And they have a done a very good job of editing the long talk into two small episodes…
The “45 tips” that Mush has mentioned can also be accessed in this blog post
And you may watch other interesting videos by Emerge here.
What started as a dream few years ago is a now a success story many wish to learn from. The blog post on CW site highlights the contributions of the team, suppliers, service providers, franchisees and other supporters.
What I wish to share here are the 20 unique things about Coffee Wagera. We may be the only (or the first) café in Pakistan to…
And we are very proud to receive the ‘Best Coffee Place of the Year 2019‘ award by APRA (All Pakistan Restaurant Association).
The lockdown due to Corono did not allow us to celebrate the 2nd Anniversary with a party, but we had a virtual meeting with 30+ team members, complete with a flashback slideshow (inserted above), an address by Mush and many special Awards of Appreciation.
Extremely grateful to have achieved the first goal of opening five outlets in Karachi in two years, and moving forward with a lot of faith for the next goal: 20 across Pakistan in five years. Thank you everyone for your support.
Absolutely loved the opportunity to speak to a group of students at PACC! We covered:
The audience was extremely engaged and the feedback from the organizers was awesome…
Today’s guest speaker session at our English Works: The program by Mush Panjwani was amazingly awesome in terms of presenting practical life changing tips to the audience. Throughout his talk he created the aura of influence; the anecdotes from his life and humor kept the audience mesmerised! ~Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Evolution
A very energetic and full of learning session was conducted by Mr Mush Panjwani, who shared his amazing journey of life, with the lessons he learned and designed a wonderful foundation program. It was a session full of happiness. It will make a positive change in others life! ~Ehtesham, PACC
So grateful to conclude the first four batches of training at K-Electric. These were 2-hour sessions that covered:
The audience included a mix from various departments, but mostly from customer service. Everyone participated very well, and the feedback was quite awesome:
Wow… really happy to attend this training session!
Very motivating and inspiring!
I learnt a lot today and will apply at work and life!
We need more of these to enhance our productivity and positivity!
Few pictures below. Looking forward to contributing more to the many other divisions of K-Electric!
PS. Very impressed by their new building at IIC, with full equipped training rooms and facilities for learning and development.
Extremely grateful for the opportunity to contribute to an open-to-all session at the PSO Head Quarters in Karachi last week. There were managers and teams from various departments. The organizer commented:
I’ve heard many trainers on happiness and positivity, but without much substance. This was different and full of useful contents and tips!
And some of the audience found the session to be…
Extremely energizing!
Very much needed, and useful!
We need more of this!
Looking forward to doing more with PSO!
There’s something special about talking to the youth – their open minds, their energy and their level of ambition to do great things!
Some of the students of Dawood University of Engineering & Technology had heard me at a recent conference in NED University, and decided to organize the same talk at their own university. And that happened today! They had done a great job of promoting the event, so we had about 500 students in the auditorium, giving up on their lunch break (1-2pm) to listen to me. So honored and grateful!
I spoke about happiness as the foundation for all success and the four steps to achieve anything! And came away very excited about the impact this may have on their lives.
Looking forward to more opportunities to work with the youth and other universities!
It’s been more than a year since I left half my family and a very comfortable life in Hong Kong, and moved to Pakistan, in September 2017. And I am often asked how can anyone willingly move back after spending over 20 years abroad; how has the experience been; and how do I manage to stay so happy and positive. It was a combination of things I’ve learned over the years and have applied in many situations, particularly in dealing with any change…
Manage your expectations: I didn’t expect anything in Pakistan to be similar to HK – effective government, efficient systems, easy public transportation, organized traffic, law-abiding people, beautiful weather or the basic stuff like security, electricity, water, Internet etc. Those are the luxuries that most countries/people do not experience in a lifetime. So I rarely found myself getting frustrated about the weather, traffic, government or lack of any of those things I often took for granted in HK. Everyday I experienced what I had expected, so there was no disappointment.
Focus on the positives: An essential part of being happy in any situation is to be grateful for what you have, which is only possible if you are always looking for, acknowledging and appreciating all the good things in your life. And there are a lot of good things about life in Pakistan, which we did not have in HK, or may not have in many parts of the world e.g. local fruits, vegetables and meat (instead of imported); varieties of great food from around the world; beautiful country with lots to see and do, from Karachi to Kashmir and everything in between; lots of opportunities for entrepreneurs (and businessmen too); good people (mostly nice, kind, friendly, helpful, awesome); hardly any natural disasters like earthquakes, tornados, typhoons, volcanoes, tsunamis, or even flooding!
Be the change: Instead of complaining about things, we can try to be the change we want to see in Pakistan. At a personal level, it’s things like following traffic rules (very difficult though), reducing power/water consumption, being more tolerant with people who are different (Sindhi, Panjabi, Pathan, Shia, Sunni, less educated or civilized). At business level, we can do that by supporting good causes – e.g. equal opportunities for the transgender, women empowerment; minimizing disposables and reducing waste. And most importantly, being positive and spreading cheer!
Few other things that made the change exciting for me were:
I have been lucky to get to know a few running and cycling groups in Karachi, since I started Coffee Wagera. It’s always inspiring to meet these people, because I know how much passion, commitment and discipline it takes to come out for a run or ride before sunrise.
Ali Laghari is part of “Cycologists“, one of the most active cycling groups in Karachi. And I met him during World Heart Day on 29th September. That’s when I found out about his record 4900km of cycling in one month, and asked him a few questions… his responses were very inspiring indeed, as you can see from the video above. The highlights were:
Bonus: Commentary at by Zeeshan Khalid, another Cycologist, at the end of the video.
I had put all my training work on hold while focusing on Coffee Wagera since the opening in April this year. Coffee Wagera is indeed very exciting and engaging, but I miss my training work. So I have reached out to a few training companies and corporate contacts for opportunities to contribute with my ‘Happiness at Work’ training programs in Pakistan.
Dellsoft, a new division of Dellsons, organized the first full-day public workshop at Movenpick Hotel Karachi on 5th September. We had about 25 participants from five different banks and other corporates. We covered:
Some of the feedback from participants:
One of the best training sessions ever…
Amazing topic and great energy!
Extremely relevant, effective and lots of fun!
The promotional flyer can be downloaded here.
Ferd Ventures is one of the non-exclusive distributors for Learning Time in Philippines. And they had organized a 2-day training for the entire sales team from Davao, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro. We covered:
Mush is not just a trainer, but a life coach! The 2-day Training Program was an eye-opener for the sales team. Mush taught us a very important life lesson… that despite all of life’s challenges, we still have a lot to be grateful for.. and that is one of the keys towards happiness and success.
We admire his training methodology which is simple, practical and very effective. His attitude and body language is his distinguishing characteristic.
~Ferdie Mangubat Jr., CEO
The other highlights of the trip were Filipino hospitality, with lots of good food, desserts and coffees 🙂
Today is the 5th Anniversary since I got fired from Time Life / Educational Technologies in 2013, after working with them for 16 years! I was very positive that day, and every year it becomes more obvious why that was one of the best things that could happen. Losing my job made it possible to:
And I am thrilled to reveal my next venture, a coffee shop in Karachi! Coffee Wagera is scheduled to open on 1st April. More about this dream in the next blog post 🙂
“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change. At such moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back…” ~Paolo Coelho
PS. Thanks to my family, friends, clients, everyone at Learning Time and A Better Chance for their tremendous support during these years, without whom none of the above was possible.
I continue to believe that a minimalistic and uncluttered life can lead to more productivity, increased efficiency and greater happiness. I’ve written several blog posts on my experiments with minimalism and tips to reduce clutter – at work, at home and life in general. Here’s a short version, because I think it all starts with buying stuff…
Buy mindfully:
Discard ruthlessly:
Use gratefully:
If that sounds too difficult, just take one step at a step. And perhaps developing the attitude of gratitude would be a good start.
Today, I went through a few of my favorite blogs to read 100s of quotes from successful people, authors, trainers and businessmen. Here’s a collection of the 20 that I liked best… and hope they inspire a few people:
Please share your favorite quotes about selling in comments below.
I have this birthday ritual to look at my dreams, goals and plans, and make any necessary adjustments. During this year’s exercise, I also updated my travel list and learnt that I have been to 39 countries and at least 133 cities. I have around 20 more countries in the to-go list. I hope this post inspires you to follow your dreams, and reminds you that the four steps do work, starting with a list.
While I was at it I couldn’t help thinking about how it all started. I think it was April 1986, around my 21st birthday. I was juggling with university, three tuition jobs, my first sales job, a newly married life, and a lot of dreams. It was no coincidence that I found an audiocassette by Zig Ziglar about dreams and goals. He ended the motivational talk by suggesting buying a notebook and making three lists: everything I want to have; everything I want to do; everything I want to be. And I did. I think there were 89 things on the three lists, considering that I did not have much and had not done much.
Over the years, my lists have become more specific with dreams and goals related to personal development, well being, relationships, money, contribution etc. I have added, deleted and edited hundreds of dreams, fulfilled many and still have many to go. Writing and publishing my first book, trekking to see Mount Everest, raising happy and successful kids were some of the most fulfilling goals which all started under one of the dream lists. The four steps usually work, if you have the faith and commitment to your dreams.
Looking forward to any comments or questions 🙂
The first time I wrote about ‘five reasons I travel solo‘ was in August 2012, after my trip to Chenzhou in China. Since then I’ve been blessed with many more solo trips and experienced the endless joys. Earlier this month, I was in Da Nang and Hoi An in Vietnam, for a week, all by myself. I got to experience for the first time…
Most of these wouldn’t have been possible if I wasn’t traveling solo. So here’s my expanded list of benefits, and why you should travel solo at least once a year:
That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy traveling with family, friends or groups… solo travel just a different kind of great experience!
PS. One of the most common questions I got asked by fellow travellers and locals: ‘Your wife doesn’t mind your solo travels?‘ And the answer is, one of the reasons we have been so happy with each other for over 30 years is that we accept, understand and appreciate the differences between us. And we allow each other to do our own things. [Thank you, Salma!]
You may view all the photos from the Vietnam trip and the daily journal on TravelPod here, or a selection of photos on Facebook through this link. And more of my travel videos here.
Yesterday I completed three years with Learning Time, and these have been some of the most exciting and fulfilling years of my life! It’s been an opportunity to work with distributors and sales teams in many countries, participate in and organize international events, contribute to the development of some amazing new products, set up a distributorship company in Pakistan, learn many new things, touch the lives of many more, help parents become better and children excel… above all, do what I love doing! Here’s a collection of some of the photos from three years…
Thanks to the founders/partners of Learning Time: Shad, Zishan and Waseem
Thanks to everyone else who have/had been part of this exciting journey:
Bahrain: Ranjan, Abdul, Senthil…
Egypt: Samir, Raghda…
Ghana: Luke…
India: Parul, Sagareeka…
Indonesia: Ema, Toni, Efa, Wulan, Akmal, Sylvi…
Kuwait: Furqan…
Malaysia: Subra…
Mauritius: Armoogum, Keshan, Vidu…
Nigeria: Margaret…
Oman: Zafreen…
Pakistan: Salima, Jahangir, Sheeraz, Madiha, Sumaira, Sana…
Philippines: Rene, Nic, Ferd, FM, Bernie, Flor, Kaye, Mark, Rahm…
Qatar: Noel…
Singapore: Jay…
Sri Lanka: Amila…
UAE: Ketaki, Kanchan, Joseph, Naushtath, Ener, Edmond…
To the support team: Nagu, Emad, Zameer, Rini, Albin, Azmath…
And to Jamal and Zoher too!
I am extremely encouraged and humbled to see that Mush Talks have had over 36,000 views on YouTube since the first one in May 2016! This one was recorded at Hong Kong airport this morning, edited during the flight, and uploaded during transit at Dubai airport…
This talk was inspired by how Mashal (my 19-year daughter) fulfilled her dream of going to the US with her own money, through the 4-steps I’ve been using and teaching for many years: Dream, Goal, Plan and Action. She had been working part-time and on weekends, with her full-time studies, and saving for over two years. What made it possible was her focus on small goals – the number of hours she needed to work every week and the amount she had to save every month – and doing it consistently. She left yesterday for three weeks of holiday and three months of studies at the Savannah campus of SCAD!
Here are some quotes about ‘small steps’ for further inspiration:
I could script these talks, do a few rehearsals, record professionally with mics and lights, edit better, put music and effects and titles and captions… but then I wouldn’t be able to do one a week. I hope these zero-cost productions are still good enough to inspire some.
You may watch Mush Talks #1-10 here. And please feel free to leave comments below 🙂
Wow, I am so happy with myself – 10 videos in 12 weeks! Also quite surprised and extremely grateful at the number of views, particularly Mush Talks #2 (6800 views) and Mush Talks #9 (4100 views). Thank you for watching and sharing!
Five related quotes:
You may watch Mush Talks #1-9 here.
While packing for the move, I saw some of my childhood pictures that reminded me how scared I used to be, of so many things – darkness, loneliness, dogs, water/drowning, heights and more. And I realised how so many people go through their entire lives with one or more fears. That inspired this blog post. Sorry, no ‘Mush Talks‘ this Sunday.
I am not an expert on overcoming fears, but have successfully applied a simple strategy for anything I was scared of: Jump right in. That’s what made it possible not only to overcome many of the fears, but enjoy some of the most memorable adventures like scuba diving, skydiving, zip-lining, swimming with whale sharks etc. I hope these quotes and the skydive video inspire you to overcome at least one of your fears. If they don’t, then just jump right in!
- There is no illusion greater than fear. Lao Tzu
- The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Nelson Mandela
- He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life. Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out. Karl Augustus Menninger
- Fear: False Evidence Appearing Real. Unknown
- I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today. William Allen White
- Fear is only as deep as the mind allows. Japanese Proverb
- Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. Helen Keller
- The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear. Gandhi
- Courage is not the absence of fear. It’s the ability to act in the presence of fear. Bruce Lee
You may view some more of my travel videos here.