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Foundations for Growth #3: The Success Factor
Ifedolapo Sulyman Olanrewaju
September 07, 2024
As-salamu alaykum,
Welcome back!
We continue our discourse about the Foundations for Growth.
My reflection today is about “The Success Factor”.
On my bookshelf is a book that I pull out periodically titled “The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance by Ruth Gotian”. It's a very well-written book that has many relevant gems to the journey of growth and peak performance that we mull over here from one week to the next. (and it also has a few awards to its credit!)
One of the world’s foremost executive coaches, Marshall Goldsmith wrote in his foreword to the book that; “The Success Factor perfectly captures the nuances of what took so many entrepreneurs, executives, physicians, scientists, and athletes to the top of their game.”
As a Muslim healthcare worker, I had to pause for a minute to think deeply about the reality of this statement.
What is Success?
What is “The Success Factor”?
Who gets to define what it is?
Thankfully, the answer is not far-fetched.
Allah, the Most High, our creator defined this for us answering the foundational questions around this precept that many of us seek.
Allah, the Most High, defines success for us in the first 2 verses of the 23rd chapter of the Qur’an in Surah Al-Mu’minun where He says;
“Successful, indeed are the believers, those who humble themselves in their prayers.”
In essence, the success factor is not the myriad of mindsets or skill sets that we often pursue but rather true success is tied directly to our commitment to the prayers that Allah has prescribed for us. And the scholars explained the specific attribute of the prayer referenced here as one where the observant believer is mindful of His Lord, Allah.
We all want to grow and we want to be successful as healthcare workers, in our unique roles across the industry and even more important in our lives outside of work. Yet in our busy modern lives we often don’t leave enough space for this clear prescription from Allah - Salah - even though He has told us explicitly that is where our success lies.
It is also where our strength and our resilience lies as we learn from Prophet Muhammad PBUH;
Hudhayfah reported: If the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was distressed about anything, he would pray. [Source: Sunan Abī Dāwūd 1319]
In last week’s newsletter, we shared a hadith that points towards the prophetic wisdom around resilience and how Prophet Muhammad PBUH, places the essence of resilience in a well grounded spiritual identity.
That theme is playing out here again in this hadith narrated by Hudhayfah (RA) above where he, PBUH, finds strength when the going gets tough.
We too can leverage this. We owe it to ourselves, our families, our patients and all the key stakeholders that we serve and work alongside to do so.
The True Success Factor is our Salah - A mindful one.
It is what our creator prescribed for us out of love and mercy at a time when the Prophet Muhammad PBUH was going through a difficult year.
Salah is our direct link to Allah that can transform our appraisal of challenges across our integrated work-lives and steady us in good times with the gratitude that they deserve.
Dear friends and colleagues, here’s the call-to-action to tap into the Success Factor.
Take some time to appraise your 5-daily prayers
Rate your completion from 1 out of 5 to 5 out of 5.
Rate yourself on timely completion of your Salah on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being excellent)
Rate your mindfulness (focus) in Salah on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being excellent)
Rate the impact of your healthcare work on either the quantity or quality of your prayers on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being no impact and high impact)
Total your points on each scale above and score yourself from a low of 4 to a perfect score of 20.
Take action (especially if your total score above is </=10) to improve your success factor by considering any one of the following highly regarded programs to bolster your success in this life and the hereafter. (not listed in any particular order)
There are many other great sources out there (free or paid) to check out in addition to these as alternatives. The key thing is to take some action and not be crippled by analysis paralysis.
May Allah, the Most High, grant us all the essential focus on true and holistic success in this life and the hereafter and may He grant you and I the capacity (Taofeeq) to take action sooner rather than later. Amin
Sincerely,
Sulyman
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