What Does It Mean to Be HUMN?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it actually means to be “HUMN.” Not in the brand sense, the company, the facility, or the vision but the human side of all of this. The part that exists before the pitch decks, before the meetings, and before the expectations. Because as HUMN grows, so does the pressure and as the pressure grows, so does the need for clarity. Clarity about who I am, where I’m going, and how to navigate the weight of wanting something so deeply without losing myself in the process.
This isn’t advice. It’s not a lesson. It’s simply a reflection from someone trying to build something meaningful while staying grounded in the life that exists around it.
When you’re building something meaningful, it’s easy to disappear into it
There’s a certain intensity that comes with having a vision like HUMN. Something that has the potential to change lives, reshape a category, and redefine community. I feel that pull every single day but I’ve also noticed how easy it is for that same intensity to narrow your world. To make you feel like you have to be “on” constantly. To convince you that stepping away somehow puts the dream at risk. It’s a quiet shift. You don’t see it happening until you start hearing…
“Hey… you’re carrying all of this so tightly. Come up for air.”
”Have you considered creating separation from the business?”
”When do you rest?”
…and when you finally do, you realize they’re right. Ambition is powerful but it can also be heavy and acknowledging that doesn’t make you weak, it makes you human.
Separation isn’t about detaching from the mission, it’s about staying connected to yourself
Several people I trust (family, investors, mentors, friends) have told me to create some separation between myself and HUMN. Not because I’m doing too much but because they see how much I care. It took me a while to understand what they meant. Separation isn’t stepping away from the mission. It’s stepping back just far enough to stay grounded in:
Who I am
Why I’m building this
Who I want to become through this work
It’s a reset, not a retreat and when I pause long enough to remember my why (helping people elevate their lives through health and wellness because it changed mine) everything gets quieter, clearer, and more measured. It reminds me that I’m not just building HUMN. I’m building a life around it and those two things need to coexist, not compete.
The journey is greater than the outcome
I think a lot about what the finish line looks like: doors open, community thriving, members connected, and the mission alive. I also think about the journey and how easy it is to run so fast toward that future that you leave the present untouched. Conversations you meant to have. People you meant to call. Moments you meant to notice. Quiet mornings before the day takes off. A run without a camera. A dinner without your phone on the table.
Ambition can convince you that these moments are optional but they’re not. They’re the parts of life that remind you who you are outside of the work. That’s the version of you people want to follow not the one who is burning at both ends.
The kind of leader I want to become requires balance not burnout
The more I think about leadership, the more I realize it’s less about what you build and more about how you carry yourself while building it. People aren’t just watching the progress of HUMN. They’re watching how I move through uncertainty. How I handle pressure. How I treat myself in the process.
If the long-term vision includes guiding others (whether that’s the HUMN team, the community, or one day investing in younger founders) then I have to embody the values I want them to adopt.
Not perfectly.
Just honestly.
Balance isn’t the opposite of ambition. It’s the structure that keeps ambition sustainable.
HUMN was built on the belief that health changes lives and that includes mine
At the end of the day, HUMN is about enhancing human lives physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It doesn’t matter how strong the business model is if I’m not strong enough to lead it and that strength isn’t just discipline or grit. It’s rest, perspective, community, and connection. Being present with the people who matter.
The things that remind you you’re alive, not just productive. I always think about being a human being and not a human doer because if I don’t honor those parts of my own life, how can I authentically help others elevate theirs?
Final thoughts
To be HUMN isn’t to be perfect. It isn’t to be unbreakable and it definitely isn’t to be consumed by the thing you’re building. To be HUMN is to stay connected to your purpose and to yourself. To want something deeply while still remembering you only get one life. To lead with ambition but also with empathy. To build boldly without losing the capacity to breathe, feel, and enjoy the people who walk the journey with you.
If HUMN is going to become what I believe it can be, then I have to stay healthy enough (mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) to lead it. So what does it mean to be HUMN?
Being HUMN means building something extraordinary without forgetting to live the life that inspired it.
-Omar
