Luasnya Pengampunan Allah SWT

Daripada Anas bin Malik r.a. berkata, bahawa dia mendengar Rasulullah SAW bersabda, bahawa Allah SWT berfirman:

Maksudnya: "Wahai anak Adam, selagi engkau meminta dan berharap kepadaKu maka Aku mengampuni segala dosamu yang telah lalu, dan Aku tidak akan mempedulikannya. Wahai anak Adam, jika dosamu sampai setinggi langit lalu engkau meminta ampun kepadaKu nescaya Ku ampuni. Wahai anak Adam, jika engkau datang kepadaKu dengan kesalahan seluas permukaan bumi, lalu engkau menemuiKu tanpa menyekutukan sesuatu pun denganKu, nescaya Aku datang padamu dengan ampunan seluas bumi pula."

(Riwayat at-Tirmizi no: 3534 dan al Baghawi dalam Syarhus Sunnah)

Pengajaran:

1. Bagaimana mendapatkan keampunan daripada dosa yang telah dilakukan?

• Berdoalah dengan diiringi harapan agar dimakbulkan.
• Fokus serta konsentrasi ketika meminta doa. Doa tidak diterima daripada hati orang yang lalai dan kosong daripada harapan.
• Ketaatan yang bersungguh-sungguh kepada Allah SWT.
• Penuh keyakinan tanpa sebarang keraguan.
• Tidak terburu-buru mengharapkan doa segera dimakbulkan Allah SWT.
• Mencari rezeki yang halal. 

2. Permohonan seorang hamba Allah boleh dialihkan Allah SWT kepada yang lebih baik.

3. Hendaklah memenuhi adab-adab ketika serta tempat berdoa.

4. Mintalah ampun walau sebesar mana dosa yang telah dilakukan.

5. Istighfar (permohonan ampun) hendaklah diikuti dengan taubat (meninggalkan dosa dan tidak mengulanginya).

6. Jika kita meminta ampun tetapi tetap melakukan dosa, maka ada kemungkinan permohonan ampunan kita tidak diterima Allah SWT.

7. Orang yang berdusta dalam bertaubat seperti orang yang ingin menuai padi tetapi tidak pernah menanamnya atau orang yang ingin mendapatkan anak tetapi belum berkahwin.

8. Berjanjilah dalam taubat untuk tidak mengulangi sesuatu dosa itu.

9. Orang yang telah melakukan dosa yang tidak terkira banyaknya hendaklah meminta ampun daripada Allah SWT.

10. Seseorang yang telah beristighfar hendaklah berasa yang ia bernaung di bawah zat Yang Maha Pengampun, Maha Penyayang, Maha Mengetahui dan Maha Bijaksana sehingga hatinya berasa tenang, dan dadanya berasa lapang. Ia merasakan kasih dan keredhaan Allah SWT sentiasa bersamanya. Ini akan menjadikan ia optimis dalam mengharungi kehidupan baru.

11. Hendaklah berbaik sangka dengan Allah SWT.

12. Kuatkan perasaan takut kepada Allah SWT apabila kita berada dalam keadaan sihat dan kuatkan perasaan berharap apabila kita berada dalam keadaan sakit atau terdesak.

13. Bertauhid kepada Allah adalah kunci mendapat keampunan. Orang yang beriman dan tidak melakukan syirik tidak kekal dalam neraka, akhirnya akan dimasukkan ke dalam syurga.

Proactive versus Reactive Thinking

Proactive Vs. Reactive Thinking

By Al Bondigas, eHow Contributor

Proactive thinkers see the possibility of problems developing before they do.

In business and in life, success is often determined by how a person thinks things through.

A reactive thinker may battle crisis after crisis, but a proactive one seems to have everything figured out beforehand and can better deal with the curve balls life throws. Often a person seems extraordinarily lucky in life and in business, but this luck can be traced to the foresight and vision that is the hallmark of good proactive thinking.

Definition of Reactive Thinking

Reactive thinking is crisis-based thinking, coming up with solutions after problems develop. Reactive thinking responds to the situation. A reactive thinker often spends too much of his time fighting fires. A reactive thinker is easily blindsided by circumstances. A crisis-driven reactive thinker may be more prone to feeling stress.

Definition of Proactive Thinking

Proactive thinking, on the other hand, involves foresight. To be proactive means to think ahead, in anticipation of future changes or problems. It means covering your bases to include all possible scenarios. A proactive thinker will have several contingencies in mind. A proactive thinker sees the likelihood of crises before they happen

Real-Life Reactive

A person who lives from paycheck to paycheck may be a reactive thinker. She's staying even, meeting the crises as they come up. In business, a reactive thinker faces a financial or personnel crisis and deals with it on the spot. Setting a plan may have little to do with proactive or reactive thinking; a reactive thinker's blueprint may be short on realistic contingencies and too general to be truly proactive. Reactive thinking is better suited for day-to-day management.

Real-Life Proactive

A proactive thinker builds a personal budget, sets something aside for crises and takes initiative. In business, he is the one who screens prospective employees to determine who best fits in the organization, and he is the one who asks "what if." He may be at odds with reactive-thinking people; they don't see as far ahead as he does. There is an element of risk in proactive thinking; the premises and scenarios may be wrong. Proactive thinking doesn't always work in day-to-day business situations, and it's easy to get locked into a plan while ignoring what is really going on.

Becoming Proactive

A reactive thinker may need to revamp her personal management style if she wishes to become more proactive. Shee will need to devote more effort to seeing potential consequences of a plan and ways to address these issues as they come up. Sometimes this means disconnecting from a plan and viewing it from different perspectives. It takes time to think proactively, though, and a proactive thinker may have difficulty swaying co-workers who need an actual cause to get them moving.

Read more: Define Proactive Vs. Reactive Thinking | eHow http://www.ehow.com/about_6642468_define-proactive-vs_-reactive-thinking.html#ixzz2W0gRplLX

Employee Motivation - The 5 Master Keys for Success

Employee Motivation - The 5 Master Keys
for Success

How to build employee motivation by creating an environment that rewards excellence at every level

By JP Maroney, CEO
http://www.PeopleBuilders.com

Employee motivation is a mystery for many managers. But, it doesn't have to be. Instead, understanding how motivation impacts employee performance, and understanding how to use motivation to improve performance can be reduced to five master keys. Organizations desiring to improve employee motivation need a system in place that consistently rewards employee achievements. I'm always surprised how few organizations have such a system. 

However, not all employees respond to the same motivations. Each person has his or her own likes and dislikes, passions, interests and desires. The role of the successful manager is to learn how to identify what motivates each employee, and learn how to leverage those motives to simultaneously fulfill the goals of the organization, as well as the goals of each employee. 

The five key employee motivation factors include: satisfaction, appreciation, recognition, inspiration and compensation. 

1. Employee Motivation By Building Satisfaction

In their book "The Service Profit Chain," James Heskett, W. Earl Sasser, and Leonard Schlesinger make a compelling case that regardless your business, the only way to generate sustained profits is to build a work environment that attracts, focuses, and keeps talented employees. In other words, they have to be motivated to show up, get committed and perform at a level of excellence. 

Employee motivation as it relates to employees satisfaction is vitally important. And, it goes way beyond just a "happier workforce." Why? 

Because there is an undeniable link between satisfied, motivated employees, and satisfied customers. In other words, focus on creating satisfied employees, focus on employee motivation, and those motivated, satisfied employees will take care of your customers. 

2. Employee Motivation Through Genuine Appreciation

At times, managers unknowingly sabotage employee motivation by failing to recognize the positive behaviors and achievements of their employees. As a result, employees don't know whether or not they are doing a good job. 

I recently had an employee of an organization tell me, "The only time we ever hear anything from management is when we do something wrong!" 

Fortunately, savvy managers can improve employee motivation by rewarding employees with personal attention. This can include a pat on the back, a hand-written note, or a quick comment in the hall. 

When showing appreciation, be specific. Instead of just saying, "We really are grateful for the good job you do around here," the approach might be, "I really appreciate how you handled the Franklin Industries account last week when we had to get their rush order out late Friday afternoon. Your effort really made a difference." 

By being specific, the employer comes across as much more sincere, and the employee realizes their actions are truly being watched. And, a highly level of employee motivation is the natural result.

3. Employee Motivation Through Recognition

Many people will do for recognition what they will not do for money. And, this is the manager's secret weapon for employee motivation. Some people are motivated by the opportunity to get their name on the wall, receive a trophy at an annual banquet, or see their name in the company newsletter. It gives them an "emotional payoff" for their actions. 

Look for ways to increase employee motivation by recognizing excellence in the workplace. Ring a bell every time an individual or team hits the production target. Put up posters with the photographs of team members who have had the most days without accidents. Give out awards for attendance records. Just do something. It is so inexpensive, yet highly effective in your efforts of employee motivation.

4. Employee Motivation Through Inspiration

Inspiration comes from leadership. This form of employee motivation includes the company's mission, purpose and goals. People want to be part of an organization that is going somewhere, that stands for something, and that provides a meaningful service to the marketplace. 

If you want to lead an inspired, mission-guided organization, follow these steps and watch employee motivation improve dramatically.

1. Have a clear mission - in other words, know where you are going.
2. Be excited and passionate about your mission. After all, if you don't get excited, they won't either.
3. Be able to communicate the mission, it's value to the marketplace. In other words, why it's worthwhile.
4. Make sure everyone in the organization understands and can communicate the mission.
5. Be sure employees understand how they fit into the process of fulfilling the organization's mission.
6. Make the connection between the mission and the individual values and goals of your employees.
7. Keep your mission in front of everyone in the organization.

5. Employee Motivation Through Compensation

Some employees are motivated by money. In fact, most are motivated by money; at least for their basic needs. Employee motivation through compensation can come in the form of raises, performance bonuses, commissions, profit sharing, or any number of "extra benefits" like, automobiles, vacations, or other tangible items purchased and used as rewards. 

I noticed an interesting program in a hotel where I recently stayed. They have a sophisticated system for rewarding employees based on customer feedback. Throughout the hotel, they have placed customer feedback forms and boxes for depositing the forms. When customers comment on the performance of a hotel employee, the employee accumulates points that can be used to purchase rewards like trips, gifts, and other incentives.

Taking Action On Employee Motivation

Whatever the chosen method, it is important to have a system in place that builds employee motivation. Not every person is motivated by the same factor, or combination of factors. Offering all five - satisfaction, appreciation, recognition, inspiration and compensation insures that the organization has something to contribute to the motivation of each employee.