Mona Kattan’s life as an influencer oftentimes looks easy compared to “normal folk” who work just as hard but don’t reap the same rewards. All the glitz and glam, the excellent parties, luxury brands, high standards of living, and jet-setting lifestyle is a dream when you look at it as an outsider. Still, there’s a much deeper layer of complexity and stress that comes with being an influencer that many people don’t shed light on.
Mona Kattan took to her millions of Instagram followers to post a reel regarding 5 books that help her feel empowered. On the surface level, you see the beauty mogul dance, look happy and provide her viewers with a list of novels that focuses on the importance of self-education. Novels that all revolve around the genre of self-help.
As a reporter, I couldn’t help but question the deeper meaning of what it is Mona was trying to share with her audience. Why would she only focus on sharing novels that act as guidelines to feel empowered? Doesn’t her status and 2.7 million followers already give her a pedestal of empowerment?
Here’s the beauty in the complexity of influencing; it’s a power paradox – a play on how to manage your relevancy and influence over people in a sustainable way. Because as rapidly as you gain power, you can lose it just as fast if you don’t practice self-education and align your influential values through social practices that advance the interest of others in the first place.
Mona Kattan did not directly state it, but her personal curated library spilled all the beans, and truth be told it’s a topic I wish influencers would talk more about as it would shed light on a cut-throat industry with no rulebook on how to manage influence and balance power.
Mona Kattan shares the importance of self-education in an era where maintaining relevance as an influential figure is anything but easy.
The influencing landscape can at times be the wild west of the internet; a place where one can gain and control power over a mass following or act as a ruthless and lawless plane that can strip power away from you. There is no rulebook to follow or guidelines to help influencers, and many times the pressure of social pleasing can become overwhelming. But as Mona kickstarts a much-needed conversation we reflect on how self-education novels can help influencers better navigate tough terrain.
The 5 books shared by the Kayali founder all focus on teaching principles, self-help coping mechanisms, and insightful knowledge on how to deal with failure in order to grow. The growth that ranges from personal, professional, spiritual, or behavioral aspects in one’s life. Literally, 5 life manuals to understand your own psyche and how to better invest in yourself and those around you to improve your overall state of mind, circumstances, proactiveness, and behavior.
The importance of self-education for an influencer not only keeps you grounded but highlights aspects of what makes your influential figure important and valuable to others. It reiterates and reminds you of values and patterns of behavior (such as gratitude, empathy, and selflessness) that can easily be neglected in a world where you are put on a pedestal and handed an immense amount of power.
In addition to this, what truly sets Mona and the rest of the Kattan sisters apart is that they have over time curated their influential figures to become renowned for positive affirmations, transparency, and why they bring value to their fanbases’ lives. Utilizing their voices to create awareness for others struggling with similar issues, whether with social anxiety, low self-esteem, and feelings of unworthiness their influence stretches far beyond the world of beauty.
Ultimately the transparency Mona Kattan indirectly showcased, highlighted her constant growth for self-investment as an influential figure in society. A moment of unintentional transparency that accentuates the difficulties in managing a career under the spotlight by underlining the importance of managing power, relationships, and an awareness of a positive state of mind.
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