| Issue 6
“I feel as though my
experiences have really
opened the world to me
and I have learned how to
appreciate the fundamental
miracles around us.”
Khalifa Al Misnad,
Founding Partner at Al Misnad Law
| Khalifa overlooks the dramatic canyons on a hike in Utah, United States
many hobbies and I love to do it in Qatar, which has
some of the best kitesurfing conditions in the world.
How has the mix of being an entrepreneur, a
creative, and sports fanatic made you into the
person you are today?
As a teenager, I played basketball for the Qatar National
Team. Sports helped me to develop discipline, teamwork,
leadership, and good health. I started my entrepreneurial
journey while studying mechanical engineering and
followed it up with a master’s degree in law, which taught
me about perseverance and finding balance. I then
worked as an in-house legal counsel for Qatar Petroleum,
where I had the opportunity to travel. Through travel I
picked up photography, which really taught me how to
“frame” the world around me in a different way.
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Now I’m getting back into competitive sports and have
been running around the world – my last race was
190km in Qatar. I feel as though my experiences have
really opened the world to me and I have learned how to
appreciate the fundamental miracles around us.
How can Qatari youth build a successful career,
whilst also following their adventurous dreams?
I do not believe that a career and an adventure should
be looked at in isolation, and I have not followed a
stereotypical career path. As humans we tend to follow
the path of least resistance and often conform to external
pressures. It’s important to challenge our assumptions,
and to do so, we need to venture out of our comfort
zones to connect with our raw selves. In Qatar today, we
live extremely comfortable lives in comparison to our
ancestors, and we need to make it a point to venture into
the unknown to find the pearls.