The 6 Rules of Success as Interpreted by Mr Hussain Afeef, Vice Chairman of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI)

Success can only be achieved through consistent, unparalleled hard work. You need to be passionate about the work that you do and you need to love your job. Success comes slowly but surely, as long as you put in the effort and keep working towards it.

Mr Hussain Afeef, a pioneer businessman and entrepreneur, winner of Corporate Maldives lifetime achievement award, is responsible for both the instigation and expansion of several key industries in the Maldives, including the Tourism and Hospitality Industry has lived an inspirational life that taught us many lessons to elevate on the ladder of success. The following qualities are just some that you require in order to become successful in your field of work.

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1. Keep your dream alive  
In order to be a successful individual, you need to see where you desire to go in your mind. In spite of the difficulties that you face, have the passion not to give up. Mr. Hussain Afeef always had his dream clearly imprinted in his mind. Ever since the time tourism was non-existent, he believed that tourism had potential in the Maldives. He made sure to keep his dream alive even though he could not predict the future of the industry.

One of the early bungalows in Kurumba Village, 1977

2. Have passion, work hard 
Hard work is what gets you to success in any field in life. Things do not simply come to you and you will need to put in the best effort you can in order to succeed. Mr. Afeef has always been a man of hard work. Even though he currently is such an influential person, he too had a very humble beginning. He has cooked, cleaned and even been a tour guide in order to get to where he is today. This proves that in order to get to new and greater heights, starting from the bottom and working hard is a necessity.

The 8th resort opened by Crown and Champa Resorts

3. Maintain a great reputation 
Being a successful person also requires you to have an inspirational and untarnished image. Your reputation should be slate clean. In order to do this, the most basic thing that you can do is to make sure that the services provided by you are satisfactory. Mr. Afeef makes a great example of this by training his staff properly no matter their rank in order to provide the best services. He makes sure that his employees are capable of keeping his image along with his company’s image.

Students at the Academy of Learning in 

4. Give back to the society 
In society, there are individuals of different classes and it is important to understand that fact. In order to assist those less affluent compared to yourself, giving back to the society is very necessary. This would help you gain the trust and love of the public which, in turn, will be beneficial towards your business. Mr. Afeef is an exemplary character in giving back to society. He began by sending students abroad and went on to complete 350 CSR projects in 180 islands in the country. In addition to that, he financed sewing courses for women in islands and built mosques and many more important projects. 


5. Be focused 
Success requires utmost focus and work. It comes to those that put in the effort to achieve it. Don’t get demotivated and feel like backing down with the minor hardships you come across. Engrave your dreams in your heart and feel the passion course through you as you struggle to achieve it. Mr. Afeef shares that he took 45 years to arrive at the current point of his life. He shared some words of wisdom to not feel despaired if your company doesn’t progress as quickly as you expected. Take your time, learn what you are doing and grow with the business.


6. Facing challenges
Challenges and obstacles can’t be avoided in the corporate world. However, if you let it stand in your way, success will stray further and further from you. In order to succeed, accept the challenges and keep your head held high and keep working harder than ever. Mr. Afeef too has faced such obstacles and difficulties. During the infancy of the tourism industry issues stemmed from the lack of resources such as proper communications equipment and logistics. Undaunted by such obstacles, the tourism pioneer found alternate methods to get things done, even using Morse code to get supplies via Sri Lanka.

Kurumba Village, first resort in the Maldives.

There is no secret recipe for success. However, these are some qualities that are required to be present in a successful individual. Apply these principles in life and you will witness significant changes in your life just like Mr. Hussain Afeef. 

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