بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
It's been a while since I last wrote in this medium. If I remember correctly, the last time I write was like 2 years ago, when I'm back in uni. Lack of commitment and laziness get the better of me back then. But its okay, everyday is start of something new, and today shall be the day I rejuvenate this blog back.
One of the habit of successful people is that they write in journal on daily basis. Not just write for the sake of writing, but rather to make writing as a medium of expression. More often than not, I found unable to express myself be it in terms of thoughts, new ideas, or even emotions in real life situations. Let this blog be my medium of expression, to be open about myself. To express myself via something that I felt comfortable with.
I named this blog The Corporate Sufi when I first opened it in 2013. The history goes back when I first stumbled upon and read "The Corporate Sufi" by Azim Jamal.
I've only read the book once, and I felt in love with the writings by Mr Azim on how to balance between the demand of this worldly affairs (denoted as corporate world) with spiritual journey (represented by principle of Sufism) hence the name Corporate Sufi. Back then, I was already fascinated with the ideas, however I couldn't really taken full gist of the readings as I have yet to experience the so called demand of the corporate world and the ordeal of balancing my life from both sides of worldly affairs and spiritual soul.
Having gone through one year of employment as an auditor with PwC had made me rethink about how do I improve this point forward. One year of working experience had definitely taught me a lot of things. The hustle and bustle of auditor's life coupled with adapting to new environments every now and then, had certainly made me grown as a man. And being an auditor, also made me to reflect back on my future plan. Am I heading to the right direction? And whether or not all the hard work for this job is worth it. For now, I haven't fully get a grasp on final answer for that question, but one thing for sure, I'll stay in PwC for another one year, persevere first, enjoy the ride of auditor's crazy workload, and re-assess the situation again.
As for this commencement post, I would like to put in here, extracted from the book itself, what is meant by a Corporate Sufi, for your curious mind and for my future reference;
"A Corporate Sufi is a person who marries his work with his life mission and balance his work, family, social, and spiritual lives. He is a person who is ambitious and wants to do well in the worldly sense of climbing the corporate ladder, raising a family, being materially successful, and helping good causes - without compromising spiritual principles. This book guides a corporate person to marry his worldly aspirations with the Sufi way of living.
Why would one want to be a Corporate Sufi? Ultimately, we want fulfillment and lasting happiness. We do not climb the corporate ladder just for the mere sake of it but because we believe that corporate success will give us inner happiness, contentment and satisfaction.
If we earn millions of bucks, but in the process of acquiring that wealth, we lose our family, our health and the connection to our spirit, we will not find fulfillment and lasting happiness. The money we have made cannot buy back these things.
We spend a third of our lives at work. It is important to work in order to pay for necessities and luxuries. After a point, however, the excess money is only useful if we are able to make a difference with our wealth to our loved ones and to those who are less fortunate than we are. The best to achieve happiness is to give happiness.
If we are not happy at work, if our work is neither fulfilling nor nourishing to the soul, a third of our lives is consumed to some degree by unhappiness. By being Corporate Sufis, we are able to fuse our life's mission with our corporate mission. Our work becomes a prayer, a way of connecting to our spirit. We are able to remain effective, work with integrity and focus, and be a source of inspiration to those around us.
Envision yourself working in a field that not only nourishes your soul but also allows you to make a positive difference to yourself and to others. You lose track of time while doing your work. It is work at which you are talented and gifted. You work hard at it because you want to work hard, not because you have to. You love the challenges and hurdles that come your way. You are not scared to take risks and to venture into uncharted territory because you believe in your work.
As a Corporate Sufi, one of your strongest motivations is to make a positive difference to the world you live in. You do that by making a difference to the people who work with you, your customers and all other stakeholders. In addition, you play an active part in contributing to good causes. You believe that there is room for improvement in how we spend on our charities, that we are all responsible for making the world an equitable and peaceful place and that every human being has a right to food and shelter, education and health facilities."
In my honest opinion, being a Muslim who is still finding my foot in this world, it is of utmost importance that I have a set of principles that shall be my guidance in charting my journey. The book has been a good a read, and an eye opening experience for me.
For the next 14 days, I will give my best to uncover and in my own words understanding every chapters of this book (14 chapters altogether). It is my to do list for the next 2 weeks, and I hope I can fulfill this mission. Start small but continuously and success is a guarantee. See you tomorrow! :)
It's been a while since I last wrote in this medium. If I remember correctly, the last time I write was like 2 years ago, when I'm back in uni. Lack of commitment and laziness get the better of me back then. But its okay, everyday is start of something new, and today shall be the day I rejuvenate this blog back.
One of the habit of successful people is that they write in journal on daily basis. Not just write for the sake of writing, but rather to make writing as a medium of expression. More often than not, I found unable to express myself be it in terms of thoughts, new ideas, or even emotions in real life situations. Let this blog be my medium of expression, to be open about myself. To express myself via something that I felt comfortable with.
I named this blog The Corporate Sufi when I first opened it in 2013. The history goes back when I first stumbled upon and read "The Corporate Sufi" by Azim Jamal.
I've only read the book once, and I felt in love with the writings by Mr Azim on how to balance between the demand of this worldly affairs (denoted as corporate world) with spiritual journey (represented by principle of Sufism) hence the name Corporate Sufi. Back then, I was already fascinated with the ideas, however I couldn't really taken full gist of the readings as I have yet to experience the so called demand of the corporate world and the ordeal of balancing my life from both sides of worldly affairs and spiritual soul.
Having gone through one year of employment as an auditor with PwC had made me rethink about how do I improve this point forward. One year of working experience had definitely taught me a lot of things. The hustle and bustle of auditor's life coupled with adapting to new environments every now and then, had certainly made me grown as a man. And being an auditor, also made me to reflect back on my future plan. Am I heading to the right direction? And whether or not all the hard work for this job is worth it. For now, I haven't fully get a grasp on final answer for that question, but one thing for sure, I'll stay in PwC for another one year, persevere first, enjoy the ride of auditor's crazy workload, and re-assess the situation again.
As for this commencement post, I would like to put in here, extracted from the book itself, what is meant by a Corporate Sufi, for your curious mind and for my future reference;
"A Corporate Sufi is a person who marries his work with his life mission and balance his work, family, social, and spiritual lives. He is a person who is ambitious and wants to do well in the worldly sense of climbing the corporate ladder, raising a family, being materially successful, and helping good causes - without compromising spiritual principles. This book guides a corporate person to marry his worldly aspirations with the Sufi way of living.
Why would one want to be a Corporate Sufi? Ultimately, we want fulfillment and lasting happiness. We do not climb the corporate ladder just for the mere sake of it but because we believe that corporate success will give us inner happiness, contentment and satisfaction.
If we earn millions of bucks, but in the process of acquiring that wealth, we lose our family, our health and the connection to our spirit, we will not find fulfillment and lasting happiness. The money we have made cannot buy back these things.
We spend a third of our lives at work. It is important to work in order to pay for necessities and luxuries. After a point, however, the excess money is only useful if we are able to make a difference with our wealth to our loved ones and to those who are less fortunate than we are. The best to achieve happiness is to give happiness.
If we are not happy at work, if our work is neither fulfilling nor nourishing to the soul, a third of our lives is consumed to some degree by unhappiness. By being Corporate Sufis, we are able to fuse our life's mission with our corporate mission. Our work becomes a prayer, a way of connecting to our spirit. We are able to remain effective, work with integrity and focus, and be a source of inspiration to those around us.
Envision yourself working in a field that not only nourishes your soul but also allows you to make a positive difference to yourself and to others. You lose track of time while doing your work. It is work at which you are talented and gifted. You work hard at it because you want to work hard, not because you have to. You love the challenges and hurdles that come your way. You are not scared to take risks and to venture into uncharted territory because you believe in your work.
As a Corporate Sufi, one of your strongest motivations is to make a positive difference to the world you live in. You do that by making a difference to the people who work with you, your customers and all other stakeholders. In addition, you play an active part in contributing to good causes. You believe that there is room for improvement in how we spend on our charities, that we are all responsible for making the world an equitable and peaceful place and that every human being has a right to food and shelter, education and health facilities."
In my honest opinion, being a Muslim who is still finding my foot in this world, it is of utmost importance that I have a set of principles that shall be my guidance in charting my journey. The book has been a good a read, and an eye opening experience for me.
For the next 14 days, I will give my best to uncover and in my own words understanding every chapters of this book (14 chapters altogether). It is my to do list for the next 2 weeks, and I hope I can fulfill this mission. Start small but continuously and success is a guarantee. See you tomorrow! :)
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