In this episode of The Business of Thinking, Richard Reid is joined by Hina Siddiqui, Founder and CEO of Corporate Influence Media, for a wide-ranging conversation about resilience, self-worth, and a radically different way of thinking about success. What unfolds is not a traditional business story, but a deeply human exploration of how mindset, energy, and identity shape performance.
Hina’s journey begins in what she openly describes as a childhood of “total chaos.” Growing up in India within a traditional family, she experienced scarcity early on, not just financially, but emotionally. From a young age, she internalised the belief that she had to “figure it all out myself.” No safety net. No rescue. Just survival.
Richard quickly names what’s implicit in her story: resilience. But Hina is careful not to romanticise it. At the time, those experiences felt frustrating and painful, not formative or empowering. It’s only with hindsight that she can see how adversity became fuel, shaping her character, ambition, and ultimately her work. As she puts it, her mess became her message.
That message would later take her far from the corporate path she initially followed. After nearly two decades in corporate roles, Hina made a decision that many would consider reckless: she walked away from stability without a clear plan. What followed was a five-year period of uncertainty, where she made no money, sold assets, borrowed from family, and invested heavily in her own learning.
From the outside, it looked like failure. Internally, it felt like freedom.
Richard probes what kept her going psychologically during that period , particularly when returning to corporate life would have been the easier option. Hina’s answer is telling: she never fit the nine-to-five model. She didn’t see her work as labour to endure, but as something closer to a game to be played. Even the struggle, she says, was enjoyable because it was building something aligned with who she was becoming.
This idea of treating work as a game becomes one of the episode’s central themes. For Hina, success isn’t about grinding harder, it’s about shifting perspective. Most people, she argues, play not to lose. High performers play to win. The difference is psychological.
That shift is visible in the work she does today, particularly through her “Let’s Make You Famous” programme for IT CEOs and founders. The premise is unconventional: positioning leaders as industry celebrities through strategic media presence, awards, and storytelling, all tied directly to business growth targets. But beneath the PR tactics lies a deeper insight: self-worth drives results.
Hina explains that when leaders see themselves differently, when their confidence is elevated through visibility and recognition, their energy changes. They communicate differently. They price differently. They lead differently. The numbers follow.
Richard reflects on this through his own lens as a performance psychologist. What Hina is describing, he notes, is an inside-out process. Behaviour and outcomes are downstream of internal state. Confidence isn’t just branding; it’s embodied belief.
The conversation then turns to energy , a concept Hina returns to repeatedly. She challenges the assumption that time spent equals value created. Not all hours are equal. What matters is the quality of energy brought into the work.
Her formula is simple but provocative: 80% energy, 20% action.
Rather than separating work from life, Hina integrates activities that energise her, movement, music, creativity, reflection, into her day. These aren’t distractions; they’re fuel. When she works, she works with focus and intention. Richard agrees, noting that sustainable performance depends on replenishing the system, not just extracting from it.
As the episode closes, Hina offers practical guidance for listeners: set a compelling intention for your life, turn goals into a game, and deliberately infuse fun into your daily routine. Don’t take everything so seriously. Nothing is permanent, including struggle.
Perhaps the most powerful line of the episode comes near the end: “Every life is a movie, and you are the star of yours.” It captures the heart of the conversation. High performance, in this view, isn’t about perfection or pressure. It’s about agency, creativity, and choosing to play fully.
For anyone stuck in hustle, self-doubt, or inherited limitations, this episode offers a clear invitation: reframe the game, and step into it differently.
