Attitude Determines Attitude

I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock
strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important.
My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.


Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful
that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don't have more money or I can be glad that
my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me
away from waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me when I was
growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns
have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon
a quest to discover new relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy
because I have a job to do.

Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my
mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or
I can feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind,
body and soul.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am,
the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.

What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind
of day I will have!

- Author Unknown

Harnessing the Power of Your Subconscious

Level 5 Leadership

Level 5 leaders are a study in duality: modest and willful, humble and fearless. To quickly grasp this concept, think of United States President Abraham Lincoln (one of the few Level 5 presidents in United States history), who never let his ego get in the way
of his primary ambition for the larger cause of an enduring great nation. Yet those who mistook Mr. Lincoln’s personal modesty, shy nature, and awkward manner as signs of weakness found themselves terribly mistaken, to the scale of 250,000 Confederate and 360,000 Union lives, including Lincoln’s own.

While it might be a bit of a stretch to compare the good-to-great CEOs to Abraham Lincoln, they did display the same duality.

The Two Sides of Level 5 Leadership

Professional Will	Personal Humility
Creates superb results, a clear catalyst in the transition from good to great.	Demonstrates a compelling modesty, shunning public adulation; never boastful.
Demonstrates an unwavering resolve to do whatever must be done to produce the best long-term results, no matter how difficult.	Acts with quiet, calm determination; relies principally on inspired standards, not inspiring charisma, to motivate.
Sets the standard of building an enduring great company; will settle for nothing less.	Channels ambition into the company, not the self; sets up successors for even greater success in the next generation.
Looks in the mirror, not out the window, to apportion responsibility for poor results, never blaming other people, external factors, or bad luck.	Looks out the window, not in the mirror, to apportion credit for the success of the company—to other people, external factors, and good luck.

Thank you Mother Teresa

Inspiring thoughts :

We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge. People make mistakes.

We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage
will haunt us forever.

Pause and ponder. Think before you act. Be patient.
Forgive & forget. Love one and all.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
-- Mother Teresa

Hearing this words from mother teresa makes me cry in the heart.

I do realize that we ought to love everyone around us and forgive them for their mistakes. After all it's just mistakes.

At the same time i do feel that i need to seek forgiveness from those people i have wronged.

Should i not have the chance to seek for your forgiveness, i apologize through this blog. My hope for those who i have angered, hurt, humiliated and sinned, is to forgive me for i am man full of sins.

Should i die before i seek your forgiveness, i pray you stumble across my blog and read this post and forgive me for my wrong doings toward you and your family and friends.

To my future wife and children and my generation to come, i know i will make mistakes along the way and i do sincerely hope you forgive me for my weakness of not being a good husband, father, grandfather and so on.

At this point of writing, i am at the humble state of my life. And i am afraid that i will forget that being in the future. So forgive me my friends, my dearest families and relatives.

My last advice before i leave this world is for you to hold on to the ropes of the Islam steadfastly. Allow the Qur'an and sunnah be your ultimate guide.

May we meet again in the hereafter with the blessed prophet muhammad sallahu 'alaihi wassalaam.

O Allah, witness this day as You are the Greatest of all witnesses.

7 Habits and 8th Habit of Highly Effective People

The Seven Habits of Covey

1. Be proactive. This is the ability to control one's environment,
   rather than the opposite, as is so often the case. Managers need to control
   their own environment, by using self-determination and the ability to respond
   to various circumstances.


2. Begin with the end in mind. This means that the manager must
   be able to see the desired outcome, and to concentrate on activities which
   help to achieve that end.


3. Put first things first. A manager must manage his own person.
   Personally. And managers should implement activities which aim to achieve
   the second habit. Covey says that habit 2. is the first, or mental creation;
   habit 3 is the second, or physical creation.


4. Think win-win. This is the most important aspect of interpersonal
   leadership, because most achievements are based on shared effort. Therefore
   the aim needs to be win-win solutions for all.


5. Seek first to understand and then to be understood. By developing
   and maintaining positive relationships through good communications, the
   manager is understood by others, and he can understand the subordinates.


6. Synergize. This is the habit of creative cooperation: the principle
   that collaborating towards attaining a purpose often achieves more, than
   could be achieved by individuals working independently.


7. Sharpen the saw. We should learn from our previous experiences.
   And we should encourage others to do the same. Covey sees development as
   one of the most important aspects for being able to cope with challenges,
   and for aspiring towards higher levels of ability.

In his 2004 book: "The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness", Covey introduces an additional eighth habit:

8. Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs. Striving towards
   "greatness", means to act with integrity as an individual and to help others
   to do the same. According to Covey, this habit represents the 3rd dimension
   of his model. Greatness is the overlap of:
   

• Personal greatness. Applying the 7 habits in the forms of: vision,
  discipline, passion and conscience.


• Leadership greatness. Applying the 4 roles of leadership, which
  are modeling the 7 habits:
  
  
  
  • Path finding. Creating the blueprint.
  
  
  • Aligning. Creating a technically elegant system
    of work.
  
  
  • Empowering. Releasing the talent, energy, and
    contribution of people.
  
  
  
  • Modeling. To build trust with others. The heart
    of effective leadership.
  
  
  
  


• Organizational greatness. This is greatness turned into a vision,
  mission and values. This brings clarity, commitment, translation, synergy,
  and enables accountability.

Book: Stephen Covey: Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Book: Stephen Covey: The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

Great Leaders amongst Friends

You may notice or not. However i do. I really admire that great sense of leadership amongst our friends.

Strong commanding and influential character. Effective leaders like mokhsin rashid and azhar ismail have been my model. Sorry guys. You are being observed all the while.

I can't help it. I need to learn from the best.

Nonetheless i will be searching for more leaders hiding amongst our friends and i will pick up the great traits from them.

You are a Child of the Universe

May this be a reminder and an inspiration to me always.