52 Pearls of Life

By Fiza Farhan

More than just a memoir, this is a step-by-step guide to the Journey of Enlightenment that Fiza attributes her professional success to. An engaging and thought-provoking book that enables the reader to identify with the infinite potential that resides within them, enabling them to achieve precision of their lifes vision and align them with their greater Lifes purpose. This book is for the many souls lost in transition, living lives void of any essence of Life itself, consuming their entire existence in being someone they never were, and hence living in a state of continued unhappiness. Reaching out to thousands of these searching souls, Fiza shares some of her eruditions in this brief and simple book bestowing upon each reader a string of 52 pearls of inspirational memos that are ready to be adapted in their daily personal and professional lives for them to be able to fully rejoice the art of Living Life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504344173

Fiza Farhan

Fiza Farhan is an accomplished business professional in the Renewable Energy, Women Empowerment and Impact Investment sectors in Pakistan. With her charismatic personality, unwavering commitment, passionate zeal and dynamic energy, she has become a proud representation of the youth and women of Pakistan on an international level. With multiple awards to her credit, Fiza was the Forbes Magazine “30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur” for 2015 and serves as a panelist on the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel for Women Economic Empowerment. “52 Pearls of Life” is a compilation of Fiza’s thoughts and her message to the reader to find their hidden potential and unleash their real selves towards a life of success and eternal happiness.

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Copyright © 2016 Fiza Farhan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4415-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4416-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4417-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015921046

Balboa Press rev. date: 06/21/2016

Contents

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

1. Happiness - Achieve it.

2. Choose To Be Happy.

3. Thinking- Our Capital Asset.

4. Happiness - The State of Mind.

5. Bitter Trials in Life- Blessings!

6. Let God Deal with Things.

7. Build with the Bricks Thrown at You.

8. Dare to be Powerful, Unleash Your Real Strength.

9. Identify Your Unique Purpose.

10. Mysterious Ways of Life.

11. Open Your Eyes, Look Within.

12. Unearth Life with Simplicity.

13. Live the Real Life.

14. Desire- The Inner Calling.

15. Self acceptance is Self-Love.

16. Solitude - The Real Power of Companionship.

17. Achieve the Great.

18. Think You Can and You Will

19. Choose Mental Liberation.

20. Say No to Comfort Zones, Yes to Life.

21. Opportunities- Create Them.

22. Believe It Can Be Done and It Will.

23. Realize Your Talents and Celebrate Them.

24. Give without Remembering, Take without Forgetting.

25. One Life to Live.

26. Moments of Life, Live them Today

27. Do Anything, Not Everything.

28. Life, Create it Yourself.

29. Keep Going - Fight the Darkness.

30. Discover Your Challenge Zone.

31. Reaction to Problems is the Real Problem.

32. Conquer or Get Conquered.

33. Just Express It.

34. Take Pride in Yourself.

35. Knowledge & Wisdom; Achieve Mindfulness.

36. Change Your Perspective to Change Your World.

37. Success- Unceasing Discipline.

38. Success Demands Change.

39. Hard Work Attracts Luck.

40. Seek Life Within the Unknown.

41. Let Life Chase You

42. Mastery of Fear, Not Absence of Fear.

43. Negative Energy of Others; Your Vitality.

44. Control Your Emotions, Control Your Life.

45. Leave the Good, Achieve the Great

46. The Only Way for Success

47. Evolve Your Excellence

48. Lead a Life of Passion.

49. Words; Our Greatest Forte & Foe.

50. True Acceptance is True Love.

51. Positive Mind, Positive Life.

52. Practice; Master the Art of Living.

"I

dedicate this book to all those searching souls out there who feel that the life they live day in and day out is not enough, who crave for something else, who remain discontent and unhappy but fail to reason why? I dedicate this book to all those beautiful souls out there who yearn to be unleashed and to achieve the life they deserve to live, the life they were created to experience, the life that aligns with their unique purpose of existence. I dedicate this book to you, my reader and I hope that with this book, I can bring to you the success and happiness that you truly deserve."

Acknowledgements

First of all, I thank you, the reader, who has opted to read this book and join me in the journey of self-discovery.

Secondly and most importantly, I would like to thank my life mentor and mind coach Mr. Abid H. Bilal, before meeting whom I was one of the searching souls I dedicate this book to. In a matter of years, Mr. Bilal (or Doc as I call him) has not only transformed me as a person but has also enlightened within me a deep sense of self-belief in my own inner potential, in achieving the life I deserve to live, in contributing to this world such that my existence will be remembered, in becoming a beacon of hope and inspiration for many young and aspiring professionals. I would also like to thank him for encouraging me to compile my thoughts in 52 Pearls of Life to share some life-changing lessons from this remarkable and transformational journey with all of you.

I would then like to thank both my parents, Farhan Shukr and Asma Farhan, who are surely the support system and the pillars of my life. I thank them both for believing in me, for always being there for me and for entrusting in me with conviction and belief that the choices I make in life will turn out right for me. I hope I make you proud Ami and Abu, and I hope you remain the shining armor of my life always.

I would certainly like to thank my best friend, my life companion and my dear husband, Faran Sadiq, who makes me believe that true love does exist. Love that is supportive and enabling, love that is accepting and rewarding, love that does not demand change but instead encourages the other to achieve the best version of themselves. Not only Faran, but this note of gratitude also goes out to my family in-law for their support and pride, which certainly keeps me going on.

I would also like to thank my siblings Hina Farhan & Waqas Shahnawaz for always being there for me with their unconditional support and to my sweet brother Haider Shahnawaz who will always remain one of us. My life or any Thank You note cannot be complete without the mention of my childhood friends Huma Akram, Sana Rehman & Sehr Durrani along with the many dear friends and family who surround me and make my life a pleasurable experience enabling me to unwind and disentangle whenever I need to.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank my professional mentor and friend Asim Buksh who has always bestowed his trust and belief in me enabling me to achieve my professional goals with an empowered platform and mental liberation.

Most importantly, I would like to thank every well-wisher around me, who continue to shower their blessings, kind wishes and prayers towards me.

Author’s Note

For me, the success of this book will be when what I have written can enable mental liberation and ignite the journey of enlightenment in the souls searching for a meaningful life out there. It would be a pleasure to engage with you not only during the course of this book, but later when you experience the essence of my writing coming alive in your everyday life. I would be delighted to hear from you personally and know if any one of my writings achieved a conscious realization in your life happenings or decisions. If I could enflame the spirit of self-discovery in any one of you and enable you to achieve the life you deserve to live, I would declare this book to be a lasting success and joy for me!

Please feel free to contact me to stay connected and share your journey of self-discovery with me at:

Email @ [e-mail]

Facebook @ Fiza Farhan-Official

Linked-In @ Fiza Farhan

Twitter @ Fiza_Farhan

46434.png 1. Happiness - Achieve it.

H appiness is a state of mind. It is not an occurrence or a master plan that can be created and devised. It is simply the most inexpensive, non-time consuming and effortless thing. But a state of mind seems to be the most problematic thing to achieve in this era and to triumph it remains mankind’s greatest challenge.

Happiness comes from within; it comes from the mind and soul. It is an intangible creation of the mind that cannot be created artificially. We see so many people around us who have all the riches of the world; money, fame, success, luxury cars, beautiful houses (not homes), exotic vacations, and so on. But unfortunately the one thing they terribly lack is happiness. Simple, pure happiness that comes for free; that thing that even a poor man’s child sitting on the road in murky clothes with nothing to eat is feeling while playing with his companions with nothing but stones. That lack of happiness takes over everything else that they have accumulated. They fail to understand that, despite all the riches in the world, they still feel unhappy and dissatisfied, as if something is missing. What is really missing is happiness.

The unconscious aura of unhappiness engulfs them in the shadows of depression, stress, anxiety and life filled with quarrels. It eventually leads toward a life without love, an early death and in extreme cases, suicide. We can just look around and will find so many examples of people who do not seem to understand this simple, yet the most important fact of life, that happiness comes from within. Happiness is a state of mind; we can be as happy as we want to be, we can be as happy as we want to feel and we can be as happy as we believe in. The natural state of human beings is happy, relaxed and joyful. Observing life around, I usually feel that children are mostly happy because they are closest to the natural state of mind despite problematic external circumstances.Unfortunately, as they grow, the world casts its influence on them and they no longer can see the happiness and beauty of life best observed in nature that surrounds. We are usually happiest when we are living the life that our inner person most aligns with, and when our outer life aligns with our inner potential, our natural symphony and rhythm starts to play and bring our mind, soul and body in a state of peace and tranquility leading to inner happiness that is not perturbed by the external events of society. If we look around and try to find out how often does it happen that we see people living the life of their dreams? Everyone seems to be engrossed in a rat race that is conceived by someone else. They live a life dictated by others, perceived by others and hence, start living for others. They seldom live for themselves and rarely achieve the potential that exists within. If we start understanding our purpose in life and if we start listening, understanding and implementing the calls of the inner self, happiness comes out as an essential result of the reconciliation the mind and soul achieve from this process. All the activities such as spending time with ourselves, doing meditation, yoga, and silent observation and analysis bring a certain sense of peace and fulfillment within as we connect to our inner self disconnecting from this world where happiness has lost its meaning. Whenever we respond to the universe with a conscious sense of gratitude for the many blessings bestowed upon us, contentment and bliss automatically set in. By performing small acts of gratitude, we can shift our focus on the goodness in life and can relish on the happiness that already exists. If we keep seeking happiness from the outside world, we will remain lost and strangled in frustration as the only secret for lasting and true happiness lies within ourselves. Happiness starts from the belief that you deserve to be happy, and you are a unique and precious creation of God having immense potential. Believe that you deserve to have the best life ever which begins from today. Most of our lives are the by-product of our own thoughts and we are the masters of their creation. So stand up tall today, smile at yourself in the mirror, remind yourself of how precious you are and take a deep breath of self-belief as you walk into this world with happiness.

SELF ANALYSIS:

1. Sit back, relax, take a deep breath and question yourself: Are you truly happy with the life you live and the way you have designed your life? Be true to yourself.

2. Make a list of five ingenuous things that make you truly happy. Commit today to include all five things in your daily routine, practicing each at least once a week.

3. Indulge in gratitude at least once a week. Sit in a quiet place alone, enlist the innumerable blessings nature has bestowed upon you; reflect upon them and feel their presence in your life consciously. Practice as often as possible.

PERSONAL NOTES:

46434.png 2. Choose To Be Happy.

M ost of us live our day to day lives in a racing humdrum running frantically between work, home, social calls, and family pleas. The list of work related activities, projects, daily household chores and meeting people never ends. We keep chasing one thing after another in the pursuit of achieving happiness. We attach our association of happiness with social parties, job promotions, gifts, shopping and other tangible things which we do attain temporarily but wonder why it does not last? Why we feel lost so very often? Why we do not feel an all-embracing contention from within; happiness that is lasting and comes from within us, happiness that contents us and puts us in a peaceful state of mind. The reason is that we keep seeking happiness in the external environment such as in people, events and things. What we principally forget is that true and lasting happiness comes from within our own selves.

Our souls and minds are the purest form of happiness that lies within us. We spend all our lives trying to find this happiness which in fact resides peacefully within us and we never got to unleash it. Why? Because we never take out time to sit back, relax, and feel the present moment. Sit quietly, feel your breath, enjoy the essence of being alive, disconnect yourselves from the world and absorb the present moment of life within. Let yourselves hear and connect with your inner