Quote of the Month

 

Vision Retreat Workshop

 


Last week I conducted couple of Strategic Visions workshops at two different locations, where I had close to 50 individuals from different walks of life including senior & seasoned businessmen, industrialists, chartered accountants, medical doctors, few startup CEOs, IT professionals, educationists and most inspiring was nation builders (mothers) and young students.

Yesterday morning I was reflecting upon these last two events I conducted with these amazing people and my interaction with some of them, the regrets I listened to and the hopes some of them are aspiring for. I would just like to share with you some of the insights from one of these interactions with the intention of we may learn something out of this.

One of the industrialist who was attending the session requested me a personal meeting in which I found out that his group is one of the leading groups in the industry they operate in and their exports worth few hundred million dollars a year, having thousands of people employed and many factories that they run and it’s a big business Masha’Allah.

I was thinking that this man may want to discuss some issues related to his business and would request me for advice. But to my surprise, the whole discussion was related to the personal emptiness that he has been going through for years, the issues at home and terrible psychological situation his young boy is in. All of this is killing him every day. For the world, he and his group is a successful enterprise making millions, but behind the curtain is the picture, most people don’t know about.

I was shocked after hearing to his painful story, the crux of which is this is absence of true meaning in his life. He has disclosed that since young age, he used to think that the business and money is everything in this world and it can buy him whatever he wants. But he didn’t realize that money can’t buy meaning, which is associated with a worthy vision and sound purpose, without which you ultimately feel vaccum inside and to the extent where you have millions of dollars in your account, but every day is heavier than the previous day in your life.

His 20 year old son is not interested at all in studies and business, in fact in life. He is going through psychiatric treatment with heavy medicines as he is unable to figure out the purpose of life. He said that seeing my son is a painful thing every day.

He broke and said that I provided every facility of life to myself and family that a man can imagine, but then why I am not happy? Why I need to take medicines? And why I don’t like go to work. The numbers no more inspire me, the expensive vehicles are no more making my son happy and it’s a miserable life! This workshop has given me a chance to examine the way of my life and can you help me find the right direction as I’ve surely taken the wrong route!

This is just a brief note of my hours long discussion with him, but I hope you can get an idea of how the life could be without a worthy vision and a purpose. I’m trying to help him out with my limited knowledge, but after interacting with more than 10,000 people in last 18 years of my professional career, one thing is coming back to me again and again i.e.

“A life without a vision is like a journey without a destination.”


Second realization that I had was most people have visions, but they’re just self centered and if you’re only being self centered by focusing on what you want and obtain personally or selfishly, the scope of your vision is much much smaller.

As a result of this, metaphorically, you begin to live in a very small world. However, when you realize that the sustainable ultimate success is about reaching out beyond your own ego and needs, sometimes go out of the way, by helping others attain their visions, then the horizon of your life starts to expand.

When I say to go beyond your personal needs, I don’t mean to say that fulfilling own needs is a bad thing. All I want to say is to keep the horizon of life broader and have your personal needs and wealth part of it, instead of just focusing on personal needs. In other words, instead of living to eat, we should eat to live and should live for a greater purpose.

The other extreme approach is just leave all yours and your family’s needs and focus on others and I have also seen people operating in life like this and suffer. I will hopefully share some of those stories sometime later possibly.

I know many times people find it difficult to understand, but life is a big teacher as it teaches us many things in its own way. On the other hand, we can learn a lot by history and the examples like the man I wrote about, around us. I’m a supporter of having a balanced approach where your success in one area of your life should not be at the cost of another area of your life.

We need growth in businesses, but not just to accumulate wealth, but for a higher purpose, to use our businesses, competencies and the blessings we’re bestowed upon by Allah (swt) to make this world a better place to live and consequently our aakhirah (hereafter) will be better. Because in the end, the way to aakhirah goes through this dunya that you cannot skip any way!

I wish you success in both worlds. Stay blessed!


 


Yameenuddin Ahmed has been associated with Timelenders since 2004 as one of its key leaders in the area of life transforming trainings, coaching, and counseling. To date, Ahmed has helped thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations in developing worthy and powerful visions and in bringing order, enhancing character, and improving performance in personal and professional living. (Read more)


 

 


 

Strategic Time Management

Center for Innovation in Medical Education, AKUH, Karachi (Pakistan)

04 - 06 March, 2016

 

Strategic Visions

Center for Innovation in Medical Education, AKUH, Karachi (Pakistan)

18 - 20 March, 2016

 

Stress Management

Marriott Hotel, Karachi (Pakistan)

20 March, 2016

 

Vision Retreat

Hotel Bangi, Putrajaya (Malaysia)

26 - 29 March, 2016

 



 

Effective Leadership through Character

Marriott Hotel, Karachi (Pakistan)

06 - 07 February, 2016

 

Strategic Time Management

Marriott Hotel, Karachi (Pakistan)

12 - 14 February, 2016

 

Bridging Differences

Faletti's Hotel, Lahore (Pakistan)

12 - 13 February, 2016

 

Sleep Management

Faletti's Hotel, Lahore (Pakistan)

14 February, 2016

 

Where Do You Want To Go?

Faletti's Hotel, Lahore (Pakistan)

14 February, 2016

 

Strategic Visions

Center for Innovation in Medical Education, AKUH, Karachi (Pakistan)

19 - 21 February, 2016

 

Stress Management

The Indus Hospital, Karachi (Pakistan)

24 February, 2016

 

Strategic Visions

Faletti's Hotel, Lahore (Pakistan)

26 - 28 February, 2016