Permit me to open the floor of this
short writing with a short story as related by Brian Tracy in his book Create
Your Own Future.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a land far away, there
lived an old man in a house on top of a hill. He had dedicated his entire life
to study and meditation. He was known far and wide for his intelligence,
sensitivity and wisdom. Politicians, businesspeople and dignitaries came to
visit him and ask him questions. His answers were always correct. He seemed to
have a special faculty that enabled him to cut to the essence of any problem or
issue. When his answers and solutions were implemented, the result was always
excellent. His fame soon spread throughout the land.
In the village below the hill was a group of boys who played
together. Sometimes they climbed the hill to visit the old man and ask him
questions, for which he always seemed have the correct answer. Over time, it
became a little game, with the boys continually trying to think of a question
that the old man could not answer. But they were never successful.
One day, the ringleader of the group, a boy named Aram,
called the others around him and said, “I have finally found a way to stump the
old man. Here in my hand, I have a bird. We will go and ask the old man if the
bird is alive or dead. If he says that it is dead, I will release it and it
will fly away. If he says that it is alive, I will crush it, and the bird will
be dead. Either way, he will at last have been proven wrong.”
Excited about the prospect of finally catching the old man
with a wrong answer, they hurried up the hill. The old man watched them coming
and noticed the eager looks on their faces. Then Aram stepped forward and
asked, “Old man, I have a bird here in my hands. Is it alive or is it dead?”
The old man looked at their mischievous, expectant faces and
then quietly said, “Aram, it is in your hands.”
You Are The Master of Your Own Destiny. You are your own
future as the topic of this speech says. Everything that happens to you is in
your hands. Your destiny is very much up to you. Your future is largely
determined by yourself, by your own choices and decisions. What you achieve is
the result of what you do, or fail to do, day-by-day and year-by-year, Brian
Tracy says further.
This is the reason why we must always watch what we do today
because today is the foundation for tomorrow. Allah says in the Holy Quran:
O ye who believe! Fear Allah; and let every soul look to what
it sends forth for the morrow. And fear Allah; verily Allah is Well-Aware of
what you do. (59: 19)
This verse of the Holy Quran
admonishes that the root-cause of all sins and troubles is neglect and
negligence. The believers here are enjoined to take care of the morrow.
Therefore, always be at alert! Do not allow indifference, procrastination,
laziness etc in your life. Your parents and your guardians have been there for
you and with you spiritually, emotionally and financially. But have they been
there with you physically? I guess, no. have they been reading with you? I guess
‘No’. If you read in their presence, have they been assimilating with you? Have
they been sitting in the class with you? Have they been writing exams for you?
No. This is the way your life will continue! They can only assist in the way we
have mentioned - spiritually by praying for you, financially by sponsoring and
taking care of you and emotionally by encouraging and advising you. To bring
the results of all these efforts is solely your responsibility. You are your
own future!
Another point to note is the kind of
company you choose to associate with. The Holy Quran has warned and directed
that we should always keep good company. The company of those that are
truthful. The company of those that will not criminally implicate us. The
company of those who will not make us regret our actions. The company of those
that will always call us to the path of virtue is what we should keep. Allah
says:
O ye who believe! fear Allah and be
with the truthful (9:119)
As a matter of fact, to keep company
with the righteous and the truthful is highly essential. It serves to remove
moral and spiritual rust from one’s heart, and exercises a very wholesome
influence on it. It leads a believer to the fountain of purity and
righteousness. It provides a moral and spiritual environment for man;
commented, the second worldwide Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadhrat
Mirza Bashir Uddin Mahmud Ahmad, may Allah be pleased with him. A Spanish proverb says, ‘If you are choosing
between bad company and loneliness, choose the second option.’ It means that it
is better to be alone than to keep bad company. You are your own future
Again, pay attention to every detail.
It pays. It is rewarding. Do not consider anything insignificant on your path
to the future. It will assist you to discern what is best for you while it will
also open doors to greatness in your favour. Let me share a story I just had
access to on a Social Media page with you:
Tayo and Kola joined a company together a few months
after their graduation from university. After a few years of work, their
Manager promoted Tayo to a position of Senior Sales Manager, but Kola remained
in his entry level Junior Sales Officer position. Kola developed a sense of
jealousy and disgruntlement, but continued working anyway. One day Kola felt
that he could not work with Tayo anymore. He wrote his resignation letter, but
before he submitted it to the Manager, he complained that Management did not
value hard working staff, but promoted only the favoured! The Manager knew that
Tayo worked very hard for the years he had spent at the company; even harder
than Kola and therefore he deserved the promotion. So in order to help Kola to
realise this, the Manager gave him a task. “Go and find out if anyone is
selling water melons in town?” Kola returned and said, "Yes there is
someone!" The Manager asked, "How much per kg?" Kola drove back
to town to ask and then returned to inform the Manager; "they are N100.00
per kg!" The Manager told Kola, "I will give Tayo the same task that
I gave you. Please pay close attention to his response!" So the Manager
said to Tayo, in the presence of Kola; “Go and find out if anyone is selling
water melons in town?” Tayo went to find out and on his return he said:
"Manager, there is only one person selling water melons in the whole town.
The cost is N500.00 each water melon and N300,00 for a half melon. He sells
them at N100.00 per kg when sliced. He has in his stock 93 melons, each one
weighing about 7kg. He has a farm and can supply us with melons for the next 4
months at a rate of 102 melons per day at N350.00 per melon; this includes
delivery. The melons appear fresh and
red with good quality, and they taste better than the ones we sold last year.
He has his own slicing machine and is willing to slice for us free of charge.
We need to strike a deal with him before 10am tomorrow and we will be sure of
beating last year's profits in melons by over N2, 300,000.00. This will contribute positively to our overall
performance as it will add a minimum of 8.78% to our current overall sales
target. I have put this information down
in writing and is available on spreadsheet. Please let me know if you need it
as I can send it to you in fifteen minutes." Kola was very impressed and
realised the difference between himself and Tayo. He decided not to resign but
to learn from Tayo.
Above all, be prayerful if you do not
want Allah to abandon you.
May your now and your future be fruitful
more than your expectations. Aameen.
Thank you for reading. Do not forget: You are your own future
