Inspiring Principles A Speech by HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
at The 9th International Government Communication Forum
Sharjah-The United Arab Emirates Tuesday, March 3rd 2020
HH Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah,
Your Highnesses, Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today while I humbly stand here to respectfully address this esteemed gathering, I declare that I am the least knowledgeable among you. I am not here to inspire, rather than actually be inspired by all of you.
I have always been inspired by great leaders and guided by their wisdom, knowledge and their rich cultural tradition. I hereby affirm that I am honored by the support of His Highness, the patron of this event. I learned a lot from Your Highness, from your knowledge and morals. I attribute any success of mine to what I learned from my best mentor. Your Highness, Prince of Ethics, Prince of Science, Prince of Culture, I so deeply thank you for your support and guidance.
I am also indebted to many other great leaders to whom I will always remain grateful. We just listened to the great speech of one of them: His Royal Highness Prince El-Hasan bin Talal of Jordan, known for his prominent and generous character. Allow me also to salute Her Excellency Ms. Irina Bokova, former UNESCO Executive Director who I had the honor to work with in many positions I chaired at the United Nations.
For half a century, I was inspired by great leaders, by the principles I have learned from them: the "Inspiring Principles,"
I learned that:
1. Everything a human mind imagines is a fact awaiting realization.
2. Everything that you may wonder about being possible will prove to be.
3. Humans fail when we stop trying. No matter how many times you fail while you are still trying, this means that you haven't failed.
4. God helps people to achieve their goals when they have the will to do so.
5. We must exercise the 'power of willingness” so that our Almighty God blesses our endeavor.
6. Artificial Intelligence will control our future, change our life and change everything.
7. The best partnerships in my life were with governments which honored me with their confidence for decades and were my best supporters during my journey.
8. Love is the most powerful weapon. It is wonderful to love or be loved.
9. Love is the most contagious disease; it is harder than the coronavirus.
10. Love is the most powerful and enjoyable disease in the world.
11. Two most powerful tools of success are: in keeping silent and smiling. This is because a smile solves many problems, while silence protects us from any problems.
12. A monthly income may help me not to be poor but, it will not make me rich either.
13. Circumstances do not make us. They only enable us to discover ourselves and our abilities.
14. If you purchase today what you do not need, you will soon have to sell what you need the day after.
15. You judge a person's character by watching the way he or she interacts with people with whom he or she has no interest. This defines what that person is.
16. Rest is harmful to health; and those who wish to stay healthy need to work hard. Those who wish to sleep well at night must work hard during the day. There is no connection between peace of mind and physical rest. The proof is that our heart which keeps us alive beats continuously without rest. The moment the heart rests life ends.
17. Hardships do not last, but hard people do last. There is no despair in the law of nature, and that applies to all of us. The lion does not give up chasing his prey although he knows that his success rate is minimal. One should never give up trying even when success is not guaranteed. Winners focus on winning, but leaders focus on winners. This is exactly a precious lesson I learned.
18. At schools and colleges, we learn and sit for tests; in life we face tests and then learn lessons.
19. I do not need a teacher to teach me. I need someone to guide me and correct my mistakes. That is why we need to change the education system in our institutions. I have addressed this issue in my speeches in Harvard, Columbia, MIT and other forums. I said that our current education system is harmful to our children. I challenged them to name a teacher who has knowledge to give students which they cannot find on the net.
20. Traditional education has reached its end. We must redirect our strategies towards education for the purpose of "innovation." In this world the objective of learning must be for the purpose of innovation, not just for the objective of passing exams.
21. True happiness is about making others happy and not only making yourself happy. It is a nice feeling to see happiness in the eyes of those whom you make happy, and that is the true happiness.
22. Suffering is a blessing. Suffering is a curse only for those who fail to turn their suffering into blessed positive opportunities. Every sufferer must thank God for granting him the experience of suffering so that he or she can turn it into a graceful and an enjoyable opportunity. This has been my experience all along.
23. Community service is not a favor done to others, a generous gesture, or a charity. Rather, it is a duty, businessmen must perform to return the favors for the benefits their communities had originally bestowed upon them. All that I own is a blessing from my society, and when I do something for my society, I am only returning the favor done to me. It is a way of expressing appreciation and saying thank you.
24. Forgive your enemies, but always remember their names.
25. I am indebted to those who may not like me because they are the ones who protect me from myself and from my mistakes. They alert me to be more careful. Because I know they are watching me and waiting for me to make mistakes, they deserve the credit for not letting me make mistakes.
26. The one who asks for an advice, even if he is better informed than the one whose advice is sought, adds one more opinion to his own; according to 'Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa'.
27. Knowledge is like a small island in a sea of ignorance. The more I learn about something, the more I become ignorant about something else. Only the ignorant believes he knows everything. The more the island's borders of knowledge become wider, the more exposure it has to ignorance.
28. The Internet is the only environment in the world where full equality between people is realized. On the Internet we are only IP addresses, and we are all equal. As Arabs this is a great historic opportunity for us to restore our superiority and glory once again as leaders of the world, as we did for centuries in the past.
29. I respect other people's ways of thinking, and I know that I don't own the truth. I have to look for it because if it was as clear as sunshine, then we could not see it.
30. I should not sleep and dream about success. On the contrary, I have to wake up early, work hard to achieve success. I always feel that by attending gatherings, I learn from you. I am honored by you and through you and for being among you. As I have already said: You are better than I am and more knowledgeable and of higher stature.
Thank you, Your Highness, for your Patronage of this ceremony. Since the day I met you, half a century ago, you have been my true role model and inspirer, and I give you the whole credit for what I have achieved today and until I die .Thank You Indeed.
The 9th International Government Communication Forum Sharjah-The United Arab Emirates