I need to be real with you.
Yes, this newsletter is meant for people who feel overwhelmed, tired, burnt out.
It’s a gentle reminder for those who have forgotten how to rest.
How to take a break.
How to stop feeling guilty for loving themselves enough to pause.
But I wouldn’t be true to myself if that’s all I talk about.
Because here’s the truth: for all of my adult life, I’ve been working… a lot.
Seven days a week has been the norm.
Off days, the rarity.
I left my only full-time job at the age of 25, and I’ve not looked back since.
My calendar is always full.
I travel, I write, I speak, I train, I build, I lead, I raise a family.
It’s all part of my life thus far.
And I love it.
But that love has come with a price.
This one’s for the dreamers
Today, I want to speak to those who still dream and aspire.
To those who wake up every morning knowing there’s something more they can give, more they can create, more they can become.
You might be 22 or 52 - it doesn’t matter.
Because it’s never too late to begin.
All you need is to make a decision.
A decision that is anchored by a clear vision and a strong intention.
Even when you don’t yet have the roadmap.
Even when the “how” feels impossible.
You just need to decide.
Because once you do, Allah will open doors you never knew existed.
Hard work.
Sacrifices.
Family time lost.
Weekends forfeited.
Rest days turned into working days.
Holidays that became planning sessions.
And that elusive “work-life balance” everyone keeps preaching about - often nowhere to be found.
These are not signs of imbalance.
Sometimes, they’re signs of commitment.
You see, I’ve learned that every extraordinary outcome demands an extraordinary level of sacrifice.
That’s the unspoken truth many motivational quotes leave out.
We all love the sound of “follow your passion,”
but rarely do we talk about “endure your process.”
The mercy behind my madness
Whenever people ask me, “How are you able to function the way you do?”
I always start by acknowledging what truly keeps me going:
the mercy, grace, and generosity of Allah,
and my parents’ du’a.
Without those two forces, nothing I’ve done would make sense.
But if I were to dig deeper —
there’s something else that fuels me daily.
It’s curiosity.
Not competition.
Not comparison.
Not the chase for validation.
But a deep, quiet curiosity that keeps whispering,
“How far can I go?”
The questions that built me
That question - how far can I go? - is the anchor of my entire adult life.
It’s not about proving anything to anyone.
It’s about exploring the limits of my own potential.
How high can I go before I hit my ceiling?
How much can I create before my ideas run dry?
How deep can I stretch my faith before fear takes over?
How much impact can I make before I leave this world?
Those are the questions that keep me alive.
And they’re deeply personal.
Because I come from a background where none of this was expected of me.
I was a simple boy.
Pretty much a nerd in school.
Introverted.
Timid.
With self-esteem issues and a voice that used to tremble whenever I spoke in public.
I came from a humble background.
Studied in a full-time madrasah where the main mediums of communication were Arabic and Malay.
I wasn’t exposed to the world of entrepreneurship, leadership, or public speaking.
So naturally, I thought… how far could someone like me go?
And yet, that question became the key to everything.
Because I didn’t want to die never knowing the answer.
The battle against my own beliefs
When you grow up surrounded by limitations; financial, cultural, emotional -
you begin to internalise it. It becomes the voice in your head whispering,
“You’re not good enough.”
I had those voices.
Loud and persistent.
So I decided to test them.
Every time a voice said, “You can’t do that,”
I did it.
Every time someone told me, “It’s too late,”
I proved that it wasn’t.
Every time I was paralysed by fear, I reminded myself that fear has never been a reliable guide.
And over time, those tiny experiments became victories.
One by one, I broke through each glass ceiling I had built for myself.
Until I realised: the walls were never real.
They were self-imposed limits.
Stories I had mistaken for truth.
That realisation changed everything.
Because once I experienced breakthrough,
I couldn’t keep it to myself.
I wanted others who shared similar beginnings -
those who grew up feeling unseen, unheard, unqualified -
to start believing that they, too, could go further.
So I made it my mission.
For every ceiling I break,
I want to inspire someone else to go higher.
The 4-Minute Mile
If you’ve never heard of the 4-minute mile story, here it is in brief.
For decades, athletes believed it was physically impossible for a human being to run a mile in under four minutes.
Doctors claimed the heart would literally give out.
Scientists said the body wasn’t designed for it.
But in 1954, Roger Bannister, a medical student from the UK, broke that myth.
He ran the mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.
He didn’t just break a record.
He broke a belief.
And within the next year, 37 other runners achieved the same thing.
Not because the human race suddenly evolved.
But because someone had proven it could be done.
That’s the power of possibility.
One person’s courage to believe can unlock the faith of an entire generation.
Everything worthwhile requires sacrifice
Look at anyone you admire.
A world-class athlete.
A successful lawyer who runs her own firm.
A brain surgeon who operates 12-hour shifts.
A startup founder who just sold his company for nine figures.
None of them got to where they are without sacrifice.
Behind every success story are invisible costs.
Late nights.
Early mornings.
Missed birthdays.
Abandoned hobbies.
Moments of guilt for not being there enough for the people they love.
And yet, for many of them, it wasn’t a choice between ambition and love -
it was an act of love through ambition.
Because they knew the better they became,
the more they could give.
The stronger they stood,
the more they could serve.
We tend to romanticise success.
But the truth is, success often looks unromantic.
It’s routine.
It’s discipline.
It’s consistency when nobody’s watching.
The invisible chapters
Social media has distorted our perception of success.
We see the “finished product” - the award, the brand, the title, the wealth -
but we never get to read their chapters one to five.
The nights they cried themselves to sleep.
The months their business was one bill away from collapsing.
The years of rejection before one “yes.”
The relationships that suffered.
The mentors who gave up on them.
The constant questioning of “Is this worth it?”
Those are the pages nobody posts about.
But they’re the ones that matter most.
Because those chapters shape the character,
not just the career.
A different kind of balance
I know what you’re thinking -
doesn’t this contradict what I often write about?
After all, I talk a lot about rest, balance, calmness, and peace.
But here’s the nuance:
rest is not the opposite of sacrifice.
True rest is earned through purpose.
You rest better when you know what you’re resting for.
When your work has meaning, rest becomes sacred.
When your days have direction, your pauses become powerful.
So yes, I’ll keep reminding you to rest.
But I’ll also keep reminding you to rise.
Because peace without purpose leads to stagnation.
And purpose without peace leads to burnout.
We need both.
Belief: the seed of every miracle
Before any great act, there is a belief.
“But I’m a nobody,” you say.
So was Cristiano Ronaldo.
So was Mark Ruffalo.
So was Miss Rachel (what an amazing human being she is btw).
So was anyone you think is a “somebody” today.
They were all nobodies once.
But they simply believed.
And belief costs nothing.
But its return is immeasurable.
Because belief is the key that unlocks divine assistance.
Allow me to share again the same Hadith I shared recently with you, cos it’s so profound:
“If you rely upon Allah with true reliance, He will provide for you as He provides for the birds — they go out hungry in the morning and return full in the evening.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 2344)
Belief doesn’t mean sitting still and waiting.
It means taking flight - hungry, uncertain, but trusting.
That’s how the birds do it.
That’s how you must too.
Your turn
If you’ve read this far, maybe something inside you has awakened.
Maybe it’s the fire you’ve kept quiet for too long.
Maybe it’s the dream you buried because life got too heavy.
I’m here to tell you, it’s not too late.
Make a decision.
Even a small one.
Move in faith.
Do it afraid.
Do it tired.
Do it uncertain.
But do it anyway.
Because you don’t need the full picture to start painting.
You just need a brush in your hand and a bit of courage in your heart.
When you reach your limits
There will come a day when your body will whisper, “Slow down.”
When your mind will say, “Enough.”
When your heart will question, “Why am I doing this?”
And that’s when you pause.
Not to quit, but to reconnect.
For you to reflect, realign, and rest.
And when you’ve regained strength, you can rise again.
Because everything worthwhile requires sacrifice.
But that sacrifice must always be in service of something sacred.
For me, it’s family, faith, and the future I want to build for those who will come after me.
So I keep going.
Not because I’m tireless.
But because I’m trusting of Allah’s Bountiful Goodness.
The greater purpose
At the end of it all, it’s not about how far I’ve gone.
It’s about how much good I’ve done along the way.
That’s what I remind myself daily.
I want my work to be more than productivity.
I want it to be purpose.
Because when we stand before our Creator one day,
He won’t ask how many meetings we attended,
or how many posts we published,
or how many zeros sat in our bank account.
He’ll ask what we did with the gifts He gave us.
The time.
The talent.
The opportunities.
Did we use them fully?
Did we share them selflessly?
Did we rise above fear and the devil’s whisper telling us to “play small”?
I want to be able to say:
”Ya Allah, I tried. I used every ability You blessed me with. I didn’t let fear hold me back.”
That’s all any of us can do.
So please my dear friends,
go after that dream.
Start that business.
Write that book.
Build that project.
Teach that class.
Launch that idea.
Do it with humility, but do it with courage.
Do it for good.
Do it for others.
Do it for Allah.
Because everything worthwhile requires sacrifice,
and that sacrifice is often the very thing that sanctifies your journey.
Yours truly,
Mizi Wahid
To the weary hearts who still dream, may your striving be sincere, your sacrifices be meaningful, and your rest be peaceful. Aameen.
PS: Turning 42 in a few days time. Please make du’a for me, my family, my teachers, my companies, my people, my students, my generous followers and supporters here and everywhere else. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart 🫰. If you’ve been enjoying my posts here, it would mean a lot to me if you would become a paid subscriber. Your support helps me continue doing what I love most - write.
Thank you so much 🫶
Sanah Helwah Ustaz. It feels like Allah is answering my prayers through your writing. Of late, I often had this sort of mixed feelings of should I strive for more and in the process of becoming one, I might lose some and win some. But through your writing I found comfort and everything has become clearer now. Masya Allah. Thank you Ustaz. May Allah bless you ✨
May Allah grant you the wisdom and endless opportunity to inspire others. Your writing is unique because you never fail to insert Islamic teachings within, perfectly selected and fitted. - a satisfied paid subscriber