I’m Ali, a YouTuber, podcaster, author of New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, Feel-Good Productivity, and ex-Doctor working in London, UK.

I make videos that explore the strategies and tools that help us live happier, healthier and more productive lives. I also have a weekly podcast called Deep Dive and I write a weekly email newsletter that contains some quick thoughts + links to interesting things.

I studied Medicine for 6 years at Cambridge University, and graduated in 2018. On my YouTube channel (4.5 million subscribers) I make videos about medicine, tech and productivity. 

📚 Check out my New York Times Bestselling Book Feel-Good Productivity: https://go.feelgoodproductivity.com/linkedin 
💌 Subscribe to my newsletter LifeNotes: https://aliabdaal.com/li/
🎬 Check out my YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@aliabdaal
✍️ Visit my website and blog: https://aliabdaal.com/
🎙 Listen to the Deep Dive podcast: https://aliabdaal.com/podcast/
🎙 Listen to the Not Overthinking podcast: https://notoverthinking.com/
🚀 Learn more about my Part-Time YouTuber Academy: academy.aliabdaal.com

Ali Abdaal

A few years ago, I interviewed Alex Hormozi.

He shared a concept I'd never heard before.

"It costs me a billion dollars a year to not know what to do to make a billion dollars", he said.

He explained, if you don't know how to achieve your goal, that lack of knowledge is literally costing you the achievement of that goal.

He calls this "ignorance debt."

And we're always paying it down.
Either slowly through trial and error.
Or quickly through investment in learning.

I had never heard anyone frame ignorance this way.

And I could think of all the months I wasted trying to figure things out instead of learning from someone who already had the answers.

The opportunity cost of that trial-and-error approach usually ends up being much higher than the price of getting educated upfront.

I actually see this play out in my YouTube Academy.

Over 7,000 students have passed through it.

And in just a few weeks, they acquire all the knowledge that took me years of trial and error to learn.

They're paying down their ignorance debt fast instead of spending years figuring it out the hard way like I did.

The way I think about it now is: what's my ignorance actually costing me?

Because usually it's way more expensive than any course or coaching.

If you don’t want to waste months in trial and error, sign up for my newsletter on becoming a creator: https://lnkd.in/euCnJETC

👨‍⚕️ Doctor-turned-Entrepreneur + Productivity Expert + YouTuber (6M subs) 📘 New York Times Bestselling Author of "Feel-Good Productivity"

I believe everyone should consider starting a YouTube channel. Even if no one watches your videos.

I've been making YouTube videos since 2017.

I've grown my channel to over 6 million subscribers.

I've taught 7,000+ students in my YouTuber Academy.

And I can tell you that starting a YouTube channel isn't about the subscribers, views or even the money.

If you get out your phone right now and start talking to the camera, something would feel different.

It's not like a Zoom call where someone asks a question and you respond.

There's something about knowing it might be posted.
Knowing your colleagues might see it.
Knowing strangers might watch it.

It feels confronting because you're taking your ego and putting it outside your body, where it can be attacked.

And that discomfort is where the real value lives.

1️⃣ You Learn How to Learn Again

I used to work as a doctor in the NHS.

My colleagues were other doctors with decades of experience.

And they’d say, “I don’t think I can do anything else."
They felt too invested in medicine to learn anything new.
They were trapped by their specialization.

The ability to learn new things is more important than any specific skill.

When you start a YouTube channel, you learn filming, editing, speaking on camera and more.

But more importantly, you prove to yourself that you're someone who can still figure things out, at any age or stage of your career.

That skill of learning is what keeps your mind healthy.

It's what keeps you from feeling stuck.

2️⃣ The Person You End Up Becoming

7,000+ people have enrolled in my YouTuber Academy.

Some have grown massive channels.

Some of them have made only a handful of videos.

But many say they’re grateful for the growth they got just from making a few videos.

They learned to handle judgment.
They stopped caring what others think.
They confronted their ego and came out stronger.

That internal growth is worth more than any external metric.

From what I’ve seen and experienced, the real barriers tend to be more emotional.

It's the fear of being judged.
It's your ego feeling threatened.
It's the discomfort of being bad at something.

And those are exactly the reasons you should do it.

Because personal growth happens when we put ourselves in uncomfortable situations.

If you're keen to start and grow a YouTube channel, I've distilled everything I know about it in this free workshop: https://lnkd.in/eQegFBvJ

I keep asking myself - do I want to do software, write another book, or do YouTube?

It turns out there's a name for this feeling.

I was chatting with neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff, few months ago about feeling stuck between directions.

Anne-Laure is the author of the wonderful book, Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World.

She told me I was in what's called a "liminal space" - that uncomfortable gap between who you were and who you're becoming.

Here's what I learned from my conversation with her:

1️⃣ Your brain is wired to escape uncertainty
↳ We evolved to see uncertainty as danger, so feeling uncomfortable is totally normal

2️⃣ The urge to "pick something quickly" is a survival mechanism
↳ Our primitive brain wants to rush to certainty, even if it's not the right choice

3️⃣ Think airplane, not panic room
↳ You can see it as being trapped with no control, or as disconnected time for reflection

4️⃣ Growth happens in the uncertainty
↳ Instead of rushing through liminal spaces, this is where you actually figure out what you want

Personal growth and clarity come from being in these spaces, not from escaping them.

If you’re interested in hearing more from Anne-Laure, she’s one of the keynote speakers at our Spark summit in January.

Join us, and other great speakers to reflect on the year, set meaningful 2026 goals, and build systems for consistent action: https://lnkd.in/exZr9zky

Anne-Laure on Being in a Liminal Space

These are some of the books that I’ve recommended to creators and students of my YouTuber Academy over the past few years.

These books genuinely changed how I approach content and building something meaningful.

1️⃣ Primal Branding by Patrick Hanlon
2️⃣ Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks
3️⃣ Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk
4️⃣ The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
5️⃣ Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
6️⃣ The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries & Jack Trout
7️⃣ Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestley
8️⃣ Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
9️⃣ The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd
🔟 Getting Things Done by David Allen
⏸️ Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

These aren’t “how to YouTube” books - rather ones that helped me grow my channel, brand, and business over the past 8 years.

P.S. We're running our biggest Black Friday discount on our YouTube course, get over $300 off now: https://lnkd.in/eikVyZ_H

11 Books That Helped Me Grow My Brand and Business

Leaders Anywhere

- Founded leadersanywhere.com, a platform designed to guide new leaders, particularly native Arabic speakers, in developing effective leadership and management skills.

- Launched free products including The Leaders Anywhere newsletter (in Arabic), The Guide for Time and Self-Management for Digital Professionals, and The Productivity Assessment for Digital Professionals.

Founder 

adplist.org

I started working with ADPList to offer consultation and mentorship guidance for engineers and help prepare them for interviews or guide them through their career progression.

Mentor

Forto

- Joined Forto, a digital freight forwarding unicorn, during its Series B phase and contributed to its growth through Series C & D, raising its valuation and scaling the engineering team by 400% from 30 to over 120 engineers across Europe.

- Led the Moment Of Truth project, enhancing shipment visibility and achieving an 87% customer usefulness score.

- Led the development of FortoX, a SaaS product that reduced customer manual work by ~20%.

- Initiated the Engineering Manager in Training program, promoting career growth and retaining top talent within the organization.

- Defined quarterly OKRs in collaboration with product management, aligning engineering goals with business strategy.

Tech Stack: NodeJS, Typescript, React, MongoDB, Event-Driven Microservices, RESTFul APIs, Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, GCP.

Engineering Manager

Barmej.com

Driven by a passion for teaching technology to Arabic speakers, I founded iaraby in 2011. At Barmej, I leveraged my engineering and Scrum Master expertise to create engaging educational content, including modules on NodeJS, building a complete CRUD RESTful API, and Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, Kanplan). I honed skills in content creation, voiceover, and mentorship, which I now apply in leading and coaching my teams.

Educator

Mesaic

- Led the integration of the company's B2B2C product with iMessage and Google Intent, enhancing customer workflows with AI-driven automation.

- Improved product performance and customer satisfaction through custom workflow solutions.

Tech Stack: NodeJS, React, GraphQL, Javascript, Typescript, Google Intent.

Engineering Team Lead

BorderGuru

BorderGuru is a full-service solution for brands and retailers to deliver internationally from their web shop or via marketplaces.

- Architected and developed the warehouse and last-mile delivery application, implementing agile sprints and user testing with warehouse workers.

- Integrated mobile apps on custom scanners and devices, optimizing warehouse operations.

Tech Stack: NodeJS, Javascript, React, MongoDB

Software Engineer

souq.com

Souq.com, the largest e-commerce platform in the Arab world, was later acquired by Amazon. I contributed to Souq's recommendation engine, collaborating with data scientists to gather user data, train AI algorithms, and deliver personalized recommendations via APIs. My success on this team led me to join the CRM team, where I helped integrate new CRM tools, including the APPBOY system, to enhance customer relations.

Key Responsibilities:

- Researched and prototyped technologies (Hadoop, Cloudera, Phalcon) for the recommendation engine.
- Developed system architectures and MVPs to validate product hypotheses.
- Analyzed data to guide product development during sprints.
- Integrated CRM tools to improve customer engagement before and after shipping.
- Enabled real-time data aggregation for user behavior to support targeted marketing.
- Built communication channels like push notifications, browser alerts, and SMS.

iaraby

Co-founded iaraby is one of the fast-growing mobile development companies in Jordan and back then in the Middle East.

Developed Fatoosh, An early on-demand content application similar to Netflix today for the Arab World back in 2012.

Co-Founder

Remote Leader | I Help Tech Leaders Transform Into Successful Remote Leaders Achieving Productivity & Work-Life Balance With 30% Less Working Time 🚀

Do you feel stuck in endless workweeks, juggling too many tasks, and still not seeing the growth you want?

Many digital professionals and solopreneurs find themselves overwhelmed—caught in a loop of burnout, disorganization, and stagnation. Passionate about their work, they’re often buried in the day-to-day grind, handling everything from operations to strategy. This leads to:

☓ Relying on scattered productivity hacks without a sustainable system.
☓ Working longer hours with little progress toward scaling.
☓ Missing strategic growth opportunities due to inconsistent focus.
The problem isn’t just working harder; it’s about working smarter, with a strategic plan that balances your personal well-being and effective business leadership.

🌟 That’s where the "Leaders Anywhere: From Solopreneur to Global Digital Leader" program comes in.

This step-by-step program is designed to transform solopreneurs and digital professionals into high-impact leaders who manage their time, teams, and tasks efficiently—no matter where they are in the world.

 Here’s what you’ll achieve in the program:

⎷ Personal Mastery: Regain control over your schedule by cutting inefficiencies and developing habits that save you hours each week, allowing you to focus on what truly drives your business forward.

⎷ Performance Excellence: Streamline your operations and automate routine tasks, freeing up your time for strategic, high-impact work that fuels sustainable business growth.

⎷ People Leadership: Enhance your leadership skills to build and manage high-performing teams. Master delegation, improve communication, and confidently scale your business operations.

Ready to break free from the cycle of overwork and step into your role as a strategic leader? Join my upcoming masterclass: "The Shortcut to Digital Leadership."

 In this session, you’ll:

⎷ Identify the key challenges holding you back and uncover immediate growth opportunities.
⎷ Develop a clear, actionable plan to streamline your workflow and reclaim your time.
⎷ Learn the exact steps to build a balanced, thriving business that aligns with your vision.

If you’re tired of spinning your wheels and want to build a business that doesn’t just survive but excels, let’s get started. DM me "Leaders Anywhere" for more details and to secure your spot.

Together, we’ll transform your business into a strategic, scalable operation that gives you the freedom and results you’ve been striving for.

Rashid Shobaki 🇵🇸

🧑✈️ كيف تتعامل مع يومك كطيار

كل يوم حدد الوجهه قبل الاقلاع
و احرص على وصولك لهاي الوجهه
قبل نهايه اليوم

--
#LeadersAnywhere
#WorkFreedom

Rashid Shobaki

I help solopreneurs reclaim 10+ hrs/week & create $10K+ in new business value | Book a discovery call!

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