SHARPENING SKILLS

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant, and he got it. His salary was really good and so were the working conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an Axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to fell the trees.

The first day, the woodcutter brought fifteen (15) trees.

"Congratulations," the boss said, "Carry on with your work!"

Highly motivated by the words of his boss, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he only could bring ten (10) trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he was only able to bring seven (7) trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.

"I must be losing my strength." The woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.

"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked.

"Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees..."

Moral: Most of us never update our skills. We think that whatever we have learned is very much enough. But good is not good when better is expected. Sharpening our skills from time to time is the key to success.

STRESS MANAGEMENT

A professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students, 'How much do you think this glass weighs?'

'50 gms!'.... '100 gms!'...... '125 gms' ...... the students answered.

'I really don't know unless I weigh it,' said the professor, 'but, my question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?'

'Nothing' the students said.

'Ok! What would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?' the professor asked.

'Your arm would begin to ache', said one of the students.

'You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?'

'Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress and paralysis and have to go to hospital for sure!' ventured another student; and all the students laughed.

'Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?' asked the professor.

'No'

'Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle stress?' The students were puzzled.

'Put the glass down!' said one of the students.

'Exactly!' said the professor. 'Life's problems are something like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head and they seem okay. Think of them for a long time and they begin to ache. Hold it even longer and they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything'.

'It's important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is to have trust in Allah (swt) and to 'put them down' at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh and strong and can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!'

So, as it becomes time for you to leave office today, Remember friend to 'PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY' and have tranquility by putting trust in Almighty Allah (swt).

Holy Quran: "He it is who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers that they might have more faith added to their faith". (48:4) Tranquility is sign of strong faith while worries and stress is sign of weak faith.

Tell to your mind every day before you go to sleep: "YAA AYYATUHAN NAFSUL MUTMAINNAH, IRJI'II ILAA RABBIKI RADHIYATAN MARDHIYYAH, FADKHULII FII IBAADII WADKHULII JANNATII". (Al-Fajr 89:27-30)

"O soul that is at rest satisfied. Return to your Lord well-pleased (with Him), well-pleasing (Him). So, enter among My servants, and enter into my Paradise".

By worrying so much, do not turn your life to hell. Good luck.

YOU ARE PRICELESS TO THOSE WHO LOVE YOU

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 note. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 note?" Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple up the $20 note. He asked, "Who still wants it?" Still hands were up in the air.

"Well, what if I do this?" He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty and asked, "Who still wants it?" Still hands went up into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what was done to the money, it was still wanted because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We may feel as though we are worthless.

But no matter what has happened or will happen, you will never lose your value: dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you.

THERE IS ALWAYS A BETTER WAY

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."

What he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it."

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course both signs told people the boy was blind.

But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.

The first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story:

1. Be thankful for what you have.

"Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing - (not even) mentioned? Then verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight". (76:1-2)

2. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively as the Quran admonishes.

"Those who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): "Our Lord! You have not created this for naught. Glory be to You! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire". (3:191)

3. Invite the people towards good with wisdom. Quran says:

"Invite (all) to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for your Lord knows the best, who have strayed from His Path, and who have received guidance". (16:125)

WHY PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED?

One day Ibrahim Adham was passing through the bazaar in the city of Basra when he was surrounded by people who said to him: "O Ibrahim! Allah has stated in the miraculous Qur'an that: "Call Me and thou shall be answered"; we call upon Him bout our prayer is not answered.

Ibrahim said: "The reason is because your hearts have died due to ten things so that your supplications have no sincerity as your hearts are not pure and free of contamination."

They asked: "What are those ten issues?" He replied:

01:- First and foremost you have accepted Allah but have not repaid His claim.

02:- You have recited the miraculous Qur'an but have not practised it.

03:- You profess your love of the Prophet of Allah (S.A.W.), but are opposed to his Household (A.S.).

04:- You claim to have enmity with Satan but in practice you are in agreement with him.

05:- You say that you are fond of heaven but in order to enter heaven you have not done anything.

06:- You said that you were afraid of the Fire of Hell, but have thrown your bodies in to it.

07:- You were busy slandering and criticizing people but were ignorant of your own shortcomings and faults.

08:- You said that you didn't like the world but are greedily following it.

09:- You confess to the reality of death but don't prepare yourself for it.

10:- You have buried the dead but haven't taken a lesson or guidance from it.

These are the 10 practices (Ten Reasons) which cause prayers to remain unanswered.

ARE YOU A WEALTHY MAN?

A saint was praying silently. A wealthy merchant, observing the saint's devotion and sincerity, was deeply touched by him. The merchant offered the saint a bag of gold. "I know that you will use the money for God's sake. Please take it."

"Just a moment." The saint replied. "I'm not sure if it is lawful for me to take your money. Are you a wealthy man? Do you have more money at home?

"Oh yes. I have at least one thousand gold pieces at home," claimed the merchant proudly.

"Do you want a thousand gold pieces more? Asked the saint.

"Why not, of course yes. Every day I work hard to earn more money."

"And do you wish for yet a thousand gold pieces more beyond that?"

"Certainly. Every day I pray that I may earn more and more money."

The saint pushed the bag of gold back to the merchant. "I am sorry, but I cannot take your gold," he said. "A wealthy man cannot take money from a beggar."

"How can you call yourself a wealthy man and me a beggar?" the merchant spluttered.

The saint replied, "I am a wealthy man because I am content with whatever God sends me. You are a beggar, because no matter how much you possess, you are always dissatisfied, and always begging God for more."

WHY A WOMEN CAN'T MARRY MORE THAN ONE HUSBAND?

In a delightful report about how Imam Abu Hanifah received his name (his original name was Numan bin Thaabit bin Zuta bin Mah), an account of why the wife is forbidden to take more than one husband is recounted. 'Abu Hanifah' is an unusual name because it means 'the father of Hanifah', and Hanifah was his daughter. It was not the custom in those days to do this. Normally, the name would be 'the father of the name of a son.' How this came about is quite edifying.

One day the great Imam Abu Hanifah was asked a question that, for the first time in his illustrious career, he was unable to answer. The question was, "Why were women forbidden to marry more than one husband at a time?"

To make a long story short, Abu Hanifah's daughter said that she knew the answer and would solve this question if her father would make a promise to her that if she succeeded in solving this problem, he would then assure her a place in history. Abu Hanifah agreed.

So she gathered a group of women together and gave each of them a cup. Then she brought in a large bowl of milk and asked each of them to dip their cups in the milk and to fill their cups. They did so. She then asked them to pour back the milk into the bowl. They did this too. She then asked them to re-fill their cups taking back only their own milk that they had poured into the bowl.

This, obviously, was impossible to do. Hanifah had clearly demonstrated the kind of predicament that would be created if a woman had several husbands. With more than one husband, if she were to become pregnant, she would have exceptional difficulties determining who the actual father was. Identifying parentage and lineage would then be insurmountable for the offspring. Imam Abu Hanifah was so pleased with her answer that he took the name 'Abu Hanifah', 'the father of Hanifah', so his daughter did indeed earn a place in history.

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS

by robert quek

There was once a boy who wanted to seek the secret of
success. One day he approached a wise man living up in
the mountain. When he found the wise man at the hut, he
asked, “Wise man, can you tell me the secret to becoming
successful in life?” The wise man was silent for a
while. After a moment of silence, the wise man led the
young lad to a nearby river. They kept walking into the
river until the boy’s head was fully submerged in the
water. The boy struggled to keep his head above the
water. To his astonishment, the wise man did not help
him. Instead, the wise man held the boy’s head in the
water. After a few minutes the wise man pulled the boy
out of the water and they proceeded to walk back to the
hut. At the hut the wise man asked the young boy what
he desired most when his head was submerged in water.
To this the young boy quickly responded, “Of course, I
wanted to breathe, you old fool!” To which the wise man
replied, “Son, if you desire success as much as you
wanted to breathe, then you would have found the true
secret of success.”


SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

Success is a matter of choice. If we have enough strong
reasons, there is nothing that we cannot do. Once we
have the reasons to do something, we will surely find
the ways to do it. A mere wish would not make things
happen. It is a burning desire, turned into an
obsession that will generate the energy to bring you to
achieve any goal that you may desire.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE

"Not the maker of plans and promises, but rather the
one who offers faithful service in small matters. This
is the person who is most likely to achieve what is
good and lasting."

MY DOG CAN WALK ON WATER

My Dog Can Walk On Water

by robert quek

There was a hunter who came into the possession of a special bird dog. The dog was the only one of its kind, because it can walk on water. One day he invited a friend to go hunting with him so that he could show off his prized possession. After some time, they shot a few ducks, which fell into the river. The man ordered his dog to run and fetch the birds. The dog ran on water to fetch the birds. The man was expecting a compliment about the amazing dog, but did not receive it. Being curious, he asked his friend if the friend had noticed anything unusual about the dog. The friend replied, “Yes, I did see something unusual about your dog. Your dog can’t swim!”

Success Principles

More than 90% of the people that we face everyday are negative. They choose to look at the hole in the middle rather than the doughnut. Do not expect compliments or encouragement from them. These are the people who cannot pull you out of your present situation. They can only push you down. So be aware of them, spend less time with them, and do not let them steal your dreams away from you.

EVERYTHING HAPPEN FOR THE GOOD

Everything Happens For The Good

by robert quek

There was once a King who had a wise advisor. The advisor followed the King everywhere, and his favorite advice was, “Everything happens for the good”. One day the King went hunting and had a little accident. He shot an arrow at his own foot and was injured. He asked the advisor what he thought about the accident, to which the advisor replied, “Everything happens for the good”. This time the King was really upset and ordered for his advisor to be put in prison. The King asked his advisor, “Now, what do you think?” The advisor again replied, “Everything happens for the good”. So the advisor remained in prison.

The King later went on a hunting trip, this time without the advisor. The King was then captured by some cannibals. He was taken to the cannibals' camp where he was to be the evening meal for the cannibals. Before putting him into the cooking pot he was thoroughly inspected. The cannibals saw the wound on the King’s foot and decided to throw him back into the jungle. According to the cannibals' tradition, they would not eat anything that was imperfect. As a result the King was spared. The King suddenly realized what his advisor said was true. The advisor also escaped death because had he not been in prison, he would have followed the King on the hunting trip, and would have ended up in the cooking pot.