Commit to following your passion.
October 3rd, 2010 § 1 Comment
I have been working for a consulting firm the past couple of months and my life has drastically changed from what it used to be. I love the work I do, but I do have to make sacrifices to perform well at my job. I work long hours, which doesn’t bother me, except that sometimes I wonder how much time am I willing to give to a company rather than building my own ‘thing’. What is this ‘thing’ that I refer to, I am not certain, but I do strive to always work for things that I’m passionate about.
So far I have been happy with my work. I like the people that I’m working with, I love the atmosphere I’m in and the fact that so many of my coworkers are committed to delivering the best work and as such motivate me to continue learning and growing. I am happy to do this, and because of that I have no problem committing to my work and always doing things to my full potential. But I can’t help but wonder, what could I be doing with all this time? Are there other great things out there I should be working on? Is there something I could do to use all my skills and energy and make a greater impact in society? I’m not sure, but it is something that I will continue reflecting upon.
My grandfather passed away this morning after much suffering. This reminds me of the transiency of life. We are very alive just this minute, but when will our time on earth expire? If my time were to expire, would I be proud of my life?
Important Lessons I learned at MIT
May 27th, 2010 § 2 Comments
Although my MIT education was full of a very diverse set of experiences, I wouldn’t say that everything I did was amazing or fantastic, or that I couldn’t have been successful without having learned certain things. However, there are a few particular things I learned at MIT, inside and outside of the classroom, that have served me well and will hopefully continue to do so after graduation. At least, I think that they will. Here are a few of them:
1) There’s usually a lot more to a problem that can be initially appreciated. This is a lesson I learned inside and out of the classroom. The thought that I understood all there was to a problem was one of the easiest way for me to fail. Always keeping my mind open to other possibilities was one of the most important things I learned in college.
2) One of the biggest mistakes we make is to not make the most out of the resources we have. This was something difficult for me to learn. I used to believe that there was some sort of value in being able to say “I did all this by myself,” but really, no one cares. At the end of the day what matters is what has been achieved. If you learned how to use Maxwell equations by yourself and someone else did it in half the time by going to office hours, there’s really nothing for you to be proud of, you should have made better use of the teaching assistants yourself. Don’t get me wrong, I still think there is great value in doing things yourself, but only if that will allow you to acquire skills that you wouldn’t obtain otherwise.
3) Overcommitting is the easiest way to do a mediocre job at many things, and not feel good about your work, VERY often. After a good semester in college, I had this overcommitting syndrome, or however you may want to call it, and I tended to want to take on the world all by myself. I would want to do sports for 10+ hours a week, and work for another 10+ hours, while simultaneously undertaking a courseload that was expected to consume 60+ hours of my week. I would then end up doing a mediocre job at everything, and up until today I feel bad about some of the decisions I made. The only thing that I’m glad about is that I learned from those experiences. I learned to do as much as I can do and feel proud of, but no more than that. If I can take on 5 things and be proud of none of them, I would rather do 1 to 3 and feel proud of everything I do.
4) There’s MUCH more to life than our surroundings. This is probably one of the most important lessons I learned. Most of us tend to live in a bubble, in which we only think in terms of what is immediately around us. It only takes a shift in our mindset to realize that those tormenting problems we have, the ones that consume our life and energy, are silly tiny details we have chosen to focus on and don’t compare to the blessings we have received in this life. A simple trip somewhere else, or conversations with people outside the environment we are surrounded by, are usually enough to make me realize this truth. 99% of the time we take ourselves too seriously, and think that our problems are bigger than they truly are. We need to relax, chill.
5) Balance can be tricky, and I’m not just talking about work-life balance. Many problems I encountered with regards to bringing balance to my life were not related to work. I actually had more issues making time for myself, rather than committing all of my time for extracurriculars, academics, and friends. I realized that having some time to unwind, clear up my thoughts, and simply reflect about life, was one of the most important things I learned to do during the past 4 years.
6) Most, if not all, of our limitations are self-imposed. Over and over I found myself making excuses as to why I didn’t achieve something, or performed at a certain level, just to find out later on that my excuses were vague, empty and meaningless. There was someone out there facing worst circumstances and still pulling off the results I didn’t. This taught me to re-evaluate myself, my actions, and thoughts. Once I started removing obstacles from my head, just like magic they disappeared from my life.
Although there are many other things I have learned, this is the first installment of things that came to my mind as the most salient lessons I have learned. I hope you enjoyed them. If you happen to have any reaction, comment, idea, thought, etc. please leave a comment.
Thank you, Omar
Embracing Transitions and Working Towards Our Dreams
May 19th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
“We change, whether we like it or not”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
When was the last time you resisted change? We are naturally inclined to want to stay safe, stay with what we know, however, this is not sustainable. Everything around us, and within us, is in constant motion, no one would know that time is going by if things were not changing, and as little things around us change, so do we and those around us. Our whole life is meant to change, piece by piece, as we keep living, and all we can do is to accept that and make sure that we are doing the most with our lives so that, at the end of the day, we can be happy with how our life has changed.
Resisting change is futile, but that doesn’t mean that you should let things just happen to you. We are still the protagonists of our lives, and it is up to us to achieve our goals and the success we want. What is the problem with most of us, lack of orientation, lack of a precise goal. So define your goal, and pursue it.
Yesterday I came home after finishing my last undergraduate exam ever. I was finally done with all the requirements to graduate from college, assuming I pass, and was free to do as I wish until I start working. Or so I was thinking. Then I kept thinking about what awaits me in the near future. I’m flying to Japan for two weeks after getting my MIT degree, I’m then coming back and starting to work at a great company, and then what? I realized that, although this all sounds fantastic, I still need to think about how I want my life to be and go after it. These are all fantastic transitions in my life, but why just accept this changes and not make even greater changes that will allow me to fulfill all my dreams?
I went on to YouTube and watched two videos in a row, both from people whose YouTube videos I have been watching probably since sophomore year in college, almost three years now, and they both stroke me because of their content. The first one was from a girl whom I’ve seen go from an excited teenager that learned Japanese on her own and wanted to go to Japan, to a woman who has been living in Japan for a while now and has launched her music career there by releasing her first music album. Although you may get caught up thinking about what are the odds of that happening to anyone else, and start thinking that just a few lucky people who can achieve it, I think that the message is clear. She had a goal, she went ahead and flew herself to Japan, and worked her way up to releasing an album that is now sold in major Japanese record stores. I’m impressed.
The second YouTube video was from another guy who would also make videos about Japanese language and teaching Japanese. He got recruited to work for a few companies as consultant/marketing guy/etc. and he always kept the dream of working for himself, starting his own thing. The video I watched yesterday was his announcement that a website he had started that is basically a Japanese textbook for self-learners was now generating a decent enough income for it to become his full-time job. Another great story of someone who had started just like me, a teenager pursuing a dream, and is now able to work for himself.
What did I get from all this? We must ignore the odds, and simply work hard! If you think about it, a big majority of the people that we hear about, the ones that fail at achieving their goals, were simply not determined enough. They were doubting themselves as they went through the days. The people who work hard, and keep trying and keep trying, will sooner or later succeed. And the most important thing is that, when we finally succeed we can look back and see that all along we were working on what we were passionate about, and could therefore enjoy every day of our lives.
Now I invite you to find that passion of yours, that something that you have always been wanting to pursue but haven’t because of self-doubting, and start DOING something to make it concrete, make it happen. Work on it after hours, work on it before you go to work, work on it during the weekends, but never stop working on it, because one day you may just be able to drop all the things you do now because ‘you have to’ and you will be able to dedicate your life to achieving that passion of yours.
Cheers to us. May we achieve all we are truly passionate about.
Spreading Goodness – The Happiness Network?
May 13th, 2010 § 1 Comment
We live in a society that is obsessed with tragic, upsetting or dramatic news. Gossip, drama of all sorts, these are the things that drive most of the TV networks and sell the most newspapers and magazines. But, when do we get our drop of happiness and goodness? When do we nourish our soul? If we were to focus only on what our current media shows, and what most people decide to spend their days talking about, we would think that the world is a very, very messed up place. That there is little or no happiness in this world, and that those who ARE happy are a very selected few part of some sort of secret society that hands out to them a secret happiness drink every now and then.
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/swamibu/1352354517/
But are the news representative of our world? Why is it that we are bombarded with news of all the things going wrong, and we hear very little of the good things? Why is it that when we hear of something good, it’s portrayed as if it’s the only good thing that happened in the world? What drives us to spend so much time learning why we should, and how we should, be unhappy?
I suggest we shift our attention into something more productive. I propose that we stop talking about the things that make us unhappy, and start being grateful for what we have. We should, as a society, encourage people to think about the things they are happy about, and about solutions for the things that are not perfect.
This is not something you should do for your own good, you should do this for the sake of everyone’s happiness. Any basic research in social networks will tell you that, quite literally, happiness is contagious. Similarly, lack of happiness is also quickly spread. The more we see people around us complain and be unhappy with life, and the more we pay attention to that, the more we end up doing the same ourselves.
The good news in all this is, we all have an option, and we all have a HUGE opportunity to influence others. When you choose to smile and be grateful for what you have, someone near you will be learning a lesson, a much needed one in our world.
Spread goodness throughout the world by offering a smile, by being grateful for the blessings you have. Close your eyes and think about the experiences you have had in your life, and realize that, no matter what happens, you will always hold the key to your own happiness. ”Happiness is an inside job,” I have often heard. This couldn’t be said any better. Once you find comfort in this, and allow yourself to be happy, you will be able to go around and spread this happiness to others. Just by doing this, you will be doing society a good that is worthy of praise.
The impact a single person has in the rest of society is often ignored, but it is quite important. If you choose to be excellent at one thing in life, choose to be excellent in spreading happiness by being happy and expressing this feeling. You will do you, your family, and the rest of us in society happier. You will be contributing your dose of goodness to the world.
I wonder how much much happier we would be as a society if our main TV networks and magazines would be filled with happy news, those of the people who are helping others incessantly and making the world better. News about the things that are going right in this world. Let’s start this, let’s have a happy news network. What do you think?
Turn off the TV and watch your thoughts
May 3rd, 2010 § Leave a Comment
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alicepopkorn/3704377275/
Take a moment, and observe what is going on through your mind. Don’t judge your thoughts, don’t try to change them, simply observe them. See what gives rises to certain negative thoughts, think about the source of these thoughts. Why do you have this negative reaction? Is it necessary? Is it saving you from trouble?
Now think about the positive reactions you have. Observe them. Be aware. Then try to figure out why you have these positive reactions, and think if they are good for you.
The world is constantly teaching us what we should feel good about, bad about, neutral, etc. We are taught that we should let our heart guide us, but aren’t our feelings most of the time a reflection of what we have learned? As such, aren’t they simply a reflection of our thoughts?
Our feelings and emotions would not be simply a reflection of our thoughts if we were able to truly tap into the source of our happiness. If instead of doing some ‘shopping therapy’ or go partying and drinking to forget our problems we would take some time to think about what truly is important for us. Is losing your job really going to ruin your life? Are the material possessions you are about to lose going to make you happy if you didn’t lose them? Really think about it. Or are they just creating another level of complexity in your life.
It is often said that most people need to hit rock bottom before they can turn around and shift the way they think about things. I invite you to question the way you act, think, and feel, before you hit rock bottom. I do not think it’s good, or necessary, for you to be in a state of desperation before you can change your view of the world and allow yourself to clear up your mind and enter a new state of mind.
There is always something going on in the back of your head, be aware of it, and use that as a way to improve yourself. Whatever it is that you are thinking, reflect on it. Meditate on it. You will grow wiser and stronger, and that is something that no one will take away from you, unlike your material possessions.
Don't let others define success for you
April 2nd, 2010 § 3 Comments
One of the biggest mistakes we normally do is to allow others to define what we think of as success. As such, we go through our days blindly trying to obtain the next big thing, the next big thing… but what is the next big thing? Today, we want to get an A in an exam. Tomorrow, we want to get into the best graduate school. After, we want the best job. Then we want the best house. etc. etc.
If we follow the crowd and let others define what success means to us, we will never be happy with our lives. There will always be something else to achieve, but that something will carry no actual meaning to you. As such, when you finally obtain it, you are left empty, just like you started. You may feel a rush of happiness for a few seconds, but it’s all temporary and not substantial.
When we define success for ourselves, we choose what is important to us, and we work towards achieving that. As such, not only the goal is something we are excited and passionate about, but the journey to get there becomes an adventure. We learn to be excited about every day.
As such, I invite you to define success for yourself. Write down in a piece of paper your idea of success. Use 1 or 10 sheets of papers depending on how inspired you feel, but make sure you are writing from the bottom of your heart. Think about what is important. Will it really make you happy to own that car, or do you just want others to be jealous of your nice car? Study your true intentions, your emotions.
Once you have defined your idea of success, commit yourself to doing all the great things you can do to achieve it. Convince yourself that you can achieve great things, and that there is no reason why you should not. Taking these two steps, defining and committing to your goals, will give you a sense of purpose that will translate into daily happiness. It will allow you to always re-evaluate an uncomfortable situation by asking yourself: “Does this fit into my idea of success? Is it contributing to my life journey? If yes, how so and how can I improve this? If no, why am I dealing with it and how can I move on? “
Best of luck with everything, keep it honest to yourself, but keep it positive. Always keep it positive. The best way you can do that? Be grateful for what you have, cause I can assure you that if you have been able to simply read these words, you have plenty of things to be grateful about. Don’t ever stop being grateful for all the things we tend to take for granted.
Omar
Follow your passion full-time, or after hours.
March 21st, 2010 § 2 Comments
As someone who has recently been thinking about very much about the kind of life I want to lead, and how a full-time job will fit within the scope of everything, I must say that this talk was one of the things I needed to hear. I ask you to please ignore any language that may not be of your taste, and rather focus your attention to what matters, the message.
If you have a dream, find a way to pursue it. Otherwise, you will always wonder what could have been. I don’t want to be 75 years old and still thinking, how would my life be if I have had the courage to do X or Y. As such, I will find a way to do what I want to do. I will not, however, do so without taking into account that I am part of a society, and I have to be productive. I won’t refuse to work a 9 to 5 job if I need an income, but will not be stuck with it for the rest of my life if it doesn’t go along with my life plans. Do what you have to do, but never quit on your true goals.
(If you can’t see the video, wait a few minutes for the player to load. Thank you!)
Don't Blame, Fix the Problem
March 10th, 2010 § 8 Comments
A few weeks ago I was reading a very interesting article about a pharmaceutical plant that was awarded the 2009 Facility of the Year Overall Award by the Pharmaceutical Engineering Magazine. The impressive thing about this plant was that it was built in a constrained area within a dense city, and the project was finished before the scheduled deadline, within budget, and with no major complications! The planning and execution for this plant to be built was worthy of praise, and as such it was being featured in the magazine. Although many factors contributed to this successful project, there was a very particular philosophy that the managers maintained, “No blame, fix the problem.” If there is a problem, look for a solution rather than finding someone to blame for it. Applying this philosophy to our life problems would allow you to improve things, see the silver lining in a situation, rather than get stuck in a cycle of negativity.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/madeiraarchipelago/20244382/
Although many would hear this and immediately agree that it’s a good philosophy to follow, very few have the courage to apply this to their own lives on a constant basis. Why do I say courage?
Each time we are faced with a difficult situation, we have two ways to look at it. We can try to avoid it or dissociate ourselves from the situation, or we can fix the problem. Sometimes we just disregard it as non-important in our efforts to keep ourselves from facing the problem at all. Will this get you anywhere? Say you had money problems, which is a very common problem these days, what do you do?
We can blame the economy, God, Obama or even Bush, or many others for our money issues, but the fact is that blaming them solves absolutely none of your problems. This approach can make you feel better temporarily, but it hinders your creativity and will stop you from finding a good, tangible solution to your problem. Instead of blaming, focus your energy on fixing the problem, something that will be to your benefit.
What decision do you usually make? Are you the person that somehow is pulling through challenges, doing everything you can to keep moving forward, or are you the one that falls into the trap of blaming, mentioning how life is not fair at every step? If this person is you, write down on a piece of paper the benefits & harm you are causing for yourself because of your mindset. I’m sure you will soon find out something to improve, a problem to fix.
Don’t blame anyone for the problems you find that need to be fixed, whatever it is, just find a solution. Focusing your energies in solving problems will lead you to have a more fulfilling life, cause in the end, no one feels genuinely better after complaining about an issue. Having fixed the problem, however, will help you move on with your life to bigger and better things. Would you postpone that simply to complain?
Be conscious of your daily actions, study what things you do out of habit. Sometimes we just blame our parents for how we behave because we are used to hearing that parents are responsible for their children’s behavior. Then we blame junk food for our health problems, because obviously it’s their fault for making unhealthy food so attractive. Be more critical with yourself, and find solutions. With some effort, many of your problems can be solved, and the weight of such problems will be lifted from your shoulders.
Finding Peace During a Storm
March 3rd, 2010 § Leave a Comment
As a child, I often heard people say, “After the storm comes the calm.” The belief is that a turmoil, whether we are talking about psychological or physical, can only last for a finite time, and after this finite time things will be calmer, better. This way of thinking is supposed to lift our spirits and give us hope. Hope that sometime in the future things will be better. But, think about it, why must this be the case? Why should we wait patiently for some calmness to come after we endure a full storm?
Picture by http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonivc/
We have a choice not to surrender to our mental turmoils and struggles
Which one would you prefer, calmness after the storm, or calmness throughout and after the storm? The answer seems obvious, yet we often choose to wait until after our struggles are over to allow that sense of peace to sink in. Why would we do this?
The main issue we have is ourselves, and what we believe to be true. We think that being calm while struggling or going through a problem is not an option. We think it is beyond our control. But be honest to yourself, who chooses how you feel? Do I? Your friends? Your neighbor? Or is it you?
It is you. No one else can force you to have a certain feeling. If you don’t like someone, you won’t like them until your thoughts about that person change. You are the only one who will make that happen, when you feel ready to change the way you think about such person.
The same is true about our problems. When was the last time you stressed about a problem? Do you think everyone else would have stressed as much as you did under that situation? Definitely not. So, why would someone else be able to go through the same situation you went through, but have a different experience? Why would Mother Theresa be able to go and help, help, and keep helping, without stopping, while the majority of us won’t even make the first step to help our neighbor in need because we think it’s not going to be good?
The answer is, we all choose what we focus our attention to. If I am told that I must spend the next week at the hospital because of a health problem, I could be glad that I will receive professional healthcare before the situation is worse, or I could be angry that I won’t be able to go to dinner for my friend’s birthday that Saturday night. Although both thoughts will probably be present simultaneously in any person with such a situation, each person will choose how much they focus on the missed birthday dinner vs. receiving proper healthcare.
We, as individuals, have an option. I am not saying that you should care less about your friends and feel good about missing their birthday dinner, but no amount of complaining and personal sorrow will make the dinner taste better for anyone that is able to go, nor will it improve your moods. So we must find a way to deal with problems.
Find a way to focus your attention to the positive side of a situation. You may have to be creative in order to find the positive side of some situations, but once you do you will have a much more pleasant experience. This will allow you to improve the lives of those around you, and will allow you to feel in control of things. Wouldn’t you like that?
Definiteness of Purpose
February 18th, 2010 § 1 Comment
We have all probably heard about vision boards or any of the many tools that people use to attract the great things they want in their lives. Why do they work? People have many explanations, but the one that resonates with the way I think, and goes in par with Napoleon Hill’s teachings, is that a vision board aids you to establish your purpose, your goal.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amaynez/2145618222/
Napoleon Hill said many times that the most important principle to achieving your goals is ‘definiteness of purpose’. You need to be able to concretely state what your idea of success is, and what you are going to be giving in return for it. Not only stating it will bring it to you, but if you don’t have a very clear and foolproof image in your head of what you want, you won’t ‘see’ the opportunities laying on your path as you walk your day. You will miss all these critical moments in which it seems that only ‘luck’ would have allowed you to obtain what you wanted.
I was talking to a good friend of mine a few days ago, and something she mentioned was that she wasn’t yet sure exactly what she wanted the rest of her life to be like. This is completely understandable, because we all know that is nearly impossible to have a good idea of where we are going to be 5, 10, or 20 years down the road. But it’s important to be able to break this down into a simpler task, we should not be defining everything about our lives, we need to learn how to discern between that things that are worth defining, and things that will work themselves out.
Here is a simple list of things I think everyone should sit down and define, and then read through this list every morning before going out to the world so they can keep a fresh perspective on their goals.
What is your idea of success?
Here you should not be struggling over minor details, but rather the main things that are important in your life. Do you want to have a happy family or is that not your priority? Do you want to earn $30,000 or $100,000 a year? How do you want to feel about your body, health. How do you visualize your social environments, how frequently do you interact with others and to what extent? These are all the things you should consider and define. Simply saying, I want a lot of money won’t help here. You should really think about this, and write it down. Here is an example.
My Idea of Success
I am healthy, financially affluent, spiritually at peace, and have excellent relationships with others. I am genuinely happy and inspire my family and those around me to be the best they can. I am free to do as I wish, not limited to any particular job or place.
There are many other things you can define. I think it’s a good idea to also define what you want your annual income (more importantly, your net worth) be and how you can get that, because most people are worrying about finances and the least you can do to lower that stress is to have a concrete goal. If you don’t have one, you will most likely find yourself always saying “I want more money,” even if you are now earning twice as much as 10 years ago.
What will you give to others in return for your success?
Will you donate to charity 10% of your income? Start your own charity foundation? Teach others how to do things you are good at? Inspire others to get on with their lives? Think about good things you can do for society, it can be as ‘simple’ as bringing joy to one person’s life each day. The main thing to keep in mind is, we live in a society, and if we expect to receive good from society, we need to give back to society as well. Paying taxes won’t cut it, just think about something you can voluntarily do to make the world a better place. Life will be better for all of us that way.
What things in your life are helping you or holding you back in your path?
Sometimes success will come only after we have made some significant changes in our lives and many of these will involve great sacrifices. This is the time to think about what are the activities you are doing, or the obligations you have, that are inhibiting your growth, and which ones are helping you get to where you want to be. This is a difficult step sometimes, particularly if you realize that something you enjoy doing is one of the things that you should stop in order to have the time, money, or energy to do something that will help you build the future you want.
Personally, I am constantly asking myself this question. What things am I doing that are not contributing to the ideal future I envision? Are there other things I should do instead? I’ve made some difficult decisions after thinking about these things for a long time, but at the end of the day I know I’m doing something that is better for me in the long run and that gives me the strength to follow through.
People from all different backgrounds find success on a daily basis, but the great majority of it doesn’t happen until they have a very clear idea of what success means to them at a personal level.
Have you defined what success means to you yet? Please leave a comment below with what your idea of success is, it will help others think about their own lives and what they truly want as well. Thank you. 
