The Courage to be Successful

By Mike Ognek Becoming successful requires courage. In the achievement of any worthy goal, you must overcome mental barriers, take risks, and proceed in the face of fear and adversity. Deciding to act with courage is what can carry you beyond your fear – and whatever may be standing in the way of success in your business and in your life.  You cannot hope to be successful without taking risks. The safe path is the easy path. However, the tradeoff for taking the safe route is mediocre returns. It’s universally true that the greater the risk, the greater the reward. The more calculated risk you take, the more successful you can be. An average life does not require too much from us. A truly excellent, successful one is demanding. Yet the payoff is exponentially more – it’s worth the effort, mental toughness, and risk taking that it demands.  And yet in the face of risk, our fears and mental barriers arise. Some would let those fears and mental barriers prevent them from becoming successful. Others proceed in spite of their fear, and consequently achieve success. The distinguishing factor – the difference between the two – is courage. Courage is not a feeling. It’s a decision. Courage is a determination to persist in spite of obstacles, dangers, and fear. This determination has to come from your will to succeed – no matter what. You may be feeling fearful and apprehensive in the face of adversity, but you must exercise your will, your courage, and continue in order to ultimately be successful.  Some of your enemies in your quest to be successful are internal. Certain mental barriers may have been formed from your early childhood experiences or other circumstances in your life. In your mind, you’ve set up a belief system based on those experiences and circumstances. Unfortunately, they may be holding you back from being successful.  Fear is another obstacle to be overcome. We may face a challenge, but the fear starts in our minds – where your mental barriers also originate. The best cure for these internal obstacles is action. You will find that your fear and mental barriers will evaporate as you take courageous actions consistently, and are consistently successful.  Acting courageously also increases your level of courage. The more you face your fears and jump over mental barriers, the more successful you will be, and the more courageous you become. Continually facing adversity and exercising courageousness will drive you to higher levels of courage – and higher levels of success as well.  We will face obstacles, problems, and challenges on the way to becoming successful. It’s a given. However, it’s our response to those obstacles, problems, and challenges that makes the difference. It’s our decision, too, whether to succumb to fear or make the decision to exercise courage instead. Life is full of risks, challenges, and problems. Why not make the decision to face them with courage and to pursue success, in spite of fear and mental barriers? To be successful, choose to act courageously, no matter what you are facing. And remember that the courageous always win in the end.

Getting the Raise You Deserve

 "However, doing a good job is no longer enough in many organizations. The strategies in this article are designed to prepare you better, reduce your anxiety, and help you achieve your raise and salary goals."

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

There will come a point in your tenure with an employer when you realize that you deserve a raise. As with most salary negotiations, asking for a raise is often uncomfortable at the very least and intimidating at the very most. But getting the raise you deserve should not be such an anxiety-creating event, especially if you follow the strategies outlined in this article. In fact, to better help all workers, this article describes both short-term and long-term tips to ensuring that raise negotiations are professional -- and minimally stressful.
Before we get to the tips, one element is critical to your success: timing. Timing refers to the company's policies and procedures in terms of the amount of time between reviews and raises -- and when it's "acceptable" to ask for a raise. And timing refers to the company's current financial situation as well as the general economic climate. And, finally, timing refers to where you are in terms of your work and major projects. Obviously, it makes sense to ask for a raise:

• within the normal parameters of company policy;
• when the company is in sound financial standing, and
• when you have just had a major success.

One other thing to remember. Generally speaking, if you are doing your job well, then your boss expects you to ask for a raise -- and ideally is prepared to offer you one. However, doing a good job is no longer enough in many organizations. The strategies in this article are designed to prepare you better, reduce your anxiety, and help you achieve your raise and salary goals.
Short-Term Strategies for Getting that Raise
The following strategies are things you can do now if you have an upcoming review and/or want a raise sooner rather than later.
1. Develop a plan. The most important thing you can do is develop a plan for your raise meeting. Schedule an appointment rather than just walking in and asking for a raise. Have a strategy -- even develop a script you want to follow.
2. Know what you're worth. Examine all aspects of your job and then do a little research to determine your value - both inside and outside the company. Talk to someone in the human resources department and see if you can get pay scales for jobs that are similar to yours. Use a salary calculator or other salary sources and determine the salary range in your geographic area. See our Salary Resources section.
3. Be realistic. Even if you are a superstar, and even if you were hired at the very lowest starting salary, most employers will not give you a raise that pushes you to the top of the salary range in one shot. (And they'll never pay you a salary outside the range.) Most employers look at raises in terms of percentage increases.
4. Focus on what you deserve rather than what you need. Your employer doesn't care if you can't make ends meet because you just bought a new house or a new car -- that's a personal responsibility issue. Focus on why you deserve a raise -- how you've added value to the department and the organization -- rather than any personal needs for a raise.
5. Track contributions and accomplishments. Think of the raise meeting as a job interview. To get the raise you deserve, you need to demonstrate all the positive contributions you have made to the organization - not only for your boss (who should know but doesn't always), but also for whoever is the final decision-maker in deciding the size of your raise. Bring support material -- such as a spreadsheet with your accomplishments -- with you to the meeting. Consider using something like this accomplishments worksheet.
6. Demonstrate commitment to department and organization. Show how you have taken on new projects and assignments, acquired new skills, furthered your education or training, and added new certifications or degrees. Demonstrate how you add value to the department and the organization.
7. Be flexible and open to other options. Never go into a raise meeting with an ultimatum -- unless you're prepared to deal with the consequences -- and be prepared to compromise about the size of the raise. And if money is tight, consider other options/perks that you may able to negotiate for in the short-term to compensate for the lack of the raise. See sidebar (above) for some ideas. See also, Clever Ways to Get a Raise: Perks you Might Not Have Thought About.
8. Focus on the future. While you want to focus on your many accomplishments and contributions to date, you also want to show how you plan to continue contributing to helping your boss, your department, and your organization.
9. Understand the employer's position. There are many other factors besides worth that go into raises, so be sure you understand department and company politics. It's also a good idea to have an understanding of how your boss feels about raises and your standing within the department.
10. Have a strategy, but let boss take the lead. Just as with salary negotiations, you never want to state an actual amount that you want. Instead, let your boss make the first raise offer. Once an offer has been made, take a moment to consider it before you react to it. Review all negotiation strategies in our Salary and Job Offer Negotiation Tutorial.
11. Write a follow-up memo after the meeting. Once the meeting is over, write a follow-up memo summarizing the meeting, demonstrating your value, and highlighting your accomplishments -- and send the memo to your boss as documentation. If you get tongue-tied in these types of meetings, you might want to prepare the memo before the meeting and use it as a basis of negotiation in the meeting.
Long-Term Strategies for Getting that Raise
So, if you are not in a position currently to get the raise you want, what are some things you can do to prepare for a raise meeting down the road? The following strategies are things you can start doing now to build your negotiating power for that future raise.
1. Set the stage for a future review. If your boss tells you it's not a good time for a raise meeting or if you don't get everything you wanted in your last meeting, now is the time to set the stage for a future meeting. Ask your boss for suggestions on how you can improve and how you can make more contributions to the department and company so that you can get to where you want to be.
2. Raise your profile within the department/organization. We're raised as children to work hard and be modest, but you cannot assume that anyone outside yourself really knows all that you do for the organization. Begin building your brand -- your reputation -- within and beyond your department.
3. Find a mentor in the senior management of the company. Having a person higher up in the organization to mentor you is valuable for a number of reasons, but it's certainly helpful in terms of getting the raise you desire. To find a mentor, identify someone higher in the organization you admire, and test the waters by asking advice. If there seems to be rapport, begin to slowly build a mutual relationship.
4. Do a more thorough job of tracking accomplishments/achievements. If you are having trouble remembering all your accomplishments and contributions, now is the time to begin keeping a diary of all your successes. Keeping such good track will not only help you for your next raise meeting, but will have you better prepared for the job-search if the need or interest arises. Read our article, For Job-Hunting Success: Track and Leverage Your Accomplishments.
Final Thoughts
In many situations, getting the raise you deserve will indeed take a lot of planning and strategy on your part. From reading this article, you should now see that raise meetings often combine elements of job interviewing (tracking contributions and accomplishments) and salary/job offer negotiation. Take the time to be prepared -- and you'll have better success than if you don't. For a quick review of the strategies discussed in this article, read our Do's and Don'ts of Requesting a Raise. Finally, be sure and avail yourself of all the wonderful tools we have in the Salary Negotiation Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Other Possible Perks Besides a Salary Increase
Design your own incentive program. One-time bonuses are easier on companies, so consider developing a system for your boss where you challenge and push yourself with the commitment from the company to reward you for achieving various ambitious goals.

1. Consider non-cash perks, such as a compressed work week, flextime, telecommuting days, a reserved parking space, better workspace, or more vacation time.
2. Ask for career development perks, such as new work assignments, cross training, more education benefits, more professional development or conference travel money.
3. Request a change in career track or job title to better position yourself for promotions and raises in the future.

How to Stay Awake When You Need To

by: Laura Silva

"Awake Control is achieved by entering the Alpha brainwave state and using the five steps technique. The first step is acknowledging the situation by telling yourself...."

Have you ever wondered how to stay awake when you’re driving long distances, or you need to sit through a long lecture or presentation and absorb a great deal of information – but all you want to do is put your head the desk and take a nap? You know how it feels – one minute you’re wide awake and alert, and the next thing you know, you’re doing everything you can to keep your eyes open.

There is a method to staying awake anytime you need to, and it works! But first, it’s important to know the phases of sleep, why it’s sometimes easy to wake up in the morning and sometimes it feels impossible, and why certain activities actually put you to sleep no matter how awake and alert you felt when you started.

The Phases of Sleep

There are approximately four sleep phases during the night. Each one lasts about 90 minutes and takes you through the alpha, theta and delta brainwave patterns. Alpha is light sleep with active dreaming, Theta is deeper sleep, and Delta is very deep sleep. When you first go to bed at night, you spend much of the first sleep cycle in Delta (dreamless, heavy sleep). The remaining phases become progressively lighter and there is more brain activity (rapid eye movement, or REM sleep usually occurs near the end of each cycle, and is more prevalent as the night progresses). Each part of the sleep phase has distinct physiological functions. If we are awakened during the middle of a cycle, the cycle is interrupted and we experience a strong desire to go back to sleep. This is why, when we awaken in the morning, we feel refreshed and ready to wake up only if we’re finished with the current cycle!
The Silva Method teaches a wonderful technique called The Clock Exercise to wake up without alarms, and it’s a wonderful technique worth learning. It’s phase one of developing full control over your daily energy levels!

 Staying Awake When You Are Sleepy

But why is it so hard to stay awake during the day, sometimes? Why do we fall asleep during lectures and meetings? Why is it so hard to stay alert on long road trips? Developing the ability to keep yourself awake is very valuable; and you should know that it’s not “you” – it’s a normal and expected response to lack of stimulation. Falling asleep when we need to be awake isn’t because we’re necessarily bored; the subject matter may be fascinating, but it’s the presentation, and the environment, that triggers the urge to sleep. It’s the monotony that does us in!

The brain’s Reticular Activating System is the part of the brain that controls alertness and attention. When stimuli are few, the RAS signals the body to shut down; so a boring lecture, the monotony of highway driving, or any “mindless” repetitive tasks actually cause a physiological response of a strong desire to sleep. Isn’t it nice to know that you’re not alone and this is perfectly normal? Now you are aware of the power of the RAS to put you to sleep when there is a lack of stimulation. Of course every minute of the day can’t be filled with things that are stimulating, and you will experience the inevitable “down times” when the urge to sleep is irresistible. So how do you override the RAS?

How to Stay Awake When You Need To

The Silva Method teaches the Awake Control Exercise to remain awake longer – anytime! You can use the exercise when you become drowsy when driving or find yourself lulled to sleep by a repetitious task or when you need to be up late or even all night to study or finish an important project. Or, when the drone of a professor’s or presenter’s voice makes even fascinating subjects fade into the background as your eyelids start to droop. Just like the Clock Exercise, Awake Control is a form of mental training and another step toward mastery of the mind. Awake Control re-energizes you quickly and effectively for several hours.

Stay awake and get it all done!

Awake Control is achieved by entering the Alpha brainwave state and using the five steps technique. The first step is acknowledging the situation by telling yourself, “I am drowsy and sleepy.” You then set a goal, “I don’t want to be drowsy and sleepy; I want to be wide awake feeling fine and in perfect health.” You then program yourself by commanding yourself to become fully awake and alert as you count slowly from one to five – this is how you intend to solve the goal. Then, you take the action necessary to achieve the goal by slowly counting from one to five. At the conclusion of the countdown, you reinforce the command by saying, “I am wide awake, feeling fine and perfectly healthy, feeling better than before.” The last step in the five steps technique is to claim your reward – in this case, a state of alertness! You can also incorporate imagery to reinforce the command (by picturing yourself wide awake, alert and ready for action in any setting you’re having difficulty staying awake). This exercise teaches you to very effectively program your mind to work for you in achieving all of your goals!


Between the Clock Exercise, the Awake Control Exercise and the sleep-inducing Sleep Control Exercise, you have the tools to manage your sleep/wake rhythms for optimal energy, relaxation, attention, alertness and even healing, since the body does most of its repair/regeneration work during sleep. Give yourself the gift of a new superpower: the ability to sleep when you need to, and to stay awake when you need to. Imagine the possibilities – high energy when you want it, and peaceful sleep to recharge your batteries!

Learn more about how your mind works. Sign up and download a free Silva Method Starter Kit

The 7 Signs of BAD Training

 "The best advice for overcoming boring training presentations is to know your topic inside and out; create visual aids and handouts that are colorful, informative, and lively..."

by Theo Gilbert-Jamison
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Most people don’t look forward to attending training classes. Why? Because they are often facilitated by boring trainers. What many trainers fail to realize is that facilitating an interesting training session that is also memorable and lively takes lots of planning, practice, and preparation.

Whether you are facilitating a workshop for a large group or one person, you know your training session is lackluster when participants:

1. Uncontrollably yawn throughout your entire presentation. No matter how much they try, they have a hard time staying awake and energized during your presentation.

2. Keep looking at their watch. To them it seems like time is standing still, and no matter how much they try to keep track of time, your presentation feels to them like an eternity.

3. Start sidebar conversations during your presentation. Your topic is so uninteresting that they don’t hesitate to start a mini-conversation with the person sitting next to them, maybe even adding a joke or two about you.

4. Read through the entire training manual before you are finished. You belabor one point to the extent that they go ahead and just read the rest of the manual. While you are still focused on page 3, they have read all the way to page 15 just to make the time go by quicker.

5. Go to the bathroom and never come back. Once they get out of the training room, they feel a sigh of relief and feel sick at the thought of having to go back in and continue listening to you talk.

6. Doodle on your training materials. They feel that drawing is a way of escaping from your annoying, monotone voice and endless series of confusing information.

7. Have a blank stare, especially when you ask them a question. They have been daydreaming of being on some topical island throughout most of your presentation, and have no idea that you have called on them to answer a question.

The best advice for overcoming boring training presentations is to know your topic inside and out; create visual aids and handouts that are colorful, informative, and lively; animate your tone of voice so it is interesting and not monotone; don’t just stand in one section of the room, but walk around; add humor; and most of all get the audience involved by asking open-ended questions.

The Hidden Cost of an Untrained Workforce

   "Nothing ventured nothing gained is a timeless truism. Education takes investment, not just in dollars, but also in time, effort and planning..."

Jim Fitch, Noria Corporation 
Tags: industrial lubricants
 
Modern organizations call it raising the corporate IQ. Most of us have seen statistics on the lifetime financial returns of a college education. When it comes to education, a penny saved is not a penny earned, but rather green dollars forfeited - hundreds of them, all for the quest of a penny.

When it comes to lubrication and oil analysis, the unskilled and untrained workforce is deceivingly costly. These are the costs that go undiagnosed and unrecognized. What’s below the water’s surface and out of management’s view often has iceberg-like proportions. 
So why does an organization look to the maintenance payroll to make cuts in the name of survival and prosperity? For one, it’s conspicuous, like the iceberg’s tip. It is also indirect labor that is perceived as easier to sacrifice. Managers often take a Parkinson’s Law view of indirect labor, “the manpower it takes to do a job is directly proportional to the manpower available to do the job.”

We all know people who delay many projects until the last minute and then work feverishly to finish them. We also know those who start a project early enough but then subconsciously consume all the available time to complete it. 

So how does all of this relate to education? Many plants and mills across the country have gone through several cycles of downsizing. They have cut indirect labor to the bone. Parkinson’s Law no longer applies. In some cases these cuts were too deep and took their toll on morale and productivity. Instead of feeding the stars (value-generating programs like oil analysis) they starved them or terminated them entirely. The consequences of such desperate measures are usually a return to the past_increased repair cost and production losses to name a few.
 
But how does education tie in? Well, education enables management to have its cake and eat it too. It permits both cost cuts and productivity gains without the collateral damage. With labor already cut to the bone, education gives workers the figure-it-out skills to eliminate work orders proactively. Before a single man-hour is eliminated from the payroll in the name of “lean and mean,” the demand for that man-hour must be eliminated.
 
An educated workforce is an empowered workforce. Employees who are treated like company stakeholders know that waste and inefficiencies put their jobs at risk. Most of us have heard the terms precision maintenance and proactive maintenance. These are not merely abstract textbook concepts. Instead, for many organizations, especially those in mission-critical space, they are strategic imperatives. Realization occurs when human capital is transformed into intellectual capital. One company characterizes it as not just low-hanging fruit but rather gold bricks, on the ground, camouflaged from view. We need to pick up those bricks!

Nothing ventured nothing gained is a timeless truism. Education takes investment, not just in dollars, but also in time, effort and planning. So does formalized skill standards and certification. In some cases it might also take reinventing the maintenance persona. Many companies have replaced the word maintenance with reliability to punctuate a change from the practices of the past.

Management needs education too; otherwise they also won’t see the gold bricks on the ground. Very often, decision-makers who fail to embrace change and recognize potential, squash powerful new ideas. Indeed, it’s scary to invest in things we don’t understand. It’s time to understand! It’s time to start building charged-up teams of knowledge workers. Our jobs depend on it.

Jim Fitch

HOW TO PROMOTE INTERNAL TRAINING?

One important aspect a training divison should do is promotion. We mustn’t forget the opportunity to promote our wares and what a small or significant improvement we have done to make them better. This is where we say “we’re here, and we’re here to help”.
Occasionally, the case is, the training is great, if only someone would use it. Now there are many reasons why this wonder asset isn’t being used, most of the time the comment is “I didn’t know (such and such) training was available”.

Take this chance to show the rest of the team what you can do for them, what you have and why they need to continue their own development.
Vehicles for promoting your training

• Notice board: Don’t have a training notice board – get one right now. This is where your training plan and course nomination forms live. Also put up other resources (e.g. newsletters), suggestion and feedback forms, recent achievements and upcoming training opportunities.
• Ceremonies: I know that not all graduates of training enjoy the fanfare of receiving recognition in public, but it is a promotional opportunity. It tells the word what is available and rewards learning effort. It doesn’t need to go ‘all out’ and it could be a simple announcement.
• Press kit: Introduce yourselves to every new person who steps in the door and offer up your services. Give them a welcome pack that outlines what is available, where to find out more and who to contact.
• Word of mouth: Ask previous course participants for referrals. If they can spread the word and generate a buzz, it will circulate through the workplace quicker ("tell the others what you like, tell us what you don't")
• Guest presence: Attend workplace gatherings, especially those put together by your operational counter parts. You don’t actually have speak at any workplace gathering, just be there to answer questions and give out further information. You can also learn a thing or two about their needs.
• Audience with managers: Get one-on-one time with the other leaders and supervisors. Ask to help them with the performance reporting and goal setting for their direct reports. If your training becomes a part of an employees development plan, that’s a referral from the top.
• Start a newsletter: These are great for publishing the results of your efforts and the achievements of your students. It can also serve as an information pamphlet (additional resources etc), a request for feed back, an address book for contacts and a flier for upcoming events. Throw in a few work related quiz questions would be interesting!.
• Web presence: If you have an intranet, create a website. This is where your future prospects will find out what you have to offer when you’re not around to tell them yourself. This is also a great place to put additional information such as links to other web resources, recent news or fact sheets (incentive for past students to return).
• Information sessions: It doesn’t have to be a formal presentation or gathering, just make yourself available at a particular point for a particular period. Share a coffee or morning tea and even of nobody shows, it usually generates enough interest to increase your popularity for the next few days.

Promoting your efforts itself could generate interest to your activities. A well trained workforce is powerful assets; a desirable training generates a hunger to learn and motivates a team to become one.

Backstabbing in a workplace

Backstabbing, or betrayal (as by a verbal attack against one not present) especially by a false friend is pretty common in the office. It's synonyms: betrayal, business, disloyalty, double cross, faithlessness, falseness, falsity, infidelity, perfidy, sellout, treachery, treason, two-timing, unfaithfulness.

Backstabbing Quotes:

1. You start backstabbing me and going against your word, thinking "Oh she'll never find out" but guess what? I heard... (Author Unknown)

2. Why be fake? In the end, the truth comes out and when that  happens, you are standing alone. (Author Unknown) 

3. We used to be tight, then we got into a fight, I didn't exactly know what was going on and the next thing I knew you were gone. (Author Unknown)

4. If you have something to say, have dignity to look at me when you say it. (Author Unknown)

5. A narrow mind and a wide mouth usually go together. (Author Unknown)

6. Soon enough she'll meet the wrong person and finally learn her lesson on backstabbing and shut up. (Author Unknown)

7. If a girl ever steals your man, there's no better revenge than letting her keep him. 'Real Man' can't be stolen. (Author Unknown)

8. You are like a penny two-faced and worthless. (Author Unknown)

9. A lot of problems in the world would disappear if we talk to each other instead of about each other. (Author Unknown)

10. Life doesn't change, but people do. So learn to accept that not everybody is who you thought you knew. (Author Unknown)

11. If your talking about me behind my back that just means my life is obviously more interesting than yours. (Author Unknown)

12. You got nothing to lose. You don't lose when you lose fake friends. (Author Unknown)

13. I thought that we were best friends. But I guess it's time to think again. (Author Unknown)

14. I'd rather have an enemy who admits they hate me, instead of a friend who secretly put me down. (Author Unknown)

Allah's Creation for the Mankind

Allah has created mankind primarily so that they may know their creator through his creations. Realization of the supremacy of Allah, although necessary for success in the hereafter, has not been enforced on man - it is a test that is based on the fact that man has been given free will. Understanding the nature of Allah is essential as it has a substantial effect on a Muslim's duties to Allah.

The humble honeybee is an integral part of our ecosystem. Bees provide wholesome honey that nourishes our bodies and acts as a medicament for a slew of illnesses. A recent study in China proved that honey contains the highest concentration of vitamins, minerals and vital hormones to man than any other food on the face of the Earth.

The bee is also the hardest and most efficient worker in all of Allah's Creation. The bee does not even take a day off and is continuously producing honey, building amazing hexagonal hives or pollinating. Without the bee's pollination efforts all the different species of plants and trees would eventually die off. The food chain would come to a screeching and deadly halt. Without bees, vegetation cannot grow as fast or efficiently. And without vegetation for fodder, animals will die. There will be nothing left for humans to eat. Life, on this Earth, would end.

 
Water has been specially created to keep the human body alive. It reaches every point in the body, carries nutrients to all of its 100 trillion cells, and supplies them with oxygen and energy. Its viscosity level has been specially determined so that it can do all of these things. (harun yahya wallpapers) 

MashaAllah, Allah is the All-Knowing, the All-Forgiving…

Every day our taste cells come into contact with acidic foods that are hotter or colder than the body’s temperature. Hot tea, an ice-cold fruity juice, thick coffee, or bitter grapefruit juice all damage these cells to some extent. But, new cells mature in the taste buds to replace those that have completed their life’s work. Even if people are unaware of them, these processes occur so quickly that the taste cells we use at dinner are not those we use at breakfast. Who installed this renewal mechanism in your body? Have you reflected on this? (harun yahya wallpapers)

The main veins or midribs permit leaves to obtain the maximum benefit from solar rays by maintaining their rigidity. Other veins on the surface of the leaf act as a skeleton for its tissues. There is a plan and order in its design. This ain’t any sort of co-incident, but a conscious creation. (harun yahya wallpapers)

From the Book of Allah

 "Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error; whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things." - (The Qur’an, Al-Baqarah, 2: 256)

"Every soul is held in pledge for its deeds." - (The Qur'an, Al-Muddathir, 74:38)

God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was asked what type of earning was best and replied, ”A man’s work with his hand and every business transaction which is approved." Rafi‘ ibn Khadij, Mishkat al Masabih, hadith no. 2783.

"Woe to those who give short measure, who demand of other people full measure for themselves, but give less than they should when it is they who weigh or measure for others! Do these people not realize that they will be raised up on a mighty Day, a Day when everyone will stand before the Lord of the Worlds? " (The Qur'an, Al-Mutaffifin, 83:1-4)

"O you who believe! Fulfill your obligations" (The Qur'an, Al-Ma'idah, 5:1)

"If the debtor is in difficulty, then delay things until matters become easier for him; still, if you were to write it off as an act of charity, that would be better for you if you only knew."(The Qur'an, Al-Baqara, 2: 280)

On the Day of Judgment, the Prophet (saaw) will be a witness against “one who employs a laborer and gets the full work done by him, but does not pay him his wages." Abu Hurayrah, Sahih al Bukhari, hadith no. 3.430.

"O you who believe! Give of the good things which you have (honorably) earned. And of the fruits of the earth which We have produced for you, and do not even aim at getting anything which is bad, in order that out of it you may give away something, when you yourselves would not receive it except with closed eyes.(The Qur'an, Al-Baqarah, 2: 267)

(article from the Islamicworkplace.com)

Jiwa Damai

  JiwaDamai (inner peace) dan tenang terlalu penting dalam hidup. Ianya suatu yang didambakan oleh setiap orang tetapi terlalu sukar untuk dikecapi. Namun kita BOLEH membina jiwadamai... sesetengah dari kita lebih mudah dan sesetengah lagi agak payah.

Apa yang kita faham tentang jiwadamai? Ia adalah pengawalan dan disiplin diri serta kebolehan menepis gangguan luar seperti emosi, reaksi, dan tindakbalas. Ia membolehkan akal bertindak mengasingkan dunia luar agar tidak mempengaruhi dunia dalaman kita. Bayangkan selama ini, berapa kali kita dilanyak emosi, hilang sabar, marah, dan dendam? Dan berapi kali pula kita menyesal atas tindakan dan pertimbangan kita?

Pernah tak kita menjerit kepada anak-anak, suami atau isteri, rakan sekerja, atau pekerja bawahan kita? Pernah tak rasa geram kepada mereka? Suka tak kita berada di dalam situasi begini? Kenapa kita biarkan tekanan kerja, suratkhabar yang kita baca, tabloid, dan politik, mengganggu perasaan dan fikiran? Adakah obsessi dunia luar terlalu kuat sehingga kita gagal memilih apa yang kita lebih suka. Sekiranya ini berlaku, terbukti jelas kita sudah jauh dari jiwadamai...

Tanpa jiwadamai, perasaan mula memberontak, tak dapat mengawal emosi, kurang pertimbangan, banyak membazir masa dengan memikirlan solusi yang bukan-bukan. Jadi apakah ubatnya?

Bila bangun dari tidur di waktu pagi, elakkan dari memikirkan tentang bebanan dan kesukaran kerja yang menanti, sebaliknya SENYUM dan katakan pada diri "Alhamdulillah, aku diberi peluang sehari lagi insyaAllah, hari ini adalah hari yang lebih baik dan lebih indah.." Katakan juga "Allah tidak menilai hasil tetapi usaha..."dan katakan lagi "aku akan melakukan yang terbaik!", sisipkan dalam fikiran dan mainkan berulang-ulang kali.

Bermula detik bangun tidur sampai ke waktu masuk tidur semula kekalkan wawasan ini didalam hati. Ini tidak bermaksud kita harus menjadi tidak sensitif kepada persekitaran, tetapi kita hanya meletakkan sempadan agar gangguan dunia luar tidak menawan dunia dalaman.

Bila seseorang memberitahu sesuatu yang anda tak suka dengar, elakkan dari berkecil hati, marah, cuba kawal perasaan dengan menangguhkan reaksi anda. Ini bukan pula bermakna menyimpan dendam kesumat, atau membiarkan perasaan marah menggelegak  di dalam (kerana itu juga tidak baik), tetapi cuba melihat dengan perspektif yang lebih luas. Penting sangatkah apa yang dikhabarkan itu? Mengapa perkataan itu sangat mengganggu perasaan? Mungkinkah ada kebenaran? Mungkin juga ada baiknya kalau disimpan dulu jawapan, marah, dan dendam supaya boleh diolah kemudian menjadi kritikan yang membina sahsiah insan!

Ingatlah, setiap lembah yang dituruni, akan ada pendakian kembali, yang akan ada jalan keluar yang pasti! Setiap kejatuhan tentu ada kebangkitan! Seperti malam disusuri siang..  Ketetapan alam adalah lumrah kehidupan. Dengan memahami konsep ini, ianya mungkin boleh membantu menghidupkan jiwadamai..

Kebolehan mengenalpasti dugaan dan cubaan dari Tuhan semesta alam adalah kunci kehidupan dan kesyukuran.. dan akhirnya menumbuh cambahkan jiwadamai.

Mencari Ketenangan

Kehidupan hari ini menjadi semakin sukar dan mencengkam sehingga susah untuk kita mencari ketenangan..

Panduan mengatasi:

1.      Berjalanlah untuk 20 minit di kawasan tenang, bersih, sambil menghirup udara segar dan sambil tersenyum menikmati keindahan alam ciptaan tuhan.

2.      Tidur yang cukup, sebaiknya tidur dalam lingkungan pukul 10-11 malam dan bangun pada pukul 5-6 pagi. Tidur sebanyak 6-7 jam sudah mencukupi dan sebaiknya membaca doa-doa sebelum melelapkan mata.

3.      Selalulah mengunjungi majlis-majlis ilmu sama ada di masjid, surau, atau perkumpulan usrah. Di situ pasti mendapat ketenangan disamping ilmu.

4.      Lakukan hobi yang menceriakan seperti berkebun, memasak, menyulam, menulis blog, mengarang artikel atau novel, dan berbagai kegemaran yang bermanafaat.

5.      Selalu mencari info-info baru dan mempelajari ilmu baru yang lebih menarik!

6.      Luangkan lebih masa bersama anak-anak seperti membaca bersama kerana pengalaman bersama mereka selalunya indah dan menenangkan…

7.      Jangan cepat berputus-asa.

8.      Cuba menggembirakan orang yang disayangi disekeliling kita terutama keluarga.

9.      Berazamlah untuk melakukan sesuatu yang baik, dan cuba bersungguh-sungguh untuk melaksanakannya.

10.  Lupakan kepahitan masa lalu, tetapi tidak kesilapan, kerana pelajaran yang paling berkesan adalah dari kesilapan silam.

11.  Akui kesilapan sendiri namun JANGAN KECEWA melampau!

12.  Buangkan perasaan persaingan yang melampau, dan cuba bersyukur dengan kebolehan serta bakat yang anda punyai.

13.  Biasakan untuk memaafkan, walaupun kepada musuh.

14.  JANGAN BUANG MASA mengkritik dan BERSEMBANG KOSONG.

15.  Jangan terlalu memikirkan KRITIKAN ORANG, asalkan kita tahu kebenaran.

16.  Ingat! Keadaan boleh berubah bila-bila masa, jadi sentiasa bersedia dan redha.

17.  Berkawanlah dengan orang-orang yang baik, berilmu, bersopan, dan berjaya, InsyaAllah beroleh keberkatan dan kekuatan…

18.  Jangan buang masa CEMBURU pada kelebihan orang lain kerana apa yang kita ada, adalah yang terbaik! (Allah yang maha mengetahui dan maha memberi)

19.  JANGAN MALAS atau TAMAK, kuatkan semangat untuk bekerja dan yakinlah pada bakat dan kekuatan diri.

20.  Jangan menyumpah, tapi selalulah bersyukur…

21.  Amalkan sedekah dalam apa juga yang kita mampu, tenaga, masa, dan harta.

22.  Ingat, apa-apa yang kita perolehi bukan hasil usaha sendiri tetapi atas keperitan orang lain adalah tidak bernilai.

23.  Lakukan semua kebaikan kerana Allah, Usaha tanpa tawakkal adalah sombong, Tawakkal tanpa usaha, adalah angan-angan kosong!