you do this formula, here's how you do that formula so you get past the test, just don't freaking understand nothing.

So what I would do is I would use analogies that they could relate to, whether it's cars, whether it's race, whether it's vacuum cleaners, water, whatever I could use that they would understand to get them to understand the mathematical principles first. Once they understood the mathematical principles, now let's carry that over into the actual equations that you to figure out past this test. Then it was easy for them. They're like, my God, I got that. I'm like, yeah, you do understand it. It just has to be explained differently. And I liken that to what you're explaining is that you

You are you're not adjusting your principles. You're only adjusting the details. Is that a good way to say it? think I think that's that's a very good example. When you mentioned math, I love math and I used to be very, very good because I studied engineering and I used to math was I used to kind of spend time trying to solve equations. And as you said, there are certain principles that no matter what problem math problem they put in front of you, you go back to the principles and you try different things.

Until you get you get the solution you can't memorize I didn't memorize I would I would actually come back to the principles and I follow and I try to solve the problem and find different paths That's how I that's how I would I would work through math and I think if we if we bring it bring it to a very clear example When when we talk there are many different things when you go to Egypt when you go to Dubai for example in Dubai You can meet a customer at 10 30 p.m

They would call you, they would not consider it rude to call you at 10 p.m. They would be talking business, like they would not say, sorry for calling you this late. It's like, hey, Hussein, what about this, this, this? And then we say, well, let's catch up and we'll go to the mall and we'll sit, have a coffee at 10.30 p.m. talking business. So I can, yeah, can see in your face that, because we have cameras, like I can see how you're surprised. In Vancouver, for example.

After five, don't talk to anybody about business. In fact, in Vancouver, you can't go network. People rarely go to networking events because they have a strict life work life balance. For example, in Egypt, don't talk to anyone before 10 10 AM. You know, they go to work at 10 AM. Yeah. So for example, it's the opposite. So every there are these things that are culturally different. So we to learn that.

However, when you're having conversation with someone, it's like me having a conversation with you. You can be from America. You can be from Djibouti. You can be from I don't care France, for example. At the end of the day, if I'm kind with you and I'm respectful, these are principles that will go a long way, regardless of where your culture. don't have to study your culture and understand all of the, let's say, how you say certain things and all of that. I just have to know that as a human being,

I need to understand that I'm respectful of you. I give you the respect and the care and attention and listen to you. Then we can have a great conversation. When we go to a business meeting, I explain to them, hey, business is a value exchange. Your customer expect value and you have to deliver value that they're expecting. So business principles are simple. Talk to the customer, find out what they value, and then find the best way to deliver to them in the

price they're willing to pay. That is what business is. Everybody understand that. Now, if I start telling them, you know, business is, you know, strategy, marketing, sales, and this is how we do it here, this is how we do it there, I'll be correct, but I'll be, people will listen and they will shake their heads and we will not close the deal. The best time when I close the deal is when I explain and break things down in such a way that they, like when you said with math,

The difference between two math teachers, one comes in and make things so easy, two, three things, and people feel they have a grasp on it and they love that math teacher. Another person can be a professor, know, one of the greatest minds in math and throw stuff at them. And they're like, I can't, I'm not getting anything. I know he's correct. And I know he's the master of his universe, but I'm not getting anything. I love that math teacher, even though they're less experienced than the professor.

Yes, absolutely. what legacy are, with all the work that you're doing, what legacy are you leaving behind? Well, I hope, especially with the book that I've written, I left a legacy of people sticking to their principles, making their own choices in life, and living life their way. The one thing I want for people is to live life on their own terms. Life

doesn't listen to us. Life has so many things that throws at us. It's like I call it the sea of life. The sea doesn't listen to the captain. You can be the greatest captain in the world and the sea will not listen to you. You can be sailing and everything looks fine and then it throws a storm your way and destroys your ship and throws you off track. You can't control that but what you can control are the choices you make, how you navigate, how you

grow yourself. So I like for people to understand that and to live a life as much as possible on their own terms with their making their own choices, navigating to the destination they want, because it's only one life that we live. So that is the legacy I want to leave for people. And that's what I do every day, helping them with their business, with their life, with the book that I write, with the writings that I put out there. That is what I want for people to do.

By the way, does have, Hussein does have a lot on his website in terms of blogs. He'll tell you the website at the end, but you should take a look at them because they're very smart. Thank you. That's like the minimal word for it, but they're pretty good and you should definitely take a look at them. So what I hear is that you leave legacy by influencing those you work with to have the freedom.

to work on their own terms and to think about it in a healthy way that helps them to do better at it and be successful. But what I also hear is the extended legacy is the influence that those people will have on their environments, the influence that those people will have on maybe the youth around them, the influence that those people will have on the city, on their neighbors, on other people.

And that's why I believe in so strongly in what you do because it's partly what I'm doing here. If I influence one, they might go out and influence another. And that just translates into lives changed. like I said in the beginning, a lot of people do what you do and they only have corporate mindset and making money in bottom line in their purview, in their sights. But with you, yeah, you make all that money too.

but you're doing it with purpose, which is far more fulfilling and exciting, and also why you're memorable where we forget about everybody else. So let me ask you this, what do you want this next generation to take away from all that you were doing? I think, if I'm to be honest, it's not just about what I'm doing. I think we live our life, unfortunately, everybody wants us to be somebody else.

And all I want for people, I don't think there's anything wrong with going after the things you want to go after. I make it a point in anything that I do is that, you know, if you want the cars, go after the cars. If you want the money, go after the money, but go after them because you want them, not because somebody told you, you should want them. That is the only thing I ask of people. There's nothing wrong with pursuing what you want to pursue.

You want, you want the spotlight by all means. I went after the spotlight. I was a headliner in a band in a rock band when I was in Syria. I, I was on TV, the morning show, 40 million viewers in, in when I was in Dubai, everything that I thought I wanted to go after, I would go after. But I always, I tell this advice to my son as well. said, don't just follow the herd. If you want to do something, do it because you chose it because when you choose it.

you have the accountability and the responsibility. And when you do that, then you can grow. If you've done it for, because other people have done it, you won't grow and you will, nobody will carry the responsibility. Nobody would say, well, if you've done it because you followed me, well, I guess I'm responsible. Nobody would do that. So because at the end of the day, responsibility will fall upon you and you will be held accountable for what you think, what you say, what you do. So you better do that.

from a place of choice, from a place that you chose them. So what that means is that you need to take the time to pursue, understand why you're pursuing these things. And if you don't know why, take a moment and make a choice about it. If you wanna drink, drink because you choose it. If you wanna play with the kids, play with the kids because you wanna choose it. If you wanna play basketball, play basketball because you choose it. So.

And when you make those choices and when you're comfortable with yourself making a choice, when the moment comes, you'll be able to think on your feet. You'll be able to be solid with your choices and nobody will be able to sway you because you're confident of yourself. You know what you want to choose. You know what you want. A lot of people, unfortunately get swept away into different lifestyles and they wake up when they're 30, 40, whatever. I was like, did I live the life that I wanted?

Did I become me or I became somebody else? A version of somebody else, which it's empty or it's not what I want. So that's what I want for people is to make their own choices and become their own person. I couldn't agree with you. A thousand percent more would not be enough. I couldn't agree with you more. You're so, so, so right. And that is a key principle that some of the adults need to learn.

Because some of them are still 13 when it comes to that. There's a lot of adults who still haven't figured that part out. And if that's you, it's not too late. It really isn't. You are where you are, whatever. I'm not everywhere I should be. I will be. But life happens, we make choices. But I love what you just said. Yes. Yeah.

A lot of people blame themselves and they think they are the ones that are weak and they are the ones that didn't make decision and whatever reasons you make up. But you have to understand that there's a whole systemic system in place to take away that choice from you. Your parents make the choices when you're young because they have to, they're the adults. But then they hand you over to school, nothing wrong with school, I love school, but school has certain paths for you.

It's already been decided that, for example, music is reduced, math is upgraded. So it may not work for you. It may work for certain people. I love math, for example. Some other people love music. So these paths are made to you for you. And when you graduate from school, also the paths of life are always chosen for you. So you almost have to choose from what's available to you. And you're not asked throughout life, what do you choose? What do you want?

and you're not encouraged to do that on a regular basis and often as it needs to be. When you do that as often as you need to be, you'll grow that muscle. That muscle has not been used. That's all that it is. It's a muscle that you have, but you haven't used it enough. That's why you struggle when somebody asks you, you want chocolate or vanilla? know, people, do you want to eat pizza? I don't know. You know, like the smallest choices people don't know how to make. You've been there. You've been sitting with people and like forever, you know, it's all like two, three people.

having to choose one thing and people don't know. It's because we never use that muscle. I'm using that, of course, like I'm making it a big deal out of it, but just to illustrate the difference. the more you use that muscle, the better you will get. So it's never too late. Start using it right now and don't go into the blame and I made bad choices. Everybody makes bad choices. Very good point. Very, very good point. So Hussein, how can people find you?

easy. Go to HusseinHalak.com and I am actually, you can find my book, you can find a lot of my writings and you can reach out to me if you have a question for me. I've always, I always like to take questions and answer them and I'm launching a mentorship program available for people. So I hope for people, the book I wrote it so that people can have access to everything I mentor and talk about in an easy way. It's like, I think $2 on

Amazon so it's very very accessible and if that's too much for you reach out to me I'll make it available for you. I want people to benefit my book is actually creative commas so people can take it can use it can rip it can Can teach it to others I want more people to learn and more people to grow and more people to become confident in their choices and more people to become their own people

Yes, and for those of you who are listening right now and you're looking for someone to speak to you, I think he's a really good choice because we need more people like him that can relate to them, that can actually talk to them and do some mind shifting in a good way because our next generation needs more people like that. So thank you, Hussein, so, so, so much for coming on. I really enjoyed talking to you. I wish we had another 17 hours, but we only do one show today.

And once again, thank you.

You've been listening to My Shift Power Podcast for complete show notes on this episode and to join our global movement, find us at FatimaBay.com. Until next time, always remember there's power in shifting your thinking.