There’s No Place Like Home February 3, 2009

Trend #19: There’s No Place Like Home

With the growing unemployment numbers, expect a surge in home-based businesses and in mom entrepreneurs in 2009. Correspondingly, expect a surge in marketing directed at this segment of the market. If you can help these individuals be successful, start getting the word out now.

taken from here.

Ah, another topic that is very close to my heart; Home-based entrepreneurism.

If you are one of the people who is laid off because of the economy, or potentially be laid-off – fret not. Consider this as the best thing that have ever happened in your life!

Without having to go through the whole soul-searching episodes (like me! ), you are now naturally guided into the path that could possibly lead you into living your dream life

Instead of crying over your job (that most probably is not that great anyway, except that it pays the bills), quickly get into the mode of searching for opportunities.

Or better still, create that opportunities for yourself!

Whatever it is that you feel like doing, start it now. Right now. From home. The easiest way, and I can’t say this enough is to plug in that computer (if you are reading this, you are most probably people that has easy access to computers if not having it turned on 24/7) and start a blog. It’s free, it’s fast, and you can do anything (well, almost anything) with it.

Look for inspiration from people who has been doing it. Startup Nation is a great source for entrepreneurs and home-based entrepreneurs. Locally, there’s Ehomemakers.

Stay tuned every Tuesday for my Trading Tuesday entry as I will keep on writing about my experiences, thoughts and ideas about entrepreneurism.

Lastly, have faith always. Ultimately – your source of income, your money, your food – it all came from the Creator, your Sustainer.  When your faith is firm on that, your heart will be stronger and you will not be afraid anymore.

Disclaimer: I do not endorse easy-money, unlimited profit, quick-scheme internet crap. What I mean by business/entrepreneurial endeavours are original indigenuous business ideas that are fuelled by passion and dream and not purely money making (oh, I should write another topic just for this disclaimer)

©Copyright Naziehah Feb 2009

The Bus September 19, 2008

After my morning belly dancing session with my student yesterday, we talked about one’s search for spiritual knowledge. As she’s from a different faith background, I found her story interesting and I learnt a lot from her during that conversation.

I then started thinking about my own Muslim brothers and sisters. In Malaysia especially, where most Muslims were born-Muslims. And what is the implication of that.

(Some) People of different faith, or of no faith, their search for the Truth, the Higher Power, God – are a continuous process. Neverending, and often very persistent and intense. They asked the questions ‘Why are we here (on earth)?’, ‘What is our purpose?’, Where will we go?’, ‘When will we go?’. Questions that Muslims (if they are from sound Islamic teaching) would have already known and ingrained in our self. We are not meandering souls wondering and searching. We are grounded in the Oneness of the Almighty.

People who’s searching for the Truth, they are like people searching for the right bus. They keep looking, keep searching. Sometimes they step on a different bus, damn wrong ones! – they step down and have to start back the search. Always moving, always looking.

But born-Muslims, they are already on the bus. But for most, all they ever did is they sit prettily at the doorstep of the bus. The bus never really goes anywhere, they never really go anywhere. They are content to just listening to the tourist guide’s opening speech. Not even craning their neck to see what is outside their window!

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) states ‘Go in quest of knowledge even unto China’. Perhaps there is a reason why the Prophet mention China as it is a country so far and different from people in the Arab region. He wants us to seek knowledge not only locally, but internationally. To learn from different teachers and scholars. To learn from different environment and climate. To keep learning as far and as wide and as deep as possible. Generally, to learn and learn and learn a lot!

Personally, I think the study of faith, of spirituality, especially is an ongoing process. One can never said one has finally ‘arrived’, or ‘learned’ or ’smart enough’. It was never enough. For perfection of knowledge only belongs to Almighty. What we know is only a tiny, tiny, tiny nothingness compared to the ‘real deal’. The more we know, the more we don’t know. The more we learn, the more we need to learn.

To end this entry, I am so thankful for the ability to learn and seek knowledge. For the eyes that can read. For the brain that can think. For the fingers that can Google and search. For the hand and feet that can go here and there in the search of knowledge. Alhamdulillah.

Oh Ustaz March 17, 2008

I have a problem with this term. Ustaz. They were used to loosely, too easily- by Malays. Any Tom, Dick, and Harry (or rather Tam, Daud, dan Harun) can be an Ustaz nowadays.

I kept meeting Malays that knew one ustaz or another that can ‘tengok’ things, or ‘baca’ things, or ‘tau’ things. Sounds more like a ‘bomoh’ than an Ustaz to me! Very dodgy I think.

I guess one of the reason might be that most Malays are ‘too trusting’. The ‘can’t-question-the-ustaz’ syndrome. How do you really know for sure that all the ‘things’ that the ustaz said is true? Yes, we do need to believe the ‘ghaib’. But is everything is about the ‘ghaib’? And are you even sure that he is, in fact, a real Ustaz? I thought Ustaz are supposed to teach you about Islamic faith. Not ‘predicting’ things, or ’seeing’ things, or ‘reading’ things.

If these people were from uninformed, uneducated background with limited access to internet or well, other people, I wouldn’t be too bothered. But some of these people are drenched-in-white-gold rich, living right smack in the city, and spoke excellent English. How uninformed can they be?

One of the many things that I found weird, that’s all.