How to Grow Through Stress

August 3, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.”

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

We live in stressful times. What an understatement! The truth is that every moment in history has had it’s challenges and the future will likely always have many periods of time that are considered challenging. It’s just part of being alive and existence in this world. So what can we do about it? How are we supposed to live and even thrive in these conditions?

Figure out the good kinds of stress and wrong kind. Exercising and recovering correctly causes muscle growth. This is easiest way to understand concept of anti-fragile. Anything that adapts and becomes better as a result of pressure, instead of breaking down. Your mind is another example of antifragility.

Determine what’s in your control and what’s not in your control. Stop worrying about things outside of your immediate control. Focus on what you can control and live accordingly. Make the most changes and adjustments in this area of your life.

Use these moments of stress to become stronger and more resilient. Figure out what’s needed at this moment in time and the near future so you can prepare for what happens next. Get ahead of the situation as much as possible and train regularly.

It’s not only possible to get ahead in tough times, its absolutely necessary for our survival. There is no neutral position in life. We are either improving or falling behind. No one escapes challenging life situations and still claims to have a fulfilling life. The key is to frame your experiences correctly and let them fuel your growth into a better human being. That’s how you grow to become the person you were meant to be.

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Who Do YOU Think You Are?!

July 27, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“There are times when all the world's asleep
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned?
I know it sounds absurd
Please tell me who I am”

The Logical Song by Supertramp

When someone asked you what you want you wanted to be as a child, what was your answer? How did that change when you became a teenager and then a young adult in college or university? Did you change your answer again when you got married and had a family? Who do you think you are today?

What we think and believe about ourselves matters so much. it shapes our daily choices and transforms our lives through a collection of activities we do or do not engage in. Stopping to think about what we wanted in the past as children and now as adults are helpful to figure out the present and future life we want for ourselves.

Start today and figure yourself out by asking yourself these questions and writing down the answers:

What did I want to be when I grew up and what were my reasons?
Who did I look up to then and who do I respect/admire today?
How did I describe myself in high school and what would I say about my identity today?
Am I the kind of person I thought I should be when I was younger? Describe how you do or do not meet your childhood expectations.
How do I think I need to change to align with the person I believe I should be in the future?

So, what do you think about your answers to the brief identity questions above? I hope you are starting to figure out what makes you the person you are as well as the kind of person you want to be next. Make it Awesome!

What Type Of Person Are You?

July 20, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

Who do you turn to when you want to share your feelings or ask for advice?

Do they have certain qualities that you deem essential?

I came across this story that I think you will like.

It illustrates that there are four types of people you will encounter in life.

You may like this story because it will guide you to the qualities of being wiser, more trustworthy and even bolder.

A Gift Fit For A Prince

A sage presented a prince with a set of three small dolls. The prince was confused.

"Am I a girl that you give me dolls?" he asked.

"This is a gift for a future king," the sage said. "You’ll see in a minute why I’m giving these to you.”

“Fair enough,” the prince said. “Go on.”

The sage continued, "Look carefully at these dolls. You'll see a hole in the ear of each one."

The sage handed him a piece of string. "Pass it through each doll,” he said.

Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll and put the string into the ear. But, unfortunately, it came out through the other ear.

"This is one type of person," said the sage. “Whatever you tell him goes through one ear and out the other. He doesn't retain anything."

The prince put the string into the ear of the second doll. It emerged from its mouth.

"This is the second type of person," said the sage. “Whatever you tell him, he tells everybody else."

The prince picked up the third doll. The string did not emerge anywhere from this doll.

"This is the third type of person," the sage said. “Whatever you tell him stays inside and is never uttered to anyone else.”

"All right," said the prince. "So what are you trying to tell me? What is the best type of person?"

The sage said nothing and handed him a fourth doll.

When the prince put the string into the fourth doll, it came through the other ear.

"Do it again,” said the sage.

The prince did as he was told. This time the string emerged through its mouth. When he put the string in the third time, it did not emerge at all.

"This is the best type of person," said the sage. "To be trustworthy, a man must know when not to listen, when to remain silent and when to speak out.”

As you can see, there is a time to ignore the whispers that reach your ears, a time to keep a secret, and a time to defend what is right.

The road of life we travel on may call us to be any one of these "dolls," and being the best means that you are balanced.

So be the best you can be and share this story with others so they can be enriched like the prince.

How To Protect Your Inner World From Being Attacked

July 13, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

In 1952, an American named Howard Manischewitz invented a device called Blab-Off.

It was a solution to an annoying issue that millions of people had to deal with, and that was sitting through TV commercials that back in those days were louder than the TV shows themselves and irritatingly aggressive.

The people who bought the device loved it and probably enjoyed greater peace of mind during the three-minute commercial breaks while the "sponsors" blasted their messages of buy this; do this; you need this; hurry before the sale is over or other slogans/propaganda.

Not much has changed if you think about it. We are still bombarded with messages from every direction with social media or 24/7 news. The problem is not just that the messages are annoying, but many of them disturb your peace of mind.

Life is too short and full of beauty for you to be led off by slogans and propaganda that take your inner world of peace towards one of turmoil or agitation.

The countermeasure is to invent your own Blab-Off so that you limit what enters your mind and what affects your soul.

Get aware of all the things that are being said around you and how they make you feel.

You have that much right over your own being, don't you?

If the news content or the trending chirping debates feel distressing, zap them with your Blab-Off!

The outer world affects your inner world, so protect it with all your intelligence and might. Be the King or Queen of your inner world and live your life awesomely!

Why Good Decisions Impact Your Life Disproportionately

July 6, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

As Robert Frost famously wrote in his poem, “The Road Not Taken”:

“I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

We are all one decision away from becoming a hero in our life. That said, we are also one decision away also

from becoming a zero or having a loss.

A good decision can help you avoid problems and take advantage of opportunities.

A wrong decision can ruin your future and destroy your chances of doing well in life.

As a general rule, try to make good decisions and avoid bad ones.

Sounds simple, but why do so many educated and well-meaning people screw up life?

Can you think of someone you know that ruined their life over a wrong turn in the road?

Remember, we should only care about our decisions if we care about having a good life.

So to make good decisions, you might like to do the following three things:

Avoid the bag of snakes: Identify the knowledge sources that help you make your decisions. For example, you might be deciding to make a career change or buy a big-ticket item. If you choose to research something online or in-person, ask yourself who is giving you advice? Is it coming from the smartest person in the room? The most honest person in the room or the most cunning?

Surely you want to put your hand into a satchel and pull out rubies and diamonds, not a handful of snakes.

Perform the marshmallow test on yourself again: If a four-year-old can show discipline to not eat a marshmallow for a 5 minutes, so they can get three marshmallows as a reward (and grow up to be a winner), can't you do that too now that you are all grown up?

Can you withhold instant gratification and pause for thought and contemplation? The pause can help you come to a rational decision that is less instinct-driven and more emotionally balanced. Be a decision-maker that can move quickly after some due consideration.

Don’t fly a kite in a hurricane: Do you feel your mental state is right to make a good decision?

If you are under stress, you expose yourself to poor thinking, and your decisions will be low quality. If you are angry or upset, ditto. Instead, get calm and sleep on it.

After calming down and letting the storm pass, you might like to make a pro vs. cons list or even listen to your gut feeling to arrive at a more measured decision.

Ultimately, there is no guaranteed way to guarantee your decisions will be right but to be aware that decisions disproportionately affect how life goes is essential.

Can you think of other ideas that have helped you make good decisions? Please share some things that have helped you so that we might share them forward soon.

We Were Made for These Times!

June 29, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

We live in the greatest moment in history. There is no better time to be alive yet, life is going to be hard. It may be hard for some of you reading this. I’m here to tell you that you can make it through these challenges. You can even come out ahead as a stronger and wiser person! Everything you have been through and everything that you have learned so far is preparing you for this moment in time. It’s just a matter of you showing up, acting wisely and consistently on what you know is right, and then repeating it. Everything that tried to take you down and stop you in the past has failed. You made it to this moment in time and you have the choice to keep going.

Don’t lose hope and realize that you are a survivor as witnessed by the fact that you are still here. You can keep learning, growing, caring, and moving forward. Learn to ‘surf’ the wave of the latest news and events and remind yourself how Awesome it is to be alive at this very moment in time! Go out there and do your best with whatever resources you have and find like-minded people doing the same. Help each other and remember, “You Got This!”.

Two Important Things To Do When You Wake Up

June 22, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

Last year in May, I took a shower and discovered a new shampoo on the shelf next to my soap. I took the chance that it might be good to try it because the bottle had excellent bright colour and my hair had been frizzy lately. The rest of the day went great. My hair was shining and mostly because I did what the bottle said. I first washed my hair, rinsed it, and then retook a small dab of shampoo and repeated.

For some reason, that day went exceptionally well. I felt fulfilled, content, and happy, and everything I touched turned to gold. Who knew that shampoo could affect your life so positively.

Not every day goes so well. But it can if you know a thing or two.

If you feel like your day will be pretty much like yesterday, you may be missing out on a cool trick that can make all the difference.

If every day is the same as the last, boredom can set in, and the zeal for life can wear off.

So here is a great idea to get your day going in the right direction.

First, give thanks (gratitude) and secondly, make plans for the day (set intentions).

No one is guaranteed to wake up or be here next week. So at the very least, you can give thanks for having one more day to be here, love people, and do things.

Gratitude will put your heart and mind into a great feeling. Your state of mind is fundamental to living a great day. So as you wake up before leaving your bed, get your mind right and give thanks.

When you finish spending at least 2 minutes giving thanks for the long list of things you know you should not take for granted, then set some plans.

Planning your day can go two ways. It can be regimented, and it can go by trusting your intuition.

May I suggest that you do a bit of both? Set the intention to do things that fall into the must-do category: exercise, call your clients, and complete your to-do list.

Then think of what is intuitively the right thing to do today: calling a friend, visiting your mom, cooking a meal for the family, reading a book you have on your shelf.

If you do these two things every morning, you will go to sleep every evening feeling fulfilled. Rinse and repeat.

How To Achieve What You Want In Life

June 14, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

There are generally a few things that every person wants out of life. They boil down to a profitable career/business, someone to love, a few material comforts, and a bit of joy here and there.

Unfortunately, not everyone gets these things for one reason or the other.

My suspicion is that they are missing a simple solution to the path of achieving what you want in life.

The solution does not require being born into privilege, high education, or exceptional "outlier" abilities. Instead, it is all to do with tapping into your mind, thinking, and will to succeed.

Once they discover it for themselves and test it, they might never again feel that only other people get success, and never again will they see themselves as someone who doesn't have what it takes.

My personal experience and belief are that if what you want is realistic and has been done by others before you, then you have a good shot at getting "that thing" too!

Here is that simple solution, or as I call it: The Best Ever Way To Get The Things You Want Methodology (or BEST EVER WAY for short.)

All you need to do is the following:

Believe in yourself
Push yourself
Have a plan

A person will only go as far in life as they see themselves in their mind's eye. Therefore, you must believe in yourself. Call it having confidence, chutzpah or major mojo. Regardless, you need to believe in yourself and your ability to do what you desire.

And because nothing great ever comes easy in life, you will need to push yourself. Especially if you have a tinge of fear or a tendency to give up quickly when the tough gets going. The genius-level accomplishments you see in others are really about them sticking to something after most people quit.

Lastly and certainly not least, before you set out to your destination, map out a route. In other words, identify someone who has done what you want to do and follow their path. This is a simple R&D approach⎯rob and duplicate!

Now it’s time to test this out.

Pull out your grand list of Be, Do, Have things in life, and please choose one thing to work on for the next 21 days. Then, simply apply the Best Ever Way Methodology, and feel free to drop us a note if you like.

How to Know You Are In A Good Relationship

June 8, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

Jim Rohn

Does the person you are married to make you want to be a better human being? Does your best friend challenge you to improve your overall health and well-being? Does the person you spend a lot of time with at work or school have a positive outlook on life? How about your neighbours and the way they take care of their property such as their lawn? All of these are signs or clues about the people around you and the way they will affect your life.

Take a close look at at least the 5 people you spend the most time with each day. You can expand this to the top 10 people you are always around and do the same exercise. They can be a mix of real people you interact with as well as content by writers or celebrities that you consume daily in terms of a tv program, a podcast or video. Ask yourself critical questions about how these people make you think, feel, and behave on a daily basis. There is a 100% chance that they are affecting your mood, your beliefs about the present and future, and also influencing what you will eat, wear, and read. If you are not improving and experiencing a better quality of life today, perhaps you need to improve your relationships with the people around you. That could mean cutting out some people and replacing some of them with the kinds of people that do align with the person you want to become. You’ll be glad you did.

How To Be Unforgettable And Well-liked

June 1, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

“What makes things memorable is that they are meaningful, significant, colorful.”

Joshua Foer

We all need food, shelter, and clothing to live and survive when it comes to our basic needs. However, there is another crucial thing that we also need to live a whole and healthy life: real connections with other humans.

I am talking about the physical, emotional, and loving connections we get from our parents as children from the time we are born and from the various people we care about and who care about us till the time we leave this world.

Interesting studies show that we do not thrive physically or emotionally without this dimension of connection to others.

So having established this point of needing good connections with others, how can you add to your circle of love so that the relationships are unforgettable and cause others to really, really like you?

Here are a few ideas that should be considered:

Notice kindness and repay it. When others do nice things for you, please don't take it for granted and don't delay in doing something nice back. Ungrateful people will not get the advantages that grateful people enjoy—genuine relationships with others feed the soul. And make a life that is more enjoyable in every sense.

Also very important is to think more about others and not yourself. Stay out of your “me and my world” focus. Instead, try to see what is happening to others in their world. Especially the people you live with, co-workers, and your closest friends. Over the last two years, many of us have lost contact with many people that we would otherwise not have. So be in touch, and make up for the lost time by reminding yourself to offer kind and supportive words or even lend an ear or smile.

Consider this too: Your reputation is your brand. Your lasting legacy and immediate “unforgettableness” is based on who you are. So, just like Nike and Coca-Cola, you too have a brand.

Are you becoming the best you can be? Are you refreshing to others around you?

Here are a few pointers on building your brand. First, remember your manners: say please and thank you. Do what you say you will. As Vito Corleone said, never forget a favour. Complement people you meet. As Dale Carnegie suggested, ask folks about what they like and get them to talk about it. Most importantly, always be honest, speak the truth and be diplomatic, not prickly or too blunt. Be kind, be helpful and remember to add value to people's lives.

As much as others need us, we need them. But unfortunately, life is not a walk in the park. We all have "stuff" we deal with daily, and some of it is "unpleasant." But, when you do some of the things mentioned, you become unforgettable and well-liked because people always need a ray of sunshine in their day to overcome the occasional clouds.

You could sum it up as being more aware of others, getting out of your head, and being someone of service that consistently demonstrates moral integrity.

All the basic principles that our parents tried to teach us so we can have an Awesome Life!

How To Win At Life: The Secret You May Have Missed

May 25, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

When you wake up in the morning, do you feel like you can conquer the day regardless of what it brings or do you hope things go well and cross your fingers?

Perhaps like many of us, you are just happy if things stay status quo and nothing rocks the boat.

Aaah. If life could only be a smooth ride and not challenge our inner resolve to stay positive, productive and pragmatic.

But then, out of the blue, comes something that does rock the boat and makes us feel unsettled.

Times like this are when you might find solace in prayer or just remind yourself: "I never lose. Either I win or learn." according to Nelson Mandela. Alexander the Great rightly noted, “There is nothing impossible to him who will try."

The secret does lie in giving yourself a pep talk, but it might be beneficial for you to take the following suggestion to heart and apply it to your mind.

Here is the secret to winning at life, regardless of what or who is not going your way:

You need to take control of your mind or else resign to let your mind control you!

The late and great Mr. Steve Jobs said something to this effect.

If you take this message to heart, you should have several insights about how taking control of your mind is foundational to living each day with more wins and less stress about your stress.

So, controlling your mind will result in many advantages and insights. If you please, you could add at least 5 or more that come to you.

What your mind thinks about a situation or person is how you feel about it.
Realizing that you are aware of your thoughts can loosen the grip of your thinking.
Your feelings change when your thoughts about that situation or person change. New thought⎯new feeling!
Controlling your mind and thinking will bring you more ease and peace internally.
You won’t get tangled in your thoughts.
You will start to see your mind as an ally that sometimes gets distracted with its own process of jumping around like a monkey.
You will start to find your inner wisdom and trust it more.
You will become attuned to your intuition/wisdom and start rejecting negative thoughts and habitual negative patterns.
You will become more spiritual and trust in the Creator more.
You will be a source of healing to others.

No one says this is easy or will be an overnight process, but when change comes, it really does come with the evolution of one thought or one insight.

You and I must resolve to control our minds or resign to the fact that our minds will control us.

If you want to win at the game of life and want to be the best you can be to enjoy this gift of living, then control your mind.

I can’t agree more with Steve, how about you?

Five Essential Things To Teach Your Children

May 18, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

In the eyes of a child, their parents are everything; they clothe them, feed them, give them a safe place to sleep, and teach them the things they need to know so they can navigate life.

In other words, what we teach our children is super important to how they will experience life and handle it. It's true; knowledge is power.

Teaching powerful knowledge to your children as they go through their formative periods should prepare them to be the best they can be.

And here is how “best they can be” is defined: a person who enjoys their life and can help others enjoy theirs.

Enjoying life is not about laughing every moment or denying emotions from difficult life experiences. Instead, enjoying life is about taking in the whole of life's ups and downs so that you gracefully flow with it like the water of a river flows into the sea.

Here are a few things that can be very important to know early in life so that you have a great life as a well-adjusted and happy human being:

Trust in the Lord: Someone put us on this planet. The planet works fine. The dead grass comes to life every spring. Every spring. The birds leave their nests hungry each morning and find sustenance. Your heart beats, and your pancreas secretes the right amount of insulin without you influencing these things.
In other words, the Creator provides for our sustenance according to intelligent design. Therefore, we need not worry too much about anything. All we need to do is have a bit of faith that some things are beyond our control and that we should try our best and leave the results and outcomes to reveal themselves.
How to think. Not just thinking logically or critically but also understanding how thinking dictates how you feel. If you look into where your feelings come from, most people will describe the source to be outside themselves and point to people or situations that influence how they feel in the moment. While this may seem obvious, the truth is that one’s thinking is the actual source. Thinking about what someone did or how a situation unfolds is the cause of your feelings about it. We feel our experience of life, and our thinking is the generator of our feelings. Feel good and enjoy your life. The opposite is also true.
You are feeling your thinking, and children need to know this.
That life is hard. We have to strive and work in life with no guarantees of success. Our best-laid plans can and do not always work out sometimes. So, you can either react negatively to this or, roll with it and adapt. Expect things to be challenging, so you are not surprised when things get tough or you experience hurdles. Let your child know that if you have any goal, you can expect difficulties along the way. The key is to use your physical and mental powers to carry on as best you can.
That you are here today but will be gone someday. We are on the planet for a limited time. If we understand this, we might look to each day and appreciate the little things, the big things and everything in between. Plus, we would insist on making every day as happy and beneficial as possible by enjoying it personally and with others. Life is too short to waste on useless things, people or situations. So, find your happiness in life and guard it with your life.
Discover your true self to find your purpose in life. Too many people live a life expected of them, not the one they would have chosen. I am not talking about choosing the right profession but rather knowing yourself, your likes, dislikes, habits, personality, what motivates you, and your philosophy of living that brings your mental peace and rejuvenation.

The essence of this message is that children look up to their parents for lessons and guidance, and what they learn early on impacts the quality and experience of life.

We learn from experience, but certain things we could learn from parents. What we learn at the right time in childhood could improve our lives.

Life is too precious and short to live without the feelings of contentment, achievement, purpose, and alignment of our values and happiness.

What are some other lessons a parent should teach their child so they live an Awesome Life?

What Can You Do To Be Healthier and Wealthier In 90 Days?

May 11, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

“Success isn't always about greatness. It's about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.”

Dwayne Johnson

Imagine yourself looking in the mirror 90 days from now and seeing a very different you.

You see a sparkle in your eyes, a glow on your skin, and a trimmer outline with visible tone and muscularity. Then, as you sit down and contemplate your career or business, you feel confident that you have cracked the code to make all the money you need and will ever need.

On top of it all, you feel great joy on routine days and over the top engagement with life, your family, and friends. You also feel energetic all day, up to an hour before you sleep. Then, when you lie down to knock out, you fall fast asleep within minutes and sleep solidly for the night and wake up feeling fresh, bright-eyed, and bushy-tailed!

People are starting to notice, and asking you if you won the lottery or something?

Deep inside, you feel that you have won the lottery.

Then you explain what is really going on, and guess what?

Only a few of them take your word for it and become inspired, but most say I could never do that.

So what is the lottery ticket that you have and can continue to pay you and others if they grab hold of one too?

It is the simple CAT formula for life success.

C stands for Consistency

A stands for Action

T stands for Thinking

Here is what you explain to your friends and family:

When it comes to consistency, we all know the 2 or 3 things we need to do to move the needle in the right direction for our health and wealth. The secret of all secrets is to write them down and start doing them regularly.

Consistently doing the 2 or 3 things you intuitively know you need to do will matter more than having fantastic willpower, resilience or determination.

Let's take walking every day as an intelligent health strategy.

Going for a 25-minute walk every day is more beneficial and realistic for busy people than going for a 175-minute walk once a week or a 350-minute walk once every two weeks.

Let's stay with the walk/exercise example. Walking is an excellent simple exercise that we can all do. It’s simple, doable and inexpensive. But to benefit from it, you need to do it. And that is what action is all about: the key to benefitting from good simple knowledge is to act on it.

Action is key!

But on certain days, your inner voice, your ego, and big bad wolf whisper that you should skip your walk. You get convinced that it’s too cold outside and it’s raining; you walked yesterday for an extra 25 minutes because you enjoyed it so much; plus you're tired and you need to reply to an email.

We can boil that down to letting your thinking powers backfire on you.

Five Star TIP:

[To overcome your negative thought mechanism: talk back to it with a question that will stir up your more profound inner wisdom, like "what is the best thing I can do right now for my health?"]

This talking back to the big bad wolf will “cause the pause” so you can override the negative thinking that we all are prone to.

In 90 days, if you really want to be healthier and wealthier than you are now, just remember CAT, and you will astonish yourself.

And when that 90 days are done, keep on keeping on.

Consistently act with higher thinking, and you will see your life get even more Awesome!

Prepare Your Garden

May 4, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”

Marcus Tullius Cicero

The warmer weather is finally here and that means it’s time to plant something in the garden. Time to throw some grass seed to fix any bare spots and top off the soil in the flower beds so they are ready to receive this year’s new annuals. Trim those rose bushes and get the fruit trees ready. Plan this year’s vegetable arrangement and decide who you will be sharing your abundance with.

Don’t like to actually work with dirt and care for plants? That’s too bad. You should work on the ‘garden’ of your mind. Plan what books you plan to buy and start reading over the spring and summer months. What new ‘seeds’ will you plant in your mind? What thoughts will you refine and prune to make sure you have the correct understanding of things? How will you cultivate better living and better outcomes in your life based on what you read and think? What are some of the ways you will spread some wisdom around to friends and family?

Whether you are a literal or metaphorical gardener, get started now and let good things grow!

How To Become a Futurist

April 27, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

"The future belongs to those who prepare for it today." -Malcolm X

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could predict what will happen tomorrow and the next day? It would make your life more manageable because you could see things coming your way. A lowering of stress, a confidence through preparation, and, even some profit in where to invest your time and other resources before everyone else competes for the same things. It’s not just wishful thinking. You can be a futurist in your own life and I’ll explain how.

First, understand your life in more detail than you are doing today. Study your health, the society you live in, the trends in the news, and the way the economy moves as a result of what’s going on in the past decade or two. Yes, you need to study the past to get some data points for where the future is headed.

Second, read, listen and watch multiple experts in fields you want to better understand. Gather diverse opinions and notice how an expert may have changed or enhanced their opinion on a situation over time. There are clues to be used for your own future planning. Listening to multiple viewpoints from young and older experts in different fields ensures you are not listening to a one-sided conversation and blind-sided by events outside an echo chamber you may be living in.

Third, take small chances on your immediate future right now. It could be with small investments in a new technology, a new area of learning or, the purchase of something new to tinker with to see how it behaves. Dive in with practical knowledge and take control of your personal future by taking the time and spending some small sums of money to take a chance on something moving a certain way or having an outcome you did or did not predict. You have to actively be immersed in your own future path once the awareness and study are done so that you can literally feel the future unfolding in your own life.

With the 3 key ideas I explained, you are now armed and ready to start living as a futurist in your own life. Hopefully, you will discover better ways of living healthy, having more quality time, less stress about finances, have more connection with family and, more confidence that you can predict something about your future. Don’t delay, the future is just seconds away!

Creating Your Own Luck

April 20, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

Some people might look at you and your life and say, “you’re lucky”. You may think the same way about some successful business or sports celebrity you see in the media and then move on as if there’s no lesson there. I’m here to tell you that you need to look deeper. Study a person who you consider to be ‘lucky’ in life and you’ll find some gems you can make part of your own life.

There’s no doubt that good fortune is a great boost to human beings. It can be as simple yet profound as what race you were born in, what country you have citizenship in, what careers your parents have, or even the neighbourhood you grew up in as a child. So much can be said about the power of chance in many aspects of life and we all have some ‘good luck’ in some aspect of our life if you look close enough. Those high achieving superstars that the world admires seem to have some extra ‘luck’…or do they?

Some of the best performers in business, sports, media, and life, in general, reached great heights in life NOT because of lots of luck in their childhood. Many of them got to where they are despite a lot of misfortune and setbacks. What they do have in common with each other is grit or resilience in the face of hardships. They also have a hunger for personal growth, determination to keep practicing and keep showing up, and a strong self-belief that they will be successful. In this way, the hard work and powerful mindset create the ‘luck’ they want and need in life. They didn’t have any special genie granting them 3 wishes. They also didn’t have any mutant powers or high-tech gadgets at their disposal. The great people kept going forward when others stopped trying. They kept practicing their craft when others went home to relax. The truly great people in any given field don’t take their good fortune for granted. They kept developing and building upon any foundational strengths or opportunities to stay ahead of others who may have been born with more advantages in life. Such people as Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, Wayne Gretzky, Steve Jobs, and Keanu Reeves show us life is not about where you start but what you do with what you have. How far do you take your talents, time, focus, and passion?

If people who were raised with average families or even ‘unlucky’ circumstances, can rise up and reach the top of their fields, you can too! The world is full of opportunities and new categories of success to those who don’t quit, take on leadership responsibilities and push themselves further than they ever thought they could. We all have the power to create our own GOOD LUCK! Just brew some hard work with a never-quit attitude and add self-awareness to make that perfect mix.

It's ALL Part of Life

April 13, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

In recent years, you may be thinking to yourself that there is so much happening that is ‘interfering’ or getting in the way of you living your life. I’ve felt like this too. There’s a pandemic and it’s inconvenient lockdowns. There’s at least one major war going on somewhere. The economy is shaky and the future is generally uncertain. It all just becomes too much sometimes and you wish things could just stop happening so you can get back to life. But THIS IS LIFE.

Sure, we don’t want a whole bunch of problems and issues happening around us but we don’t control most of that. It would be nice to just have no major news headlines for a while and for the economy to be smoothly moving forward with no bumps or unexpected consequences. It would be Awesome if everyone you knew was in great health and happy all the time. The problem is, that’s not the world we live in. People will get sick and some will pass away before we expect them to leave us. The economy will grow in the long run but will have a series of shocks, corrections, dips, and surges as it always does. Unfortunately, some parts of the world will always have some conflict with the loss of property and lives. This is all part of the human story and will continue to be. I’m not suggesting you resign yourself to the events of the world and just accept things. I’m hoping that you realize that it’s all manageable and something humans are capable of navigating with courage, wisdom, patience and justice. We don’t have to be diminished by events happening around us. We can find silver linings and even learn to grow through the difficult times so that we come out the other side as better human beings prepared for future challenges.

Instead of wishing things were different or some things would just ‘not happen’, try to figure out how you can adjust yourself in the short term and make things work. How can you keep showing up each day to do your best and move things forward instead of being stuck in the middle of a mess? When you figure this out, as I’m sure you will, you will truly be LIVING because you were made for this moment.

The 3 Lessons of Fasting

April 6, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

‘O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become righteous.’

The Holy Quran 2:184

For observant Muslims, Ramadhan has started a few days ago and this means fasting during daylight hours for the entire lunar month. Like fasting in other cultures and traditions, there are some key lessons we can understand from this experience and I’d like to share a few of these with you. They have the power to transform lives and change the world for the better.

The first is Patience through delayed gratification. By postponing eating and drinking during daylight hours, Muslims truly appreciate what it means to be waiting for something you truly want. Not rushing to do or have something leads to better decision-making and fewer issues when it comes to relationships also. A patient person is less likely to get angry and also more understanding towards others. A related lesson of Ramadhan that we learn is Mindset. We have to convince ourselves that we can endure the temporary abstinence from consuming food and drink and this means we need this to stop ourselves from indulging in a piece of cake or a cup of coffee whenever we feel like it. The personal choice to observe fasting for our own sake and realize that it’s beneficial for us makes it mentally possible to continue when it starts to become challenging. By developing a strong mindset for the task you are doing, you can develop more clarity about your life’s purpose and path. This trains our minds to become stronger while our bodies become more resilient to stress.

The third key lesson we learn from fasting is Compassion for those who get to eat a little or no food each day for many days in a row. We can get a sense of what that is like and what hardships they must be facing every day of the week, all year long. This compassion should drive us to be more generous and caring towards them so we can eliminate food shortages in our community. Perhaps we can help with the growing of certain foods or the distribution to the neediest. By connecting with the suffering of others, we can appreciate what they struggle with and work with them to find meaningful solutions that make society better.

There are other ways we can learn the valuable lessons that Patience, Mindset, and Compassion have to teach us but perhaps there is no better ‘class room’ than the month of Ramadhan for a believer. We also learn other important lessons and gain more self awareness in this holy month which makes it more compelling for a practicing Muslim. I pray that we all become better human beings through the various lessons of Ramadhan and life in general. May we all practice goodness every month so that we can improve humanity with each passing year.

How To Build Bullet-Proof Self-Confidence

March 30, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

People who are successful in life are very confident in themselves. They seem to have a lot of courage, and we all admire that in a person because it is a rare quality.

Oddly, however, if you asked people to comment on how confident they are, most people would reply "very," giving the impression that everyone is so confident!

So what can you do if you feel less confident and need a boost of confidence?

Even more important, what should you do if you somehow lose your Mojo?

First, it might be necessary to answer the critical reason we dare not when we should. Why do we doubt ourselves or hesitate when the moment of truth dawns and an opportunity to shine in our own eyes pop up?

The answer to our dilemma is we all, and I mean all have moments of fear and doubt. When this happens, we come up with excuses that easily convince us to stay safe.

So here are two things that can help you and me to have more self-confidence.

Do what you fear or doubt you can’t do. It’s better to do it. Just use the same inner conversation to say “no guts, no glory” or remind yourself that ships are safe in the harbour, but ships were meant to sail.

So there you are. Talk back to yourself and say, "I will do it," and be firm with yourself.

Now that you have done it, you should measure your self-confidence on your meter of level 1 to level 10. After doing the thing you fear, you may notice that it was not so hard, and your self-confidence meter will move more towards a 10.

So, the next time you feel hesitant to do something that requires self-confidence, you should do it because it is you that will feel the glory as you sail towards a better destination.

These Words Will Cause You To Enjoy Life Less

March 23, 2022 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

Did you ever listen to a good friend speak about their life and say to yourself, “what a poor choice of words.”

I have a hunch that using certain words will cause you to either become mentally strong and resilient or backfire on you so that you chisel away your mental strength.

Problem or Challenge?

I once had a job selling TVs and VCRs. The department manager spoke to a group of us and said he no longer uses the word “problem." He said he had replaced it with the word “challenge” instead. He went on to say, “there are no problems in my life, just challenges.”

He also said, "If I look at things this way, I remain happier, more confident, and my mind begins to seek solutions.

Words matter. Having challenges is better than having problems.

You also don't get stuck on the misery of being overwhelmed with annoying problems that trigger you to feel like you are struggling with trauma, getting overwhelmed and adding to being exhausted, nervous, anxious, and depressed.

21 Words To Avoid If You Want Life To Be Wonderful

Maybe it’s just me, but the first four words on the list seem to be used a lot in everyday language lately. These words were not in common use when I was growing up.

Have a read of the list, and let me know which other words come to mind. Then, let's do our best to spread the word to use good words and not mentally deflating and even dangerous words.

Triggered

Annoying

Trauma

Struggling

Suffering

Brutal

Devastating

Overwhelmed

Fragile

Mad

Sad

Stressful

Problem

Fear

Agony

Ordeal

Tired

Exhausted

Anxious

Nervous

Depressed

While we are at it, here are a few phrases that people often use that I believe will become self-fulfilling prophecies if they are repeated.

Harmful phrases such as:

“This is making me sick."

“This is killing me."

“I can’t stand this."

“I am at my wit's end."

"I'm struggling with this."

"My trauma is ______"

"This ______is triggering me."

“That is so annoying."

An Experiment You Might Try Instead

In his Journey To The Extraordinary Workshop https://www.drzimmerman.com/journey

Dr. Alan Zimmerman has used the following exercise with seminar participants. The lucky individuals are asked to repeat a phrase a few times.

The first phrase is:

“I’m a loser, I can't do it, life is hard, I’m no good, things are against me.”

And then,

“I’m a winner, I can do it, life is good, I’m a winner, things are looking up.”

The added twist is that after saying the one set of negative phrases, he has the person put their arms up and out to the side and proceeds to push them down. Guess what, even with the burliest person, when they say the negative phrases, Dr. Z can apply gentle pressure, and their arms go down. And, when they say the positive statements, the daintiest person stands as firm as the rock of Gibraltar.

What you say to yourself should not be taken lightly! Words are powerful they affect others and they definitely affect yourself. The “challenge” is that a lot of times, we innocently use dangerous words that dilute our strength and rob us of enjoying life to the fullest.

I'm no expert, but I think my hunch may be correct. The words we use to make our lives happier and more triumphant, and if reading this article convinces you of the same, maybe you might be so kind and spread the goodness. So please flip this article far and wide. We could all use a good word or two!