The Thought-Factor for Teens
Dear Fazal, Assalam-o-Alaikum. It was a pleasure to meet you during your visit to MPDD. I think that this is an excellent and incredible endeavour which has been executed by you. The book is very interesting, simple to read and touches the heart. Actually, I am quite amazed at the clarity of perception, lucidity of writing and power of observation. Well done, I am more than confident that a world class writer is developing. You should keep holding onto this skill that Almighty Allah has blessed upon you and you should continue to write more books not only for teens but for everyone. We need an Ambassador of Pakistan who can reflect the inherent beauty of our country and project the millenniums old value systems of our culture. I have gotten five copies made of your book and distributed them to my team members for reading. Once again great work. Keep it up and may Allah bless you with success beyond your dreams. Stay in touch. Best regards, Syed Hussain Haider.
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
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The book by Fazal-Ur-Rehman is awesome; it’s really mindblowing. I was literally flabbergasted to see his book about a topic which is least talked upon in our society, i.e. THE PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEENS. I honestly agree with 90% of his views about the topic. It’s actually a moral science. Truly, the author has broughtforth this boring topic in such an amusing and interesting way that anybody would love to read it and will drown in his book until they have finished to the last page. His ‘Top Secrets’ are amazing. The book has influenced my life a lot. I am dying to read the next edition of this book. In the end, best of luck, Fazal, for all your future writings. Azmat Ayub. F. C. College, Lahore.
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
When I was a child, my mother once said, “Hold your elder brother in the same esteem as you hold your father.” And really, my elder brother, Bilal Amjad, deserves the same respect and esteem. He’s the one, guiding me through all the curvaceous paths of this society. To be very honest with you, I don’t know much about the worldly affairs and there have been occasions in my life when I needed a friendly and brotherly advice. So, he was the one I would always resort to, for in him I have found a loving brother and a sincere friend. He has helped me a lot in the launching of this book. He has been stealing time for this purpose even during his exam days. Troubling with the publisher, adjusting the text and printing matters and, in short, all those chores pertaining to the book which were quite difficult for me. Love you Bhai, Love you a lot. I am, indeed, very lucky to have you. Fazal-Ur-Rehman.
- - 3 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
: The Thought-Factor for Teens : Fazal-Ur-Rehman : First : 2010 : Rs. 125
- - 4 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
A Personal-Development Book
The Thought-Factor for Teens by Fazal-Ur-Rehman - - 5 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Disclaimer Reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information presented in this book is accurate. However, the reader should understand that the information provided does not constitute legal, medical or professional advice of any kind. Use of this product constitutes acceptance of the “No Liability� policy. If you do not agree with this policy, you are not permitted to use this product.
- - 6 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Dedicated to My Teachers, My Parents, My Siblings, My Friends, And last, but not the least, the Safeda tree with whom I spent innumerable childhood hours talking and sharing. Although he is miles away from me now, yet I find him ever closest to my heart.
- - 7 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 1… Chapter no. 2… Chapter no. 3…
Chapter no. 4…
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Chapter no. 1 Introduction Oooff!! This introduction stuff! No part of this book has troubled me more than writing this introduction. You know something, I have already planned almost all the contents of this book but this introduction stuff still needs to be done. Wasn’t it easy for me to pack this chapter with all the wonderful quotations that are available on the web? Indeed, it was very easy; but I just didn’t want to make it a boring monologue. I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to write something so that I grab your hand from the very beginning and take you with me through all the chapters until we reach to the very end of this book. And so, to write such an introduction, I had to dive within my own self and bring out something that would capture you. So,
- - 11 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
here I am. Are you ready for this venture? Okay then, here we go: Let me introduce you to Benn. Say him ‘Hello’. He is a sort of person that you may come across in your street or your colony. Rather I take my words back: you can’t come across him in your street or your colony because half his life spends at school and half in his room, studying. Now I am going to tell you about Benn’s daily routine. Benn comes from school to home. With his bag still hung across his shoulders, he rushes to the kitchen and switches on the kettle for his tea. Then he storms to his room, removes his bag, plugs in
- - 12 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
his computer, rushes to the washroom to change his uniform, bumps out of his room, runs to the kitchen, makes a tea for himself and then back again to his room. His computer is ready by now for him to read some Biology stuff that he downloaded from the web the last night. He is absolutely oblivious of his other family members. In the meanwhile, Benn receives a text message from his friend who asks him about the school homework (probably Benn’s friend was absent from school today). Benn pays it the slightest of his attention and continues with his reading. (Isn’t it very cruel of him?) Ah! After some time has elapsed, he hears his mother calling him for lunch. Benn steals a few last glances from his computer document and speeds towards the lunch table. He is just stuffing food into his mouth. He even fails to notice that his younger brother has got a forehead injury while playing at school. Spending the solid five minutes at lunch (which he deems as a mere wastage of time), Benn rushes back to his room. Hardly has he resumed his work than he receives a call on his mobile. It’s
- - 13 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
his cousin. Benn grits his teeth in frustration as he considers all his cousins as ‘time-killers’. Here’s the conversation between them: 6(
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
takes his meals, he is always obsessed with estimating the kilojoules of energy he would be getting and whether they would suffice him for his studies until his mother calls him for the next meal! Rushing here, rushing there. A very hectic routine and a troublesome lifestyle with entire indifference to the world around. He studies till late at night. He has just lain in bed when the text message from his friend who had missed classes today clicks his mind. Now it’s about 3 a.m. in the morning and Benn sends this text message to his friend: ; ;
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- - 15 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Aha! And then comes the turning point in his life. Millions and zillions of thanks to God for that. Normally, he is not very fond of literature. Probably some forces of Nature throw that book before him in a bookshop when he goes there to buy his Chemistry book. Benn catches sight of that book and unthoughtfully buys it too along with his curriculum book. It is: Chickensoup for the Teenage Soul II . One day, while he is leafing through the book, he happens to come across an article entitled: I Wish I Had Known It Earlier. And there that quotation isone single line, one single thought-that changes the entire lifestyle of Benn. Do you know what that sentence is? It is:
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When Benn comes across it, he leans back in his chair. He ponders hard over it. Somehow, he knows that this sentence has been written for him. Do you agree with me that he needs to slow down? I hope you do. And very very surprisingly, Benn realizes it too. Then what happens next? Benn comes from school. He has acquired a gentle gait overnight. He drops his bag in his room, goes to Mumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s room and greets her afternoon. He asks her if she needs any stuff from the market. He tells her how his day was at school. At the lunch table, he is in an ebullient mood-laughing and kidding with his siblings. Then he goes to his room, sleeps for an hour and then grids his loins for studies. An amazing discovery made in the very first day of change: the time that he would take to digest his Physics chapter is reduced to half and his concentration span has improved overnight.
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
Okay- we have had now enough of Benn-stuff, so we stop his story right here. You have already discovered how a single thought, how ONE SINGLE THOUGHT, can change the entire attitude of a person and how it can influence one’s life and one’s relations to others. In this book, I am going to share some secrets with you. I call them ‘Top Secrets’. But I shall reveal them to you on a single condition: you need to promise me that you’ll not leak them out to anybody. Okay? Now I can’t tell my ‘Top Secret’ to you like this; you need to come a little more closer to me; yes, a little more. Now lend me your ear. 6
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 2 What I Mean by Thought-Factor? I knew you would turn that page-I really knew that! Well, I just talked to you how a single thought can lead to an entire change in attitude. But let me ask you one thing: have you ever really experienced it? Has it ever happened to you that your attitude shifted to a 180-degree-angle from its previous one after bringing home some reality?
- - 19 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
If your answer is ‘yes’, then that’s great and I am glad that you are an avid observer of your own life. But even if your answer is ‘no’, even then there’s no problem; you are just missing some recollections from the ‘memory-box’ of your brain. Let me share with you an anecdote that was published in The Reader’s Digest (contributed by Dan P. Greyling): & $
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Consider this lady’s feelings towards the neatly dressed young man before the turn of events: “What a rude young man!” Imagine her feelings after: “How embarrassing! How kind of him to share his last cookie with me!”
- - 21 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Well, I believe, and most of the self-growth consultants whom I have studied believe, that our actions are a direct or indirect consequence of our thoughts. Consciously or unconsciously, we behave towards others the way we think about them. This thought-factor is a multi-faceted topic. So, let us move through it in a stepwise manner. Have you ever seen people biting their nails when
A noble and God-like character is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with God-like thoughts. An ignoble and bestial character, by the same process, is the result of the continued harboring of groveling thoughts.
they are nervous?
Amazingly, they are not even aware of it.
Similarly, you must have witnessed people scratching their temples when they are contemplating hard over a subject.
- - 22 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Again, they are doing it unconsciously. What I want to say is that all our actions sprout from our thoughts. We behave the way we feel. We act the way thoughts germinate in our minds. And the people who said centuries ago: ?&
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4, were absolutely right in what they said. Now that we have accepted the fact that our thoughts govern our lives, or more appropriately, they steer our lives, we must acknowledge one more secret of life: Nobody is by chance a successful person and nobody is by chance a failure. Those who think success, succeed and those who think failure, fail. Where you stand today is the ultimate result of your thoughts. It is your thoughts which drive you towards success or failure. Now it is up to you which type of thoughts you opt for. Long ago, I read a few lines about thoughts leading to our destinies. At that time, I did not comprehend a major part of it. But now they appear so meaningful that the whole enigma of our destiny seems to be enciphered in them. Here are those lines: -
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Some people, rather all the people, believe that ‘hard-work’ is the key to success. Then why do a large number of people fail if the ‘key to success’ is already known to all? The problem is not with hard-work, for many people work harder than they ought to do to achieve a particular objective. Then where lies the problem? The problem lies in changing the thought pattern. Most of the people have the potential to succeed, but they fail because they have somewhere in their minds that their hard-work will not bear them due fruits. They are suspicious of their own hardwork. And then what does their ‘hard-work’ give them in return? The answer is ‘failure’ ( a big F!). Even when your thoughts are slightly contaminated with suspicion, they can ruin your hardwork of months, and sometimes, even years.
- - 24 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Hence, all we need to do is to accept it from the very core of our hearts that our hard-work, our efforts will definitely bear us the due fruits. If we nourish this thought, our actions will correspond with it and even without knowing, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be heading towards the path of success, the path of prosperity. When we believe that we can succeed by working hard, we succeed; and, when we believe that our hard-work cannot bring us success, we fail.
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Another aspect of this thought-factor is our appearance. (I can imagine you blurting out in surprise, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Appearance?â&#x20AC;?). Yes, it is! Again, nobody by chance appears cute and nobody by chance appears clever and cruel. The way we think, our faces change accordingly. The people who are cute must have worked towards it for a long time, eliminating all the negative thoughts that would try to invade their minds. Similarly, the people who have a clever and cruel - - 27 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
appearance must have nourished negative thoughts in their minds since long. James Allen narrates his own experience with it: 6 !
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I am sure, consciously or unconsciously, all the people of the world
Taking the first step with a good thought, the second with a good word, and the third with a good deed, I entered Paradise. any movie
realize this fact that our faces change according to our thoughts; and so, in the villain has the most
grovelling appearance of all and the hero is the most gentle-
- - 28 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
looking. Let us take a simple example of the movie ‘The Lion King’. Now we compare Mufasa with Scar. Mufasa has a gentle and audacious appearance; Scar has a dull and clumsy one. Mufasa walks with an air of confidence; Scar has his shoulders drooped, eyes green, and is in a constant state of insecurity. Both Mufasa and Scar have their appearances in accordance with the thoughts they nurture in their minds. Similarly, in the movie ‘Aladdin’, Jaffar has the most horrible appearance. All these instances are not a matter of chance; everybody’s appearance is in direct correspondence with their thoughts. Now you understand why babies have the cutest appearance of all the humans on the surface of this earth. Simple, their minds are least contaminated with negative thoughts. Once you wipe your mind of all the nasty thoughts, I guarantee that you’ll be the next Mr./Mrs. Universe! The way we appear reflects our thoughts. The way we dress, the way we walk, the way we talk; in short, everything that we do reflects our thoughts. If we go to our place of work wellgroomed and gently dressed, that reflects we are serious about it,
- - 29 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
and the vice versa. People don’t need to tell anybody what they think about a particular thing (be it a job, a person, or a subject of studying). Their actions will speak ‘louder than their words’, proclaiming to all they come across what they are thinking about a particular subject. So, let us stop here right now. We have a whole book to talk about this ‘thought-factor’ stuff. For the time being, let us make some promises to each other. Yes, a few easy-to-be-fulfilled promises. Are you ready? Okay then, hold my right hand; hold it tight (I can imagine you holding my hand, you imagine the same way). Please write your name in the space below. Don’t read ahead until you do so.
I, __________________, promise today that: 1. I shall think about success, not failure.
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
2. I shall not be suspicious of my own hard-work. 3. I simply love my face. So, to keep it appear cute, I shall kick out all the negative thoughts that will try to invade and capture my mind. 4.And last, but not the least, I shall remember the promises I have made.
__________________ (your signature)
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 3 What are Negative Thoughts and What are Positive ones? We have already shared a ‘Top Secret’ and made a promise (rather four promises) up till now. But before we move on, we must have a clear perception of what we mean by ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ thoughts. If you are thinking that thoughts have some kind of charge, you are absolutely…right! Yes, you are
- - 32 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
right. A negative thought is any nasty thought that attracts frustration, hopelessness, anger, malice, hatred, envy, vanity, pride, obstinacy, covetousness, jealousy and contempt for others. A negative thought prevents you from becoming successful, prosperous and happy. It keeps on drilling in your mind that your neighbour or your friend has bought a new car, or lives in a bigger house, or secured a position in their class or institute. It keeps on inciting you to hopelessness and malice. Consequently, you are provoked to behave or act in a way that hampers your own success badly. Now you must be wondering how hatred, malice, etc. intervene with your prosperity and your success. Yes, they do! Only a positive mind develops the right attitude to strive for a particular goal with increasing vigour and determination. A mind contaminated with scummy thoughts can never lead you to success. Another reason for your success being hampered is that you are not going to have many friends if you nurture â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;negativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; feelings in your mind. This is because your actions will tell them
- - 33 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
‘louder than your words’ what you think about them. And so, you will have a really tough time attaining your objectives. On the contrary, a ‘positive’ thought is any thought that attracts success, prosperity, peace of mind, and, of course, innumerable friends. Hence, love, benevolence, appreciation, gentleness, good-will, purity, meekness, compassion, generosity, altruism, happy-
- - 34 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
helping and all such stuff comes under the heading of ‘positive thoughts’.
- - 35 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
I had a mounting urge to insert this little chapter right here. Now I believe that you have an even clearer perception of ‘thoughts’ than I have. And now is the ripe time to move towards a chapter that can make you ‘lucky’. Yes! Very lucky. So, go on. Don’t stop.
- - 36 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 4 Command Your Own Luck! 6(
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Have you ever heard people exclaiming out such sentences? I hope you do. There is a common peculiarity in all of the above
- - 37 --
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sentences: in each of them, ‘luck’ seems to be something endowed by heavenly forces and man exercises no control over it. But very very strangely, most of the successful people believe that they ‘created’ or even ‘attracted’ their own luck with their attitude. My own perception of ‘luck’ or more precisely as ‘good luck’ is quite strange. I believe that when you do good to others, express your gratitude to God for every little bliss that you have, good things start happening to you-this is called ‘good luck’. In order to have a wider panorama of this ‘luck-factor’, let us examine what the contemporary sixteen most successful people of this world think of ‘luck’. Their articles and interviews are published in ‘Inside the Minds of Winners’. Let’s go through some of them keeping in mind that most of them believe that they ‘attracted’ their own luck.
- - 38 --
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- - 39 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
A friend of mine, who wishes to be anonymous, shared his story of how he ‘attracted’ his luck: ) #%
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- - 44 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
you ‘attract’ your own ‘luck’; you are the sole person who is responsible for whether ‘good’ luck comes to you or ‘bad’. So many people consider successful people lucky, but it’s the other way round: they first created that success mindset that in turn created the success reality where luck comes knocking on their door all the time. 6 $
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to flower at its own whim. But, more appropriately, ‘luck’ resembles a ‘honey bee’, going from flower to flower, collecting pollen in a very ordered and purposeful manner. If it doesn’t feel welcome on one flower, it merely moves on to the next. Nevertheless, the honey bee won’t be found around vinegar. You’ve got to ‘attract’ it with sweet flowers and pollen. And now there’s something for you to contemplate: would this honey-bee (luck) have come to you if you were ‘vinegar-like’? The answer is ‘no’. If you want ‘luck’ to come to you, you need to develop the attitude to receive it; you need to have some ‘sweet flowers’ in your character to ‘attract’ this ‘honey bee’.
- - 46 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Now you know that you can command your own luck. You can allow either good things start happening to you or bad things-it all depends upon your own choice of thoughts. We’ve already brought home the notion that ‘luck’ is governed by our ‘internal’ forces and not in the least are influenced by the ‘external’ ones. If you think ‘luck’ would come to you, it will come. All that you need to do is to be willing to receive it. Along with ‘luck’, you have also the tendency to attract ‘miracles’ which are always trying to creep in your life. You want to discover how? Go on…go on…
- - 47 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 5 Your Thoughts and Miracles Before we just launch on to our discussion of this aspect of thoughts, as usual, let me ask you a simple question: Do you believe in miracles? Well, it all depends upon how you take miracles to be. If you have a perception that a miracle can be no less than winning ten million dollars in a quiz competition, or making a hallmark discovery, or becoming the next President of your country, then I bet you’ll have very few miracles in your life. And obviously, you’ll be deprived of all the blessings that Nature endows any common man who believes in miracles. What I believe is: $
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- - 48 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
When you go through this song, consider thoughtfully how we are all the time surrounded by marvelous miracles. Here goes the song:
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I believe that each day when the sun rises, it brings hundreds and thousands of miracles for each and every person on the surface of this earth. But innumerable people fail to realise them because they never expect any miracle to happen. Let me help you recount for you some of the miracles that you rarely realise: If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
- - 51 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet and spare change somewhere, you are among the top 8% of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wealthy. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture and the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world. If you hold up your head high with a smile on your face and are truly grateful to God, you are blessed because majority can but most do not.
- - 52 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Again I say, people who are willing to receive miracles receive many of them; and as the song says, a miracle need not be anything stupendous. Now my little experience with it! You know something, that for half of the viva examinations I appeared in my 1st Year of M.B;B.S., were absolute disasters. Different teachers said to me the following words on various occasions: 6 6;
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- - 53 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Because I was always expecting miracles. Whenever I would come out of the examination room after those ruined-vivas, I would tell my friends, 61 $
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would come, I would pass. Every time it was so amazing that for a split second I myself would not believe it. But see, miracles came to me because I was willing to receive them. And to make sure to have such a mindset, I had to take care of the words that I would utter. Believe you me, I would have failed all those vivas if I had not changed my mindset. One of the disastrous vivas will never be able to evade my memory-box. Once I was to appear for a minor Physiology viva which included the topic of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;endotheliumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. This was something I had read tens of times; but when I appeared for the viva, everything seemed to have evaporated from my memory. (For those who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know, please let me tell you that endothelium constitutes the cells which line our blood vessels, and so, it has nothing to do with cilia). Here goes my viva: - - 54 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
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knew it would be the only viva I was going to fail during my first year. When I came out of the viva room, I prayed to God and asked Him for some miracle. And that was indeed one of the greatest miracles of my life: the summer vacations were announced a little earlier than expected and the result of that viva was never displayed on the notice-board. God, as usual, had saved my nose. Again I say: If you want a miracle to happen in your life, you must be willing to receive it. You must be wondering that a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life is markedly influenced by circumstances; thoughts alone
- - 55 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
cannot steer our lives. The answer to this perception is given by James Allen in his book The Path of Prosperity . He says: 6 $
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
endowed upon us. If you are conversing with me right now, indeed, it’s a miracle. Faith and health are the two integral moieties of one’s life and whosoever has faith and health is the richest person on this earth. So, isn’t it a miracle that you and I have both faith and health?
- - 57 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 6 The Laws of Nature Influencing Our Lives Yes, friends, there are laws of Nature that dramatically influence our lives. They are far superior to the laws of Physics-or any other science. They have nothing to do with gravity, or motion, or light, or waves. They have to do with our thoughts. So, out of my limited study of Will Edwards, James Allen, Wes Hopper, Marcy Richards and some others, I have chosen four laws to discuss with you here. They are: 1. The law of abundance 2. The law of attraction 3. The law of love 4. The law of gratitude - - 58 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Previously, I had decided to pack all these laws into this single chapter. But then I had the guilty feeling of unjustification with these laws, and so, I gave each one its separate sub-chapter. These are the laws that you must have applied in some part of your life, even if you didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know them by name then. And after going through them, hopefully, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be able to apply them in a much more effective way. 6
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- - 59 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 6(i) The Law of Attraction Will you be surprised if I tell you that each and every person behaves like a magnet? Yes, every person is a magnet. Nature says that every person has the tendency to ‘attract’. Every person sends out waves of energy. These may be the waves of positive energy or they may be the negative energy waves. If they are the positive energy waves, they’ll attract success, prosperity, friends, happiness, serenity and all such stuff which a person may conceive of. On the contrary, a person emitting waves of negative energy attracts despair, frustration, failure, estranged relations, etc. As I mentioned in the beginning, all your thoughts culminate in your actions and your actions ‘speak louder than your words’. So, it is your actions which will emit waves of positive or negative energy.
- - 60 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Paulo Cohelo, in his book The Alchemist elucidates the law of attraction in a wonderful way. He says: 6
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What a wonderful saying it is! Nature does hate vacuum. Wherever there is vacuum, Nature just rushes in to fill that space. All that you need to do is make Nature realize that there is sufficient ‘space’ in your life for success, for prosperity, for fortunes and then witness how Nature bestows all these things upon you by a means which you would have never foreseen. But
- - 61 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
how can you make Nature realize that there’s space in your life that needs to be filled? Your thoughts! Many people attract success and many others attract failure. It’s up to us what we ‘attract’. By the way, this attraction is not only confined to success or failure. It may be for any worldly possessions as well. Sometimes, Nature takes ample time to fill that ‘vacuum’. But that delay is only intentional on the part of Nature. She just wants to bless us with something even better. She is ‘favourable for our survival’. She will endow us what is in our best possible interests. Failure may
- - 62 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
be delayed, but Nature exerts its levelbest to be the earliest possible in granting success. You are a successful person because you attracted your success, and you did it by consciously working towards it. And all this conscious effort is ultimately attributed to your thoughts. So, whenever you want anything, just pray to God again and again until you get your desire fulfilled. This is the way I do. I keep on asking God for anything that I want desperately-literally anything.
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
who radiate love. You may not always see it, but your light is shining through. And it' s one of your most attractive qualities! Surely you must have applied this law before, but now you know how to incite Nature. Just send out waves of ‘positive’ energy and attract anything that you want-literally anything! Don’t stop now; the law of love is waiting for us.
- - 70 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 6(ii) The Law of Love G
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0 You must have heard at least one of these sentences or at least very similar to them; but the lacking with all of them is that they are all theoretical, aren’t they? They do not tell us ‘how’ we can love others and most importantly ‘why’ to love others. Unfortunately, to most people ‘love’ means something that exists between a hero and a heroine of a movie. They do not ‘love’, they actually ‘make love’. Then what love actually is?
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Hopefully, by now you must have brought home the true notion of love. Love is one of the strongest powers of this universe, and so Nature greatly favours all those who love others and wish for their well-being. Another misconception about ‘love’ is that we become obsessive of possessing the one whom we love so dearly. We want to keep them very close to us. But ‘love’ doesn’t hold that out. ‘Love’ means patience, ‘love’ means sacrifice, ‘love’ means the joy that one experiences when they see their loved ones happy, and ‘love’ means spending one’s time and, sometimes, even one’s money and approaching the less fortunate ones and extending out the hand of help and support.
- - 74 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
You’ll really be surprised if I tell you that the ‘law of love’ is in accordance with the Newton’s Third Law of Motion which is also called the ‘Law of Emotions’. According to this law, the more you love others, the more is the love that you receive in return. If you give ‘love’, you receive ‘love’. The love that you will receive in return is directly proportional to the love that you pass to others. If you extend help to somebody in need, you’ll definitely receive help when you need it.
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
incident that occurred during the tragic war in Sarajevo a few years ago. &
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There are tens and hundreds of things that we can learn from kids, for example, kids smile very often, they are receptive to learning, and they nurture no malice against anybody. They have the purest of hearts on the surface of this earth. So, why not ask them what ‘love’ means to them? The given below are the responses of some kids who were asked of their perception of ‘love’. I learnt their replies via the white dove books periodic newsletter. They are so heart-touching that I just can’t resist the urge to mention some of their responses here:
- - 79 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
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Love is one of the strongest and the most stupendous forces prevailing over the universe. How others treat us is a direct consequence of the intensity of warmth that we radiate. Love is one of those qualities which will bring us a heavenly peace even in this world. So, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s try to be among those who are making a conscious effort to spread love and affection for all. Be good to all the people you come across in your daily life and be the lovegiver. This is the only way to make this world a better place to live in. 6
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- - 83 --
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Chapter no. 6(iii) The Law of Abundance Now that we have comprehended the laws of ‘attraction’ and ‘love’, we move towards the ‘law of abundance’. It would be no exaggeration to say that most of the negative feelings that contaminate our minds and prevent us from succeeding are owing to our failure to realize this law. This law states that the Universe has never-tobe-exhausted funds, resources, jobs, clients, customers, friends and everything else that we want in life. But it does not mean that we lie down for the other people to trample us and walk over us.
- - 84 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Previously, when I was at school, I had a very strange and rather ridiculous notion. I thought that if my teacher gave 70 percent marks to my friend, then she could give me no more than 30 percent. I nurtured the notion that she had a total of only 100 percent to distribute among all the students of the class. And, consequently, I had a very non-cooperative sort of attitude towards my friends. But now I know that my teacher can give 100 percent marks to each and every student in the class. Hmmmâ&#x20AC;Śit means, the Universe is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;abundantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in marks as well!
- - 85 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
When I understood this ‘law of abundance’, my attitude changed entirely. When I came to King Edward, I discovered within a lapse of few weeks that some of my class mates are more stunning, more dominating and exercise much stronger influence in the class than anybody else. And so, what I did? I started praying for them. “Praying?” I can imagine you calling out in surprise, but this is exactly what I did. There are nine people in my class (and this list is lengthening with each passing day) to whom I have named, in the very secret room of my heart as the ‘diamonds of my class’. Whenever I pray, I ask God: 6
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And will you believe? I have been praying for their success and at the same time passed all my tests as well. So, I am convinced that this Universe has everything in abundance, even marks. While we are talking about thoughts, please let me tell you that praying for others, particularly those who are more influential than you, is of dual advantage: Firstly, it makes your heart ‘larger’-I don’t mean the hypertrophy of heart muscles; what I mean is the magnanimity of soul and a ‘giving’ spirit. This is very essential for your own success, because it eliminates all malice and ill-will that may ever impede your personal development. Secondly, when you pray for others, your actions tell those people that you are sincere to them. You don’t need to talk to them, but your actions, as usual, will ‘speak louder than your words’, and will tell them that you are loyal to them and so those influential people will become friends with you. Now if you have thoroughly understood the ‘law of abundance’, I am very curious to share with you another of my Top Secrets. Are you ready?
- - 87 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Please don’t say ‘yes’, just come nearer. Yes! You remember I talked of the ‘diamonds of my class’ in this account; one of them is the ‘Hemione’ of my class. But the ‘Hermione’ at King Edward is very different from the ‘Hermione’ at Hogwarts. The ‘Hermione’ at Hogwarts would take milliseconds to shoot her hand into the air and answer the questions of her professors; but the ‘Hermione’ at King Edward takes only nanoseconds! I can’t reveal the true identity of ‘Hermione’, for that’s a Top Top Secret! I hope I’ll reveal her true identity in the next edition of this book. By the way if you
- - 88 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
see in my class a very little, highly tense, excessively obsessed and heavily book-laden girl, then learn that she is the ‘Hermione’ at KE. Now looking from this perspective of thought-factor, the studious type of people should always be appreciated. You know why? Because they are so preoccupied with their own studies that they have no time to think of negative things. Simultaneously, knowledge polishes their personality. So, this negative-thoughts-free mind and polished personality eventually ensures their success. Please don’ t be pushed into the delusion that if you are not ‘the studious-type’ you’ ll allow all negative thoughts to invade your mind. No, that’ s not the case! One of the best ways to avoid negative thoughts is to keep yourself busy and this can be
- - 89 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
accomplished even by playing games on your mobile! So, keep busy and avoid negative thoughts. By the way, did you like the ‘law of abundance’ ? Are you willing to make one promise to me? Okay then, proceed as before and write your name in the space below: I,__________________, promise today that from now onwards, whenever I pray for myself, I shall pray for at least one other person, particularly the one with whom my relations are unhealthy, or the one who is more influential than me.
__________________ (your signature) If you are already praying for others, then that’ s great and I really appreciate you for that. But if not, start doing it for your own good, for your own success, and for your own prosperity. Ready for the next law?
- - 90 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 6(iv) The Law of Gratitude The ‘law of gratitude’ activates the ‘law of attraction’ , i.e. if a person expresses their gratitude for all the blessings that they have been endowed with, they are in a state that they can attract more of what they wistfully desire. If you are grateful to God and His creatures, the chances of your success optimally double. People generally will prefer to work with happy, cheerful and grateful people than miserable, down-cast, merchants of doom and gloom. As a consequence, truly grateful people, literally attract opportunities that others miss or even possibly repel. But the point is: how can we express gratitude? What is the best way of thankfulness? First of all, we need to comprehend that there is a constant flow of riches, time, happiness, serenity and all from the heavens to each of us. When we share them with others, there is more flow from the heavens. If we keep them to ourselves, they become stagnant in our being and the flow from
- - 91 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
the heavens stops altogether. You know what they call a lake with water coming in, but with no outlet? The Dead Sea!
Do you wish for kindness? Be kind. Do you ask for truth? Be true. What you give of yourself you find; Your world is a reflex of you.
Do you say that you are lonely and unloved, and have ‘not a friend in the world’? Be friendly towards others, and friends will soon flock round you. Make yourself pure and lovable, and you’ll be loved by all.
- - 92 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
What will happen if the heart tries to retain all the blood within itself and refuses to pump it to other parts of the body? Simple: along with the other parts of the body, the heartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s own death is unavoidable. 6
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When we were kids, our teachers and parents taught us to say ‘thank you’ when we would receive something. Unfortunately, now we don’ t use these words as frequently as we used to do when at school. 6
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
waves and as we have discussed previously, all ‘negative’ energy waves ‘attract’ failure and frustration and hamper our success. This competitive plane can only be eliminated from our minds if we bring home the concept of abundance of resources in this Universe. Gratitude will keep you in close harmony with creative thought and prevent you from falling into competitive thought. It will keep you from the error of thinking that the supply of riches is limited – and to think that would be fatal to your aims! And do remember one thing: since all the things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all the things in your gratitude. What’ s the analogy of when you get two crabs in a bucket? When one tries to climb out, the other one won’ t let it climb out. It’ ll grab it with its claws. That’ s the way a lot of people are. For some unknown reason they don’ t want you to succeed on the plane that you are currently on and that you share with them. It’ s a rare breed of successful people that encourages you and is positive about your ideas.
- - 96 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
A person who expresses gratitude is always contented with whatever they have. Again, they are saved the trouble of two other very high negative energy vibrations, i.e. greed and envy. Wes Hopper says in The Astonishing Power of Gratitude: ##
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Another aspect of gratitude is forgiveness-forgiveness to all who ever deceived you, who ever mistreated you, who ever did not fulfil their obligations to you. It may be your friend, your parent, your teacher, your sibling or even the news hawker or the shopkeeper near your home. Forgive everyone, everything! In a cause and effect universe, every thought we plant comes back to us multiplied. Resentments are emotional bombs that always boomerang back on us, one way or another. For this reason, every area of your life where you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; t or wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; t forgive is a blockage in the flow of your success. The only way to unblock it is to be willing to release the person or situation with gratitude for what they brought you. 6+
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
Expressing gratitude to all and forgiving everyone who owes you something is indeed an incredible gift to yourself. These days the concept of keeping a Gratitude Journal is picking up. Most of the personal-development consultants believe that the people who keep a daily record of all the blessings that they receive fall a less easy prey to dissatisfaction and envy. So why donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; t you have a try at it? No, I am not talking about the daily-dairy-keeping that most people do. I am asking you to keep a diary in which to record only the blessings and not the odd unpleasant happenings. Try keeping it for a few days and then note the change within you. Two psychologists, McCollough and Emmons, conducted a study on the subject of gratitude and thanksgiving. In the study, three different groups of people were required to keep daily journals. The first group kept a simple diary of all the events that occurred during the day, the second group kept a record of only their unpleasant daily experiences. The final group made a daily list of everything for which they were grateful i.e. they kept a Gratitude Journal.
- - 99 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
The results of this amazing study suggested that the exercise of daily gratitude resulted in higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. So let it really sink-in ... Additionally, the gratitude group experienced less depression and
stress, was much more likely to get involved in helping others. They also exercised more regularly and made more progress towards their personal goals. Isn' t that amazing: just by keeping a - - 100 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Gratitude Journal, the study suggests they were able to positively impact their chances of achieving their goals! Another benefit of keeping a Gratitude Journal is that you can review it when gloom and dejection surround you. Remind yourself of all the blessings you have been endowed with. Once you do it, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ll feel much relieved. So, this was the last of our laws. We have discussed in detail the laws of attraction, abundance, love and gratitude. You must have been applying all of them previously in your life, but now you are consciously aware of them and are in a position to apply them in a much more efficient way than before. All the very best of luck on the application of these laws in your life-youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ll notice a marked change very soon!
- - 101 --
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Chapter no. 7 How to Kick the Negative Thoughts Off Your Mind? Kicking the ‘negative’ thoughts off one’ s mind is essential so that the ‘positive’ thoughts creep in. The human mind cannot nurture positive and negative thoughts simultaneously. The negative thoughts should not in the least be allowed to stay in mind so that there is always ample ‘room’ available for the positive thoughts to reside in. But the question is: how can we kick the negative thoughts off our minds? This ‘kicking’ process is not as
- - 102 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
laborious as it at first seems. All that you need to do is to follow a few simple steps so that you eventually become the bearer of a negative-thoughts-free mind. Firstly, always keep yourself pre-occupied with some creative or constructive stuff. Even some puzzles, Sudoku, chess and strategy-involving games in
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- - 103 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
conversation you opt for. Gossip is something that in turn ‘attracts’ and ‘nurtures’ many other negative thoughts. If you have a dictionary installed in your mobile, then that’ s the best way to keep yourself busy. Even if not, I recommend that you start keeping with you a pocket-size dictionary. Scientists have revealed that a person’ s IQ level is in direct correspondence with the range of vocabulary they can retain in memory at a given time, i.e. the more words you learn, the higher goes your IQ. Hence, browsing a dictionary at leisure hours not only improves your IQ, but also ‘guards’ your mind against all the wandering ‘negative’ elements that may be wandering in your ambience. Another way of ‘kicking’ the negative thoughts off one’ s mind is to keep oneself surrounded with the reminders of positive thoughts that inspire one. Keep yourself surrounded with the pictures, the poems and the quotations that inspire you. Be it the snap of Shahrukh Khan or Taj Mahal or Angelina Jolie or even some cartoon, be it the quotation that you came across in a book, or be it the poem that you learnt at school-literally, it may be
- - 104 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
anything that inspires you. Make them the screen saver of your mobile, your computer; carry them along with you in your purse, your wallet-in short, keep yourself surrounded with the reminders of positive thoughts. Whenever you have an intuition that some â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;negativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; thought is trying to creep into your mind or you are tempted to gossip, just refer to that snap, that quotation or that poem and remind yourself that negative thoughts should not invade your
- - 105 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
mind or there will not be enough ‘room’ left for positive thoughts. I give you a simple example from my own life: I have named my mobile Be Happy. So, whenever I send or receive data from my friends on my mobile via Bluetooth, my mobile constantly reminds me to ‘be happy’ . Many a time, my friends make fun of me for that. They believe that naming their mobiles like 007, Galaxy, Power or something like that is a lot better than naming it like Love Others, Be Happy or Think Positive. But I recommend that you try naming your mobile a little ‘positive’ and I assure you that it’ s going to have a very very positive impact on your own life. Honestly, I have experienced it! Nobody can imagine how this little act can dramatically influence one’ s life. Here goes an excerpt from The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale regarding how one can avoid negative thoughts: 6)
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Hence, getting rid of negative thoughts is not as troubling as it at first seems. Venture to apply the methods outlined in this chapter and you’ ll be astonished at the outcome. Now is the time for my Top Secret. You remember I told you to keep a reminder of positive thought with you wherever you go: for me, it’ s the Mickey Mouse pics I have in my mobile. This smiling cartoon always induces me to smile and then I am reminded that I have to think only ‘positive’ . It is one of the Top Secrets I have never told anybody; so, keep it to yourself, okay.
- - 111 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 8 Your Thoughts And Your Health
Disease comes to those who â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;attractâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; it, to those whose minds and bodies are receptive to it; and flees from those whose strong, pure and positive thoughts generate healing and life-giving currents.
My friends, sickly thoughts will express themselves through a sickly body. Thoughts of fear have been known to kill a man as speedily as a bullet and they are continually killing thousands of people just as surely though less rapidly. The people who live in fear of disease are the people who get it. Anxiety demoralizes the whole body, and lays it open to the entrance of disease; while
- - 112 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
impure thoughts, even if not physically indulged, will sooner shatter the nervous system. On the contrary, strong, pure and happy thoughts build up the body in vigor and grace. The body is a delicate and plastic instrument, which responds readily to the thoughts by which it is impressed, and habits of thought will produce their own effects, good or bad, upon it. Here goes the legend about a man whose ultimate cure seemed to have been extracted from his own mind: & $
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In short, our thoughts have a direct influence on our health. Cheerful, hopeful and enthusiastic thoughts keep us physically and mentally fit. On the other hand, worries, anxiety,
- - 116 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
hopelessness and malice cost us our physical and mental health. These days, scientists have proved that even patients of cancer can recover by developing an optimistic attitude and keeping themselves happy. So, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s up to us what type of life we want: a hale and hearty one, or a diseased one!
- - 117 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 9 Do Circumstances Really Affect Our Lives? We have been discussing it all the way in this book that: â&#x20AC;&#x153; If a man is happy, it is because he dwells in happy thoughts; if miserable, because he dwells in
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exclaiming out in surprise: do you mean to say that circumstances exert no influence on our lives? I never denied that; what I am saying is the circumstances can influence only as far as we allow them to do so. We are swayed by circumstances because we have not a right understanding of the nature, use and power of thought.
- - 118 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
You say you are chained by circumstances; you cry for better opportunities, for a wider scope, and for improved physical conditions. Always remember: you can bring about that improved condition in that outward life which you desire, if you resolve to improve your inner life. If your real desire is to do good, there is no need to
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- - 119 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
honest, the magnanimous, the virtuous. All the
People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
great teachers of the ages have declared this in varying ways that it’ s up to a human what they make of the life
that God has
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Hence you’ ll reach nowhere by cursing your circumstances, but you can attain what you desire by changing yourself. Lodge this concept firmly into your mind that this Universe will send all its forces to help you attain your goal if, and only if, you have the right thoughts to ‘attract’ the right types of forces. Oppression, tyranny and injustice are brought about on a soul not on account of circumstances, but on account of their own nasty and debilitating thoughts.
- - 120 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Those who dwell in happiness, make up their minds to be cheerful and develop a ‘givingspirit’ are not in the least influenced by the circumstances. I do agree with you that some times avoiding the influence of circumstances is inevitable, but again, you are the real force: it’ s you who has to bring a change. If you allow the circumstances to influence you, you’ ll never develop the potential to save others from those hazardous circumstances. So, implant the ‘right’ thoughts in your mind; make up your mind that you’ ll not allow the circumstances to influence you. And above all, resolve that you’ ll rise to the occasion and help others as well to fight those
- - 121 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
circumstances. Promise me that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ll never blame circumstances from now onwards: always be grateful for what you have and focus on the bliss that everything in it has. Life is a lot more better and giving than we consider it to be. So, be happy, as is the name of my mobile!
- - 122 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 10 Watch Out Your Words! 6
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- - 123 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
speaker is actually saying that he/she exercises no control over his/her feelings. When one utters such sentences, one is actually saying: I have handed over the steering wheel of my life to some bla bla bla person or thing and now that person or thing is steering my life. It’ s up to this person/thing whether they want to keep me happy or frustrated. We have been discussing off and on in this book that circumstances exert literally ‘no’ influence on our lives. It is our own thoughts which push us to the brink of no self-control and we seem to hand over the control of our feelings to something/somebody else. 6
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
Had circumstances been influencing the lives of humans, they would influence all of us equally. But avid observation tells us that the same traffic, the same person is not the source of frustration or happiness for all the humans. What we need to do is to take back that ‘steering wheel’ of our life in our hands and exercise an entire self-control. And this can only be done by ‘watching out’ for the words we utter. It is said:
- - 125 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
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- - 126 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 11 Keeping Hope Alive Now that we have reached to the last chapter of this book, and it’ s time to say good-bye, I am beginning to feel a little sad about it. It was a wonderful experience with you coursing thorough this book, and I have no words to ‘express’ my gratitude for you. Before we just part, let us discuss some last aspects of our ‘thought-factor’ . Before we launch on to our discussion, let me share with you one very interesting event: &#
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The point that I want to raise right now is that the human mind is the most sophisticated piece of machinery ever created; and so, if we mismanage this machinery, do not allow it to work to its maximum capacity, for that this ‘machine’ is not to be blamed. We have been talking all the way that we can consciously choose our thoughts, and the human mind retains its healthy state only as far as it is nurtured with ‘healthy’ and ‘positive’ thoughts. Since all the thoughts that we nurture are deeply rooted into our minds, we need to be very careful about the thoughts that we ‘plant’ in our minds. We need to imagine that there are ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ thoughts present in our atmosphere. They are continuously bombarding on our minds. All that we need to do is to make ourselves ‘positively-charged’ so that we attract ‘positive’ thoughts. We need to avoid being negatively-charged or we’ ll be attracting all those ‘negative’ thoughts present around us. I think now it’ s time to say ‘good-bye’ . We have been having a wonderful time together and I’ ll never be able to forget my
- - 130 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
venture through this book with you. Take good care of yourself and your ‘thoughts’ ! Good-bye.
- - 131 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Chapter no. 12 Surprise! Surprise! Now this is actually a surprise chapter. And so, this chapter is purposely not mentioned on the contents page of this book. (I know now youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ll immediately leap to the contents page and check that out!
). You must
be wondering that this man just bade me good-bye and now he is once again bringing me back into the conversation. But how can we part like that? You remember we grabbed each othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hands in the chapter one of this book; so how can we part with our hands still interlocked? - - 132 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
Actually I want to talk to you something very important. In this book, I have asked you several questions; I myself answered some of them, and some of them left to you to think about. But now is the question that can only be answered by you and not by me. The question is: Do you want to establish yourself as a writer? You know something everyone of us is endowed with a skill that no other person on this earth is endowed with. You are the only one of your type on this earth. Nobody else can be like you; not even your twin sibling! So, your experiences are definitely the best experiences. Have the peculiar your fingers; you
worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s you ever noticed concentric lines on are the only one
having them. Believe you me, you are sent on this earth for a particular purpose and here I am giving you a little opportunity to fulfil just a part of it.
- - 133 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
You don’ t need to be Shakespeare Part II to write; just pick up your pen and write. But write what? You are to send me any event (or even events) of your life that inspired you most or that entirely changed your life. It may be in the form of a story, a quotation, an advice or anything that you think would serve as an example for teens, or any motivational stuff. It’ s just a beginning; who knows you turn out to be one of the most accomplished authors in the coming next years. You can narrate an event when everything seemed desperate and then something miraculous happened and the Nature’ s decisions turned in your favour; or you can talk of what you do or how you steer your life out of the gloomy worries that surround you at times. It may be anything that drives you and your life. It may be about the influence of positive thinking on your life. In short, it may be any story based on your real life which you deem as a milestone of your studies, your carrier, etc. and that can serve as an inspiration for the others. But while you are writing your success story, please follow the instructions given below and so we shall really be pleased to
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The Thought-Factor for Teens
publish your story (along with your name if you want to) in the next edition of this book: Along with your account, please mention your name, institute and designation(e.g. student, professional, etc.). This information will be mentioned along with your inspirational story. If you want to remain anonymous (unknown), we sincerely honour your anonymity. Please mention along with your account whether you want your name to be published along with the story or not. If you already donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; t have an e-mail address, you can use the e-mail address: stories_success@yahoo.com. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s password is: inspiration This e-mail has been particularly made for this activity. So, use this e-mail address and do send your inspirational and
- - 135 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
success stories at my e-mail address, i.e. $ / #KA KM
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Your account should be between 300-600 words. Preferably, it should be in the form of a story. No matter to what age group you belong now, please narrate an event pertaining to your teenhood because this motivational and thought-provoking stuff is particularly being collected for the teens. You are more than welcome if you want to send more than one story, but please make sure that it pertains to the topic we are discussing in this book. If your story fulfils the above criteria, I assure you, rather I promise you that your story will definitely be published in the next edition of this book.
- - 136 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
And now one last word before we actually take our hands apart: Don’ t keep this book to yourself; give it to your siblings, your friends as a gift. Discuss with them the contents outlined in this book and you and your sibling/friend make a ‘contract’ to remind each other of the ‘thought-factor’ principles when one of you is going off the path. Play your role in making this earth a better place to live in, and we’ ll have a little heaven right here.
- - 137 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
By the way do you know what’ s a blind spot? It’ s a region in the eye where the light falling cannot be detected and, hence, no image is formed. You need to believe that there is a ‘special’ type of blind spot in your eyes due to which you cannot see the lackings of others, whereas you are all the time exposed to their good qualities. Think good about them and do not jump at the conclusion if you see them doing something peculiar. Now I am going to discuss with you a Top Secret. But it’ s not mine; it’ s the Top Secret of Winners. Fortunately, I had the chance to see some of the most successful people who head some of the renowned institutions of our country, and believe you me they consider themselves down to earth. They are so humble that it’ s incredulous to see them shaking and hugging their own assistants and the people who come to sweep their rooms! My Professor of Biochemistry at King Edward, Prof. Kamran Aziz, would ascend the stairs to his office, see his personal assistant waiting for him outside the office and made it a
- - 138 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
point to gently pat him on his shoulders and would always be the first one to extend his hand for shaking. The honourable Prof. Dr. Aasi Karnali, PhD in three languages, the author of tens of books, has participated in hundreds of poetry competitions. I had the chance to see his trophy-shelf and it was so overcrowded that there were seventy or eighty shields of them; and he told me that there are many others in his store-room! He is also the winner of several Presidential Awards. If you tell me to polish his shoes or lie down at his feet, I would consider myself the most honoured person on this earth. And how he treats others? Whenever he is offered tea in the staff-room of La Salle College, he addresses the attendant by his name, â&#x20AC;&#x153; Buhat shukria Riaz Bhai; Allah aap ko khush rakhe.â&#x20AC;? (Lots of thanks Brother Riaz; may God bless you). And I know innumerable such examples. And I am sure you must also have come across many such successful and humble people. So, now you know the Top Secret of Winners; treat others with respect and you can accomplish what you want. The
- - 139 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
secret of this is simple: if you feel yourself down to the earth, people will elevate you to the skies. Those who think that they are nothing, to most people they are everything. Think good about everyone, every time! Drill this concept deeply into your mind that everyone is better than you and you’ ll really forget all envy, all malice, and all competition. You’ ll literally migrate from the competitive plane to the creative plane and that’ s integral to your own success. If you already have such a ‘blind spot’ in your eyes, believe you me you are one of the happiest persons on the surface of this earth. Now is the time to say succhi-mucchi ka good-bye. With lots of prayers and best wishes for your future, I bade you goodbye. Take care. Fazal-Ur-Rehman. 5th January, 2010.
- - 140 --
The Thought-Factor for Teens
- - 141 --