Think Big Dream High,E43 - Those Who Do Not Understand Why We Should Think Big Dream High And Have A Strong Heart-Part 2

We Are Not Inferior To Anyone

1.As an individual, we are at par in terms of status and capability with the other races. Our country is small but the Israel nation is even smaller. USA is big, India is big but China is even bigger. In actual fact, a Chinese citizen, is the same as a USA, India , Israel or even a Malaysian citizen. This means as an individual, we are able to achieve success just like the Chinese, Indian, American and Israel citizens. Weather plays a role in the diet of each race. As a result of consuming different kinds of food, the body size between one generation or race also differs.   However, the difference is not that obvious. Our children now, whose diet contains more proteins, more than adequate multiminerals and multivitamins are more or less the same size as an American, Chinese, Indian or Israel children.   

2.From the religion perspective, the world Muslim population is about 1.8 billion, Buddhist 1.5 billion, Hindu 1 billion and Christian 2.5 billion. The Jews population the world over is about 16 million only. The same number as the Malays in Malaysia. In terms of achievement, the Jews are the most successful, the most wealthiest and the most intelligent in the world. Much, much more than  other religions followers put together. If the Nobel prize can be the yardstick to measure excellence, out of the 1.8 billion Muslims, only 4 persons have been awarded the Nobel prize. The Jews eventhough their population is only 16 million have produced 180 Nobel prize recipients.

3.Putting aside the numbers, the wealth or intelligence, the above statistics in general indicated that as individuals, we have the same chances and opportunities to achieve success and excellence as the others from different races and religious beliefs. The main determinant of success and excellence is dependent on the extent with which we are able to utilize the strengths that we have to overcome all of our weaknesses. It is not about race or religion but its about ourselves as individuals.

Reality in Life

1.As a Muslim, we should be proud of the remarkable achievements of the Muslim scholars during the glorified Islamic government empire era.Almost all education fields were by and large controlled by the Muslims.In the field of mathematics the leader was Al Khawarizmi. In the field of medicine the leader was Ibn Sina and Al Razi. In the field of chemistry the leader was Al Razi. In the field of music and medicine the leader was Ibn Rushd. In the field of astronomy, physics, geography and music the leader was Al Kindi. In the field of physics and optics the leader was Al Haitham. In the field of astrology, trigonometry, solar system the leader was Al Bituni.In the field of philosophy and sociology the leader was Ibn Khaldun. In the field of philosophy, logic, sociology, psychology and metaphysics the leader was Al Farabi. In the field of travel and shipping covering 75,000 miles the leader was Ibn Batuta. These are just some examples. There were actually many more Islamic scholars in all education fields. They were much more smarter and brilliant than the Nobel Prize recipients from the Jews community.

2.The interesting fact about all of them; they studied the Al Quran and Al Hadith. Most of them were Al Hafiz. They were not only excellent in one field but in five to six different fields including the field of philosophy, medicine, physics, chemistry, sociology and music apart from their main field.   

    

3.If the Nobel prize had been introduced during the glorified Islamic government empire era, the Muslims would be the ones dominating the awards probably reaching to the thousands. Sad to say the people who benefitted from the commercial and advanced researches in all of the above mentioned fields were the Westerners and the non Muslims. They were the ones who explored and developed these fields further using modern technology and approaches. They later  claimed the findings were their effort.

4.As Muslims, we should be saddened by these news as almost half a billion  Muslims throughout the world  are now living below the poverty line. They are living on a monthly income of RM200 or less a month or about RM7 per day. About one hour flight time away from the rich Muslim cities of Dubai, Doha or Riyadh millions of Muslims are living in poverty. Millions of Muslims living in hunger, in poverty,  without proper clothing to cover themselves, no proper houses and sanitation facilities and without opportunities to be properly educated.

5.If our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW is still alive, I am confident that this scenario will not be acceptable to him. The Prophet SAW will direct his companions to implement programmes to eliminate poverty on a permanent basis. The Prophet SAW will implement various Islamic global strategies and economic measures to ensure that the Baitulmal and Zakat system will be able to assist the half a billion Muslims living on poverty to have a better live and future.

6. What can we say, the Muslim leaders now are lacking the leadership traits of the Prophet SAW. They do not have any plans nor  want to participate in the creation of  a global entity to care for the welfare of the poor Muslims. Instead, they compete among themselves to create, flaunt and be proud of their own and their families’ wealth only. Their thoughts and thinking are swayed towards the direction and signals from the White House in USA. Unfortunately not from Al Quran and Hadith anymore.

   

Tips

1.As an individual, we have control over our decisions and actions to ensure we achieve success and excellence. We are the ones who determined our own mental, physical, emotional, spiritual strengths and disciplined for preparedness to achieve success and excellence. We are not inferior to anybody, any religion nor any race.

2.A balanced diet, adequate exercise and sufficient intake of multivitamins and minerals, our close relationship with Allah SWT  will enriched us with all kinds of strengths and capabilities to overcome our weaknesses and deficiencies.   Such preparations will ensure that we are in the best condition, right state of mind and environment to weather all kinds of trials and tribulations  to achieve success and excellence. To succeed and excelled in any fields, the key to success is our adequate preparations and resources. The preparations and resources that will convinced us to think big and dream high.

3.As heir to the glorified Islamic civilization era, we should be appreciative and proud of the efforts by the Muslim scholars in expanding and uplifting the  Islamic religion. We are responsible to continue and maintained these glorified achievements. This can be done using new dynamic approaches with the Islamic teachings being relevant all the time as a base. We cannot afford to just make use of  these approaches and do nothing whilst hoping and praying for Allah SWT to protect Islam forever.

4.As the Caliph, we have a responsibility to defend the Islamic religion. One way is by making ourselves excellent in a way that the world community can be proud of. We need to improve our iman and taqwa so that we are always under the care of  Allah SWT, so that we can focus our efforts to achieve  excellence in life, in studies, in careers, in businesses or in politics. InsyaAllah we will be successful one day. This will happen when all our initiatives and hard work are accepted and blessed by Allah SWT. We must have a strong believe in ourselves in order to excel. We need to have the confidence that we will one day surpass the others. We must always think big dream high and have a strong heart at all times.    

Think Big Dream High,E42 - Those Who Do Not Understand Why We Should Think Big Dream High And Have A Strong Heart-Part 1

Let The World Know Us

1.In Malaysia, as an individual, we are  1 among the 30 million  people. In the world, we are 1 among the 7 billion people. Even in our village with a population of only 300 people, most of them are not familiar with us what more in the world.

2.We live not to sell our names or promote ourselves so that we can be recognized easily and accorded the proper treatment. To put it succinctly, we are recognized and identified from one being to the other through our names. Bill Gates never wanted people to know him but people from all over the world knew him.  

 Reality in Life

1. Take as an example, I am the offspring of a clerk who works in a primary school in one of the villages in Ketereh, Kelantan. My father earned about RM1,000  a month to support the schooling of all his  5 children  and I am the eldest. My mother, a full time housewife and not generating income. Nobody knew my father and nobody bothered to be acquainted with us.

2.In the SPM examination, due to sheer hardwork and prayers from the parents, I obtained 18A1s. The Education Minister came down to my school in Kg Kubang Kiat, Ketereh,  to announce the SPM results for that year. I was announced as the nation’s best student. All media prints, TV stations were present during the announcement. All of them came without my knowledge. Even the Principal was surprised and unaware of the event. Apparently that was one of the field programmes and surprised visit by the YB Minister.   

3.News about the success and achievement were featured in all print and electronic medias for about a week. I became an overnight sensation throughout the country.  My family members i.e. father, mother, siblings were interviewed by all print and electronic medias. My family, school teachers and even our village became famous and the talk of town. Why did that happened? It happened because I achieved excellent results in the SPM examination. I have been proclaimed as the best student among the 500,000 students sitting for the SPM examination for that year. Why did I excelled? My spirit, hope and ambition were the motivators in my studies. There was  this big slogan that kept cropping up in my mind that fired up  my spirits to excel and be successful in life. The slogan, “think big dream high and have a strong heart”.

4.It was this slogan that  fired up my spirit to work hard in order to uplift the pitiable living condition of my family. Nobody knew about the slogan which has become my stronghold all this while. Not even my parents, siblings, friends or teachers knew about it. It has remained my closely guarded secret. 

      

Tips

1.Nearly seven years later, Malaysians were once again awakened by the spectacular news about me. Once again I became the talk of town but this time not only in Malaysia but the whole world. I was announced as the best PhD student in the field of atomic engineering that broke the world records in the history of PhD studies in USA. My PhD thesis was on the usage of atomic energy in multiplying  food production which is sustainable and adequate for the needs of the world communities. My research also touched on  the green technology which is capable of solving the global warming issues.

2.The food production cost using this newly discovered technology is only 0.1% of the normal total cost of production of staple food such as rice, oats, corn or wheat. This means that even the poorest country in the world should be able to utilize the technology to produce staple food sufficient for their population at all times. This technology is capable of solving the poverty issue, food shortages throughout the world and the increasing threat from global warming. In fact the food shortages issue has become critical and plagued the world community.

3.This three prong technology is the ultimate solution to the three main problems of the world i.e. food shortages, global warming and excess carbon. Global warming and the requirement for green technology are closely related to the excessive carbon issues. Too much uncontrollable usage of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and fuel.  The source of energy supply from coal, gas and petroleum too have reduced. Plants and vegetations are gradually becoming extinct.

4. To my pleasant surprise, the government of Malaysia in its technical assistance programmes  and World Zakat Organization with headquarters in Malaysia have decided to utilise this  technology in a newly launched sustainable development project. The project on staple food production was introduced in an African country. After 9 months in operations, the project was capable of producing corn, rice and wheat for the 350 million poor people in the African continent.

5.For centuries, these 350 million poor people were always in hunger but now they have been  blessed with plentiful corn, rice and bread. All this while, the irrigation system was the main problem. The cost of constructing an irrigation system for the staple food plantation was too expensive. Using the technology we invented, all kinds of vegetation especially the staple food such as corn, paddy and wheat do not require an irrigation system. The source of water supply now is obtained from the atmosphere and not from the ground. This technology is capable of converting humidity to water. With the humidity level as low as 30% is sufficient enough for it to be converted into water required for the vegetations. This technology is also capable of converting barren land or hillside area to fertile land by producing bacteria cultures that can make the land fertile.

6.The following year, the nation once again received the spectacular news that I have been awarded the Nobel prize. The first Asean person accorded with such distinguished recognition. The son of a school clerk who dared to think big, dream high and have a strong heart was able to achieve world recognition in the modern day history. The nation, my countrymen, and even the world communities were appreciative and thankful to me. Eventhough I came from the village I embraced the think big dream high and have a strong heart slogan. With this ingenuous slogan deeply embedded in my heart, I have been able to solve the world’s critical problems.

7.In the same year, in the month of June, once again I became the talk of town in Malaysia. I was awarded the country’s most distinguished and highest ceremonial medal. The ceremonial award of “Tun Seri” was introduced and awarded for the first time. This achievement defies the phrase “I want to be the best” but instead proved that “I am the best”. All this was achieved as a result of my think big dream high and have a strong heart slogan.

Think Big Dream High,E41-Stress Management

Stress

1.Stress is a form of mental pressure which existed when we are confronted with bad events or sadness that is not acceptable and unbearable which happens beyond our control. It can happen to anybody, regardless of age or gender.

2.The causes of stress are varied. It can exist as a result of various challenges, failure, unanticipated surprises, disappointment in studies, social, relationship, marriage, career, business, politics or other aspects in our daily lives.     

Reality in Life    

1.Everyone of us experiences stress. From a simple stress i.e. feeling of guilt as a result of waking up late to the most severe stress of loosing our beloved family member.

2.We can identify a stressful person through his behavior. Failure in an examination, the after effect could be not having any appetite to eat, wanting to be alone and remorseful. Failure in a relationship or divorce make us lifeless, filled with sadness and unable to control our feelings. Disappointment in career make us loose focus, unable to complete work assignment, forgetful and no spirit to work hard. Failure in business can make a person be involved in various immoral activities such as chain smoking, drinking alcohol, bribery and betraying their business partners. Failure in politics can make a person loose confidence, low self esteem and forced to carry out some kind of strategy and bad intentions just so that he can be back in power.

3.There are many forms of actions carried out by those facing pressure, more so if the pressure is in the serious category. There are those who succumb to damaging properties such as burning the house, destroying iman and faith, committing suicide, killing other people eventhough family members, slandering people, bad mouthing people, threatening people, bad conspiracy, mental sickness, obesity, high blood pressure, abnormal heartbeat, heart attack etc.

4.Straight thinking no longer exist. The feeling of hatred and anger cannot be contained anymore. All decisions and actions are directed and led by desires and syaitan rather than iman, takwa and sanity.  

Tips

1.Stress and cortisol are synonym. Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal factory located near the kidney. The cortisol hormone is a hormone responsible for controlling stress. A person under stressed will automatically send signal the brain for the adrenal factory to produce the cortisol hormones in large quantities.

2.Our behavior and actions during stressful conditions is largely dependent on the amount of cortisol hormones produced. The higher the quantity of hormones, the more aggressive and violent our behavior and the higher the health risk. The more aggressive and violent we become, the more difficult to control our emotions, decisions and our actions. The higher the quantity of cortisol, the higher the eicosenoid and insulin hormones secreted by our body.

3.These three hormones are dependent on each other. If we can control the production of insulin, we can control the production of the other two hormones. The production of cortisol will be reduced once we are able to control the production of insulin.Technically,the secretion of insulin is to suppress the release of cortisol hormones. Therefore, when the body can control the secretion of insulin, less cortisol and eicosenoid will be secreted from our body. This also means less stress.

4.The higher the quantities of these three hormones produced, the higher will be our stress level and the higher the risk to be obese, high blood pressure, stroke or heart attack. One easy way to control the amount of these three hormones is to practice a balanced diet and exercise on regular basis.

5.We need to balance the intake of the four macro-nutrients i.e carbohydrates, fiber, proteins and fats in about the same proportion. The amount of carbohydrates, fiber, proteins and fats that we consume each meal must be in the ratio of about 25% each. In other words we need to reduce the amount of calories (mainly from carbohydrates or sugar) in our breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks in order to reduce the amount of insulin produced by our body. With low levels of insulin, the secretion of cortisol hormones will also be reduced.

6.Performing solat fardhu, solat sunat, fasting, zikir, reading the Al-Quran and always be in ablution are among the best and effective daily activities to achieve peace and tranquility. There are also many strategies and management techniques formulated to overcome stress. These formulas have the same goals as the  ones promulgated by Islam to achieve peace and tranquility.  

7.Being in a serenity and sane state of mind with peaceful life style are our aims in life. We want to maintain this mental stability so as to  avoid having stress and other serious illness such as high blood pressure, stoke or heart attack. We want our lives to  be back to normal with the optimal level of health and happiness.

8.Without stress we become more positive and more organized. We become smarter in making decisions. We sleep well. Our bodies  become stronger and energetic. Our minds are more alert and sharp. Our soul are calmer. Our spirits are higher. We will be able to think big dream high and have a strong heart. Once we attained  all these, then we are ever ready to face any challenges to further elevate our success in study, career, business, politics or in other activities in our daily lives. 

Think Big Dream High,E40 – A Person Who Is Easily Deceived And Influenced By Information

Ascertain The Truth

1.‘O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full repentance for what ye have done – Surah Al- Hujarat, verse 6.

2.This verse was revealed during the time whereby Prophet Muhammad SAW had instructed the Muslim soldiers to deal with the Mustaliq tribe.This action was taken after Al Walid bin Uqbah reported to Prophet Muhammad SAW that the Mustaliq tribe had threatened his life.Prophet Muhammad SAW believed 100% what was told to him by Al Walid bin Uqbah without first verifying the information.The Al Mighty Allah SWT knew that the report was not true and revealed the verse.The real truth was that the Mustaliq tribe had set out to meet Al Walid, Prophet Muhammad SAW’s messenger in collecting zakat. Without verifying the information, Al Walid was thinking that the Mustaliq tribe wanted to kill him and he reported as such to Prophet Muhammad SAW.

3.The difference between Prophet Muhammad SAW and us:The Prophet SAW as soon as he made the impulsive decision without verifying the information, Allah SWT showed his displeasure immediately. Allah SWT through the above verse, designates the rule of verifying any information received especially through people of less certainty and doubtful in character. Furthermore instant and impulsive judgements might harm or grieved someone and such unintentional accusations cannot be erased even with great apology (sorrow).

Reality in Life     

1.In most cases, we jump to conclusions easily and make decisions hastily. This is actually good practice as it shows that we are a decisive person. However, inaccurate information can be deceiving and could result in us making the wrong decision.

2.As a student, we get excited when being offered a place to study in the higher learning institution after obtaining good grades in the SPM, STPM or Matriculation studies. Obviously the  situation warrants us to jump with joy and be excited. In most instances however, students make the wrong choices as to their field of study or major. We are easily influenced by our friends in deciding on the major of study. Hence influenced by reasons given, we chose the recommended field which is relatively considered easy to pass, i.e IT. However our parents upon knowing the choice made insisted that we switched course to  Medicine. True enough while we have a stable job as a doctor in the government hospital, our friends  who graduated in IT field have not been able to obtain a stable employment. There is a  glut of IT graduates in the market. Desperate to earn a living, they have to grab the first offer that came by eventhough it is only a clerical position with a monthly salary of RM1,500 per month. The future seemed vague and uncertain. More so if they are planning to get married.  

3.A boss upon receiving unsolicited comments from the sycophant, decided to cold storage an employee. The said employee was disappointed. As a result, the affected employee started to badmouth the boss and the sycophant who gave the incorrect information. News and gossip spread like wildfire in an office environment. Upon hearing the news, the morale, productivity and efficiency of the employees in the organization started declining. The organization then turned out to be the last choice of  place of employment for the employees.

4.An entrepreneur invested thousands of ringgit in a project which according to his partner is profitable. Within three months he will be receiving the returns on his investment. With the continuous good returns, the entrepreneur and his partner will soon be millionaires. The entrepreneur having full faith in his partner, took out all his savings in ASB and Tabung Haji to invest in the project. After three months he lost all his investment. His partner is nowhere to be seen and cannot be contacted.

5.In the corporate sector, a wrong decision made by a conglomerate with MNC status can result in losses reaching up to billions of ringgit. The feasibility study is inclined towards the CEO or MD’s preference than the actual situation. The data and information may be the same but the analysis, interpretation and presentation of the data may differ from one analyst to another. The Analyst favored by the CEO will make recommendations based on his insight and knowledge of the boss’s preference. The analysis, conclusion and recommendations are no longer independent and transparent. Certain information are not highlighted and may even be camouflaged. The Board’s decision is influenced by the explanation, acceptable and logical reasoning reasoning presented by the CEO.

6. After three years of operations, the accumulated losses reached 1 billion ringgit.  The External Auditors from the big 4 appointed by the Audit Committee then carried out the forensic investigation. The External Auditors noted that the information presented to the Board was inaccurate, misrepresented and manipulated by the CEO’s favoured Analyst. The Analyst’s employment was terminated but the CEO was sparred. The Analyst was re-employed by the CEO in his nominee’s company within the  same sector. Eventhough there were elements of conflict of interest, it cannot be proven. Though it can be treated as daylight robbery but the inability to establish proof, the CEO was sparred.

7.These are some examples as to how wrong decisions were made due to inaccurate, manipulated and misinterpreted data and information. The same scenario is happening in other fields such as politics, daily lives, marriages, sight-seeing, purchasing a house etc. The wrong decisions made in politics can result in disunity among the races. The wrong decision in choosing a life partner can result in break-up of marriages.           

Tips

1.The best decision is the decision that is respected and beneficial to the stakeholders. Such a decision can only be arrived at after thorough and transparent research on the data and information obtained. The more independent and transparent the manner with which the analysis, interpretations and recommendations are made, the more accurate and fair decisions can be made.

2. The above Al Quranic verse is a clear indication of the need to be trustworthy, transparent and responsible in our leadership and management. The western managers created the concept of accountability, responsibility, transparency and corporate governance. The teachings of Islam through Al-Quran and Al-Hadith laid clear and comprehensive foundation in management relying solely on the word “AMANAH”. “AMANAH”  is the benchmark and the number one KPI for the Muslims.

3. By being “AMANAH” we can shoulder any responsibility given in a complete manner and with Allah SWT’s blessings. Our decisions will be more accurate, fair and accepted. These are the kind of decisions that are meaningful, suitable and correct for the particular circumstances. Decisions that do not brought any guilty consciousness to us.

4. Any decisions made intentionally based on unverified information may pleased us and  make us looked great. Due to the hasty  decision made, it could happen that we will endure the most regretful moments and the memory remained forever in our life .We must remember that as a result of our  wrong decision, other parties might be affected and are suffering. It will haunt us throughout our lives. Only we know whether we are lying or telling the truth. We can deceived the world but we cannot deceived ourselves and Allah SWT. In the hereafter we are answerable and accountable to the parties that has suffered as a result of  our action.

5.Therefore in order not to make the wrong decision, we need to thoroughly verified  the information at hand. We need to have an open mind, think big dream high and have a strong heart. Remind ourselves to always uphold the truth and distanced ourselves from intentionally causing hurt and grievance to others who might suffer as a result of our decision.