Here are 8 keys that every Muslim Entrepreneur can leverage to not only set great goals, but achieve them with ease!

—

1. Set your Intention (Niyyah)

Our intention is not only an important part of our worship as Muslims, but also plays an integral part in our daily affairs.

Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said in a hadith “Actions are judged by motives, so each man will have what he intended…”

When one intends good, he will receive good.

When one intends evil, he will receive evil.

So whatever deed or action we will be undertaking for the day, may we always remind ourselves to put into our hearts and minds that we do it for the sake of Allah and to seek His pleasure alone.

2. Cultivate gratitude.

Fostering positive psychology brings magic in so many ways especially during this time of the year where sadness, anxiety, and depression are rampant.

If we start the day by writing down 3 things we are grateful for, we focus more on what we have instead of what we lack and on what we can do instead of what we can’t.

There are so many ways to cultivate gratitude which includes performing our daily obligatory prayers, writing in a journal, celebrating small wins, listening to motivational podcasts, and practicing mindfulness.

3. Plan your day the night before.

Writing down what needs to get done the night before is a great way to ensure we start the workday strong.

While it’s true that not everything will go according to our plans, having a plan is much better than having no plan at all.

So before going to bed, writing down our tasks, short-term goals, and scheduled meetings and breaking them down into smaller manageable goals will greatly help us declutter our minds and prepare us to be more alert and proactive for the next day.

4. Read.

Most of us couldn’t simply find the time to read because we are either too tired to pick up a book or maybe we just don’t have the willpower to do so.

The thing is, we don’t need to over-read.

We only need 15 minutes a day and that’s already around 20 books in an entire year!

Now, who would’ve thought about that?

Well, it’s the power of consistency.

By reading every morning, we start the day filled with inspiration helping us to become more creative and keeping us laser-focused on our goals.

5. Have realistic goals and set specific deadlines.

Nothing is more frustrating than to list down tasks we won’t be able to accomplish with our current limited potential and resources.

By listing down 30-50 things we’d like to achieve for the month, for the next month, for 6 months, for 1 year, for 5 years, and for 10 years from now, we give ourselves the ample time to track our progress, appreciate our growth and determine which of these goals are we really willing and able to work towards.

Doing this ensures that there is a realistic chance we will be able to achieve these goals given the right circumstances.

6. Surround yourself with the right people.

This idea of having someone better than us contributes a lot to our personal and career success. That’s why it’s very important to be with people who are winners.

If our friends and colleagues are people who are ambitious, goal-oriented and desperate to achieve something big in their lives, then we’ll most likely adapt their habits, traits, and lifestyle.

To fully realize our great potential, we need to challenge ourselves to review and rethink our social media and real-life “friends” and start finding the right people that will actually help us get there.

7. Have people who will make you accountable.

As we set our goals and outline plans for moving ourselves forward in work and life, accountability is key. We need cheerleaders. We need a support system.

We need people who share our struggles and can give us solid inputs on where we’re at with our goals.

Teaming up with a partner or being involved in a group significantly increases our personal accountability and helps us destroy our bad procrastination habits.

Because when someone else is expecting action from us, it’s easier for us to commit to the process and we tend to become more conscious of sticking to deadlines.

8. Fail Forward.

John Maxwell said, “Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward”. And it’s true.

We have to be open to every experience as an opportunity to learn something new.

To tell you, the most successful people today are usually the ones who are best at failing and learning from what went wrong.

Because in reality, we will spend much of our lives making mistakes.

But remember, if we’re not failing, then we’re probably not really moving forward.

The essence of man is imperfection. Nothing worth achieving comes easily.

So the next time you find yourself being insecure about what other people have achieved, acknowledge that they might have been through many challenges and hardships that you cannot see on the surface.

After all, we have our own narratives but the most important thing is we took risks, we embraced adversities, and we make failures as a regular part of our lives to continuously grow and become better than yesterday.