The Tales Of Hafsat, The Female Lion Cub

Many years ago, there was a young lady who lived in my neighborhood. She had a natural difficulty with speech; she was bump, so to speak. She had quite a temper for her timid stature, adorable face and charming beauty. That's not too unexplainable, at least for someone like myself who was part of a large group of kids who constantly teased her for her disability. It isn't one of my best memories growing up and since I began to know better, I tried to make amends. Unfortunately for me, I haven't found myself privileged enough to seek for her forgiveness all these years. Her parents had to relocate due to how the children including myself tormented her. She always run to her parents crying. That was a very horrible situation for such an innocent soul. I had carried this guilt and have consistently tried my best to reach out to her, if not to apologize but to at least know she turned out well, after all the hell we gave her during her childhood. 

God being so good, the best thing happened today. I saw the once so called sad and angry little 'dump' girl today. She was walking along a major street with a man a later came to know as her husband and 2 beautiful children. And that's not all, she is quite a very successful trader and can actually speak now. YES, she can speak. According to her husband who saw a bit of her childhood before traveling to the US; her speech impediment faded out a few years after she relocated with her parents to the neighborhood where he stayed for a while. Apparently, she met other group of stubborn kids who did worse to her. The pain she felt fueled her courage and her all time weakness became her strength over time. Until one day, she woke up and her first ever words were that of her lovely husband's name.

If your guess is that I approached her, asked for forgiveness and that's how come I knew all this, then you're probably right. And then what she said conclusively and for that matter, my reason for sharing this story with you is this; she said;

"On the day I started to speak, I realized that as long as you're not dead, God hasn't finished creating you yet. If he was done with you, then you will probably be dead. We wake up everyday not knowing what's going to happen. But that is both a gift and a sign. It is a gift of hope and a sign of endless possibilities. The beginning of your story might be a bad one, but with God's gift of hope and signs of endless possibilities, you have an opportunity to change how your story will end. Everyday is an opportunity for a better tomorrow."

This suncked into my subconscious memory and I definitely will read it so many times from today just to make sure of it. She later thanked me for approaching her after all these years. We exchanged contacts and she left. I never knew her real name until today. What a lovely name she had; HAFSA, meaning the Female Lion Cub. No wonder she became so strong and ambitious. We had a funny name for her back in the days, and I remember that very well. But today, whatever name we gave to her, she is respectful referred to as Hajia Hafsa on my contact list.

Why am I sharing this story to you? It's because just like you and I, so many people might be going through the beginning stage of their stories. The bad beginnings so to speak. It is however important that regardless of how the story started and how it is going, we never lose the divine will to make changes in our future and create a better ending for ourselves. 

WHY "GROWING UP MUSLIMAH" WILL BE MY DAUGHTER'S FIRST BOOK IN HER LIBRARY

I wouldn't ordinarily attend a book launch, especially when the book talks about the growth of a young girl. Hard to connect with such information as a man since it is biologically unrelated to me. This is the case for a lot of men; but for just a while in my case actually. Just a month ago, I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. She has changed my life and her little smile lights up my face. 

I want to be a part of her life. I want to be with her during her difficult times. It's a difficult world for a young Muslim girl and self confidence is a basic ammunition she will need for the journey ahead. I have decided to build her a library and the book; "Growing up Muslimah" is the first book in this library. The book wouldn't only teach my daughter what she needs to know growing up as a young Muslimah, it will as well give me the opportunity as a father to be her counsel. It creates a platform for information that will help parents, especially fathers, male guardians and older brothers connect on the same level with their young girls. 

Aside the information it gives, the symbolic reason is quite relevant. Knowing that her first ever book is one that focused on her growth and development as a Muslimah sends a good message. I am particularly happy about my philosophy on what constitutes the ideal personality of a young Muslimah and I am extremely glad that there are informative resources and learning materials such as this to guide the process. 

She will one day grow up to read this; not as an article to promote a book, not as a reason to justify a philosophical perspective, but as her father's first commitment and pledge to protecting her happiness and ensuring her proud future. It is my recommendation to the author that many more of such materials are developed to galvanize more tailored support for our young Muslim girls. 

I also urge everyone; man, woman, parent or guardian to join many well meaning individuals to patronize this book; "Growing up Muslimah" and other such materials that focuses on the early development of our Muslim girls. 

Salaam, Peace

Business Tips 2019 by Mohammed Abdul Hamid

Mohammed Abdul Hamid Babangida is a project management and business consultant. He is the Executive Director of Maricom Consultancy and the Director of Projects, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME) with Zongo Business Incubator.
He uses all his social media handles to expose young entrepreneurs to very important and useful business tips. Follow Mr. Mohammed on Instagram @ mo_babngida, Twitter @ hamid_mohammed, Facebook @ Mo Babangida and LinkedIn @ Mohammed Abdul Hamid.
Bellow are all the tips shared for 2019. Please share widely.

I think the collapse of businesses goes beyond these two major but quite common challenge. People should first if all understand the businesses they do and the industry they are operating in. Know the worth of the industry, the operational hazards, challenges, threats and opportunities. It's wrong to just jump into business for reasons other than passion, wisdom and some in depth understanding.

Most young people don't necessarily know what category of economic activity they are operating in. Is it a small business or a start up? These are two different things that requires a totally different business module and commitment.

Understand the reason behind your business. Have a clear cut goal and target. Else, you become like a ship with no compass. Moreover, people should know that a sustainable business is more important than a profitable yet unsustainable one. Make sure the business you are doing has a long term competitive advantage. You should either have a unique product, unique service or unbeatable buying and selling price. This is what makes a business generational

People should also learn to adopt basic business ethics and values. Business in every sector is guarded by rules. Understanding the rules of your industry is key to your survival. Avoiding personal interest  is a cross-industry rule that most young Zongo businesses find it difficult to avoid.

Also, owning a business is different from running a business. There is a difference between a CEO and a Manager. A Manager manages today's business, a CEO manages tomorrow's business. Know where your strength is and outsource the other. If you don't have the capacity, then study.

Don't try to own or control every aspect of your business by yourself.  Being a good business Man also requires the ability to delegate roles to talents you have identified.   Ultimately, learn how to partner. This helps you to leverage on resources that you can not pay for currently, to develop your business.

Develop good networks for your business. Your network determines your net worth, but on one condition. The network should be a functional one. Don't just know people, make them relevant to the growth of your business. Develop an accessibility with them. You should be able to fall on them for help anytime thisgs get difficult, because they will. Make them your support system against the storm. Your network should function as your support system. If it doesn't, then it has nothing to do with your net-worth.

Everyone wants a good opportunity. But only a few are willing to make the necessary sacrifice and commitment that comes with exploring these opportunities. Some people want everything done for them. They are still waiting for their success to be served at the dinner table. This happens even in bussiness. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Change this perception, and see the other version of a miracle in your life. The kind of miracle you can experience each and everyday.

You need to be careful when choosing a business activity to develop or even invest it. For a business to be worthy of your time commitment and resources, you need to look out for two very important features. The business should has developed or has the potential of developing a unique product or service brand that does not require too much modification. You don't need to spend so much money on product designing and research development every year. Unilever, St. Loius Sugar and Coca Cola are good examples. Or, the business has developed or has the potential of developing a unique product or service brand that allows you the monopoly to charge high for your product or service. This is mostly with products or services that are of regular demand.  Ghana Watwr Company, MTN and ECG are good examples. This way, the business saves or will save lots of cash every year to give room for staff motivation and huge bonuses.

A start up could take an average of about three to five years before making substantial profit. It could be more or less depending on the industry you are operating in and the type of good or service you have to offer or what need of society your business is addressing. Have a clear vision and implementation plan for your business. Know when it's normal to make losses, break even or make profit. In this case, you reduce the risk of failure and the fear that comes along with it.

The business manager knows the market, the business owner knows the industry and the business consultant knows both and more. The knowledge of the industry and market are the most critical in business development. However, regardless of the competency of management, the business sometimes doesn't seem to be doing well. What people don't realize is that a business is like a living being. When it is fed with the right resources and intelligence, it does well. On the flip side, a business can get sick when a few things are not going on well. It will take the experience of a professional to diagnose your business by studying the entire business channel and prescribing the appropriate recommendations needed for improvement. For a start up,  you might not be able to employ the services of a consultant. The best is to sign up with an Incubator hub that can provide you with free or subsidized basic consultancy, mentoring  and business advisory services.

Moreover, learn to pay for business advisory. Don't think that it's the big cooperations that need to hire and pay for business advisory services. Remember, that your journey as a business or social entrepreneur could be a lot easier when a very solid foundation backed by some professional assistance is laid. Technically, it is the start ups and small businesses that require serious business advisory services. However, be extremely careful of free advice. You could either end up being a trial version of someone's business advisory toolkit  or a victim of a collapsed business as a result of bad business decisions. 

As a start up or a small business, you mostly at a point in time need some financial boost for your business. Basically, you might need an investor. When ever you find your business at this stage of development, don't try to approach any investor until you know three things.
1. The worth of your business.
2. What type of investment you need and how much?
3. What is in for your investor?

We will explain these in subsequent posts.

1. Knowing The Value of Your Business

Know the worth of your business. The capital and human resource investment that has gone into your business so far, as well as how important your business is to you are very much critical information that every profit making investor will be looking out for in a potential investable business. The liquidated and fixed aseets are easy to value. However, the trouble most people go through in assessing the worth of their business is quantifying the non-physical investments made; like time commitment, intellectual capacity of staff, years of experience of working staff, etc. What most people don't know is that even if a business is at the idea stage, it has a value. Know the value of your business and don't sell yourself short to any investor.

2. Knowing the type investment you need and how much
 A very unfortunate mistake that has denied very promising and potential businesses from getting investment support is their inability to examine their business and identify what kind of investment they need and how much.
 There are types of investments parchages that most investors look out for and deem as profitable and convincing enoughfor them to invest. Each form of investment and amount that you think your business needs comes along with its own demands, espectations, risks and advantages. Know what type of investment you need at each level of your business, how much investment you need to start making marginal/ substantial profit, and how long a period before you can meet the demands of your investor.
 Don't always think your business needs financial investment. Investment sometimes could be in the form of time committed, resources or professional expertise and advice.
 Have a clear cut terms of engagement with your investor. Never take anyone's time, money or expertise for granted. Let them know what is in for them before you invite them to the dinner table.

3. What is in for your investor?

Whatever attractive package or percentage you have planned to give your investor would depend on the type of investor you are approaching and what their interests are. Impact investors care very less about the profit margin they would be  getting from investing in your business. However, they are more interested in how beneficial your business will be on other people as well, the environment and your community at large. They look out for businesses with scalability to employ a lot of people, eco-friendly and highly sustainable. Most impact investors make their funds available in the form of grants and soft loans.
Profit investors on the other hand have only one goal, and that is to maximize profit. As long as your business idea gives them the opportunity to earn more on their investment for a great deal of time, then you have their attention. In this case, you can offer then either equity, profit sharing or loan proposal.
Remember, both investors have interest in profit making. Unlike profit investors who look at profit for themselves, impact investors look at profit for your business to grow and continue to benefit others in a more sustainable manner.
Know the espectation of your investor and have a realistically attractive offer for them to invest in your business idea.

When do I start a CSR?
A Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a strategic socioeconomic intervention by companies to give back to the society from whose resources they depend on for profit. The idea is make room for the general society to benefit from the share of profit that you have made over a period of time. It is also a strategic marketing tool for most companies and makes them look genuine and good in the eyes of the people.
However, according to The Carolls pyramid of corporate social responsibility, it is a theoretical concept that implies that corporate social responsibility is presented by four dimensions: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibility. Unfortunately for most companies in Ghana and Africa, CSR has been reduced to just the philanthropic aspect of it, which is the last item on the CSR pyramid.
As far as this concept is concerned, making profit in your business, taking care of your workers, operating a legal venture, paying your taxes and beign philanthropic are all part of CSR.
So, as a small business or startup, when you want to know when to start a CSR, I'll say; 'start making money and you are already doing CSR'.

Forming the right partnerships
Partnership is an essential aspect of business development. It is the single most important element that encourages the creation of inclusive economies and a functional value chain. It is more advantageous to the 21st century business / startup to engage in strategic partnerships in an era of very limited fiscal financing/investment for business. Strategic partnerships helps the business not only reduce the work load which distorts quality and efficiency, but also helps the business to share in its anticipated risks. You don't need to own/produce/manage everything that has to do with developing your product or service. Its very important to outsource certain portion of your business. In very simple terms; if you make torch lights, don't worry yourself to make batteries. Buy from people who have become the best in making batteries and give your customers the best user experience.

Scaling Up your business.
Scaling up your business simply means, increasing the supply base capacity of your business. This is done by increasing capital investments in the form of increasing accessibility(branches), labour, production quantity or quality and other elements of the supply value chain. In very simple terms, it means expansion. It might seem like a pretty simple thing to do if you have all the capital it requires. However, if scaling up is not done strategically, it could have a very detrimental effect on the sustainability of the business. People have gone out of business because they have failed to identify when it is appropriate to expand and how. As we will try to answer these two questions subsequently, it is important that we remember this; "Never force a business to grow. The key for business growth is to make turn overs. What good is a tall Mango tree to a Mango farmer if it can't bare Mango fruits"

When do I start to scale up/expand my business?
.
Scaling up is neccessary for every business, but irrelivant at certain stages of a business. One can not deny the very intense desire of young entrepreneurs to see their business flourishing with branches and outlets  scattered all over. However, if you fail to scale up at the right time, you might end losing some valuable investment. I will encourage every young business to look out for two strong indicators before deciding to scale up;
1. When there is an increase in sustainable demand for your product or service.
2. When there is opportunity to penetrate a market segment.

How do I scale up my business( Scale Small Concept)

Special Lense Investmentor.

Entrepreneurs solve problems. Business people only make money.

Increasing profit by reducing cost.

Developing a business requires more than just believe.


Young entrepreneurs have totally substituted traditional marketing with social media marketing. Unfortunately, it's not always the case. Traditional marketing tools like market storm still works very effectively. But the key here is to know where your customers are. Don't come on Facebook and Twitter selling hair dye. Those who use it are not any of those platforms. A good market analysis should tell you where to find your customers and how best to interact with them. If it  turns out that your customers are in Makola, please put away your phone and go make some money for your business.

Understand the stages of business development, especially the first stage. Don't go focusing your energy on things that has no influence on your business. Speed comes when you have a clear direction. Stay focused...


Create your customers around your business idea, not your personality. You can't live forever, but your idea can.

Young entrepreneurs should be careful of awards, certificates, features and promotions. They are not always a good evaluation of business success. Stay in those corners, work on your craft and make financial turnovers. That is the only evaluation of business success.

Young entrepreneurs should re-codify the concept of entrepreneurship to complement desired results. Know that you are not solving problems and making money out of it, but rather making  money out of a problem you are solving. Which ever way you chose to look at it shows what your interests are as a sustainable business person.

Entrepreneurs are leaners. That's a basic fact. However, the source of your business knowledge is a key contention. Being an experienced entrepreneur and business person doesn't lie in book pages. Books, give guidance and ideas. You'll find the knowledge you need to succeed at the market.

As much as possible, try to separate your business from family and friends. These are both  important elements to your personal development that makes their best impact respectively and distinctively from each Treat them very separate from each other to the extend that a disappointment in one should not affect progress of the other.

Ghanaian Business grow by increasing physical structure and reducing quality product or service delivery

Every business is unique. Don't replicate someone's business model directly for your business. Understand your business setting and create a model that makes financial sense as far as your business idea is concerned.

You business idea should make both business and social sense. Don't call yourself a social entrepreneur is you don't have both at the same time

Not every Business to Customer (B to C) model requires a delivery service. Having an outlet and selling at a location has it's own advantages and opportunities for good financial returns and business sustainability.

Customer repeatability and a consistently increasing customer base are the main conduit for the financial sustainability of a business. How many new customers are you making  and how many of them returned again?

Do you know that your business can slow down and there is actually nothing you should or can do but wait?

According to Eric Ries in his popular book; Lean Startup, a startup is any human organization that is committed to creating a new product or service, under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This means that, you don't know who your customers are, what they want or how to even reach them. If your new business has an already existing business model, has an identified customer segment and expectation/requirement, already existing customer channels and industry operating standards and regulations, then you're running a small business and not a startup. Know the difference between a startup and a small business because the approach to growth is different in either of them.

Contact Maazi Okoro for a copy of the book called The Lean Start by Eric Ries. I recommend this book to every entrepreneur. You can also visit the blog below and learn a thing or two.

Quality is an intrinsic value ofcourse. It is measured against the expectations of your customer. If your customers are not satisfied with your quality level, you've still not met your quality requirement no matter how hard your worked on the product or service. This also means that if you have not clearly identified who your customers are, what they want and how they want it, then you don't know what quality means yet.

Product Development (Developing products and services people don't need)
Startups and small businesses, in their quest to grow sometimes end up developing amazing products and services that people do not neccesarily need. They are able to achieve technical, transitional and sometimes solution success. But due to the lack of need or demand for the good or service, they are not able to achieve business success. The technology industry is noted for it's high uncertainties. For that matter; "the pace of technological progress can, and often does, outstrip what markets need. This means that the relevance and competitiveness of different technological approaches can change with respect to different markets over time." (Thr Innovator's Dilemma)

Pivot or Persevere (So I've done I'll I can but people don't seem to patronize my product or service.)

I get to hear this statement from a lot of young entrepreneurs and business people. To those of them who have been in operation for just a short period, I fundamentally introduce them to a concept called validated leaning. However, those business who have been operating for as long as possible and still can't boast of any customer base, I suggest two approaches to managing such crisis. You can either pivot or persevere. They are both strategies employed in such situations without changing the vision or strategic objectives of the business. To pivot means to change course with one foot anchored to the ground. In this case, strategic alterations are done to meet other potential demands of customers. You persevere when you are sure that your product or service will eventually gain customer appraisal. In this case, more energy is channeled into marketing.
Note: Which ever approach taken should be backed by a good business and product assessment against available or anticipated market demand.

Meet Mr. Mohammed Abdul Hamid Babangida

Mohammed Abdul Hamid Babangida is a project management and business consultant. He is the Executive Director of Maricom Consultancy and the Director of Projects, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME) with Zongo Business Incubator. He is currently a project supervisor for the National Profiling and Mapping Project under the Ministry of Inner City and Zongo Development and the Project Manager for the Vodafone Instant Schools and National Coding Program being implemented by DBA Foundation. He is a social entrepreneur, business man and a fulltime activist for youth development in Africa.

GHANA CAN WORK AGAIN

The various circumstances and eventful occurrences in a country’s sovereignty depicts its core principles and founding policies. It is through policy formulation and implementation and the processes involved in both that reveals the prime values of a nation. Ghana has come under the lens of judgement, event after event, policy after policy, to assess the truth in what it claims to stand for as a highly democratic nation. The contemporary African space has come under two major issues that the voting majority has proven to give considerable attention to before casting their votes. These are the feminine gender balance in state management structure and collaborative/ team work. The modern day campaign messages and manifestos says less of what has never been heard but these two. It is not surprising to see political parties give their support for feminine representation in the various levels of government structure; from the central seat of the executive, judiciary, legislature and the local government.

The feminine balance in the history of the Ghanaian political space has always been a chanting priority of seekers of power and authoritative dominance. Moreover, it becomes important for the sake of continuity and sustainability to collaborate for a more concentrated efforts in solving our problems, at the detriment of partisan politics. Ghana's victory in the maritime dispute with Cote de voire was made explicit in the judgement verdict by the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on Sunday, 24th September, 2017. The victory coincidentally occurring; after the celebration of founders day gives an illustrative picture of what Ghana stands to gain as a nation through collaborative efforts that instinctively, became a great toll in the struggle for our independence by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The focus here however, is the practical demonstration of both former and current Attorney General who have served under three different heads of state from the major political parties working together and placed the country in the winning trail by collaborating together with other specialized lawyers in international maritime law, irrespective of the political backbone. A single event where the national agenda was the only matter under scope has proved to be the reason for our success. Nevertheless, the fact that both attorney generals were of the feminine gender has proven Ghana’s trail in solving the issue of gender balance in our leadership structure. It has therefore become very necessary as a nation that in celebrating such victories, we acknowledge and appreciate the very significant variables that made such wins memorable. One of Ghana's great lawyers: Chachu Chikata, made a remarkable statement by saying that “having these lovely ladies represent the nation must have contributed in the elegance of the proceedings that the president on the tribunal mentioned".

It is an eye opener for all to see the results of collaborations and avoiding partisan politics. Collaboration not just internal, but external as it has been with this very ATLOS verdict. Ghana is set to receive an Ivorian delegation to further discuss how fruitful this verdict can be to both countries; uncover and deepen lines of partnership. This is a very rare yet effective move that proves political maturity and stability. In this occasion, the two Attorney Generals gave a very practical demonstration of what women can actually do for this country, a leverage for gender activities to rise to the peak. As much as a middle income country like Ghana would want to develop substructure (economy) before anything else, it is very necessary we don't forget the very non-financial sustainability elements that are contributing massively in making this country a better one. It is my humble plea that we all come together to pursue the agenda of nonpartisan approach such as this, in solving our problems as a nation. And in building the human resource for that, women become an important asset we can't afford to compromise

THE CONCEPT OF SUCCESS - Quotes by the Author

“Signs without belief is blindness but science without religion is total madness”

“Until we learn to accept people the way they are, we cannot live with them”

“Success might seem only a word but takes time to spell”

“The best way to attain internal and eternal peace is to allow the whole world do what they want whiles you do what is right”

“Until you identify the motivation in your situation, you will never find a solution”

Life is like a coin, the two faces of happiness and grief keeps changing as you toss it in the air”

“Your enemies are in their best moments when they see you retaliate their actions”

“Be the record maker, not its breaker”

“The more you advance in knowledge, the more you realize you know nothing”

“Be patient with people now, so as not to be their patient in future”

“An engine will continue to run as long as there is something to power”

“The beginning of knowledge is the realization and the acceptance of one’s ignorance”

“If success were paintings, the brain would have been a brush”

”Do not be like the mirror which does not appreciate its beauty but that of others”

“It’s much more dangerous to decide to do the wrong thing than not to do anything at all”

“The best form of advice is not by words but by participant demonstration of character”

“It’s only a matter of time, the world will hear your cry, falsehood will come and die and

When all hopes have gone by, the truth will come alive”

“The eyes can see, so the mind can judge. But the ear is blind so the heart is

Always a victim of injustice”

“Seeking success without its knowledge is like a blind man in search of his sight on the desert.”

“Possibility is an accomplist of procrastination and just as procrastination is the thief of time, possibility is a thief of success”

“Indeed, people have their own way to the station, but there is always the safest.”

“The cycle of success is never complete until its result is positively felt by the society”.

THE CONCEPT OF SUCCESS - How to use effective argument and fair judgement to chose your vision

I. One should first know what he or she wants and should be quite impressive in all of them. A person who is a captain of a football team and also the group leader of a debate club is a classic example. The things that you want to argue upon in order to obtain the best are things that you should be good at.

2. Seek views from people who have witnessed at least more than one of your so called ‘talents’ so that you will know what the people around you wants you to be in future. This is very important even to someone who already knows his or her talent. The people are those who see your actions and they are the sure people to tend to when you want to know how well you are doing. Indeed it is said that;

“One who creates a path needs someone behind him to get it straight” African Proverb.

Whatever the people say about you is your other self and that is what they need you for. The people represent the world, they are those who are going to get direct influence from whatever that you want to do. Remember that your happiness must include the happiness of others. So therefore, if you know that the world needs you for what you are and not for whom you are or where you come from, then it is very important to know what they expect from you in life.

3. The next thing to do is when you also include your own assessment of the issue to be argued upon. You know where your passion lies and you know what you are doing and therefore, you can tell which of them you are likely to succeed with. Remember that nobody apart from your creator knows yourself more than you do. It is amusing to find people saying they don’t know themselves. As a matter of fact, you knowing that you don’t know yourself is something that you know about yourself. It should be noted that this is the most important part of the procedure, when one assembles all his data so as to be able to balance them and see which of them your best way to succeed in life.

4. Lastly, always bear in mind that God wants the best for you and whatever that comes your way is for the better. It is the will and presumptions of God that always occur in your life. Pray to God for direction to success and not for success itself because the reverse is the prayer for the ungrateful man of which I know you are not. Remember that God Has already blessed you with all that you need to be who you want to be, it is up to you to just make it happen. Indeed, heaven helps those who help themselves.

Note: people say that success has no formula. There is some sort of truth in that but actually, the people who say this have the wrong definition of success to be all about the fame, wealth and all other earthly things. Yes, people have various ways of getting what they want in life; some use education, for some its inheritance and others, mostly talent and passion. But ask yourself this question, what is the positive impact of what they have acquired on the society? Is it not shocking to realize that the top three richest people in the world today are richer than the top forty-eight poorest countries in the world? What is the use of acquiring all the money and fame if society does not benefit. If you help society, one way or the other you protect your wealth from people who would have probably ended up on the streets, from burgling you. Actually, success is all about fulfilling your purpose of creation. Let’s take the very people we always refer to as heroes, those whose names are on the lips of religious leader and have lived a life worth emulating. In Christianity and Islam; Moses, Noah, David, Jesus, Mohammed etc., peace be upon them all are the heroes of the day not for their wealth, power, personality etc. of which they never had before but because they were able to do what God created them for and all the other things that we tend to go after came on their own.

As far as Islam is concerned, Mohammed Peace be upon him, was able to fulfill his mission on earth and as a result of that, he is now rated as the best man who has ever lived on earth. Michael Jackson is remembered for his music, Mohammed Ali is remembered for his Boxing career, Martin Luther Kings Jnr. is remembered for his philosophy, Mohammed peace be upon him is remembered as the best man who ever lived and earth and the sweeper behind your house is remembered for his sweeping. But at the end of the day they are all successful men because they did what they had to do and they did it so well.