Hazrat ALI (AS) – WEALTH OR KNOWLEDGE.WHICH IS BETTER

Hazrat Ali (AS) once replied to a group of ten learned men who said, 'We seek your permission for our putting a question to you.'


Imam Ali (AS) replied, 'You are at perfect liberty.'


They said, 'of knowledge and wealth, which is better and why. Please give a separate answer to each of us

Imam Ali (AS) answered in ten parts:
1. Knowledge is the legacy of the Prophets; wealth is the inheritance of the Pharaohs. Therefore, knowledge is better than wealth


2. You are to guard your wealth but knowledge guards you. Therefore, knowledge is better.


3. A man of wealth has many enemies, while a man of knowledge has many friends. Hence, knowledge is better.


4. Knowledge is better because it increases with distribution, while wealth decreases by that act.


5. Knowledge is better because a learned man is apt to be generous while a wealthy person is apt to be miserly.


6. Knowledge is better because it cannot be stolen while wealth can be stolen.


7. Knowledge is better because time cannot harm knowledge but wealth rusts in course of time and wears away.


8. Knowledge is better because it is boundless while wealth is limited and you can keep account of it.


9. Knowledge is better because it illuminates the mind while wealth is apt to blacken it.


10. Knowledge is better because knowledge induced the humanity in our Prophet to say to GOD 'we worship thee as we are your servants,' while wealth engendered in Pharaoh and Nimrod the vanity which made them claim godhead.

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"The six keys to success".

"The six keys to success".

Right off the bat:
Don't confuse how much money one has as to his or her success!

These keys will not unlock any opportunities of success without first having a strong and unfailing faith in God or that Being which is greater than you.
Please don't go through life as your "own little god."

I encourage you to memorize these six keys
by using the word ADVICE to do so.

1. Attitude
   Bloom where you are planted. You have a choice to get back up after temporary set backs. Attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference!
   
   
2. Direction
   If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there. Write your short term goals down on paper. I have discovered and continue to discover that putting your dreams and goals down on paper lock in or focus your belief that they can be achieved--even if you have to take a course correction in achieving your goals. Success comes in cans, failure comes in can'ts.
   
   
3. Values
   Explore what is important to you. Maybe it is family, friends, your spirituality or working hard at any given task. I can assure you that your priorities will change as you grow older. Very important that you value yourself and treat yourself like the valuable gift from God that you are.
   
   
4. Interests
   Birds of a feather flock together. This is to say that if you are hanging around winners or others with a "can do" mind-set, you'll likely adapt to this same kind of thinking. Remember--"SUCCESS LEAVES CLUES!
   
   
5. Commitment
   Feelings may change, commitments do not. "Success is getting up one more time than you fall." I have often wanted to give up, and then I must think to myself about what the consequences of giving up will be. Generally, this is more than enough of a motivation to make us stick to the task at hand even if we don't feel like it. When the task is achieved, Whow!--IT FEELS GREAT!
   
   
6. Encouragement
   Be an encourager and comforter to friends that are feeling discouraged. I promise that you will not regret this as you will be encouraged by one, if not many, when you are feeling down. Encouragement and love are contagious qualities that can change the minds of the most stubborn and "hard-to-get- along-with" people you know. I have seen it happen over and over again.

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The 5 Best Hero Lessons

I wrote a column called “Heroes Among Us” for the Orange County Register, Sun Post News for years. The stories focused on people who did heroic things, so that we may all learn from them. Every year I wrap up with the best hero lessons. From well over 100 hero lessons each year, the following are the top five. Several lessons apply to many of the heroes. Since I believe we all have the capability to live a great life, a life that is heroic, these are things that you, too, can do. You can create a better world around you. Your good actions will affect us all.

My definition of a hero is “someone who helps someone in time of need. “We all need that help, but we also are here to give that help. May these traits help you in the year to come.

Here they are:

1. Create a New Reality
We need new ways of thinking and doing things. Herb Modelevsky, M.D. donates his time by appearing in hospitals as a real clown. Herbie the Clown” cheers up the children who are sick. Herbie helps them, not escape their lives, but create a new way to think about their circumstances. By creating a different reality, the children can see themselves in the world that Herbie opens up. Fun, laughter and the possibility of a clown in a hospital, make the children smile. Herbie shows them there is magic everywhere. Create a new reality that includes a better life for all of us. Use fantasy and magic and play.

2. Take Unexpected Opportunities as the Gifts They Are
Hero Alice Netzen, age 91, still performs. She sings her beautiful heart out to the people of Southern California. Alice started performing in vaudeville. She had her own radio show back then. That got her career going. Alice’s boyfriend auditioned for a radio program. He didn’t get the radio show but he coaxed Alice into auditioning. She took the chance and beat out 648 other competitors to have her own radio program during the dinner hour. That was an opportunity that changed her life.

3. Time is the Most Important Thing in the World
For Cyndi Martin and other heroes, time is far more valuable than money. Most of Cyndi’s time is spent doing whatever she can to help her son Taylor to live as normal a life as possible. Taylor has NF-2, a rare genetic disease that creates a series of tiny tumors that attach to the brain, the central nervous system, and the spinal cord. Cyndi states “Don’t focus on the things. Focus on the time you have with people.” In families, in business, no matter what you do, it is the “time” we spend with people, with ourselves, or with God, that is the most important thing.

4. Hold on For the Long Term
Almost every hero realized that change may take awhile, especially social change. These heroes keep going even if the results aren’t instant. Cultural changes take time “especially when you are talking about children,” says Dr. Francis Mead-Messinger. “You don’t really know until children get into their twenties what kind of an impact something may have.” This probably goes back to her roots. Her great-grandmother was full-blooded Choctaw. They think generations ahead in their decisions. Our purpose is given wings through our actions. Any action toward your worthwhile goal is also worth holding on to, until it manifests.

5. You Can Always Give
Many heroes build their lives around giving. It gives them great joy inside to give. They give to help others. That is what I consider to be a true hero. No matter what life throws at you, you can always find a way…to give.

Put these traits into your own life and watch as you take a step toward bringing out that hero in you!

Live like a hero!

Terri Marie

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