Blessings of Allah

A great leader with his sister

Leader of a proactive nation

Musharraf departs - A relief with mounting challenges

Raja G Mujtaba

Every sun that rises has to set. Likewise every person in power has to leave. Lucky are those who leave with honour and grace. Some are so unfortunate that they fail to read their humiliation and assume that they were the saviours and messiahs.

Parvez Musharraf has been the unfortunate one who fell in his own trap. He got power intoxicated little too quick, he deviated from his announced agenda in the very first year of his takeover. Today he has been abandoned by his masters, friends and so called admirers and supporters. Each has their own views to distance themselves from the falling dictator who lost complete sense of direction when he was at his peak.

In February 2000, I had almost one to one meeting with General Muhammad Aziz, the then Chief of General Staff at his residence. He tried to give assurance that Musharraf will not stay a day longer than required but who was to determine if he was no longer required, General Aziz had no satisfactory answer to that. Today after almost nine years Parvez Musharraf was still not willing to relinquish his office. What a colossal damage that he has inflicted to the state, it’s institutions and people would be assessed by history.

His total switchover to the West came as a rude shock to the entire nation but he went about wielding his fists as the only person who was sane and rest were just a bunch of nincompoops. The atrocities that he committed against the innocent people would never be forgotten. His support to America in holding Afghanistan made our western border highly volatile, more insecure than our borders with India. This also gave an opportunity to all those players like India, Israel, US etc to destabilise Pakistan. Once our strategic depth was now a hostile land. It is for this reason that we are facing all the problems in FATA, NWFP and elsewhere in the country. Even the minions like Hamid Karzai show eyes to Pakistan and grind their teeth.

America, who derived the maximum benefits through Musharraf in the region, was the first to dump him like a waste paper that had no more utility. This was followed by almost all the major countries of the west. All provided him lip service with the diplomatic jargons and nothing beyond that .

Underlining how the West has already moved on, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice offered "deep gratitude" for Musharraf's decision to join the U.S.-led fight against extremists following the Sept. 11 attacks, saying he "served as a good ally of the United States, granting him asylum is not on our cards.

Javed Jabbar, a technocrat and a politician, a school time friend of Parvez Musharraf said, “Parvez Musharraf had lost the track of the national priorities; his personal interests came in the fore in the very first year of his rule. This shift in his policy and personality forced me to resign from his cabinet.”

Immediately as he announced his resignation, Pakistan's stock market and currency both rose strongly on hopes the country was bound for political stability. The commentators were expecting more rallying on Tuesaday.

"Today we have buried dictatorship for ever," Gilani, Pakistan’s Prime Minister said in a special sitting of parliament. “Pakistani stocks jumped more than four percent on the news of Musharraf's resignation,” added Gilani.

Sharif's spokesman, Ahsan Iqbal, said Monday, "The crimes of Musharraf against the nation, against the judiciary, against democracy and against rule of law in the country cannot be forgiven by any party or individual,"

Musharraf claimed in his TV address yesterday that he had always kept the national interest above his personal interest. Nothing could be further from truth. One would like to ask him whether he was thinking of the national interest when in the face of his dismissal order he violated the constitution and his oath of honour and overthrew a democratically elected government on October 12, 1999.

Was he guided by the national interest when he held a rigged referendum to perpetuate himself in power? Did the national interest prick his conscience when he forced the intelligence agencies to rig the 2002 general election and distort the democratic process in the country?

Gen Moin ud Din Haider, a senior and a friend of Musharraf also had similar views. Gen Haider had been the interior minister in Musharraf’s cabinet that deviated from the laid down objectives. Haider was sorry for Musharraf who missed the opportunity to make a positive name in history.

In cities across Pakistan, crowds gathered to celebrate, some firing automatic weapons into the sky. People were seen offering prayers of thanks in front of the parliament house.

Talat Masood, a former army general turned political analyst, forecast the coalition would find compromises for both the presidency and the judiciary, partly because neither wants to tackle the country's problems alone.

He further said, "It's a huge challenge and they cannot face it individually. It's very important for them to work together and I think they know that," he said.

Gen Asad Durrani, a former DG ISI and spokesman of the Ex Servicemen Society has demanded a trial of Parvez Musharraf.

Talking over telephone to General Hamid Gul, also a former DG ISI and an ardent Islamist said that the political future depends on as to how the ruling collation would involve the other parties like APDM, MQM to face the new challenges. Here he also said that the role of Army would play would be a major factor in shaping the future.

About the three likely candidates to fill the slot of the president, Hamid Gul said; “If Zardari wants to further strengthen his hold over the party and the national politics, then it would be Faryal Talpur, Zardari’s sister, If American interests are to be watched then it would be Asfandyar Wali, another strong contender for the slot is Mahmood Khan Achakzai.” “However if the grievances of Baluchistan have to be redressed, then it should be Atta Ullah Mengal,” said General Gul.

The immediate challenges that face the nation are, the restoration of judiciary, price control of various daily use commodities, availability of electric power and reduction on the dependence of the imported fuel.

Imran Khan when contacted by scribe to have his views about the post Musharraf scenario, he said, “All depends if the judges are restored.”

Finally, will the PPP-PML-N alliance hold? It’s an unnatural alliance between the arch rivals; hence forth they would be on clash path for their bigger goals. Now Parvez Musharraf is out, there is nothing that can hold them together for a long time. PPP would grapple to take a shot at Punjab while PML-N would realign it’s azimuth for Islamabad. If the judiciary issue and the nomination of the presidential candidate are not settled amicably the honeymoon would be over.

It’s a testing time for Pakistan, it's the real time for the Intellectuals and opinion makers to build a situation of normalcy depict a national cohesion. Politicians have to rise above the party or personal interests, demonstrate unity of thought pave the way for a strong Pakistan based on its ideology. Our foreign and internal policies must be a true reflection of our Islamic character, anything short of that would constitute a constant struggle that may spill into an anarchy the signs of which are more than glaring.

raja.mujtaba@gmail.com

Opinion Maker

Should Musharraf be accorded a safe passage?

Musharraf is left with no options but to quit. All those who were on his side have abandoned him, may be high but not dry as yet.

Any institution or a force that would try and negotiate a safe passage for Musharraf would not go down well with people in general and those who have been directly hit by Musharraf regime in particular.

At no cost Musharraf should be allowed a safe passage, let’s stop here to make fun of our own land and people. Let the law take it's course, why should we allow the viceroy of the foreign powers let go escort free?

Those who are trying to broker his safe passage, can they replace the losses of the poor innocent people who have been killed, maimed, tortured, humiliated, jailed, transported to G,Bay and other secret places around the world.

Who would compensate for the thousands of innocent lives in Lal Masjid? These poor students, mostly girls were killed at the behest of Musharraf even after a deal had been brokered. Why, were they less humans?

If army only wants to step in just to save an ex chief who has been a criminal, a war mongerer, a die hard lover and supporter of the Jews, who has worked relentlessly to sow all the seeds of discord in Pakistan. A person who challenged the Islam loving and other Allah fearing people, people who wanted to see the rule of Shariah as unacceptable to him and he launched army against them, does he deserve any symphathy?

Who transported Dr Afifa Siddiqi, who allowed the rapers of Dr Fauzia at Sibi a safe passage after that trecherous crime?

Army remains our national pride, did he not create a hatred for the army amongst the minds of the people? Army's graph had never been so low with the people as it went down now. Has he not destroyed or tried to destroy every institution of ours? All for the person of Parvez Musharraf, so people still think that he deserves any sympathy or soft corner?

Who will pay for the blood of 50 or so people killed in Karachi on 12th May 2007? Who will pay for the blood of soldiers killed in Kargil just for his misadventure?

The list is long that can not be summarised here.

All those who are trying to give him a safe passage would stand answerable before Allah for all the crimes that he committed just for his whims.

Not only he but all those who were responsible and his associates in these heinous crimes must also be tried.

The blood of my people is very precious; no one can be allowed to play holi with it.

Wake up everyone wake up, we all would be answerable to Allah for keeping our mum.

Opinion Maker

raja.mujtaba@gmail.com

Anti--Terrorist Activities in Pakistan

Anti--Terrorist activities in Pakistan Pakistan is the only Muslim country with nuclear weapons, a nuclear proliferator, the Taliban’s chief patron, and a sponsor of jihadis in Kashmir.Since their rout in Afghanistan, bands of Muslim ‘extremists’ have found safe havens in Pakistan’s northern districts, as well as Quetta and Karachi. More ominously, last July, the Taliban challenged the authority of the state in Pakistan’s capital. Yet, there has been little talk in Washington or Tel Aviv about adding Pakistan to the ‘axis of evil.’ This is the Pakistani paradox. This paradox has a simple explanation. In Pakistan, the US had effected regime change without a change of regime. Almost overnight, following the attacks of 9-11, the US had drafted the Pakistani military to wage war against Muslim extremists. The US had gained an army: and Pakistan’s military dictators had gained longevity. Yet, could the Pakistani military deliver on its promise to fight the Taliban and Al-Qaida? At first, it appeared that it was succeeding. General Musharraf boasted that Pakistan had collected $50 million in exchange for extremists handed over to the US. These losses, however, did not deter the extremists from regrouping; and before long they were attacking NATO forces in Afghanistan from bases inside Pakistan. As NATO casualties rose, the US ratcheted its pressure on Pakistan. And by August 2004, the Pakistan had deployed 100,000 troops to guard its frontier with Afghanistan. The extremists now began targeting Pakistani troops. In September 2006, in the face of rising losses, Pakistan pulled out its troops from Waziristan in return for a Taliban promise not to mount attacks from bases in Pakistan. It was an improbable truce. In reality, the Taliban had ‘liberated’ Waziristan. The US was unhappy about the truce. And with good reason: Taliban attacks in Afghanistan began to rise after the truce. Since then, US has been ratcheting its pressures on Pakistan to hunt down the extremists operating out of bases along its northern frontier. In Pakistan, the insurgents are Muslim nationalists. They are drawn mainly from Pashtun peasants, but they enjoy broad support among the peasants as well as the middle classes all over Pakistan. On the other side, about a fourth of Pakistan army consists of Pashtuns; and mid- and low-ranking officers are middle-class in their origin and orientation. Only the top military brass identify firmly with the elites. In Pakistan, the boundary between the opposite camps is not as firmly drawn as in Latin America. As a result, as Pakistan army escalates the war against its own people, this boundary has been shifting, shrinking the support base of the military elite. If this is the irreversible dynamic behind the US-inspired counterinsurgency, it is unlikely that Pakistani elites can long sustain their decision to fight America’s war against Muslim nationalists. Recent events support this prognosis. As the military has escalated its offensive, its reputation has plummeted. Hundreds of soldiers have surrendered or, more likely, defected. General Musharraf has rescinded corruption cases against Benazir Bhutto to court her party; but this has eroded the standing of her party. How is this ‘civil war’ likely to end? In one scenario, at some point, an alliance of Muslim nationalists – the fighters and their allies in the army and civil society – will enforce their own regime change, and create an Islamist Pakistan. This will end the civil war, but not Pakistan’s troubles. Instantly, US and Israel will clamor for a regime change of the hard variety: through covert operations, air strikes, invasions, and civil wars. As these events unfold, the US may well decide to start a war against Iran. This can only advance the timetable for an Islamist take-over in Pakistan. When that happens, the US and Israel will be engaged in a major war along an Islamic arc stretching from Lebanon to Pakistan –and perhaps beyond, to the north and the east.

Countering Exremism in Pakistan

COUNTERING EXTREMISM IN PAKISTAN

RISING EXTREMISM IN PAKISTAN IS WIDELY IDENTIFIED AS A HARD CORE ISSUE. THE RELIGION-DRIVEN EXTREMIST IDEOLOGY & AGENDA HAS BECOME A SORE POINT FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION IN PAKISTAN.A STRONG & EFFECTIVE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN WILL HELP TO ENSURE THAT THE COUNTRY STEERS TOWARDS A PATH OF ENLIGHTENED MODERATION,STABILITY AND PROSPERITY.EXTREMISTS FORCE THEIR OWN SET OF RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL IDEAS ON OTHERS.THIS EVENTUALITY OCCURS WHEN A GROUP OF PEOPLE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE SUPERIOR STANDING OF OTHER PARTY'S POINT OF VIEW AND OVERLOOK THE SHORT COMINGS IN THEIR OWN IDEAS & BELIEFS.WHEN SIMPLE ARGUMENTS DOES NOT WORK THAT GROUP BECOMES VIOLENT & AGGRESSIVE.HUMANITY HAS SUFFERED A LOT DUE TO EXTREMISM BECAUSE ITS BRUTALLY AFFECTS THE SPIRIT OF HUMAN CREATIVITY AND PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE. LACK OF EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES IN PAKISTAN HAS CONTRIBUTED TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXTREMIST IDEOLOGY THAT HAS FUELED TERRORISM. MADRASAS MUST BE NATIONALIZED. THEY SHOULD BE MONITORED FOR THEIR EDUCATIONAL, RELIGIOUS AND EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES.KEEPING WEAPONS, ESPECIALLY HEAVY WEAPONS AT MADRASSAS MUST NOT BE ALLOWED AT ANY CASE. A FOOL PROOF MECHANISM MUST BE ADOPTED TO COUNTER EXTREMISM.
Countreing extremism is a complex issue created by our own stupid and foolish rulers. Numerous measures are needed to be taken to fight this issue:- 1- Establishment of an effective system of social justice. 2- Mass education in the norms of human behaviour and conduct. I would recommend that this be based on the Islamic teachings. Almost all the civil societies in the world have adopted the Islamic social system minus its system of Belief & worship. The core of all constitutions of the world is Islamic in nature. Why should we abohr it just for showing ourselves as enlightened moderates! Why should we abdicate from what is inherently ours for some silly reasons. 3- To identify the root causes of extremism. 4- To work out a comprehensive plan for eradicating the root causes so identified. 5- To start implementing this plan in all sincerity

The Concept of Jehad in Islam

The Concet of Jehad in Islam :Major(R)Khalid Nasr

The word Jihad comes from the root word jahada, which means to struggle. At the individual level, jihad primarily refers to the inner struggle of being a person of virtue and submission to God in all aspects of life.
At the collective level, jihad can take various forms, such as: 1. Intellectual Jihad, which comprises of the struggle to convey the message of God to humankind and to combat social evils through knowledge, wisdom and dignified discourse. As the Glorious Qur’an says: "Who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to Allah, works righteousness, and says, "I am of those who bow in Islam”? [Al-Qur’an 41:33]
2. Economic Jihad, which comprises of economic measures, and spending from one’s means to improve the living conditions of the poor and the downtrodden.
3. Physical Jihad, which involves collective armed self-defense, as well as retribution against tyranny, exploitation, and oppression.
Thus the concept of Jihad is vast and comprehensive. Admittedly, it’s the last category of Jihad that is a cause for concern to many, and which we shall explore in detail.
PHYSICAL JIHAD
Jihad on the battlefield, in the Islamic perspective, is the last resort, and is subject to stringent conditions. It can be waged only to defend freedom, which includes freedom of faith. The Glorious Qur’an says: “To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged;- and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid;- (They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right,- (for no cause) except that they say, "our Lord is Allah". Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure…” [Al-Qur’an 22:39-40]
Moreover, the Qur’an says: “And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? - Men, women and children, whose cry is: "Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!” [Al-Qur’an 4:75]
Thus the conditions of physical Jihad are clearly defined in the Qur’an.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
Although Islam permits Jihad on the battlefield under the conditions mentioned above, the rules of engagement reflect Islam’s inherent inclination towards peace:
No aggression towards civilians
Military conflict is to be directed only against fighting troops and not against civilians, as the Glorious Qur’an says: “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors” [Al-Qur’an 2:190]
As far as the non-combatant population is concerned such as women, children, the old and the infirm, etc., the instructions of the Prophet are as follows: "Do not kill any old person, any child or any woman" "Do not kill the monks in monasteries" or "Do not kill the people who are sitting in places of worship." During a war, the Prophet saw the corpse of a woman lying on the ground and observed: "She was not fighting. How then she came to be killed?" Thus non-combatants are guaranteed security of life even if their state is at war with an Islamic state.
Upholding Justice
The ravages of war are not an excuse for Muslims to engage in any form of cruelty or violation of human rights. As the Qur’an says:
“O ye who believe! stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.” [Al-Qur’an 5:8]
It is forbidden under Islamic law, to ill-treat prisoners of war or to deny them the essentials of life, including medical treatment.
Respect for religious freedom
Physical Jihad cannot be waged with the objective of compelling people to embrace Islam. The Glorious Qur’an says:
“Let there be no compulsion in religion” [Al-Qur’an 2:256]
“If it had been thy Lord's will, they would all have believed,- all who are on earth! wilt thou then compel mankind, against their will, to believe!” [Al-Qur’an 10:99]
Accept peace
If the enemy offers peace, it should be accepted even at the risk of possible deception. The Glorious Qur’an says: “But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is One that heareth and knoweth (all things)” [Al-Qur’an 8:61]
CAN TERRORISM BE COMPARED TO JIHAD?
Terrorism is usually defined as ideologically motivated indiscriminate violence that targets civilians, with the intention of inspiring terror in order to achieve political ends. Although this definition ignores the reality of state terrorism, it is clear that terrorism has no place in the noble concept of Jihad. Even Jihad that involves physical conflict is the very antithesis of terrorism, as is clear from the following differences:
1. Jihad can be launched only by an established authority as a policy in order to deter aggression. Terrorism, on the other hand, is committed by individuals or groups that have no legitimacy to speak for the majority. When terrorism is committed by states, it usually depends on misleading the masses. 2. Jihad is limited to combatants while terrorism involves indiscriminate killing of civilians. 3. Jihad, when the need arises, is declared openly, while terrorism is committed secretly. 4. Jihad is bound by strict rules of engagement while terrorism is not bound by any rules.
CONCLUSION
It is clear from the foregoing discussion that Jihad is a vast concept that encompasses various spheres of activity, all directed towards the betterment of self and society. Regardless of how legitimate a cause may be, Islam does not condone the killing of innocent people. Terrorizing the civilian population, whether by individuals or states, can never be termed as jihad and can never be reconciled with the teachings of Islam.

Ambition : A Key to Success

Ambition---A Key to Success :Major ®Khalid Nasr
“A fire in the belly doesn't light itself. Does the spark of ambition lie in genes, family, and culture--or even in your own hands? Science has answers.” JEFFREY KLUGER
Not only do we struggle to understand why some people seem to have more ambition than others, but we can't even agree on just what ambition is. "Ambition is an evolutionary product," says anthropologist Edward Lowe at Soka University of America, in Aliso Viejo, Calif. "No matter how social status is defined, there are certain people in every community who aggressively pursue it and others who aren't so aggressive."Dean Simonton, a psychologist at the University of California, Davis, who studies genius, creativity and eccentricity, believes it's more complicated than that. "Ambition is energy and determination," he says. "But it calls for goals too. People with goals but no energy are the ones who wind up sitting on the couch saying 'One day I'm going to build a better mousetrap.' People with energy but no clear goals just dissipate themselves in one desultory project after the next."
Assuming you've got drive, dreams and skill, is all ambition equal? Is the overworked lawyer on the partner track any more ambitious than the overworked parent on the mommy track? Is the successful musician to whom melody comes naturally more driven than the unsuccessful one who sweats out every note? We may listen to Mozart, but should we applaud Salieri? Most troubling of all, what about when enough ambition becomes way too much? Grand dreams unmoored from morals are the stuff of tyrants--or at least of Enron. The 16-hour workday filled with high stress and at-the-desk meals is the stuff of burnout and heart attacks. Even among kids, too much ambition quickly starts to do real harm. In a just completed study, anthropologist Peter Demerath of Ohio State University surveyed 600 students at a high-achieving high school where most of the kids are triple-booked with advanced-placement courses, sports and after-school jobs. About 70% of them reported that they were starting to feel stress some or all of the time. "I asked one boy how his parents react to his workload, and he answered, 'I don't really get home that often,'" says Demerath. "Then he handed me his business card from the video store where he works." Anthropologists, psychologists and others have begun looking more closely at these issues, seeking the roots of ambition in family, culture, gender, genes and more. They have by no means thrown the curtain all the way back, but they have begun to part it. "It's fundamentally human to be prestige conscious," says Soka's Lowe. "It's not enough just to be fed and housed. People want more." Humans often report the same kind of temperamental determinism. Families are full of stories of the inexhaustible infant who grew up to be an entrepreneur, the phlegmatic child who never really showed much go. But if it's genes that run the show, what accounts for the Shipps, who didn't bestir themselves until the cusp of adulthood? And what, more tellingly, explains identical twins--precise genetic templates of each other who ought to be temperamentally identical but often exhibit profound differences in the octane of their ambition?
National Cancer Institute. But that still leaves a great deal that can be determined by experiences in infancy, subsequent upbringing and countless other imponderables. Some of those variables may be found by studying the function of the brain. At Washington University, researchers have been conducting brain imaging to investigate a trait they call persistence--the ability to stay focused on a task until it's completed just so--which they consider one of the critical engines driving ambition. It's impossible to say whether innate differences in the brain were driving the ambitious behavior or whether learned behavior was causing the limbic to light up. But a number of researchers believe it's possible for the nonambitious to jump-start their drive, provided the right jolt comes along. "Energy level may be genetic," says psychologist Simonton, "but a lot of times it's just finding the right thing to be ambitious about." Simonton and others often cite the case of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who might not have been the same President he became--or even become President at all--had his disabling polio not taught him valuable lessons about patience and tenacity.
Is such an epiphany possible for all of us, or are some people immune to this kind of lightning? Are there individuals or whole groups for whom the amplitude of ambition is simply lower than it is for others? It's a question--sometimes a charge--that hangs at the edges of all discussions about gender and work, about whether women really have the meat-eating temperament to survive in the professional world. Both research findings and everyday experience suggest that women's ambitions express themselves differently from men's. But even if something as primal as the reproductive impulse wires you one way, it's possible for other things to rewire you completely. Two of the biggest influences on your level of ambition are the family that produced you and the culture that produced your family.
There are no hard rules for the kinds of families that turn out the highest achievers. Most psychologists agree that parents who set tough but realistic challenges, applaud successes and go easy on failures produce kids with the greatest self-confidence (see box). What's harder for parents to control but has perhaps as great an effect is the level of privilege into which their kids are born. Just how wealth or poverty influences drive is difficult to predict. Grow up in a rich family, and you can inherit either the tools to achieve (think both Presidents Bush) or the indolence of the aristocrat. Grow up poor, and you can come away with either the motivation to strive (think Bill Clinton) or the inertia of the hopeless. On the whole, studies suggest it's the upper middle class that produces the greatest proportion of ambitious people--mostly because it also produces the greatest proportion of anxious people.
When measuring ambition, anthropologists divide families into four categories: poor, struggling but getting by, upper middle class, and rich. For members of the first two groups, who are fighting just to keep the electricity on and the phone bill paid, ambition is often a luxury. For the rich, it's often unnecessary. It's members of the upper middle class, reasonably safe economically but not so safe that a bad break couldn't spell catastrophe, who are most driven to improve their lot.
Humans not only make peace with their beta roles but they also make money from them. Among corporations, an increasingly well-rewarded portion of the workforce is made up of B players, managers and professionals somewhere below the top tier. They don't do the power lunching and ribbon cutting but instead perform the highly skilled, everyday work of making the company run. As skeptical shareholders look ever more askance at overpaid corporate A-listers, the B players are becoming more highly valued. It's an adaptation that serves the needs of both the corporation and the culture around it. "Everyone has ambition," says Lowe. "Societies have to provide alternative ways for people to achieve."
Ultimately, it's that very flexibility--that multiplicity of possible rewards--that makes dreaming big dreams and pursuing big goals worth all the bother. Ambition is an expensive impulse, one that requires an enormous investment of emotional capital. Like any investment, it can pay off in countless different kinds of coin. The trick, as any good speculator will tell you, is recognizing the riches when they come your way.

A Guide for Creative Thinking

Creative Thinking:Major (R)Khalid Nasr
Einstein once said, “Every child is born a genius.” But the reason why most people do not function at genius levels is because they are not aware of how creative and smart they really are.
Let’s start off with the definition of creativity. The best definition of creativity is, simply, “improvement.” All you have to do is develop the ability to improve your situation, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. All great fortunes were started with ideas for improving something in some way. In fact, an improvement needs to be only 10 percent new or different to launch you on the way to fame and riches. The Creative Process: There are four parts of the creative process: 1.There is preparation, where much of the work is done. 2.There is cerebration or rumination, where you turn the matter over to your subconscious mind. 3.There is realization, where the idea or ideas come to you. 4.And finally, there is application, where you work out the creative idea and turn it into something worthwhile. Of the four, preparation seems to be the most important, and it involves gathering the right data and asking the right questions. Suggestions: Your success in life will be determined largely by the quantity of ideas that you generate. It seems that the quality of ideas is secondary to the quantity and that if you have enough ideas, one or more of them will turn out as a good idea. 1.You can begin building your creative muscles with focused questions. Some that you might think of are the following: What are we trying to do? How are we trying to do it? What are our assumptions? What if our assumptions are wrong? All improvements begin with questioning the current, existing circumstances. If you are not making progress for any reason, stop and think, and begin asking yourself the hard questions that will stimulate your mind to consider other possibilities. Asking focused questions-hard questions that penetrate to the core of the matter-is the real art of the creative person. The next step is to have the courage to deal with all the possible answers. Once you have come up with a possible solution, ask yourself, “What else could be the solution?” If your current method of operation were completely wrong, what would be your backup plan? What else would you or could you do? What if your current procedure or plan turned out to be a complete failure? Then what would you do? And what would you do after that? All of those questions will force you to think further and come up with better answers.
2.The second way to build your mental muscles is with intensely desired goals. The more you want something and the clearer you are about it, the more likely it is that you will generate ideas that will help you to move toward it. That is why the need for clearly written goals and plans for their accomplishment is repeated over and over. Any intense emotion, such as desire, stimulates creativity and ideas to fulfill that desire. And the more you write down your goals and plans, and review them, the more likely it is that you will see all kinds of possibilities for achieving those goals.
3.The third generator of creative-thinking muscles is pressing problems. A good question to ask is “What are the three biggest problems that I am facing in my life today?” Write the answer to this question quickly, in less than 30 seconds. When you write the answer to a question in less than 30 seconds, your subconscious mind will sort out all extraneous answers and give you the three most important ones.
When you have your three most pressing problems, ask yourself, “What is the worst possible thing that can happen as a result of each of these problems?” Then ask yourself, “What are all the things that I can do, right now, to alleviate each problem?” If you have a problem that is worrying you for any reason, think about what you could do immediately to begin alleviating that concern. This is a prime use of your creative powers. Keys to success in creative thinking: 1.The first key to success in creative thinking is clarity. Take the time to think through, discuss and ask questions that help you to clarify exactly what you are trying to accomplish and exactly what problems you are facing at the present moment. Just as fuzzy thinking leads to fuzzy answers, clear thinking leads to clear answers.
2.A second key is concentration. Put everything else aside, and concentrate single-mindedly on focusing all your mental powers on solving one single problem, overcoming one particular obstacle or achieving one important goal. The ability to concentrate on a single subject without diversion or distraction is a hallmark of the superior thinker.
3.A third key is an open mind. The average person tends to be rigid and fixed in his thinking about getting from where he is to where he wants to go. The creative thinker, however, tends to remain very flexible and open to a variety of ways of approaching the problem. The average person has a tendency to leap to conclusions and determine that there is only one way to achieve a particular goal. The superior thinker, on the other hand, tends to be more patient and willing to consider a variety of options before moving toward a conclusion.
There is one other creative concept that can be very helpful when it is used in combination with what we have already discussed, and it is called the “limiting step.” The Limiting Step : In relationships and misunderstandings between people, there is almost invariably a sticking point or subject area that needs to be resolved in order to bring about harmony again. Your job is, first, to identify this limiting step and then, second, to find a way to alleviate the difficulty to the satisfaction of everyone involved.
You are a genius, and you were born with the potential for exceptional creativity. But creative abilities are latent. They are like muscles that grow with use. You can increase your creative powers by using them, over and over, in every situation, deliberately and specifically, until creativity and a creative response to life is as natural to you as breathing in and out is. There are very few things that you can do that can have a more powerful positive impact on your entire life than becoming excellent in creative thinking.