Wanted to share thoughts with you directly from one of the richest and most successful people in the world, Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Group…

1:45 So I decided to run start a magazine run by young people for young people, called Student, that would campaign on issues that we felt strongly about.

2:58 I was honestly not interested in business

3.02 I love creating things

3:06 The idea with the magazine was to try and change the world, have young people influence what was going on in the world.

5:40 Try to be in a position where we can actually make a difference in the world.

So there it is - Richard Branson is really a Campaigner at heart - He lives with this purpose and mission constantly, this is the driving force within him.

For Success & Contentment,

Asad Khan

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Just want to share with you some Principles from “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie:-

1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain.
2. Give honest, sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.
4. Become genuinely interested in other people.
5. Smile.
6. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
7. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
8. Talk in terms of the others person’s interests.
9. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely

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We all know how hard it gets from time-to-time, but what you are about to watch by Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) will help you to appreciate that’s its all about, taking these hits in life, fighting on and moving forwards…

Here’s some of the dialogue:

1:30 - You used to fit right here, I’d hold you up & say to your mother “this kids gonna be the best kid in the world”

1:40 - And you grew up great & wonderful, it was great watching; everyday was just like a privelage

1:45 - Then the time came for you to be your own man, take on the world, and you did

1:51 - But somewhere along the line you changed - YOU stopped being YOU

1:58 - And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame - like a big shadow

2:05 - Let me tell you something you already know: the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows

2:12 - And I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your KNEES and keep you there permanently if you let it.

2:18 - You, me, or nobody isn’t gonna hit as hard as LIFE - but it ain’t about how hard you can hit - “its about how hard you can get hit & keep moving forwards, about how much you can take and keep moving forwards!”

2:31 - That’s how winning is done!

2:33 - Now if you know what your worth - go out & get what your worth - but you gotta be willing to take the hits & not pointing fingers saying “you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her or anybody!”

2:44 - Cowards do that! And that ain’t YOU!!

2:46 - Your better than that!

2:54 - I’m always gonna love you no matter what

2:57 - No matter what happens, your my son & your my blood

3:02 - Your the best thing in my life

3:06 - But until you start believing in yourself, you ain’t gonna have a life -

3:14 - Don’t forget to visit your mother….

Well now you have it my friend from Rocky himself. Tell me, what more do you need?

For Success & Contentment,

Asad R Khan

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So you have probably wondered how God had answered the mystery of nature and how He is controller of all physical  phenomena: water, wind and the waves: whoever judges is correctly, sails with a favourably, but those who fall into constant folly, will have no recourse of blame.

21. What! Do those who seek after evil ways think that We shall hold them equal with those who believe and do righteous deeds,- that equal will be their life and their death? Ill is the judgment that they make.

22. Allah created the heavens and the earth for just ends, and in order that each soul may find the recompense of what it has earned, and none of them be wronged.

23. Then seest thou such a one as takes as his god his own vain desire? Allah has, knowing (him as such), left him astray, and sealed his hearing and his heart (and understanding), and put a cover on his sight. Who, then, will guide him after Allah (has withdrawn Guidance)? Will ye not then receive admonition?

24. And they say: “What is there but our life in this world? We shall die and we live, and nothing but time can destroy us.” But of that they have no knowledge: they merely conjecture:

25. And when Our Clear Signs are rehearsed to them their argument is nothing but this: They say, “Bring (back) our forefathers, if what ye say is true!”

26. Say: “It is Allah Who gives you life, then gives you death; then He will gather you together for the Day of Judgment about which there is no doubt”: But most men do not understand.

27. To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and the Day that the Hour of Judgment is established,- that Day will the dealers in Falsehood perish!

28. And thou wilt see every sect bowing the knee: Every sect will be called to its Record: “This Day shall ye be recompensed for all that ye did!

29. “This Our Record speaks about you with truth: For We were wont to put on Record all that ye did.”

30. Then, as to those who believed and did righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them to His Mercy that will be the achievement for all to see.

31. But as to those who rejected Allah, (to them will be said): “Were not Our Signs rehearsed to you? But ye were arrogant, and were a people given to sin!

32. “And when it was said that the promise of Allah was true, and that the Hour- there was no doubt about its (coming), ye used to say, ‘We know not what is the hour: we only think it is an idea, and we have no firm assurance.’”

33. Then will appear to them the evil (fruits) of what they did, and they will be completely encircled by that which they used to mock at!

34. It will also be said: “This Day We will forget you as ye forgot the meeting of this Day of yours! and your abode is the Fire, and no helpers have ye!

35. “This, because ye used to take the Signs of Allah in jest, and the life of the world deceived you:” (From) that Day, therefore, they shall not be taken out thence, nor shall they be received into Grace.

36. Then Praise be to Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth,- Lord and Cherisher of all the Worlds!

37. To Him be glory throughout the heavens and the earth: and He is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom!

Some Lessons:

• The evil-doers and the righteous are not equal; neither in life nor death: in life, the righteous are guided by God and after death His Mercy, while the others reject His Grace and after death receive condemnation.
• Nor are they the same in this life or hereafter: if the wicked flourish here, they will be condemned in the Hereafter; if the good are in suffering or sorrow here, they will receive comfort in the Hereafter.
• The real life of the righteous - for they have received spiritual life - is not like the nominal life of the wicked, which is really death; nor is the physical death of the righteous, which will bring them into eternal life, like the terrible death of the wicked, which will bring them to eternal misery.

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In my previous blog where I presented the first half of the “The Kneeling” (Chapter 45), there were some really amazing verses in connection to how God’s purpose is to care for us all. The sea (verse 13) was only one example of God’s cherishing care in making all things in nature available for the use of man, through the genius and faculties which He has given to man. We (mankind), should never forget that it is all from “as from Him”, i.e. from God. For man is God’s trustee on earth and we are here to interact with all things in a manner prescribed by Him, The Master of the Universe.

This is why we have God’s Law’s: as instruments to protect all that is good and sacred, and to deter from all that is harmful and excess. To re-iterate, God’s Laws are here for the “attainment of benefit (arabic: maslaha) and prevention of harm (mafsada)”.  This means everything related to PLEASURE & HAPPINESS and what leads to them, and everything related to PAIN & SADNESS and what causes them.

We know that most of human behaviour is determined by one of these two elements: acquiring pleasure, and deflecting pain. These motivational poles are intrinsically built into the nature of man - its hard-wired in - so that sub-consciously we are all operating by, and between, these two psychological sides.

Such an inherent Reward / Punishment scheme has been given to us a part of our faculties by our Creator. This is why He, the Great and Wise, refers to those who do good as being eternally rewarded and those who sin, or commit evil, as being eternally punished. Its really feeding the same psychological centres that we operate in at the temporal realm where we want to increase GAIN and reduce LOSS.

But our real test comes from realising this Goal of the Creator and to not cave-in to our base desires and live an unruly, rebellious life as a consequence where the greater disadvantage is against our own self, person and soul. The sinners, or those wrong their own souls, think that they are gaining advantage, or pleasure and happiness, by submitting to fleeting, instant gratifications, but in reality they are only serving-up harm against themselves. The good-doers, who obey God’s commands, are living by higher standards of prayer, charity and selfless service and although they may face hardship along the way, these are minor aspects in the grand scheme of things where they will attain peace, satisfaction and immense rewards due to their purified souls. And in this life too, they will live healthily, garner prosperous relationships, have peace of mind, and a serenity in the heart accompanied with real contentment that can only come from above, despite the material comforts that may be afforded to them.

Adhering to the commandments of God (Do’s) & abstaining from His prohibition (Don’t) is the real test and this is where man’s free will, or freedom of choice, is exercised. In all things prescribed (do) and prohibited (don’t) there is CHOICE. In all other matters and things, Pre-determination reigns.

We will pick-up on the concept of God’s Commands again and reflect on why people fail to follow them, such as nations who were previously blessed by God and they actively rebelled against him, falling into vice, confusion and folly.

For Success & Contentment,

Asad Khan

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Hi Dear Reader,

One of the most important aspects to self-purification, self-leadership and righteous conduct is to understand that True Guidance is from the One Divine Deity who Creates and Commands all. His Signs are everywhere: His Power, Wisdom and Goodness are shown through all Creation and in Revelation. Any who rejects such signs does so to wrong his own soul. Many were given similar signs and bounties afore-time, but they fell into disputes, formed sects and followed their own lusts.  Such wrong-doers are steeped in sin and live an altogether shallow life: as materialist, hedonistic pleasures are their goal. The future is sure and in the hands of God, to Whom all will bend their knee, when the Truth will shine in all its glory. We learn this from the chapter “The Kneeling” (45):-

1. Ha-Mim.
2. The revelation of the Book is from Allah the Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom.
3. Verily in the heavens and the earth, are Signs for those who believe.
4. And in the creation of yourselves and the fact that animals are scattered (through the earth), are Signs for those of assured Faith.
5. And in the alternation of Night and Day, and the fact that Allah sends down Sustenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the change of the winds - are Signs for those that are wise.
6. Such are the Signs of Allah, which We rehearse to thee in Truth; then in what exposition will they believe after (rejecting) Allah and His Signs?
7. Woe to each sinful dealer in Falsehoods:
8. He hears the Signs of Allah rehearsed to him, yet is obstinate and lofty, as if he had not heard them: then announce to him a Penalty Grievous!
9. And when he learns something of Our Signs, he takes them in jest: for such there will be a humiliating Penalty.
10. In front of them is Hell: and of no profit to them is anything they may have earned, nor any protectors they may have taken to themselves besides Allah. For them is a tremendous Penalty.
11. This is (true) Guidance and for those who reject the Signs of their Lord, is a grievous Penalty of abomination.
12. It is Allah Who has subjected the sea to you, that ships may sail through it by His command, that ye may seek of his Bounty, and that ye may be grateful.
13. And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth: Behold, in that are Signs indeed for those who reflect.
14. Tell those who believe, to forgive those who do not look forward to the Days of Allah. It is for Him to recompense (for good or ill) each People according to what they have earned.
15. If any one does a righteous deed, it ensures to the benefit of his own soul; if he does evil, it works against (his own soul). In the end will ye (all) be brought back to your Lord.
16. We did afore-time grant to the Children of Israel the Book the Power of Command, and Prophethood; We gave them, for Sustenance, things good and pure; and We favoured them above the nations.
17. And We granted them Clear Signs in affairs (of Religion): it was only after knowledge had been granted to them that they fell into schisms, through insolent envy among themselves. Verily thy Lord will judge between them on the Day of Judgment as to those matters in which they set up differences.
18. Then We put thee on the (right) Way of Religion: so follow you that (Way), and follow not the desires of those who know not.
19. They will be of no use to thee in the sight of Allah. it is only Wrong-doers (that stand as) protectors, one to another: but Allah is the Protector of the Righteous.
20. These are clear evidences to men and a Guidance and Mercy to those of assured Faith.

Hear it read in English here

At the turn of the last year in the first decade of the second millennium, isn’t it time to take heed? Isn’t it time to turn heavenly and submit to His commands whole-heartedly? How much longer does one need to remain in jest and folly, following nothing but fanciful notions, baseless conjecture and lustful desires?

Turn to Him directly and commit to Him, for He hears, sees, answers and provides all. And to Him will be our final return.

For Success & Contentment,

Asad Khan

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Hello,

Sometime ago, I read (parts of) the book “Islam Between East & West” by the late former Bosnian President, Alija Izetbegovic (1984, American Trust Publications, ISBN: 0-89259-057-2). I must admit it wasn’t the easiest of reads as it appears to be a real in-depth journey into his mind and the reconciliation between his identity, philosophies, nationality and faith. So, I’m glad he summarised the work in his autobiographical notes: “Inescapable Questions” (2003, The Islamic Foundation, ISBN: 0-86037-362-2) so that I may represent the summary here for your convenience (pp 26-29):

“My aim with that book was to consider the place of Islam in the present-day world of ideas and facts. It appeared to me that it lay somewhere between Eastern and Western thinking, just as the geographical position of the Muslim world occupies the space on the globe between East and West. I tried to show that some general ideas and some values are common to all humanity. To summarise briefly, these are the contents of the book: there are only three world views and more there cannot be - the religious, the materialist and the Islamic.

Everything is created in pairs (Qur’an). Man is a dual being: body and soul. The body is merely the ‘carrier’ of the soul. That carrier has evolved, which means it has a history, but the soul has not; it was inspired by the touch of God.

The first aspect of mankind is the subject of science, the second of religion, art and ethics. This is why there are two accounts and two truths about mankind.

In the Western world, they are symbolised by Darwin and Michelangelo. Darwin has nothing to about Michelangelo’s man, and vice versa. Their truths are different, but not mutually exclusive. Over time they manifest themselves as the opposition of civilisation and culture. Science and technology belong within the domain of civilisation, religion and art to culture. The first is the expression of human needs (how do I live), the second of human aspirations (why do I live). This is the contradiction between utopia and drama.

Utopia does not recognise the individual, drama, morality. Study and meditation are two different spiritual activities, with opposing foci: the first is outwardly oriented - towards nature, the second inwardly - towards the spirit and the Self.

Every scientific method leads towards a negation of God and man, whilst all art announces religion. If there is no God, there is no Mankind either. And without mankind humanism, human dignity and human rights are empty phrases.

Civilisation knows nothing of the notion of duty, and every culture is an affirmation of the victim. Civilisations aim is an ‘earthly empire’ with utopian equality, and religion’s is the ‘kingdom of heaven’. This is Campanella’s ‘Civitas Solis‘ as against the ‘Civitas Dei‘ of St. Augustine. Their is no moral order without God. Morality is merely ‘another physical condition’ of religion. While civilisation is evolution; history, religion and art have no true development.

Every religion was pure in its origins (ur-monotheism). It becomes corrupted in the course of its history, as is the case with art and morality; hence the opposition between Jesus and the Church. Every true law is dual, and medicine is never purely science.

Caveman’s drawings or the aboriginal masks from Polynesia are in essence works of art no less stirring than modern creations. The whole of life is marked by this primary dualism, and its ’signs’ may be found in every phenomenon linked with the name of man. Here too is the difference in spirit between Old and New Testament, between Moses and Jesus. One was leader of the people, the other a preacher of morality. And there, too, lie their two different justices and aims: the Promised Land and the Kingdom of Heaven.

These opposites are reconciled in mankind and in Islam. Islam is a synthesis, the ‘third way’ between these two poles that denote all that is human.

I must admit that I was afraid of experts and their reading of the book ‘line by line’. I felt confident that a reader who followed the vision outlined in rough, or even hinted at, in the book would find something more in it than the pedantic, analytical mind. I was aware that my attempt at stating my vision remained understated, merely conjectural, and in places incoherent. I gave a number of familiar concepts a metaphorical rather than conventional meaning: Judaism, Christianity, Islam and so on are metaphors, with general rather than specific meaning. For example, Islam is a major metaphor for the ‘third way’, for every form of life, with a formula that fulfils the human person. In fact, the book was no more than testimony to a vision of the world.

I enjoyed identifying new parallels, theses and antithesis, coincidence and symmetries, but this was not the subject that interested me most deeply. There was one issue that always preoccupied me more than any other: the issue of famous losers. I regarded it then, and regard it to this day, as the deepest religious problem. It can be posited in a number of different ways: whence the tragic and pathos in the Darwinian-Euclidian world? What are the great losers like, and why do we admire them so if this life is the only one we have? Were Antigone, Socrates and Jesus really losers? And if so, why are they so great in our eyes?

What is the origin of our admiration for the fallen heroes that has accompanied us ever since the pre-historical Iliad and The Epic of Gilgamesh? Do not even films such as cheap Westerns exploit our innate sympathy for the victim (that is, for losers) and resistance to the calculated, to self-interest? Sympathy for the victim is not something we can find in the intellect, but only in the soul, by which I mean, essentially, that is not ‘of this world’. And I say sympathy, not understanding, for this is not, and cannot be, understanding.

No amount of reasoning, cogitation and sagacity can explain or justify a single case of a life sacrificed for justice and truth. Something that is very close and comprehensible to every human soul eludes examination by all our science and philosophy. Between the act approved and the approbation there is no mediation of reflection, no apportionment of reasons pro et con. It may even be said that there is no time lapse. It is the instant reaction of the soul to good and justice, to something that is identical to the soul itself. In the world that atheists regard as the one and only, the tragic and tragedy are impossible. In such a world there are only incidents and misfortunes.

In this mindset, tragedy manifests itself to us as a religious parable. In tragedy, villains fall on their feet and great and sincere souls suffer. And because there is no ‘intellectual’ operation to proclaim these eternal losers as mad and demented, the entire story, and in particular its tragic end, appears to us as merely the first act of a greater drama - one that only God could think up. For suffering and death - which are the end of everything to the intellect - are here merely an interval between two acts in a continuing drama. Our admiration and sympathy for the fallen hero are completely meaningless from the intellectual point of view, but for that reason - whether we are aware of it or not - it is deeply religious. For only in such experiences do death and failure or loss have an entirely different meaning.

I dedicated many pages of Islam Between East and West to this question, seeking to resolve it in a variety of ways, but I was never wholly satisfied with the answer. It continues to preoccupy me to this day.”

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Often we are journeying in life by attempting to achieve goals that are either reflections of deep inner dreams or ones that are temporary and easy to reach. In either case, the lack of results can lead to resentment of oneself or frustration over prevailing conditions. People then try to help improve the situation by thinking positively, being optimistic and forcing themselves to be cheerful. This can be helpful but not entirely useful. Change and Progress require more than a particular mental frame of mind alone: they need Strategies to help with the way you think, feel and order your time every single day you are alive.

Lesson 1: The first strategy is to Focus On Solutions - rather than the problems: You must believe that it is possible to change. When people get overwhelmed, often they are afraid of failure and develop an acute sense of pain. Because of this they put themselves into a state of ‘learned helplessness’ where a everything goes into a downward spiral: emotions, vision, determination, creativity etc.

The solution is in a change of Perceptions & Taking Positive Action

As a strategy:

1. Get rid of a negative belief that is holding you back: e.g the past does not equal the future
2. Clarify your mind, make a decision and stick to it.
3. Generate more personal power by having persistence in taking action

For Success & Contentment,

Asad Khan

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So here he is, the King of Pop in a rare mid-80’s interview, sometime after his mega smash hit album, “Thriller”

Listen carefully to these words..

0:22 My God, this dusk….is very beautiful….everything’s becoming magic!

1:05 Some psychologists say that dusk for a lot of creative people, you reach your alpha states subconsciously and you become more creative certain parts of the day, but for me, it can be any time, you know…

1:22 …I just like creating

2:20 With any type of creation: create what’s inside of you, subconsciously what influences you.

2:25 I’m a fantasy fanatic and, anything that takes you off into another world, escapism, that’s what I like.

2:37 I’m also crazy about the reality of everything; I like a lot of fantasy & that’s why I try to create:

2:45 To give away: to become “Moved”.

For Success & Contentment,

Asad Khan

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Every bit of planning, prioritizing, and organizing comes down to this simple concept.

Every great achievement of humankind has usually been preceded by a long period of hard, concentrated work until the job was complete.  Your ability to select your most important task, to begin it, and then to concentrate on it until it is finished is the key to high levels of performance and personal productivity.

By concentrating on your most important task, you can reduce the time required to complete it by 50% or more.

It has been estimated that the tendency to start and stop a task - to pick it up, put it down, and come back to it - can increase the time necessary to complete the task by as much as 500%.  This is not productive!

But when you prepare thoroughly and then begin, refusing to stop or turn aside until the job is done, you develop energy, enthusiasm, and motivation.  You get better and better and more productive.  You work faster and more effectively.

The starting point of great success and achievement has always been the same. It is for you to dream big dreams. There is nothing more important, and nothing that works faster than for you to cast off your own limitations than for you to begin dreaming and fantasizing about the wonderful things that you can become, have, and do.

As a wise man once said, “You must dream big dreams, for only big dreams have the power to move the minds of men.” When you begin to dream big dreams, your levels of self-esteem and self-confidence will go up immediately. You will feel more powerful about yourself and your ability to deal with what happens to you. The reason so many people accomplish so little is because they never allow themselves to lean back and imagine the kind of life that is possible for them.

Theory of Constraints

A powerful principle that you can use to dream big dreams and live without limits is contained in what Elihu Goldratt calls the “Theory of Constraints.” This is one of the greatest breakthroughs in modern thinking. What Goldratt has found is that in every process, in accomplishing any goal, there is a bottleneck or choke cord that serves as a constraint on the process. This constraint then sets the speed at which you achieve any particular goal.

What Goldratt found is that if you concentrate all of your creative energies and attention on alleviating the constraint, you can speed up the process faster than by doing any other single thing.

Let me give you an example. Let us say that you want to double your income. What is the critical constraint or the limiting factor that holds you back? Well, you know that your income is a direct reward for the quality and quantity of the services you render to your world. Whatever field you are in, if you want to double your income, you simply have to double the quality and quantity of what you do for that income. Or you have to change activities and occupations so that what you are doing is worth twice as much. But you must always ask yourself, “What is the critical constraint that holds me back or sets the speed on how fast I double my income?”

The 80/20 Rule in Action

A famous author and speaker tell me that: “A friend of mine is one of the highest-paid commission professionals in the United States. One of his goals was to double his income over the next three to five years. He applied the 80/20 rule to his client base. He found that 20 percent of his clients contributed 80 percent of his profits, and that the amount of time spent on a high-profit client was pretty much the same amount of time spent on a low-profit client. In other words, he was dividing his time equally over the number of tasks that he does while only 20 percent of those items contributes 80 percent of his results.

So he drew a line on his list of clients under those who represented the top 20 percent and then called in other professionals in his industry and very carefully, politely, and strategically handed off the 80 percent of his clients that only represented 20 percent of his business. He then put together a profile of his top clients and began looking in the marketplace exclusively for the type of client who fit the profile; in other words, one who could become a major profit contributor to his organization, and whom he in turn could serve with the level of excellence that his clients were accustomed to. And instead of doubling his income in three to five years, he doubled it in the first year!”

What Are Your Constraints?

So what is holding you back? Is it your level of education or skill? Is it your current occupation or job? Is it your current environment or level of health? Is it the situations that you are in today? What is setting the speed for you achieving your goal?

Remember, whatever you have learned, you can unlearn. Whatever situation you have gotten yourself into, you can probably get yourself out of. If your real goal is to dream big dreams and to live without limits, you can set this as your standard and compare everything that you do against it.

Three Keys

The three keys to living without limits have always been the same. They are clarity, competence, and concentration.

#1: Clarity

Clarity means that you are absolutely clear about who you are, what you want, and where you’re going. You write down your goals and you make plans to accomplish them. You set very careful priorities and you do something every day to move you toward your goals. And the more progress you make toward accomplishing things that are important to you, the greater self-confidence and self-belief you have, and the more convinced you become that there are no limits on what you can achieve.

# 2: Competence

Competence means that you begin to become very, very good in the key result areas of your chosen field. You apply the 80/20 rule to everything you do and you focus on becoming outstanding in the 20 percent of tasks that contribute to 80 percent of your results. You dedicate yourself to continuous learning. You never stop growing. You realize that excellence is a moving target. And you commit yourself to doing something every day that enables you to become better and better at doing the most important things in your field.

# 3: Concentration

Concentration is having the self-discipline to force yourself to concentrate in a single-minded way on one thing, the most important thing, and stay with it until it’s complete.

The two key words for success have always been focus and concentration.

Focus is knowing exactly what you want to be, have, and do. Concentration is persevering, without diversion or distraction, in a straight line toward accomplishing the things that can make a real difference in your life.

When you allow yourself to begin to dream big dreams, creatively abandon the activities that are taking up too much of your time, and focus your inward energies on alleviating your main constraints, you start to feel an incredible sense of power and confidence. As you focus on doing what you love to do and becoming excellent in those few areas that can make a real difference in your life, you begin to think in terms of possibilities rather than impossibilities, and you move ever closer toward the realisation of your full potential.

For Success & Contentment,
Asad Khan

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