HOWTOFIND THE HIDDEN GOLDMINE
HowToFind The HiddenGold Mine
Unlock The Secrets To Your Untapped Potential
HOWTOFIND THEHIDDEN GOLDMINE
©Muhammed-Kamal Jobarteh 2024
Publisher: BoD ·Books on Demand,Stockholm,Sweden
Printer: Libri Plureos GmbH, Hamburg, Germany
ISBN: 978-91-8097-611-4
Dedicated to my belovedwife, Shaw Babe, and ourthree wonderful children, Musa,Alieu,and Teneng.Your love,support, and encouragementhavebeen the driving force behind thisendeavour. Thankyou forbeing my pillarsofstrength and inspiration.
INTRODUCTION
Welcometomygrippingmemoir, where Iinviteyou into my world –aworld defined by the harshrealitiesofgrowing up in TheGambia amidst abject poverty and ascarcity of resources. Despitethese challenges, Idiscovered the transformative power of personal development, whichbecame myguiding light.
In “How to Find the Hidden Gold Mine: AJourneyofSelf-Discovery,”I candidly share the pivotal moments that shaped my path. From facing the relentless onslaught of poverty to grapplingwith soul-crushing setbacks, to thepivotal revelationsthat changed everything, Ilay baremyexperiences. Throughthe pagesofthis book,I offer hard-earned wisdom and practical strategies for overcomingchallenges, embracingresilience, and unleashing thefull potential within.
With raw honesty and unwaveringdetermination, Iaim to prove that no matter how dark thenightmay seem, thedawn of abrighterfutureisalways within reach. “How To FindThe Hidden Gold Mine” is not justamemoir– it’s aroadmap foranyone seekingtotransform theirown struggles into stepping stones toward greatness.
Get readytounlockyour hidden potential and seize the greatnessthatawaits you.Prepare to be inspired, motivated,and empowered to embarkonyour own journeyofself-discovery and personal growth.Your storyoftriumph awaits.
Join me as Ishare my remarkablejourney of resilience and transformation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Iam profoundly grateful to Allah for granting me theguidance and inspiration to embarkonthe journey of writing this book.His blessingshave illuminated my path and madethis endeavour possible.
To my dear parents, whose tireless dedication and sacrifices have shaped me into the person Iamtoday,Iowe an immeasurable debt of gratitude. Despite facing financial constraints, they provided unwavering supportand love, instilling in me thevaluesofresilience andperseverance.Theirexample serves as aconstant source of inspiration.
Iextend heartfelt appreciation to my belovedwife, ShawBabe, and my sons, Musa and Alieu, along with my beautiful and loving daughter, Teneng. Their patience, encouragement,and wisdom have been my pillars of strength throughout the writing process. Theirunwavering belief in me haspropelled me forward, even in momentsofdoubt.
Iwould also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Les Brown, Brian Tracy, andEarl Nightingale for their profound impact on my journey as an author. Though we have not had the opportunity to meetinperson, theirwisdom, teachings, and inspiration have played asignificant role in shaping my perspective and approach.Their insights have resonated deeply with me and have served as guiding lights throughout the writing process of thisbook. Iamimmensely thankful for their invaluable contributions to the personal developmentfield, which have not only influenced my workbut have also touchedcountless lives around the world.
Iamdeeply thankful to Mr.FaKebba Kujabiofthe UniversityofThe Gambia forhis meticulous proofreading of my book. His expertise and attention to detail have undoubtedly enhanced the quality of thiswork.
Iamalso grateful to all those who have supported me along this journey, whether throughwords of encouragement, constructive feedback, or acts of kindness. Your contributions have been invaluable.
Finally, Iacknowledge the countless individuals whoseinsightsand experienceshave inspired and influenced the ideas presented in this book.Though theirnames may not be mentioned here, their impactisdeeply feltand appreciated.
May Allah bless each and every one of you abundantly foryour contributions, support,and encouragement.
With Sincere Gratitude
Kamal Jobz
CHAPTER1 IDENTIFYING BERRIES
TO LIVING YOUR IDEAL LIFE.
When people ask me how Iamdoing,I often reply, “Betterthan good andbetter than most,sometimeseven better thanthat” andwhen they ask me why,myanswer is simple: “Because I live in Sweden.”
If youcompare Sweden to my homecountry, The Gambia, theonly possible response whenasked how I’m doing is, “Better than good and better than most, sometimes even better thanthat.” That’s why Irefusetolive in this country without beingsuccessful.I refuse to spendfive,six,seven,eight, nine,orten yearshere (or even be bornhere) and seesomeonewho arrived only threeyearsago hastheir lifeinorder,buy ahouse,start their own company, obtaina driver’slicense, or secure apermanent job or university degree whenIdon’teven have ahigh school certificate. I’ve seen people who came to this country without education, but when they came to know the opportunities available, they decidedtogotoschool andearndegrees.Some didsointheir 30s and 40s.
When Isay Sweden is agold mine, Iknowwhat I’m talking about.
In my first years in Sweden, Iwas surprisedtosee such opportunities for thefirst time. But what was even more surprising was seeingpeople fail in this gold mine. Yes, Sweden is agold mine. It’safertile andvirgin land.Inmy opinion,I believe it seems impossibletofailinsuch acountry, yet people do. Why?I seemanypeoplestanding in this gold mine,and insteadofgrabbing a snow shovel,theyinsistonusing ateaspoon.
During my first year in Sweden,I always askedmyselfthese questions; “Why do peoplefailinthiscountry?Why do they fail in such agoldmine? Why do peoplefailina country whereotherssacrificetheir lives to reach?”
Peopleput theirlives on thelinetoget here,and Ihave always been trying
to figure out the answer to these questions.Ithas been bothering me for a decade, but after making somefindings, the truth came out.
To start withmyown story, Iwas an Islamic motivational speaker.That was what Iwas inclined to do. Iwouldgofromone mosquetothe other and give speeches about Islam and how one cancome closer to God.I would alsotalk about howone can be successful in theafterlifeand how to be agood Muslim.
Iwas motivated to do this because of my father,who is averypious man. In my childhood days, he would take me with him on his religious journeys. Children learn fromimitation,soIlearned many things from my father without realising it. This is why parents must be carefulabout what they say anddoinfront of theirchildren. Usually,malechildrenimitate theirfathers, whilefemale children imitate their mothers.
MENTORSHIP FROMPARENTS
Parents play avital role in the lives of their children. Human beings are meant for success. In another word we are engineered for success, we are hardwired for success. God createdustobesuccessful, wealthy, and happy. However, success does notjust happen; it requiresthe help of others.There is verylittle that ahuman being can achieve alone. We are all interdependent, and all the great prophets and philosophers have proven this true.
Our beloved Prophet Muhammed knew that he could not accomplishhis mission alone, despite having Allah by his side. He asked forhelp from his friends and relatives.Hestrived to get the supportofleadersand influential people of his time. Similarly, when Prophet Musa(Moses) was sent to the Pharaoh of Egypt, he asked Allah to reinforce him with his brother Harun (Aaron) because he knew he could not do it alone. Even Isa(Jesus) hadhis seven disciples.
Almost all successfulpeople had someone by their side, who could encourage and strengthenthem in their time of need.Nelson Mandela could not have achieved his accomplishments alone.Albert Einstein knew this when he said, “The thinking that has brought methis farhas created aproblem this thinking cannotsolve.”
The above statement holds for successful people but it is even moreapplicabletochildren. The most influential mentorsthata child has are their parents. Although some people may find it hard to agreewith this, parents are responsible for almost all of the poverty,crime and violence in our society today. As amotivational speaker and life coach formost of my adult life, I have metand spoken to countless individualswho blame their problemson thestreets, politicians, the economy, or schools. However,the reality is that parents are responsible for shapingtheir children’slives, and theiractions or inactions can impact their children’sfuture.
Many people misunderstand the purpose of going to school for various reasons. That is one of the reasons why, despite freeeducation in Sweden, someindividuals still do not attend school. It is simply because they misconstrue theconceptofgoing to school.Allowmetoclarify some of the misconceptions people have regarding school:
a. schools are not meant to raiseour children. Thatissomething people need to understand. We cannot give birth to our children and expect othersto raise them for us. Itisnot an obligation for anyone to have achild.But if youdecide to have achild, you should raise it.I can simply put it thisway: “If you cannot raise them, don’thave them.”
Ioften see parents blamingteachers fortheir children’smisconduct. Those parents are confusingthe role of teachers.Teachersexpect parents to raise theirchildrenathome. That is thereasonifa childmisbehavesatschool,the teacherreports the matter to the parents.However,parents expect teachers to raise their children for them,which is not the role of ateacher.
If yourchild is fortunate enough to have akind and thoughtful teacher like my grade 3teacher,Miss Jallow, whoalwaysgoesout of herway to help herstudents, that is great. Miss Jallow was one of akind.She did so much that when she was transferredfrom SerrekundaPrimary School, shewent withone of our classmates who was aproblematicchild.MissJallow found her purpose in teaching.But remember,ateacherlike MissJallow might do this willingly, but it is not their job. How can we expect someone with more than 25 studentsto focus solely on onechild?
Parenting is the responsibilityofthe parents, not theschool.
b. Schools do not help anyone find their gift, talent, or seed. Parentsdothat. Every parent should spend some good time with theirchildren to observe and look for those essential seeds in them, to identifywhat thechild is good at or what theyare interested in so that they can guide them towards that particular area. Everyone is born with aseed in them.Everyone comes into this world with aspecial gift fromGod, with something they can be good at or love: atalent they are supposed to pursue.
The school only helps you to refine your gift.Ifyou know what you are supposedtodo, if you know yourgiftortalent, then you can go to school and choose the right course for you.But if you don’tknow whereyour talent lies, you may end up choosingthe wrong educational path. That is why we sometimes see doctors, engineers and even some lawyerswho are unhappywith their jobs or hear someone saying, “This job is killing me.” Such people are in thewrong places. Or someone would start acourse and halfway through, find out that the course they choose was not for them.If youdonot work or do something you love, you will be unhappy forthe rest of your life. Ahappy plumber does abetter job and is moresuccessful than an unhappy lawyer.
Aquickstory: Iknow awoman who retired from her job after working as ateacher for forty years.Whenever Ivisit her,Ialways find her watching her favourite television programme, awildlifeprogramme that shows wild animals. She loves animals and travels extensively to seethem in different partsofthe world, including Australia and Africa, and has picturesofher tripshanging all over her living room. The happinessonher facewhen she talksabouther tripsand herlovefor animalsisunhiddenand unmistakable.
One day, while visitingher,she showed me aproject shehad worked on as ateacher,but it was incomplete. It was avery advanced and sophisticated work of art. So, Iasked her whyshe didn’tfinish it now that shewas retired and had plenty of timeonher hands. She replied, “No, no, no.” What was touchingabout this whole thing was the way she said it.Ithas been said, “It’snot what yousay but how you say it.” Whenshe replied withthose words, Icould feelin her voice and seethe expression on her face that she hated her previous job.
In Sweden,most retired teachers usuallyreturn to work to earn extra money, especially thosewho receivelittle pensions.Sotobesurebefore
In thedepths of despair, buried beneathlayersofdoubt and disillusionment, liesahiddengold mine waiting to be discovered. “HowtoFindthe HiddenGoldMine” is notjusta book; it’s a roadmap forreclaiming lostdreams, reignitingfaded passions, andunleashing theunlimitedpotentialwithin.
Through rawhonesty andpersonal experience, Kamal Jobarteh shares his journey from darknessto illumination,from hopelessness to boundless empowerment.Faced with the crushing weight of adversity andunskilledparenting, his spirit wasbroken, dreams shattered, andoptimism drained. Yet, amidst thewreckage,aspark of resilienceignited.
Drawing from awealth of wisdominpersonal development, human potential, andmetaphysics, “HowtoFindthe Hidden Gold Mine” transcends mere self-help.It’sarevelation –anawakening to theinfinitepossibilities that reside within everyindividual.
Thisbook is alifelinefor those whohavelosttheir way, abeacon of hope forthe discouraged, andaguidinglight forparents seeking to empowerratherthan limittheir children.With profoundinsightsand practical guidance,it’satestament to the transformativepower of belief, perseverance,and self-discovery.
Preparetoembarkon ajourney of self-realisation,where limitations areshattered, dreams areresurrected, andthe hidden gold mine of your potential awaits. Dare to dig deep andunearth thetreasures within.
