Many years ago, in a poor Chinese village, there lived a farmer and his son.

His only material possession, apart from the land and a small hut, was a horse he had inherited from his father.

One day, the horse ran away, leaving the man with no animal with which to work the land.

His neighbours, who respected him for his honesty and diligence, went to his house to say how much they regretted his loss. He thanked them for their visit, but asked:

“How do you know that what happened was a misfortune in my life?”Someone muttered to a friend: “He obviously doesn’t want to face facts, but let him think what he likes, after all, it’s better than being sad about it.”

And the neighbours went away again, pretending to agree with what he had said.

A week later, the horse returned to its stable, but it was not alone; it brought with it a beautiful mare for company.

The inhabitants of the village were thrilled when they heard the news, for only then did they understand the reply the man had given them, and they went back to the farmer’s house to congratulate him on his good fortune.

“Instead of one horse, you’ve got two. Congratulations!” they said.

“Many thanks for your visit and for your solidarity,” replied the farmer. “But how do you know that what happened was a blessing in my life?”

The neighbours were rather put out and decided that the man must be going mad, and, as they left, they said: “Doesn’t the man realise that the horse is a gift from God?”

A month later, the farmer’s son decided to break the mare in. However, the animal bucked wildly and threw the boy off; the boy fell awkwardly and broke his leg.

The neighbours returned to the farmer’s house, bringing presents for the injured boy. The mayor of the village solemnly presented his condolences to the father, saying how sad they all were about what had occurred.

The man thanked them for their visit and for their kindness, but he asked:

“How do you know that what happened was a misfortune in my life?”

These words left everyone dumbstruck, because they were all quite sure that the son’s accident was a real tragedy. As they left the farmer’s house, they said to each other: “Now he really has gone mad; his only son could be left permanently crippled, and he’s not sure whether the accident was a misfortune or not!”

A few months went by, and Japan declared war on China. The emperor’s emissaries scoured the country for healthy young men to be sent to the front.

When they reached the village, they recruited all the young men, except the farmer’s son, whose leg had not yet mended.

None of the young men came back alive. The son recovered, and the two horses produced foals that were all sold for a good price.

The farmer went to visit his neighbours to console and to help them, since they had always shown him such solidarity.

Whenever any of them complained, the farmer would say: “How do you know that what happened was a misfortune?”

If someone was overjoyed about something, he would ask: “How do you know that what happened was a blessing?”

And the people of the village came to understand that life has other meanings that go beyond mere appearance.

Source: http://www.funnysheep.com/2012/04/19/the-wise-farmer/
Photo Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-byBMTdXnEbE/TccrCLc-G-I/AAAAAAAAAOA/_KoN1HDGSbE/s1600/chinese+farmer.jpg

I am Yusuf Bonner, a 46 year old English man who became Muslim in September 2007, Alhamdulillah.

I was born in Fulham, London and was brought up without any religious beliefs or education. However, I did have a sense of God from an early age; a vague feeling that God was there protecting me.

At the age of around 19 or 20, I began to seriously think about religion and spirituality, although these thoughts were often sidetracked by more earthly pursuits. I looked into many weird and wonderful philosophies for the next 10 years or so, what is termed “Neo-Paganism” or Wicca, as well as a vague interest in Buddhist meditation. Looking back, I can see that the pagan philosophies appealed to me because they largely condone the pursuit of carnal and selfish desires. It didn’t take too long to see through this, and so I found myself once more searching for the truth.

Around the age of 30 I studied Buddhism as part of a Philosophy/Theology degree course. For the next few years I practiced Buddhist meditation in various schools of Buddhist thought. Again, before long I became restless to move on, aware that I had yet to find the truth.

And so I found myself in a church, asking God to guide me. I quickly went from Church of England to the Catholic church, where I became involved with a Monastery. For the next 10 years or so, I worked and sometimes lived in the Monastery, sharing the life of prayer with the priests and monks. During those ten years there were a few ups and downs, but I was on route to eventually become a monk. Or so I thought. Allah had other plans for me. In the winter of 2006, I had what can only be described as a complete breakdown of faith. I continued to work in the monastery, but could no longer pray or attend mass. However, I was constantly asking God for guidance and help.(I lost my faith in the teachings of the church, but retained that feeling from childhood: that God was there protecting me).

And so Allah guided me to Islam without meeting any Muslims. I learned to pray initially from books and I read an English translation of the meaning of the Qur’an. These books were sent to me from another revert who I had spoken to online. May Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala reward them abundantly in this world and the next. About two months later, I went to my nearest Mosque and said my Shahadah, Alhamdulillah.

I continued to work at the monastery for a while, but it became increasingly difficult. I was reading my Qur’an with one eye on the door, in case one of the monks came to see me. And I had to pray in secret because it was not acceptable to them that I was Muslim. Around this time I read Surah Hadid, and came across ayat 27, which includes this saying ((“…but the Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them. (We commanded) only the the seeking for the Good Pleasure of Allah; but that they did not foster as they should have done…..”)) (57:27 part of ayat). SubhanAllah! After reading this, I knew that I couldn’t continue to work there.

This was an enormous decision, as the monastery had been my home for ten years, and the monks had been my brothers for that time. I also gave up playing music in pubs and in public generally. So the change of life was quite extreme for me. In those early months there was quite a lot of temptation to go back to my old way of life, but after tasting the truth, there is no way to go back to living a lie, however convenient or appealing it might be.

Alhamdulillah, I was given the strength to leave my old life behind. There has been a lot of hard challenges along the way, but also many amazing things. By the Grace of Allah, and with the help of brothers from IERA (Islamic Education and Research Academy) I have been able to work in the field of Da’wah and in the support of new Muslims. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has blessed me in many ways. Of course, there continue to be problems and challenges: sometimes the challenges are almost overwhelming. But I retain an underlying knowledge that, Alhamdulillah, Allah has guided me to Islam. Everything else is secondary to that fact. My concern is now for those who are not yet Muslims, and for those who have recently been guided to Islam. There are many forces operating to lure us away from the truth. It is for us to “Hold tight to the Rope of Allah, all together, and be not divided among yourselves…” -Surah Ali-Imran ayah 103

Source: http://sal.am/magazine/revert-stories/my-journey-to-islam-by-yusuf-bonner/

An unbeliever asks Sayyidina Imam Ali:

“Oh, Imam, if there is no hereafter, all your prayers and acts of worship are in vain.”

Imam Ali responds:

“If there is no hereafter, we will not lose anything but what if there is, woe to you!”

Have you found your self in a difficult situation that you need to overcome but you just dont have the motivation needed to accomplish the task? im sure you do, me too. But there are different ways that you can use for self motivation even in the most difficult times.

Many people advice the use of will power to go for what you want, however most of the times it doesnt work. Some people can use will power for a short period of time but not for the long term, what you have to do is find a really life motivator a reason to be and do what you want to do.

A lot of sports coaches use motivation you make their players be the best the can and in the fiel be productive and effective. Most people just go by giving 5% of their capacity, but with a little motivation they could be ten times more productive.

Now lets examine some self motivation tips that will help you in any endeavour that you take.

1) write down your goals, you need to be very specific on what do you want to achieve, dont write “i want to earn a lot of money” that doesnt work you need to be more specific “i want to earn 10,000 dollars in 3 months”

2) Visualize you goal, take a few minutes a day and think, picture in your mind how you are achieving your goals and what it feels, what are the emotions.

3) Reward your self, everytime you accomplish a task or goal, give your self a break or something that will make you feel good, you need to reward every task.

4) Tell other about your goals, yes, its very important to let your loved ones and friends know what are your goals so they can be accountable of what you are doint and that will motivate you.

5) Set Challenges or Records, try to set high goals and when you reach them set them higher, challenge your self to do the best you can do.

Those are some very usefull self motivation tips, however if you have someone to support you its important that they help you get you motivated. Avoid negative thinking try to use affirmations and positive thinking.

Photo Source: http://ozguru.mu.nu/Photos/2005-07-23–Motivation.jpg

This is a traditional story from the Basque Country
One day in a far away village lived a stonebreaker that broke a lot of stones every day. One day a witch saw that the stonebreaker was unhappy with his job and so she decided to help. She asked him what he wanted to be. The stonebreaker said that he wanted to be richer …and he became richer.
The next day he wanted to be the richest man ….and he became even richer still.
He was very happy with his new life until …..One day it was very sunny and suddenly he couldn’t help it and he became a sun. When he was a sun, a cloud went in front of the sun and he became a cloud. The cloud started to rain and drop water and everyone ran into their houses. But the stone that was lying there couldn’t move to get out of the rain and he was turned into a stone.
The next day, when he was a stone, a stone breaker came to break that stone and he thought to himself, “The stonebreaker’s job is the best job of all” and he became a stonebreaker again for the rest of his life.

Translated by: Makbule E. Dündar

The Japanese love fresh fish. However, the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever.

The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer.

However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price.

So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and put them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive.

Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.

So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan? If you were consulting the fish industry, what would you recommend?

Too Much Money

As soon as you reach your goals, such as finding a wonderful mate, starting a successful company, paying off your debts or whatever, you might lose your passion. You don’t need to work so hard so you relax.

You experience the same problem as lottery winners who waste their money, wealthy heirs who never grow up and bored homemakers who get addicted to prescription drugs.

Like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple. It was observed by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950′s.

“Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment.” — L. Ron Hubbard

The Benefits of a Challenge

The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a good problem.

If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are happy.

You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions. You have fun.

You are alive!

How Japanese Fish Stay Fresh

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state.

The fish are challenged.

Recommendations

Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game.

If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help.

If you have met your goals, set some bigger goals. Once you meet your personal or family needs, move onto goals for your group, the society, even mankind.

Don’t create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference.

Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

During the 1980′s, the two most popular sports clothing company had been vigorously competing to be number 1 in the urban market scene. The two Giants were Adidas and Puma. But, the rivalry did not begin in the 1980s with the era of Reaganomics. The story goes all the way back to the 1940′s in Germany where two brothers had a fallen out and went separate ways to create two of the most influential athletic wear.

Adidas and Puma originated from a quarrel between Dassler Brothers Adolf and Rudolph. This triggered off a beef that would last for over 50 years surpassing any hip-hop beef today. Adolf nicknamed “Adi” and Rudolph nicknamed “Rudi” were born in Herzogenaruch , Germany . Adi, the younger of the two, was part of a new Family business making shoes out of any material he could find, such as tires, old helmets and other garbage (my man was on his GRIND. It wasn’t until he innovatively converted bedroom slippers into one-of-a-kind light weight gymnastic shoes that the family business became a formidable shoe manufacture. With demand rising to a 100 pairs a day, Adi’s father and brother quit their jobs to work full time at the Dassler Shoe Factory.

The Dassler family company claimed world wide fame when world acclaimed athletes wore their shoes in the Olympics. The Michael Jordan of Track and Field Jesse Owens co-signed the shoes by rocking a pair during the 1936 Olympics. Embarrassed by Hitler’s humiliation over African American Jesse Owens win over the Anglo-Saxon Germans in the Olympics, rumors have it that Rudi stated to friends that the shoes were not made for a black man to wear. Soon after, Adi and Rudi joined the “Fashion Fascists” by enrolling in the Nazi Party. Rudi went as far as to serve in the German Army during World War II leaving Adi to tend to family business. While Adi produced military boots for Nazi Soldiers, Rudi was dodging bullets at the frontline. However, the Dassler Family’s luck ran out when the Allies seized control of Germany and Rudi was held captive in an American prisoner-of-war camp. American soldiers occupied and moved into the Dassler home. During the occupation, Adi formed a bond with the Americans and rumor has it that this was the pivotal time in life that made him change his ideology about fascism to liberty and freedom. As Adi was making new friends, Rudi’s entrapment in a prison war camp was leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

After the war ended, Rudi returned to Herzogenaruch to help Adi rebuild their shoe empire in war torn Germany . But then Adi and Rudi had an argument which severed their ties forever. The two men kept the reason for their argument all the way to their graves. It is rumored that after Rudi returned from the prison camp, he did not recognize his brother Adi who now was denouncing the doctrines of old Nazi propaganda and embracing American ideologies. Adi even changed his real name from Adolf to Adolph. Rudi felt as if Adi was mocking his military service to their country of birth-right and did nothing to help release him from the prison camp since he had a lot of American connections. Some say their argument was so terrible that neither man ever mentioned the other’s name again.

They decided to go separate ways and form their own company. Agreeing that they would not use their old family business name, both men came up with new names for their company. Rudi decided to call his company Puma. Adi decided to use his nickname and the first 3 letters of his last name calling the company Adidas. Thus began Adidas vs. Puma.

The feud was so bad that the town in Germany became entrenched in the squabble. Adidas and Puma recruited citizens of the town for the soccer team which they often played against one another. The people of the town who worked for Adidas and Puma drank different beer from each other. Children, whose parents were employed by Adidas and Puma, attended two different elementary schools. In the 1980′s, some conspiracy theorist claims that clothes retail store owners got involved with the feud by increasing store sales through ordering blue Adidas track suits in LA neighborhoods occupied by Crypt gang members and red Puma track suits other neighborhood occupied by the Bloods gang members.

Rudi was a business mastermind who made Puma one of the leaders in athletic footwear. But it was Adi who turned Adidas into The leader of footwear and apparel by consistently reinventing footwear to meet the needs of an ever growing competative sportsman. Today, Adi is held as the pioneer of sporting goods industry, while Rudi stands in the shadow of his legacy. Presently, Puma has generated 2 billion dollars in sale. But Adidas continues to surpass Puma by 6 billion in sales. Although it’s apparent which company
dominates the other in the industry, is the beef still alive.

By Linda Francis, Author of Run Your Business So It Doesn’t Run You

Many small businesses find themselves stretched for time in an economy that requires businesses to do more with less to stay competitive. That’s why it’s wise for entrepreneurs to develop good time management habits so that everything that needs to be done, gets done. Here are 10 time management tips to help you work smarter and use your time wisely.

1. Buy a week-at-a-glance appointment book and use it religiously. Write everything that you need to accomplish in this book. This book is your brain!

2.  Differentiate between the urgent and the vital. The urgent may be making a lot of noise to get your attention, but it is rarely vital that it be done right now or at all.

“The vital task rarely needs to be done today. The urgent task calls for instant action. The momentary appeal of these tasks seems irresistible, and they devour our energy. With a sense of loss we recall the vital tasks we pushed aside. We realize that we have become slaves to the tyranny of the urgent.” –Charles Hummel

3. The key is not to prioritize what is on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

4. Keep track of your time by 15 minute increments for 2 weeks to see how you actually spend your time. Compare this to what you should be or want to be spending your time on. It will give you the motivation to make needed changes.

5. Say “no” to the project, not the person. You cannot do everything everyone asks you to do.

6. Learn how to effectively delegate. This means picking the right person, giving clear directions, setting benchmark and due dates, and then letting them do it.

7. Procrastination has a lot of different causes: fear, boredom, perfectionism, an overwhelming task and unclear goals. Identify the reason behind procrastination, so you are solving the right problem when dealing with it.

8. If you earn $10,000 a year, each minute is worth $.09. If you earn $30,000 a year, each minute is worth. $.26. Use these thoughts to help you prioritize your activities and to determine to whom you should be delegating. Any time you are doing work that someone at a lower wage could be doing, you are losing money.

9. Set goals. They help you prioritize your activities and let you know that you have succeeded.

10. There are 1,440 minutes in a day and 29020 days in an 80 year lifetime. Take control of your time and make this year the year you do what you want.

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 Photo Source: http://www.docuware.com/modules/graphics/nws/mat/docuware_graphic_time.jpg