Loud Thinking

Archive for October, 2013

An Open letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Sports Affairs in the country – Way forward

Honourable Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Sahab,

AoA.

Sir,

It may not be a news for you that Pakistanis are a true sports loving people. Nothing unites the nation more than the news of an international level victory in any sporting arena. I am greatly surprised about the fact, that why our successive governments failed to channelise the energy of our youth, towards the various traditional and non traditional sports, to lure them away from the engulfing culture of drugs and related crimes.

It should also be understood that Pakistanis not just only love the sports, they also understand its very basics as well. While victories are celebrated like a festival, defeats suffered after putting up a good fight, are also duly appreciated.

Nevertheless, the masses are so intelligent that they can easily smell the rat, when our teams lose to the minnows like Bangladesh, Ireland and Zimbabwe etc. Similarly, the whole nation knows how politics coupled with corruption, has spoiled the sports in the country, which has earned the distinction of the worlds BIGGEST nation, NOT to have earned a single medal in the Olympics, since the year 1992. While much smaller and poorer countries like Ethiopia and Kenya, have proved that winning medals at international levels is just a matter of commitment, dedication and simple hard work, sans politics.

In the past, luckily our cricket, hockey, squash and some other sporting teams and players have been bringing laurels for Pakistan; with very little money, extremely small size governing boards and minimal politics. Gradually, the foundations of key sports in Pakistan were eaten up by the greed of money, rampant corruption, nepotism, politics and incompetencies of the successive governments, sports managers and the players combined.

If, we have to put the sports in Pakistan back on the right track, two basic things are necessary. Firstly, a vision and secondly, visionary leaders, to put Pakistan back on top, at the worlds’ sports map.

As far as, the vision is concerned, nothing ever said about sports can match the following quote of Mr. Nelson Mandela, “Sport has the power to change the world…it has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.”

Now, taking a cue from the above mentioned statement of Mr. Nelson Mandela, it is suggested that Pakistani government should slightly re-phrase it and declare the following as its mission statement: “Sports has the power to change Pakistan…it has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite Pakistani people in a way that little else does. It speaks to the Pakistani youth in a language they understand. Sports can create hope for the entire Pakistani nation where once there was only despair, lawlessness, hunger, poverty, drugs, suicide bombings and alarming increase of suicides, due to the economic hardships. It is more powerful than government in breaking down the menace of terrorism which has blown the country to the smithereens.”

Coming to the visionary leadership, may be Pakistan is very lucky in the sense that its current Prime Minister, is himself a born sportsman. Moreover, if in the past, we had world class sports administrators cum leaders, like Syed Wajid Ali, AIS Dara, Brig. Rodham, AH Kardar, Air Marshal Noor Khan and last but not the least Zakir Hussain Syed; then even today we are lucky to have a great sports administrator cum leader (AVM Farooq Umar), who can be appointed as advisor to the PM, for revamping the entire sports canvas of Pakistan, in consultation with the provincial governments, all the sports governing bodies and sports lovers of the country.

The need for a dedicated advisor to the PM on sports matters is all the more urgent and necessary, keeping in view of the imminent lurking danger of the imposition of international sporting ban, on the participation of Pakistani players, due to the dispute, arising out of the warring sports bodies in the country, which may cause unimaginable and irreparable loss to the sports in Pakistan.

it is hoped that the above submissions, if juxtaposed with your recently announced package for youth, may bring the desired results for which, you have been dreaming about, for so long.

Wishing you all the success and Godspeed in your endeavours to turn around Pakistan, in all walks of life.

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Lahore.

Sent from my iPad3 4G LTE

Recipe for Happiness

“To be happy, you don’t have to do anything new. You just have to remember how to believe again… Believe everything good is possible. Believe in your dreams. Believe in people. Believe in love. But most of all… Believe in yourself.”

— Doe Zantamata

Mark Twain

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

What is your goal? Do you aspire to be a great actor or singer? Do you want to make your mark in sports? Do you see yourself as an iconic business leader in the future? Whatever your goal, you can make it happen. You can be the next Bill Gates or Elvis Presley, if you set your heart on your goal. All you need is a push in the right direction.

In the case of J. K. Rowling, it was the fact that she had nothing to fall back on. She made failure the foundation on which she built her life. In the case of others such as Einstein, Lincoln, and Jobs, it was sheet grit and the ability to persevere. In the case of Oprah Winfrey, Walt Disney, and Henry Ford, well, they were not afraid of rejection.

Steve Jobs, the iconic creator of Apple computers, is instrumental in revolutionizing the technology industry. Jobs went through a period of struggle during his early days. Later he was fired from the company he created. Despite going through rough weather, Steve Jobs emerged successful, with many new companies and projects under his belt. He came back to Apple and turned around the company to make it a formidable leader in the technology industry.

J. K. Rowling, the renowned author of the Harry Potter series of books, began her writing career when she was going through the lowest period of her life. Jobless and divorced, Rowling used to write in cafes, while tending to her baby daughter, who would sleep by her side. She considered herself the “biggest failure I ever knew” but did not let her failure deter her spirit.

Abraham Lincoln, the renowned president of United States of America had a humble beginning. He failed many times while he attempted to run for office. He would not have tasted success, had he given up midway!

Albert Einstein was a slow learner at school. He was expelled for his poor learning ability. Today we know him as the father of modern physics.

Napoleon Hill

Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire, which transcends everything.