From Poverty to Power
"God has a tendency to pick up nobody and make them somebody."
Examples include:
1. Oprah Winfrey
Surely the most well-known rags-to-riches story of our era is the story of Oprah Winfrey. Having been born into abject poverty in rural Mississippi, Winfrey went from being a young girl clothed in potato sacks (literally) to the richest and most powerful female media mogul in the world. Winfrey was able to accomplish this by moving from a disruptive and abusive household in with her stricter father.
Once Winfrey was subject to discipline and was supported at school, she became an honors student and got her big break when she became a newscaster in Nashville after finishing college. Winfrey has come a long way from her poor upbringings, and is worth $2.9 billion as of 2009, according to Forbes.
2. J.K. Rowling
Similar to Winfrey's story, J.K. Rowling went from being on the dole to starting a $15 billion industry. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books series, was estimated to be worth $843.92 million U.S. dollars as of 2008. She began writing the series while she was on welfare and by incorporating some of the darker elements of her own life - the loss of her mother and battle with depression - into the novels, Rowling's books became a success after an initial press of 1,000 sold out, giving way to Potter mania.
3. Dhirubhai Ambani
Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani , also known as Dhirubhai, 28 Dec- 6 July 2002, was an Indian rags-to-riches business tycoon who founded Reliance Industries in Mumbai with his cousin.
He was the son of a school teacher in rural Gujarat, who failed to pass his school exams in the first attempt and earned his first money as a child selling snacks to pilgrims over weekends. His early years were relatively unremarkable. A job with an Indian trading company took him to Aden and he moved on from there to work for Shell, as a petrol pump attendant. When he returned to India in 1957, polyester had just been invented and Ambani — with a vision which would remain until the very end — believed it represented the future of Indian textile business. He guessed correctly. His investment of Rs. 15,000 to set up a trading house paid off quickly and by the mid-1960s, he was the largest polyester trader in the country.
Dhirubhai was a star, which rose on the horizon of Indian industry three decades ago and remained on top till the end by sheer virtue of his ability to dream big and translate it into reality. He was 138th richest man in the world as per the latest Forbes magazine list of the rich with a $2.9 billion fortune. He undoubtedly can be called a business Maharaja of the corporate world in India.
What brought all of these people from rags to riches was focusing in on their natural talents, dedicating themselves to its development and not stopping until they had a hefty bank account. It just goes to show that you don't have to be born rich to become rich.
So, you are next in the list if you try. Whats your excuse now? :)
this the reason why this tread needed the joke :)
cheers!
Really? I'm an idiot? I'm your mirror then.
Victoria5518: May I ask you how this joke is related to God?
Prince Planet: have you ever heard this quote???
"Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience"
Hi Victoria, What made you crack a joke in this thread :-/
lol....another twist in the story...water and milk...:)
One day the teacher came to class with a rose placed in her cleavage.
She asked, "Can anyone tell me what roses drink? How about you, Johnny?"
"Milk!" answered Little Johnny.
"No, I'm sorry. That's the wrong answer. Roses drink water," explained the teacher.
"Wow!" Johnny exclaimed. "I didn't know the stem was that long!"
Hemlata:"I am not much familiar with Islamic History" Then why do you have to argue to draw "baseless" conclusions about things you even don't know about?
It is authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)in the Two Sahih (authentic) Books of Hadith (i.e. Al-Bukhari and Muslim)that he (peace be upon him) said:“Allah created Adam in His own image.” In a narration by Ahmad and some scholars of Hadith, the same Hadith reads: “in the image of Al-Rahman (the Most Merciful)”.In the first Hadith, the pronoun refers to Allah.
Sahih Muslim
Book 040, Number 6809:
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, created Adam in His own image with His length of sixty cubits, and as He created him He told him to greet that group, and that was a party of angels sitting there, and listen to the response that they give him, for it would form his greeting and that of his offspring. He then went away and said: Peace be upon you! They (the angels) said: May there be peace upon you and the Mercy of Allah, and they made an addition of" Mercy of Allah". So he who would get into Paradise would get in the form of Adarn, his length being sixty cubits, then the people who followed him continued to diminish in size up to this day.
From the above extract it is understood that MAYBE, Allah looks like a person.
As Muslims , we believe that the believers will be able to see Allah in the paradise & this will be the most beautiful & magnificent reward they are ever & forever.
Definitely, God speaks to us: he answers our prayers!
PRINCE PLANET, your argument is pointless. I am not going to argue with you anymore. Say whatever you want!
ROFL....:)
Prism: I didn't ask you to "love" me either! Who said women aren't happy? Damn! Get a life!
And should I explain to you what I had for my supper yesterday? COME ON! Raise your standards buddy!
I don't want to waste my time arguing with you.
I do accept that there is some supernatural power which is controlling the universe but slowly scientists are unfolding it. Many of us treat this power as God and worship it. I am also one among them but naming these God as Bramha, Allah, Ganesha is not good as we are dividing our self in to various religion though the power is one. The names are outcome of some mythology characters of a story written by various learned men in their imagination and named the character as Shankar, Parvati, Laxmi etc etc.. Like we see some film where character names are given by Story writer like Superman and people start believing him
Indian Constitution is written by great man Baba Saheb Ambedkar and he too is being worshiped like God. I am sure, no angle dictated him.
Prophet Mohammed was a great scholar & philosopher and he himself might have written Quran like Baba Saheb written Indian constitution and I don’t believe that some angle narrated him through God.
I am not much familiar with Islamic History, neither very learned so I may be excused if I hurt any ones feelings.
Fatima H is very learned lady and I am sure she will give her opinion on existent of God.
how do you define rich?
OK...I didnt sleep immediately so finally leave you with 2 positives:
1) I dont hate you and h*ll no, I dont want to be like you..I am happy being a man...:)
2) You eat too quickly..something I envy you for and would like to do ... I take almost 45 mins.
Remaining war of words tomorrow, whenever I will get time...:)))
Final final GN...
It was almost late at night and I was supposed to have my "supper". That why it took 29 minutes to respond... and I am late to respond now because I also have other important things to do.
In the other case, Hemlata has already responded in between. She could have enlightened me with the answer on the spot before typing the original answer after 7 hours.
Between, I didn't steal YOUR words. Recently, I came across a text message from one of my friend. According to the message, "Haters don't really hate you. in fact, they hate themselves because you're a reflection of what they wish to be." I thought it was appropriate for the situation.
Good Night!
lol...dont steal my words... try writing something of your own.... BTW where you looking for my words that took you so long (29 min to be precise) to respond ...(on the same lines as "älmost after 7 hrs" as you highlighted for some other poster).
Some food for (positive) thought as I say good night....try to engage into a good discussion rather than attempting to win it over by bringing in unrelated issues or sailing alongwith them till they suit your convenience.
Prism, its clear that you are a pessimist in nature thus deliberately finding out negativity, particularly in my threads. I am wondering if this is an indirect way to address your insecurities and hidden frustrations.
PA...may be, but if it was my thread I wouldn't jump along..I mean from OTTA...
Prism: did you know that people has a tendency to jump from one topic to another?
"................. you don't have to be born rich to become rich"
AND
"children should be given a generalized idea on the divine intervention of the universe. Its up to them to choose the religion of their choice"
How are the two related!!!!
PA, Who told you that man is the end product of millions of years of evolution? Also, how do you believe that for every piece of logic, there is an equal part of illogical theory ruling it?
Anyways, we are not here to discuss faith or religion...so lets give it a break here.
I totally agree with you PA.
Doha Knight: I believe that for every piece of logic, there is an equal part of illogical theory ruling it. Say for example, you may believe that man is the end product of millions of years of evolution. However, The concept of "macroevolution" is highly dependent upon faith
as there is no evidence in real science to support it. This is a classical example of how reasons are clashed with faith.
A student may believe in science as long as it agree with his religion. Practically speaking, one can say that certain religion doesn't even comply with science. In such cases, its advisable for a student to evaluate the various possibilities that science can offer to understand various religion. The student should also be given the freedom to choose a religion based on science and ethical values. His parents should not inflict him with prejudice for a particular religion. Such a situation is hypothetical.
And, in my opinion, children should be given a generalized idea on the divine intervention of the universe. Its up to them to choose the religion of their choice.
A fundamental question which is bothering me for a few years; how should a person react if his reasons clashed with his faith? Theories in subjects like astronomy and anthropology are much different from what are universally accepted based on faith. Now, for a student, is it advisable to have two divergent sets of beliefs; one for the examination hall and the other for social interactions in his community?
Also, when asked, would you tell your children that this universe was made and runs with divine intervention?
Well, the above questions are not for those who have deliberately closed their eyes on their reasons to let their faiths prevail.
Hemlata: and is there any proof that they are historic personalities?
what do you believe in Hemlata ?
lord krishna,lord vishnu,lord shiva or durga? maybe lakshmi
prove they are goddess ?
Hemlata: You are questioning a belief system. Hope you don't get attacked by other Muslims here.
Muhammed is regarded as a historic person. Did you know that?
if someone from another religion ask you to give a solid evidence of your 'belief' system , would you not get angry then?
“Muslims believe”
All only belief. No proof.
OMG! It's hard to believe that some people tend to ask such retarded questions in QL!
Muslims believe the Quran to be verbally revealed through angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) from God to Muhammad gradually over a period of approximately 23 years beginning in 610 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death.
What more evidence do you want?
would you assume that it just came out there naturally? The world is a big house in the universe, anyone can disprove that?
No one and nobody has proven that God don't exist. All they have are theories to disprove and yet they themselves differs in opinions. Man had created many things but who created man?
God is only imagination. Some Call him Allah, some call Brahma, some call Isa. He exists in all religious books.
By the way - what prove you have that Quran was written 1428 years back?
First of all, who told you that God is a "supernatural" phenomenon? Not at all, God exists and thats it.
Grow up man! Don't talk childish things.
Doha Knight: Agreed! What I am trying to say is that such people like Oprah Winfrey, JK Rowling etc. should be a contributing factor of motivation to the working class.
PA, There are many like him..maybe in thousands all across the country. Some may get the spotlight through the media but most of them will remain uncrowned kings. But, to themselves, they are successful and happy.
Doha Knight: Maybe, it takes time for one to evolve into a celebrity. If he tries his level best in this field, maybe, one day he would be someone. :)
PA,
One of my friends back home is a social activists. He runs several small schools in backward areas of India. He tells me his passion, contentment and success in life is in educating poor and unprivileged children who cannot afford education otherwise. He is not a celebrity or a rich person but I must say he is a happy and successful man
First let us take a hypothetical situation: If nobody in the world has ever seen a UFO and you are the first one to see it, and in that case, if I ask you about the person who can tell the mechanism of the object, what would your answer be? After thinking for a while, you would be able to say that the creator only can explain the mechanism of this flying object. Some may label this creator as "manufacturer" while others may refer to it as "producer". Whatever be the word you are referring to, accept it!
Then, I would be asking you the very next question: how did the universe come into existence? You might give me an explanation through the big bang theory. But, the fact remains that it was mentioned in the Quran 1428 years back.
"Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?"
Quran
21:30
Some of the Qur'anic verses explain facts about Earth, humans, and other creatures. For example, there is an invitation for humans to fly, indicating the possibility of flying, more than 1428 years ago
In Surat Al-Rahman (Chapter 55), Verse 33 states:
"O You jinn and men, if you can penetrate zones of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate! You will never penetrate them except with the power (of science)."
Earth is described as egg-shaped (pointed at the poles, not a perfect circular globe), a fact which was discovered recently in the human history.
In Chapter 79, Verse 30, the Holy Qur'an mentions that:
"And the Earth, after that, He made it egg-shaped."
One verse explains that it is the female bee that makes honey, a very recent bit of knowledge for humans, which is another evidence that the author of the Holy Qur'an could never be a human being about 1428 years ago. Rather, He is the All Knowledgeable One.
"And thy Lord taught the (female) Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations" (The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 16, Verse 68).
http://www.aljazeerah.info/Islamic%20Editorials/2007/September/The%20Scientific%20Evidence%20That%20God%20Exists%20and%20the%20Holy%20Qur'an%20Is%20His%20Message%20to%20Humanity%20By%20Hassan%20Ali%20El-Najjar.htm
We don't have to see an artist to recognize a painting, correct? So, if we see paintings without seeing artists painting them, in the same way, we can believe God created everything without having to see Him (or touch, or hear, etc.).
First of all, there is NO valid proof that santa claus, fairies, unicorns, Bigfoot and the Lochness Monster exists.
Secondly there are many proofs justifying the fact that God really does exist.
TAT - straight and clean - must be joking?
When some alleged that Feroze was doing these all for Tata’s, as bother were parzis, next came against Tata. Feroze found Telco was making money from railways by supplying locomotive engines at an exorbitant rate. With evidence Feroze exposed Telco for charging more than double for an engine to railways, which lead to exit for Tata and formation of locomotive workshops in public sector.
http://jgopikrishnan.blogspot.com/2009/03/feroze-gandhi-forgotten-gandhi-of-india.html
Prince Planet: Answer my question :-/
"then "God" is not all powerful".
Who are you to say it?
dude, give me a valid proof on your belief that God doesn't exist.
I'm not threatening anyone.
and if you don't believe in him, it doesn't mean that you should criticize others!
flor1212: Becasue I have mentioned about God in this thread"God has a tendency to pick up nobody and make them somebody."Prince Planet:" this is a statement worth mocking."I cannot understand why!
Question a man, even revolt against man, but never with God! If you don't understand it, it means you never believe in HIM! Simple!
Hemlata: Only God knows how far you are telling the truth because your answered my question after 7 hours.
who knows, you're next? When you sleep tonight, there is no assurance you'll wake-up tomorrow! So, why question the owner of your life? Just prepare!
What I wonder is why God was place in this discussion?
Princes Arora – You are just asking whether I will do malpractice to acquire the wealth.
Do you know the difference between Businessman and Industrialist?
Tata is Industrialist
Ambanis are businessmen
Anyone can become businessman and acquire wealth leaving all morals and ethics aside.
I will never do that as my conscious will not permit.
I would prefer to be like Tata.Straight & Clean
LincolnPirate: God gives us a chance. We mis utilize it. Seriously, God is never gonna change you unless you don't change yourself.
“Truly, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Quran 13:11)
Well, surinder, let's put it this way: it isn't God who makes the selections. And then we don't have to blame him.
God should be more selective! He picked up Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan, Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Muammar Ghaddafi, and even Assad, and made them 'somebody'. And all they did was bringing dead and destruction to the people.
agree
yv2r: Of course, there are many bad examples to mention. But let us take examples of 'inspirational' people. Lets leave out those corrupted politicians.
Doha Knight: Lol... you must read a book called "the alchemist" by paulo coelho. The story is about a boy who travels across the desert to seek treasure. On the way, he encounters love, danger, opportunity, disaster and learns a lot about himself and the ways of the world. Ultimately, when he reaches the destination, he finds out that he has already acquired his treasure (and that treasure was in his heart i.e. the lessons he learnt through the struggles during the journey).From the above example, I want to point out that success is the lessons you learn in the journey. Once you get hang of the lessons you learnt, nothing can stop you to reach your destination. and yeah... success happens when you are happy and contented on the way to your destination. Afterall, its that determination that keeps you happy and contented.
they are also from poverty to riches,sons of an ordinary police constable to day worth of some billions.Exploring mining in Andhra & Karnataka borders. One can imagine they have dugged out the border lines of two states, they have presented Diamond Crown to Thirupathi temple, they have all imported cars and 2 helicopters.
In state politics 2 brothers ministers, 1 brother chairman for milk socity, they are king makers .to day one brother in Jail for the last 4 months strugling to come out
Hemlata: You still didn't answer my question. :-/
PA, I haven't read this book but I agree, patience and persistence do help, however, the question is, at what point of your struggle, would you feel you have achieved success? Is it the name, fame and money...being a known personality or a celebrity or its just someone who thinks he or she is contented with whatever has been achieved.
Many a times, contentment is termed as complacency and looked down upon by others.
So, is success a destination in the journey of life set by others or is it a feeling of oneself in the same journey somewhere in the middle of it based on how happy and contended you are travelling towards your destination?
Doha Knight: There are many qualities in a person that determines success. Persistence is one among them. of course, it takes time to get into the realms of success. You should be patient enough to wait for the right time.
Between, have you seen the film "The Pursuit of Happyness". Its based on Chris Gardner's nearly one-year struggle with homelessness and poverty. The protagonist in the story loses everything in life. But due to his passion, determination, persistence and optimistic attitude, his dream to become a stock broker comes true.
From the above example, it is relevant that persistence is one of the contributing factors of success. You may find no time in your pursuit of happiness but ultimately, the wait is worthwhile.
“O you who believe! seek assistance through patience and prayer; surely Allah is with the patient.”
(The Cow 2.153)
A poor looking man was relaxing in garden. Smile on his face shows that he is enjoying.
Another man approached him and asked
- Hey – what are you doing here?
- I am just relaxing
- You lazy fellow – why are you wasting your time,why don’t you work ?
- What will happen if I work?
- You will get money.
- What I will do with money?
- You can buy a house of your own.
- Then ?
- Then you can have good cloth and all luxury and comforts
- Then?
- Then you can have good bank balance for your future.
- Then?
- Then what, you can relax and enjoy
- That is what I am doing.
in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Life then is simple so even if you are in "poverty" then (poverty here is subjective), it is easier to survive then and the opportunities way back then is easier to reach and acquired. Unlike today's fast-paced life, opportunities just pass and go!
PA, Again, the meaning of the term 'success' is relative. For you, it may be realising your dreams but others, even your family members may not deem it as success unless your realised dreams bring you fame and wealth.
God gives to whom he wills and withholds from whom he wills. And each one will get their dues of what they deserve sooner or later.
It never ceases to amaze me seeing people,even in my own family, who are down and out at one time suddenly on top of the world and vice versa . It helps then to at all times hold onto faith, humbleness, good intentions, and the determination to do well at any point in our lives. That way the good times will always seem better and the hard times bearable.
Doha Knight: Money doesn’t buy happiness, but success does.
Success is not defined by the amount of wealth which you acquire. Success is when you follow your heart with passion and your dreams turn into reality.
I love reading books and I could do it full-time if I wanted to. I also LOVE MY WORK. In that way, even though I'm a workaholic, I make a living in doing things I love. ultimately, I get rich and successful by making a difference by doing things I love.
After all, if you follow your passion, you did automatically get rich. So, its all inter connected.
flor, Like you said, the path towards happiness is not the same for all. Money could be used to do things which bring happiness but most of the times, money turns the priorities of life upside down. It is seen that people who become very rich, they dovote the rest of their lives amassing more money and safeguarding whatever they have. Other finer things of life, like the pleasures of knowing the truth, understanding the world around us, love and empathy or the pleasures of giving etc. are easily forgotten. So, the question is, what's the objective of life..happiness or success? Again, what is success?
but for me, my satisfaction is fulfilling my role and obligations in the church where I belong. There are times or hardship but most of the times, an easy task if you put your mind and heart on it. Precisely I am never bored of my life here, there is always something to do.
Truly, money means a lot but how to focus yourself on what you really want is a different thing. It is written, you may own the whole world but your soul will not be saved in the end, what's all the riches one can get.
You didn't answer my question anyway.
If you are a spiritual oriented woman, I think living in poverty will be okay for you.
But, according to majority of the population, wealth is a purpose in life because they have someone benefited from wealth. 'Accumulating wealth' is a means to motivate themselves so as to become productive. Imagine a world where people are demotivated to work which results in the impoverishment of the economy. This, in turn affects the society, nation and the world at large.
If you don't care, why are you asking the question?
PA,
People look for happiness and contentment in life which is supposedly the ultimate objective of human beings, leaving aside the spiritual part. Now, for many of us contentment is in amassing wealth while for me its in living a comfortable life with whatever I earn and having ample free time to pursue my interests. If people ask me what brings me real happiness, its just gazing at the night sky from a mountain peak and feeling myself a part of it or lying flat on any scandinavian island and looking at the flicker of the northern lights.
Why and what for one should accumulate so much wealth? I am yet to get answer.
Munna Bhai MBBS gives me more enjoyment than our pass book.
I agree that politicians become rich only by the means of corruption. Indeed, politicians are worst culprits of corrupted malpractices.
Some politicians are not worth mentioning here.
ismailerum/ Hemlata: Agreed! Ambani may be corrupted. But if you were in his shoes, would you not be a culprit of malpractices to acquire wealth? Just curious!!!
Doha Knight: I agree, life without money would be awesome. In such a case, equality prevails thus diminishing competition. Having said that though, the world would be in disorder and out of control. I think money keeps world in order and give purpose to life.
Secondly I would like to point out that money can buy love- I mean superficial love. But it can never buy UNCONDITIONAL love.
Whole Ambani are manipulator
Luck By Chance
"God has a tendency to pick up nobody and make them somebody."
He made Lalu, Raja, Kalmadi, Kalamzohi from rags to riches.
the less said about 3, the much better.....
I like the sun, sea and sand which doesn't cost me nothing...and money can't buy me love :-/
no excuse :)