The “Secret” is in Your Hands

A lot of you probably remember the 2006 book The Secret. According to the author, the so-called “secret” to increased wealth, health, and happiness is based upon the supposed Law of Attraction, which has to do with projecting positive vibes in order to attract good things to your life.

 

Although I am a big believer in positive thinking (negativity never takes you anywhere good), I believe that the Muslim recipe for attracting wealth better nourishes the soul, leaving one content no matter the outcome.

 

A recent post of mine on my other blog (Markets for Writers) discusses the kind of income one can potentially earn by writing solely for markets that pay 10 cents per word. I suggest that $2,000 is an achievable goal if you are able to write in the neighborhood of 5,000 words per week.

 

In other words, $100 per day, 5 days per week, hopefully giving you plenty of time to relax on the weekends.

 

For many people, this may seem like a large amount of money, especially if you have ever been sucked into writing cheap content for $5 or $10 per article.

 

In fact, $2,000 per month is what I would consider a starting point…the minimum you should strive for if you are able to follow a particular formula that I will, insha’Allah, discuss in more detail in future posts. As many of you already know, it is not the actual writing that usually takes the most time. It is the research and planning that goes into an article as well as the time it takes you to actually procure a paying assignment. In order for you to succeed as a freelance magazine writer, your articles must provide real value to the reader. These days, anyone can go on-line and Google whatever interests them, and magazines do not want articles that simply regurgitate what any regular person can find on Wikipedia.

 

Although I regularly set income goals for myself and encourage others to do the same, I always like to keep in mind that it is Allah SWT who is Ar-Razzaq (The Sustainer, The Provider). For me personally, this means striving to do my best while not stressing too much when things turn out differently than I plan or anticipate.

 

Perhaps the real “secret,” then, is knowing that, whatever happens, it’s all good.

 

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for all of it is good, and this applies to no one except the believer. If something good happens to him, he gives thanks and that is good for him, and if something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience, and he will be rewarded for that, so everything that Allah has decreed for the Muslim is good.” (Sahih Muslim)