Do What You Love

Finding your life’s purpose will be one of the most important decisions you will make. Once you have found your sweet spot, your holy grail, the next step is to build your life around it because there is a gap between imagining something and making it a reality. What we do to bridge this gap ultimately decides the quality of our reality.

Here are a few tips to make the journey easier:

➢ Articulate your life’s purpose in great detail – We can create all that we can conceive. Writing down your dream helps to crystallize your goals and concentrate your attention. For example, if you want to become a singer, then articulate it in complete details right down to the kind of music you want to associate with, artists you want to work with, the kind of styles you want to experiment with, your lifestyle etc.

➢ Inculcate self-discipline – There will be times when the road ahead will seem difficult and you will be plagued by self-doubt. In times like these, it is easy to give up on your dream. Moreover, when you are working on your dream, the locus of control shifts from the outside world to your inner being, often leading you to slow down on tasks. Disciplining yourself to keep up a daily schedule and consistently following through on all activities will help you remain on track.

➢ Don’t expect immediate results – The starting phase requires your undivided attention. This is the time when you get to work at your craft and hone it to precision. Learn to treat every challenge as a learning opportunity. Do not undervalue this experience as these obstacles carry within them the potential for great self-growth and transformation.

➢ Be resilient if things do not go as expected – Planning for every eventuality is a good beginning, but not a guarantee against perceived failure. Remember, you have the inherent strength to rise up after every fall and learn from each one.

➢ Work hard – The axiom ‘Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life’ does not mean that you will not have to work hard. It means that work might not seem like work at all since you would be enjoying what you do. However, the fact is that every job will contain certain aspects, which you might not enjoy, but which will need to be done.

➢ Keep a backup plan ready – Besides your own role, there are other aspects, which affect the success of your endeavors. Most ideas require a certain running time before they take off. So it’s essential to plan for the long haul, especially if you are supporting a family and need to pay bills. You will need the support of your loved ones.

➢ Break it down – At times the scale of our dream might seem daunting. Often, in the beginning, you might not know how to start. The way forward here is to break up every big plan into smaller tasks based on relevance and immediacy.

Paradox of Giving!

What you give is what you get. If you are fair to others, others will be fair to you. If you give a lot, you will receive a lot.

If you don’t cheat others, others will not cheat you.

If you have no malice towards others, others will have no malice towards you. If you give extraordinary value to others, others will give you extraordinary value.

The paradox of giving is: what you give is what you get!

Give!

The more you give to family, the better the relationships at home. This unity invites love and harmony.

The more you give to colleagues, the better the camaraderie at work. This fellowship enhances your productivity and performance.

The more you give to customers, the better the loyalty you build, and ultimately, a better bottom line.

The more you give to your community, the better the environment you create for you and your family to live in.

The more time you give to others, the less time you need for getting things done, mainly because of the help and support others will reciprocate.

In addition, when you truly give, you unleash your creativity; inspire innovation, and tap into your endless potential.

If you cannot give money – give love, hope, laughter, skills, wisdom, ideas, attention, and a listening ear.

Also, when you are gentle and give to others, you are generally gentle and give to yourself.

The benefits of giving range from security and empowerment of better relationships to good health, longer life, and happiness.

Ask yourself:

– If you are blessed with insights, wisdom and health—what is your giving responsibility?

– If you are blessed with a loving family—what is your giving responsibility?

– If you are blessed with wealth and success—what is your giving responsibility?

In closing, remember – to those whom more is given, more is expected. If you stop giving, you stop receiving!

Make an excuse to Give!

Do not make an excuse not to give. Instead make an excuse to give!

The more you give to your family, the better relationships you have at home. This can invite love and harmony.

The more you give to your colleagues, the better camaraderie you have at work. This enhances your productivity and performance.

The more you give to your customers, the better loyalty you create and ultimately a better bottom line.

The more you give to the community, the better the environment you create for you and your family to live in.

The more time you give to others, the less time you need getting things done (because of the help and support you receive from others).

In addition when you give, you tap into your creativity, innovation, and potential.

If you cannot give money, you can give love, hope, laughter, skills, wisdom, ideas, attention, and a listening ear.

Also, when you are gentle and give others, you are also generally gentle and give to yourself.

The benefits from giving range from security, empowerment better relationships to good health, longer life, happiness.

One minute video from Azim

Simple Ideas!

Please take a moment to vote for Maziwa to win the Common Bond Award:

Children’s health in many developing economies is compromised because women are forced to join the workforce within months of giving birth which means children are deprived of their mother’s milk. Mothers’ milk is not only nature’s best food for babies, but also has a significant impact on their mental and physical development in adult life.

Often it’s the simple ideas that carry the most meaning and impact. My daughter, Sahar, is pitching the idea of an affordable breast pump for low-income markets that can have an exponential impact on maternal and newborn health. An idea like this could not only transform the lives of millions of children but also empower women to make better choices for their families. Empowered mothers mean empowered communities. This idea is one of 8 semi-finalists for the Common Bond Social Impact Award – the top 3 videos with the most votes will move into the finals to win a financial award towards developing the idea further. All votes need to be in before November 4th. I will be very grateful if you take 2 minutes to vote by clicking the button below or clicking on the following link: https://woobox.com/txa4m9/gallery/wMeAxQSHXL4

Small is Big!

A while back, when my family and I were driving the streets of Los Angeles, we saw what seemed to be a dead bird lying on the road. I drove past it and almost ignored it. Then, something compelled me to drive around the block and return to the bird. I got out and placed the little creature on the side of the curb. To my utter surprise, the bird trembled and stirred, and as we drove away, it flew back into the open sky. Apparently, it had been lying on the main road injured and just needed a little support to get back on its wings. Had I left the bird where it was, another motorist might have crushed it. It reinforced for me what little effort it sometimes takes to save a life! Furthermore, it set an excellent example for my children, who were in the car and saw the incident play out.

Small acts make a difference. The difference may not be anything massive (like saving a life), but the fact remains, many relationship issues arise because of small things.

Giving in small ways – whether at home, at work or in your community – can build momentum towards making a big difference. Small is Big!

One minute video from Azim

Where to begin?

Everywhere you look you are confronted with so many issues human beings are facing. You want to help but find it overwhelming; you feel your help may only be just a drop in the ocean!

What to do and where to begin? There is no one answer, but one thing you don’t do is nothing!

You start by making a difference with your family, neighbourhood and your community. Perhaps you are already involved in some charity work where you can put more energy.

To impact the world we need to start first in our own backyards, beginning with our family and then extending our reach to causes we are involved within our neighbourhood and our communities.

One minute video from Azim