She Leads Africa

Imane Bensalem: Humanity needs more dreamers, storytellers, lovers and givers

[bctt tweet=”As an author @imane_bensalem deals with her start-up as a life plan rather than a business” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Ever felt so alone and isolated in the world? Imane Bensalem would know that feeling. It was a sense of isolation that lead he to start the Tribe of Why, a global community of like-minded individuals who support each other to achieve their dreams. Dreaming is something Imane strongly holds on to and her goal is to help others know that they are not alone. A community that provides support will lead to more dreams to become realities, is her philosophy. From organising local events in Marrakesh, Morocco to linking up members to start businesses in foreign countries, the Tribe of Why does it all. You’ll be motivated and ready to become part of the tribe after reading some of Imane’s wisdom. Tell me about yourself, who are you and what’s your story? What makes Imane the human she is? Pain is a great teacher, the truest of all. And I have had my share of pain. I could not be grateful for it when I was younger, but I am now. Because those nights I did not know if I would make it to the next morning were the reason I can now give so much love to others and be a leader who is altruist and empathetic. I am Imane, they call me Mani. I am the founder of Tribe Of Why and author of The Bird who Lived with Humans. In addition, I connect people who share the same life dreams because I believe that dreams unite the human race and go beyond our societal barriers. Dreams build the future and sharing them with many other supporters around the world will enrich each individual in the Tribe and will inspire them to continue the search for meaning. How were your childhood and growing phases an inspiring force for the Tribe of Why? I was a single child of a single mother. I experienced isolation and questioned the capacity of our educational system to get me out of such a situation. My mother is a professor, and she agreed that the system did not allow her to be present in her own child’s life. I started seeking knowledge in people —through deep talks— rather than books, and authentic liaisons rather than superficial links with others. Then, I succeeded at building an international tribe for myself and they were my school, my inspiration and now, my Tribe Of Why members. I wanted to extend this experience to every other human on planet because with the amount of connectivity allowed to us, I do not see why anyone should suffer isolation or give up on their dream just due to a lack of local support. The global pool of talent is so big and rich that even the wildest of dreams will always have a match somewhere. [bctt tweet=”I don’t see why anyone should give up on their dream due to lack of local support” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] As an author, I deal with my start-up as a life plan rather than an actual business. I try to bring my life learnings into my work and allow art to be a constructive part of business. Art changes people and people change the world. I try to be a vehicle of that change. What inspired you to begin the Tribe of Why? Walking into my room everyday is an inspiration to continue building the Tribe Of Why. If you walk into my room you will find cards from a best friend in Greece, letters from another friend in Spain, Germany,  and dried flowers from Maldives. A regular day for me could look like a brain-cafe with an inspirational entrepreneur/friend from Vienna, then a meeting with a stranger who just landed from the UK for the first time in Marrakesh. Her first destination was a Tribe of Why event in the city. Then this stranger becomes a friend, she meets me 2 or 3 more times and then tells me she found love here, in this new city, during one of my events. All of the things I just stated actually happened. I began Tribe Of Why the day I started a small talent community in my business university. Within 3 months we grew to 300 members throwing the biggest flash mob defending women rights. The dance was designed by us, the DJ was a student too, we were self-sufficient because we were a tribe that shared the same passion; passion for art and freedom. What is Tribe of Why about? Is it a single tribe in one location or stretched across the globe? Tribe Of Why allows you to connect with creative minds, thinkers, entrepreneurs and dreamers across the globe, but also locally. When you are travelling, you can rely on the tribe to host you and co-create ideas with you. But, you can also share coffee with the wannabe author next-door that you never actually knew about until you joined the tribe. We are a moveable feast of knowledge and creativity. Also, small talk is something you won’t have to endure in the tribe, we go deep! Why do you think your tribe is important in our day and age? It is extremely important during our current times to cultivate love, empathy and peace. Such things expand out of themselves when connections from one human to another are true and purposeful. Many of our youth today use the social platforms to compare themselves to others, they deepen their depression and sense of isolation from the world. We want people to understand they are all on the same quest. This is why we care about building tribes who share the same dreams, they implicitly share the same pursuit and same obstacles. But together, it is easier to overcome these obstacles in contrast to being alone and feeling maladjusted to the world during such a pursuit. How do you think this can help humanity? In a