Ep. 123 From Addiction to Building a Café in Dubai by 28: Your Past Does not Define You

What if the only thing standing between you and your dream life isn't your past, your addiction, or how many times you've failed — but the willingness to let go, trust the process, and rebuild your identity from the ground up?

In this episode, I sit down with Saifa, the founder of The Cookie Dealer Dubai (formerly The Drunken Cookie Ireland), who went from seizures in A&E, screaming in pain, and accepting she'd be dead by 30 — to building a thriving business in Dubai and opening her second location within a year.

Saifa's story isn't about overnight success or lucky breaks. It's about a girl who self-harmed at 12, drank alcoholically from 15, built a business while battling addiction, and finally hit rock bottom hard enough to choose recovery. It's about going to rehab at 23, getting sober, and realizing she had no idea who she was without substances. It's about moving to a new country, starting over, and learning to be authentic in a world that demands perfection.

But here's the truth most people miss:

You don't need to know who you are to start.

You just need to let go and trust the process.

Your rock bottom can become your foundation.

Too many people think they need to have it all figured out before they take the leap. They think they need to be healed, confident, and ready. But Saifa proves that's a lie. She moved to Dubai not knowing who she was outside of addiction. She opened a café while still figuring out her identity. She's building a second location while navigating sobriety, authenticity, and the fear of being too much or not enough.

Here's what we dive into:

How Saifa went from self-harming at 12 to drinking alcoholically at 15 — and why escapism became her only coping mechanism

Why she was convinced she'd be dead by 30 — and how building The Drunken Cookie gave her a reason to live (but couldn't save her from addiction)

The year of seizures in A&E — passing out after coaching classes, collapsing on the street, and the insanity of going back to the pub the same day