potential

Do a little something…
Do a little something… 2000 1333 Nadir Keval

Read something.
Learn something.
Write something.
Meditate something.
Reflect something.
Grow something.
Believe something.
Love something.

This mindset and series of reminders is one of the ways I keep myself focused and motivated daily. I believe that every day, we are able to work towards accomplishing most of these. Not every day will include all of these goals, but having the higher ambition will result in finding the path to daily betterment.

Taking out time daily to grow and become a better version of yourself through, action, reflection, and ambition, is key to accomplishing our goals and turning our visions into our realities.

Take this mantra and print it out, put it on your wall so you see if every morning and remember that you deserve to grow and take care of you.

What would you add to this list of things you should work on daily?

3 Hurdles on the Journey to Success
3 Hurdles on the Journey to Success 1920 1280 Nadir Keval

Many of us have ambitions and goals, but perhaps just as many of us get overwhelmed by the drive needed to achieve those goals. We fear the overwhelming struggle, the possibility of failure, and the unrelenting force of self-doubt that eats away at our potential. What I have learned over the years is the importance of us embracing that struggle, staring down that fear, and ignoring that voice in your head telling you that you can’t accomplish anything you set your mind and heart to.

Fear is inevitable. It’s a part of what helps us understand who we are, and it challenges us to overcome different things that come our way, helping us grow and become better as individuals in our characteristics, skills, and so much more. (You can read more about my thoughts on facing your fears here.) There’s one beautiful reminder about faith that makes facing your fears much easier: “Allah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear.” (Quran 2:186) What that tells you is that regardless of what you face in life, God guarantees that you will never face anything you can’t bear. It means that He KNOWS you can handle everything you face. And because we also know that Allah only has us experience things that will help us become better versions of ourselves, we know that us overcoming our fears will result in us reaching new heights in accessing our true potential. How beautiful, encouraging, and reassuring is that?? As for the individual fears I mentioned above, let’s break them down one at a time.

1. The Struggle

We’ve all heard the saying, “Nothing in life worth having comes easy, and nothing that comes easy is worth having.” A pretty great reminder, if you ask me. Sure, you may come around the occasional unique case where something falls into place without much work, but to depend on that occurrence as our path to success in our endeavors is like living a half-assed life, expecting someone to come around one day with a briefcase of millions of dollars for you. Umm…sorry for breaking your bubble if that’s what you’re hoping for, but my friend, it’s probably not going to happen. I would recommend that you work hard towards your goals, and if you just so happen to stumble upon that kind of fortunate circumstance, simply consider it a bonus.

Hard work is it’s own reward. It’s true. When you have a goal or dream you’re striving towards accomplishing, every little success feels like a huge motivation and push forward. Successful people wake up every morning with the ambition to take steps forward in their goals, and to get a few extra little successes under their belts, and that acts as part of their fuel for the next day. I personally get excited every time I get the code I’ve been struggling with when designing a client’s website, or coming upon an epiphany for a logo or branding scheme for a client. Or, when I would see a coaching client overcome something they were afraid to face. Or, when I would come up with an idea for a quote, poem, or article to write. These may seem like really small experiences, perhaps even unimportant in the larger scheme of things, but every little success is worth appreciation and embrace, because these little things are exactly what remind us that we’re on the right path to fulfilling our goals. Keep going towards your goals, and work relentlessly until you accomplish your goal, or life leads you and your heart in a different direction that’s better for you.

2. The Truth About Failure

Failure can be one of two things: the fuel to your success or the fuel to your destruction. Which of the two it’ll be is up to you.

Personally, I’ve failed so many times during my journey to success, and actually fail in small ways almost on a daily basis. But, I recognize that those failures have come in my life path for the sake of helping me grow and build on my skills and talents. I know that God has put me on this world to help people, and that can be difficult at times when it comes to trying to support your family and future. I face criticism and ridicule often as I try things and stumble, and can sometimes have people telling me that I will never succeed, or that I should just give up on trying. Still, I push forward, have faith and patience, and work my butt off every single day, while trying to learn and grow from my experiences. If I let the reactions of others towards my journey and failures eat away at my mind, or affect me in any way, I would definitely see myself fall into self-destruction. The reason I say self-destruction is because it’s truly self-imposed. We choose what we let in and what we let out of our minds. We have to remember that no one knows our journey better than God and our own selves. As long as we keep God in mind with every step, give our hearts to Him, and work relentlessly towards what we want in life (within moral bounds, of course), we can remain steadfast in our steps forward towards succeeding in our goals.

Another beautiful thing about failure is that it keeps us balanced and humble. It reminds us that we’re human, and that reminder is hugely important when we have big expectations. It’s through this falling and failing that we learn how to get back up and keep going. It’s through these setbacks that we are brought towards the right timing for our success, and are reminded that we should stay humble and levelheaded with our potential and skills.

There is enough in this life that pushes its way into our life and minds to the point of causing us sadness and fills us with a test of hope and faith. Don’t pass the test of failure in that process. Failure is truly a blessing and an opportunity for us to become better versions of ourselves, and what better thing could we ask for than that as we strive every day towards personal development and growth?

3. Destroying Self-Doubt

Ah, the internal evil that resides in even the best of us: self-doubt. No matter who you are, you’ve surely experienced this to some degree. But, the beauty of life is that we are never faced with anything that we can’t bear, and we are often capable of so much more than we think we are. As Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” What that reminder told me was not only that we have to always try something before we know we can do it, but also that we can only know how much we are capable of through us pushing the envelope with our comfort zones.

Like I mentioned above, letting the words of others get to us is something that can happen only if we allow it to. What’s even more important to keep in mind though is that the same goes for our own negative, pessimistic, or skeptic thoughts. We are hardwired to think out all of the options, and life’s rollercoaster-type nature causes us to fear the worst and doubt our own capabilities. Often, we put up a front that we have what it takes to take on the things that scare us, but I think that it’s much easier to become courageous than to fake fearlessness. When you face every day, remind yourself that you are capable of so much more than you can imagine, and that there is nothing that can come your way in life that you aren’t able to handle. You are stronger, wiser, and more capable than you think. People will try to convince you otherwise, and life will challenge you often to make you think otherwise (if you let it), but I assure you that your success and happiness is simply past those things you doubt being capable of doing or achieving.

Ultimately, when it comes down to it, there are two things I believe combine to create the formula for guaranteed success = unrelenting and ridiculous work ethic + an ever-growing knowledge and application of your beliefs and values. Figure out what you want to dedicate your time and efforts to, and what your beliefs and values are, and then face life head on. With these two things, you will find everything you’re looking for, and then some. Of course, there are so many more details to these two components for each individual person, and I’d be more than happy to coach or mentor any of you in that endeavor. You can send me an email at mail@nadirkeval.com to set up a free consultation, but till then, I hope this article will be a great starting point!

Now, I want to hear from you! Join the conversation! Leave a comment below telling me about some fears you’ve conquered, or share some insight into some other ways you have taken on these or other hurdles on your personal journey to success 🙂

Poem: Clarity
Poem: Clarity 2500 1667 Nadir Keval

It has been written,
long before our time,
what we are destined to be…
who we are destined to be.

Then why is it that we fret
about the matters that are outside of our grasp,
when we know that to worry
is, in truth, simply a form of insulting
God.

It is in the nature of man to be indifferent to the matters that are of importance to him,
but to then question that which is clear and right in front of his eyes.
Ah, but wait, perhaps that is not in his nature,
but instead in the way that he has been raised
to believe that things must be a certain way…
a way that is visible to man,
but without consideration of God.
See, without faith, we become limited.
Everything has to be “realistic”
instead of being based on faith.
We place a ceiling on the potential
of our growth and in His abilities,
not realizing that it all comes from Him.

The sun rises.
The sun sets.
We live.
We die.
We become strong.
We become weak.
This is the true nature of man.
We are predictable,
but our fate is unpredictable
by us.
And we live
with one of two things in our horizon:
a fog
or a mirage.
We are all capable of change and betterment.
We are all designed for greatness in our own right.
But, that clarity and zeal
will only truly come with God
in our hearts,
in our words,
in our actions,
in our minds,
and in the very essence of what makes us.
Our every breath is a result of His Will and Mercy.
So, should we not live every moment in the pursuit of pleasing Him?

To find clarity in life,
we must take all that we do
and pass it through Him.
We must make our living and our dying,
our thriving and surviving,
our working and resting,
our thinking and acting,
all focused around doing right by Him.

The world will try to push us,
it will try to lead us to falter,
but in the end,
our return is to Him.
So, earning His Love and Mercy,
is much wiser than earning
that of anyone else.

Copyright © Nadir Keval

Poem: Flight
Poem: Flight 1920 1080 Nadir Keval

Every breath
is a yearning
for her voice,
for her touch,
for her presence.

He takes a leap
of faith,
of love,
with a smile
because he knows
that if there are two things
to completely trust in,
they are God and love…
specifically God’s Love.

The leap,
a lift off the ground
with excitement
and certainty of reaching
the other side
to togetherness.

Suddenly,
a shortness of breath.
Wonders and doubts
of whether or not,
he could soar…
or even hope
to glide
to the other side.

Then, just as suddenly,
a sense of being grasped;
pulled upwards,
being gifted with wings
tearing through his skin,
but giving him what he would need,
to take flight
and float into her embrace.

He stands tall,
takes in a deep breath,
comes down to one knee,
with her hand in his.
He thanks God for his wings,
and asks her for her heart.
She says, “I’ve trusted it to God…”
looks up to the skies,
smiles and says,
“And He said
He’s been saving it for you.”

Copyright © Nadir Keval

Don’t be fearless. Be this instead.
Don’t be fearless. Be this instead. 3456 2304 Nadir Keval

To be fearless is to live and act without any sense of fear. You see, that doesn’t seem to make much sense in my mind, because it is the overcoming of fear that results in achieving greatness and growing as a person. So, in order for us to be the best we can be, we need to learn to be courageous and brave when faced with the inevitable truth of fear.

See, fear can help us learn about ourselves, and give us a lit path towards change and betterment. As a guiding light towards what we need to conquer, it can give us the stability of knowing where we’re headed. In any endeavor of life, whether it be your health, relationships, career, or anything else, it’s most important to know where you’re going, and to have a plan. Many have the mentality of just living life day-by-day, but that is only good in theory, and in reality can lead to chaos and extreme confusion and disarray. Our lives are meant to have purpose. We are meant to be driven towards a goal. Even when someone takes time away to explore themselves and/or the world, they are ultimately doing things that will help them reach a point of better understanding themselves and the world.

People often see fear as being a negative experience or attribute, but the truth is far from that. It’s not something that reflects weakness or a lacking in the capability to do something. Instead, it reflects being human.

“The brave man is not who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

Every day, we are faced with something or the other that makes us have to push beyond our limits. Opportunity lies outside of our comfort zones. If you find that you’re not being faced with this kind of opportunity often, I suggest you take a look at your life and ask yourself if you’re really out there trying to make every day better than your last. Ask yourself if you’re really doing the things that make you happy, and striving every day to be better at it in order to master your craft. If you aren’t, please make a change and start challenging yourself on the daily, so that you can begin living life to the fullest. Every person deserves to live their best life, but it is only when we accept that truth, that we are able to begin working on making our lives and the lives of others better.

Fear is like the flashing light at the top of the roller coaster, telling you to brace yourself and get ready for thrill that’s about to come your way. You can either see it as a precursor to excitement and opportunity for growth, or see it as a precursor to something that will break you and make it harder for you to move forward in life.

It’s all about your mindset, as most things are. When it comes to fear, the question is how badly you want to accomplish something over how much you want fear to control your life. You have the ability to overcome anything that comes your way…you just need to be willing to have the faith and put in the work.

Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do. – Quran (16:97)

I’ll be honest with all of you. I wake up every single morning with a fear to face. I started my first company with very little to my name, and have spent a good chunk of my life being near broke. But, every morning, I get up, pray, have a little personal talk with Allah, take out some time to take care of myself (exercise/meditate, get well dressed – based on my own standards, eat well), plan out my day’s tasks and events, and then go at it full throttle! I can’t say it’s easy. It’s incredibly difficult, some days more than others (to the point that it’s crippling), but I know that I have to work hard if I want to be someone who makes the world a better place, even if it’s done through one person at a time, and even if that means having to struggle to get by every once in a while. I want to be an example to people of how to live your life to the fullest, and how to find balance and happiness in your world. I want to inspire and be inspired towards helping people of the world. This doesn’t come easy, and can lead to times of doubt and a lack of zeal, but that’s when your need and desire to reach your goals and purpose is tested. THAT is when you have to push harder and further than normal in order to get to where you want to be! THAT is when you must be brave! THAT is when you must be courageous!

More Than Mediocre
More Than Mediocre 1440 964 Nadir Keval

As children, most of us are privileged and fortunate enough to hear and believe that we are capable of accomplishing anything we put our minds to. Our minds are free, full of imagination and limitless possibilities. We don’t concern ourselves with the opinions of others, or the risks of failure. We simply follow our hearts and intuition, and move freely towards what we want, driven to get what we want, no matter the costs.

Then, we begin to interact with people. We begin to see that our dreams and goals are something others have attempted and have failed at. We begin to question if it’s really worth it to take so many risks. We learn about the way things are “supposed” to be, and how we’re “supposed” to live our lives, and are brainwashed into believing that there isn’t much out there for us to achieve, beyond what has already been accomplished by others. Honestly, to call this bullshit would be an insult to bullshit.

Growing up, I was the type of person that had a great deal of potential, and would be reminded of it often by teachers and relatives. The problem, however, was that I would be placed in the most conventional and typical scenarios to fulfill that potential, that I wasn’t able to find a space where I was able to be my true self. In the eyes of teachers and relatives, I was an academic flop, but simply for the reason that they believed I wasn’t trying hard enough. Parent-Teacher interviews usually went like this:

Teacher: Nadir is one of the best young men I’ve met. He’s smart, he’s intelligent, he gets along well with others, and he is always there to help when needed.

Parents: (grinning) Thank you.

Teacher: But…he seems to be very distracted in class, is often late with his assignments, and seems to struggle with tests, even if he understands the material.

Parents: Oh…

The conversation would then lead to my parents asking the teacher how they could help me, the teacher suggesting tutoring, a schedule, my parents checking and signing my homework book every night, etc. I tried every single one of those things, but nothing seemed to work. It worked for some others, but for me, it just didn’t work. This continued all the way into university, until I came to a point of making the conscious decision to find a new way.

That was when things seemed brighter in my eyes, despite the fact that I was now being called, “A jack of all trades, and a master of none.” That didn’t sit well with me, because I knew that it was possible for me to become more than just one thing. I didn’t want to be mediocre. I looked at the lives of those around me and those I heard about on TV or in the dreadful gossip circles you see at most events. Most people seemed to be miserable with their lives. They hated their jobs, they had lost all romance in their relationships (if they were in one at all – some find singlehood to be the ideal lifestyle, by the way…for me, having someone to share a life with and to be completely comfortable with is one of the most beautiful things life has to offer), they always wanted what they didn’t have and were upset and unsatisfied with what they did have. I looked at that and saw horrifying examples of what following the societal path to “success” looked like.

I decided that enough was enough. I decided that I would go after my goals, and create more dreams and goals as I went along. I decided that if someone told me that I would never be able to accomplish one of my goals, it would then be a personal challenge to make sure that I accomplish it, simply so I can know in my heart that I’m capable of more than what’s expected of me.

I quickly learned that being mediocre was something that just didn’t work for me. I believe I am destined for greatness, destined to be more than mediocre. Why let others dictate what I am and am not capable of?

“Never let anyone’s thoughts, words, or actions towards you dictate the value of your life. Do right by God and do right by you. Focus on those two things and, by the will of God, the rest will come together in the best way possible.” – Nadir Keval

The world is filled with people with lives that are so incredibly similar, while having the potential of being so incredibly unique. What takes us away from being the best we can be is the fact that we become accustomed to living according to what others tell us is okay, acceptable, and realistic. Personally, I call bullshit on that again! I often tell this to my mentoring clients, and I’ll share it with all of you: The key to success lies in a balance of two things…knowledge of your beliefs and values with the action to back it up, balanced with a ridiculously driven and unfaltering work ethic towards making your dreams and goals a reality.

I hope you can take this information and go after your dreams, knowing that every single one of us is capable of being far more than mediocre. You have your own unique purpose in this world, and the best way you can achieve it is by never giving up on becoming better at being you. I’d love to hear your stories on how you’ve come up against the challenges of being your best you, and how you dealt with it. Leave a comment below to get the conversation started!

Quote: The Most Beautiful Rose
Quote: The Most Beautiful Rose 1536 2048 Nadir Keval

“I’m beginning to learn that it is often the most beautiful of roses that acts as our greatest test of patience, as it works up the courage and confidence to bloom, not knowing the potential it holds.” – Nadir Keval

The Most Beautiful Flower - watermarked

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