Inverse Paranoid!

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Azim Jamal

When something changes, like an appointment or a planned event you are looking forward to, you can react in two ways.

One way to react is with disappointment, which is normal.

The alternative reaction is to say that this is the best thing to happen because it is going to lead to a better outcome. Brian Tracy, my co-author on our book, “What You Seek is Seeking You”, would call this attitude – inverse paranoid. Instead of becoming paranoid and upset, you do the opposite because you are confident that everything that happens is leading you to your ideal outcome.

W. Clement Stone was described as being inverse paranoid because he believed the Universe was conspiring in his favor as opposed to the other way around. He would look for opportunity in everything that happened – good, bad, indifferent.

In simple terms, a person who is paranoid is regarded as someone who thinks the world is out there to do them harm. An inverse paranoid on the other hand is someone who thinks that the world is out there to do them good!

For instance, if you have just been charged $600 US for changing your flight, instead of feeling ripped off ask yourself what opportunity does this change present for you? It happened to me once, and naturally, I was not too amused. So I went out looking for the opportunity it presented. Lo and behold, I found quite a few opportunities that were worth a lot more –inverse paranoid at work!

Give it a shot next time – at least in thought, if not in dollars and cents.

Rumi!

Posted on March 25, 2018 by Azim Jamal

Rumi was a renowned Sufi mystic and poet. Rumi’s poems present a moving and timeless treatise on love and life. The wisdom contained in his verses are an eternal and guiding force for many.

Let’s explore a few of his quotes:

1. “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” –

Steve Jobs revolutionized the world of personal computing. However, he was thrown out of the very company he had created and fostered into a leading technology giant. “I was out — and very publicly out,” he recalled in a commencement speech at Stanford University. “What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. I was a very public failure.” After such public humiliation, many people would have chosen to go into obscurity. Instead, Steve used this experience to work on his shortcomings and come back stronger, taking Apple to even greater heights. Often the biggest wounds or biggest crises in our lives carry the largest potential for transformation. They drag us out of our comfort zone, forcing us to explore new ideas and approaches to life.

2. “What you seek is seeking you.” –

According to Sufi mystics, we are a part of existence and hence all the dreams we seek are already a part of our existential consciousness. In short, the universe endorses our dreams. You would not have had the desire if the universe did not will it. Hence, Rumi exhorts us to never give up on our dreams because hidden in those dreams is our roadmap for growth and evolution.

3. “Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.” –

Life can only be truly experienced by the brave. The more security you crave, the more you end up distancing yourself from life. In spite of all measures, life cannot be predicted or contained. Hence, we should live our lives consciously, intensely, and fiercely. Our fears can limit us only to the extent we allow.

4. “Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” –

In 2003, Carr, a 32-year-old New Yorker, had a check-up at her doctor’s office and discovered that she had a rare and incurable cancer, called Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma. Instead of giving up, she confronted her disease. With a new nutritional lifestyle, she created a series of self-help books and documentaries and subsequently launched a very successful wellness website. Carr is celebrating more than ten years of “thriving with cancer,” and is now regarded as an expert on healthy living.

5. “Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” –

As we all know, actions speak louder than words. Similarly, being clear, precise, and meaningful in your communication ensures that you get your desired response. For example, as a part of his comeback, Steve Jobs followed the rule of three during presentations. Jobs divided his iPhone presentation into three sections. He said, “Today we are introducing three revolutionary products. The first, a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communication device.” He finally concluded, “Are you getting it? These are not three separate devices, they are one device and we are calling it iPhone!”

Rumi’s 12th-century works continue to live on. How about your work – will it withstand the test of time?

Actionable Awareness

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Azim Jamal

We know that the greatest successes in business come when we meet the needs of others. This is true in every sector; in every industry.

We all admire the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, J.W. Mariott and others. What do they have in common? Their unwavering desire to meet needs – to fix problems and make things better. And awareness – actionable awareness – is the precursor, the kernel from which needs are revealed.

In the corporate world, without actionable awareness, our vision is limited. We remain in a bubble, oblivious to the changes around us. Unable to recognize real needs waiting to be met. And a lack of awareness also hampers the ability to recognize shortcomings or, indeed, capitalize on strengths.

The deep awareness of your vision, mission, and values, plus aligning your actions with them enables you to zero-in on what you want to achieve.

Thus, actionable awareness brings about clarity, focus and a conscious spontaneity. You remain alert and can respond to every situation with the totality of mind, body, and spirit. Enabling you to align each action with your higher purpose.

This actionable awareness leads to a deeper and more enduring experience of success — it is what leads to the emergence of being a true Corporate Sufi.

Corporate Sufi?

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Azim Jamal

What is Corporate Sufi?

I use the word Sufi as a symbol for the esoteric side of all people. It goes beyond labels and focuses on the essence. On the outside people are different, on the inside not that different. Rumi the Sufi giant says, “We are all fellow travelers in the journey of life and we all face the same seasons of life.”

Why is this approach important in the corporate world? It gets rid of toxicity, egotism and turf wars – all of which are highly detrimental to the business

I use the word “Corporate” in Corporate Sufi to symbolize the drive to excel in business, profession or career.

Corporate Sufi thus reflects someone who is driven, focused and goal-oriented, yet
heart-centered, principle-centered and balanced – a person who aspires both material
and spiritual abundance.

I believe that success without happiness is a failure, that balance leads to more success, not less. It is about taking your life from success to significance.

Corporate Sufi Worldwide’s mission is to inspire and empower leaders at all levels to achieve material success, blended with a deep sense of purpose, passion, and happiness.
We call this the synergy of Business, Balance & Beyond.

Good to Brilliant!

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Azim Jamal

Image of mid-adult male putting golf ball with hole in foreground.

Are you inspired to take one area of your life from being at a good level to being at your best level?

The moment you make this commitment, your whole outlook towards this area will shift to a much higher level. Also, you will start to behave in a similar manner in other areas of your life. It almost starts a new habit to life.

You will begin to feel great about yourself because you are now working at your brilliant best instead of just good enough.

Begin by making a decision to up your game from being good to being brilliant in one area of your life and watch the miraculous shift to other areas of your life.

Affirmations & Imagination

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Azim Jamal

Affirmations are positive thoughts that you feed yourself. They create energy, passion, and gusto. Things will not change overnight. It will take time, but you have to display persistence. This means you persist because you know that it will pay off; there’s no doubt in your mind about it.

“If you can dream it, you can do it,” Walt Disney said.

Affirmations unleash our imagination. Once you have done your affirmations, practice visualization, and imagination exercises. Imaginations are powerful. Willpower without clarity and imagination is not as effective. So if you are going through chaos right now, don’t despair. Through imagination, you can transport yourself to a state of bliss. It has immense power to allow you to let go of your limitations and connect with universal energy. You move beyond the limits of your conscious mind and tap into the reserves of the subconscious mind or sixth sense. How does that look to you? How does that feel? Hold onto that feeling; bring clarity to your imagination. Repeat it daily and often, and gradually it will become a reality.

When you feel your affirmations, you invite the universe to join you and help you achieve what you are seeking. After you write down your feelings, read what you’ve written and see whether it makes you feel good.

For example, you might write: “I love knowing that my life is awesome and I am at my peak.” Just reading this statement will energize you.

The energy will increase the possibility of the outcome you envisioned. Your conviction will eliminate all doubts about the outcome and will keep your mind on what you want and away from what you don’t want.

Seven Steps to Lasting Happiness!

Posted on December 17, 2017 by Azim Jamal

Step 1 – Discover Yourself
There is a purpose in each of our lives. We may need to dig deep within ourselves to find out what that purpose is, but the clearer our mission is, the better are our chances of accomplishing it. Each day is a new day, a day that brings fresh learning about ourselves and our environment. For this learning to happen, we need to be alert and reflect on our experiences. We are bound to learn at least one (if not several) powerful lessons daily, if we are fully conscious of what is going on around us. Every choice we make shapes our destiny. Therefore, let us make wise choices that are consistent with the type of destiny we are aspiring to.

Step 2 – Maintain Positive Attitudes
We’re all gifted and blessed in our own unique ways. When we treasure who we are and believe in our inherent capabilities, we find that the world also starts to believe in us. When we are willing to bet on ourselves, the world will bet on us as well.
A blessing comes our way daily. Some people may appear to receive more blessings than others. However, the more we focus on what we have and what we are receiving daily, the more blessings we attract. So counting our blessings not only makes us focus on the positive things in our lives, but also creates the energy for multiplication of these blessings.

Step 3 – Discover & Hone Your Life Skills
Our happiness comes from focusing our energies on the things that we identify as important in life and that are aligned with our mission. If we try to do too much, our priorities become jumbled, which can lead to confusion, frustration, and unhappiness.
The more we involve ourselves in activities that carry the greatest meaning and value for us, the greater are our chances of experiencing real growth. This may mean giving up some, perhaps many, of the things we are habitually involved in. By doing fewer of these non-essential activities, we free up more time for the essentials. We increasingly focus on areas that are consistent with our goals, objectives, and purpose in life.

Step 4 – Build Healthy Relationships
Our relationships with our close ones play a big part in our lives. When we have healthy relationships filled with love, respect, dialogue, and learning, we experience abounding happiness.
Effective communication is a prerequisite to happy and fulfilling relationships. This entails open, sincere, and respectful dialogue and keeping our minds clear of bias and presumptions. Effective communication is more than just words; our actions communicate far more than our words do.

Step 5 – Let Ethics and Values be your Guide
Our deepest joy comes from living an ethical life. Unethical living may bring temporary happiness, but it will be short-lived. Deep within each of us is a soul that is pure, which is why when we engage in pure activities, we experience happiness.
Think of ethics as the backdrop against which we paint the picture of our lives. They are the foundation upon which we build the smallest and greatest of our accomplishments. Our ethics are like the number zero in our lives. We can only count numbers because there is a zero. Similarly, ethics are the foundation of our living; everything else we do emerge from them.

Step 6 – Awaken your Spirituality
When we work with honesty and integrity with a view to supporting our family and contributing to society and those who are less fortunate than we are, our work becomes connected to spirituality. If we study hard to make the world a better place, our studying becomes connected to spirituality. If we nurture our children and provide them the ethics and principles to guide their decisions and the self-esteem to believe in themselves and their abilities, then our caring for our children is connected to spirituality. These are some ways in which we can translate our material actions to spirituality. Spirituality does not just exist in places of worship; it is right in our midst, in everything we do from dusk to dawn.

Step 7 – Enjoy the Ride

Working on the first six steps in this gives us internal contentment of having lived to our full potential and living an ethical and empowering life, but it is the seventh step that brings about the fun and joy of life. The seventh step without the first six can bring about a limited happiness, but lasting and sustained happiness comes from working on the first six steps whilst savoring and enjoying the process.
Every moment is a priceless blessing. Happiness is not a destination, it is a process. Life is a journey to be savored every step of the way.