Corporate Sufi
A to Z Series
VLOG WALL
Are you ready to experience more joy, more purpose, more personal power? From talks on how to empower your time, to learning simple techniques on personal effectiveness to answering questions on work-place challenges or understanding how to deal with a difficult colleague, Azim’s nuggets of wisdom curated from his experiences around the globe will challenge and inspire you to be your best.
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Subscribe to the Corporate Sufi Channel and join Azim on a fascinating journey, as he shares his stories, struggles and triumphs to bring home the essence of the life changing triad of Business, Balance & Beyond.
A to Z Series
Intro to Series
This video is Azim Jamal’s personal introduction to the Series. In this series, The Corporate Sufi: A to Z, we shall be exploring, alphabetically, foundational premises that marry the concepts of “Corporate” and “Sufi”.
Also in this edition, we start our journey through the Corporate Sufi alphabet, beginning naturally, with the letter “A” = Awareness.
Awareness is the starting point for the Corporate Sufi.
B - Belief
In this edition we continue our journey through the Corporate Sufi alphabet with the letter “B” for Belief. While awareness is the starting point for the Corporate Sufi, belief is the springboard. Catapulting the drive for material success, beliefs propel us to persist, and sustain us in our quest for significance. In this talk, Azim walks you through the Sufi concept of belief, and how you can harness its power to achieve your dreams.
D - Death
"Die before you die.” - Jalaludin Rumi (13th century Persian poet, jurist, theologian and Sufi Mystic)
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To the Sufi, there is no better understanding of renewal than in the appreciation of death. How is this related to Business, Balance and Beyond? In this video on the letter “D” for Death, Azim explores Rumi’s sentiment as it relates to the Sufi concept of death, and specifically, on the role of the ego. After spending over 10,000 hours researching happiness and unhappiness for his first book, THE SEVEN STEPS TO LASTING HAPPINESS, Azim has determined that most of the unhappiness in life comes from your ego. He sheds light on the apparent dichotomy of how the death of your ego can put on a journey towards realizing uncovering your true potential.
F - Family
With Family as the focus of discussion, Azim explains how the word "Family" is not just simply an expression of your lineage, but how it extends right from the harmony within one’s own body, mind and soul to the world at large.
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H - Harmony
All life aims towards harmony. There is a certain harmony, even in the hum of the universe. For a Sufi, true harmony arises only when they are at peace with themselves and are aligned with their higher purpose of being one with the creator. Here Azim explains five key points which define harmony for a Corporate Sufi and the significance of incorporating the three vital elements of business, balance and beyond for creating an inspiring and fulfilling life.
J - Joy
Joy is an expression of inexplicable delight, which goes beyond the subjective confines of happiness or pleasure. It is independent, limitless and unconditional. It arises in us and not outside of us, yet we find it difficult to hold on to it. As we come one step closer to spooling the alphabet and explore the letter "J", let's explore the mystery of this omnipresent yet seemingly elusive feeling called Joy and watch how we can reclaim our right to joy. Relearn the art of joyful living, having fun at work, being alive and passionate about what you do.
L - Love
Love is the purest, deepest, and most profound force of nature. It binds all of us in an unending cosmic dance of coming together and parting. It is free, unfettered, independent of circumstances, all pervading yet elusive and larger than us. It has nothing to do with how attractive, powerful, or capable you are. You can never hope to capture, control, or retain it. Only by surrendering to it, can you experience it. Watch Azim talk about the very essence of being a Corporate Sufi, the art of unconditional loving; with your family, friends, work, society, nature, country, the entire cosmos.
N - Now
In this Vlog we examine the power of ‘now’, the context of the present moment and the realm of possibility contained within it. For the letter "N" Azim talks about the importance of tending each moment with the complete power of your intention and focus, and not hindering its potentiality by burdening it with the past or future.
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P - Perseverance
Perseverance is often the defining factor between having a dream and living it. So how do we grow this quality and make it a part of our living fabric? How do we grow our perseverance? We explore with Azim the different facets of life and business where the power of perseverance comes into play, and learn what it takes to make those crucial life-changing choices.
R - Rumi
“You are not just a drop in the ocean, you are the mighty ocean in the drop.” - Rumi
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Azim expands on this beautiful quote by Rumi and explains how the dropping of your ego can in fact enable you to realize and embrace your magnificence.
T - Time
Our value of ourselves is intimately connected with the value we place on the time allotted to us. How you spend your time can determine the results you create. When we lose time, we are also losing a bit of ourselves; losing the opportunity to live out our dream lives, losing the chance to experience magic so abundantly strewn in countless moments, losing the possibility of actualizing our potential, and be who we are truly meant to be. Azim points out common time wasters and how we can create more value in time, be it the time we spend on our family or on work.
V - Victory
Here Azim cautions against sticking to well-rehearsed scripts about victory by comparing it to success, and instead tells us to move beyond success towards significance. This is possible only when we take a larger and more long-term view of victory; defining what victory actually means to us beyond the narrow frame of societal interpretations and also why we want a particular victory. Only this understanding can free us from mindless pursuits, infuse more significance and create harmony of business, balance and beyond in our lives.
X - Unknown
"Life is churning, moving, and evolving every second. Change is the only constant."
Here Azim talks about how we can either view life as uncertain, fearsome and uncontrollable or as bursting with possibilities, adventure and wonder. It all depends on our perspective. He gives examples to explain how choosing a ‘seemingly’ secure life might prevent us from challenging our perceived limitations and embracing change to lead inspired and fulfilling lives.
A - Awareness
What do people like Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Ratan Tata, Walt Disney, Sam Walton have in common? Their unwavering desire to meet needs – to fix problems and make things better. In this episode, Azim shares how awareness is the precursor, the kernel from which needs are revealed. Without awareness, Azim maintains that our vision is limited and that we see without really observing. So how do we become more aware, stay alert to the changes around us and address the real needs behind the drudgery of everyday living? Find this and much more in this intriguing video on awareness, the first step to inspired living.
C - Clarity
The starting point of every goal begins with clarity. If you are not clear about your goal or how this fits into your overall life purpose, why do it at all? Here Azim discusses how we can bring clarity in our daily actions, goals, objectives, and our larger life purpose. Clarity harmonizes the now and the beyond. Sufi clarity of your ultimate purpose, when aligned with corporate clarity of your business vision, is pivotal to achieving balance. Join Azim as he takes you along on a ride of our exploration of the Corporate Sufi alphabet, with the letter “C” for Clarity.
E - Engagement
Engagement is the act of relating to someone or something with your full awareness. A Sufi engages with life utterly and completely, surrendering himself to the whole. Azim highlights how in the heart of deep engagement with anything, lies the seed of its understanding.
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G - Goal
We all have certain dreams and aspirations. These are not only lofty ideas, but are signals of how large and magnificent our life canvas can become. In this Vlog, Azim explores the different approaches with which both a Sufi and a Corporate engage to affirm whether their actions are aligned with their goals. While for a Sufi, the ultimate goal in life is to become one with his or her creator, for a corporate, an enlightened and empowered vision which goes beyond the profit motive defines the corporate goal. Also learn the powerful Corporate Sufi ten-step progress plan to successful goal setting.
I - Integrity
Integrity is the force that unites our varied self-expressions, anchoring them into a complete, undivided, organic expression of who we are. Azim goes beyond the ramifications of daily life and business to explore the role of integrity as a link between the self and the creator. Learn how integrity can form the foundation of your authentic power.
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K - Kairos
Azim elaborates on the concept of ‘kairos’ and explains how the life we want, is not about getting more time but about creating valuable time, moments that matter. It is then that we are able to experience life in its full glory.
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M - Meditation
We spend a significant amount of time in our lives mired in endless activity, away from the comforting quietness of our inner being. In this talk, we explore the wonderful world of meditation, a place where we meet ourselves and awaken to the conscious awareness of the present moment. Azim takes you through his own personal experiences with meditation and its role in steering his life in the right direction. He explains how meditation can serve as a powerful tool for inspiration as well as differentiating between what is really important in life and what is just urgent but not really important. Learn about the science of meditation and how you can use it to create a more inspired and empowered way to live.
O - Oneness
Oneness is the cradle of all beginnings and endings. In this Vlog, Azim brings forth the real meaning of oneness in a corporate and familial context and explains how diversity of strengths, skills and opinions are in fact a precursor to unleashing the inherent power of oneness. He further highlights how the Sufi looks beyond the immediate context or background of others to acknowledge and celebrate the common source of all 'beingness'.
Q - Quality
Watch Azim explain how the pursuit of quality can help us to achieve more by doing less. He illustrates this dichotomy with the anecdote of a young apple seller in Tajikistan.
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S - Selfless
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"If selfishness is the key to being miserable, then selflessness must be the key to being happy!" - Joyce Meyer
Here Azim explores the most common fears and perceptions associated with the word ‘selfless’ and goes on to explain how being selfless can become a very powerful behavioral trait to transform your relationships and enhance the quality to your life experiences.
U - Understanding
Azim explains that the essence of understanding lies in being open, in listening rather than talking. He takes you through real life examples that show real communication is not so much about talking, as about listening.
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W - Wisdom
"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." - Aristotle
In this week’s Vlog, Azim demystifies the process of acquiring wisdom, right from collecting raw data to processing and analyzing it to draw key insights, which then form the source of wisdom. He elaborates the methods to draw these insights both in our personal and corporate lives, helping us achieve the harmony of business, balance and beyond.
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Y - Yearning
Yearning is often seen as a negative word, indicating a sense of lack, or absence of something. To some, it even implies a confession of weakness or dependence. But yearning can be a powerful force when it is used as an outlet for self-growth. Azim talks about the significance of our yearning or earnest and burning desire in all areas of our life, be it work or personal life. He says that if you do not have a burning desire, make it your burning desire to find your burning desire. For it is our yearning that propels us forward.
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Z - Zest
"Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest." - Christian Dior
Azim talks about how zest has the power to transform all areas of our life. He illuminates how in the absence of zest, we limit or rather dampen the outcome of whatever we are trying to achieve. He goes on to reveal the inexplicable link between feeling full of zest and becoming a great leader.