Help yourself.
Example is not the main thing in influencing others,
it is the only thing.
Albert Schweitzer
I love powerful quotes like that. Sure, they can be overly cheesy to the extent of annoyance when pushed in your face ad nauseam. Or when the generally cute ones are picked out and decorated with sickly outdated flower .gif’s and added with some obnoxiously stupid perky note to forward it around to show that aww, you freakin’ really care about the hundreds of nameless emails on your contact list - half of which you don’t even know work anymore.
Hmm. Ok, so you get how much I hate chain mail no matter how dang “sweet” you think it is. Moving along…
I thrive on self-help books and articles (when I actually want to read them). Started on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (recommended by the dearest of friends) one day, and subsequently gained interest to explore a variety of materials all with the same aim - to help you improve in certain aspects of your life, or life in general. And they can be truly helpful when you place them alongside the advice of the deen you read and receive. Bi idhnillah.
I could elaborate but those who know will simply nod in agreement while the cynical ones will continue to contest. Take my view or leave it eh. Let me just recommend a website for starters, one that I discovered through Seeker’s Digest, lifehack.org. Try and see it for yourself. Or read Why Pursue Personal Development. Seriously, this stuff resonates well with anyone with a real goal in life. These are a few of the good things left in this world that I believe beautifully benefits one’s Islamic lifestyle. Just as a cooking class or a doctor’s degree would in their very own ways.
So lead by example. Help yourself before you help others… and before you expect others to help themselves and each other. :-)