by Shah Saleem Faruqi – The Star 11 January 2012
An excerpt from the article written by the Emeritus Professor of Law
at UiTM and Visiting Professor at USM.
Nice
one and inspiring too. Happy reading.
Success is a matter of personal perception. To some people, wealth, power, influence and
status are the tests of having made it. To
others – success is to bring sunshine into the lives of others. When you do that, some of that sunshine will
illuminate your life as well.
Whatever your concept of success is, its attainment is rooted in some
conducive mental attitudes and a great deal of planned, hard work.
Visualising and envisioning:
You must envision, constructively imagine and role-play whatever you wish to
be.
Dreams are the foundation of reality.
If you can dream it, you can achieve it.
Any fulfillment is, of course, subject to your courage and discipline to
act on your dreams and materialize them into concrete actions. Kipling’s admonition must be remembered: “If you can dream and not make dreams your
master. If you can think but not make
thoughts your aim”.
Daily planning: On a daily basis, plan your schedule. Fill
every minute with 60 seconds of distance run.
Sail in a chartered course. Do
not drift in the wind and the waves.
Act on, not just react to, things as they come. Do not let others lead you by the nose. Do not count on luck. Luck is what happens when preparation meets
opportunity.
Mapping the road ahead: Careers
are like ladders with many rungs. Map
out the steps. Fix time frames. Periodically review your progress towards
your long-term goals.
Intensity: There must be an intensity of commitment, a
fire, a burning desire, an over-riding, if not single-minded, determination to
attain your goals.
Ambition: Think big.
Do not settle for too little.
Make plans to reach the sky. If
you land on the clouds, that’s OK.
Strive harder next time.
Faith in God: When confronted by inevitable storms, trust
God. God does not burden any soul with
more than it can bear.
Self-confidence: We are all specks of dust in the
universe. This necessary humility can,
however, go hand in hand with a self-confidence that everything is attainable
if we strive hard enough.
We must doubt our doubts but not our beliefs. We must remember that attitude, more than
aptitude, determines our altitude.
Discipline and hard work: Work is part of worship and must be given the
same type of devotion. Hard work
compensates for lack of genius. Many
ordinary people achieve extraordinary things because they toil through the night
while the world sleeps. Genius is 10%
inspiration; 90% perspiration. A toiling
tortoise can beat a heady hare.
Over the course of four decades, I have seen scores of extremely
intelligent people fail in their endeavours because they lacked the humility
that drives hard work; the discipline
and planning that ensures progress; and the courage and persistence that
overcome odds.
In most challenges in life, natural talents do not take us very
far. Discipline does.
Passion: Whatever you do , do well. Let reason be the rudder and passion the
sail. There are no small jobs; only
small people. There is honour in every
profession provided we put our heart and soul into it and do ordinary things
extraordinarily well.
It is often the case that those who do small jobs meticulously are
likely to confront major challenges majestically.
Do not wait for ideal conditions:
Do not wait for the perfect time to start building on your dreams. External conditions will never be ideal. We have to make do with what we have. The wind often changes for the better once we
set sail. It is our inner determination
that makes the world stand aside to let pass a man who knows where he is going.
Show-case your talents: At a place of work, substance and form, isih dan gaya, the ability to be
relevant, as well as to seem competent, are all equally important. Don’t be like the peacock that dances in the
jungle but is not seen by anyone.
Find sophisticated and civilized ways to show-case your talents. Polish up your communication and PR skills so
that your hard work and competence will be known.
Rewards come in many ways: It is natural to expect appreciation and
recognition. However, one must remember
that in the workplace there are rivalries, jealousies and injustices. As in the outside world, so in the workplace,
justice does not usually prevail. If the
rewards do not come when they are due, remember that God is watching. His justice will one day prevail.
Work never goes to waste. A competent
man is like the moon. Clouds can hide
the moon for a while but in the end the beams of light will break through and
the world will be filled with their luminescence. Remember also that hard work with sincerity
is nourishing for the soul and good for health.
The rewards of hard work are long term, internal and intangible. We all know that of all the things that
matter in life, most are not things.
Success and failure: Success is never final. It is a journey, not a destination. It is a continuing process of repeating ,
reinforcing past accomplishments and conquering new challenges by adapting to a
changed world. Success is sustained
effort over time and persistence in the face of hurdles. It is an attitude of “I think I can”. It is the courage to treat adversity as an
opportunity. It is the willingness to
regard every dare as a door.
Falling down does not amount to failure. Failure is to stay down. Falling down is never fatal. Life breaks all of us. The thing to do is to learn from our failings
and to emerge stronger where we’re broken.
Happiness: To seek inner peace,
live simply. Richness is not the accumulation
of wealth but the smallness of needs.
Think deeply. Act nobly. Leave the world a better place than you found
it. Learn from people you admire.
“Lives of great men all remind us:
we can make our lives sublime and departing leave behind us, footprints
on the sands of time.”