It is no secret that Tunisia is a dear country/city to me, it has a wonderful nature, exceptionally nice people, superb spirit and a long history of intellectual culture, and of course its people are always smiling :). But that is not the reason why I’m writing this week’s tip.

You see, since 2007, while I work across the Middle East and Africa, my travel schedule is usually very filled, and traveling across east and west is not exactly a bus trip, so you can imagine hours of travel with all the complexity of getting visas on short notice and even the absence of daily flights depending on the country boarding from and many more…

However, in about 20 countries I covered, there’s always something that has been a bit different about Tunisia; No matter how things went wrong, they eventually work out at the last minute. I can name many MANY examples, of when I thought I will miss speaking at events because flights were delayed, or that there was a 90% chance that I WON’T be able to get Visa on time or simply because a combination of all of the above made me feel like pushing my luck to the extreme to succeed.

You would really laugh when you read the details of most of my travel plans, how I needed to speak in 3 countries in 4 days, while there’s like only one chance for me to make it on time and it would be if I take one exact flight and I could make it to the airport on time with no traffic and there was no delays at customs and no delays on the flights and and and… so Chances of Success was like 1 in 75… And it was a huge risk… But yet things ALWAYS worked out… Only in that specific country…

So then I learned this wonderful trick to make me overcome the complexity of everything… SMILING… Yes I used to Smile :), and know that despite all the VIVID complexities and risks, things will work out. I was smiling like a Tunisian. 

And I still remember talking with a friend/colleague there (Selma) who was normally panicking x 100 because she’s the one organizing a training or workshop where I need to speak in…

“Don’t Worry Selma, Things will work out, they always do… It’s Tunisia, and GOD Loves Tunisia…”

Now in our life, there are so much complexities that arise while we are trying to accomplish something, and most would seem like very tiny details that could mess up everything, remember to keep your spirit high, and to smile, cause then the universe will smile back at you, and things will just work out. Smile like those wonderful people! Remember: Keep your Spirit High, Look up to the Skies and Smile like a Tunisian.

Have a great week!

Cheers,
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Samer Chidiac is a Sr. Strategist, Author & an International Innovation Expert.

The Monday Tip Weekly blog is part of the “Influencing the Life of Others” project