Money and dreams

Shouldn't I make money first -- to fund my dreams? The notion that there's an order to your working life is an almost classic assumption: Pay your dues, and then tend to your dream. I expected to find numerous examples of the truth of this path. But I didn't find any.

Sure, I found tons of rich guys who were now giving a lot away to charity or who had bought an island. I found plenty of people who had found something meaningful and original to do after making their money. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the garden-variety fantasy: Put your calling in a lockbox, go out and make a ton of money, and then come back to the lockbox to pick up your calling where you left it.

It turns out that having the financial independence to walk away rarely triggers people to do just that. The reality is, making money is such hard work that it changes you. It takes twice as long as anyone plans for. It requires more sacrifices than anyone expects. You become so emotionally invested in that world -- and psychologically adapted to it -- that you don't really want to ditch it.

I met several people who had left the money behind. But having "enough" didn't trigger the change. It had to get personal: Something had to happen such as divorce, the death of a parent, or the recognition that the long hours were hurting one's children. (One man, left investment banking after he came home from a business trip and his two-year-old son didn't recognize him.)

The ruling assumption is that money is the shortest route to freedom. Absurdly, that strategy is cast as the "practical approach." But in truth, the opposite is true. The shortest route to the good life involves building the confidence that you can live happily within your means (whatever the means provided by the choices that are truly acceptable to you turn out to be). It's scary to imagine living on less. But embracing your dreams is surprisingly liberating. Instilled with a sense of purpose, your spending habits naturally reorganize, because you discover that you need less.

Are you a follower or a trailblazer?

If you blaze trails, you risk getting lost, risk having no one follow, risk being laughed at, risk starving, disillusion, and dying in obscurity. You also risk becoming rich and famous (which, by the way, has its own set of problems).

If you are a follower you must decide how close to follow, who to follow, and how to reconcile your life with the fact that you have chosen to follow. The real sadness is not in whether you lead or follow (both of which are honorable pursuits), but the position of doing neither, of merely wondering about, lost in a haze, gazing at empty spaces in which we find ourselves.

So many people “miss the boat” because it's easier and more comforting to follow without questioning the qualifications of the people just ahead than to do some independent thinking and checking.

A hard thing for most people to fully understand is that people in such numbers can be so wrong. A little checking will reveal that throughout all recorded history the majority of mankind has an unbroken record of being wrong about most things, especially important things.

For a time we thought the earth was flat and later we thought the sun, stars, and planets traveled around the Earth. Both ideas are now considered ridiculous, but at the time they were believed and defended by the vast majority of followers. In the hindsight of history we blindly following the follower out of habit rather than stepping out of line to look for the truth. It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of people ever really get the word about life, about living abundantly and successfully.

Success in the important departments of life seldom comes naturally, no more naturally than success at anything — a musical instrument, sports, fly-fishing, tennis, golf, business, marriage, parenthood. But for some reason most people wait passively for success to come to them living as other people are living in the unspoken, tacit assumption that other people know how to live successfully.

It's a good idea to step out of the line every once in a while and look around to see if the line is going where we want it to go. If it is not, it might be time for a new leader and a new direction.

Come on dude...Falling Isn't Failing ... Unless You Fail to Get Up!!!

A Muslim and his business

Does a Muslim naturally conflict with his business responsibilities? Does survival in the modern business world mean ignoring Islamic teaching on personal conduct? Some would say it does. Some would say we need ‘money politics’ to gain mega projects. They argue that a capitalist economy is founded in greed and self-exaltation, so no one can do business according to the Quran.

Muslims are required to behave Islamically in their business dealings because Allah Himself is witness to their transactions:

"In whatever business you may be, and whatever portion you may be reciting from the Qur'an and whatever deed you may be doing; We are Witnesses thereof when you are deeply engrossed therein." [Al Qur'an 10:61]

My intention for running my own business will not be merely to enrich myself but to earn Halal and spend in the right path. I will support the community I live in as well as the world-wide Ummah and be a good citizen, by contributing to the welfare of the needy and the destitute in society.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to paradise".

"A man continues to tell the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to al fujuwr (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and al fujuwr (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may continue to tell lies till he is written before Allah, a liar." [Hadith No. 8.116]

Honesty and truth is especially important for Muslim business persons because of the need to make a profit and the temptations to enhance the attributes of their product of service during a sales pitch. This is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The merchants will be raised on the Day of Resurrection as evil-doers, except those who fear Allah, are honest and speak the truth." [Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Darimi]

Keep Your Word. In a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: "If you guarantee me six things on your part I shall guarantee you paradise". Speak the truth when you talk, keep a promise when you make it, when you are trusted with something fulfill your trust, avoid sexual immorality, lower your gaze, and restrain your hands from injustice." [Ubadah Ibn al Samit, Ahmad, Baihaqi]