This essay is contained in my new book. I'm delighted to announce that The Sojourner's Passport site has launched! You can visit it at http://www.sojournerspassport.com/.
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
Showing posts with label wildest dreams checklist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wildest dreams checklist. Show all posts
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wildest Dreams Checklist: "Good Luck And Fine Quality For 10,000 Years"
Lately, I've been paying close attention to the overheard conversations of the African-Americans I randomly encounter at work, in restaurants, in stores, walking down the streets.
I'm rediscovering why I usually tune out such things.
When did we become so uncompromisingly . . . small? When did we become satisfied with living LOW- and NO-impact lives?
On one level, I suppose that this is to be expected from people who are barely making ends meet. What's the excuse for members of the so-called "talented tenth"?
Our thoughts are . . . small.
Our dreams are even smaller.
There is no ambition.
There are no grand visions of making a lasting mark during one's life.
What happened to us?
I look at this and contrast it with examples of other people who made marks that have endured for generations. People who had long-term, grand visions. Visions that were "built to last."
The next time you see a bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce, please be aware that this family-owned Japanese company has existed for 17 generations. Kikkoman started as a small, regional soy sauce business in 1630, using a recipe invented by the widow of one of the samurai of Prince Hideyori. The firm began exporting soy sauce in 1868. Centuries of Success: Lessons From the World's Most Enduring Family Businesses, pg. 27.
The next time you see a Kikkoman bottle, please be aware that the characters for the brand name "Kikkoman" can be translated as "good luck and fine quality for 10,000 years." That's quite an ambitious vision for one's business! The Mogi family also carefully considered the values that they wanted to pass on to future generations of the family and family business.
"In the late 1700s or early 1800s the Mogis established a family constitution institutionalizing their cooperative effort to concentrate talent and experience in shoyu [soy sauce] manufacture at Noda. Among other things the short document noted:
'Sincerity first and profits will follow. Neglect neither . . . Avoid luxury and cultivate simplicity and earnestness . . . Attend to your health. Eat simple foods no different than those taken by your employees . . . Twice a year call a family meeting; praise family members according to their character and not according to their profits.' "
http://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/kikkoman.php
Are the effects of your choices "built to last"?
Will the effects of any of your choices endure?
Are you building anything that is intended to last?
What impact will your actions have on life 17 generations from now?
I'm rediscovering why I usually tune out such things.
When did we become so uncompromisingly . . . small? When did we become satisfied with living LOW- and NO-impact lives?
On one level, I suppose that this is to be expected from people who are barely making ends meet. What's the excuse for members of the so-called "talented tenth"?
Our thoughts are . . . small.
Our dreams are even smaller.
There is no ambition.
There are no grand visions of making a lasting mark during one's life.
What happened to us?
I look at this and contrast it with examples of other people who made marks that have endured for generations. People who had long-term, grand visions. Visions that were "built to last."
The next time you see a bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce, please be aware that this family-owned Japanese company has existed for 17 generations. Kikkoman started as a small, regional soy sauce business in 1630, using a recipe invented by the widow of one of the samurai of Prince Hideyori. The firm began exporting soy sauce in 1868. Centuries of Success: Lessons From the World's Most Enduring Family Businesses, pg. 27.
The next time you see a Kikkoman bottle, please be aware that the characters for the brand name "Kikkoman" can be translated as "good luck and fine quality for 10,000 years." That's quite an ambitious vision for one's business! The Mogi family also carefully considered the values that they wanted to pass on to future generations of the family and family business.
"In the late 1700s or early 1800s the Mogis established a family constitution institutionalizing their cooperative effort to concentrate talent and experience in shoyu [soy sauce] manufacture at Noda. Among other things the short document noted:
'Sincerity first and profits will follow. Neglect neither . . . Avoid luxury and cultivate simplicity and earnestness . . . Attend to your health. Eat simple foods no different than those taken by your employees . . . Twice a year call a family meeting; praise family members according to their character and not according to their profits.' "
http://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/kikkoman.php
Are the effects of your choices "built to last"?
Will the effects of any of your choices endure?
Are you building anything that is intended to last?
What impact will your actions have on life 17 generations from now?
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Wildest Dreams Checklist: Reboot Your Life By Becoming "Unreasonable"
This essay is contained in my new book. I'm delighted to announce that The Sojourner's Passport site has launched! You can visit it at http://www.sojournerspassport.com/.
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Wildest Dreams Checklist: Will You Be Ready For Your Breakthrough Moment When It Arrives?
This essay is contained in my new book. I'm delighted to announce that The Sojourner's Passport site has launched! You can visit it at http://www.sojournerspassport.com/.
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
Monday, April 6, 2009
Wildest Dreams Checklist: Are You Leveraging The New Media to Make Your Dreams Come True?
I just bought the Amazon Kindle version of Scott Sigler's book, Infected: A Novel. What I find even more exciting is the backstory of how he grew an audience for his fiction by podcasting his novels. Aspiring authors take note:
From Wikipedia:
"EarthCore was originally published in 2001 by iPublish, an AOL/Time Warner imprint. With the novel doing well as a promotional ebook, Time Warner was planning on publishing the novel. With the economic slump following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Time Warner did away with the imprint in 2004, Scott decided to start podcasting his novel in March, 2005 as the world's first podcast-only novel to build hype and garner an audience for his work. Sigler considered it a "no brainer" to offer the book as a free audio download. Having searched for podcast novels and finding none, Sigler decided to be the first. Sigler was able to get EarthCore offered as a paid download on iTunes in 2006.
After EarthCore's success (EarthCore had over 10,000 subscribers), Sigler released Ancestor, Infection, The Rookie, and Nocturnal via podcast. Currently he is producing a weekly podcast with Contagious, his current podcast novel (Podiobook).
Pushing boundaries, Sigler released an Adobe PDF version of Ancestor on Monday 19 March 2007 through Sigler's own podcast as well as others. Ancestor was released on April 1, 2007 to much internet hype and, despite having been released two weeks earlier as a free ebook, reached #7 on Amazon.com's best-seller list and #1 on Sci-Fi, Horror and Genre-Fiction on the day of release.
Sigler is leveraging new media to keep in-touch with his fans, regularly talking with them using social networking sites, via email, and IM.
Scott Sigler was featured in a New York Times article on March 1, 2007 by Andrew Adam Newman which was covering authors using podcasting innovations to garner a broader audience."
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu8svldpJToIBD81XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNTdwY2JqBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0RGRDVfMTE5/SIG=11t0iu07u/EXP=1239148207/**http%3a//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Sigler
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu9LMldpJkoABQNdXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNTdwY2JqBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0RGRDVfMTE5/SIG=11bq8spmp/EXP=1239148364/**http%3a//scottsigler.com/
Ladies, these are exciting times for those of us who take FULL advantage of what's available. Fortune favors the bold!
From Wikipedia:
"EarthCore was originally published in 2001 by iPublish, an AOL/Time Warner imprint. With the novel doing well as a promotional ebook, Time Warner was planning on publishing the novel. With the economic slump following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Time Warner did away with the imprint in 2004, Scott decided to start podcasting his novel in March, 2005 as the world's first podcast-only novel to build hype and garner an audience for his work. Sigler considered it a "no brainer" to offer the book as a free audio download. Having searched for podcast novels and finding none, Sigler decided to be the first. Sigler was able to get EarthCore offered as a paid download on iTunes in 2006.
After EarthCore's success (EarthCore had over 10,000 subscribers), Sigler released Ancestor, Infection, The Rookie, and Nocturnal via podcast. Currently he is producing a weekly podcast with Contagious, his current podcast novel (Podiobook).
Pushing boundaries, Sigler released an Adobe PDF version of Ancestor on Monday 19 March 2007 through Sigler's own podcast as well as others. Ancestor was released on April 1, 2007 to much internet hype and, despite having been released two weeks earlier as a free ebook, reached #7 on Amazon.com's best-seller list and #1 on Sci-Fi, Horror and Genre-Fiction on the day of release.
Sigler is leveraging new media to keep in-touch with his fans, regularly talking with them using social networking sites, via email, and IM.
Scott Sigler was featured in a New York Times article on March 1, 2007 by Andrew Adam Newman which was covering authors using podcasting innovations to garner a broader audience."
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu8svldpJToIBD81XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNTdwY2JqBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0RGRDVfMTE5/SIG=11t0iu07u/EXP=1239148207/**http%3a//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Sigler
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu9LMldpJkoABQNdXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNTdwY2JqBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0RGRDVfMTE5/SIG=11bq8spmp/EXP=1239148364/**http%3a//scottsigler.com/
Ladies, these are exciting times for those of us who take FULL advantage of what's available. Fortune favors the bold!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
"Streams Are the Gathering of Drops:" How Are You Using Your Minutes and Hours?
Time is one of the greatest blessings that God has given to human beings. This is a blessing that most of us waste. I have been guilty of this as well.
In the Quran, God reprimands unbelievers for wasting their lives in a state of disbelief, despite the blessing of longevity that He bestowed upon them:
"And for those who disbelieve, for them is Fire of hell; it is not finished with them so that they should die, nor is chastisement thereof lightened to them. Thus We deal retribution on every ungrateful one.
And therein they cry for succour: Our Lord, take us out! we will do good deeds other than those which we used to do! Did We not give you a life long enough, for him to be mindful who would mind? And there came to you the warner. So taste; because for the iniquitous there is no helper."
Quran: 35:36-37.
What strikes me about this verse isn't so much the chastisement of disbelievers. It's God's disapproval of the wasting of time: "Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
How many people meet death with regrets. "If only I could do it over again . . . If I had just a little bit longer . . ."
How many of us already have regrets over how we've spent large portions of our lives? Which is another form of loss because it poisons the blessings of the present moment that we've been granted.
In another chapter of the Quran, God vows by Time, and warns us that we will be in a state of loss if we don't use it properly:
"By the time!----
Surely man is in loss,
Except those who believe and do good, and exhort one another to Truth, and exhort one another to patience."
Quran: 103:1-3.
From the book, The Value of Time, by Shaykh Abd Al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah:
"There is nothing more true or beautiful than what Imam Bahauddin ibn an-Nahhas al-Halabi (Muhammad ibn Ibrahim), who died in 698 AH, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote, indicating that by doing a little regularly it adds up to an immense and amazingly great amount, as in the case of Abu'l-Wafa ibn Aquil. He wrote in the biography of al-Suyuti in Bughyat al-Wu'at:
'To do a thing today, and the same tomorrow
Gathering is the essence of knowledge
Thus one may achieve wisdom
For streams are but the gathering of drops'"
The Value of Time, pg. 31.
Streams are but the gathering of drops. The minutes and hours that you spend every day doing things that are not moving you toward your wildest dreams will gather into a stream called "years." A polluted stream. One filled with regrets. If you're not careful with how you spend your time, it will result in a lifetime of regrets.
"Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
Truth be told, most African-American women are keeping themselves busy with activities that are NOT moving them closer to achieving their wildest dreams. Most of these activities revolve around doing things for non-reciprocating others.
"Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
God gave us "lives long enough" to move closer to our goals. It's up to us to use these everyday minutes and hours wisely.
It's not enough to divest from people who are not making positive, reciprocal contributions to our lives. This, by itself, won't make our wildest dreams come true. This, by itself, won't be enough to save our own lives.
We must also be wise with how we spend the blessing of time. We must divest from activities that are not moving us toward the abundant lives that are our birthright.
Among other things, I've divested from bringing work home, unless it's an absolute emergency (and I do everything I can to make such emergencies rare).
What are you going to divest from?
In the Quran, God reprimands unbelievers for wasting their lives in a state of disbelief, despite the blessing of longevity that He bestowed upon them:
"And for those who disbelieve, for them is Fire of hell; it is not finished with them so that they should die, nor is chastisement thereof lightened to them. Thus We deal retribution on every ungrateful one.
And therein they cry for succour: Our Lord, take us out! we will do good deeds other than those which we used to do! Did We not give you a life long enough, for him to be mindful who would mind? And there came to you the warner. So taste; because for the iniquitous there is no helper."
Quran: 35:36-37.
What strikes me about this verse isn't so much the chastisement of disbelievers. It's God's disapproval of the wasting of time: "Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
How many people meet death with regrets. "If only I could do it over again . . . If I had just a little bit longer . . ."
How many of us already have regrets over how we've spent large portions of our lives? Which is another form of loss because it poisons the blessings of the present moment that we've been granted.
In another chapter of the Quran, God vows by Time, and warns us that we will be in a state of loss if we don't use it properly:
"By the time!----
Surely man is in loss,
Except those who believe and do good, and exhort one another to Truth, and exhort one another to patience."
Quran: 103:1-3.
From the book, The Value of Time, by Shaykh Abd Al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah:
"There is nothing more true or beautiful than what Imam Bahauddin ibn an-Nahhas al-Halabi (Muhammad ibn Ibrahim), who died in 698 AH, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote, indicating that by doing a little regularly it adds up to an immense and amazingly great amount, as in the case of Abu'l-Wafa ibn Aquil. He wrote in the biography of al-Suyuti in Bughyat al-Wu'at:
'To do a thing today, and the same tomorrow
Gathering is the essence of knowledge
Thus one may achieve wisdom
For streams are but the gathering of drops'"
The Value of Time, pg. 31.
Streams are but the gathering of drops. The minutes and hours that you spend every day doing things that are not moving you toward your wildest dreams will gather into a stream called "years." A polluted stream. One filled with regrets. If you're not careful with how you spend your time, it will result in a lifetime of regrets.
"Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
Truth be told, most African-American women are keeping themselves busy with activities that are NOT moving them closer to achieving their wildest dreams. Most of these activities revolve around doing things for non-reciprocating others.
"Did We not give you a life long enough . . . ?"
God gave us "lives long enough" to move closer to our goals. It's up to us to use these everyday minutes and hours wisely.
It's not enough to divest from people who are not making positive, reciprocal contributions to our lives. This, by itself, won't make our wildest dreams come true. This, by itself, won't be enough to save our own lives.
We must also be wise with how we spend the blessing of time. We must divest from activities that are not moving us toward the abundant lives that are our birthright.
Among other things, I've divested from bringing work home, unless it's an absolute emergency (and I do everything I can to make such emergencies rare).
What are you going to divest from?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wildest Dreams Checklist: Start Asking Yourself EMPOWERING Questions
As you have probably noticed, I'm an avid book reader. Last year I bought an Amazon Kindle electronic reading device, and I enjoy this gadget as much as I enjoy my iPod. For me, it's great because it can store many, many books without creating clutter in my house.
Anyway, here are some quotes that I'd like you to consider from The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class by Keith Cameron Smith:
"Distinction 1. Millionaires ask themselves empowering questions. Middle-class people ask themselves disempowering questions.
. . . This distinction reflects a universal principle that is summed up in the ancient scripture 'Ask and you will receive.' You will receive answers for whatever questions you ask, so you better ask empowering questions. The bigger your questions the better. Learn to ask yourself questions that stretch you beyond your current levels of experience. Questions hold the answers that you need to succeed." Amazon Kindle Locations 787-97 [emphasis added]
I thought of this because of a recent post by Gina, blog host of What About Our Daughters. Gina asked her audience to consider the question "If you could make the movie of your dreams about Black women, what would it be about?" Well, there was one commenter from the film industry who was focused on "proving" to the audience that the movies we want to see CAN'T get made. This commenter seemed angry and offended that people were daring to come up with possibilities such as viral YouTube marketing campaigns, etc.!
Too many Black women have this sort of attitude. If we want abundant lives, we need to break free of that sort of thinking. One way is to train our minds to ask ourselves empowering questions. In his book, Mr. Smith gives some examples of empowering questions:
"Which question is more empowering, 'How can I double my income this year?' or 'How can I get enough money to pay the bills this month?'
Do you see the difference? It takes the same amount of mental energy to think about answering the big question as it does the small question. Think about questions that expand your mind, because you will receive answers for any questions you ask.
Let's look at a few more examples. 'How can I make $1 million a year doing what I love?' or 'How can I get my boss to give me a raise?'
'What is life trying to teach me right now?' or 'Why do bad things always happen to me?' . . . 'What would I enjoy doing to stay strong and healthy?' or 'Why is it so hard to lose weight?'" Amazon Kindle Locations 797-807 through 807-18. [emphasis added]
Keep in mind that:
"Empowering questions ask what you CAN do and disempowering questions ask what you CAN'T do.
Disempowering questions also ask why things are hard.
Empowering questions make you feel good.
Disempowering questions make you feel bad. You can control the way you feel by asking yourself empowering questions." Amazon Kindle Locations 807-18. [emphasis added]
I've decided to make the Wildest Dreams Checklist a semi-regular blog feature. Please consider this feature part of your personal think tank. This checklist is here to brainstorm ideas in support of your wildest dreams!
What are some practical, (NOT metaphysical) empowering questions that you can start asking yourself RIGHT NOW?
Anyway, here are some quotes that I'd like you to consider from The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class by Keith Cameron Smith:
"Distinction 1. Millionaires ask themselves empowering questions. Middle-class people ask themselves disempowering questions.
. . . This distinction reflects a universal principle that is summed up in the ancient scripture 'Ask and you will receive.' You will receive answers for whatever questions you ask, so you better ask empowering questions. The bigger your questions the better. Learn to ask yourself questions that stretch you beyond your current levels of experience. Questions hold the answers that you need to succeed." Amazon Kindle Locations 787-97 [emphasis added]
I thought of this because of a recent post by Gina, blog host of What About Our Daughters. Gina asked her audience to consider the question "If you could make the movie of your dreams about Black women, what would it be about?" Well, there was one commenter from the film industry who was focused on "proving" to the audience that the movies we want to see CAN'T get made. This commenter seemed angry and offended that people were daring to come up with possibilities such as viral YouTube marketing campaigns, etc.!
Too many Black women have this sort of attitude. If we want abundant lives, we need to break free of that sort of thinking. One way is to train our minds to ask ourselves empowering questions. In his book, Mr. Smith gives some examples of empowering questions:
"Which question is more empowering, 'How can I double my income this year?' or 'How can I get enough money to pay the bills this month?'
Do you see the difference? It takes the same amount of mental energy to think about answering the big question as it does the small question. Think about questions that expand your mind, because you will receive answers for any questions you ask.
Let's look at a few more examples. 'How can I make $1 million a year doing what I love?' or 'How can I get my boss to give me a raise?'
'What is life trying to teach me right now?' or 'Why do bad things always happen to me?' . . . 'What would I enjoy doing to stay strong and healthy?' or 'Why is it so hard to lose weight?'" Amazon Kindle Locations 797-807 through 807-18. [emphasis added]
Keep in mind that:
"Empowering questions ask what you CAN do and disempowering questions ask what you CAN'T do.
Disempowering questions also ask why things are hard.
Empowering questions make you feel good.
Disempowering questions make you feel bad. You can control the way you feel by asking yourself empowering questions." Amazon Kindle Locations 807-18. [emphasis added]
I've decided to make the Wildest Dreams Checklist a semi-regular blog feature. Please consider this feature part of your personal think tank. This checklist is here to brainstorm ideas in support of your wildest dreams!
What are some practical, (NOT metaphysical) empowering questions that you can start asking yourself RIGHT NOW?
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