Raising Warriors: Rewriting the Education Blueprint

Therefore, the tougher the challenge, the bigger the dragon, the more epic the journey, and by consequence, the more epic the hero. Whenever I'm going through something difficult, I always think if it wasn't this difficult, it means that everyone would do it. So, the goals I'm trying to achieve, the challenges that I'm going through, this is going to be the story I tell my kids one day. A story I heard of, I think an NBA basketball player was winning an award and gave a speech. My grandfather walked 10 miles to work. My father walked five. I drive a Cadillac. My son will drive a Mercedes. and my grandson will drive a Ferrari but my great-grandson will be walking again. >> Excellence is not even an option for us as Muslims. It's mandatory. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has has written excellence on everything. The second hadith in the 14 collection asked the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam questions about dean. He asked him about the basics. He asked him about the tenants of faith and then asked him about excellence which is to worship Allah subhana wa tala as if you see him. And even though you don't see him, he sees you. That is excellent. >> One of the biggest things that I want to do is change the way the schooling system operates. I'm going to be talking about the British curriculum. Since 1944, since today, there's only been some nominal changes. The national curriculum was embedded in 1988 and there's been some nominal changes, but nothing of note. I need to get this. So, you're telling me this is an old system, correct? So we've had significant changes in civilization but no significant changes in the education system. >> Yeah. >> And I think someone's going to come and they will change the curriculum. Why can that not be me? Why can't that not be another Muslim? So in decades from now people will say the Muslim revolutionized education. Muhammad what is your baraka blueprint? Asalam alalayikum. Welcome to the Baraka Blueprint podcast. I am your host Ibrahim Sharif and I'm a brand strategist. I'm a project manager and alhamdulillah I am a of the Quran. I believe that every Muslim should be in a journey of perfecting themselves and perfecting their profile. And I believe that I am so far away from that. So I started this podcast with one goal in mind and this goal is to inspire change and to inspire the mindset in every single listener that they are going through the journey and the process of constant purification and constant development and constant improvement. And this is excellence because God Almighty has prescribed and ordered excellence to us Muslims. And speaking of excellence, Alhamdulillah had an excellent collaboration with brother Muhammad Ganchi from Raising Humans. The raising humans podcast a podcast that I recommend each and every one of you to listen to. A podcast that has the focus of educating the parents because subhan Allah it's it's very it's very inspiring. The brother Muhammad Muhammad Ganchi is a teacher and while I was listening to the podcast episode they had together with one of my friends brother Fesal Fasal Chowry from the freshly grounded podcast uh and they had a very interesting episode. Subhan Allah. And I wish I had listened to it sooner. uh Fasel said something very very interesting and it was very funny to hear at first but actually it's very inspiring and actually it made me smile while I was on my way to work and a tear sprung down. Subhan Allah. And he was saying to the brother Muhammad he was saying subhan Allah I'm realizing that since you're a teacher in your daytime you're teaching the kids but through the podcast you're teaching the parents. And I found that to be very inspiring. As someone who is not a father and doesn't know what parenthood really means except the theoretical stuff, listening to this podcast, raising humans, is to me very inspiring. Subhan Allah. And very educational because I learn what I can expect if Allah subhana wa ta'ala was to grant me children. So, uh, that being said, I'm not going to waste more of your time, guys. I'm going to let you listen to this podcast episode that I've had together with brother Muhammad and I pray that you gain as much insight and value as I was able to get from this very valuable collaboration and conversationalam. Hello everyone and welcome to the Baraka Blueprint podcast. This is the podcast where we talk about the optimal balance between faith and focus to achieve truly lasting success. This is the podcast where we talk about being in tune with the one true blueprint so that you can make your blueprint in life. Alhamdulillah. Today I am honored and joined by my friend Dubai neighbor even though we live very far away. Uh, our brother Muhammad, our brother Muhammad from the podcast Raising Humans. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard that right. Raising humans is a guest with Baraka Blueprint. I mean, what is going on? Muhammad Alahabadik is a professional with knowledge and experience in teaching and he started a project that I aim to consume much much much more actively than I'm doing right now if Allah subhana wa tala grants me children. Uh and brother Muhammad as well. Allah is not only a star in the podcasting world, he's also a star on the football pitch. And good god, the patience one needs to have with having this guy as a teammate, especially when we need to get our work rates straight and get back in defense, even though it's a very small pitch and some of us get tired. But you know what? What's even more fun than all of that? Muhammad from Raising Humans is a guest in the Baraka Blueprint podcast. Muhammad assalamu alaykum. Thank you for having me on. >> Yeah, thank you so much for joining. Yeah, I am so excited, Subhan Allah, to start and >> uh let's start off with some wisdom. We want to we want to hear from you. Brother Muhammad, tell us a story, uh, a lesson that you've learned, a statement that you've heard that shapes Muhammad. >> There's a few that I wanted to share with the audience, but I thought I'd maybe share just one or two. The first is uh a mental frame which I stole from someone else to help me get through the most difficult challenges. >> Okay. >> And one of the strongest frames that I've I've heard of when going through my most toughest challenges is thinking that this will be the story I will one day tell. And >> therefore, the tougher the challenge, the bigger the dragon. >> Mhm. >> The more epic the journey and by consequence, the more epic the hero. winners define themselves by what they made happen and losers define themselves by what happened to them. So whenever I'm going through something difficult, I always think two things. Number one, if it wasn't if if it wasn't this difficult, it means that everyone would do it, you know. So, the goals I'm trying to achieve, the challenges that I'm going through, you know, um this is going to be the story I tell my kids one day >> that this is where I am, this is what I went through, you know, and hopefully that'll inspire them to also achieve and fulfill their potential. I believe as Muslims that whatever we do whether that's within dean or in life we need to try and strive for excellence in everything we do. So in teaching to be the best teacher I can be as a parent to be the best father that I can be, the best husband, the best businessman, the most the businessman that is trustworthy and moral, you know. Um but when times get tough, I think that's fine, you know, cuz no one's going to sit and watch a movie or or a story where it's boring and everything goes the way you want it to. You need challenges, you know. You need the main character to go through some sort of struggle because the struggle is what makes that person, you know, that the metal is then made, you know, in that forge to make that person the person he needs to be to be worthy of the title of, you know, someone successful. And the second comes to my children. And um I really believe that as as a father, we need to raise warriors. And the reason behind this is a story I I heard of and I think an NBA basketball player was winning an award and he went out and gave a a speech and the speech really struck home and and I memorized it and it's a story between two people. >> Okay. And he says that my grandfather walked 10 miles to work. My father walked five. I drive a Cadillac. My son will drive a Mercedes. And my grandson will drive a Ferrari. But my great grandson will be walking again. And so the man asked why is that? And he said that weak men create tough times, tough times create strong men, strong men create good times, and good times create weak men. >> And Ibraim, many people won't understand this, but we need to raise warriors. They say that generational wealth usually diminishes within three generations. And it's because that the people that go through hardships, they create characters or they need to become characters where they're strong and resilient, always pursuing skills and knowledge. But once you are in a state where you have everything anyway, then your kids may become spoiled. There's no motivation for them to aspire or to become excellent. And even when we have everything, we need to make sure for my own children and inshallah yours as well is that we need to make sure they're always striving to be the best they can be. And they need to have that fire. you know, um the goal for me really is that as Muslims, what we tend to do, I feel anyway, is that we always try to look at the acco accomplishments of the past and say, you know, Muslims, we you know, we uh invented algebra and we um you know, coffee is come comes from Muslims and uh medi medicinal advancements came during the time where we were conquering Spain. But I feel like we look at to the past too much. Oh, this is what we used to do. But can we say today, what have Muslims done today to better humanity, you know, and for me and for my children, I want for them to achieve excellence so much that people say, "Oh, look this person. He um he created this this cure in medicine and he's a Muslim, you know, or this advancement in AI or technology and he's a Muslim." I want people to hear the name of Muslims and think actually they they whatever society they go into they make it better you know we and we need to do that the way we do that is through our families and our children you know our legacy that we leave behind >> excellence is not even an option for us as Muslims it's it it's mandatory Allah excellence on everything to the point that and two points that I that come to mind subhan Allah when you're mentioning what you mentioned the first point is excellence which is often in Arabic translated toan has been mentioned in multiple sequences and contexts. So first of all we have the hadith the second hadith in the 140 collection from when he mentions and he talks about this strange man that nobody has seen before yet has crisp white clothing and which later has been revealed that this was Jirelam and he asked the the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam questions about dean. He asked him about the basics. He asked him about the tenants of faith and then asked him about excellence which is to worship Allah subhana wa tala even though you see him as if you see him and even though you don't see him he sees you and that is excellence that your your work is excellence your projects are executed in excellence your presence is excellence and also subhan Allah Further down the 140 collection there, the hadith from um the hadith I believe it is in the second half of the 140 which says Allah subhana wa tala has written excellence on everything. The hadith even mentions to the point that when you're going to prepare the the food for slaughtering that you even do that in excellence. Excellence to the point that we're not talking about the fact that you you you prepare delicious food. Excellence to the point that that the animal is okay with it. >> That level of excellence. Uh, but one thing I I I I can't help but notice I love I love the story analogy. I love the story analogy that you mentioned a lot. Especially the the analogy of the hero, the epic, and the dragon. And like this is something subhan Allah especially hearing that analogy and I've heard similar analogies that mention the the the hero and his quest to the dragon has helped me a lot with some with with some challenges of mine. Do you like stories? >> I love stories. What's one story that's you would say like I mean let's let's think from childhood for example but one story that you either watched uh or like you've read >> that that you're like you know what >> I I feel connected to the character I feel connected to to the hero >> if you don't mind sharing >> even now to be honest >> and this might be a little bit controversial But um I've always loved watching anime when I was younger and even to some extent now. And I've always made a a stark distinction between stories that we watch when you're younger, maybe western cartoons, whereas anime is deeply um entrenched in Japanese philosophy, you know, and most stories will have a character that wants to achieve something and several trials and tribulations, obstacles are on the way, you know. And I probably can't think of one story, but I can think of how this helped me specifically is that when I was younger and I was in school, now I know what the term is. I had a fixed mindset. Meaning that the level of intelligence I had, that is the level of intelligence that I will always have. And therefore, if I'm not good at English, maths or science, >> that's just my lot in life. You know, there's nothing I can do to change that. And therefore I was pretty much resigned to not being not excelling academically. Only after watching these these programs and stories I realized actually we must go through trials and tribulations and obstacles in order for us to grow. And just because you don't know something right now doesn't mean that you cannot grow into something bigger and better than yourself. And that slowly after watching these shows and reading these stories I realized actually that's the whole point of being a human is for us to learn and grow and we do this by speaking to other people by reading books you know and increasing your knowledge and the term is called a growth mindset that just because I don't know that now doesn't mean I'm not going to always know it. If I put time aside and learn, I can change my lot in life, you know. And the growth mindset is something that was so big for me. And reading books helped me change that. And I think that subconsciously kids today, they just feel like this is just who I am. And there's no such thing as that. That you can be who you want to be >> to the point that adults feel that way. >> Absolutely. Yeah. Adults feel that way. And I don't think they've sat down and and actually termed it. But if you analyze their behavior, they always are blaming other people. Cuz I think as you get older, then you start you start um throwing around accountability. It's not my fault because the government's this way or there's too much text or you know this is just my lot in life. There's 101 excuses people make and you'll hear this and we spoke about this last time where people love blaming other people. >> Yes, they do. You know, but tell me one time where you've blamed someone else and has helped you grow. >> Never. >> And there will never ever be a time. >> You mentioned, Subhan Allah, earlier um the statement and I'm sorry for if if I misquote you and there's a big chance that I do. You said winners talk about what they made happen and the losers talk about what happened to them. >> Absolutely. >> Subhan Allah. Like it's it's I and I'm I'm still processing what you're saying then and hearing this now 110%. >> And like the thing is as children there are some experiences that can push us toward that gradient. It can be from I mean from our families, it can be from school. If I'm going to be very if I'm going to be perfectly candid with you, I think in environments and my experience as a child has only been in Sweden. So I can completely understand how the Swed Swedish education system can push children to that direction >> and to the point that I notice that as adults they carry that with them. M >> what would you I mean because and and I want to touch on your experience as a teacher Muhammad because for me it's always fascinating to speak to teachers specifically because most teachers that I've had experience with it hasn't been quite positive and those that have been positive and of alhamdulillah Allah subhana wa ta'ala has blessed me with good teachers and I'm not I'm not trying to undermine that but I'm saying subhan Allah that as I grow older, the teachers that I meet in a different dynamic, so where I'm not behind the school bench, I don't know, I I I learned to deal with adults in a better way. So for you as a teacher, >> what would you tell that circle of people that they have the potential? Because everybody everybody has the potential for growth. Let's face it >> with the tools that we have access to today. >> Everybody has that potential to grow. >> Everyone can implement a growth mindset, right? But still people inhibit themselves. What would you tell them? >> This is this is a very good point and I'm not sure what I'll tell them but I'll I'll I'll tell you what I'll tell myself when I was younger. It's that one day you are going to die. I say that to myself every day. And there's this quote by Denzel Washington and he paints a picture and he says that one day you're going to be on your deathbed and you'll be surrounded by the ghosts of your past. They will come to you and they'll say that we are the ghosts of someone who you could have been, you know, but because you didn't believe in yourself because you wasted your time, we are nothing more than ghosts. And the quote is very long and he's a lot more articulate, but the point of it is going to be that we all have people that we could one day be, but whether we are going to grasp the opportunity, it's not going to be easy. And what I would say to these people is that you got to think that one day you're going to die and you're going to leave some sort of legacy behind. What what is that legacy going to be? Is it going to be a legacy of just your average 9 to5? You've not achieved much. You know, you've not added value to the people around you. You've not raised anyone that's going to, you know, achieve anything in life as your kids or even in terms of Islam. Are they are they going to be and we talked about this in our podcast that a legacy where they the good deeds that they do will contribute to your scales of good deeds when you pass on. >> Yes. >> What is it going to be that because it's so easy today to be successful in today's day and age. There's never been a time in in in in history where it's not been so easy to be successful. But it's also never been a time where it's so easy to be distracted. And people say this all the time and it's true. There's just so many distractions and in a world of distractions. Even the person that just says I'm going to do something and do it that person that's that is enough for someone to be successful, you know. So for the person that is in a stuck in a fixed mindset, I would say number one take accountability. You know, no benefit will ever come from blaming other people. Look at what you can do. >> Mhm. No matter how extreme you need to be in every situation, look at what you can do and change yourself, you know, and then once you've changed yourself, then you can look to changing others. But first and foremost, accountability is lacking. And I'm talking as a teacher to children. The first thing is always accountability. Why didn't you finish your homework? Oh, because uh my mom and dad said we have to go out today, so I didn't get it done. Or no one reminded me or there was no alarm set. I didn't put it down in my planner. There's a hundred reasons you don't take The second is discipline. Today we lack discipline, you know, and I would say discipline with yourself as well. And I say this to children, my students make fun of me, but I say number one, you need to be your own best friend. And what I mean by that is if you really think about it, the way we treat ourselves, if we were to treat someone else, they would no longer want to be your friend. And I'll give you an example. I'll say, "Ibraim, we're going to go gym tomorrow morning. 8:00 a.m. we're going to be there." And then I wake up tomorrow morning and I say, "Actually, Ibrahim, I'm not coming now. I just don't feel like it. I'm not going to come." I do that once, twice, three times. You think, "Forget about this guy." You know, he always makes promises, but he never sticks to them. We do this to ourselves all the time. How many times have we promised ourselves we're going to do this today? And we talk ourselves out of it. >> We forget to respect ourselves >> 100%. You know, you need to keep to the promises you make yourself. And no wonder that our self-confidence is is diminished or we don't have any. We don't have any self-esteem because every time you promise yourself something, subconsciously you're going back on your promise and you're saying to yourself that what you say to yourself doesn't matter. >> And if you don't respect yourself, what are you going to respect? And that was one of the biggest things for me is that if I promise myself something, I don't care what ever happens. I need to do it because I need to respect myself first, you know, and then everyone else comes later because you are if you're meant to be your own best friend, you know, and it sounds a bit strange thinking about this, but think about it. Your selft talk it it affects everything in life, you know, the way you talk to yourself. We don't respect ourselves and how do we expect other people to respect you? And that was a very very big uh mindset shift for me, you know. Um and and another line that I heard was that sometimes saying no to something means saying yes to yourself, you know, and especially now that I have so much responsibilities and people relying on me that sometimes you just have to learn to say no. So, for example, if I'm going to the gym today, but someone else wants to go out, let's go out to eat or let's go play some video games or let's do something that's not contributing towards my goal. Sometimes you have to say no because that means you're saying yes to fulfilling your goals as well, you know. Um, and that was important for me to say no to my friends sometimes that it's okay. And if they are good friends, if they're true, they they want the best for you. They'll understand that you the way the reason why you're saying no is because you want to achieve something and they'll accept that. >> Why teaching? >> Teaching, I'll be I'm going to be honest. Yeah. Teaching wasn't something that I always wanted to go into or something that I thought of since I was young. I'm going to be a teacher and change lives and I've got a passion for teaching and I'm going to change the world. Teaching just happened because of coincidence. >> This teacher doesn't like teaching. By the way, if if his students are hearing this, >> I'm going to be honest here. The reason why I went to into teaching was because when I got married, my wife was a teacher and I was looking up, okay, what can I do? And my wife was a teacher and I thought, you know what, our holidays will align, the hours are good, the salary is okay, let's just go into it, you know, and and that's what I did. and I got accepted into a PGCE and I went down the route of being a teacher with no interest of being a teacher at all. >> Sounds like the typical path of a teacher in Sweden. Yeah, >> sure. >> But once I go into teaching and I started knowing my students, it was the students that really got me, you know, because they there's a term in teaching we call in local parent means we are in the place of a parent. So I had a form class when I was in the UK and I had them for nearly 4 years. So I saw them from year 7 when they come in. They're about 11 or 12 until the day I left and went to Dubai. And I saw them grow so much. You know the people that are becoming and they just look up to you. Any any issues they have, they come to you. >> And I think after a while I think you know what if these guys are coming to me for advice, I better know what I'm talking about. And if these guys look up to you and they come to your class expecting to learn, then you need to make sure you prepare properly and the time you have with them, you're actually adding value. And is to be fair, it was the the the students that really got me into teaching a lot more in terms of changing my heart towards teaching where you know what I have a responsibility. They are a trust to me. their parents are putting them in the school and they are going to be spending this much time with me. I need to make sure that in terms of education they're learning something but more importantly are we sculping sculpting the the child into good upstanding human beings because in the UK they were of different faiths and nationalities and therefore it was more important that they become good people and and that's what really got me into teaching and the the passion came afterwards where actually then I became a father and then that just changed everything is it's that I need to be a role model to my students to my to my kids as well and I need to make sure that I'm giving 100% in everything I do and doesn't mean that I'm perfect teachers are just human beings there'll be days where you just don't have the energy you know >> so what does it look like to be a role model then >> to be a role model means sometimes being things that you're not always so for example as a human being you'll make mistakes you know all the time but when the student comes and asks you for advice You give them advice that you wish someone gave you when you were younger. You know, sad these exams are too hard. I can't do it. >> You know, and even though sometimes you feel the same way and you just break down and you know, don't do anything. You need to give the advice that you wish someone gave you, you know, and you have to always be there for them and you have to go and check in on them how you're doing. You're okay, you got this, you know, I I believe in you because a lot of the students, they don't believe in themselves. So they need someone externally to believe in them and eventually they'll start thinking actually you know what I am capable of this you know and this is comes back to my growth and fixed mindset in school we talk about this all the time I've lived through it the amount of children I see where they've just been labeled as difficult or labeled as naughty or challenging but they don't really sit take the time to understand actually there's a reason why they're like this there may be something at home or there may be things are happening internally where the person just needs to sort through his feelings you know so yeah the reality is that when I went when I initially got into teaching they were all for the wrong reasons but over time they became the right reasons and which is why I give it 100% even even today in school you know I'm always thinking about my students and making sure that the trust that I have they they are a trust you know I'm I'm giving it 100% and I say this to my own teachers teachers now in a leadership position I always say be the teacher you would want for your own child and this is really powerful because a lot of teachers the reality is that they've come just for the package you know we get a good amount of money we we get the job done and that's it but the hypocritical thing is that those teachers are parents the type of teacher they want for their own kids they're not that type of teacher you know, and then that just doesn't make sense to me. And so I will always say the type of teacher you want for your own child, you need to embody that teacher yourself because those kids are someone else's children as well. And we always talk about the why, you know, and this is my why as a teacher. This is my why is that I want to make sure that I am the teacher that I would want for my own child. >> The process molds the clay pot. Huh? >> A >> It's not what you usually hear. >> What's your signature as a teacher? >> What do you mean? >> The signature is what makes your approval. >> It it's it's it it shows your approval and at the same time it is unique. >> What makes you unique as a teacher >> as a teacher? >> Yes sir. If we were to ask your students now, >> my teachers, my students will say that I'm very strict and I'm always going by the rules, you know. So, for example, even very small things like I don't like my students chewing in my classroom and um >> some some teachers would be like, it's fine, you know, I'd rather get them on board. But for me, I'm a very I I need to have rules in my class. And >> the thing that has changed however is giving a why to my students. So if I ask them to be in pristine uniform, there's a reason why and they need to understand it. If I say no chewing in in um in the classroom, then they need to know why. If I say be on time, they need to know why. If I say that you're going to come to the front of the class and you're going to give your answer eloquently in front of everyone, they need to know why. And I always found that if they have a why, it's easier to get that buy in because in in business, we always talk about buying. >> You know, but we don't really think about buying from students because if they are bought into what you're doing, your whole life has just become 100% easier, especially in the classroom, you know, and I think for me, I I am a stickler for the rules, but I always explain why it's important. Like the chewing gum thing in the UK, I used to just turn the table around and I saw all gum plasted at the bottom. you know, and obviously we can't do this, but in school, our teacher used to give like a little spatula and they used to make us as a punishment. So, if I'm chewing in class and I've been told not to, and I still do it, we used to as a punishment at break time come and we had to clean the the gum off there because what that's what happens. People will get the gum after the flavor goes out, they'll put it under the table. And then sometimes if you're really unlucky, it happens quite often the next lesson and you put your hand under the table just naturally and you've got like sticky gum on your hand and you don't really want that. >> Trying to get that image out of my head, >> but I I I I can't say that I don't know what you're talking about. >> But everything else is quite straightforward. You know, you need to be on time. Even if you are working for yourself, I think time is something very very important for me >> where if if I say I'm going to be somewhere, I will make sure I'm there on time. If if you are on time, you're late. This is something that I heard one of my old older teachers saying is that if you are on time, you're late. If you're 5 minutes before it, you're on time, you know. And that's something always so important for me where just being on time. And they need to understand the importance of punctuality wherever they're going. If they're going into business, you've got a business meeting with someone, that means that you don't value their time, you know, and some people are very big on that. And so they need to make sure that if they say a time, they need to stick to that time. You know, if you whatever you are wearing, if it's a suit or even casual, it needs to be you need to look presentable all the time. More importantly, in today's day and age, articulate, you need to be able to speak to people. A lot of students especially after co they lack communication skills. They don't know how to speak to people and therefore by forcing them to come to the front of the class and articulating their opinion and other people challenging it in a respectful way is important. So if you are asking for a signature, I believe people will say that I'm a stickler for the rules and I'm quite disciplined in terms of the rules are there and I don't budge from the rules. But over time, I would like to hope my students respect that and they can expect that consistency that when they go to Mr. the Ganchi's classroom, they know exactly what they're going to expect, you know, and if they stick to the rules and do what they need to do, I'll do my end of the deal and make sure I give you as much value as I can give you in that lesson. >> What do you want to be remembered by as a teacher? >> As a teacher, um, >> so your students are graduating. >> They're looking back to the time they attended Mr. Gantious school. >> In his class, they also remember the time they had to scrape the gum from under the table. >> So these memories, they will come as well, but >> one thing, this one thing that you want them to take with them. >> I'd like them to think that there was one teacher that believed in them. I believe that every single person that comes in your classroom has a strength. Whether that be English, math, science, art, it's up to the teacher to find what that strength is. and whatever it may be. I think I don't believe that you know like this is a a quote from Albert Einstein and he says that if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree it will live its life believing that it is stupid. And this is one of the problems with the education system today is that it rewards people that are good at memorizing and regurgitating information on an exam paper. >> Mhm. over the course of maybe a couple of months and then in that one hour exam. But what about those students that are not good at memorizing? What about those that are more creative, better at critical thinking? What about students that are good at communicating ideas in an articulate way? There's so much so many metrics that have failed to be analyzed through exams. And the problem is that some students will then take that and think for the rest of their lives that they're stupid. So what are you doing about it? >> So one of the biggest things that I want to do is change the way the schooling system operates. And I've spoken to so many people about this and I've done the history and and I'll give you some facts. >> Please please this this is the part that I've been waiting for. the value that I want to give I want to make sure it's so in the UK I'm going to be talking about the British curriculum here >> oh okay >> so the American and other curriculums I'm not sure so sure of but the British curriculum it first was created in 1944 it was called the education act and a man named Butler who was a conservative politician came up with the structure okay and he was part of the education board he was the head I believe >> you call them Tories or what do you call them I don't think >> I'm not sure. I just call them conservatives. >> And since 1944, since today, there's only been some nominal changes. So, they used to be grammar schools. They've changed them to comprehensive schools. >> They used to be called O levels and now they call GCES >> and the national curriculum was embedded in 1988. And there's been some nominal changes since then. Yeah. Mr. Grove made some very minor changes, but nothing of note. So, wait. I I need I need to get this. So, you're telling me this is an old system. >> Correct. >> Like super old system. >> Optimized for what? Like the 40s. >> Yeah. So, I would say since 1988, there's not much change in terms of what is being taught and the way that schooling has been taught, there's not much change. So we've had significant changes in civilization and significant changes in how children operate but no >> Shocker. >> Absolutely. And I think that the reason why is that system was suited for the time they were in. You know the type of students that they needed at the time during the industrial age. They were factory workers. You could even look at, you know, the way that students are sitting in rows even today or they hear the bell and then they move forward. There's a lot of analogy between the factory and and the classroom. But the most important thing is that the way that students learn and what they are taught hasn't changed at all. >> The world is changing Ibrahim and we and you know that everyone knows that the way we consume information is different. >> You know the advent of AI technology has changed >> but the curriculum remains the same. The metric by which we gauge intelligence remains the same. Examinations. That's it. And a lot of students are coming out of school thinking that they're stupid. They're not smart enough to thrive in the world. And therefore, they'll take a menial job which doesn't push them and they'll live their rest of their lives thinking that. And that is where I believe that we failed our students. I see it from a business point of view. my child is going to go into school for 13 years. It's an investment. What's my ROI >> exactly? >> Yeah. What am I getting? What kind of person will come out of that education institute? >> And I think that look the system is there especially in the UK and it's doing something but we can always improve upon it and make it better. You know, are we looking at into AI? Are we looking into coding? Are we looking into practical skills? Or there's this exam that everyone in the world takes. It's called the Pisa test. P I S A. >> Yeah. And you must have heard of this. >> Of course. Of course. >> And the premise of the test is that everyone around the world, every student will take this the same test >> and based on the score, they'll try to gauge the the education systems around the world. >> You know, and what we need to do is look at those systems in the world that are consistently the top performers and embed the the philosophies of these schools. >> Finland was top performer if I'm not mistaken. But our but their neighbors, us performers. >> But then it just it's common sense sometimes and you realize today that common sense is not so common. If you're doing this test and I'm sure it's not perfect, but if Finland is consistently coming top of the table over the years, we should be looking at what they doing >> and then implementing that within our own systems to try to >> push our children and to to allow them to be the best that they can be. >> But we're not doing that. Our systems are way different and as a teacher I feel like they're not the parents are not getting the ROI that they deserve and one of the things I want to do is change the way the education system is approached and like I it goes back to what I said at the start it is going to happen Ibrahim I promise you within the next 5 years 10 years someone's going to come up with a curriculum and people are going to start using that instead because it equips students with the skills they need to be successful today. >> Communication skills. Can you talk to one another? Are you able to leverage AI? Are you able to leverage technology appropriately? Are you good at critical thinking? You know, because think about it. I'm sitting in exam and I'm sitting and I'm cramming information months before and I sit down and write the answer. Is that really going to benefit me today? Because if I need to know the answer to something, I can just put it on. I can get it all. >> It's a memorization test. >> I don't need to memorize things today because the information is here. I need to be able to think creatively. I need to be able to find ways when the problem comes in front of me, I need to have the skills I need to tackle that problem effectively. >> You know, in a team if I need to and overcome it. That's what I need today. I need to think in a different way. >> It's about how you handle and manage the information. >> Yeah. Absolutely. And I feel like >> what you do with the information. >> I think that kids don't have the resilience that they need, you know. Um and I think someone's going to come and they will change the curriculum, but why not? Why can that not be me? Why can't that not be another Muslim? You know where? So in decades from now, people will say, "Oh, you know what? The Muslims re revolutionized education. They've changed education to a way where now students are thriving. They are actually changing the world by the inventions and the theories and whatever they decide to pursue in whatever field >> because now the education system is attuned to a way where kids actually love going to school, you know, because they're going to be challenged on a daily basis. They're going to learn things. They are going to follow their passions. Whatever it may be, it may not be perfect, but it will definitely be better than the system that it is today, you know. Um, I just believe that there needs to be change. >> Muhammad, you want to rewrite the blueprint. Yes. >> What's one thing that that blueprint will have >> that today's outdated blueprint doesn't have? I think for me it needs to be um that works on the mindset of the child you know and I and you'll see this theme for me as well is that children need to believe that they are capable of doing anything they want to and there needs to be more focus on that and that might be finding what that child is good at and then you're focusing on that. You know some some kids it might be sports some science and experiments others art and creativity wherever it may be we need to find out what they actually good at and then we need to dedicate time into that as well and I think that's quite important there needs to be a set of skills that we deem is going to be important to succeed and I'm not saying just pick it out the air I am very evidence-based you know so anytime I try to implement a strategy or a policy it needs to be backed by science and evidence And there's a breadth of information out there if you only look and use that information, use the science to think, okay, studies have shown this. So, let's try and implement this, you know, over a period of time. Let's try and see what happens, you know, but we need to sit down and we need to think about that and how we're going to do it. And it doesn't take just one person. It takes a a group of people, a group of teachers to sit and write the blueprint. And it's not going to be perfect, but over time and over iterations, >> we need to perfect it until the time it reaches a stage where you know this is it's it's much better than what it is now. >> You've been a teacher for quite some time. >> 13 years. >> How long have you been a teacher in the UE? >> This is going to be my third year. >> Fourth year, sorry. Yeah. >> This academic year is going to be the first where and please correct me if I'm mistaken. the AI will be on the forefront >> and even she bashed mentioned even I saw in a LinkedIn post that >> starting now AI is going to be mandatory >> which I think is a like fantastic step >> because as I went back to Sweden um my sister was graduating uh teaching >> uh in uh among other subjects Swedish and geography in high school level. And uh I I I I I went there um attended her graduation ceremony. I attended her her final thesis which was both in writing and in presentation. And so I attended the presentation and it was it was a presentation about multilingual kids and their approach to education and I it was an amazing presentation as a matter of fact. >> Well, so one thing that I noticed because she was presenting with other peers as well. Each one of her peers had their own um study >> and one of them had presented something about AI, AI in the education sphere. And one thing that I realized is just now the Swedish education system is getting over the obstacle of considering AI >> which if you ask me that's that's far too late that's too little too late. So if I may ask you this, how are you implementing AI in your teaching in terms of >> this is like a it's a double-sided question. It's both for you as a teacher, but also what do you give the kids? >> So I'll I'll answer as um as a teacher, but for students, I think that overuse of AI can be quite dangerous. Meaning, if I'm asking them a question or a debate, a topic, we have talking points in the classroom. So, I'll give them a controversial sentence and I'll ask them whether they agree or disagree on something. Sometimes students tend to just write that same question out on chat GPT and then just verbatim just repeat the answer. I don't think that's going to be beneficial for them. And therefore, one of the things that I feel like what we should create and Khan Academy does this really well, they have an AI chatbot. >> Yes. And the premise of the chatbot is that it will never ever give you the answer. But it takes part in something called socrative learning. Meaning if a student asks a question 1 + 1, then it will lead you to the answer. Okay, what do you think it means? And it will slowly guide them to the answer without actually giving it to them. So, for example, if I ask them a question, it may ask me leading questions and it will probe and prompt me to move closer and closer to the answer. And once I get to the answer, what Khan Academy, the the AI chatbot, I'm not sure what it's called, it will then find ways to test if the answer is correct or not, >> but it will never give you the answer. And I think this is what students need. They need ways like it's just like a teaching assistant. you know, someone's sitting next to you, they know the answer already, but they're trying to guide you. Oh, do you think this is right or what about this thing over here? You know, if that's the case, then oh, that doesn't sound quite right. Maybe think of it in this way. You know, just probing questions because there's no point for them to ask ask a question and get the answer straight away. You know, they need to use learning. So, I think there is going to be a danger of students overusing AI just to get answers. But I feel like as a tool for learning, I use this all the time where uh and actually Murad taught me this and since he said this, I use this a lot. But in the car and some of my students think I'm a bit crazy is I'll have the chat GPT on there, the voice feature and something that I'm thinking about or uh some an idea or a project I'm trying. I'm just talking back and forth. Oh, this is an idea. I want to try this today or this is a project I want to work on. What do you think some of the risks are going to be? and then the chatbot will reply. Then I'll speak it back and forth, back and forth all the way home. And you learn so much because this is something that essentially knows everything that's on the internet. And you can go back and forth and there someone to bounce your ideas off of, you know, even if like, oh, I want to get um I want to buy this specific product. Which one do you think is the best and why? You know, and you there's always going to be an element of facteing, but it's something that's there to help you as a tool or an aid. Mhm. >> And for that, I think for most tasks that you want, it'll get you 80% of the way there, you need to check it, make sure that it doesn't sound like a robot did it, but also sounds a bit more natural. And then you can you can you can use the idea of whatever you're trying to do. Um, from the from the hat of a teacher, I think AI is going to be very useful because it can get rid of all the small admin tasks. you know, all the little admin things that I had to do as a teacher, I can get AI to do it. As simple as maybe we write comments for students at the end of the year, I'll just give out a few bullet points for each student and then it will turn it into a nice paragraph for me, you know, and I think that it's important that I actually write the bullet points because they are they add true value to the students. But in terms of turning into eloquent sentences, the AI can do that, you know, um using data. So we have a lot of data as teachers in terms of the assessments that we do, where they are, the reading ages, all of this. We can feed all of this into AI and then it can act and can help us become better teachers, you know, and I think that we need to AI is going to everyone's going to use it anyway. >> Yeah, >> it's going to happen. You'd rather be at the forefront of it. You know, students are going to use AI anyway. You'd rather be there to make sure they're using it in a way that's going to be truly beneficial. So I think AI is coming and that's why I love working in this country because usually when it comes to new technology they are always so much more receptive even cryptocurrency >> you know when that came I was heavy into crypto and most countries were very scared of it the the legislation and policies were very anti >> crypto whereas here they've wholeheartedly accepted it you know and they took a a very um I think pro stance towards crypto and the same with AI And I think for most things is because they understand where the future is going, >> you know, and this is why I feel like at the forefront here, it's great. They're putting it into a national curriculum. Even in school, we're looking into modules and how best to teach children how to use AI. So, we're going right back to the basics of LLMs and how they work and the science behind it, you know. uh and I would not be surprised this if in the future uh a lot of the AI advancements come from people that are actually from this country because we're actually embedding it into our education. What would you tell other teachers uh in terms of what would you want other teachers to adopt something from you something from me first of all I'm not a perfect teacher so I will give you that disclaimer but although I do try I think that um it's important to have a list of wise in everything I've always say this have your list of wise why are you a teacher and write down that list and whether that means you know you want the best for the child, you want to better yourself, you want to shape their future, you know whatever it might be, have your list of wise and what I will say is that some days are going to be tough. They are tough. You just feel like I do not want to do this tomorrow. You know, oh this class was a challenge today. But you have to understand tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow is a brand new day. You start fresh. Don't hold grudges and move forward because you have to constantly strive to become better >> every single day. And there'll be some days that will just it's not the one. And that's normal. That's normal. That's about that's that's resilience. And then you move forward. Next day is fresh day. Let's go, you know. I'm ready to take on the world, you know. And it's okay to feel like that. I think sometimes teachers will think and then they'll put themselves into a spiral. I had a bad day. Tomorrow's going to be bad as well. Then the next day and then the spiral continues and you're just somewhere where you just you just clock in and clock out. You know, you bare minimum when it comes to planning content or marking or unless you have to do it, you'll do it. And you just become negative and pessimistic, you know, and you'll find that in every profession. Negative and pess pessimistic people. And those people will never get anywhere in life, >> you know, because it >> I think it just comes back down to accountability, you know. If you're there, you're just every time you meet someone that's negative, they're always blaming something else or someone else because of the state they're in. You know, you don't want to be that guy, you know. Of course, there are things to complain about. There will always be things to complain about, but there's no point giving too much uh attention to that. You need to focus on being positive, you know, and what can you do? What things can you make a difference in? I want to segue into raising humans a a a project I I'm very fascinated by alahabarak before I do that just want to ask you do your students know about raising humans >> they do they do I walk around okay do they do they give you like I mean are they joking with you about it they do okay >> so I saw you on uh Instagram I'm going to like you and follow you I'm going to comment A that's nice though. Okay. >> And yes, I saw you. Yeah, I saw you on. Okay. >> The problem is I'm thinking if I was if I had students that knew about my podcast, they know about Baraka Blueprint. The problem is because kids are so creative, man. Like they they'll find that one thing that irritates me. >> Let's say my ums or my and they would just shove it in my face. But you know what? Maybe maybe it's because I'm not as strict of a teacher. So, okay. raising humans. >> Brother Muhammad, I remember one thing when I first started listening to There's one thing there was a question I never got an answer to. It wasn't going to be raising humans. There was a possibility that it was going to be called Diary of a Dead. >> Yes. Yes. >> And tell tell me about that. Tell me about the thought process behind all of this. >> So yeah, it was called Diary of a Dad first and um it was because I really enjoyed watching uh Diary of a CEO. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And that's when I first got into podcasts and I watched from episode one. So there was one where he was just in his room. He was just voice recording had a blanket over him and a mic and he was just telling us about the day in the life of a CEO. And I thought, "Wow, that's amazing." You know, it's just it's just so real. And I thought, I wish someone did that as as a parent because life as a parent is crazy. The things happen all the time, but we don't always put a story behind it or let people know, especially if they're not in that space, you know. And I thought, you know what, I'm going to do it. And maybe four years later, I ended up actually pursuing that goal. And um I called it D of a Dad because that's what it was meant to be. That the things as a dad, what am I thinking about today? >> Mhm. you know, and this transformed and grew because it wasn't always about being a a father. There were just things that as a dad, this is the things I'm thinking about. And that's what it was. And I spoke to a few brothers, especially within the space. >> And I don't want people to think that I'm trying to rip DEO off. And that was one of the main things, you know, and I was like, "All right, cool. So, what can I change it to?" And I sat down, I brainstormed some ideas. What do I want from the podcast? And the podcast was going to always be about two things. Is to help parents draw from the experiences of others and try to be better parents themselves. The thing that I wanted to do, that's the whole point of the podcast was just this is what I want and I'm going to get people on the show so I can be a better father and if other people get value and join me on the ride, then amazing. But it's always just going to be what do I need to know right now and who do I want to speak to? >> And the second is for my students. You know, raising humans will always apply to them because that's what I'm doing. I'm raising human beings. You know, in a world where you can be anything, be kind. You know, I want students that are empathetic. I want to raise them to be good members of society, people that benefit those around them. You know, raising good Muslims, you know, I want them to be that way. So it it works on both ways cuz even for me I'm still we're still trying to be better, you know. It doesn't mean that as soon as he turned 33 that's it times over now the person I am is always going to be that person. We're continuously growing and becoming better you know. Um, and therefore the podcast was meant to be a way for parents to gain value but also my students because that that came a bit later because my students in the UK they started seeing this podcast and I had people on the show that were successful in business and in other areas of life and think wow why don't you ask this question and that question I thought actually this is a different audience now you know other people are listening so I need to make sure that I'm trying to cater to them and if they were to listen to it so I look at if my own son was to look at this podcast would he gain some benefit from it, you know, because I believe truly that there's just so much content out there doesn't add much value to people. You know, there city skits and comedy things and people just doing crazy. I'm a teacher. I can I know exactly what students listen to. Students come in and they're talking about skiibbid this and they they're just doing some crazy memes that are happening and there's no value for them. So I want to try to and the the sad thing is in today's day and age if you are providing value to people you're not going to get as much attention as doing something a bit silly. >> Yeah. No cap you know. >> No joking. >> You sound like one of my students. >> No I I wanted to I wanted to trigger something. >> No that was very sigma of you man. No I'm joking. Sorry. >> Kids are going to be watching this and absolutely crucify me. goodness. I raising humans is like, and I'm not I'm I don't I don't just want to say this because you're I'm in your presence, but uh Allahabarak, what a project. What a wonderful project. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala bless your path to success >> and aid you in aiding people because you're on a mission. Yes, >> you're on a mission >> and the dragon is further away. Sure, the the dragon can take several shapes, right? Dragons are shape shifters at the end of the day. >> At one moment, they are this growing problem that is facing us, our families, our children, our students, our society. The dragon needs to be slain. In another like time, it can shapeshift into an outdated curriculum. I mean, >> dragons need to be slain at the end of the day. You have smaller dragons in terms of like your your expenses or your bills that need to be paid on time, which means you have to slay them on time. But then you have the larger dragons. You take journeys to the larger dragons. The journey is not necessarily simple. >> I mean, you're going to meet the goblins and the orcs along the way. So, those need to be taken care of as well. >> And you're not going to take off your armor, throw your sword, and say, "To heck with this. I'm done. I'm going to go back to well, whatever fortress I came from." You still have to go after that dragon. Allah. I also love stories. >> I absolutely love stories. Subhan Allah. Speaking of stories, what's your sword? What's my sword? What's your sword? My sword is my list of wise. Every time I feel demotivated or I feel that it's not just not worth it and it's a a physical list. It's not something in my head. I have a book. I have a journal which I write what I'm thinking about today. The things that the thoughts I have. But on the back end of that book is a list of wise. Why am I doing what I'm doing? >> And the days where I feel demotivated, the answer is simple. You go through that list >> and by the end of that list, I have the energy I need to start again tomorrow. Simple. That is the only thing that everyone wants to achieve something in life. You just need to make sure your list of wise is big enough. If you find that you don't have the energy or the motivation, you just haven't got a big enough list. And therefore, write down a list of wise and refer to it constantly and you can get through any obstacle that life throws at you. And that's how you keep sharpening your sword. >> How? >> Before I move to our final segment, Brother Muhammad, I from the bottom of my heart, I mean, I'm going to be honest with you. I had really high expectations of this podcast. You didn't disappoint one bit. Nah, you I mean, you you overd delivered. So I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and I ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to reward you immensely for what you're doing and bless your family and those you love and >> aid you in your journey. >> Amen. >> Where can people find you? >> People can find me on my personal socials on Instagram and we'll we'll tag that at the bottom of course >> raising humans on Instagram on YouTube. We try to put out episodes every Friday. Oh, same Friday. >> Uh LinkedIn, >> I need to become a bit more active personally. There's a lot I think about the thoughts of the day. I don't put him on social as much as I should. >> But the channels are always there. The episodes are always there. Uh every single Friday for my other guests as well. So, you can find me there. >> Then I have my quickfire questions for >> The first quickfire question, I'm going to be honest, I just came up with it. Why don't you have a school community, man? >> I've been thinking of putting one in and and this is actually a very good point. There's a quote that I heard a while back from Chris Williamson and it resonates so much with me >> and one of my biggest faults over the coming years is I felt that I wasted my childhood on frivolous things >> playing video games and doing things that were of no benefit. And as I get older, I feel I need to make up that >> So what I started to do was try to do 5 10 different projects at once. >> This line resonated so much based on that context. And it goes, you can be anything you want in life. >> But you can't be everything that you want in life. >> And what they mean by that is if you try to pour your if you try to pour into several cups, none of them will be full. And when it comes to projects and businesses and ideas, if you've got five cups, but only the same amount of time everyone else has, you'll be mediocre in everything. And that's one of my biggest faults. And what I'm trying to do today is I'm trying to only focus on one or two things. Cuz if I do more than that, something is going to give. And it's school. That's my number one priority. >> Mh. >> As well as my family. I have a young family right now >> and I need to make sure that I give them the time because when they get older, I'll have all the time in the world, but they won't be young anymore, >> you know, and lastly, I have one other project that I'm always focusing on, which is my podcast. Those are the three things I need to focus on. If I do too much, the quality will diminish of all three of them. And that is something that's so hard for me because I'm the person where every day there's always, oh, this is such a good business idea. I should do this. you know, I try to put push it forward. Oh, this is going to be really good. Let me try and do this, you know, and I need to stop myself and say, "No, Muhammad, you need to stop and just focus on what you're doing." >> And if you really want to try something else, you draw one of these. >> That makes perfect sense. >> A jack of all trades and a master of none is not as good as the master of one. >> Absolutely. Yeah. Quickfire questions in this case. What's one book every parent should read? every parent should read the this is the one one of the books that really really helped me is how to make friends and influence people by Dale >> Carnegie Salam >> and in any context whether it's business parents anything you want the life lessons you learn from that book you will be able to embed it in anything you wish to achieve amazing book and the title is a bit dorky so when I first started reading it in university I had this book around and everyone's like you don't you don't know how to make friends But that book is so much more than that. So much more. >> What's one of the biggest myths in the education sphere you want to bust? >> Good question. One of the biggest myths in education, I believe, is that this is the way that it's always been, so it has to work. And I think that that's not right. We need to challenge things and constantly iterate, use feedback loops to improve upon things always. And therefore the curriculum and that's what they say you know this British curriculum is amazing and there is so many strengths with it don't get me wrong but it's not perfect you know and we need to continue to change it. If you were to choose one thing, discipline or creativity for students, what would you choose? >> For me to em for me to uh so in terms of for me for me as a teacher to be disciplined or to promote creativity with my students? >> Uh as in what do you want to promote to your students? If you were to choose one >> discipline all day long discipline >> of course >> all day long and I'll give you >> shocker >> the reason is that if you have discipline you can do anything you want in life because whatever you want to do you will do and as a quick a quick aside I know um you have a few more questions there is actually something I read in neuroscience Daniel Huberman talks about the AMCC and it in it stands for the anterior midsular cortex and it's a part of the brain that scientists have found in human beings. The studies were done in humans that there's a part of the brain that the more you do something you don't want to do, you build your AMCC. The more you do something you don't want to do, you build your AMCC. And that is usually it for me that means you build discipline. So you more interesting something you don't want to do, you build this part of your brain. And therefore when you meet obstacles, you wake up in the morning and you say you don't I feel like going to the gym. The bigger this is, the easier it is for you to act against your wishes and desires. And therefore, you will find in studies that with obese people, the AMCC is smaller. With athletes, the AMCC is way bigger. And therefore, this is something that we need to build in our students and our kids. They don't want to go to the gym today. They don't want to go to classes. They don't want to do their homework. You make them do it anyway. And you build that habit and that repetition. So when they get older and they're pursuing their dream and visions, jobs, business, whatever they're doing, even if their body says they don't want to do it, they'll do it anyway. >> Subhan Allah. That sounds like a very academic and scientific explanation of working against your ns. >> That's it. >> Subhan Allah. >> Yeah. Yeah. That's the you put it into the good right angle. Absolutely. If you are allowed to change one thing globally about the education system, I know we have there are different curriculums everywhere, but one thing >> you can change globally overnight with a with a snap of a finger. >> Teachers would be the highest paying profession in the world. >> Yeah. Salam of course. >> And it's not what you think. It's not about finance. It's about when you have the right if you if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. >> Yes. So if you are giving a good salary >> then you are going to get the brightest the most creative the most hardworking people in that profession and teachers work hard Ibrahim I am saying even the reason is I know teachers that have quit the profession because they just can't support their families and therefore our students there's two ways to change a society through your family your kids and through the children and therefore if an education system of a country is strong resilient it has the best minds working in there what do you think the what do you think that country is going to be like or the societyy's going to be like so that's what I would say and also the money is good what is one habit every child should train on before adulthood >> I would say that they need to every day write down something that they're grateful for I think gratefulness is something that is undervalued in children because we live in a day an age of can I have every child especially mine there are several hundreds of things that they ask for every day but they don't say what do I have and I'm not talking about the big things you know I'm talking about just in today at the end of the day what are you happy what are you grateful for and even if it means you know we sat down as a family and had lunch together or you know wherever small things that it could be it could be very minute things but if you embody gratefulness in your family and household I believe that from that seed it sprouts so many other things. >> What is the best advice you received about parenting? >> I'm glad you asked that question because I had this written. >> Oh wow. Okay. >> So I read this book um a long time ago. I was at this point in life where I was just so much into reading um stories about very famous people usually businessmen, entrepreneurs. So I was reading a story of Ingav Camprad. >> Ah yes my country man. Invatra IKEA. >> Absolutely. Yeah. and he's known to many for the accomplishments that he's made IKEA and I read his biography and there's so much benefit I derived from this his story and his life and if you haven't read it I would always recommend people to read that story but one of the biggest things that I took from this book and is a line that he said which so resonated so much with me and he said childhood does not allow itself to be reconquered and he said this in the contents where he worked so hard on his business and on IKEA. He dedicated his entire life to it that he had no time for his children. He was always at work and he created something amazing. But when he went into retirement and he tried to then rekindle his relationship with his kids, it was too late. They were busy. They were doing their own things or having their own families. And he always felt one of his greatest regrets was he didn't spend enough time with his kids. And think about this is a guy that created IKEA, a a household name in furniture and everyone knows who IKEA is wherever you go in the world. But even then he got all the riches, he got all the um acknowledgements from everyone around the world, the things that he created, created a legacy. But one of the regrets he has is he didn't make the most of the childhood of his kids. Because even now as as now he's older, he's got all the time in the world, all the money in the world, there's no relationship there with his kids. And he regretted that till his last breath, you know, and and that was something that really stuck to me. And this is why I always say that even and I remind myself as well sometimes when I'm so focused on my financial goals that Muhammad, if you become the richest man in the world and you have everything that you want, but you don't have the love of your family and kids, then what's the point? then are you really the richest man in the world? >> What's the point? And as a young, like I said, I've got a young family right now and there'll be times where maybe I am delaying my goals. Maybe I won't become as financially free as quick as I want to be. And that's okay because my kids are young. I'd rather delay that. Even if it means I'll never get there, I'd rather make sure that they know that I'm there with them always because they're going to reach a stage in their life that they're going to get old enough where we'll hardly see them. maybe a few time and that's me with my parents. I see them maybe once a year, you know. So that time's going to come and I have all the time in the my in in in in the world to focus on my goals, but my kids are only young ones. What do you want your children to remember about their father? Good question. I want them to remember two things. Number one, and everyone will always say this, it's about it's it's Islam. Remember where you're going to go after this life, you know, and I don't proclaim to be the most religious person in the world, but one day we are going to die and we are going to be held to account for everything that we do and therefore you could be the best at everything, but if you want a good Muslim, then there's no point. You know, I'd rather you be a poor person, clean in the streets, but be a good Muslim than be the wealthiest man in the world, but have no dean. Because if you don't have your dean, you have nothing. They need to know that. That's number one. And sometimes I'm at fault because I'm always trying to make sure they aspire to be something in this world, but I need to make sure I'm focusing also that the hereafter is is what truly matters cuz that's forever. That would be the first thing. The second thing is just give 100% in everything you do. Like whatever it is, you give 100%. They need to embody kaizen in their life in dean, in dunya, in academics, whatever it is. Be better than you were yesterday. Muhammad, what is your baraka blueprint? The baraka blueprint is something for me anyway is something to help me have the right mindset every single day. And the story I I use is this. Ibrahim, if if I said to you that I'm going to give you a million dollars right now, how would you feel? >> My IBAN is now joking. Sorry. >> How would you feel? >> Ecstatic. over the moon. >> Great. And would you let anything get you down, especially for a short while? >> No. >> Would you have a good day? >> I'd have an amazing day. >> Okay. If I said to Ibrahim, I'm going to give you a million. No. Let's say I'm going to give you $10 million. >> Oh, okay. >> But you can't wake up tomorrow. Would you take it? >> Hell no. >> So, you're saying to me the blessing of you waking up tomorrow is more important than $10 million? >> 100%. Yet we wake up every single day until today and inshallah we'll continue to do so. And yet we don't we're not as grateful. >> And anytime I wake up in the morning >> and I think I got work today, I change my mindset and I think of this that you can people could give you as much money as you want in the world but you would change that for a simple blessing of being able to wake up and inshallah we'll wake up tomorrow as well and the day after you know but many people will go sleep today and they won't wake up tomorrow. So change your mindset because it's a blessing to be alive and I know it sounds so cliche. People say that all the time and they just sometimes they roll their eyes. >> Not enough. So if you ever feel like you know what man today's going to be a tough day say alhamdulillah I'm alive. I'm awake. I'm breathing. I've got a chance to make something of the day. >> That's my baraka blueprint. >> May Allah subhana wa ta'ala bless you and your family. What an honor it was to have you. Thank you so much for being a guest in the Maka Blueprint podcast and thank you for this amazing conversation. I learned so much. Subhan Allah. >> Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure. >> Brother Muhammad Ganchi from the Raising Humans podcast and thank you all. Thank you so very much for listening to yet another episode of the Baraka Blueprint podcast from the Sharifico channel in the Sharifico studio. If you like what you've seen, make sure to leave a like and a subscription to the channels to follow and stay tuned to all of the updates that are coming from Sharifico from my content and from the podcast the baraka blueprint. I'm so excited to continue this journey with the podcast. Alhamdulillah. Uh and before you before I let you guys go, I want to share with you something that is a bit personal for me and which is when I started the Baraka Blueprint podcast. When I started this journey, I had I had one thing in mind and that is that I only wanted to have one goal. That goal is to inspire the mindset any even one listener that they adopt the mindset of excellence and the mindset of continuous development in their journey so that they become high performing individuals and so that we contribute to a high performing ummah and um a nation that produces Muslim men and women that excel in their domains. And alhamdulillah, I can say from all of the messages, from all of the collaborations that we have had, from the consultations that I've had, from the guests that we've had as well, this is not just content. This is a mission. This is a mission for this ummah to become better, to become more valuable and to perform with excellence. And that is why alhamdulillah today Sharifico Studios opens for collaborations in the form of investments and sponsors and sponsorships. I mean, so if you want to be the if you want to sponsor an episode or creative campaign or even invest in the Baraka Blueprint mission, I will even say uh part of it is a podcast, of course. Then I'll tell you what you can do. You can write to me at Ibraim to to the mail address Ibraim sharifi.co or you can DM me at sharifico in any of the platforms that you see. That being said, thank you so much for tuning in to yet another episode and remember remember to adopt a mindset of perfecting not perfection because perfection is reserved to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. But he described excellence and he prescribed and ordered excellence to each and every Muslim man and woman. So adopt excellence, keep developing, keep pushing and keep learning. and in Baraka style.