We live many lives in one lifetime. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations neither are you here to live up to mine. Life is worth living only as it is lived in the worship of the one worthy of worship.

If you live by peoples compliments you will die by their criticisms, so do not seek approval of others for your self-esteem. There is a reason why it is called “self” esteem – it has to come from within you, else you may end up trying to fix your image after looking into a broken mirror. The broken mirror gives you a false, misleading representation of yourself, and you struggle to fix a non-existent problem, not realizing that the issue is with the mirror, not you. This is what happens when we try to adjust our lifestyles to suit every critic.

Value your life. It’s an endless problem trying to live like someone else. Do not saturate yourself with too many philosophies and ideologies. Keep your life simple and live simply so that others may simply live. You don’t have to be as good as somebody else, because people are created differently. But try not to be less than who you can be.

The irony of life is that the first half of it is spent in longing for the second, and the second is spent in regretting the first. But when a person regrets endlessly, he gets to pay more for what he regrets. You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Be happy, not because everything is good, but because you see good in everything. Your ego tells you once everything is perfect then you’ll be happy. But life’s circumstances will never be perfect. Be happy, then everything is perfect. Everything happens for a reason!

Stop worrying. The things we worry about are already taken care of by Allah.

مَّا يَفْتَحِ ٱللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ مِن رَّحْمَةٍۢ فَلَا مُمْسِكَ لَهَا ۖ وَمَا يُمْسِكْ فَلَا مُرْسِلَ لَهُۥ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

“Whatever of mercy (i.e. of good), Allah may grant tomankind, none can withhold it, and whatever He may withhold, none can grant it thereafter.” [Faatir (35): 2]

Therefore, do not rush. There is enough for every need, but not enough for every greed. Slowly is the fastest way to get to where you want to be.

You learn nothing from life if you think you’re right all the time. Learn from your experience and other peoples’ too. Hindsight is the best insight to foresight. You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.

Develop your communication skills. Once you open your mouth, you tell the world who youare. Say less than necessary. Speak only if it improves upon the silence. Prophet Muhammadsays: “ْتْتُمُمْصْصَيَيِلِل ْوْوَأَأ اًرًرْيْيَخَخ ْلْلُقُقَيَيْلْلَفَف ِرِرِخِخآْلآْل ا ِمِمْوْوَيَيْلْل اَوَو ِهَّللِهَّللِهَّللَاَاِبِب ُنُنِمِمْؤْؤُيُي َنَناَكَك ْنْنَمَم ”. “Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day speak good or keep silent.” Be aware, however, that always remaining silent and always taking a neutral position is akin to abandoning the truth. And when you speak, bear in mind that it’s not always about what you say, but how you say it. Yet what you say is just as important as how you say it. It is important to tell the truth; but even more important is to sell the truth. It is called strategic communication!

Do not use cruel words when you are in a bad mood. You will have many chances to change your mood, but you’ll never get the opportunity to take back your words. A word and a stone let go cannot be recalled.

Learn to pause deliberately. Pause when in doubt. Pause when you’ve done your best but don’t see the result. Pause when angry. When nails grow long, we cut the nails not the fingers. Similarly, when misunderstanding springs up, cut your ego, not your relationships. Just like you can’t see your reflection in boiling water, the truth cannot be seen in a state of anger. Always analyze before you finalize.

Nothing comes free in life – there’s a price to pay for everything. My teacher used to say no free thing is good and no good thing is free. It sounds exaggerated but it’s mostly true. In most cases, if it is free, then you are the product.

Be committed to your dreams. Bees don’t waste their time trying to explain to flies why honey is better than faeces. Remember that when next someone tries to talk you out of your dreams.

Everyone has got challenges in this life. When a person talks to you about how challenged your life is, the only thing that makes him better than you is that he has succeeded in concealing his own challenges better than you have. Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship.

Be patient with trials and calamities. He who cannot bear misfortune is truly unfortunate. Luqman, the wise, advised his son thus: “…and bear with patience whatever befalls you. Verily, these are some of the important commandments.” [Surah Luqman (31):17].

Without commitment, you’ll never start; without consistency you’ll never finish. Michael Jordan, the renowned basketballer, missed nine thousand shots to become the greatest player of all time. If you fall down and remain down, that is when you have truly fallen. So, when you fall, get on your feet as quickly as possible. Life is like riding a bicycle; to keep your balance, you must keep moving. Failure does not mean you have failed; it means you have not yet succeeded. The top of one mountain is the bottom of the next. Keep climbing, keep learning and keep growing. The moment you call yourself a star, you have stopped growing.

When your fear becomes your only courage, then you have to keep pushing on through. Only the tough gets going when the going gets tough. The fear you refuse to confront becomes your limit.

Be decisive at all times. Indecision is a decision. Never make yourself comfortable with despicable situations. He who goes to the toilet with his smartphone does not find his poo smelly.

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our lives. It means we can still achieve what we want to achieve, as the rest of our lives is yet to commence. What an opportunity we have!

Make money, but do not allow money make you. The provision of every living being is assured by Allah. “There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance depends on Allah.” [Hud (11):6]

Surround yourself with people whose eyes light up when they see you coming. Your niceness to others is not a guarantee of their loyalty. It is not about how much they mean to you; it’s about how much you mean to them. But always remember that forgiveness is the hallmark of the believers, so learn to forgive and forbear. Stains come out. They wash away. Endeavor to give people the benefit of the doubt. Everybody has a flaw, and that’s the reason why we are human. You can see people’s sins, but not their repentance. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Learn to let go, and decongest your mind of less important things. If you’re not going to talk about something during the last hour of your life, then don’t make it a top priority during your lifetime. Gracefully let go of things not meant for you. What is for you will come to you even if it means climbing mountains and crossing oceans.

Never regret being a good person to the wrong people. Your goodnes says everything aboutyou; their behaviour says everything about them. َنَنيِنِنِسِسْحْحُمُمْلْل ٱ َنَنِّمِّمِّم ٌۭبٌۭبٌۭبيِرِرَقَق ِهَّللِهَّللِهَّلل ٱ َتَتَمَمْحْحَرَر َّنَّنِإِإ Allah’s mercy is always close to the good-doers. [Surah Araf (7):56]

When you make it difficult for people to live with you, you teach them how to live without you. Shift grounds where you should. The cow says it is not that the person pulling its string is stronger; it is only in the interest of peace it follows. There are always more to people andissues than meet the eyes. What you see when you close your eyes is the true picture. It is only half the story you know, the other half of it is yet untold.

Be thankful to Allah, and you shall be safe from his punishment. “Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him. And Allah is ever All-Appreciative (of good), All-Knowing. [Surah Nisa (4):147].

The world is a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. But it is never too late to start doing the right thing. It may take a while, but better days are coming.

Finally, my brothers and sisters, in the midst of life we are in death. In all you do, always remember death. The remembrance of death overshadows the pains of this world, keeps one in check, and waters the hope of the righteous for an abode where there will be no more fear, sorrow, or grief.

“There will certainly be no fear for the close servants of Allah, nor will they grieve. ˹They are those who are faithful and are mindful ˹of Him˺. For them is good news in this worldly life and the Hereafter. There is no change in the promise of Allah. That is ˹truly˺ the ultimate triumph. Do not let their words grieve you. Surely all honour and power belong to Allah. He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” [Surah Yunus (10): 62- 65]

Abu Bilaal Abdulrazaq bn Bello bn Oare