Driving Lessons (2)

You can read part (1) here.

The Illusion Of Control!!
Two weeks ago was my second driving lesson. This time, Dad decided to promote me to the 2nd level of speed. But before that, he checked if I still remember what we did last week. And here comes the comedy!!

First, I missed up the order of actions necessary to start-up the car. And after two miserable tries, I finally did it, thanks to Allah (I often miss the orders up :D )!!

After that, Dad aims to make focus on how to make the turn perfectly. The word "perfectly" here means: assuming that there's too many cars around me, how should I keep my car on its track without touching the other tracks, which in returns means touching the other cars, which in returns means a car crash! Soooo simple.

I thought that I'm doing great, just as I'm born a driver by nature B-). Dad has another point of view... Well... Let's skip that part O:-)

But, mainly, I've noticed that I treat the driving wheel in a binary system, with no smooth redirecting, which reflected as a terrible zigzagging moving :(

In the middle of Dad's flow of instructions, and my low speed of processing them, I imagined myself going through Cairo's crowdy streets, driving so professionally; and finally after long years of suffering in public transportation, I go to work with MY OWN CAR!

I woke up from my dreams on a yell from Papa, just after an extraordinary.. stupid turn..

I was shocked for few seconds. What have I don?!! How could I be so ridicules?!! Where was I?!!!!!

I realized that I've run away from feeling not so good, to a dream where I see myself as I'd love to see it! That made me lose my attention to the current moment, and that was just about to lead to a disaster!!

It's not the first time to do so. And I'm not the first one to do so too!!

So many people scape from their current miserable lives by just dreaming.. without taking any actions to change the present to the better! I feel that it's so dangerous. It looks like taking a Psychedelic. But Psychedelic never heals diseases, doesn't it?!

There's a huge difference between "Having a vision and a goal to seek it", and "Escaping from reality by living on clouds of illusion".

Hope I made myself clear,
And pray for me to quit my bad habits :D..
Or .. Perhaps.. It's Dad the one needs for prayers O:-)

You Came To Me

You came to me in that hour of need
When I was so lost, so lonely
You came to me, took my breath away
Showed me the right way, the way to lead

You filled my heart with love,
Showed me the light above
Now all I want is to be with you
You are my one true love,
Taught me to never judge
Now all I want is to be with you

Allahuma salay alla saedeena Mustafa
Ala habibika nabeeka Mustafa

You came to me in the time of despair
I called onto you, you were there
Without you what would my life be
Not know the unseen?, the worlds between

For you I'd sacrifice, for you I'd give my life
Any thing just to be with you
I feel so lost at times of all the hurt and lies
Now all I want is to be with you

Showed me right from wrong
Told me to be strong
Need you more than ever ya Rasulallah

You came to me in that hour of need
Need you more than ever ya Rasulallah

You filled my heart with love,
Showed me the light above
Now all want is to be with you
You are my one true love,
Taught me to never judge
Now all I want is to be with you

Song for: Sami Yusuf
Arabic version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ13Dc7VAGk

اللهم لا تحرمنا صحبته في الاخرة وفرحه بنا بوم لقاه

Palestine Will Be Free

Every day we tell each other
That this day will be the last
And tomorrow we all can go home free
And all this will finally end
Palestine tomorrow will be free
Palestine tomorrow will be free

No mother no father to wipe away my tears
That’s why I won’t cry
I feel scared but I won’t show my fears
I keep my head high

Deep in my heart I never have any doubt
That Palestine tomorrow will be free
Palestine tomorrow will be free

I saw those rockets and bombs shining in the sky
Like drops of rain in the sun’s light
Taking away everyone dear to my heart
Destroying my dreams in a blink of an eye

What happened to our human rights?
What happened to the sanctity of life?
And all those other lies?

I know that I’m only a child
But is your conscience still alive

I will caress with my bare hands
Every precious grain of sand
Every stone and every tree
‘Cause no matter what they do
They can never hurt you
Coz your soul will always be free

Palestine tomorrow will be free
Palestine tomorrow will be free

Lyrics: Maher Zain & Bara Kherigi
Melody: Maher Zain
Arrangement: Maher Zain & Hamza Namira
© Awakening Records 2009

Driving Lessons

Lesson Number One :)

This post has nothing to do with Rupert Grint's movie "Driving Lessons", it's about *My* Driving Lessons :D
Last Saturday, was my first lesson, supervised by my Dad ;).
Actually, I was planning for this post long time ago, but I think I'm going to switch into Arabic as my cars English vocabulary isn't that good yet :D

اخيرا... وبعد طووووول إلحاح على الباشمهندس بابا... قرر سيادته ان يحول وعوده الى افعال!

وفي الحالات اللي زي دي، لا يمكن انزل من بيتنا من غير تحميس ورفع معناويات *هايل* من عفريت العلبه (اخويا الضغير):" تبقى سلمي لي على الارصفه وعواميد النور!!!"

رحنا ااااااااااخر المدينة، حيث الجبال و الرمال والهواء الحسن. كان شارع رايح جاي، بس ماكنش فيه ولا حد رايح، ولا حد جاي، كان فاضي خالص... جو مثالي للتدريب...

اول ما ركبت مكان السواق... اترعبت!! وبدأت افكار سوداء تتزاحم في عقلي... (مش هاعرف... هاخبط العربية... هانعمل حادثه... ازاي هسيطر عليهاااا!!!! مش هاعرف... مش هاعرف... مش هااااعررررررررف!!!!)...

وهلم جره (على رأي د. عمرو)... إلا اني قررت ان لا اسمح لمثل هذه الافكار ان تسيطر عليا، وان تسلبني متعتي. فبدأت الافكار البيضا تحل مكان اخواتها السود... (اييييييييوه... دي اللحظه اللي كنت مستنياها... اكيد مش هاتكون اسوء من الـ
Python with OpernERP
زي نيد فور سبيد بالظبط... ياااه... بقالى زمااااان ملعبتش اللعبه دي)!!

دي كانت البدايه... مبشره جداااااااااا... النهايه كانت احلى... لاني قدرت امشي بالعربيه فعلا لمده نص ساعه او ساعه إلا ربع تقريبا في الشارع. كنت بلف الشارع زي ماكون بلف التراك!! يعني قدرت اني امشي في خط مستقيم وألف على الواسع والضيق كمان...

اللي في النص بقى... دا بيني وبين البشمهندس !!

بس اتعلمت عالشان تطلع ، تدوس دبرياج على الاخر خااااالص، تجيب السرعه الاولى ، وبعدين تشيل رجلك من على الدبرياج واحده واحده، وفي نفس الوقت تدوس بنزين... دوس بنزين براحه. كنت فاكره ان كل ما ندوس بنزين السرعة تزيد، بس طلع ان السرعه بتزيد من العصايه اللي في النص دي (مش فاكره اسمها). الموضوع تقريبا معتمد على الاحساس بدواسه البنزين والدبرياج و الفرامل، ودي حاجه لسه محتاجه اتدرب عليها.

بس فعلا تجربه ممتعه، ومن ساعة ما خلص الدرس الاول وانا مستنيه الدرس التاني بفارغ الصبر.

بعد ما رجعت، كان لازم احسس عفريت العلبه ان *تشجيعه* جاب نتيجه، اول ما دخلت قلت له: "شيلت 5 ارصفه، و 16 عمود، وترليتين، وبس!!!!"

يتبع... ان شاء الله

Sami Yusuf's Honorary Doctorate Speech

Sami Yusuf is one of my inspiration sources. For me, he's not just a singer that I'm one of his fans. I do respect him so much, and highly admire his believes and mentality. May Allah blesses him, and help hem to continue his journey.
Here's a part of his Honorary Doctorate Speech. If you read it carefully, You'd know what I'm talking about.


"I am absolutely honored to accept the award of Doctor of Letters. ...
You may be feeling daunted by this, but we have one thing in common.

We all face challenges in our lives, and we will all strive to overcome them.

Before I go on, I have to admit that I am not a very good Popstar. I don’t drink, don’t do drugs, and you won’t find me hauling Paris Hilton out of a nightclub at 4am. I am also shy, and I hate talking about myself, so please bear with me, I would much rather prefer to sing you a few of my songs – but I have not got any biographical ones.

So a speech it is…

I am not a man to give unwanted advice, but I can tell from my own heart that nothing has given me more pleasure than to be creative, to challenge orthodox thinking and to be the best I can be – from my personal and business relationships, to my work.

Let me explain.

Some of you will obviously be wondering who I am! It is very hard for me to explain, but simply put, I am a proud British Muslim, from London, who has only ever made music I have wanted to make – I kind of call it “Art with a Purpose”

Basically I write and perform music which infuse the spirit of the Muslim character into a new sound both Western and Eastern in flavor and appeal. I have sold albums to fans in countries as diverse as Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Iran. Which is nice, but that is more of a footnote to the journey.

I created records that were unthinkable by certain Islamic scholars, creating a new market among Muslims of all ages who were not permitted to listen to any popular music without incurring the wrath of family, friends and certain religious authorities.

So - when I first started composing and song-writing, there was simply no market for my music. I was writing about my love of God – not exactly something which would get me the attention of Sony or any of the global labels. Let alone Simon Cowell!

Sitting there at the piano or violin, I never considered whether it was brave or stupid…
…to create music no-one had ever created before
… in a genre that didn’t exist
…to a market which had never bought a pop record before.
Sounds pretty stupid right!

It was just real to me, it was truthful and came from my heart.

Looking back now, I can tell you it is a relief. I certainly must have done something very right.

My own faith, my own identity led me to create this music, which spoke of my love of God and respect for fellow human beings.

All of this came about of me following my dream, being truthful with myself, not faltering or diverting when others have suggested a path I felt in my heart was wrong.

Happiness and success come when you make sure you hold your ideals and dreams as sacred, and then I assure you..

Anything and everything is possible to achieve in life."
References:
http://www.samiyusufofficial.com/?p=1372
http://www.samiyusufofficial.com/?page_id=1065

Favorite Movies Quotes (2)

Ratatouille
"There are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends", Anton Ego

"Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere", Anton Ego
"Change is nature, Dad. The part that we can influence. And it starts when we decide", Remy


"If you focus on what you left behind. You will never be able to see what lies ahead. Now go up and look around", Gusteau
"There is excellence all around you. You need only to be aware to stop and savor it", Gusteau

"You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul. What I say is true - anyone can cook... but only the fearless can be great", Gusteau

**********

Chocolat

"Listen, here's what I think. I think that we can't go around... measuring our goodness by what we don't do, by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think... we've got to measure goodness by what we *embrace*, what we create... and who we include", Père Henri

**********

Spider Man II

"I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble. And finally gets us to die with pride", May Parker

**********

Robots


"You can shine no matter what you're made of", Bigweld

First, Break All The Rules

This book explores the challenge of many companies - attaining, keeping and measuring employee satisfaction. Discover how great managers attract, hire, focus, and keep their most talented employees!

Key Ideas:
1. The best managers reject conventional wisdom.
2. The best managers treat every employee as an individual.
3. The best managers never try to fix weaknesses; instead they focus on strengths and talent.
4. The best managers know they are on stage everyday. They know their people are watching every move they make.
5. Measuring employee satisfaction is vital information for your investors.
6. People leave their immediate managers, not the companies they work for.
7. The best managers are those that build a work environment where the employees answer positively to these 12 Questions:

a. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
b. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
c. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?
d. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
e. Does my supervisor or someone at work seem to care about me as a person?
f. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
g. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
h. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
i. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
j. Do I have a best friend at work?
k. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
l. This last year, have I had the opportunity at work to learn and grow?
Without satisfying an employee’s basic needs first, a manager can never expect the employee to give stellar performance. The basic needs are: knowing what is expected of the employee at work, giving her the equipment and support to do her work right, and answering her basic questions of self-worth and self-esteem by giving praise for good work and caring about her development as a person.

More wisdom in a nutshell from First, Break All the Rules:

1. Know what can be taught, and what requires a natural talent.

2. Set the right outcomes, not steps. Standardize the end but not the means. As long as the means are within the company’s legal boundaries and industry standards,let the employee use his own style to deliver the result or outcome you want.

3. Motivate by focusing on strengths, not weaknesses.

4. Casting is important, if an employee is not performing at excellence, maybe she is not cast in the right role.

5. Every role is noble, respect it enough to hire for talent to match.

6. A manager must excel in the art of the interview. See if the candidate’s recurring patterns of behavior match the role he is to fulfill. Ask open-ended questions and let him talk. Listen for specifics.

7. Find ways to measure, count, and reward outcomes.

8. Spend time with your best people. Give constant feedback. If you can’t spend an hour every quarter talking to an employee, then you shouldn’t be a manager.

9. There are many ways of alleviating a problem or non-talent. Devise a support system, find a complementary partner for him, or an alternative role.

10. Do not promote someone until he reaches his level of incompetence; simply offer bigger rewards within the same range of his work. It is better to have an excellent highly paid waitress or bartender on your team than promote him or her to a poor starting-level bar manager.

11. Some homework to do: Study the best managers in the company and revise training to incorporate what they know. Send your talented people to learn new skills or knowledge. Change recruiting practices to hire for talent, revise employee job descriptions and qualifications.


This article is based on the following book:
First, Break All The Rules
‘What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently’
By Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
Simon & Schuster