Think Big Dream High,E32- The Frying Culture

Frying

1.Frying as we know it, is frying of food in the pan. In the process of frying, condiments such as chillies, onions, garlic, black sauce, spices etc are added and the combination depends on the chef and the dish being cooked.

2.Frying here is not the act of frying food in the pan. It is a subtle way of referring to the act of manufacturing a story favoring oneself or his group and painting a negative, deceitful, manipulative and  untruthful things about the other party.

3.There are those who practice the  frying culture in an amateur way and there are those who practice it in a professional manner. There are those who did it unintentionally and those who did it purposely. The are those who did it in an ad-hoc manner and those who did it with proper planning.

4.In a worse case scenario, there are those whereby this frying culture is a normal routine in their daily lives. Life seems incomplete if  in a day, you failed to practice the culture. Frying with bamboozling connotation comes with specific condiments. Usually the condiments revolved around friends, tuition classes, pretty ladies, money, projects, position, power, influence etc. It all depends on who is frying and who is being fried.

Reality in Life      

1.Those in the habit of frying the others did it for various reasons. There are positive and negative reasons. However, for all intents and purposes, the act of frying gives the upper hand to the person doing it.

2.A student wanting to escape a disciplinary action is forced to bamboozle his teacher. A child wanting to escape from being scolded by his parents is forced to bamboozle his parents. Husbands or wives wanting more attention from their spouses is forced to bamboozle their husbands or wives.  Employees wanting to escape from being sidelined by their superior is forced to bamboozle their bosses.

3. There are also employees wanting to be in the good books of their bosses will continuously bamboozled their bosses. Heads of Departments or Agencies who did not complete the work assigned or did not achieve the KPI for his agency will have to think of a variety of excuses, ways and means to bamboozle his Minister in every Post Cabinet meeting.

4. The leaders are also not spared from bamboozling their members especially during their party AGM.They want to impress their members that they are the best to serve the rakyat. These leaders either in service or retired have always been portraying that they were championing the rakyat’s woes but in actual fact, the rakyat were never cared for by them.

5. Discreetly, he only took care of his business partners, the rich and wealthy, his friends and relatives. This obviously is not made known to the rakyat as he knows how to cover his act which had been carried out in a world class manner. These leaders usually quoted, “the rich and wealthy work hard for their money and you too can be rich and wealthy if you work as hard as they do”. These were among the phrases frequently quipped by the leaders to bamboozle the rakyat. There are many such leaders throughout this world. In the end it’s the rakyat that brought them down. 

6.The examples above indicated that the frying culture can be  found  in every level of societies. Its as if there is nothing wrong in practicing this frying culture. It has become a way of life.

7.We are fully aware that this is a wrongful act and a big sin. Despite knowing that It is a big sin as we keep on doing it. We enjoyed practicing the frying culture on others and have no guilty conscience about it.  If others are doing it so can we.

8.For the short term, those who practises the frying culture usually escaped from being detected by their victims. However, sooner or later, those who keep on practicing the frying culture will be detected and made known to the public. Their body language usually gives them away. Their facial expression, the movements of their hands, head, smile etc are reflective of their intentions and actions. The characters of the people who practices the frying culture are sometimes moulded to be as efficient as a mamak frying the mee mamak!.

Tips

1.The characters and intentions of a person will determine whether he or she practices the frying culture. If there is a spark of guilty conscience in him, he will not do it. If he is afraid of committing a sin, he will not do it. If he has iman, he will not do it unto others. He is fully aware and his conscience is always reminding him that Allah SWT knows his bad intentions and Allah SWT knows and sees  All.

2.To do away with this frying culture, a strong willpower is required. We need to equip ourselves with adequate information and knowledge. We should  always impart our duties in a proper and effective manner.

3.Do our homework, make references and carry out researches as much as possible. Say and do the right things even though this may not be to the liking of others. Do it in a diplomatic manner.  Admit when there’s something missing. State the obstacles faced in a rationale and acceptable manner.  We become stronger and confident with proper and adequate preparation. Our facial expression will reflect our sincerity. We need not be pessimistic and scared. Only those who are pessimistic and scared will practice the frying culture.

4.Remember that the truth will always prevail. The truth will prevail over all kinds of wrongdoings. In the end those who speak the truth and nothing but the truth are the real winners. To be able to embrace this sincerity, we need to always think big dream high and have a strong heart.  

Think Big Dream High, E31 –Our Total Submission To Allah SWT.

Tawakkal

1.Tawakkal means relying and having 100% confidence in Allah SWT after putting in the effort to do a particular work or task.  The outcome of our efforts is determined by Allah SWT. Allah SWT is the One granting us the wiseness and knowledge.

2.The more efforts we put in, the higher  our level of wiseness and the more knowledge we gained. All this came from Allah SWT. Whomever submit totally to Allah SWT, then Allah SWT will fulfill all his needs, will help him and protect him.

3.When we have 100% trust in Allah SWT, we will rely totally on Him. This is the stronghold of a genuine Muslim. When our faith is strong, the stronger will be our level of confidence and our tawakkal to Allah SWT. Allah SWT has a role in all aspects of our lives and in our decisions. Allah SWT has a role in all aspects of our actions and behavior.

Reality in Life     

1.Most of us forget that Allah SWT has a role. At times, what we say, what we write, our thoughts and thinking or what we did, do not reflect Allah SWT’s  role at all. In our daily lives, we see people freely  condemning others, freely beating up people, freely slandering people,freely using religious for self or group interest,freely betraying people, freely killing others, freely lying and cheating others or freely doing all kind of bad things to others. We are too arrogant, we are too proud and we think we are too powerful, untouchable and above the law.

2. We think we are the most powerful person in this world. We are above both the civil and shariah laws. We are not afraid to do anything including abusing of power to fulfill our wants, appetite and desires. We do anything  that comes to mind to ensure our safety, security, interest and wellbeing. We do anything that we can think of to guarantee our position and  power. We manipulated all kinds of statements, information and facts. All of these are carried out for our benefits and advantages.

3. We say it is white when it is clear to all eyes that it is black. We do everything within our power and influences to say it is white and to make people belief it is white when in actual fact it is black.  We say it is black even though it is clear to everyone that it is white. We do everything within our power and influences to say it is black and to make people belief it is black when in actual fact it is white.

4.This is a reflection of the idiosyncrasies of human beings when their thoughts, their soul, their actions are based on solely on their desires and their opinions. We think we are too wise and smart. We think we have all the knowledge and experiences. We only belief what we want to belief. We rely totally on our intelligence without having to refer to Al Quran, Al Hadith or perform solat istikharah before our decisions and actions were taken.

Tips 

1.No matter how much our experiences and our power, no matter how smart we are, no matter how much religious and other knowledge we possessed, we cannot be over confident, arrogant and proud.

2.Everyone wants to be successful. Everyone wants to be rich, super rich, safe and live happily ever after. Every student wants to obtain good results. Every employee wants to achieve success in their career. Every leader wants to remain or be in power. Every one of us do not want to face any form of failure, any form of victimization, any form of unfair treatment and any form of disappointment. There should not be any form of barrier for anybody to work hard in a fair, professional, respectable way and in a manner acceptable to Allah SWT. Once we have put in all our care and efforts in a diligent manner then we say the doa and tawakkal. We submit totally to Allah SWT.

3. We must not forget that Allah SWT has a role. Allah SWT knows and understand  whom He should bestow His favours and whom He should fulfill their desires and doa. We must remember that Allah SWT is there all the time to assist us. We need to submit totally to Him, the Creator. We need to remember that we are His humble servants. We do not have the real power.

3. Even though we assume we have the power, we must remember that it is on loan to us for a temporary period. Allah SWT is the One that is Most Powerful, Most Beneficent and Most Gracious.  We should of cause need to think big dream high and have a strong heart, but we must accept the reality that Allah SWT  is the One that determines our faith. Such understanding will place us in the right perspective. It will make us realize that Allah SWT  is the Greatest. It will make us realise who we really are. It will make us be thankful and repentance all the time.

Think Big Dream High,E30 – Those Who Do Not like To Focus

Focus

1.Focus means putting all of our attention in resolving one issue at a time until  it is successfully completed. In other words we focus all of our effort and resources on a particular task till its completion. We put aside time, our thoughts, interest, our soul and  our spirit to the task at hand.  We allocate money, workers and resources that we possessed to the task at hand.

2. This is the only way to ensure the minimization of failure to the task at hand. Giving full attention and focus to our studies, InsyaAllah we will not fail. Giving full attention and focus to our career, InsyaAllah we will not fail. Giving full attention and focus to our business, InsyaAllah we will not fail.

3.When we focused, we know with certainty our direction. We know with certainty our aim. We know with certainty our deadline and time frame. By focusing our effort, we can picture the fruits of our labour looming ahead.

Reality in Life

1.There is nothing wrong with being ambitious. It is not inhibiting our focus. However, most of us have this undesirable streak of greediness, impatience and disorderly. These characteristics are against being focused.

2.Greediness caused us wanting everything at one time. Being impatient caused us unable to control our desires to achieve success in a short period of time. Being disorderly caused us to want to do everything at one time. In the end we loose out and not only that, even what is in our possession slipped through our fingers.

3.A student keen to do a double major, believing that he can do it, only manages to achieve an average pass and has difficulty in broadening his career. A successful restauranter is better off expanding his line of business in the catering or food processing sector than dabbling in construction and property development. He has the expertise and experience in food industry why waste time getting involved in a totally new industry which is  alien to him. This could however be done if he sold off his restaurant business to focus on his new property development projects.

4.Just like a cockroach without its tail, it will run around aimlessly without any clear direction. Just like the cockroach being pricked with a pin and when held upside down, we can see its tentacles moving non stop unable to move anywhere. More often than not we hear phrases like, “I am too busy” or “Everyday I reached home at about 10.17 pm in the evening” or “There’s just too much work to do in the office”.

5. Doing 10 projects at the same time, make us become too busy. By implementing one project at a time until completion and then proceeding to start another project until successful will enable us to complete all 10 projects in the same period of time or maybe slightly more but we are confident of its success, quality and productivity.

6.We save time since monitoring and supervising activities can be done in a more effective manner for each of the projects. The learning curve on correcting the weaknesses become shorter when we focused. Experience can be obtained and acquired in a more effective and in-depth manner. The risks suffered can be minimized. Abandoned projects can be totally avoided. Shortage of resources can be overcome. There will be more savings in time and resources achieved through discipline and focus.

7.Nowadays many organizations  are into  multi-tasking. This concept is  suitable for the lower level management staff category such as clerical and those that do not require high expertise. The professionals and the middle management category should not practiced multi-tasking. This reduces their efficiency and productivity. It will not assist them in becoming an expert in their area of interests. It will only create a feeling of confusion and frustration in the employee.

8.Before even finishing  a task, he is being assigned another task. Before completing the new task, he is being asked to replace his co-worker who has gone outstation. The work was not completed in a proper manner, though done on time. The research was not done properly, poor quality of work and  the expertise and experience gained in an improper manner. Not only the organization, the office and the boss suffer losses but worst than that, the employee himself failed in his career.    

Tips

1.Avoid totally practising the culture of the cockroach without tail or the cockroach being pricked with a pin. The sun’s rays will burn anything within its area of  focus. By focusing, our vision can be as clear as 20/20. By focusing, our confidence level is high to achieve success. By focusing, will continue to enhance our skills and expertise. By focusing will make us more creative and innovative as we will be exposed to the latest technology in our area of involvement.

2.Focus will not make us monotonous as we will all the time be challenged   to explore new opportunities in our area of involvement. Being focused, will allow us to have more quality time spent with our family. Being focused, will enable us to  have more time to pamper ourselves in religious knowledge and our health. Being focused will enable us  to think big dream high and have a strong heart to achieve greater success in exploring new endeavors, new opportunities and new challenges.

Think Big Dream High,E 29 – The Player Or The Game, Which Is More Superior?

The Player And The Game

1.Both are important. Pele is important  and so is football. Tiger Woods is important and so is the golf game. Pele is actually more popular and created a phenomenal interest throughout the world for the football game. Same goes for Tiger Woods. He is more popular than the golf game. But where is Pele now?. The football game has become more popular with upcoming new and young players. Where is Tiger Woods now? The golf game  continues to become popular with new, young players who excelled in their games. Rory Mcllroy is now the golf game trendsetter and  not Tiger Woods anymore. This means players come and go but the game itself remains supreme forever.

2.The fans are the ones that determine the direction of the game.  The technology, quality of the related equipments and the rules of the game has to be improved from time to time. With continuous improvement, the fans will be happier and their numbers will increase.

3.Why is Pele synonym with the football game and Tiger Woods synonym with the golf game? The truth of the matter, the phenomenal interest is heavily due to the TV and newspaper media publicity.  The media is the one that makes the respective players and the games popular. The media plays a more than effective role. If the media says A is good, the public’s opinion will be swayed towards A. if the media says B is good then the public’s opinion will be swayed towards B.

4.That is why the responsibility and intention of a reporter will be questioned by Allah SWT in the hereafter. The appropriate rewards or punishments awaited them. Heaven for the one who is kind, fair and sincere in their reporting and hell for those who reported slanderous  issues, purposely manipulating facts and issues for the benefit of certain group without any justifiable basis.

5.The same analogy binds the leader with the rakyat and the country. A leader will be remembered throughout his life if he is successful in developing the country and raising the standards of living of the rakyat. The rakyat will continue to appreciate and be thankful to the leader if the leader has actually performs good deeds to the country and its people. Once again it is the media’s role to popularize the leader.

Reality in life

1.A leader is important but they come and go. What about the country and its people? The country and its people will remained forever. The football game has become increasingly popular as Pele popularized it. The popularity and the speed with which a country develops is the same as well. It depends on the country’s leader. The fans love football because of Pele. The rakyat is proud and love their country because of the leaders good deeds.

2.Our role as the rakyat is to ensure that our leader continues to give focus  in the development of the country. The country’s leader cannot deviate his focus from that of developing the country to issues of personal interest to him. A leader is responsible for the direction, mission and vision of the country.

3.We as the rakyat should always give the signal and warning to our leaders so that they will always be on the right track. If they are on the right track and honest, we will elect them again, otherwise we will choose the one that can be trusted to protect our present and future generation’s interest.

4.The rakyat is becoming more educated and intelligent. The rakyat is becoming more conscientious and brilliant. The rakyat is becoming cleverer at siphoning the news. The rakyat knows how to differentiate between diamond, silver, gold, stone and jewel. The rakyat is becoming smarter at choosing which leader can be relied on, fair and responsible towards their wellbeing. We are in the era of ICT and knowledge based community. The leader just cannot mislead us with rhetoric speeches. They need to perform and deliver the goods.

Tips  

1.The electronic and print media spent too much time reporting on items that challenges the minds of the rakyat. The media is often playing with the intellectual capacity of the rakyat. We are heading towards a developed nation status. The media should play its role in contributing towards the development of the intellectual minds of the rakyat. The media should be in the same wavelength with the country’s leader on issues pertaining to programmes and development agenda of the country’s development process. The media should  not carry too much news on slanderous, misleading, untruths and negative news. These media cannot continuously insult the intelligence of the readers or viewers.

2.Day and night the leaders are thinking of ways on how to make the rakyat’s lives better. The media should also do their homework and  present news that can open the minds of the rakyat so that they can work hand in hand with the leaders to develop the country. Not highlighting sensational and destructive news that hurt other people’s feelings.

3.The leader belongs to the rakyat. The media belongs to the rakyat. It is not necessary for our media to act immature. By holding strongly to the oath of allegiance in the journalism professionalism will make our media achieve world class quality and respect.

4.The rakyat will choose the leader in a smart and orderly manner. The rakyat knows which leader that should be appreciated.The rakyat knows how to be thankful to the leader who has served the rakyat well. The rakyat can see, the rakyat can feel, the rakyat can hear and therefore the rakyat can select wisely the best leader for them.

5.The rakyat knows that the leader is actually interested in developing the country with sustainable programmes that can benefit future generations to come. The main duty of the leader is to ensure the wellbeing of the rakyat. The rakyat just want to see progress for the country. The rakyat just want to see prosperity, stability and honesty. The rakyat just want safety and security. They do not want disparity, disunity, dispute or clashes.

6.There is no need for the politicians and media to sensationalised racial, embarassing or sensitive issues. Focus on uniting our own community, uniting all the rakyat. The country will be more peaceful and successful if we are all united and living in harmony. The country developed and the rakyat will automatically follow suit. The rakyat and the country are supreme.

7.Regardless of what happens to Pele and Tiger Woods, the fooball and golf fans will always remember, appreciate and thankful to both of them for popularizing these two sports throughout the world. However, between Pele and football, football is more supreme. Between Tiger Woods and golf, golf is more supreme. Football and golf will continue to exist and be of interest years to come. Same goes with the leader, the rakyat and the country. The rakyat and the country are more supreme because as the rakyat, we are a friendly and civilized group of people who love peace and harmony for our country. We  are always thinking big dream high and have a strong heart.