By : Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi

Talking to a number of our students abroad, I told them that every great achievement in life starts with an obsessive dream.

Imagine a person driving his car around with no purpose. You ask him where he is going and he doesn’t have a clue — just driving till he unexpectedly meets somebody, finds something to do or run out of gas. What would you say about him?

That is exactly what anyone of us would be if we just go about our lives with no destination or roadmap.

Clear vision and mission starts with a good dream — to be somebody, or do something. When obsessed enough with such a dream, you would gather all your resources, organize all your forces, and build the talents and skills your journey required.

Following your stars, you would be faced with surprises and obstacles. But with your faith, patience and insistence on getting there, the universe will conspire to help you achieve your goal and answer your calling.

Then, you would probably get there, reach your destiny, and celebrate victory. However, that won’t be the end of road. Young as you will be when you graduate, you must consider the next dream.

Remember … always remember: You are the caliph of Allah in His earth, to help and cooperate with others in building it and making the world a better place for all inhabitants— His children—us and them.

You start once more on the road to glory, building a castle one stone over another. You lead the way, light the torch and present an example for others to follow. You create, make and solve: Create what no other have thought possible, make what others felt impossible, and solve the unsolvable. That is how legacies are made and how one becomes great.

Again and again, you will be faced with the enemies of change and success. The roads in life are not always highways and asphalted. Oftentimes, you need to draw your own maps, make your own ways and design your own course. But, that is what your training was for.

Besides, it won’t be so fun if it was so simple. Glorious victories are never won over easy targets and weak enemies.

Also remember, it is not your success, alone. You are here because a family, a school, and a country have prepared you. They share your dream, support your mission, and celebrate your victory. They should be high on your list of payback.

When you draw the road ahead, include those you needed most, because they now needed you the most. What would it feel if you invested your energy and savings in a project, waited on it for ages, then, when it is time for rewards, profits go to someone else? That is what your nation and family would feel if you decided after all the investment they made on you to choose somewhere else for your talent and hard work.

My audience seemed to be impressed, but still I could see “confusion” written across many faces. They still have time … to figure out what they need to figure out.

What is your take dear readers? Here’s your comments on my last article “Education — A new strategy?”

The future generation!

“All is well, but what about children with special needs, and I am not talking about autistic children, but about children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who are completely normal, but have attention difficulties? The latest figures show that there are around 1.6 million ADHD children in this country. These are the future generation. Can they be accommodated in government schools? Think again. Very, very few international schools accept such children, but at exorbitant fees. Don t they deserve attention?” — T. Tawfiq

Decadent curriculum will not produce brilliant stuffs

“I have read a lot in the international press criticizing the content of the Saudi curriculum. This means things are not good as far as the curriculum is concerned. It is good to see Prince Khaled Al-Faisal taking interest in this issue. There will be resistance but the government’s resolve to change shall and has to matter. I must add here, there is no two opinion that a decadent curriculum cannot produce brilliant grads.” — Faiz Al-Najdi

Inequality based on nationalism

“A country can either be self-sufficient, i.e. need no foreign workforce to do the menial and other work or they can be immigration friendly. There may be a small percentage of citizens who want change, but the deluge of the majority will drown out their voices. Look at all the local and foreign talents KSA drove out since the 90s. With all the money in the country, there is no high tech local consumer oriented industry. So what education are we talking about?” — OI

– Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter: @kbatarfi

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