During A-Fest, Mindvalley tested out their AI matching for the first time based on the profiles we submitted.
We got our list of the top 5 matches after the first day.
I saw my list and had no idea where to start, as they were complete strangers.
Even with profile photos, it was difficult to spot them among 300 plus attendees.
Then one of my matches found me.
She came straight up to me after one of the seminars and said “I think I am your match.”
We started chatting and moved ourselves to one of the poolside loungers.
She has the same birthday as my best friend in high school and lived in Toronto, where I live now, for 15 years.
She is a single mom of 2 grown children, now 24 and 18.
The Dead Sea sun was beaming down on us, but we didn’t seem to notice and lost track of time in our conversation.
April Sabral worked her way up from a part-time sales associate to a senior executive who led retail teams for brands such as Apple, Starbucks, Banana Republic, Holt Renfrew, and DAVID’S TEA.
She is now a Positive Leadership coach.
What we have in common is that we are both coaches and we both know what it is like to work our way from the bottom up.
I volunteered at my kids’ schools when they were young, from being a trip chaperon to helping out at school fairs and lunches, to being a Speech Contest Judge and Science Fair judge.
At my son’s swim club, I started out as a timer.
I then became a Bingo volunteer and Coordinator, and went on to becoming the Sponsorship & Fundraising Committee Chair, where with the help of my team and 350 volunteers, we achieved a Guinness World Record of Most People Floating with Pool Noodles Simultaneously in 2019.
I was then elected Director of the Board and became Secretary of the Board during the pandemic where I organized our club’s first SGM and AGM via online meeting platforms and the subsequent AGM via zoom.
My last position at the club was Vice-President before my departure in the end of October 2021, because my son chose to leave competitive swimming.
I appreciated my volunteer experience because I got to learn so many new skills and interacted with people from all walks of life drawn together by swimming.
But, I also downplayed my volunteer work most of the time.
However, in my conversation with April, she helped me realize that whether it was paid work or volunteer experience, they were both valuable.
Those skills could be carried forward into whatever it was that we chose to do in life.
We were so comfortable with each other after our long talk that we also hung out a lot during the event.
Thank you, April, for approaching me and being so open about your personal journey and inquisitive about what I do.
On the bus ride to our Bedouin night party, I sat beside Ibtehal who was fully adorned and dressed for the Bedouin theme.
She was busy helping others who needed accessories to complete their outfits or makeup help.
After things got quiet and more settled on the bus, we got to chat.
She is the Senior Localization Coordinator for Mindvalley. She is also a single mom of 2 from Yemen.
Right when she told me that, I asked her if getting a divorce was easy in Yemen.
As you could probably imagine, it was a very difficult process.
Even when she was trying to get a cesarean in the hospital, she needed her father to come to the hospital to give consent (as she already separated from her husband then).
She then relocated to Malaysia with her 2 children after the divorce, because things with her ex were not easy.
I felt very fortunate to be living in a country where I have more dominion over my own body.
Our system is not perfect, but we can always improve, right?
She was so strong and courageous to do what she did and to break away from the cultural chains and expectations of women in her country.
I could not even imagine the effort and mental fortitude that she must have exhibited throughout the whole relocation process with her children.
Thank you, Ibtehal, for sharing your personal story with me.
Your story will inspire those who may be undergoing the same circumstances as you went through.
My next connection was with someone whom I had not met or seen until that moment.
We were doing an intimacy workshop and were supposed to pair up with someone close to us.
I arrived the workshop late and was just standing in the back of the room, not close to anyone.
While I was debating if I should stay because of the arrangement, a woman came around to the back close to where I was standing. She was also taken by surprise with the pairing arrangement.
Bibi Brzozka, a Sex, Love, Relationship Coach and international speaker, was the speaker for the session. She said it didn’t matter if it was a man-woman pair or same-sex pair.
I thought about it quickly and asked the woman if she would like to be my partner, as I was not comfortable pairing up with a man.
I guess we were both curious about how the session would play out and were open to the experience, because she said yes.
Nothing crazy happened but we certainly learned some tricks about how to communicate better with our partners.
It was from this shared experience, we started to chat and found out we had a lot of similar experiences.
Pravina taught English in Taiwan before and had a Taiwanese boyfriend.
She has travelled all over the world and has had many different jobs.
My path was similar before I became a stay-at-home mom.
I taught English in Taiwan at one point in my life and also had a Taiwanese boyfriend.
I also travelled to many countries and worked at different places, while following and supporting my husband’s career path.
Pravina, who is originally from South Africa and now lives in Malaysia, is a very independent woman.
She is a Creative coach and works as Affiliate Account Manager for Mindvalley.
After the intimacy session, we went out to the poolside for “Poetry under the Stars” performed by Dana Dajani.
Dana is an award-winning Palestinian artist and whom I will talk about more later.
Pravina and I sat together and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere among the attendees.
Then we chatted for like another couple of hours until we just couldn’t stop our yawns anymore.
I’m so grateful that you stayed and said yes to be my partner, Pravina.
The last day of A-Fest arrived.
On the way to the A-Fest “Wear Your Crown” closing party, when I got on the bus, I saw an empty seat beside a Master intuitive spiritual teacher whom I loved.
Because I didn’t see any other open seats, I asked her if it was ok for me to sit beside her.
She said for sure. One of the most ‘normal’ conversations ensued.
Who was she? Sonia Choquette.
I loved her as a teacher, especially her techniques in helping us to listen to our hearts and our intuition.
I never knew much about her personal life though.
We talked about where she was from (Montreal, Canada) and what she is doing now.
I asked her about the experience I had during SOMA breathwork earlier that morning with Niraj Naik and what it all meant.
She was also curious about what I do, how 10X works, and my reasons for wanting to be a 10X Coach.
One of her close friends is also Taiwanese.
I felt so privileged to be able to share what I have learned from my certifications and my own personal transformation with her.
When we arrived and were getting ready to leave the bus, she asked me to contact her because she was interested in learning more about 10X.
I said, for sure, and said that she didn’t really have to work with me if the time zone didn’t work for her.
I could recommend other coaches.
What she told me was, “Don’t tell people that they don’t have to work with you.”
Wow! Those words hit me like a brick, so profound and powerful.
I had taken the time to explain 10X to her and had build a rapport with her.
I needed to own up to what I was able to offer to people and not be humble or shy at that moment.
I really appreciated her pointing that out to me. Thank you, Sonia.
During the closing party, I hung out with someone who was reserved like me but even more introverted than I was.
His name was Alun.
He is originally from Scotland, got married in Denmark, and has lived there for more than 25 years.
He has organized live and online events with many prominent teachers like Michael Beckwith, Srikumar Rao, and more.
I had similar experiences, on a smaller scale, where I invited speakers to my son’s swim club to help swimmers with their nutrition, swim-school-family balance, as well as having an Olympian share her personal journey.
Alun has been an athlete all his life and his kids are also involved in his sport, Badminton.
On the bus ride home, he started quizzing me about 10X and about certain health practices.
I did not mind.
It confirmed to me that much of what I have learned from my certifications and have shared with my clients is based on sound science and practices.
I’m grateful that he quizzed me because I knew it was out of love.
If I felt uncomfortable, it would have meant that I needed to go back and relearn certain subjects.
I am even more confident in my ability as a coach now. Thank you, Alun.
The final day was for post-event connections and collecting our Sugar cubes.
Sugar cubes were little notes that we could leave for people with whom we felt a connection with or thank someone for their kind gesture.
It was also a day to relax and deepen our connections with people before our trip to Petra the next day.
I got to speak with Dana Dajani on the steps of the hotel lobby with whom I only had a brief conversation with the night before.
She is brilliant and a master at her craft.
She was the performer for Poetry under the Stars that I attended with Pravina.
I told her how much I loved her hair. It was full of beautiful and tight curls.
For someone who’s had straight hair most of her life, I was quite envious of her curls.
With her Greek Goddess look the night before, I thought she literally walked out of one of the paintings from the Ottoman Era.
She is a talented actress and poet and so humble.
I only found out later through her profile that she was honored as Emirates Woman “Artist of the Year” and received the “Young Arab Award for Entertainment” in 2016.
And here she was sitting at one of the steps of the hotel stairs asking me about 10X and what I’ve done.
At the end of our conversation, she even extended an invitation to show me around Amman the next time I’m in Jordan.
I don’t know when I will return to Jordan but I truly appreciated your offer and kindness, Dana.
During post-event connection, I got reacquainted with Eva and Zoulfia whom I met during the Bedouin Party.
Eva was staying in the hotel next to ours and offered to take us on a tour of her hotel.
While Marriot Dead Sea was modern, Mövenpick Dead Sea was created to represent the structures of the Byzantine era.
I was grateful for Eva to take the time to show us around.
During our walk, I also got to know Zoulfia and Eva more, as Zoulfia lost her voice the night we met.
Zoulfia has worked and lived in different countries. She lives in Ottawa, Canada now.
She told me her background is Tartar.
That was my first time hearing the reference.
She went on to explain that she was originally from Uzbekistan.
Tartar people were Turkic nomads who fused with the Mongols during Genghis Khan time. They were known as Russia & Hungary invaders of that time. You can learn more about them here.
Eva left Czechia at the age of 20 on a one-way ticket to Thailand.
She ended up staying in New Zealand for 15 years. She returned to Czechia a few years ago.
She is an entrepreneur and is knowledgeable about Forex and Crypto currency.
She also has done WildFit, as well as being a July/Cancer baby, like me. We really shared a lot of common interests.
I admired her courage to leave home to a culturally different country where she didn’t speak their language.
Thank you for the tour, Eva, and your company, Zoulfia. I also appreciated your interests in learning more about what I do.
We’re coming to the end of my soul-o trip. Next stop, Petra.
Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement and for mentioning me I’m
So grateful for the AI matches as we may have never connected in the sea of people. I hope we stay in touch I’m always cheering you on!
Thank you, April. I am so happy that we got matched and that you found me in the sea of attendees. I hope to stay in touch as well and likewise, I am always cheering you on. You are a role model to me! 🙂