About Beyond Cubicles
📢 #BeyondCubicles is a weekly LinkedIn series created by Carolina D’Souza, born out of her own experience transitioning from a corporate career to independent consulting. Since its launch in June 2024, the series has evolved into a platform that showcases the inspiring journeys of several founders who have redefined the traditional 9-to-5.
Through authentic narratives, #BeyondCubicles highlights themes of courage, resilience, and purpose. The stories feature individuals from diverse industries—ranging from tech and education to wellness and adventure—who share their experiences of stepping away from conventional roles to pursue passion-driven careers.Â
✨ Note: All features in this series are unpaid and shared as a way to honor and amplify real stories of transformation.
“I was tired of people complaining about life but not taking ownership of their choices!”
When Ruqya Khan arrived in the UAE in 1997, she saw herself as “a submissive wife” who could not imagine the life that lay ahead.
When her daughter had started school and her son was eight months old, she realized she was setting an example for her children.
So she tapped into her love for language and for more than two decades she built a writing career, aligning hours and deadlines with her family’s needs.
“At a time when women usually hang their boots was when I decided to wear my shoes,” she says.
Interviews with high achievers and change makers led her to discover Neuro Linguistic Programming. She embarked on that route in 2011.
A massive breakthrough during her Master Practitioner Program gave Ruqya the fuel to take another leap of faith.
“I was tired of people complaining about life but not taking ownership of their choices! I created the S.M.I.L.E. strategy as a tool to get from stuck to unstuck. I shared the idea as a TEDx talk and began using it along with NLP to coach and train teams on growth mindset.”
In 2019 she was selected for a program with the NAMA Women Advancement Establishment. That was “an eye-opening experience” learning with “power women who were pushing through with their goals.”
Later that year she launched SMILETASTIC LIFESTYLE COACHING.
Her family cheered her on, yet fear lingered. “The toughest emotion was surely fear: of not being good enough, of failure and on some days even fear of success,” she says.
Then came the pandemic.
“Events were shelved, opportunities vanished or so it seemed,” she says. Instead of stepping back, she went live daily, hosted online interviews, and qualified as a PCC coach with the International Coaching Federation. Breakthroughs soon followed.
What began as a promise to be a better role model for her children evolved into global impact, touching lives in 10 countries and across platforms.
“I wouldn’t say I grew into someone; instead, I found myself and the person within me who was waiting to trust me and grow,” she says.
From a timid TEDx speaker to an internationally honored change maker, her personal brand has grown inseparable from herself: consistent, authentic, and always smiling.