Week Nos. #6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 – The Millionaire Mohsin

Bismillahi Rahman Rahim,

It has been a whole six (6) weeks since our last blog posting.

At the beginning of October we put our strategy together from an event planning point of view.  Our necks were barely above water, however we did not want to give up especially considering that we had so many stakeholders to answer to.

We are all answerable to Allah SWT.  In addition the stakeholders we are serving include the donors of the seed capital of this charity challenge, Mercy Mission, the Charity Challenge Team, the beneficiary organization and the poor people we want to serve.

The team split up the work:

-poverty cause search – US & DM

-tartget audience research – FA & DM

-course preparation FA & DM

-course presentation DM

-Stanley Kubrik (presentation manager) – US

-flyer message SS & US

-flyer design US & KT

-facebook event page SS

-venue search, selection and booking US

-course dry-run AK & FA

-promotion of the event SS

-ticket sales US & AK

-setup All

-special guest presentor – LR

-beneficiary of the proceeds – MuslimServ

-presentation and cleanup All

The above tasks required a learning curve for many of the team members because we did not go through the motions before.  Alhamdullilah once we had the right steps we found that the last 6 weeks were fulfilling.

The course topics include the following: Using Personal Development Tools to Create an Outstanding Life, Getting Your Life Into The Zone of Allah’s Pleasure and Keeping Your Life In the Zone of Allah’s pleasure.

On November 15, 2009 at the Al Huda Centre we ran the course with an audience of 14 people Alhamdullilah.  We raised $80.00 in proceeds and $200.00 in donations to cover the cost of renting the hall.  All other expenses including food and drinks, note pads, flyers, etc. were covered through donations.

Comments that we received from a couple of attendees are as follows:

Al salamu Alykum Wa Rahmatu Allah.  Allow me thank you for you r efforts and your excitement to at least take the first step towards achieving your dreams. if I can sum up Anthony Robins for you, I would (action). You do not need to wait a few months before you start your dream.  Moving and focusing on pleasure and positive thinking combined with action is absolutely remarkable.   That said, while you continue to implement his amazing program, we can initiate the MillionaireMuhsin first package.   I can create 10 lectures for you that reflect the islamic steps and you can provide me the skeleton from anthony robinns.   It is all marketing, packaging, and closing.   – Sheikh Loay Ragheb

Alhamdulilah, your session was very well-organized and well presented by all.  The professionalism aspect really shone through and I must say that each and everyone of you seemed motiovation enough to go to the next level.  All that is needed is more marketing and we are inshallah off to the races.  Thank you for all your well-organized session and hopefully at a later date I can help you out by marketing it in the future.  May Allah grant you success from your sincerity. - Nabeel Hassan

All said, we will be sending a cheque for $1080.00 to MuslimServ Insha’Allah.

Our Statement of Revenue and Expenses Is As Follows:

Original Donation – $1000.00

Donations and Tickets  280.00

Expenses – Rental ($200.00)

Total Proceeds $1080.00

A video of the entire session was taken with a relatively newer style video camera and we are having some technical difficulties posting the video to Youtube.  We expect that the video will be extracted and put on-line by the weekend of November 21, 2009  Insha’Allah.

We want to recognize the contributions of the entire Millionaire Mohsin Team & their families; and our attendees, host venue, etc. for making the event possible.

We want to appreciate Mercy Mission, their donors, the Charity Challenge Team and our competitors for the contest,   for making this so much fun, a great learning experience and a great opportunity to please Allah SWT by serving the less fortunate.

We want to appreciate Allah SWT for giving us this wonderful opportunity to serve the community needs and the needs of the less fortunate Muslims.

We ask Allah SWT to bless all the participants, supporters and benefitiaries of the Charity Challenge and all Believers.

We look forward to participating in next year’s Charity Challenge in full force now that a basic course has been created I feel that we will Insha’Allah be off to the races!

Insha’Allah may we and you become Millionaire Mohsins.  Ameen

Ma Salama,

Daanish Memon on behalf of

The Millionaire Mohsin Team.

Project Planning Framework

Week#5 – Link to the Project Planning Framework

In the Name of Allah,

Assalamualaikum All, here is a link to the project planning framework that we used to conduct a needs analysis for The Millionaire Mohsin Project.

link to Project Planning Framework…(http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AefmztLxpd1UZGpiZG5yNV8zMmZjNmJjYmM0&hl=en)

We have largely completed the steps until Part 5b) and are working on Parts 5c) onwards.

Please leave feedback and email Daanish at daanishm@gmail.com if you would like to discuss any part of it.

Till next time,

Wa’alaikum Assalam Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu.

Week #5 – The Millionaire Mohsin – Mercy Mission Charity Challenge

Week #5 Update – The Millionaire Mohsin – The New Awakening…

Beginning in the Name of Allah…

I believe that we will not easily forget the events of week of Monday September 28, 2009. What we learned about is the importance of detailed strategic planning and quickly identifying the areas of effectiveness that we are not competent in so that we could reach out to people with specific talents.  The long and short of it is that we spent so much time on developing the course and producing videos to market our message, that the other activities that needed our attention were left aside inadvertently.

Thanks to many reminders from Mercy Mission Charity Challenge Support Team we put our activities under the microscope using a PROJECT PLANNING FRAMEWORK (to be posted separately for anyone who wants to know how we went about this analysis) developed by the team and this is what we learned at the end of our analysis:

RESULTS OF OUR NEEDS ANALYSIS (better late than never!!)

To succeed carrying out the Millionaire Mohsin project, experienced help and resources are required in the following strategic areas:

1. Defining a Clear Message about encouraging Muslims to generate halal wealth to fulfill the needs of the impoverished in our community (Week #1-5 – our biggest challenge)

2. Identifying Our Key Stakeholders and their Needs (In Progress Week #5-by the team, in progress, more time and help needed in the area of surveying)

3. Marketing – Defining Our Target Course Recipient Market, getting to know their opinions on the importance of wealth and what is holding them back from generating more halal wealth (Week #5 – just started – need experienced help big time)

One of our team members had a relative from overseas join our meeting who is a marketing expert and amazingly he gave us a clear sense that we need a marketing expert to join our team!  The relative has gone back overseas since the meeting and we are now looking for experienced Marketers who have the time and believe in our cause to join us.

4. Course Development Marketing – we were so focused on developing the content of our message over the first few weeks until the desire to tell people about our course took up most of our time! A very good friend advised us that bringing people into the seat would require us to promise to fulfill their perceived needs and wants AND THEN we could work on teaching them what we think they are missing – (Experience and Help is needed in this area to create surveys, collect data and analyze it)

5. Trainer with Credibility – to run even an introductory personal development course requires a presenter/promoter/trainer who has a high level of credibility and embodies the message and principles that  are being taught.

In our case the message is that ‘intentional creation of halal wealth by a large number of Muslims is needed to service the immediate and long-term needs of the impoverished in our community, Allah knows best’.  The principles are related to personal development and mindset tools that would help Muslims put their Islamic knowledge (what to do) into practice by focusing on ‘why to want to do’ and ‘how to do’. Our experience shows that mindset tools really help to integrate Islamic principles into daily life and many personal development courses teach those mindset tools whereas we don’t learn them through community institutions.

6. Facility/Venue Booking – a large risk item that is subject to the commitment of attendees which has many other dependencies described above (not attempted or assigned – can be done by our team members however not enough information or manpower to get this done even calling local masjids with the willingness to split revenues with them takes time)

7. Attendees – GOAL 100 – the main purpose of the course is to get attendees so that they gain a beneficial message.  Marketing and advertising machines are needed to find out what they want and let them know we can deliver it Insha’Allah– and we don’t have one (we are in the process of looking)

8. Funds – May Allah SWT reward Mercy Mission and Charity Challenge for providing the seed money.  This is not a major area of concern although getting sponsors involved as stakeholders to cover some costs such as refreshments requires that we can show them what we plan to do and that our plan is working.  (not attempted due to focus on course development)

9. Logistical Support – on the day of the course people would be needed to help out with handing out course material, directing attendees, helping with refreshments, checking for payments, etc. (not though of until recently – experienced help needed)

10. Audio Visual – needed for the message to be communicated properly – (experienced help needed)

11. Marketing Machinery to find out what Trainees want (experienced help needed)

12. Marketing Machinery to find out what Sponsors, Beneficiaries (underprivileged people) want for them to benefit from this program. (experienced help needed to collect and summarize the information and report back to us)

13. Advertising Machinery – getting the word out to many networks about our group objectives and our course.

14.  Setup/Cleanup – Although this may be part of the responsibility of the facility, if the facility is donated this will become our responsibility (experienced help needed to get a group together who can setup and cleanup)

14. Feedback – For the objectives of the course to be achieved it is important to get feedback on the course so that it may be improved Insha’Allah. (experienced help with on-line surveys needed)

Actions in the above strategic area needed to pull of the course.

TEAM BUILDING ACTIONS NEEDED to survive and thrive

The following are actions that required experienced people with time so we may pull off the overall project plan:

A. Develop a clear vision

B. Develop a project plan (see above)

C. Spread the vision and project plan far and wide

D. Look for people who share your vision that can help spread the vision to others and find mavens (experienced people) in each of the above strategic areas

E. Build the Team – get mavens (experienced people) on board to our vision.

F. Assign and co-ordinate the execution of tasks

G. Videoblog– takes an inordinate amount of time to do properly and requires a team in and of itself

H. WordPress Blog – takes an inordinate amount of time to do properly and requires a team in and of itself.

I. Website updating– so needed in today’s day and age

K. Twitter and Facebook– again we need to get with the program

Whew!! The above is only a “description” of the work required and because it is clear to me where we stand now, I am not even tired thinking about it.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of where we stand today (very important reality check)

1. Acknowledged our team member’s strengths and weaknesses. What that means is we now know what to do and why to do and NOT how to do.  Many of the strategic actions require experienced people who know how to do things correctly.  The people we need must also believe in our cause – to encourage muslims to pursue halal wealth generation specifically for serving Allah SWT.

2. Realized that the strategic actions required to realize our project objective is many times larger than what our existing team can achieve within the allotted time.

3. Knew that the first thing to do is to find a well-connected find team member who believes in our project and can help build the rest of the team fairly quickly.

4. Made Dua to Allah SWT to help us connect with the right people as soon as possible and to help our project succeed eventually.

5. Recognized that although the time horizon is insufficient to move forward, we need to press ahead even though we had a late start!

ACTIONS WE TOOK LAST WEEK to get going in the right direction Insha’Allah

1. Attended a CAMP (Canadian Association of Muslim Professionals) Eid Dinner, sponsored a table under Mercy Mission. We got the word out about Mercy Mission and talked to as many people as possible about The Millionaire Mohsin Course.

2. Talking to as many people as possible without dropping the ball in our other life areas (work, family, etc.) to spread our message and get feedback

3. Interviewed a group of Muslims after Fajr to find out their opinions on the ‘importance in Islam of halal wealth generation to satisfy the needs of the community’  All members said wealth generation is important and they feel that Muslims are either scared of wealth generation from a Shariah perspective or don’t know how to generate wealth in a halal way.  They suggested that we go outside the community if necessary to get the help of experts in wealth generation and bring the knowledge back to the community.

4. Interviewed 2 Imams on their perspectives on ‘importance in Islam of halal wealth generation to satisfy the needs of the community’.  Both Imams warned of the dual nature of wealth and the potential weakness of servants to handle wealth.  It was discussed that in the message that Muslims often hear at the mosque, negative aspects of wealth generation is overpowering  the positive aspects and importance of it in our religion.  The advice given by both Imams is that encouraging wealth generation must be coupled with the responsibility to use it wisely and to give a warning of the potential negative aspects of wealth.   It seems that more Muslims listen to the warning and stay away even though they may be able to handle wealth appropriately.  That may be translating into Good competent Muslims shying away from much needed wealth generation due to the focus on negative aspects of wealth over a reminder to earn and use wealth wisely.

5. We were actively looking for like-minded brothers and sisters who can help us build the team, get the actions listed above carried out and deliver a successful course.

RESULTS-ACTIONS MOVING FORWARD Insha’Allah:

1. Build the team – get help to setup our facebook, twitter and linked-inpages so that we may spread the word and connect with key people within the Toronto  community who have well-connected networks that may have the kinds of expertise we need, talk to them about our mission, vision and team requirements and aim to Insha’Allah sign them up to the cause.

2. Assign all the tasks to committed team members

3. Co-ordinate between the team members to get the fieldwork, course preparation and advertising done.

TEAMS forming around PROJECT PLANS

Whether we were at week#1 or even starting now, our goals are ambitious.  The difference is that now we know what we need and have to start talking and emailing as many people as possible.  With only a few weeks remaining it seems that time may have run out, although we put our case forward to Allah SWT and hope for the best.

We hope that at minimum our experience can help future Mercy Mission contests and teams to add one more mandatory step to the existing contest requirements…A Program Planning Framework that will help teams to quickly identify what their objectives are and working backwards find what resources are required and how to go about requiring the resources on go.  Our Program Planning Framework will be available by link Insha’Allah and comments are welcome

Another idea that I want to throw out there for the Mercy Mission Charity Challenge organizers is that once projects are picked, the remaining teams who did not win may have the opportunity to join a team that has a well though out project plan, and does not have the resources to make it into a reality.  I really believe that if a couple of teams join together, the resourcing and actions may be more effectively implemented and produce a sweeter result.

CONCLUSIONS

At the end of the day, our efforts are just a speck and it takes the blessings of Allah SWT to bring them into fruition.  We are working on our speck of effort and begging for Allah’s help and blessing, guidance and forgiveness.  Thanks again to Mercy Mission, Charity Challenge and all the teams who are participating for making this an event we won’t forget!

We conclude by saying all praise is due to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds!

The Millionaire Mohsin Blog Week#4

Bismillah Rahman Rahim

Assalamualaikum Everyone!

Eid Mubarak,

Kul Aam Wa’antum bi khair!

The Millionaire Mohsin team took a major break last week due to the last 10 days of Ramadan and this week we need to catch up with 2 videos (one for week 3 and one for week 4, this week)

Our goals this week are to get the 2 video blogs up, and continue the course design Insha’Allah.

As well we need to set a course date and venue and start promoting the course through our circles of influence!!

On a personal level we are studying Stephen Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective people to use it as a framework for the course itself. The benefits of starting with an existing framework is that all the mindsets and tools for integrating Allah Subhana’huwa’taala’s values into Islam are readily available for the Muslims!

Two (2) blogs earlier we introduced a target for Muslim’s lives in this world and stages of existence in the hereafter.

To achieve peace in our later stages of existence from death onwards, namely life in the grave, the Day of Judgement and eventually to end up in the hereafter we need to focus on setting value targets in all our life areas (we can also refer to Life Areas as Din areas).

A sample of values we need to target in the Area of 5 Pillars and Iman (Spirituality) include….virtues of praying our daily Salah, praying our Jumah Salah, Tahajjud and Qiamul Lail.

It is important for us to know why each of the aspects of Salah are important and how our personal lives will be affected. We must know it not only with our minds intellectually, but also with our hearts so that our future intentions may stem from that understanding. And there is more…

Although all of us know what to do (in terms of a list), we must also know WHAT the detailed requirements are for each of the virtues, otherwise we can not perform the required ACTIONS.

Once we know what the detailed requirements are we must learn how to actually incorporate those practices into our daily lives…to convert the requirements into REAL ACTIONS amidst all our other responsibilities.

The current lecture culture in our community *PARTIALLY* addresses ‘why to do’, ‘what to do’ and ‘how to do’. Moreover the tools are not taught that will help people to actually integrate each value into their own personal being.

Insha’Allah in future blogs we will discuss examples of personal development tools that help us convert our learned knowledge into concrete and excellent actions.

Ma Salama,

Daanish & The Millionaire Mohsin Team!

Millionaire Mohsin Blog 3 – Target Practice

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim

Assalamu Alaikum Wa’Rahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu!

This is Blog 3 for Week 3.

The title is based on the following vision we have of ourselves and other aspiring Millionaire Mohsins….

Bismillah Rahman Rahim

DIN TARGET DESTINATIONS TOOL (projects)
prepared for writing ones own destinations,
rehearsing and sharing with those you care about

Alhamdullilah, I am targeting…

A LIFE of:
virtuous living, avoiding vices,
attachment to ASWT during this world on ASWT’s terms,
being a Khalifah, being a Mohsin, striving to fulfill my duty to ASWT, duty to myself and duty to others

MEETING DEATH :
in state of Islam, with Qalb Saleem, in a sweet smelling cloth

IN MY GRAVE:
achieving successful questioning, roominess and the sweet scent of paradise

ON THE DAY-OF-JUDGEMENT:
the successful receipt of my report in my right hand aiming to be amongst the Sabiqun-foremost,
Insha’Allah, crossing the siraat by ASWT’s grace,
being forgiven by ASWT,
saved from the fire of hell and

AN ETERNITY:
in Janatul Firdows in Ridwan of ASWT)

ASWT knows best!

By reading the above vision on a daily basis as a dua to Allah Subhanahu Wataala, the mind will Insha’Allah set a series of targets that we may turn our attention to.

What I noticed is that the above reminder helped me to keep in mind my duty to Allah Subhanahu Wataala and thus make several changes in the way I approach my day to day activities. I found myself wanting to mold my life in terms of values!!!

We did not do much in week 3 because of the last 10 days of Ramadan. All the team members were stressed out because our 2nd video blog did not go on-line due to schedule conflicts and school work load. We could not shoot our 3rd video as the Ibadaat priority drained our energy.

Our team was having trouble updating the wordpress blog so blog entries were getting behind.

In terms of the need of the program, we described it as follows:

Muslims that we have spoken to want to prosper in this world and the hereafter. They feel that their greatest obstacle is following the Islamic guidance that they already have. What Muslims want is a mechanism for implementing Islamic principles into their daily lives in the contemporary context.

The Millionaire Mohsin is intended to empower Muslims to achieve success in the hereafter through their striving to uphold Allah’s values in this world.

May Allah help those of us who have the aptitude and desire to become Millionaire Mohsins to achieve the best in this world and the hereafter and be protected from the fire. And may Allah SWT help all Muslims to achieve Jannah!

Ma Salama,

Daanish & The Millionaire Mohsin Team

Millionaire Mohsin Blog 2 – Be Proactive and Begin With the End In Mind

Bismillahi Rahman Rahim

Assalamualaikum All.

1. In week two our team created a schedule of activities for the upcoming weeks so that we may stay on course.

2. Then we began piecing together the course objectives. Here is a sample of achievements we pray for our attendees and team members:

a) Be amongst those who take responsibility for the results achieved in their lives

b) Appreciate that individual actions and results are determined by the values we strive to uphold not only the words that are professed from our tongues.

c) Create a clear statement of ultimate purpose for their life in this world and all stages of their lives, and use the purpose as their target reflecting upon it daily

d) Seek to learn and uphold the values established by Allah Subhanahu’Wataala in the Quran, Sunnah and Seerah for each life area

e) Using feedback from their relations and their own imagination, use words and mental images to picture in their mind’s eye how they would live their life roles and fulfill their life responsibilities according to the values they are seeking to learn and uphold; how they would behave in certain situations and how they will respond in certain situations

f) Seek help through patience and prayer to bring into reality the picture they have in their minds eye

g) Appreciate that in order to fulfill their covenant with Allah in all the life areas and to help the less fortunate Muslims get out of their plight, there is the need in our community for people who are not afraid of using their talents, passions, skills and knowledge to use to generate serious wealth that would be used to build businesses, create jobs, establish top notch educational institutions and endowments

h) Make use of personal development courses and tools as a means of integrating the values of Islam into their lives and the lives of those within their circle of responsibility.

3. We are working on getting a Brother who knows about Train the Trainer courses to help us design our course in such a way that we can train other trainers to offer the course as per our vision.

4. We planned our video blogs for the next 3 weeks. Week 2 video blog is on Duty to Allah; Week 3 video blog will be on Duty to Self and Week 4 on duty to others.

5. This week we got stuck trying to be creative with our video blog with costumes, etc. We realized that we need to separate the video blog from our marketing effort.

6. The Millionaire Mohsin secured partnership with a world famous memory expert to promote a new program he is developing Insha’Allah, called Hifz Power.

Insha’Allah talk to you next week…Ma Salama,

Daanish Memon & The Millionaire Mohsin Team

The Millionaire Mohsin Blog Week#1

Bismillahi Rahman Rahim
(Starting in the name of God the Most Gracious the Most Merciful)
When I realized that the greatest connection we humans have with each other is through our common aspirations, I want to know what each person’s aspirations are so I can start connecting people of similiar aspirations to build high power teams.
Although the question ‘what is your aspiration?’ sounded strange at first, I learned how to ask it and soon it became as natural as asking for an email address.
Since I began asking people what their personal aspirations and legacy projects are, I noticed something shocking…ok when I think about it…its really not that shocking.
Most people are not using their personal talents and passions anywhere near their potential!
In terms of aspirations, most people I know spend very little if any time pursuing their legacy projects and aspirations.
Why is that I asked myself?
We are students of Anthony Robbins so I started thinking about some of his theories on human needs, motivation and patterns of behaviour.
I figured that the reason why people are not expecting more from their own selves is that they have not clarified their a personal and collective vision.
Very few if any of us have looked in the mirror on a regular basis and pondered on the answers to the following questions:

Self,
1. Are you fulfilling your covenant with Allah SWT?
2. Are you observing your five pillars as they are meant to be observed?
3. Are you treating your parents the way Allah SWT wants you to treat them?
4. Is your relationship with your spouse, your children, your siblings, your relatives or your neighbours pleasing to yourself and pleasing to Allah SWT?
5. Do you control your emotions or do your emotions control you?
6. Do you contribute to humanity as much as you can?
7. Are you taking care of your body as needed to fulfill your covenant with Allah SWT?
8. Are you managing your time and resources in the most efficient and productive manner ?
9. Are you seeking your sustenance to fulfill all your needs in a halal manner?
10. Would you love to become a Millionaire Mohsin?
Lets face it, the low morale in our community and amongst humans in general, stemming from a lack of fulfillment in one or more life areas, needs to be challenged and defeated.
Skills and talents in our community are not being used anywhere near their fullest potential.
COLLECTIVE ACTION AND TEAM BUILDING
Through discussions with close ones, it further became apparent to me why our community will make positive contributions with far reaching effects if and only if we start to work collectively.
Some of us have the talent and others have the ability to harness the talent and yet others to build high power teams.
Collective action begins with a culture of team building, personal and interpersonal development.
If they want to, every person can create and foster positive change with the will of God.
THE MILLIONAIRE MOHSIN
Who is a Millionaire Mohsin? He or She is someone whom Allah has blessed for their sincerity and made them a vehicle of wealth for themselves and others. A MM is cognizant of their duties to their creator and knows how to use the means to seek guidance and help. A MM has a clear vision of where they want to go and helps other to do the same.
Millionaire Mohsin is a program designed to extend and clarify your vision to encompass all your life areas not just the ones you are used to thinking about now.
It will give you mental constructs and tools that will take your capacity to the next level by the Power of God through personal pursuit of a crystal clear vision.
Insha’Allah, Millionaire Mohsin will benefit those who know they can reach a greater level of success and who may want to inspire others to do the same.
Please visit us at www.TheMillionaireMohsin.com to find out how you can get involved in delivering the invitation and the Good News to the world; and how you can become a MILLIONAIRE MOHSIN.
Salams and Highest Regards,
Daanish Memon and The Millionaire Mohsin Team

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