Adeeba Aqeel is a self-care and personal development blogger whose enthusiasm, friendly personality, and kind nature shines through! Whilst navigating herself through her 20s, from graduating with a master’s degree, and countless rejections, she found herself wanting more from life, a life with meaning, passion, and purpose. Adeeba made the decision to let it light her heart on fire.
For some time, she has served as a support system to people seeking advice, inspiration, and motivation. In 2019, she made it her mission to spread as much positivity as she could by launching her own blog. Adeeba is a Content Executive and Motivational Speaker. With her passion, determination, and kind heart, she has begun living a life that focuses on service over the ‘standard’ way of living.
With the support from an amazing network of women, she has appeared in many podcasts to help people learn, share, and grow with her and one another.
Thank you for interviewing with us today, can you introduce yourself to us?
I’m Adeeba, founder of adeebaaqeel.online – a self-care and personal development blog created to help people embrace who they are, to pursue their passions and to live life. Before launching my blog, I was pursuing my master’s degree in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics and became a blog writer for the careers team. Upon completing my master’s degree, I entered the world of work and started blogging as a hobby.
I’m also a new aunt to a gorgeous nephew! When I’m not working, I enjoy motivational speaking, cooking, listening to podcasts and walking in nature. I’m constantly seeking new experiences because they help me grow and open my mind to endless possibilities.
Can you take us through your journey to where you are now?
Writing and helping people was something I enjoyed. It wasn’t until a friend suggested to me to start my own blog, that I started thinking about this deeply. What a great idea I said. After publishing my first blog post, it was clear to me that I wanted to make a difference to people’s lives. The positive feedback touched me, and I could help people naturally. When it feels natural, you know you’re doing something right!
Appearing in podcasts I fell into through writing for my blog. When I was in my second year of blogging, I had a couple of podcast hosts who asked if I could talk about my experiences on their show. Once I featured as a guest in a few shows, more requests came.
Have you ever had a mentor? If so, how has this benefitted you either personally or professionally?
I do have a mentor who is a Career’s Advisor in a university and offers coaching, mentoring, and workshops. She is pretty great.
My mentor has helped me in all stages of my life, from the courage to continue looking for jobs, to helping me process failures and learn from them, to motivating and guiding me. The impact of having someone listen to you and support you is fundamental, and they’ll see your potential when sometimes, you can’t see it yourself. Having a mentor ensures you have a clear headspace to reflect and grow.
What outlets do use for marketing?
I use Instagram and Facebook a lot right now, but I don’t heavily rely on them, as the organic reach has started to decline. Podcasts are a great platform, there’s more room for creativity I feel.
What or Who has inspired you most recently?
Radhi Devlukia Shetty has been a true inspiration. I stumbled upon her Instagram one day and was drawn to the energy that she put out in her videos. Her outlook on life, and how simple things in your day can help you feel positive, left me in awe.
What is the best piece of business advice you have received to date?
Invest in yourself. This meant continuing to learn new things and gain new experiences in order to pass my knowledge onto others. Not only did this advice help me professionally, but it also helped me grow as a person.
How do you create an evenly balanced work and personal life?
I think about what I enjoy doing every day. My purpose is to have a positive impact on people’s lives so whether it’s work or my personal life, my goal is to be thoughtful, kind and build positive relationships. As long as I’m making a difference, that’s all that matters to me.
Name a seminal point in your career so far?
Recently, I was facing countless job rejections and felt like nothing was working out for me. We learn more about ourselves when life isn’t going according to our plan. It gave me space and time to think about what I really wanted and despite how difficult it was, I’m grateful for it because of how much I grew.
What gives you ultimate career satisfaction?
People telling me that I’m helping them. It’s an amazing feeling and something I wish everyone can experience. In life, you have the choice to make a difference. And when you do, it’s beautiful.
Are there any leading entrepreneurs or SME leaders that you admire and if so, why?
David Allen, Digby Vollrath, Sina Yamani, and many others. I admire them because they makes you believe in the power of a single idea, hard work and success. If they can do it, so can I!
How do you define your own success?
I believe it’s about finding out, initially, what you want to achieve. It sounds simple but it’s a step that’s often disregarded. What do you really want? What will get you out of bed? Once you have an answer to those questions, you can work from there to define some measures of success.
Finally, what can we expect from you next?
I have new podcast episodes coming out, which I’m excited about. I am also exploring motivational speaking opportunities and intend to indulge in my passion for writing to extend my reach and help more people.
