You are Your Own Future

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