Videos

Video: Working From Home Or An Office
Video: Working From Home Or An Office 1911 1019 Nadir Keval

I spend a lot of my life working, but am fortunate enough to love what I do so much that I rarely feel like I’m working. With that, it becomes a greater challenge to differentiate between work life and home life. Finding that balance is tricky, so I wanted to ask all of you. Would you prefer working from home or an office, and what are your reasons? Leave a comment and let’s talk.

Be sure to subscribe, and to like and share the video with your friends! Remember to also let me know what other types of videos you’d like to see from me.

You can find me on Youtube (http://youtube.com/MNadirKeval), Facebook (http://facebook.com/nadirkeval), Twitter (http://twitter.com/nadirkeval), Tumblr (http://nadirkeval.tumblr.com), and Instagram (http://instagram.com/nadirkeval).

Video: Finding Balance
Video: Finding Balance 934 525 Nadir Keval

In our lives, we are brought challenges, struggles, opportunities, and more, and if not balanced, we can quickly get overwhelmed, resulting in us drowning in our own potential. Many of us grow up without much responsibility, and when it comes down to it, we’re advised by our parents, providers, or whoever we depend on, to focus solely on one thing at a time while they take care of everything else. For example, we go to school, and often, if we’re privileged enough, are told to not work or do anything else and just focus on getting good grades. The reality of life, however, is that when life kicks in, you can’t just focus on one thing. You have responsibilities – a family, your health, your career, your leisure activities, and more. If you focus on just one, you’ll end up getting an avalanche of overdue tasks and responsibilities piling on to you, leaving you incapable of getting back up without an excruciating amount of time and unnecessary effort. Time and energy/effort are two very precious things. Don’t waste them on cleaning up messes you’ve created for yourself. Use them to move forward and upward instead.

Get Your Priorities Straight

One of the first things needed to find balance is to recognize and organize your priorities. Look at the different aspects of your life, label them, and then categorize them according to importance and urgency. In my case, I hold these priorities, in this particular order: faith, family and self, health, passion/work.

Give 100% To Each Aspect

When working on anything, you should always give it your all. But, in order to commit to that completely, you must place focus on one thing at a time. That doesn’t mean that you should work on one thing and neglect everything. Shoot, if I did that, I’d be sending myself to the career graveyard. Instead, place 100% of your focus on each thing in your life when you’re attending to it. So, if you’re at work, be completely at work, and don’t get distracted by unnecessary distractions. If, however, your family calls, or you need to do a prayer, step away from work and attend to your priorities. In my list, faith and family come before passion and work, and so, I step away and respond. One reminder though…if you’re on the family side of that transaction, respect the person’s personal space and responsibilities, and refrain from contacting him or her unless there is an emergency.

Learn more about the things mentioned in this article in the video below:

Ramadan 2013 – Reflections and Changes
Ramadan 2013 – Reflections and Changes 1920 1047 Nadir Keval

Ramadan last year was…different. To be honest, I don’t think there’s any other way to describe it. There was so much going on in my life, and it was all stuff that was overwhelming, stressful, and confusing. Looking back, it wasn’t a time of much clarity for me. I went through a dark time, and was quite unhappy, making it very difficult for me to focus on my faith. Through the help and support of friends, I was able to push myself towards moving forward from the things that ailed me, and found myself in a new place, where I recognized that I had the ability to achieve anything. It was as though life had thrown me to the wind, and instead of being blown away, I was left standing while the wind cleansed my life of the clutter and negativity. Alhamdulillah.

Throughout this last year, I have grown greatly, Alhamdulillah. I have been able to refine the things that I was always so passionate about, and through this process, I have found a new level of peace and clarity within my personal faith. I knew that there was a need for me to grow closer to God, and so I began working on my relationship with Him. It was difficult, and it made what would usually be considered easy and simple become overwhelmingly difficult.

Without going into details of my personal sins, I will share some of the points I grew to recognize as being the key aspects of what helped me find peace and happiness:

  • Be optimistic: It’s so easy to be pessimistic about things, and to expect the worst. It’s so easy to think that everything is just not going to work out, and expect people to always be out to get you, or to make it seem like there’s no point in trying harder to become better. What’s difficult is to be at peace with life, no matter what comes your way. That comes through being optimistic and recognizing that everything that happens in life is part of His Plan. Sure, it’s more difficult, but once you learn to trust Allah, this becomes the secret ingredient to happiness in life. I’ll be writing a separate article about this topic later this week, so be sure to stay tuned for that!
  • Seek progression, not perfection: Many of us get down on ourselves when we find that we’re struggling with living up to the expectations of trying to be perfect in what we do. Well, at least, that’s something I went through. Upon realizing that I shouldn’t worry about the results, and instead should just focus on trying to be the best I could be as possible, life became much more peaceful.
  • Understand that you’re human: We all make mistakes, and beating ourselves up about it won’t do us any good. Instead, recognize that you’re human and part of being human is going through ups and downs in almost every aspect of life. What matters is the next thing in this list…
  • Never give up: Life is a series of tests and struggles, in which we focus on trying to accomplish goals in order to survive and thrive. The problem with this can sometimes be that things don’t always go our way. When this happens, it’s of utmost importance that we refuse to give up and continuously strive towards accomplishing our goals. Roll with the punches, and make the most of what life brings your way, but be patient and relentless in making your dreams a reality.

This Ramadan, let’s take in all we can from the lessons we learned over the past year, set some new goals, and try to make some changes. As a method of following through with this initiative, I’m challenging all of you to do things this Ramadan that are your own personal ways of making a change, be it through praying more, reading Quran more often, going out and volunteering somewhere, helping someone, giving Da’wah, etc. During the month, take pictures, record videos, write blog posts, etc. and hashtag them with #nkmakeachange. Let’s inspire each other to build on helping people as much as we can, and share our experiences. Make the most of this Ramadan, insha Allah! I pray that Allah helps and guides all of us towards making positive changes during this month, and that He gives us the strength, discipline, passion, and commitment to carry on with our changes after Ramadan as well. Ameen!

The Roller Coaster Of Life (Video)
The Roller Coaster Of Life (Video) 1274 714 Nadir Keval

Life itself is a roller coaster. The lower the roller coaster, the steeper and slower the climb to thrill and excitement. But, once you get to that pivotal point, the ride down is incredible and breath-taking! Sure, it may be short-lived, but once again, the lower it goes, the more it’ll pay off once you work your way back up to the top. Be patient. Work hard. It’ll be worth it. – Nadir Keval

Hey guys! After a long-time hiatus, I’m back with a new video! I’m going to be posting videos more often, so please be sure to subscribe and to like my videos. And if you can, write a comment below and share this video with your friends. Apologies for my first video back to be one where I look incredibly tired, but this video was actually shot at around midnight, after a day of working and a 10km trek. I hope the message I’m trying to get across touches your heart, and that you feel inclined to continue watching and sharing my videos!

Poem: “Utopian” – Spoken Word – SFU MSA Islamic Awareness Week 2013
Poem: “Utopian” – Spoken Word – SFU MSA Islamic Awareness Week 2013 1280 800 Nadir Keval

Scroll down for the video.

Muhammad.
The most common first name in the world.
So many use this name as their own,
But none can be like the original.
He is our Prophet, our Messenger, our example,
He is the ideal,
(SAW).
And it is our purpose,
It is our mission,
To live our lives as he had envisioned.

I imagine what it would have been like,
To stand by him as he spoke to the people,
Inspiring hearts,
Revealing purpose.
His sheer existence personified perfection.

He was a man of strength and of dignity.
Superior in every way,
Yet never letting others feel inferiority.

The best of men.

A husband who loved with a heart of gold,
With compassion and wisdom,
And justice and truth.

A father who stood as an example,
To his own, and to all people.

A leader willing to take the weight of the world,
Going hungry for days,
Just so others could have a morsel.

He would give with such generosity,
To the point that it was clear,
He didn’t fear poverty.

As a warner, you would think he’d be stern,
But instead he was sincere, loving, kind, and firm.

A man like him only comes once,
And now it’s on us to honor his trust.
He entrusted us with the message of Islam,
To be the best to ourselves,
And to our fellow man.
And this can only be done
Through following his example,
And yes, it’s not easy,
But Allah wouldn’t have sent him,
If getting close to his perfection
were impossible.

And so, I want to be like him.
I want to marry a woman that reminds me of his wives.
I want to seek companions like his companions.
I strive to face my struggles as he faced his struggles.
And I smile for reasons that would make him smile.

This is my utopia…
To live like him.
And how blessed are we,
To have our utopia be a true and real opportunity.

Copyright © Nadir Keval

Be the best you can be. Then, become better.
Be the best you can be. Then, become better. 1280 800 Nadir Keval

As we take steps on our individual paths through this journey called life, we find ourselves challenged by expectations and rules set out by society to reflect success. But, success is in fact a relative thing, and is dependant on what each individual values. There are so many steps that can be taken to address this issue, but I thought I would focus on this one first, to give me a premise on which I can build my foundation towards reaching my own definition of success.

“Be the best you can be. Then, become better.”

Most people define success through academic degrees/diplomas, high-paying jobs, etc. But, is that truly what defines success? Things like degrees, money, and status are not reflective of success, as they are fleeting and can be deemed worthless, even by something as small as the statement of one person. But, knowledge, generosity, and honour are aspects of a person’s attributes that must be earned with sincerity to truly be of value. Attributes like these are reflective of success.

So, what does it mean to gain success?

Honestly, first and foremost, as you try to answer this question, throw away any expectations or rules that may been placed on you by society and evaluate what it is that truly makes you happy, and balance that with a knowledge and application of your beliefs and values.

Expectations are restrictive, and take focus away from helping you achieve your own happiness and success. When living to fulfill expectations, we’re living to please others instead of ourselves. Try to look at your responsibilities, and look for the root of what it is you provide to that situation. Then, seek out a way to continue to provide the same thing but in a way that makes you happy. Sure, there may be times when you’ll have to do things you don’t like, but it’s important to do your best to make that “necessary and unwanted work” minimal compared to the work that you enjoy.

Become the best.

Who do you want to be? What impact do you want to leave on the world? When it comes down to it, it’s on us to be willing to do whatever it takes to become the best. But, what the best is depends on each person, as there may be something that you’re phenomenally talented and skilled at and others are horrible at, and other things that you’re horrible at that others are phenomenally talented and skilled at. It’s about defining who you are to the best of your abilities.

Each person is unique in what they are going to be good at it and in what they enjoy. And for that reason, it’s important to find what it is you enjoy and to work excruciatingly hard at making your potential realized.

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein

This can only be achieved through going above and beyond to break free from the shackles of societal expectations, and doing whatever it takes to reach your goals. This is a task that’s much easier said than done, but it’s truly the only way to achieve true success. You want to stand out in the crowd as the person who did and achieved far more than most do given the same resources as you were given. So, when you’re taking a class, for example, be the best by reading more than just the textbooks, talk to people that may be familiar with what you’re studying, ask questions, and more. Doing this will put you above the rest of your class, the majority of which will be doing only what’s necessary to pass the class. Don’t settle for just getting by. Accept no less than the best of the best for yourself.

Then, become better.

Perfection is not a part of humanity’s resume. Progression, however, can be. It’s all dependant on how bad you want it.

Once you have achieved your goal of being the best at something, reevaluate yourself and try to find new goals to set in order to make yourself better. The truth is, we all have flaws. What matters is that we accept that fact and start working on becoming better, fixing one flaw at a time. And sometimes, as you work at this, you’ll find yourself understanding yourself and who you are as a person, which in effect makes you an even better person because you’re aware of who you are and what your strengths and weaknesses are.

Strive towards becoming the best you can be, while maintaining contentment with your current condition, but not being satisfied with any less than your best self. Take this approach with optimism and ambition, and I’m certain you’ll find your success and happiness.

Check out the video for more on this topic, subscribe, and tell your friends! 😀

Finally!! I’ve launched my YouTube Channel!
Finally!! I’ve launched my YouTube Channel! 1280 800 Nadir Keval

Better late than never, right?? Over the weekend, I had announced that I will have a surprise for you this Monday, but with work and time just passing by so quickly, I wasn’t able to finish making the video until now. Sorry! Still, I was determined to get this video up, and so, after coming home from work at 10:30pm, I started working on editing the video, and am now done!

I started this channel to build a stronger connection and bond with all of you, and to reach out to a bigger audience, in hopes of helping more people and in making new friends to work with in growing and becoming the best we can be. Sounds cliche, but I’m completely serious 😛

The focus I’m working on right now, to start, is to start every week with a quote or thought that inspires me, and to implement that throughout the week in the different aspects of my life, and to share my thoughts, advice, and struggles with you, as I progress through this journey called life.

Check out the channel, subscribe, and follow me on the other social platforms I mentioned on the site. (I included Pinterest, but it will be a few days before I actually get anything on that social network – but don’t worry, what’s to come won’t disappoint!)

I’d love to get some feedback from all of you, so please comment on the YouTube channel, or here, and let me know what you think! It’s my first real video on the channel, so please be positive and go easy on me! 😛 😀

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