Welcome to the final episode of season three. In this episode, we take a break from our usual interviews and talk about things we've learned, achievements and more. Please leave your comments on this episode over at http://www.muslimlifehackers.com/3-9

The Muslim Life Hackers Podcast: Personal Growth | Leadership | Legacy Building | Life Hacks | Islam

#3-9: Final Episode for Season 3 w/ hosts: Maheen & Mifrah

"Marriage is a beautiful thing, if it is done right. To have that kind of companionship and support, it will literally feel like a precursor to paradise in this world". - Sheikh Musleh Khan Joining us on the show today is Sheikh Musleh Khan. Sheikh Musleh serves as one of North America’s youngest Imams at the Islamic Institute of Toronto and does a wide range of work including relationship and marriage counseling.In this interview, we tackle the million dollar question - how to get married along with related topics such as readiness for marriage, what to look for, managing pressures associated with this search and more. Questions Asked: - Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do? - How do you know you are "ready" for marriage? - The great search - how do we find someone to get married to? - Why is it that we struggle to get married in the first place? - How does dishonesty play into finding a spouse? - How can we cope with the pressure and expectations to get married? - How do you deal with comments such "you're getting old, expiring, when are you getting married" etc? - There may be conflict between parents and child, preventing them from getting married, what are your thoughts on this? - If someone comes up to you asking whether they should get married or complete their studies, what would you say? - So you are talking to a potential spouse, are there any signs of dishonesty that you should look out for? - Top 3 recommended books For resources mentioned in episode, check out the show notes: http://muslimlifehackers.com/3-8

#3-8: How to Get Married w/ Sheikh Musleh Khan

"Don't fall into the trap of wanting to do multiple things, focus on one thing and insha Allah you are bound to be successful" - Omar Taha  In this interview we talk to Omar Taha. Omar is the founder of Startup Muslim (startupmuslim.com), a global platform connecting experienced minds with startups to create successful ventures, businesses and network. We get into topics such as: where to start when it comes to business, mindset, mentorship, how to pick a field and much more. If you've always wanted to get started with your very own business, this is a perfect place to start. This episode is brought to you by Muslim Central   Questions Asked: - What made you switch from working on Wall St to teaching Muslims about how to build businesses? - Where does one start when it comes to business? - Would you say one of the big reasons people fail at business is because they want to do too many things? - How do you know what your good at and what "business" to go into? - You transitioned from your e-commerce business to apps, how did you know when to switch it up or stick it out? - What should we know in terms of mindset before venturing into our own businesses. - What are you thoughts on online courses for gaining knowledge on certain businesses? - How do you just stick to one thing when it comes to business?  - What kind of environment is ideal when working on your business? - How do you find a business mentor? - What holds a lot of people back from business is fear. How can we overcome this? - Getting practical and diving deeper into what we have spoken about so far, you have $1000 and a laptop, you know you want to start some kind of business but not entirely sure, what are you next steps? - What advice would you give your 20 year old self about starting a business and life?   For resources mentioned in episode, check out the show notes: http://muslimlifehackers.com/3-7

#3-7: Getting into Entrepreneurship w/ Omar Taha

"If you are afraid that it is going to take you 5 or 10 years to achieve a goal understand that those years are going to pass anyway and what will you show for it?" - Abu Muawiyah  Joining us on the show today is Abu Muawiyah Ismail Kamdar. He is the head tutorial assistant at Islamic Online University, radio presenter at Radio Al Ansar, creator of the online space islamicselfhelp.com as well as a published writer of multiple books including the one we will be discussing in our interview called "Getting the Barakah". In this episode we get into a tone of things regarding managing our time and productivity. We also get into how to set 10-20 year long goals, avoid making decisions that you will later regret and finding the perfect time management system for you! Questions Asked:- Why should our listeners care about time management and in turn being productive?- Do you think that because time is not a tangible form of rizq we do not consider it as valuable?- So for those of us who have also grown up in the 80s and 90s and have this notion of killing time, overhauling their habbits and starting to think long term sounds very intimidating. Where do we start with that process?- How can someone tell if a decision is potentially harmful for them in the future or just an easy short cut? What is the difference?- In your book you talk about how not all hours of the day have the same value. How can we use this to our advantage to get more done?- The 7 day planner or the To-Do list? Can you explain these two systems and how they suit different lifestyles?- What would you say to someone who says they are a procrastinator?- Is having managed our time having a full calendar and always being busy? Where does relaxation and fun fit into the equation?   For resources mentioned in episode, check out the show notes: http://muslimlifehackers.com/3-6

#3-6: Overcoming Procrastination w/ Abu Muawiyah Ismail Kamdar

"Everyone wants whatever perceived glory they see from being on the microphone or on the stage but they don’t want put that work in that comes with it. That’s why a lot of times, they look for some kind of a shortcut, some kind of technique when the only technique is to put in the work" - Omar Usman* Joining us on the show this week is brother Omar Usman, the co founder of Muslim Matters, Qalam Institute and Debt Free Muslims and one of the instructors of the khateeb and sisters public speaking workshop by the Qalam Institute. In this episode, we speak all about public speaking, including how to deliver a powerful speech regardless of your personality type, the art of speech writing and ways to keep improving.   Questions Asked: - Where should a person start if they want to write a powerful speech? - What is the best way to write a speech? - Would you say writing it out word by word is more effective or sticking to dot points? - What are some ways to keep your audience captivated especially when the subject matter is dry? Is humour the way to go? - Do experienced speakers still get nervous before delivering a speech? What are ways to tackle it? - What are some of the worst public speakings tips out there? - You mentioned that advance speakers not only work on the points to build the overall message in a speech but they also work on creating transitions between them to ensure a smooth flow. Can you give us an example of this in action? - What if you blank out in your speech? How can you get back on track? - What’s the best way to end of a speech? How can we end on a strong note? - How can we continue improving and becoming better public speakers? For resources mentioned in episode, check out the show notes: http://muslimlifehackers.com/3-5   *quote contains minor edits for the sake of readability.

#3-5: The Art of Public Speaking w/ Omar Usman

"All the resources you need to achieve awesomeness and greatness for yourself, family and ummah are all within you. All the resources are within ourselves, we just need to step back and reconnect with ourselves, reconnect with Allah swt and find it. You don’t need a million dollar to start a venture, you don’t need extensive knowledge of xyz to begin. You begin with yourself, your resources are within you.” - Nadia Yunis  Today we speak to sister Nadia Yunus. She is a spiritual, creative and personal peak performance coach. In this episode, we talk about our finding our unique purposes in our lives, giving ourselves permission to embrace it and how to tackle all the obstacles that come in pursuit of it. Questions Asked:- What is the difference between an ultimate purpose and a unique purpose? - Why do people have a hard time giving themselves permission to pursue their unique purpose, is it a result of upbringing? - What can they do about it? - Is the process of finding your ultimate purpose going to be a pleasant experience? - How can we remain true to ourselves and let go of our negative stories especially when the environment around you keeps reinforcing it (e.g. family members). - Why is the need of giving ourselves permission to pursue our purpose more common among women? For resources mentioned in episode, check out the show notes: http://muslimlifehackers.com/3-4 Thank You For Listening!Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a review for us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. This helps us get the word out there and in turn give us the opportunity to benefit more people.

#3-4: Giving Yourself Permission to Pursue Your Purpose w/ Nadia Yunis

"Comparing to others is actually a form of violence against yourself… it doesn’t do any good… The best thing we can do is to compare and compete against yourself. I want to my best. I want to be better than who I was last year. It’s not about competing with others and outdoing others, it's about competing with myself and making sure that I am constantly in that process of self development, self improvement, excelling and achieving." - Haleh Banani*   Today we will be speaking to sister Haleh Banani. She has a masters degree in clinical psychology, a featured expert on a variety of platforms and also hosted her own TV show for Al-Fajr TV called ‘with Haleh’ which combined principles of psychology and Islam to help people reach their full potential.   In this interview, we talk about the impostor syndrome, feeling like a fraud, tackling perfectionism and handling negative self talk.   Questions Asked: - What is the impostor syndrome all about? - What causes a person to feel this way? Is it a result of low self esteem or a mix of issues? - If someone has been given the opportunity to take on a big role/project and still feels like they don't belong there (despite having the capability). What advice would you give them in terms of overcoming this internal conflict and doing their job well? - How does one tackle perfectionism?  - How do you internalise your accomplishments? - How can we make sure that we are giving our best effort instead of getting caught up in aiming for unattainable perfectionism?   - Do other people really do sit and think about our mess ups? For resources mentioned in episode, check out the show notes: http://muslimlifehackers.com/3-3   Thank You For Listening! Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a review for us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. This helps us get the word out there and in turn give us the opportunity to benefit more people.   *quote contains minor edits for the sake of readability.  

#3-3: Feeling Like a Fraud & The Imposter Syndrome w/ Haleh Banani

“A wise man once said, a candle illuminates but light focused is a laser and a laser cuts through steel…. This is what the vision does, it focuses us. It tells us who we are, it tells us who we are not, it tells us why we do what we do, why we do not…  Having vision is very addiction. Once you get it, you will hate to live a day without it. This is what makes a visionary different to a person who doesn’t” - Sheikh Sajid. Sheikh Sajid Umar joins us on the show to talk about person visions. He is an educator, speaker and graduate in Information Technology, Islamic Law and Judiciary with a vision of a world filled with communities that inspire and benefit humanity. We cover the basics of vision setting, why it’s necessary to have one and how it helps with achieving our greatest ambition of entering Jannah.   Questions Asked: Can you please define for us what it means exactly to have a vision for your life and setting a personal vision? Why is it necessary to have one? How does it benefit us? What sets apart a person who has a vision and a person who doesn’t? What if a person has a vision of simply making it to Jannah – the highest level and so paves out their life with that in mind. What are your thoughts on this approach and how would you be able to merge this with the vision setting we spoke about here? Would you be able to tell us how you were inspired to creating your own vision? How long did it take before it was crystal clear? Was it ongoing process that you tweaked over years or something you wrote up in one go? For resources mentioned in episode, check out the show notes: http://muslimlifehackers.com/3-2   Thank You For Listening! Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a review for us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. This helps us get the word out there and in turn give us the opportunity to benefit more people.

#3-2: Setting a Vision for Your Life w/ Sheikh Sajid Umar

“… now we think to be humble we have to think low of yourself so guess what? If you think that you are stupid, if you think that are dumb, if you think that you can’t do anything then you are not going to do anything with your life. The entire ummah is thinking like that, the entire world is going to do nothing and when we look around the world today, the Muslims are not leading in any fields. It’s because we don’t have the confidence to lead, we are killing each others confidence.” – Abu Muawiyah     Questions Asked: What motivated you to write about such topic? Do you think that there is a problem of low confidence in the Muslim community? If we know that Allah swt will help us and give us success in anything we do, why is having self confidence important? How does this fit in? What is the difference between self confidence and arrogance? How can we ensure we nurture the former and not the latter? It’s easy to claim that we are confidence but what are the signs of insecurity and low confidence? In the book, you make a point about people who criticise generally have low self esteem. Why is that the case? For resources mentioned in episode, check out the show notes: http://muslimlifehackers.com/3-1   Thank You For Listening! Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a review for us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. This helps us get the word out there and in turn give us the opportunity to benefit more people. 

#3-1: Building Confidence, Dealing with Setbacks and Criticisms w/ Abu Muawiyah Ismail Kamdar

Mifrah and Maheen, in an M&Ms episode, talk about the season 2 finale of the podcast as well answer listener questions about productivity, life, business and the upcoming season.  Highlights from the show: -Upcoming Muslim Life Hackers projects - Zara: “What top five things will make me a highly effective person?” - Omar: “Can you start a online entrepreneur business with nil money?” - Melanie: “What have been your personal development struggles and how did you overcome them?” - Binetou: “Do you have productivity tips for creative minds?” - Adil: “What misconceptions about Islam frustrate you the most?” - Bilal: “When does season 3 start and why can’t it start sooner?” -Season 2 highlights References: Connect with Muslim Life Hackers on the VIP list: http://muslimlifehackers.com/vip  To find out more on this episode plus others visit: http://muslimlifehackers.com  

#2-14: Season 2 Finale, Highlights & Listener Questions [M&Ms]

Mifrah and Maheen speaks to Belal Khan from Leechon Films on the Art of Dawah. Highlights from the show: Belal’s journey in dawah Pros & Cons: Fee Sabillah Vs Free Sabillah Raising the standard of dawah - what does it mean? Why a positive narrative is important for Islam and Muslim Why following your passions is dumb advice How to find your super powers (strengths) How to leverage them in a dawah context The game being played in media today Stories and how they relate to your legacy Love or justice? Belal’s life hack to get ahead   References: Join the Muslim Life Hackers VIP list: http://muslimlifehackers.com/vip  To find out more on this episode plus others visit: http://muslimlifehackers.com/2-13

#2-13: The Art of Dawah w/ Belal Khan

Maheen talks to Haroon Qureshi the CEO of The Muslim Entrepreneur Group about how to break free from the 9 to 5 lifestyle.  Highlights from the show: How to go from failing to being on the top in any area of your life.  How to learn from other peoples mistakes The benefits of being financially free and being able to focus your time on whatever you want. What does Haroon say to people who believe that success can only come from the traditional path of school, degree, work and retire?  What Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson and Ralph Lauren have in common.  How the Amazon business model works and tips on how to get started. References: Connect with Muslim Life Hackers on the VIP list: http://muslimlifehackers.com/vip  To find out more on this episode plus others visit: http://muslimlifehackers.com   

#2-12: Breaking Free From The 9 to 5 w/ Haroon Qureshi

Maheen and Mifrah have a conversation about the 3 biggest excuses people make in their lives and how to move past them.  Highlights from the show: What are excusists? [2:06 – Mifrah] “The first kind of excusist is the health excusist, kind of using it as a way of preventing yourself from taking action”[2:49 – Maheen]  The story of the two diabetics [4-15 – Maheen]  “Most people on the hospital bed have EII – emotionally induced illness” [11:05 – Mifrah]   “Intelligence excusists say they are just not smart enough to that...but it is not about your intelligence but the thinking that guides it” [11:43 – Mifrah] “Are you going to use your mind to make history or to record history” [13:59 – Mifrah] “You hear a lot of people saying they are passed the learning age?” [19:02 – Maheen] “When you think about negative things more, the more the thinking, the stronger association and quicker it is retrieved” [23:50 – Maheen] References: Connect with Muslim Life Hackers on the VIP list: http://muslimlifehackers.com/vip  To find out more on this episode plus others, visit: http://muslimlifehackers.com   

#2-11: Are These 3 Excuses Holding You Back? [M&M]

Mifrah speaks to Chris Abdurrahman Blauvelt, the co-founder of the crowdfunding platform LaunchGood on bringing ideas to life through crowdfunding.   Topics Covered: What is Crowdfunding? How LaunchGood plays a part in supporting Muslim causes and ideas. The early days of Launch Good and challenges experienced The importance of mentors and how to find them How to make sure your business grows steadily and not fizzle away. How long to spend time in a startup before seeing its success. The reality of business failures and bigger picture. The reality of unsuccessful crowdfunding campaigns. How to make sure your crowdfunding campaign is successful. An overlooked benefit from crowdfunding that many are not aware of and more...   Show Notes (where you can find tweetables & resources mentioned in episode):  http://www.muslimlifehackers.com/2-10   Leave a Review on iTunes:  http://www.muslimlifehackers.com/itunes   Muslim Life Hackers VIP List Join the Muslim Life Hackers VIP Email List to get the opportunity to participate in interesting discussions, get access to content that’s not published on the blog, have a say in future topics + guests & more: http://muslimlifehackers.com/vip

#2-10: Bringing Ideas to Life through Crowdfunding w/ Chris Blauvelt

Mifrah speaks with positive psychologist, coach & entrepreneur: Saiyyidah Zaidi on happiness, high performance & wealth.  "You had an aim to become a chief executive but priorities changed and you were true to that which is a very brave step to take especially since sometimes when we are set on a goal, its as though we get to married to it or something - there's no flexibility if things change in life" [3:40 - Mifrah] "... Honestly if you were to ask me, I would say that I live the life of a millionaire right now but does it mean I am millionaire? I choose when to get up, how to spend my time. If we want to take off 3 months and go travelling then we can do it because of some of the things we set up and it doesn't need to extravagant." [10:48 - Saiyyidah] "If you surround yourself with amazing people, your going to life yourself and become even more amazing. When I look at the situation of UK, many people are generationally unemployed or generationally uneducated because that's who they surrounded themselves with." [17:39 - Saiyyidah]  "You talk about the importance of being confident in yourself so that you bring more to things you do. Now an issue that was brought up by one of our listeners on this, was finding that balance between being confident and not being proud and arrogant? Is this just a misunderstanding of confidence or is there some truth to this, can you really get carried away in the pursuit of being more confident?" [18:10 - Mifrah] "In order to be high performers we need to take care of yourselves. Its not rocket science. It just requires a little bit of tweaking to the life we are living" [27:13 - Saiyyidah]   Show Notes:  http://www.muslimlifehackers.com/2-09   Leave a Review on iTunes:  http://www.muslimlifehackers.com/itunes   Muslim Life Hackers VIP List Join the Muslim Life Hackers VIP Email List to get the opportunity to participate in interesting discussions, get access to content that’s not published on the blog, have a say in future topics + guests & more: http://muslimlifehackers.com/vip  

#2-09: Happiness, High Performance & Wealth w/ Saiyyidah Zaidi

Welcome to the Muslim Life Hackers podcast. The weekly podcast providing you with the knowledge, tools and connections to help you get ahead in life. Find all the recaps of our show as well as the resources mentioned at www.muslimlifehackers.com/podcast.

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