The power Of the Subconscious Mind.

Copyright by Patric Chan 2004.


I'll be honest with you.

I'm not the best person to write about this

because I'm not an expert on this topic.


But, I have to write about it somehow because

I'm currently practicing it and it seems to be

very powerful so far.

There are many self-improvement strategies

that use the subconscious mind. Most of them

have labeled it with another name.

In fact, Napoleon Hill, author of Think And

Grow Rich taught about it in his book as well.


Since then, there are many books related to how

to use the subconscious mind to improve your life.

I personally think that The Science Of Getting Rich

uses subconscious strategies to increase wealth.


With that said, I want to share with you 4

sub-conscious 'programming methods' I'm practicing

each day now to improve my success in life.



1. Imagination

I'll use the power of imagination to imagine how

wonderful it is to live with my achieved goal.



Example, if your goal is to own a BMW car,

imagine yourself driving it passing the road that

you drive each day. Imagine you are picking up

your friends or lover in that new car. Do take note,

I'm not imagining how great it is to achieve it,

but I've already achieved it. Imagine living in your

success, not getting there.


2. Gratitude
I'll use my sub-conscious mind to thank The Being

(this can be your God or whatever is your belief system)

for giving me such a valuable life I'm living today.

When you do this, you'll start to appreciate your life

so much more because life has become very valuable.

You can feel gratitude for anything you find worthy in

your life. This can be your body, mind, possessions,

love, relationship or anything else.



3. Request

It's claimed that all human's minds are connected

in some way. (Get a free course of The 11th Element

by clicking here. It's explained in more detail there.)

I'll use my subconscious to ask for an answer or help

that I need. It's too long to explain here, but your

subconscious mind has the ability to help you solve

your problem.



All you need to do is ask the correct question of it

using a proper method.


4. Releasing

Each day, I'll use this strategy to let go of my problems.

The power of releasing is like, letting go of your problems.

By releasing, you can be unattached to your problems and

move forward to more opportunity in life.



It means you do not have any more strings attached to

your problems anymore. You'll be able to solve it easier

afterwards because your mind is creative and free now.



The power of the subconscious mind is beyond your

imagination. It would be worthwhile for you to explore

its power to help you improve your life for success.



It's time for you to make full use of your subconscious

mind or you'll waste another wonderful tool in life.



I'm sure I would not waste this tool.

Are you spending time with your love ones?

My grandma’s turning 80 this April 2004


We are going to throw a huge dinner anniversary

where all of our relative are coming over to celebrate

with her.


You should see how happy Grandma was when

we told her about her 80th birthday dinner.

One of her sons, who is my uncle is flying down

from New Zealand just to see her on her birthday!



You can tell she looks forward to April to

celebrate her 80th birthday party. It’s more

like a birthday dinner. :)


I’m telling you this because I want to share

with you about love for our old folks. Mum

or dad or grandma.


Here’s the story.


I visited grandma 2 weeks ago.


I’m happy she’s turning 80 this year. She’s a

strong woman.



Last night, I dreamt about grandma. That’s why

I had to write this article to share this insight with you.


I woke up and started to remember those sweet memories

I had with grandma when I was young. Grandma used to

take me down to town. I’m not from a rich family. So,

going down to town and supermarkets was something I

always looked forward to. During my time, shopping malls

did not exist yet at my place.


We used to take the bus to the town. Then, we’d walk

our way to the supermarkets!


Boy oh boy… that was fun.


I would head down straight to the toy department

when I got there. That was all I had in mind.

Toys. Action figures. GI Joe’s.


I was so happy when I was there. Especially looking at

all of those action figures that I just wished I had them

to play with (Children play computer games and Play

Stations nowadays. Those were the days of action figures).



My favourites were He-Man, GI Joe and ThunderCats.



And also, Transformers. Those toys of robots that can

transform into cars and trucks.



There was a toy called, ‘The Mask’, you may have heard of it

before. But, it was really expensive for me to buy.



I could just sit there all day looking at the toys.



I’m happy enough just to see them. Of course, deep in my

heart I always wanted to own them and play with my friends,

but I didn’t have money. I was young.



And I wouldn’t ask mummy or daddy to buy them either.



I know daddy worked very hard each day driving a

taxi to make a living for our family. Mum’s a housewife.



I love dad and mum.



So, obviously, buying a toy was not in my mind at that stage.



But with grandma, she would buy it for me.


I don’t know where she got money back then. But

I know when I went out with grandma, I would get to come

home with a toy. It didn’t matter whether it was expensive

or not, but I knew I’d not come home empty handed.

Or, I’d have the chance to eat at McDonald’s and take

home one of those Happy Meals toys.



Of course, I didn’t realize or ask myself, what did

grandma do when I spent hours at a time looking at the toys?



Actually, grandma didn’t care. She was just happy to

see her grandchild smiling away and happy going all

over those toys.



And yeah, I would get to eat junk food when I was

with grandma. :)



I love grandma with all my heart. I just don’t

know how to stress how much it is in this text

I’m writing.



I would feel happy when I was with grandma.



Grandma was strong at that time when I was

only a little boy.



But last week when I visited grandma, I

realized one thing.



Age does catch up with humans.



Especially after over 10 years +.



Humans tend to get old.



That’s normal, I guess.



Grandma’s walk is slower nowadays.



She sleeps a lot too.



And when she speaks, she speaks really slowly.



She can’t take buses anymore. If she wants to walk

fast, someone has to hold her hand and walk with her.



Sometimes, she forgets things.



That’s part of life. People do grow old.



But missing the opportunity to be by the side of

someone who loves you dearly when she or he

grows old is one of the missed moments in life.



No time or money can ever replace that.



If you have a grandma, spend some time with her.



Because, time can pass so fast. You don’t feel time

passing when you are busy chasing your career

and dreams. Or chasing your dream car.



If you have a grandchild or children, spend time

with them. Do understand, they love you as much

as you love them. It’s just that sometimes, people

don’t realize time passes so fast until it’s too late.



End of the day, no matter how successful you

are, you’ll start to question what is success.



Would you believe me, true success is having the

ability to spend time with your loved ones

whenever you want?



Money is not success. It’s only a part of success.



But because of the materialistic world we are living in,

money has been placed as one of the main benchmarks

to be considered as success.



Which is not true.



Here’s the proof. I have money. But I can’t have the

loving moment I had with grandma 10 years ago.



Money is always important, but it doesn’t have

to be the benchmark of success.



It's just one of it.



Being loved, having love and giving love should

be the benchmark of success.



I think I’ll write a different article on the subject

of success on other days.



But somehow, my heart tells me to write about loving

someone who always loves you today.



If this article I have shared is mirrored in your life in any

way, don’t wait. Take action.

About Your Success

Copyright 2004 by Patric Chan

What is success?

That’s such a big word.

Success has a different meaning to each individual.
But I’ll tell you what success is by my definition.

Some people say, rich people are successful. Not
necessarily. Money will only amplify your happiness. I
like to think success is about being happy. Happiness
is success.

What money does is make your happiness become
bigger or smaller. If you have a problem, it makes it
bigger. Example, if you have no money to pay your
rental, you have a problem. But if you have no money
for your house rental and can’t afford to pay your other
bills as well, your problems have just magnified.

Similarly, if you are happy driving a car and you have
more money to upgrade to a better one, you’ll be
happier right?

You see, money doesn’t create happiness. It only
makes your happiness bigger or smaller.

I’ve seen many rich people who are NOT ‘successful’.

Here’s how I’ll define success.

Success is about having the time of your life. Doing
what you want, wherever you want, anywhere you want
and with whoever you want.

Time is the most important asset to a human. Not
money. Why do we live? One thing for sure, is not to
make money. We make money because we have to.
We live to enjoy our life. With time, we can do that. If
you don’t live your life to enjoy it, you may be on the
wrong planet. :)

With time, I can be with my grandma. Other than time, I have another way to describe
success.

Success = Love.

Success is about how you are able to give and receive
unconditional love.

I’m not trying to sound like a goody talking all about love.
But that’s a fact how both of them are related to one another.

Success is love.

Let us dig deeper. Why do you think some people like
to drive BMW cars?

Comfort? Ok.

Prestige? Ok.

To be admired? Ok.

But unconsciously, he wants to feel good around other
people. For what? So that people will start to ‘love’
him at the end of the day.

Most of the things people do in life are just to get
love whether they realize it or not.

What’s success, I hear you ask me?

To give love to someone I love and receive
unconditional love. I know you might find money very
important. But one day when you come to a stage in
life, you’ll see that what you’ve been working so hard
for, may not be for money at all. Big house. Big cars.
That’s not success. That’s success in the eyes of others.

Success should be an accomplishment from within you.
You feel success. Success MUST be part of you.

When you achieve it, you’ll reach another stage of
life where you’ll see total abundance everywhere.

If success is so important, why does it seem so hard
to achieve for some people?

These are the 3 main factors that STOP people from
being successful.

1. Not prepared to invest their time.

Success is not easy. Just ask anybody who has been
successful. You’ll have to invest countless hours of
time to build success. Can you sacrifice your tv by
not watching it? Or stop drinking with friends?

Are you able to sit through reading self improvement
books to help you to be successful?

Can you spend time to work very hard in order to
achieve success?

2. Too difficult to part with money.

Are you willing to part with money to learn success?

Robert Kiyosaki once says this in his book, ‘The most
expensive advice is free advice.’ Many people seem to
find it very hard to part with their money to invest
in learning and discovering success.

What do I mean by investing in ‘success’?

Let’s get real. Useful and powerful tips and resources
on how to be successful normally don’t come free. Let’s
get really sincere and touch base on reality. If someone
spent years and thousands of money to learn about
success, is he willing to share it with you for free?
Maybe, if you are a really close friend of his. Most
likely, he won’t share it with you and I don’t blame
him. Why?

Because if everyone expects him to do that, do you
think he’ll have time to enjoy his success? And
secondly, he worked hard to be successful because he
wanted to be successful. If you want, you should
invest your own time. If you want a short cut, PAY him
for his time to teach you to be successful. He has
spent money to gain this knowledge of success.

You need to invest money in self-improvement books
and audios. Or attend seminars. If you have a
bigger budget, you can even hire a success coach
or consultant. If you invest in the correct tools and
strategies to be successful, most likely you’ll achieve
it quicker.

If you expect to learn without spending any money,
you can. But it will take you a longer period of time.
But, can you wait?

3. Putting your ego down.

Some people have really big heads. Big ego. They
know everything. These type of people think that they
already know everything and are not willing to hear
other people’s views and opinions.

Once you destroy your ego, you’ll have more room for
self improvement.

Why bother to have an ego and try to learn success all
by yourself when you can learn from others that have
already been there, done that.

The correct mindset

You know you need to have the correct mindset to be
successful. I’m not going to elaborate further on this
because most of the self improvement books you have
read already mention how to have a positive mindset
and so on to improve.

But I have to stress on an important mindset that you
MUST have to be successful. Some self-improvement
books missed this one. It’s the abundance mindset.
Once you are able to see everything in abundance,
you’ll be able to see life from a different perspective.
Abundance helps you to destroy negative thoughts like
greed and selfishness.

Whether you are going to achieve your dream to be
successful or not, it’s your choice. Ask yourself are
you willing to trade your time, effort and money to be
successful?

It’s not easy to convince you to be successful. It’s
easy to give you empty promises. But not today. Today
is the day you make up your mind to STEP UP and be
successful.

Like I say, it’s not easy. But I sure am glad I have
‘paid’ the price of success and I’m enjoying it now.
You can join me; all it takes is a decision and
actions to follow it.


= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

This article is written by Patric Chan, CEO of
eSuccessMastery.com and author of 'How To
Make More Money Easily'.

Khadija bint Khuwaylid, Wife of Prophet Muhammad

( Peace be upon him and his pure and cleansed progeny )
May 12, 1994
Yasin T. al-Jibouri

INTRODUCTION:
If you wish to research the life of this great lady, and if you do not have al-Majlisi's voluminous [110 Vol.] encyclopedia titled Bihar al-Anwar, the best references are: al-Sayyuti's Tarikh al Khulafa, Abul-Faraj al-Isfahani's Aghani, Ibn Hisham's Seera, Muhammad ibn Ishaq's Seerat Rasool-Allah, and Tarikh al-rusul wal muluk by Abu Ja`far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (839-923 A.D.). Of all these books, only al-Tabari's Tarikh is being translated (by more than one translator and in several volumes) into English. One publisher of Tabari's Tarikh is the press of the State University of New York (SUNY). This article has utilized a number of Arabic and English references, and it is written especially for those who appreciate history, our great teacher, be they Muslims or non-Muslims, and who aspire to learn from it.

"Islam did not rise except through Ali's sword and Khadija's wealth," a saying goes. Khadija al-Kubra daughter of Khuwaylid ibn (son of) Asad ibn Abdul-`Uzza ibn Qusayy belonged to the clan of Banu Hashim of the tribe of Banu Asad. She was a distant cousin of her husband the Messenger of Allah Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf ibn Qusayy, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny. Qusayy, then, is the ancestor of all clans belonging to Quraysh. According to some historians, Quraysh's real name was Fahr, and he was son of Malik son of Madar son of Kananah son of Khuzaimah son of Mudrikah son of Ilyas son of Mazar son of Nazar son of Ma`ad son of Adnan son of Isma`eel (Ishmael) son of Ibrahim (Abraham) son of Sam son of Noah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon the prophets from among his ancestors. According to a number of sources, Khadija was born in 565 A.D. and died one year before the Hijra (migration of the Holy Prophet and his followers from Mecca to Medina) in 623 A.D. at the age of 58, but some historians say that she lived to be 65. Khadija's mother, who died around 575 A.D., was Fatima daughter of Za'ida ibn al-Asam of Banu `Amir ibn Luayy ibn Ghalib, also a distant relative of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Khadija's father, who died around 585 A.D., belonged to the Abd al-`Uzza clan of the tribe of Quraysh and, like many other Qurayshis, was a merchant, a successful businessman whose vast wealth and business talents were inherited by Khadija and whom the latter succeeded in faring with the family's vast wealth. It is said that when Quraysh's trade caravans gathered to embark upon their lengthy and arduous journey either to Syria during the summer or to Yemen during the winter, Khadija's caravan equalled the caravans of all other traders of Quraysh put together.

Although the society in which Khadija was born was a terribly male chauvinistic one, Khadija earned two titles: Ameerat-Quraysh, Princess of Quraysh, and al-Tahira, the Pure One, due to her impeccable personality and virtuous character, not to mention her honorable descent. She used to feed and clothe the poor, assist her relatives financially, and even provide for the marriage of those of her kin who could not otherwise have had means to marry.

By 585 A.D., Khadija was left an orphan. Despite that, and after having married twice- and twice lost her husband to the ravaging wars with which Arabia was afflicted- she had no mind to marry a third time though she was sought for marriage by many honorable and highly respected men of the Arabian peninsula throughout which she was quite famous due to her business dealings. She simply hated the thought of being widowed for a third time. Her first husband was Abu (father of) Halah Hind ibn Zarah who belonged to Banu `Adiyy, and the second was Ateeq ibn `Aaith. Both men belonged to Banu Makhzoom. By her first husband, she gave birth to a son who was named after his father Hind and who came to be one of the greatest sahabah (companions of the Holy Prophet). He participated in both battles of Badr and Uhud, and he is also famous for describing the Prophet's physique; he was martyred during the Battle of the Camel in which he fought on the side of Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (as), although some historians say that he died in Basrah. All biography accounts describe Hind as an outspoken orator, a man of righteousness and generosity, and one who took extreme caution while quoting the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Besides him, Khadija gave birth by Abu Halah to two other sons: al-Tahir, and, of course, Halah, who is not very well known to historians despite the fact that his father is nicknamed after him.

Who were Khadija's children by her second husband? This is another controversy that revolves round the other daughters or step-daughters of the Prophet (pbuh) besides Fatima (as). These daughters, chronologically arranged, are: Zainab, Ruqayya, and Ummu Kulthoom. Some historians say that these were Khadija's daughters by her second husband, whereas others insist they were her daughters by Muhammad (pbuh). The first view is held by Sayyid Safdar Husayn in his book The Early History of Islam wherein he bases his conclusion on the contents of al-Sayyuti's famous work Tarikh al-khulafa wal muluk (history of the caliphs and kings). We hope some of our Muslim sisters who read this text will be tempted to research this subject. Here is a brief account of Khadija's daughters:

Zainab, their oldest, was born before the prophetic mission and was married to Abul-`As ibn al-Rabee`. She had accepted Islam before her husband, and she participated in the migration from Mecca to Medina. She died early in 8 A.H. and was buried in Jannatul Baqee` where her grave can still be seen defying the passage of time. Ruqayya and Ummu Kulthoom married two of Abu Lahab's sons. Abu Lahab, one of the Prophet's uncles, stubbornly and openly rejected his nephew's preaching; therefore, he was condemned in the Mecci Chapter 111 of the Holy Qur'an, a chapter named after him. Having come to know about such a condemnation, he became furious and said to his sons, "There shall be no kinship between you and me unless you part with these daughters of Muhammad," whereupon they divorced them instantly. Ruqayya married the third caliph `Uthman ibn `Affan and migrated with him to Ethiopia in 615 A.D., five years after the inception of the prophetic mission, accompanied by no more than nine others. That was the first of two such migrations. After coming back home, she died in Medina in 2 A.H. and was buried at Jannatul Baqee`. `Uthman then married her sister Ummu Kulthoom in Rabi` al-Awwal of the next (third) Hijri year. Ummu Kulthoom lived with her husband for about six years before dying in 9 A.H., leaving no children.

One particular quality in Khadija was quite interesting, probably more so than any of her other qualities mentioned above: she, unlike her people, never believed in nor worshipped idols. There was a very small number of Christians and Jews in Mecca, and a fairly large number of Jews in Medina. Waraqah ibn Nawfal, one of Khadija's cousins, had embraced Christianity and was a pious monk who believed in the Unity of the Almighty, just as all early Christians did, that is, before the concept of the Trinity crept into the Christian faith, widening the theological differences among the believers in Christ (as). He reportedly had translated the Bible from Hebrew into Arabic. His likes could be counted on the fingers of one hand during those days in the entire populous metropolis of Mecca, or Becca, or Ummul-Qura (the mother town), a major commercial center at the crossroads of trade caravans linking Arabia with India, Persia, China, and Byzantium, a city that had its own Red Sea port at Shu`ayba. Most importantly, Mecca housed the Ka`ba, the cubic "House of God" which has always been sought for pilgrimage and which used to be circled by naked polytheist "pilgrims" who kept their idols, numbering 360 small and big, male and female, inside it and on its roof-top. Among those idols was one for Abraham and another for Ishmael, each carrying divine arrows in his hands. Hubal, a huge idol in the shape of a man, was given as a gift by the Moabites of Syria to the tribesmen of Khuza`ah, and it was Mecca's chief idol. Two other idols of significance were those of the Lat, a grey granite image which was the deity of Thaqif in nearby Taif, and the Uzza, also a block of granite about twenty feet long. These were regarded as the wives of the Almighty... Each tribe had its own idol, and the wealthy bought and kept a number of idols at home. The institute of pilgrimage was already there; it simply was not being observed properly, and so was the belief in Allah Whom the Arabs regarded as their Supreme deity. Besides Paganism, other "religions" in Arabia included star worship and fetishism.

The Jews of Medina had migrated from Palestine and settled there waiting for the coming of a new Prophet from the seed of Abraham (as) in whom they said they intended to believe and to be the foremost in following, something which unfortunately did not materialize; on the contrary, they joined ranks with the Pagans to fight the spread of Islam. Only a handful of them embraced Islam, including one man who was a neighbor of Muhammad (pbuh); he lived in the same alley in Mecca where Khadija's house stood; his wife, also Jewish, used to collect dry thorny bushes from the desert just to throw them in the Prophet's way.

Since Khadija did not travel with her trade caravans, she had always had to rely on someone else to act as her agent to trade on her behalf and to receive an agreed upon commission in return. In 595 A.D., Khadija needed an agent to trade in her merchandise going to Syria, and it was then that a number of agents whom she knew before and trusted, as well as some of her own relatives, particularly Abu Talib, suggested to her to employ her distant cousin Muhammad ibn Abdullah (pbuh) who, by then, had earned the honoring titles of al-Sadiq, the truthful, and al-Amin, the trustworthy. Muhammad (pbuh) did not have any practical business experience, but he had twice accompanied his uncle Abu Talib on his trade trips and keenly observed how he traded, bartered, bought and sold and conducted business; after all, the people of Quraysh were famous for their involvement in trade more than in any other profession. It was not uncommon to hire an agent who did not have a prior experience; so, Khadija decided to give Muhammad (pbuh) a chance. He was only 25 years old. Khadija sent Muhammad (pbuh) word through Khazimah ibn Hakim, one of her relatives, offering him twice as much commission as she usually offered her agents to trade on her behalf. She also gave him one of her servants, Maysarah, who was young, brilliant, and talented, to assist him and be his bookkeeper. She also trusted Maysarah's account regarding her new employee's conduct, an account which was most glaring, indeed one which encouraged her to abandon her insistence never to marry again.

Before embarking upon his first trip as a businessman representing Khadija, Muhammad (pbuh) met with his uncles for last minute briefings and consultations, then he set out on the desert road passing through Wadi al-Qura, Midian, and Diyar Thamud, places with which he was familiar because of having been there at the age of twelve in the company of his uncle Abu Talib. He continued the lengthy journey till he reached Busra (or Bostra) on the highway to the ancient city of Damascus after about a month. It was then the capital of Hawran, one of the southeastern portions of the province of Damascus situated north of the Balqa'. To scholars of classic literature, Hawran is known by its Greek name Auranitis, and it is described in detail by Yaqut al-Hamawi, Abul-Faraj al-Isfahani, and others. Arab trade caravans used to go there quite often and even beyond it to Damascus and Gaza, and few made it all the way to Mediterranean shores to unload their precious cargoes of Chinese paper and silk textiles bound for Europe.

What items did Muhammad (pbuh) carry with him to Busra, and what items did he buy from there? Meccans were not known to be skilled craftsmen, nor did they excel in any profession besides trade, but young Muhammad (pbuh) might have carried with him a cargo of hides, raisins, perfumes, dried dates, light weight woven items, probably silver bars, and most likely some herbs. He bought what he was instructed by his employer to buy: these items may have included manufactured goods, clothes, a few luxury items to sell to wealthy Meccans, and maybe some household goods. Gold and silver currency accepted in Mecca included Roman, Persian, and Indian coins, for Arabs during those times, including those who were much more sophisticated than the ones among whom Muhammad (pbuh) grew up such as the Arabs of the southern part of Arabia (Yemen, Hadramout, etc.), did not have a currency of their own; so, barter was more common than cash. The first Arab Islamic currency, by the way, was struck in Damascus by the Umayyad ruler Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (697-698 A.D.) in 78 A.H., 36 years after the establishment of the Umayyad dynasty (661-750).

The time Muhammad (pbuh) stayed in Busra was no more than a couple of months during which he met many Christians and Jews and noticed the theological differences among the major Christian sects that led to the disassociation of the Copts, the Syrian (Chaldean) Nestorian, and the Armenian Christians from the main churches of Antioch (Antakiya), Rome, and Egyptian Alexandria. Such dissensions and differences of theological viewpoints provided Muhammad (pbuh) with plenty of food for thought; he contemplated upon them a great deal. He was seen once by Nestor the monk sitting in the shade of a tree as caravans entered the outskirts of Busra, not far from the monk's small monastery. "Who is the man beneath that tree?" inquired Nestor of Maysarah. "A man of Quraysh," Maysarah answered, adding, "of the people [the Hashemites] who have guardianship of the Sanctuary." "None other than a Prophet is sitting beneath that tree," said Nestor who had observed some of the signs indicative of Prophethood: two angels (or, according to other reports, two small clouds) were shading Muhammad (pbuh) from the oppressive heat of the sun. "Is there a glow, a slight redness, around his eyes that never parts with him?" Nestor asked Maysarah. When the latter answered in the affirmative, Nestor said, "He most surely is the very last Prophet; congratulations to whoever believes in him."

One of Muhammad's observations when he was in that Syrian city was the historical fact that a feud was brewing between the Persian and Roman empires, each vying for hegemony over Arabia's fertile crescent. Indeed, such an observation was quite accurate, for after only a few years, a war broke out between the then mightiest nations on earth that ended with the Romans losing it, as the Holy Qur'an tells us in Chapter 30 (The Romans), which was revealed in 7 A.H./615-16 A.D., only a few months after the fall of Jerusalem to the Persians, just to win in a successive one. Only four years prior to that date, the Persians had scored a sweeping victory over the Christians, spreading their control over Aleppo, Antioch, and even Damascus. Muhammad (pbuh) was concerned about either of these two empires extending its control over the land inhabited by Muhammad's Pagan fiercely independent Pagan people. The loss of Jerusalem, birthplace of Christ Jesus son of Mary (as), was a heavy blow to the prestige of Christianity. Most Persians were then following Zoroastrianism, a creed introduced in the 6th century before Christ by Zoroaster (628-551 B.C.), also known as Zarathustra, whose adherents are described as worshippers of the "pyre," the holy fire. "Persia," hence, meant "the land of the worshippers of the pyre, the sacred fire." Modern day Iran used to be known as "Aryana," land of the Aryan nations and tribes. Not only Iranians, but also Kurds, and even Germans, prided in being Aryans, (Caucasian) Nordics or speakers of an Indo-European dialect. Some Persians had converted to Christianity as we know from Salman al-Farisi who was one such adherent till he fell in captivity, sold in Mecca and freed to be one of the most renown and cherished sahabis and narrators of hadith in Islamic history, so much so that the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) said, "Salman is one of us, we Ahl al-Bayt (People of the Household of Prophethood)."

The war referred to above was between the then Byzantine (Eastern Roman) emperor Heraclius (575 - 641 A.D.) and the Persian king Khusrau (Khosrow) Parwiz (Parviz) or Chosroes II (d. 628 A.D.). It was one of many wars in which those mighty nations were embroiled and which continued for many centuries. Yet the hands of Divine Providence were already busy paving the path for Islam: the collision between both empires paved the way for the ultimate destruction of the ancient Persian empire and in Islam setting root in that important part of the world. Moreover, Muhammad's (and, naturally, Khadija's) offspring came to marry ladies who were born and raised at Persian as well as Roman palaces. Imam Husain ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib (as), Muhammad's grandson and our Third Holy Imam, married the daughter of the last Persian emperor Jazdagird (Yazdegerd) III son of Shahryar and grandson of this same Khusrau II. Jazdagerd ruled Persia from 632-651 A.D. and lost the Battle of Qadisiyyah to the Muslim forces in 636, thus ending the rule of the Sassanians. Having been defeated, he fled for Media in northwestern Iran, homeland of Persian Mede tribesmen, and from there to Merv, an ancient Central Asian city near modern day Mary in Turkmenistan (until very recently one of the republics of the Soviet Union), where he was killed by a miller. The slain emperor left two daughters who, during their attempt to escape, following the murder of their father, were caught and sold as slaves. One of them, Shah-Zenan, ended up marrying our Third Holy Imam Husain ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib (as), whereas her sister married the renown scholar and acclaimed muhaddith (traditionist) Muhammad son of the first Muslim caliph Abu Bakr. Shah-Zenan was awarded a royal treatment and was given a new name in her own Persian mother tongue: Shahr Banu, which means "mistress of the ladies of the city." The marriage between her and Imam Husain (as) produced our Fourth Holy Imam (Zainul-Abidin, or al-Sajjad) Ali ibn al-Husain ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib (as).

The profits Khadija reaped from that trip were twice as much as she had anticipated. Maysarah was more fascinated by Muhammad (pbuh) than by anything related to the trip. Muhammad (pbuh), on the other hand, brought back his impressions about what he had seen and heard, impressions which he related to his mistress. You see, those trade caravans were the only links contemporary Arabs had with their outside world: they brought them the news of what was going on beyond their drought-ridden and famine-stricken desert and sand dunes.

Waraqah ibn Nawfal, like Bahirah, the monk who had seen and spoken to Muhammad (pbuh) when Muhammad (pbuh) was a lad, adhered to the Nestorian Christian sect. He heard the accounts about the personality and conduct of young Muhammad (pbuh) from both his cousin Khadija and her servant Maysarah, an account which caused him to meditate for a good while and think about what he had heard. Raising his head, he said to Khadija, "Such manners are fit only for the messengers of God. Who knows? Maybe this young man is destined to be one of them." This statement was confirmed a few years later, and Waraqah was the very first man who identified Muhammad (pbuh) as the Messenger of Allah immediately after Muhammad (pbuh) received the first revelation at Hira cave.

The trip's measure of success encouraged Khadija to employ Muhammad (pbuh) again on the winter trip to southern Arabia, i.e. Yemen, the land that introduced the coffee beans to the rest of the world, the land where the renown Ma'rib irrigation dam was engineered, the land of Saba' and the renown Balqees, the Arabian Queen of Sheba (Saba') of Himyar, who married King Solomon (Sulayman the wise, peace be upon him), in 975 B.C. (after the completion of the construction of the famous Solomon's Temple [1]), the land of natives skilled in gold, silver and other metal handicrafts, not to mention their ingenuity in the textile industry and domestic furniture..., and it may even be the land that gave Arabic its first written script which, as some believe, was modelled after written Amheric, then the official language in Ethiopia and its colonies. Yemen, at that time, was being ruled by an Ethiopian regent. This time Khadija offered Muhammad (pbuh) three times the usual commission. Unfortunately, historians do not tell us much about this second trip except that it was equally profitable to both employer and employee. Some historians do not mention this trip at all.

Khadija was by then convinced that she had finally found a man who was worthy of her, so much so that she initiated the marriage proposal herself. Muhammad (pbuh) sat to detail all the business transactions in which he became involved on her behalf, but the wealthy and beautiful lady of Quraysh was thinking more about her distant cousin than about those transactions. She simply fell in love with Muhammad (pbuh) just as the daughter of the Arabian prophet Shu`ayb had fallen in love with then fugitive prophet Moses (as). Muhammad (pbuh) was of medium stature, inclined to slimness, with a large head, broad shoulders and the rest of his body perfectly proportioned. His hair and beard were thick and black, not altogether straight but slightly curled. His hair reached midway between the lobes of his ears and shoulders, and his beard was of a length to match. He had a noble breadth of forehead and the ovals of his large eyes were wide, with exceptionally long lashes and extensive brows, slightly arched but not joined. His eyes were said to have been black, but other accounts say they were brown, or light brown. His nose was aquiline and his mouth was finely shaped. Although he let his beard grow, he never allowed the hair of his moustache to protrude over his upper lip. His skin was white but tanned by the sun. And there was a light on his face, a glow, the same light that had shone from his father, but it was more, much more powerful, and it was especially apparent on his broad forehead and in his eyes which were remarkably luminous.

By the time he was gone, Khadija sought the advice of a friend of hers named Nufaysa daughter of Umayyah. The latter offered to approach him on her behalf and, if possible, arrange a marriage between them. Nufaysa came to Muhammad (pbuh) and asked him why he had not married yet. "I have no means to marry," he answered. "But if you were given the means," she said, "and if you were bidden to an alliance where there is beauty and wealth and nobility and abundance, would you not then consent?" "Who is she?!" he excitedly inquired. "Khadija," said Nufaysa. "And how could such a marriage be mine?!" he asked. "Leave that to me!" was her answer. "For my part," he said, "I am willing." Nufaysa returned with these glad tidings to Khadija who then sent word to Muhammad (pbuh) asking him to come to her. When he came, she said to him:


O son of my uncle! I love you for your kinship with me, and for that you are ever in the center, not being a partisan among the people for this or for that. And I love you for your trustworthiness, and for the beauty of your character and the truth of your speech.

Then she offered herself in marriage to him, and they agreed that he should speak to his uncles and she would speak to her uncle `Amr son of Asad, since her father had died. It was Hamzah, despite being relatively young, whom the Hashemites delegated to represent them on this marriage occasion, since he was most closely related to them through the clan of Asad; his sister Safiyya had just married Khadija's brother `Awwam. It was Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle, who delivered the marriage sermon saying,

All praise is due to Allah Who has made us the progeny of Ibrahim (Abraham), the seed of Isma`eel (Ishmael), the descendants of Ma`ad, the substance of Mudar, and Who made us the custodians of His House and the servants of its sacred precincts, making for us a House sought for pilgrimage and a shrine of security, and He also gave us authority over the people. This nephew of mine Muhammad (pbuh) cannot be compared with any other man: if you compare his wealth with that of others, you will not find him a man of wealth, for wealth is a vanishing shadow and a fickle thing. Muhammad (pbuh) is a man whose lineage you all know, and he has sought Khadija daughter of Khuwaylid for marriage, offering her such-and-such of the dower of my own wealth.

Nawfal then stood and said,

All praise is due to Allah Who has made us just as you have mentioned and preferred us over those whom you have indicated, for we, indeed, are the masters of Arabs and their leaders, and you all are worthy of this (bond of marriage). The tribe (Quraysh) does not deny any of your merits, nor does anyone else dispute your lofty status and prestige. And we, furthermore, wish to be joined to your rope; so, bear witness to my words, O people of Quraysh! I have given Khadija daughter of Khuwaylid in marriage to Muhammad ibn Abdullah for the dower of four hundred dinars.

Then Nawfal paused, whereupon Abu Talib said to him, "I wished her uncle had joined you (in making this statement)." Hearing that, Khadija's uncle stood and said, "Bear witness, O men of Quraysh, that I have given Khadija daughter of Khuwaylid in marriage to Muhammad ibn Abdullah."

These details and more are recorded in Ibn Hisham's Seera. After his marriage, Muhammad (pbuh) moved from his uncle's house to live with his wife in her house which stood at the smiths' market, an alley branching out of metropolitan Mecca's long main bazaar, behind the mas`a, the place where the pilgrims perform the seven circles during the hajj or `umra. In that house Fatima (as) was born and the revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) many times. This house, as well as the one in which the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) was born (which stood approximately 50 meters northwards), were both demolished by the ignorant and fanatical Wahhabi rulers of Saudi Arabia last year (1413 A.H./1993 A.D.) and turned into public bathrooms. The grave sites of many family members and companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) were all demolished by the same Wahhabis in 1343 A.H./1924 A.D. against the wish and despite the denunciation of the adherents of all other Muslim sects and schools of thought world-wide.

The marriage was a very happy one, and it produced a lady who was one of the four perfect women in all the history of mankind: Fatima daughter of Muhammad (pbuh). Before her, Qasim and Abdullah were born, but they both died at infancy.

By the time Khadija got married, she was quite a wealthy lady, so wealthy that she felt no need to keep trading and increasing her wealth; instead, she decided to retire and enjoy a comfortable life with her husband who, on his part, preferred an ascetic life to that of money making. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had no desire to accumulate wealth; that was not the purpose for which he, peace and blessings of Allah upon him and his progeny, was created. He was created to be savior of mankind from the darkness of ignorance, idol worship, polytheism, misery, poverty, injustice, oppression, and immorality. He very much loved to meditate, though his meditation deepened his grief at seeing his society sunk so low in immorality, lawlessness, and the absence of any sort of protection for those who were weak and oppressed. Khadija's period of happiness lasted no more than 15 years after which her husband, now the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), started his mission to invite people to the Oneness of God, to equality between men and women, and to an end to the evils of the day. Muhammad (pbuh) was forty years old when the first verses of the Holy Qur'an were revealed to him. They were the first verses of Surat al-Alaq (chapter 96), and they were revealed during the month of Ramadan 13 years before the Hijra, at the cave of Hira in Jabal al-Noor (the mountain of light), his favorite place for isolation and meditation, a place which is now visited by many pilgrims. Muhammad (pbuh) went back home heavy-hearted, profoundly perplexed, deeply impressed by the sight of arch-angel Gabriel and by the depth of meaning implied in those beautiful words:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Proclaim (or read)! In the Name of your Lord and Cherisher who created (everything). (He) created man of a (mere) clot of congealed blood. Proclaim! And your Lord is the Most Bountiful Who taught (the use of) the pen, Who taught man that which he knew not... (Qur'an, 96:1-5)

He felt feverish, so he asked to be wrapped and, once he felt better, he narrated what he had seen and heard to his faithful and supportive wife. "By Allah," Khadija said, "Allah shall never subject you to any indignity..., for you always maintain your ties with those of your kin, and you are always generous in giving; you are diligent, and you seek what others regard as unattainable; you cool the eyes of your guest, and you lend your support to those who seek justice and redress. Stay firm, O cousin, for by Allah I know that He will not deal with you except most beautifully, and I testify that you are the awaited Prophet in this nation, and your time, if Allah wills, has come." After a short while, Khadija told her husband about the prediction of the Syrian monk Buhayra regarding Muhammad's Prophethood, and about her dialogue with both her servant Maysarah, who had informed her of what Bahirah (or Buhayrah) had said, and with her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal. She then accompanied her husband to Waraqah's house to narrate the whole incident. "Let me hear it in your own words," Nawfal said to Muhammad (pbuh), adding, "O noble master!" Having heard the Prophet's words, Nawfal took his time to select his words very carefully; he said, "By Allah, this is the prediction which had been conveyed to Moses (as) and with which the Children of Israel are familiar! [Moses] had said: `O how I wish I could be present when Muhammad (pbuh) is delegated with Prophethood to support his mission and to assist him!'"

It was only natural for Khadija to receive her share of the harassment meted to him by none other than those who, not long ago, used to call him al-Sadiq, al-Amin. Khadija did not hesitate to embrace Islam at all, knowing that her husband could not have put forth any false claim. Yahya ibn `Afeef is quoted saying that he once came, during the period of jahiliyya (before the advent of Islam), to Mecca to be hosted by al-Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib, one of the Prophet's uncles mentioned above. "When the sun started rising," says he, "I saw a man who came out of a place not far from us, faced the Ka`ba and started performing his prayers. He hardly started before being joined by a young boy who stood on his right side, then by a woman who stood behind them. When he bowed down, the young boy and the woman bowed, and when he stood up straight, they, too, did likewise. When he prostrated, they, too, prostrated." Then he expressed his amazement at that, saying to al-Abbas: "This is quite strange, O Abbas!" "Is it, really?" retorted al-Abbas. "Do you know who he is?" al-Abbas asked his guest who answered in the negative. "He is Muhammad ibn Abdullah, my nephew. Do you know who the young boy is?" asked he again. "No, indeed," answered the guest. "He is Ali son of Abu Talib. Do you know who the woman is?" The answer came again in the negative, to which al-Abbas said, "She is Khadija daughter of Khuwaylid, my nephew's wife." This incident is included in the books of both Imam Ahmad and al-Tirmithi, each detailing it in his own Sahih. And she bore patiently in the face of persecution to which her revered husband and his small band of believers were exposed at the hands of the polytheists and aristocrats of Quraysh, sacrificing her vast wealth to promote Islam, seeking Allah's Pleasure.

Among Khadija's merits was her being one of the four most perfect of all women of mankind, the other three being: Fatima daughter of Muhammad (pbuh), Maryam bint `Umran (Mary daughter of Amram), mother of Christ (as) and niece of prophet Zakariyya and Ishba (Elizabeth), and `Asiya daughter of Muzahim, wife of Pharaoh. Prophet Zakariyya, as the reader knows, was the father of Yahya (John the Baptist), the latter being only a few months older than prophet Jesus (as). The Prophet of Islam (pbuh) used to talk about Khadija quite often after her demise, so much so that his youngest wife, `Ayesha daughter of Abu Bakr, felt extremely jealous and said to him, "... But she was only an old woman with red eyes, and Allah has compensated you with a better and younger wife (meaning herself)." This caused him (pbuh) to be very indignant, and he said, "No, indeed; He has not compensated me with someone better than her. She believed in me when all others disbelieved; she held me truthful when others called me a liar; she sheltered me when others abandoned me; she comforted me when others shunned me; and Allah granted me children by her while depriving me of children by other women." Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Hatim, al-Dulabi, al-Tabari, and many others, all quote `Ayesha saying: "One day, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) mentioned Khadija affectionately, so I was carried away by jealousy and said about her what I should not have said. It was then that his face changed color in a way I never saw it change except when he (pbuh) was receiving revelation, so I realized what I had done and felt overwhelmed by regret to the extent that I could not help uttering these words: `O Lord! If You remove the anger of Your Messenger right now, I pledge not to ever speak ill of her as long as I live.' Having seen that, he forgave me and narrated to me some of her merits." Both Muslim and Bukhari indicate in their respective Sahih books that among Khadija's merits was the fact that the Lord of Dignity ordered Jibraeel (Gabriel), peace be upon him, to convey His regards to her. Gabriel said to Muhammad (pbuh): "O Muhammad! Khadija is bringing you a bowl of food; when she comes to you, tell her that her Lord greets her, and convey my greeting, too, to her." When he (pbuh) did so, she said: "Allah is the Peace, and He is the source of all peace, and upon Gabriel be peace." Khadija died of an attack of fever on the tenth or eleventh day of the month of Ramadan, ten years after the start of the Prophetic mission (in the year 619 A.D.), 24 years after her marriage with Muhammad (pbuh), and she was buried at Hajun in the outskirts of Mecca. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) dug her grave and buried her... Funeral prayers (salat al janaza) had not yet been mandated in Islam. It is reported that by the time she died, her entire wealth had already been spent to promote Islam; she left not a single gold dinar nor a single silver dirham, nor anything more or less...

O soul that are at rest! Return to your Lord,
well-pleased (with Him),well-pleasing (Him),
so enter among My servants, and enter into My garden.
(Qur'an, 89:27-30)


[1] This temple was built by Solomon (Prophet Sulayman) to express his gratitude for what the Almighty had granted him. Solomon had in advance obtained his Lord's permission to erect it. A glimpse of its grandeur is described in the Holy Qur'an in 27:44: "It was said to her (to Balqees, the Queen of Sheba): Enter the palace; but when she saw it, she deemed it to be a great expanse of water," that is, its marble floors shone like glass, reflecting her image as water does. This temple was later ordered by Solomon to be demolished in its entirety, and the claim of the Jews that the al-Aqsa mosque is built on its very foundations is false. The Jews plot to demolish the al-Aqsa mosque in order to rebuild Solomon's Temple. Jews intend to do so at the right time, when they realize that the Muslims of the world, because of the weakness and hypocrisy of their rulers, are too weak to stand between them and the achievement of their most vile goals, and when the "Christian" West will be ready, more than now, to help them achieve their objectives. The West has been supporting the Jews against the Muslims, and there will never be any reversal to this trend... We are Allah's, and to Him shall we return...

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the magic of love

by anna krizia

First, there was this two people who’s really in love with each other..
The story begins with this,

we became friends while we’re still in our 1st yr. in high school but we don’t talk too much.. we don’t even know each other too well.. But we were classmates.. At first, we just ignore each other.. we don’t talk, we don’t do anything.. Then, maybe at the half semester of our class, we’re trying to talk with each other.. Then we became friends..

And when we turn into 2nd yr high school, my family decided to let me study in a good city.. Then, with those months of being away from the city, (where we first knew each other)
we don’t talk nor see each other.. But we don’t really care about that because we don’t have any feelings with each other at that time..

And after finishing my studies in 2nd yr in high school, my family again decided to come back in the city where we have grown up..

Then i enrolled in a private school (but not in the school where we first met)
And i didn’t expect that he would also enroll in that the same school..
i was shocked when i saw him sitting on the bench.. Then, i looked at him straight to his eyes, and then he saw me, and smiled to me.. And i smiled too..
Then, i came back in our classroom (but this time we were not classmates) because our teacher called me..
While the girl sits, i wander why does he enrolled in that the same school..

Then the bell rang for the recess time.. I stood up and decided to have a snack.. So i invited my new friends..

and i saw the guy on the canteen, he sits on the bench with his friends.. i went to him and asked him if i could sit beside him.. he answered yes.. Then, he asked for my number.. So, i gave it to him.. we talk a lot about my bf.. Then, the boy said “if I will court you, will you promise me that you will leave your bf?” I told him, yes.. Because i realized that my bf is too old for me.. Even if i love my bf, i still decided to leave him..
And he courts me, it was only a week and i fell in love with him.. So i told it to him the word YES..
On the 16th of July was our first monthsary..

we had a lot of fun and sad times.. we encountered many challenges in our relationship.. And these challenges made our relationship stronger.. When we reached six months of being boyfriends and girlfriends, we broke up for 3 times.. Then until now, (December, 16, 2006) we’re still in love with each other.. i couldn’t pass the day without thinking of him..
That’s how i miss the him when he is not around..

Even if how many times you broke up, you would still realize that you really love him/her.. That you can’t go on another day with out him/her..

WHY I WANTED YOU

by LD HALL

WHEN WE FIRST MET IT WAS LIKE THE FIRST TIME I FELL IN LOVE. ALTHOUGH YOU HAD A GIRLFRIEND AND THINGS WERE JUST GOING STEADY BETWEEN YOU TWO YOU STILL WANTED TO BE MY FRIEND. THAT INCLUDES AFTER YOU FOUND OUT THAT I LIKED YOU AND I WANTED TO BE WITH YOU. TWO YEARS PASTED AND I GOT TO KNOW YOU MORE THAN I WOULD HAVE EVER THOUGHT THAT I WOULD KNOW. IN THE TWO YEARS THAT WE WERE FRIENDS. I NEVER STOPPED LIKING YOU OR EVEN ONCE THOUGHT OF TRYING TO GET WITH SOMEONE ELSE. IT WAS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT MADE ME LIKE YOU MORE AND MORE EVER DAY.
THEN THE MOST AMAZING THING HAPPENED ONE DAY.....
WE TALKED AND MY WISH CAME TRUE. WE FINALLY MADE IT OFFICAL.
THE FEELINGS I FELT THAT MOMENT WERE UNEXPLAINABLE AND WERE FEELINGS THAT I HAD NEVER FELT BEFORE IN MY LIFE. THIS IS WHY MY LOVE FOR YOU GROWS EVERYDAY.....
BECAUSE YOU MAKE ME HAVE FEELINGS THAT I NEVER FELT BEFORE, FEELINGS THAT EVEN I CAN'T EXPLAIN TO MYSELF.
THIS IS WHY I LOVE YOU EVERYDAY.

Ones True Love

by sisi

When I was 12 I saw a boy, for some reason i wanted him to notice me so bad. I knew that he was my very first crush. unfortunately i never saw him again. As i went through Jr. High and graduate from there i went on ahead to High School. Throught the whole two years I wonder to my self who he was. During the first three days of High School i kept going to a friends house after school, and finally I saw him I asked my friend who he was. She told me I should know him he lives down the street from me. I told my friend that i had a crush on him for two years now, she ran to tell him. He told her that he didnt like me. That night i went home and cried the whole night. I didnt know why my heart hurted so much and I didnt know why. A few weeks later i heard that his friend dared him to ask me out. That night afternoon he came and asked me out, I answer to him yes. Every night we would stay up on the phone late and just listen to each other breath till we both fell asleep. we wouldnt hold hands toghter at school because we were too shy. When we dated for almost a week i found out that he was suspose to break up because it was only suspose to be a dare. I got worried that night when he called me. We talked and talked then when we were about to hang up he told me that he only wanted to be friends, i started to cry on the phone butalso tried to hide it from him. He asked "softly whats wrong" I answered back "nothing." that night before we hung up he told me not to think too much and go to sleep. The next morning i didnt fell good so i didnt wanted to go to school, but my daddy forced me to. When i got there i saw him and decide to cross the street so I can avoid him. he walked fast to try to catch up to me and he said "are you mad about yesterday?" I started to cry and looked away, I didnt want ot give him the satisfaction that he hurted me. He looked me straight in the eye and said "no matter what i said nothing can keep us apart." He held he tight in his arms and kissed me on my forhead. there is no ending for that story yet but we've been together for four years since.

Life's Dream For You

By Marcia Wieder

There are the dreams you have for your life and then there are the dreams that life has for you. At times, we may wonder what’s going on or feel lost, but life has its plan which may include your dreams or something completely different.

We're all part of the fiber that makes life whole and to that end, we have our place here. For such a time as this, you were created to do some important work in the world. Do you have any idea, in your wildest imagination, what life wants from you?

You were born to fulfill a sacred function, a mission, a purpose, perhaps even a calling. Not all missions have to be like Mother Theresa’s. Some of our missions are quieter, more discreet, but nonetheless essential.

Where do you find the answer to the question, “Why am I here?” Look in your heart or in your loved ones’ eyes, or in the words of your closest friends. But also look out at life. There's so much the world needs from us right now. Life needs your faith, your courage, your ability to trust, hope and believe. Life needs your prayers and contributions. Life needs your gifts.

To live a joyful life, discover what fulfills you, what makes you happy, what makes you whole and what sustains you. The compass for discovering this is your heart. Some refer to it as our soul’s code. It's the inherent wisdom inside you that knows why you're here. When you cultivate the ability to recognize this and to trust it, life becomes rich and (sometimes) easier.

Where can you offer your gift? As you explore or recognize what life (perhaps in the form of your family, home, work, community or country) needs, and you move towards it or reach for it, an amazing thing happens. Life reaches back. It can be in the form of appreciation, synchronicity or intimacy.

This is life’s way of letting you know you're on track. It’s feedback. But sometimes the greatest gift of saying yes to life’s dream for you is how you feel. There's nothing more gratifying than truly knowing in your heart that you are acting with purpose.

7 Ways to Get More Done

By Jon Gordon

My wife and I have an inside joke... I tell her about various authors in my field such as Wayne Dyer who go on writing retreats for a month or two at a time to write a new book.

I'll say jokingly, "If Wayne did it with a family maybe I could too." She responds just as I would expect. "You can go on a writing retreat but we may not be here when you get back."

The fact is there is no way I could go or would want to go on a writing retreat even if she was ok with it.

Besides writing my new book that comes out in January, my wife and I are raising children, 5 and 7, running three restaurants and there are seminars to give, newsletters to write, and many things to do. Like everyone these days, I'm busy but I have realized this is a good thing.

As a writer who writes and speaks about having energy in an energy-strapped, time-constrained world, I have lived and continue to live many of the challenges you face. As a result, I can share the lessons I have learned and the strategies I use to stay energized and create success in the midst of chaos.

St. Francis said, "It's no use walking anywhere to preach unless your preaching is your walking." So I'd like to share with you what I have learned during my walking with the hopes that it will help you create more success and get the things you want to do----DONE. Since people always ask me, "Jon, how do you do it all," and "How do you get it all done with all you have going on," I have had a lot of time to think about what I do and here is what I tell them:

Go to Bed early and Wake Up Early - To finish this upcoming book and to write my last book Energy Addict, I woke up every morning at 5:30am-6:00am to write. I realized that an hour a day over two or three months produces a lot of pages. It's all about doing the little things and you'll be amazed at how much you can accomplish early in the morning. It also feels great when you start your day with an accomplishment.

Know Your Priorities and Write them Down - My priority is not watching television at night. It is writing in the morning. Knowing this, I go to sleep early so I can wake up early. You have to know your priorities, write them down so you can see them and then take action that is in alignment with your priorities.

Focus - My wife tells me that I have intense focus. When I focus, my energy is like a laser. I know what I want. I know what I need to do and I do it. So just remember these 3 simple things. Know what you want. Know what you need to do. And do it. To help you "do it," write down a to-do list and check items off as you complete them. Also identify your distractions and eliminate them. If phone calls bother you while you are completing task at home or work, shut the phone off until you are done.

Create Mini-retreats - Not many people have time for month long retreats, instead we must plan mini-retreats into our day. You must carve out time for solitude and creating in the midst of chaos. You must schedule your priorities into your day. If you don't plan it, it is less likely to happen. If you are completing a project at work, working on a book, or school assignment, schedule time each day to work on this project.

Let Go of Negativity and Self Doubt - Unfortunately so many of us hold ourselves back from achieving or creating what we want. I know this well because I was the same way. Each morning I now take a walk and let go of the things that use to hold me back. You let go through your thoughts, your breath and your body.

While walking focus on your breathing... let go mentally and verbally of the things that hold you back. Say, "I let go of my stress, my fear and self doubt. I let go of my need for approval. I let go of my need perfection." By letting go you let go of the thoughts and emotions that hold you back and you are freer and more energized to take action.

Let Go of Attachments and Expectations - When you have an attachment to the result or expectation you create pressure and tense energy that prevents you from getting things done. You start to think about what it will be like instead of doing it. Remember, you don't have to be perfect. Just pour your energy into creating and let the outcome be the result of your positive and flowing energy. Have fun. When you have fun things get done.

Delegate - We can't do everything ourselves. The key is to delegate and enlist the support of others. For instance, my wife now pays the bills for the restaurants where I did it in the past. Determine what can be delegated. Train someone to do it right, then oversee them and make sure they are doing it right.

Sending Positive Energy Your Way,
- Jon

Kick Open The Doors

by Brian Tracy

Anyone who does a great job consistently, over and over, kicks open the doors of opportunity in all directions. Such a person will be hired, paid well, promoted, advanced and given additional responsibilities because there are so few of them.

Make a Decision Today

You can put your life and career into an upward trajectory by making the decision, today, that you are going to become one of the best time managers in your field. And in this session, you will learn how to do it.

Benjamin Franklin once wrote, "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of."

Exploit Your Most Precious Recourse

Time is your most precious resource. It is all you really have. It is your life. As long as you have lots of time, you can do almost anything. But if your time is cut off for any reason, all of your possibilities are cut off as well.

Queen Elizabeth I of England was one of the richest women in the world. She owned half the country. Yet, when she was on her deathbed, she turned to her doctor and said, "I would give all I have for a few more minutes of time."

Start This Very Minute

The time for you and I to begin to appreciate how valuable and precious each minute is right now, not a later time when our minutes and hours are draining away.

Action Exercises:

Resolve to become an expert at time management. Work on becoming more efficient every day.

Ask, "Why am I on the payroll?" Whatever your answer to this question, work on it all day long.

NO PROBLEM – "THINK SOLUTION"

by Bob Burg

I recently received a letter from a reader who was totally frustrated and disappointed. "I didn't win", she wrote, "no matter how you want to look at it." Basically, she had made a deal for a home loan rate with a mortgage broker who didn't follow through and complete the paperwork. At closing, she was hit with a higher rate. The agent was on vacation and his boss wouldn't relent, "No matter how much I tried to win without intimidation."
Here is the principle she, and each of us, must always keep in mind:


There are some people with whom WWI will not work, at least "right now". The boss, in this case, is a classic example of one who lives in the problem instead of the solution; he doesn't care, and he is a person who decided in advance (In other words, "My mind's made up; don't confuse me with the facts.") Making things right for the customer was simply not on his agenda. He isn't that way. Why not? As Jim Rohn would say, "I don't know...he just isn't." :-)

Now, the solution: Find someone who is. It might be *his* boss, or the corporation for which he works. Or there might be a legal recourse, as a verbal promise was made. Perhaps his local association's ethics board would have something to say. In other words, "Find the person who can make a difference."

Key point: as you're doing so, make sure to handle everyone in a WWI-type manner. Be extremely nice, send lots of thank you notes, acknowledgments, etc. to everyone with whom you converse. Be the "good guy" and get all these other people working for you in order to make things right.

When it comes to WWI, sometimes the front door is not the one you're going to go through. Fortunately, most homes have lots of other doors (and windows, as well).

Uh, by the way, if you are a burglar and live in my neighborhood, please disregard that last paragraph. :-)

Bob Burg

3 Steps To Achieve Your Goals

STEP ONE: Ignite The Fire Within And Do Something!

Perhaps the greatest key to achieving your goals is passion. Determination springs from inspiration and/or desperation. You have to let loose with an almost fanatical passion to succeed, never allowing anything to get in your way of achieving your goal.

You have to act, and you have to stop listening to the "chickens"!

STEP TWO: Acquire Unnerving Energy And Discipline

Discipline is not a popular word, but it is essential towards greatness.

Luke warm attempts arrive at luke warm results. Those who put in the extra mile, go the extra mile, it's that simple. If there is a unifying thread that ties movers and shakers together in the world, it would be energy, and in almost all cases, some form of great discipline.

STEP THREE: Follow Proven Roadmaps To Success

No need to reinvent the wheel, others have gone before you, and have achieved what seemed to be impossible goals, follow their examples!

This last step can help us tremendously to develop the first two steps as well. By reading inspiring stories, seeing clear examples, witnessing impossible odds overcome, with clear roadmaps, can indeed give us more passion, more energy, more discipline.

This happens much like a microphone that goes into a continual loop of sound feedback... i.e. we get the inspiration to start, we see some small changes, this inspires us further to continue, and on and on and on... till our goal is achieved with a BOOM!

It all starts with one small step...

Sand and Stone

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one, who had been slapped, got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After the friend recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE."

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!"

"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"
He receives the answer: "Who are you?"
And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"
Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"
He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"
The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."
Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"
The voice answers: "You are a champion!"

The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it."

Hoe To Be An Artist