The Story Behind GOVINME

Before I could lead others, I needed to learn to lead myself.

I am the eldest of five siblings and the eldest grandson among my cousins. Growing up, leadership was a responsibility I often found myself carrying.

I was raised in a middle-income family during a period when the oil and gas industry was booming. Engineering seemed like a promising path, and I was encouraged to pursue it.

During my engineering degree, I became actively involved in student committees and my country’s political movements. I was drawn to opportunities to represent others, organize people, and contribute to something larger than myself.

My degree was supposed to take eight semesters—four years. But in my seventh semester, I failed.

That setback changed my direction. I started over, this time pursuing business studies and spending several more years in college. Throughout that period, I remained active in student leadership, eventually serving as president of the Student Representative Council.

After graduation, we ventured into entrepreneurship. We started a marketing and advertising company and explored businesses in food and beverage, landscaping, and other areas. Within a few years, those businesses had failed.

I began asking myself a difficult question:

Why did I love leading, yet struggle to sustain the things I led?

I could not ignore the pattern. I had held leadership positions and taken on responsibilities, but something was missing.

Determined to improve, I attended leadership courses, read books, and listened to talks and podcasts. Over time, those efforts brought me to a realization that changed how I understood leadership:

I needed to develop my self-leadership.

I wanted to organize people, yet I struggled to organize myself. My time, finances, and health needed greater attention. Before taking on more responsibility for others, I needed to become more responsible for how I managed my own life.

That realization became the starting point for GOVINME.

A Government Within Me

As I built more organized routines, healthier habits, and better ways of managing my responsibilities, my life gradually improved.

GOVINME grew out of that process. I developed it by adapting an idea familiar to me from my involvement in leadership and politics: the structure of a government.

A government can set a long-term vision—perhaps looking 30 years ahead—and translate it into missions, responsibilities, and shorter-term goals. Ministries work within their areas of responsibility, while their efforts must remain aligned with the country’s wider direction.

I began to see how that structure could help me lead my own life.

What if I treated my life as a government—and accepted my role as its Prime Minister?

I would need a vision: a clear sense of the life I wanted to build.

I would need missions that gave that vision practical meaning.

I would need ministries with specific responsibilities, goals, and measures of progress.

And I would need to review those commitments regularly, take responsibility for my decisions, and make adjustments when things were not working.

Three Ministries. One Shared Vision.

Within GOVINME, I organized those responsibilities into three ministries:

The Ministry of Finance
To manage financial resources, set meaningful targets, and work toward greater stability.
The Ministry of Education
To keep learning, develop understanding, apply knowledge, and grow the ability to share it with others.
The Ministry of Health
To care for physical and mental well-being through consistent habits and realistic goals.

Each ministry has its own objectives and key performance indicators—simple measures that help me see whether I am making progress. Those objectives become monthly priorities and weekly actions. Together, they support one greater vision for my life.

As Prime Minister of my own government, my responsibility is to keep that vision in view, monitor progress across the ministries, and make thoughtful decisions about my time, energy, and resources.

Leadership Begins Within

GOVINME is a system shaped by setbacks, reflection, and the ongoing work of improving myself.

It reminds me that holding a leadership position does not automatically mean I am prepared to lead well. Leadership also lives in the everyday choices I make: how I spend my time, manage my money, care for my health, and act on what I learn.

Learning to lead myself has given me a stronger foundation for taking responsibility for others.

That is the possibility I want to share through this planner.

As you develop your self-leadership, you can become better prepared to lead within your family, workplace, organization, or company. Perhaps, one day, your journey may even lead you to serve your country.

Wherever that journey takes you, lead honestly. Stay true to your values. Be willing to learn, and take responsibility for your actions.

You are the Prime Minister of your own government.

It all starts within you.