Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

| Insights, Personal Insightsby

Lately, I have been thinking whether someone can become a millionaire if he follows a template. A template that is advertised in hundreds of articles and YouTube videos. Many books have been written on this topic as well. All of them ‘promise’ to make you a ‘millionaire’. But I guess the million-dollar question (no pun intended) is whether they actually work or not.

The recipe for becoming a millionaire has many ingredients. Like being at the right place at the right time with the right skill set. Persistence and hard work are also quoted as necessary. These ingredients are either purely based on luck or need a massive amount of willpower to pursue.

For me, however, the most important ingredient to the ‘Becoming a Millionaire’ recipe is ‘Risk Appetite’ which almost no one talks about.  

Most of the existing millionaires who promise that they started their business from zero are mostly lying. They didn’t start from zero. They had good support from their family. And did not face the risk of famine or losing shelter if their idea didn’t materialize. Their risk appetite, in other words, was pretty high.

The few who did start from zero were already on the streets. Things were so bad for them that they could only go up. The ingredients of hard work, being at the right place at the right time with the right skills, being persistent, etc all worked for them. They had nothing to lose. But even for these rags-to-riches cases, the success rate is not very cherishable. Millions (again no pun intended) worldwide, fell through the cracks. Things just didn’t work out for them and they stayed in rags and way below the poverty line.  

The problem comes for the majority of people (like me) who fall in the middle class of society. They neither have the cushion to protect their fall nor are hardened by a very tough life. They are used to comfort and a bit of luxury. People belonging to the middle class know that if they lose a few paychecks they are probably going to land on hard ground. Their families cannot support them forever. All they can do is enter a cycle of school > college > university > job/small business > marriage > kids > retirement. And then their kids start the same cycle. In the first half of the cycle i.e. school > college > university, the kids are helped by their parents, and in the post-retirement phase, the parents are helped by the kids. Or, the parents, if they had a long and prosperous career and were a bit wise with their spending and savings would have developed a safety net which includes a home and some savings to take them through the final days of their life.  

This cycle is so constrained that hardly anyone can break out of it. Thus any amount of ‘self-help’ or ‘motivation’ to become a millionaire cannot break this cycle. Each generation of a family has to have long and prosperous careers for at least 3 generations to break the middle-class barriers and enter into the elite class. The class where safety cushions are available for their children to take risks and work on their ideas. But before the barrier can be broken if a family loses a skilled bread earner, they would face the potential risk of going below the poverty line.  

So it is not the lack of persistence, hard work, ideas, skills, etc that prevent us from entering the millionaire club. It is rather our risk appetite, which is very low, that prevents us from breaking into the millionaire club. Maybe in a more people-friendly government that protects the middle class through free education for kids, affordable housing, health care, etc more and more middle-class families can take the risk, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.

So my life has entered a phase, where content promising me ‘millions’, does not hold any attraction anymore. I do not find myself participating in the race of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’. The formula for me is to develop gratitude for all that Allah has given to me, work hard, develop enough skills, and balance my income & expenses to have enough savings. I am not complaining. Alhamdulillah the formula has worked well for me and has given me more than I deserved and it would be something that I would be teaching my kids.  

How To Manage Your Finances Without Stress

| Insights, Personal Insightsby

You cannot control your income, but you can control your expenses. This live-within-your-means is the best financial advice you will ever receive. And one that will save you from many financial problems and overall stress in the future. In this blog, I give some general tips around this one piece of advice.  

Make Your Monthly and Annual Budgets 

A budget is a plan. You need to start by planning how you will spend your money in the next month. You cannot manage something that is not written down. So write down your plan. I recommend writing your monthly and annual budgets in Excel since it does all the needed calculations and groupings.  

Start by writing your income that you expect to receive next month. Income should be written with a positive sign, and expenses should be written with a negative sign. The expenses can go in broad categories like Rent, Utility Bills, Education, Grocery, Eating Out, Misc, Savings, Installments, etc.  

Once done, a quick summation of this entire column will reveal whether overall, you are in the positive or the negative for the month. Positive is good as it means that your income is more than your collective expenses. And negative is bad because it means that your expenses are more than your income.  

If you are in the positive then a broad grouping of expenses will be fine but if you are in the negative or too close to being in the negative then more detailed categories would be needed e.g. Utility Bills can be broken into Gas, Electricity, Phone etc. 

Once you have written the budget in a single column for the entire month, copy/paste the column to have the budget for the remaining 12 months. Now you have a single column for each month with the same heads for income and expenses. Add/Edit some expenses/income which is quarterly or annual e.g. Bonus, Quarterly School Fees, etc. E.g. if School Fees are expected in March, then they should be added in March.  

Now the budget for the entire year is in front of you. Again, a simple summation (but this time for the entire year) would reveal whether you are in the positive or negative for the entire year. You would also be able to see which of the months are going to be heavy and you might be going in the negative in those months.  

If annually you are in the positive but in some months due to quarterly expenses you fall in the negative then mark those months and make a plan for them. If you are in the negative both on a month-on-month basis and annual then you would need some serious adjustments.

Record Your Expenses As They Happen 

In the Excel file create a separate sheet to record the expenses as they happen during the month. For each expense make sure to mention the ‘Expense Category’ which should be linked to the name of the expense in your monthly/annual budget sheet. This linking of the expenses with your budget will allow you to improve your budget planning.   

If you are in the negative 

If you are in the negative, meaning your expenses are greater than your income, then you are in the red which means that you would need to make some serious adjustments. The goal is to make your expenses less than your income. Remember, that reducing your expenses is much easier than increasing your income. Depending upon how serious the situation is you might need to seriously think about lifestyle changes and/or having difficult conversations with those around you. Some expenses need to be reduced and some need to be dropped altogether. Take your family and your kids in confidence and set the right expectations for them about money and expenses. You would find this conversation difficult initially but very liberating once you have had it.  

Cutting your expenses does not mean that you should not try to increase your income. It is always good to have multiple income streams or get a salary increment or bonus etc. But again, that is hardly under your control. You cannot as easily increase your income as you can decrease your expenses. So focus more on cutting down your expenses.  

Also while multiple income streams might be a good idea it means more work and effort, which may have a negative impact on your health and family life.  

Similarly avoid going into needless investments like buying property or paying installments for a bigger car, if that is going to take you into the negative OR bring your expenses close to your income. As a rule of thumb you should have at least 6 months of your monthly expenses before you start thinking about investments. 

In conclusion under no circumstances allow your expenses to pass your income. Have a healthy gap between your income and expenses since you would need to account for inflation and other unforeseen expenses. Also the closer your expenses start moving towards your income, the more needless mental strain you are inviting onto yourself.  

Delegate The Expense Heads 

If the monthly/annual budgeting and expense recording exercise sounds like too much work for you, then you can always delegate the expense heads amongst your family. E.g. Grocery and Domestic Expenses go to your wife. Tuition Fees, Transport, and Pocket Money go to your children. Etc.  

Delegation would not only free up your mind but also make your children more responsible. Task them on preparing the budget for their expense head, negotiating it with you, and then recording the expenses. If the kids are responsible enough you can even give the entire budgeted amount at the beginning of the month.  

Think Twice about Fixed Expenses 

Fixed Expenses do not change over the period. E.g. Rent, School Fees, etc are fixed expenses. Think twice before introducing a fixed expense in your budget. Because there is no way you would be able to control or reduce this expense for the month or year.  This includes car installments, property investments, etc. No matter what you do, you cannot get out of your Fixed Expenses.  

Include Sadqa as your Budget Expense 

Include Sadqa (Charity) as an expense in your budget sheet. If you are in the negative reduce your other expenses to make way for it. If you are just in the positive, then add a very small amount but do add it. And if you are substantially in the positive then allocate a percentage of your total income as Charity.  

A good way to decide on the amount or percentage that you would disperse monthly as Sadqa is to see which number bothers you just a little. E.g. if you earn 5,000 dollars a month, ask yourself whether 5 dollars a month as Sadqa bothers you or not. If not, start increasing it till you reach an amount that starts bothering you a little. Suppose that amount is 100 dollars which is 2% of your income. Reduce that by just a little e.g. 90 or 95 and start giving it as Charity every month.  

Over the months you would find that you are feeling okay about the 95 dollars and it is not bothering you anymore. Time to increase that amount by just a little that it starts to bother you. 😊 If you still have a healthy gap between your income and expense start increasing the amount till the point that it starts to just bother you.  

Start dispersing Sadqa at the beginning of the month. If you do not support a charitable cause where you can send the entire amount at the beginning of the month, then just keep the amount separately and be on the lookout for any worthy causes during the month and disperse the amount immediately when you come across it. 

Having a planned/budgeted amount, even if it is as little as 1 or 5 dollars would put you on the path of availing the numerous benefits of charity, which I would discuss in another blog.

Include Savings as your Budgeted Expense 

Another important expense that is not an expense but something you need to plan is your ‘Savings’ or ‘Investments’. Initially, your savings target should be to save as much as 6 months of your most important expenses. Once that ‘Savings’ amount is available then start to reserve an amount that you invest in long-term assets. Investment is a topic that I would probably cover in another blog but over here just consider reviewing how much amount you can reserve in the ‘Investments’ expense category.  

One reason that I am calling ‘Investment’ as an ‘Expense’ is because you should not be thinking about pulling your money out of your investments, which means that the amount reserved for investment should be forgotten for the next 3-5 years.  

Envelopes 

This is an age-old expense/budget management exercise. And I am sure most of you are already aware of it. The idea is to divide your income in separate envelopes corresponding with each expense head that you have defined in your budget.  

If making envelopes is too old a practice for you, then check with your bank whether they have something called virtual accounts or ‘Saving Plans’. This allows you to create linked accounts with your main account and at the start of the month either automatically or manually you can move your income into these accounts. So whatever remains in your main account is so low that you stop having any ideas that might lead you towards impulse buying.  

Stay away from impulse buying.  

A fat bank balance might provoke you to buy things that you don’t need. If you are moving your income into different accounts and investments, in the end, you might not have enough money remaining in your account to give you funny ideas about changing your mobile phone or buying a new accessory for your car.  

Whenever you need to buy something ask the questions ‘Do I actually need this?’ or ‘Do I have something similar’, ‘How is it going to help me?’. This would put a block between you and the salesman throwing his pitches. Think before you buy! 

Conclusion 

This might not be an exhaustive list of advice that covers everything. I do realize that everyone has their own unique circumstances and lifestyles. But these tips have helped me a lot over the years. Feel free to share any ideas and suggestions in the comments section.  

Kensington Station, Platform Nine

| Flash Fictionby

I remember how I enjoyed writing poems when I was growing up. After almost 30 years, I thought to give it a try again 🙂

Kensington Station, platform Nine 
Alone she stood in a crowd 
Though her lips pasted a smile 
Her eyes cried out aloud 

She talked as women talk 
About her husband, kids, and home 
Her pet bird a lonely hawk 
And How she never felt alone 

She looked at her watch 
As trains passed her by 
Passengers board one by one 
Waving her Goodbye 

Alone now, she sat silently 
A silence words can never fill 
She thought about her dead family 
Their graves under the dark hill 

Kensington station, platform nine 
Full of tragedies untold 
Stories different from yours and mine 
Stories now dead and cold 

5 Ways to Effectively Remember What You Read

| Be Productive, Reading & Writingby

Let us talk about a common problem that most readers face. How to remember what they read?

1. Pick the Book that you are most curious about.

I always have hundreds of books on my ‘To Read’ list. But my next book is always the one that intrigues me the most. When you are curious you have many questions you want answered, which means your brain is prepared to accept and store related information.  This active, unforced participation of the brain cells results in enhanced comprehension and retention.  

2. Read the table of contents and the Preface before you start the book

The preface of a book would help you form an idea of the author’s writing style and most importantly how he plans to explore the topic. Additionally, it might also give you an idea of his worldview.

From the table of contents, you can find the list of sub-topics included in the book and their arrangement. This helps to create a map of the book in your brain and at any point in time you would know where you are, where you have been, and where you are headed. This sense of awareness will give you added focus helping you to retain more information than otherwise.

3. Do Not Speed Read

Rather than develop their understanding most people prefer speed reading. Research, meanwhile, has shown that the faster you read the less you understand.

So quit speed reading. You can be very selective when choosing a book to read. But once you have selected a book, prepare yourself to spend time with it. Give pauses and take breaks to let passages synch into your brain. Think about what you are reading. Question. Argue. Agree. Disagree.  Relate. All of this would increase your retention. Re-read any passages you find unclear.

The only times that I would suggest speed reading or even skipping portions is when you feel that the author is being repetitive.  

4. Summarize in Your Own Words

Summarize each chapter in your own words. Highlighting is great, but it’s even better when you add your notes explaining why the highlighted section is important to you. At the end of each chapter and the book, try writing a summary that includes both the author’s views and your thoughts. Which parts do you agree or disagree with the author? Which parts do you relate to the most? This active engagement helps you remember the content long after you’ve finished the book.

5. Compile The Notes.

Compile your notes on a single page. I prefer OneNote but you can use any tool that works for you. While compiling you may want to add more text to an existing note. Edit them if needed. Arrange them. Include the chapter and book summaries as well. This revision will help to reinforce the notes in your memory. Plus, these notes will help you whenever you need a refresher. You can quickly glance at your notes and jog your memory.

I hope you list this short checklist. If there are some tips that you follow to remember the information, do share in the comments below.

Khushoo and Khuzu

| A Better Muslim, Be Productive, Faith & Life, Personal Insights, The Pakistan Dreamby

Khushu and Khuzu are the essential states during Salah/Namaz. Some scholars have even called it obligatory. However, the most common view that most scholars have taken is that the benefits of Salah will start if it is offered with Khushu and Khuzu.

Khushu means to be in a state where your heart and mind are empty of all thoughts and you are fully focused on what you are reading in Salah. And Khuzu is a state in which the body stays still and avoids any type of extra motion e.g. scratching, yawning, flinching, or moving needlessly.

A Salah offered with Khushu and Khuzu has many benefits. The benefits can be felt more than they can be explained.

Khushu and Khuzu can be obtained in many different ways. Khuzu, the stillness of the body can be easily achieved by trying and making an effort.

Khushu, however, requires more inner work. Khushu that is the emptying of mind and heart from all thoughts, can be achieved by

  1. Moving your mind from the thoughts that are generated in your mind to the words that you or the Imam are reciting.
  2. Memorizing new Surahs or portions of Surahs with meaning and reciting them during Salah.
  3. Telling yourself that Allah is much bigger than the thoughts being generated in your mind.
  4. Imagine that you are meeting Allah or that one day you will meet Allah.

Salah is the connection between us and Allah and the stronger that connection is, the more beneficial it would be for us. If we want to realize The Pakistan Dream we need to make an effort to offer Daily Salah with Khushu and Khuzu.

Beyond Politics: The Real Right to Rule

| A Better Muslim, Faith & Life, Insights, Politics, The Pakistan Dreamby

Political debates are pretty common in our country. Usually, they’re about “who is better for Pakistan.” Rarely do they focus on “what is better for Pakistan.” If we look at the manifestos of all political parties, military rulers, and even caretakers, we’ll find a few common themes: education, poverty alleviation, increasing exports, stronger defense, more jobs, and fighting corruption. But if we dig deeper into their hidden agendas, it all comes down to one question: “How do I come into power and how do I stay in power forever?”

My point is that none of these published or unpublished manifestos, really serve Pakistan because they fail to answer one crucial question: “Who has given us the right to rule?” This question matters because we are accountable to whoever gave us that right.

In the Quran, Allah says:
…Allah gives His kingship to whom He wills. (2:247)

This means that Allah gives us the right to rule, making the rulers accountable to Allah and Allah alone. Not to the establishment or judiciary. Not to the various mafias in real estate, agriculture, retail, or sugar. Not to the various superpowers or ‘brotherly’ Arab countries. Not even to the people of Pakistan. The rulers are accountable to Allah and Allah alone. And the reason that the right to rule is given by Allah, is to implement the laws that He has mentioned in the the Quran and Sunnah.

This important factor is not just ignored by our ruling elite but also by us. We too have been given a right to rule—a right to rule over our families, homes, and employees. And most importantly, a right to rule our own lives. We too are required to implement the laws of Allah in the domains that are given under our control.

The real change will come in our lives and our country when we accept this one important fact: Our lives, our children, our money, our fame, our rules, are all given by Allah and Allah alone. And they have been given to us for a reason, which is to implement the dos and don’ts as specified by Allah in the domains that we rule over. Have we done so? And if not, what right do we have to criticize someone who has not implemented them? What right do we have to criticize the rulers of our country? In Pakistan, implementing the laws of Islam is not difficult. In fact, they are quite easy and facilitative. If we still have not implemented these laws or agreed to implement them, then as far as I am concerned, we have no right to criticize anyone else, be it our neighbors, friends, or even our political elite. Everyone is busy disobeying Allah, and we are Everyone.

The Wonders of Quran – 1

| Faith & Life, Wonders of Quranby

Living the Pakistani dream means having a strong connection with the Holy Quran. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had made it clear that Pakistan would be a state where the laws of the Quran and Sunnah would be implemented and followed. That was the basis of the Two Nation Theory as well. In this blog series, I will relate to my journey of connecting with the book of Allah – The Holy Quran.

The Holy Quran was revealed by Allah on HIS messenger Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) almost 1400 years ago. Before the Quran, Allah had revealed the Torah on Prophet Musa (Moses), Psalms (Zaboor) on Prophet Dawood (David), and the Gospel (Injeel) on Prophet Isa (Jesus) (peace be upon them all).  The present-day Bible is believed to be a combination of the Torah, Psalms, and the Gospel. All the holy books were revealed hundreds of years before the Quran.  

Quran was revealed in the Arabic language. It has a little over 600 pages and around 77,000 words. The Quran is arranged in 114 Chapters (Surahs). The chapters are arranged in around 30 Juzs or parts.  

Starting from my early teens I have been attending the Taraveeh Prayers during the holy month of Ramadan in Masajids, all over the world. I remember being amazed at how the Qura (reciters) could recite the entire Quran from just their memory. It was probably from that time that the many wonders of the Holy Quran started to appear before me. Almost 30 years later, as I write these words, the Holy Quran has not stopped to amaze me. Recently, while reading Maariful Quran, I found that many books have been written on the wonders and miracles of the Holy Quran. In itself, it is a wonder that the Holy Quran has had this effect on so many people before me and I am sure so many people will continue to feel the same after me as well.  

I hope that you enjoy reading this series, as I enjoy diving deeper into the wonders of the Holy Quran.

Asking Questions

| Insightsby
Asking Questions

Lessons from Talks of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thavni

When a question is asked, the sincerity of the seeker should be judged. If the seeker has a genuine intention of following, then he can be answered. Otherwise, we can respond with “I don’t know” or “Ask this question later” etc

Similarly, when we are asking questions, we should evaluate our sincerity and intention as well. And only ask questions with the sincere intention of following. Otherwise, we would have wasted our time and the time of our Shaykh.

The Long Road Ahead

| Be Productive, Insights, The Pakistan Dreamby

The long road ahead is not covered by hard work or perseverance, but by breaking it down into smaller, manageable chunks. Make the chunks so small that moving from one to another will seem effortless. Putting effort into something requires too much effort (duh), so why put so much strain on your body and mind? Just be consistent and keep making smaller strides toward your destination. Once you reach the destination, people will admire your stamina, perseverance, and hard work, while you will be looking for the next long road…

Lessons on greed from Abha

| A Better Muslim, Insights, Saudia Arab, Travelby
View from Dahab Walkway Abha

Whenever you embark on a journey, the unfamiliar surroundings and challenges can serve as profound teachers. The lessons learned in such moments are often etched into your memory, as they come amidst the backdrop of perseverance and a tested spirit. In a foreign land where roads and pathways are unfamiliar, and your mind and body may feel defeated, it is your soul that propels you forward. Nature, in these moments, imparts lessons that penetrate not just your body and mind but directly enter into your soul, leaving lasting imprints.

During my trip to Abha last year, I encountered a valuable lesson that shed light on a hadith I had heard many times before but now understood on a deeper level.

On a crisp morning, my wife and I ventured onto the Al Dahab walkway. The view was stunning. The mountains that surrounded us were a spectacle, with layers resembling the folds of a fully opened curtain, gracefully curved. Stretching as far as the eye could see, these majestic mountains framed the landscape. Between them, roads snaked through the terrain, accentuating the awe-inspiring beauty of the scene. However, what truly captivated me was the deep valleys nestled between the mountains. These valleys were so profound that the cars traversing the roads below appeared minuscule, resembling tiny mice scurrying through the vastness.

It was at that time that the hadith on greed raced into my mind.

“If the children of Adam possess a valley of gold, (still), he would wish that he has two valleys. And his mouth would never be filled except with sand. And whosoever makes Taubah to Allah azza wa jall, his Taubah would be accepted.”

(Bukhari; Muslim Shareef)

Standing on the sidelines, I imagined the valley in front of me, filled with gold, but not being enough. I thought about my yearning for just a ‘little’ bit more so that I may fulfill some more of my desires. I thought about millionaires aspiring to be billionaires and billionaires wanting more. Nothing, it seems, is ever enough for us. This thought made me realize that this perpetual desire for accumulation could be a profound spiritual ailment. At that moment, I made a heartfelt dua to Allah, pleading,

‘Ya Allah, protect me from such an illness, for I do not know how to protect myself’.

Standing there I started counting what I had and thanking Allah for each blessing. I started comparing my luxurious life with people with far less and still being happy and thankful for what they had. I started to think about how all of these blessings are not because of my effort but only because of the profound blessings of Allah.

Lessons from nature have a unique way of penetrating the soul, leaving us with insights that linger long after the journey has ended. This encounter, at least for me, served as a reminder to appreciate the blessings we have and to guard against the insatiable desire for more.

On Reading Books To Gain Knowledge

| Personal Growth, Reading & Writing, The Pakistan Dreamby

Introduction

To realize The Pakistan Dream you need to gain a lot of knowledge and develop many new skills. To do that effectively you would need to read many books. Some books might be assigned to you as part of a college/university course while you might choose others to develop your understanding in a particular area. For you to read, understand, and remember hundreds of books that you will read throughout your life, you would need to develop your reading skills. In this blog, I will be sharing some tips on how you can do that.

How to classify the books you want to read?

While you might not have much say about books that are assigned to you as compulsory reading, there should be a method to select the books that you choose to read. Irrespective of the classification of books in libraries and bookstores, it will be better to categorize your reading list into categories that are meant to answer the basic question of ‘Why you want to read a particular book’. ‘Adler Mortimer’ in ‘How to Read a Book’ categorizes them into

Books meant to entertain you. These would be fiction novels of various genres like fantasy, drama, mystery, poetry, etc. They are meant to be read to enhance your imagination and emotions. I also include non-fiction books on history, politics, biographies, etc. in this category, since I read them for entertainment.

Books that are meant to provide information. These are the books, magazines, or newspaper articles that provide the latest information and updates about topics that you already understand and have some level of expertise. In my case, articles and books on Information Technology, Leadership and Management, etc. are the ones which I read to update myself as I already have considerable understanding about these subjects.

Books that are meant to enhance knowledge. These are books on topics that you do not understand e.g. for me, these would be books on financial investments as I am interested in increasing my understanding of the subject but currently know way too less about it.

About the books read to enhance your knowledge

For the books that you read to enhance your knowledge, it is important to remember the quote of Francis Bacon in his essay ‘Of Studies’ where he mentions that some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.

It will be good to understand what is meant by taste, swallowing, and digesting a book.

Tasting a book means a superficial reading of the book. You skim through the book rapidly picking up the main ideas or some practical tips. You can highlight the important parts. Nowadays with the introduction of ChatGPT, I just ask the AI engine to summarize the book and highlight the important parts.  

Swallowing a book would mean more intense reading to try and grasp the ideas and arguments presented in the book.

Digesting a book would mean not only reading the book but also contemplating it. Such books present ideas that are new to you possessing the ability to evolve and upgrade your thinking. Generally, such books would give you a new way of thinking or even motivate you to alter your lifestyle.

Increasing your net worth

Your knowledge will increase when you read books on areas that you know nothing or little about. The more varied areas you gain understanding and knowledge about, the more connections you would be able to form in your brain and come up with better solutions to problems that you or society faces. Reading such books would be the difference between you and your peers who prefer to read only novels, newspapers, or worse – social media feeds. Let me give you a simple example.

Suppose you are a fresh graduate of computer sciences with a major in software development. Besides your knowledge of software development and deployment, if you can invest time to read a book and learn about the basics of accounting and finance, your net worth will increase immediately. As it makes you capable of either making a new or understanding existing software on finance and investments, much more easily than your peers who only know software development. Software such as SAP or Oracle Financials are critical for the operations of major corporations worldwide and thus would open a lot more options for you in the market than your peers, hence increasing your net worth. All of this is because you chose to spend a few weeks enhancing your knowledge about accounting and finance by reading, understanding, and remembering a few books on the topic.

The difficulty in reading books to enhance knowledge

Reading such books, though, would pose the highest level of challenge. They would require more time and effort to read, understand, and remember. A reading session of such books should leave you more tired than reading sessions of books that you read for amusement or information.

The cumbersome process of reading, understanding, and remembering such books would mean two things (a) you would have to select the right books (b) your reading process must be different than the reading process of novels and newspapers.

The whole process of reading, understanding, and remembering books might take you anywhere from a week to a month to a year. This is a considerable investment of your time; therefore, you should be careful not to select books that would waste your time and effort.

Similarly, the reading process by which you read books to develop your knowledge must be different from the books you are reading just for pleasure. The process of reading books to enhance your knowledge would require you to take notes, re-read passages multiple times, and read supporting literature. Something which you would never do when you read a novel or a newspaper. That is why ‘Adler Mortimer’ mentions in ‘How to Read a Book’ that these would be the books that would leave you the most fatigued.

In the subsequent sections, I will be giving some tips on selecting books and the reading process.

How can you select books?

Books can be recommended to you, enforced on you (as part of a curriculum or course) or you might develop a curiosity to read a book. You might also want to read books to develop an understanding of a specific area. Unless the book is part of compulsory reading you have a choice whether to read the book or not.

As mentioned in the last section; reading, understanding, and remembering, or in other words digesting books require a significant investment of your time, therefore it would be better if you ask a few questions before you start reading a book.

Find out what is the Book About

When you go to a bookstore or a library, you see many books. Some with shiny front covers and/or titles that are designed to attract you. Before you give in to their charms, it will be good to check what the book is about. You can find that out by

  1. Read the Book Title, Subtitle, and Table of contents. Skim through the Introduction/Preface of the book. After doing that ask the question, are you still interested?
  2. If you do not have a specific book in mind but rather want to increase your knowledge in a particular area, find the best books in that area and read their reviews. Give weightage to reviews by specialists in that area. Are they recommending some other books? You can also consult specialists of the field that you know on the books that they recommend.

Find out about the Author.

  1. Who wrote the book?
  2. What is his worldview?
  3. What is his expertise on the topic? 

Why Would You Want to Read The Book

Finally, ask these questions to understand why you want to read the book.

  1. Why do you want to read the book? For Amusement, Information, or Understanding?
  2. Which existing or future role would the book help you in? Are you about to move from a technical to a managerial role? Are you about to get married or have a child?
  3. Do you want to extract practical tips from it or do you want to enhance your understanding and increase your net worth?
  4. Are you interested in critiquing the book and challenging the author and his assumptions?

Asking these questions would help you decide not only whether you want to read the book or not, but also how fast you want to read it and what your reading process is going to be. This would lay the groundwork for the next section on ‘How to Read’ this particular book.

How to read a book to understand and gain knowledge

As explained above, for the books you are reading to enhance your knowledge and understanding you need a method to read such books so that you can maximize the knowledge that you extract out of the book. Below are some guidelines that might help you out in reading, understanding, and remembering what you read in these books.

Understand the structure

Start by reading the title, subtitle, table of contents, and preface of the book. Make sure that you understand how the book is arranged and the various topics and sub-topics it attempts to cover. This would make a mind map or skeleton of the book in your mind. For complicated books, you might want to write the structure/skeleton in a separate notebook and keep on adding to it, as explained later.

Trying to understand the structure may also help you in finding out which portions (if not all) are more relevant to you.

Understanding Important words, terms, and passages

Important Words and Terms. When you come across important words or terms, make sure that you understand their meaning and the context in which the writer has used them. Do not proceed before you are sure that you understand them. A word can have multiple meanings. The author might be using the word with a meaning that is different from what you know it to be. The author might be using it as jargon, or he might not agree with the way that the word is generally defined. Good authors explain the meaning of such words and the context in which they have used them. Therefore, it is important to read such words and terms carefully and be sure that you understand how the author wishes to use them.

You can find important words and terms by noticing that.

  1. The author has highlighted such words.
  2. The author is arguing about the general definition of the word.
  3. The author has used the words or terms in the title and the preface.

Important Sentences and Passages. Note the important sentences and paragraphs and ensure that you understand them before you proceed. Important sentences or passages might be the ones where the author is

  1. Providing a solution or some practical step(s) to overcome problems.
  2. Have mentioned something that is most relevant to you.
  3. Trying to form an argument and providing his understanding of it.
  4. Giving evidence to prove his argument.

You can judge if you have understood these important passages if,

  1. You can summarize them in your own words.
  2. You can explain the author’s arguments to another person? Imagine yourself in front of a class and explaining the topic.

If you cannot then it means that you might not have understood this important passage and should be re-reading the passage as many times as it is necessary.

Note Taking – Maintain the structure.

Note-taking will be the most important step if you want to remember what you have read and understood in a book. Therefore, it is important to start by creating a mind map of the structure of the book in a separate notebook or blank paper. You might want to create some additional maps as well e.g. when I read books on history, I tend to make different kinds of notes e.g. world map of the time, a family tree telling me, who is related to who, and an important dates e.g. date of the war, date of a birth or a death, etc.

Once a structure or a mind map is created, you need to keep it updated as you read the book. You can update it by adding (a) subheadings (b) arguments/propositions (c) important paragraphs

This structure or mind map will serve as your index and might look different from the index or table contents provided by the author. Make sure that what you add to the mind map are just single words or terms or very short sentences. The real meaning is to be understood and not be written in the mind map.

While reading you might get a lot of thoughts or arguments for/against the passages you are reading. You can capture your thoughts in a separate notebook, but always, focus more on understanding the author’s POV. Make sure that your notes are written separately in your notebook as at this point you do not want to mix your inputs with what the author is trying to tell you.

Okay to Skim through some parts

Some passages in the book might not be relevant to you or your understanding. It is okay to skip them to save time and effort. But it is a good idea to add the passage/heading/chapter that you are skipping in the mind map or the structure of the book that you are maintaining in a separate notebook. I generally tend to avoid but if you want you can mention the reason you are skipping the part. I usually use a red pen for such portions and do not usually write the reason, since I would be able to tell by just reading the topic name that I have put.

Completing the Reading

  1. Upon completion of the reading, review the structure or the mind map of the book that you have been updating throughout the reading of the book. Are you able to understand all the parts mentioned in the structure? If not, read those parts again.
  2. If you can understand, try to write a short unity statement. e.g. The book believes xxxx is a problem and provides yyyy, zzzz, aaaa as arguments. Finally, it gives the proposal and solution of pppp and qqqqq to solve those problems.
  3. Writing the unity statement would help you summarize the book into a very short passage of your own words. When you can do that, you have understood the gist of the book. This would help you in (a) Explaining what the book is about when someone asks you about what you have learned from the book, and (b) Making you remember what the book is about so that you may refer to it, anytime you wish to in the future.
  4. Preserve the mind map and the unity statement in your file (online or physical) as a note. Make sure that you read these notes frequently to preserve the message of the book in your memory.

Some additional activities after completing a book

The following are some additional steps that you might consider taking once you have completed the book. These steps would help you in re-enforcing your understanding and help you remember the key areas from the book.

Critique the Book

  1. Review the mind map, unity statement, and other notes that you might have written regarding the book. Ask yourself are all the propositions and arguments presented in the book explained and answered? If some are missing or you do not remember, read the marked passages again, using the structure you have been maintaining.
  1. Find out which arguments the author failed to answer, and which problems were not solved. Or not solved to your satisfaction.
  1. Do you agree with the arguments, proposals/solutions provided in the book? If not, why not? Write it, in your own words.
  2. Make sure to clearly state the argument and the provided evidence. (or opinion)
  3. Provide your counterargument with evidence.

More Reading?

Maybe the book has not fully satisfied your thirst for knowledge on a particular topic. Assess whether the missing arguments can be answered from other books. If yes which ones? Are you interested in reading them?

Some books provide references to other books as well. They are mentioned in the Bibliography or footnotes. I would normally highlight books that I am interested in reading later. It would be a good time to do some research on these books and decide whether you want to read them or not. 

Extract From Your Notes

  1. Extract quotes that you were moved by and write them in your Quotations Notebook. I maintain a separate notebook where I write quotations, lyrics, stanzas, etc. I read passages from my quotation notebook frequently. It is surreal.
  2. Extract practical steps that you feel would be helpful to solve a problem that you are facing. Arrange them into a checklist or a ToDo list.
  3. Extract the list of articles and books that you found in the book that intrigued you and add them in your ‘ToRead’ list. 

Write

Write an article/blog/book about the book. You have already written a lot of notes, so would not have to start from zero. In addition, you can mention

  1. What you have learned from the book.
  2. What you have implemented from the book.
  3. What you find missing in the book.
  4. What parts do you disagree with? What is your supporting evidence?

Share your work with people that you know would be able to provide good feedback and engage in discussion.

Conclusion

The steps might seem to be too much work but are necessary if you want to read, understand, and remember the important books that you read to understand. As you practice reading more and more complicated books, these steps will become second nature to you.

However, sometimes you might be tempted to skip all or some of the steps. It is okay if you do that. I do it as well. Sometimes some books are just too attractive to ignore. For such books going through the book selection process seems to be a waste of time. Give into the resistance and dive into such books head-on. If you wish, ignore even the note-taking and mind maps. Just read. If you feel the book is worthy enough you can always read it again to take notes.

I also find it helpful to make checklists of various things that I do repeatedly in my life. Checklists help me optimize the action. It also helps me to delegate the action to someone else by sharing my checklist. Book reading is also an action that we do repeatedly. So why not make a few checklists on ‘How to Select Books’, ‘How to Take Notes’, and ‘How to Read Books’? The good thing about checklists is that they are your processes and do not have to be perfect. You can always add/remove items. e.g. your checklist on ‘How to Select Books’ can start with two steps (1) Pick a Book (2) Read the Book. Later you can add more steps that you find relevant to your reading process.

Finally, I would say that if in a year you can read anywhere from 2 to 12 books to enhance your knowledge and understanding about areas which you knew little or nothing about, just imagine where your overall knowledge and understanding would be. Remember it is not about how many books you read; it is about how many you remember.

Do share your reading experience and tips in the comments section below.

Flash Fiction: The Most Horrible Book Of the Century

| Flash Fictionby
The Most Horrible Book of the Century

For many years, Ernst Kane Williams had been featured as the ‘The Most Horrible Writer’ in his local bookstore. His nomination was done by a committee of 10 avid readers and writers who were also the patrons of the bookstore. His name and picture would appear on one of the plaques on the wall. He had never complained, as he knew that his writing skills were way below par. He had been writing since he was 17 and had written hundreds of books in the past 40 years. All his books competed with each other on being the most horrible book ever! But this had never stopped him from writing and publishing as he loved doing it.  

Yesterday, at the bookstore, the owner had told him that tomorrow they would be announcing the ‘most horrible book of the century’ and he had a good chance of winning that title as well.

‘You mean, I am not the only one?’, he had asked 
‘No Kane, there are more horrible writers than you’, the owner replied.  
‘Interesting…’, he said.  
‘You will know by tomorrow, 11:00 AM’ 

Now Kane started wondering if there could be a more horrible writer than him. He could hardly wait. The next day, as soon as it was 11:00 AM, he rushed to the bookstore. He was almost certain that he would win the title. But it was not to be! The award for the most horrible book of the century was given to ‘Salty But Nice’ By EeeTee Smith. Surprised, Kane rushed to the counter and asked to buy the book.  

‘But why?’, asked the teenage girl behind the counter genuinely surprised that anyone would buy this book.  
‘Because, my dear child, I want to know whose writing can be worse than mine.’ 

The girl just shrugged her shoulders, as her generation usually does, and sold the book to him.  

Kane rushed to his home and immediately entered his library. After putting the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign he closed the door.  

He sat on his chair by the fireplace and started reading the book. He couldn’t believe his eyes! It was indeed the most horrible book that he had ever read and he was enjoying every bit of it! Nothing was right in this book. The sentence structure, the punctuation, and sometimes even the spelling. The plot didn’t make any sense. And the writer had almost forgotten that there are things called ‘character arcs’.  

By the end of the book, Kane was laughing and clapping. Such a horrible book, he told himself. No story arc, no surprises, no plot twists. He simply loved the fact that someone could be a more horrible writer than him. Suddenly, he had an urge to find out about the writer EeeTee Smith. He flipped through the pages to see if the writer had introduced himself somewhere. He finally found one small note on the last page of the book.  

About EeeTee Smith (Me) 
I am 17 years old. I love to write. This is the first of many books that I promise to bring to this world.  

p.s. EeeTee Smith is my pen name, my real name is Ernst Kane Williams.  And I can be reached at …

What is the Purpose of Life?

| A Better Muslim, Be Productive, Insights, Personal Growth, The Pakistan Dreamby

Why we need to know the answer

Imagine you are on a train, but you don’t know where it’s going. You don’t know why you are on it, or what you’re supposed to do when the train stops. You are sitting there, watching the scenery pass by, wondering what’s next. That’s what it feels like to live a life without purpose.

You might be traveling on a luxury train and have pleasant company and great food. Even the scenes might be breathtaking. But every few minutes you would be reminded of the fact that you don’t know why you are on the train. Who put you on it, where are you headed, and what you are going to do when the train stops? These questions would constantly bother you and beg you to answer them, no matter how luxurious your ride is.

Now imagine, you have the answer to all these questions, but the train ride is not very comfortable. The AC is not working, the food is not good, and unpleasant people surround you. But deep inside you would have peace because you know that the train would eventually stop bringing you to a destination of your choosing.

In the first instance, even with all the comforts you would feel uneasy, while in the second case with all the hardships you will have warmth and comfort in your heart, and you would be at peace. That is why it is so important to find the answer to the question of the purpose of our life; why we are alive?

Man’s Pursuit for Answers 

This is the reason why man has always tried to answer the question; who gave us life and why? In their pursuit, different men took different paths. Some tried to create the answers and ended up creating man-made religions and philosophies that had varying degrees of popularity and acceptance. But such philosophies, religions, or ways of life, had a severe disadvantage. They were restricted by the capacity of the human mind and intellect. As a result, they were easily challenged, modified, or rejected by humans with a higher intellect or information.  

The other path was to find rather than create the answers. This path started with the understanding that ‘someone’ put us on this earth and gave us life for a purpose. That the thing we call ‘nature’ is also a creation just like us. Created to ensure life. These people found answers to their questions in ‘Abrahamic Religions’ like Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. All of these religions provide not abstract but concrete answers to these questions i.e. ‘Life has been given by God’ for ‘Gaining HIS proximity and acceptance’. Humans do not create these answers but rather are told by God HIMSELF through HIS Prophets (messengers) and Holy Books.

How Islam Defines the Purpose of Life 

Islam has not only given these answers in the Quran and Sunnah but has also taken many steps further. It has told us who God is and what are HIS traits. It has told us that the purpose of our creation is to ‘gain HIS proximity by worshipping HIM’. And the reason that HE created ‘life and death’ was to judge who performs the most noble deeds. Islam has also listed the acts of Worship and clearly defined how they are to be performed. It also classifies deeds into Good and Bad.

We are not left at the mercy of ‘Abstractions’ and ‘Interpretations’. What has been defined is to be followed. What has not been defined has been deemed not important to the ultimate purpose of life. So it can be interpreted in whatever way we see fit and fruitful.

Impact on my life

For me, knowing the answer to the question of the Purpose of Life through Islam is not only comforting but also keeps me focused. I understand why I worship Allah and recite the Quran. Why I got married and have children, why do I need to work and earn for my family, and also focus on the upbringing of my children? Why I need to be as productive as I can be and why I need to focus on my health and fitness. Why do I also need to go out and enjoy the various experiences that this world has to offer with my family and friends? The answer to all these questions is that Islam has categorized them as acts of ‘Worship’. And I need to perform them to gain proximity to Allah my creator.

Knowing these answers also insulates me from hardships and suffering. Islam tells me that hardships and suffering are also created to gain proximity to Allah. This journey of life on earth has to end one day. So it does not matter how luxurious or not the journey is. Eventually, when my life ends, based on how successful I have been in fulfilling the ultimate purpose, I shall enter a life full of luxuries that will never end. That life, the destination, is much more important.

Conclusion

The biggest question about life can be answered in a single sentence:

‘We are created by Allah, for HIS worship, so that our deeds become noble and worthy of acceptance by HIM, earning us HIS proximity and acceptance’.

About the Book: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

| Reading & Writingby

Author: David Epstein
Year published: 2019
Fiction/non-fiction: Non-fiction
Number of pages: 272
Cost on Google Books: $14.99
Amazon: 4.8 out of 5 stars
Goodreads: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Google Books: 4.9 out of 5 stars

Chapters List

  1. The Myth of the Early Start
  2. The Trouble with Specialization
  3. The Power of Breadth
  4. The Value of Delay
  5. The Importance of Failure
  6. The Virtues of the Dilettante
  7. The Generalist Renaissance
  8. The Future of Generalists

Short summary (without spoilers)

In Range, David Epstein argues that generalists, rather than specialists, are better equipped to succeed in the complex and unpredictable world of the 21st century. Epstein draws on evidence from a wide range of fields, including sports, business, and science, to show that generalists are more creative, adaptable, and resilient than specialists.

Epstein argues that the traditional emphasis on early specialization is misguided. He shows that many of the world’s most successful people, including Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates, were generalists who experimented across different fields before finding their true calling.

Epstein also argues that the modern world is increasingly demanding generalists. In a world where jobs are constantly changing and new technologies are emerging all the time, it is more important than ever to be able to think broadly and learn new things quickly.

Long Summary (With Spoilers)

In his book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein argues that generalists, rather than specialists, are better equipped to succeed in the complex and unpredictable world of the 21st century.

Epstein begins by debunking the myth of the early start. He shows that many of the world’s most successful people, including Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates, did not specialize early in their careers. In fact, many of them experimented across different fields before finding their true calling.

Epstein then goes on to explain the advantages of being a generalist. He shows that generalists are more creative, adaptable, and resilient than specialists. They are also better able to see the big picture and to make connections between seemingly unrelated ideas.

Epstein also argues that the modern world is increasingly demanding generalists. In a world where jobs are constantly changing and new technologies are emerging all the time, it is more important than ever to be able to think broadly and learn new things quickly.

Epstein concludes by offering some advice for becoming a more successful generalist. He encourages readers to delay specialization, to embrace failure, and to be curious about a wide range of subjects.

Practical Tips from Range

  • Delay specialization. Don’t rush to choose a career path. Instead, take your time to explore different interests and develop a broad range of skills. This will give you more flexibility in the long run.
  • Embrace failure. Failure is a necessary part of the learning process. Don’t be afraid to try new things and make mistakes. The more you fail, the more you will learn.
  • Be curious. Be open to learning about new things, even if they seem unrelated to your current interests. The more you know, the better equipped you will be to solve complex problems and come up with creative solutions.
  • Develop a network of diverse contacts. Surround yourself with people from different backgrounds and disciplines. This will help you to see the world from different perspectives and to learn new things.
  • Become a lifelong learner. The world is constantly changing, so it is important to be committed to continuous learning. Read books, take classes, and attend conferences. The more you learn, the more valuable you will be to employers and to the world around you.

Conclusion

Epstein’s book is a powerful argument for the importance of generalism in the 21st century. He provides compelling evidence that generalists are better equipped to succeed in the complex and unpredictable world of today. Epstein’s book also offers some practical advice for becoming a more successful generalist.

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of generalism and how to become a more successful generalist, I highly recommend reading Range.

Arguments Against University Education and How You Can Avoid Them? 

| Uncategorizedby

Introduction 

Throughout my student and professional life, I have heard arguments against University Education. All these arguments are shallow and do not hold any weight. However, in some cases, they hold true. In this blog, I will tell you about those arguments and how you can avoid them.  

An Important Example 

Before we start, let us first see the difference between a university education (or degree programs) and certifications/self-learning. The difference can be easily understood if you understand the difference between learning how to drive a car and how to build a car. Driving a car would require you to attend a few classes and you can then give a test to get a license. However, building a car would require a more in-depth study program like mechanical engineering. Which path you choose will depend on the vision you have set for your future. Here is my blog on setting big visions and here is a blog that may help you to choose your career.

Argument # 1: Fresh Graduates Need to be trained from the Start.  

Employers often complain that they have to train the Fresh Graduates from the start. This often happens with graduates who do not have the required skill set needed by their employer. How can you avoid being in that group? 

  1. Ensure that you enroll in a university with a good rating. Such universities ensure that their course content and teaching methodologies are tuned to train you as per the requirements of the market.  
  1. Reserve some personal time to keep yourself updated with the requirements of the market by browsing through job portals, interviewing professionals in the domain, and attending job fairs. This would keep you focused on the skills that are relevant to the profession you want to pursue.    
  1. Pick a final-year project by finding a problem that the market has. Find and build a solution on how you can solve that problem.  This would give you the necessary skills and also knowledge about how things work in the practical world.

Argument # 2: I am not getting paid enough 

Realize that corporations are not charities. The amount you are offered by a company is directly tied to the value you bring to their operations. Are you solving a problem they have? Are you contributing to the creation of new products or services? Are you helping them make money? The more indispensable you are to them, the more they will be willing to pay you. How can you ensure that you are in the group of fresh graduates?  

  1. Find out, which degree program has value in the market, not only today but also by the time you graduate. Which companies, locally and globally, could benefit from your knowledge and skillset? Answer all these questions BEFORE you select a degree program.  
  1. For the first 2 years after your graduation keep your expectations low as you would need to prioritize gaining experience over making money.  However, this does not mean that you settle for a below-standard package for your line of work.
  2. Before the interview, do the groundwork and research on salary packages being offered by the company you are being interviewed in and its competitors. Don’t be shy to negotiate if you feel that the amount being offered is too low.
  3. Read the book ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You’ by Cal Newport.

Argument # 3: What I learned during my degree program is not applicable in the market  

This argument only holds true if e.g. you have a degree in computer science and are working as a fashion designer. How can you avoid it?  

  1. Ensure that you have done the necessary research BEFORE you select your degree program and university. Your decision should be based on the requirements of the market.  If you want to become a fashion designer study that, rather than studying computer science.
  1. Once you join a credible university ensure that you are studying hard (and not hardly) on your course assignments.  

Conclusion 

In conclusion, I would suggest that you do not focus too much on making money. Rather, focus on the positive impact you can make on the society. Such a focus will not only make you rich in terms of money earned but also respect & love gained from the society and even from yourself.

Also, think about the many other benefits of joining a good university. Like getting more in-depth knowledge about a particular domain i.e. learning how the car works rather than just learning how to drive it. Good universities also groom your personality and make it more marketable. They would also prepare you for the future and make you adaptable to the changing trends of the market.