Shabash Kahani

“If your Dreams are high, and beginning is low, Congratulations!! Life is going to offer you something really BIG”. Speaker’s enthusiasm behind his message had instantly instilled a ray of energy and excitement in the audience, consisting of 170 vibrant members of Nestle water business team.

“Disappointment shouldn’t creep in when you aim too high and miss it, disappointment should surface when your aim too low and hit it”. Audience was fervently engrossed in the high-energy message of this vibrant young speaker.
“Let me share a real story with you, friends. The story of a boy whose dreams were very high and his beginning was dreadfully low!” The young inspiring speaker had a firm promise in his eyes to touch the hearts and souls of his audience.
The speaker projected on screen the image of a little boy, carrying some magnetic power in his influential eyes, filled with millions of dreams. His appearance, dress and looks on the contrary didn’t match his aspirations his eyes revealed.
“Yes my friends! This child’s dreams were as high as the promising reflection in his shining eyes but his beginning was as stumpy as you can possibly imagine”. Living much below the line of poverty, unfortunately, his family was suffering from hunger, crudeness, hatred, inadequacy and never-ending hopelessness. He was the youngest child among eight siblings and his father despite having no formal education was an accurate picture of dedication, hard work, self-reliance, and perseverance. But he was only a visionary laborer.

At the age of 7 years only, he got everlastingly deprived of his mother’s love, care and warmth. The boy was crying beside the dead body of his mother, as mother had not died due to a disease which was incurable. But his dreams were still high and his beginning was awfully low. He was highly passionate to elevate the level of living for his family.

Audience in the hall was lost in the speakers’ story.
“He never wore his most desired clothes, nor did he ever play with his favorite toys. Some rich relatives would drop their used cloths for the poor family and boy would feel no confidence facing same relatives or world in large wearing those lousy clothes that would hardly fit him.

In spite of being promised awards like bicycle or other necessities for getting first position in class, family could never honor the commitments. The prime goal for the whole family every day was how to get something to eat tonight? Who would pay the rentals? The emotional turmoil prevailing in the family had made his elder brother a drug addict. That was really the beginning of a series of unfortunate setbacks. But his dreams were still high, his determination to lift up his family became stronger with every passing day and his beginning was still unbelievably low.
“He got his first job after doing his matriculation as a sales boy with a local distributor of Pakistan Tobacco Company. He continued trying to sustain himself through such jobs in textiles mills and other factories under rough working conditions. And with those heedful dreams and fortitude to accomplish big goals, he somehow managed to reach college.

As a young boy, he appeared to be a broken picture of low self-confidence, self-belief and trust. He was shy, timid and withdrawn. From being disgraced to distrusted, his only friends were sufferings of his youth. His meek appearance, week body, and pitiable health disturbed him persistently. He was a symbol of poor confidence and low self-esteem. But still his dreams were sky-scraping and beginning… “But following the path of his dreams, he never let depression come over and succeeded in getting gold medals in intermediate as well as in graduation”. And to this, silence in the hall at once broke out with heavy echo of applause from the audience thoroughly indulged in the story.

“His obsession of achieving something significant for his family had made his life restless. It was unbearable for him to wait for admission in university for one whole year. He left home and decided to embrace a struggling life in Lahore to challenge every bit of him. Not wanting to waste even a single day of his life, he used to learn computer hardware in mornings at Hafeez Centre, and worked at JUNG newspaper canteen in evenings. He remained fully under attack by hunger, homelessness, and other similar disorders.

And with the God’s will he got admitted at MSC in Punjab University. Meanwhile, he did a fulltime job at a magazine as a translator. He wanted to start his professional life as soon as he could but some more serious adversities were still to come his way. In the very first year of his university, his best friend, his companion, his source of inspiration and on top of everything his reason to accomplish something big in life, his father left him alone in this world to face challenges all alone. He was totally broken, knocked out and depressed at his father’s death. He thought this is the end of life. He seriously thought of committing suicide. He did not see any hope, any purpose, any reason for living and continuing his struggle to achieve success. His family and friends provided him much needed support and he decided to reconnect with his lofty dreams and his beginning…
As he resumes his struggle for much needed success, all kind of emotional, economical, social, mental and physical challenges that life could possibly offer surrounded him utterly. It seemed like life was really resolute to test his guts, skills and resolve.

In the last year of his university, he was fortunate to find a mentor who shook his personality mercilessly, challenged his goals, and guided him to the material to read and listen that stirred, enthused and stimulated his life in an extraordinarily positive way.

“When he completed his MSC, his family was impatiently waiting for the reward of his success. But the family had no ideas that he was being chased by some more failures, some more hammering defeats of life.
He had no job, hence no money to fulfil promises that he had made to his family. He had no self confidence much needed for success. He joined visiting faculty of M.A.O College Lahore and started teaching MSC Students. His monthly income was less than Rs. 1800.

He continued his struggle to create success for himself but nothing was in his favor. He knocked many dozens doors, from ordinary street academies to Civil Services Academy, but nobody was willing to offer him any hope. Punjab University and Pakistan Air Force rejected him twice. He also got defeated by P.C.S leaving him further ruined, depressed and disillusioned, but his dreams were still high and beginning very very low.

His dream to become a consultant was dying faster. No company was willing to even let him in and perform without a fee. He indeed had noting in him on a professional note in terms of skills and competencies that could justify his dream to become a consultant.
His family pressurized him to join civil service and this time, not only did he pass but also got first position in Public Service Commission’s exam. He became a lecturer at a Govt. Degree College in District Okara, but his dreams were still making him restless.

He had learned from his gurus that you can’t discover unchartered waters unless you say good bye to the shoreline.
He dared to say good bye to college lectureship that was helping him make 6210 rupees as month, and return something to his family. Annoying almost everyone, he decided to get back to Lahore and refocus on consulting and speaking assignments that didn’t offer any permanent stream of revenues to survive. As he returns Lahore, he finds some serious challenges waiting for him to overcome them; no resources, no links, no transport, no money, no contacts, no experience, no place to live, no clients and no office. But his dreams were still high and beginning dreadfully low.
He went to dozens of companies but came back lost. From hospitals to one room clinics, he approached every little institute but returned unanswered. Biggest tragedy of his life was that none of his family members believed in him. People around had started making negative comments about his character and their predictions about his future were horrible.

He had no place to live in Lahore. He had some relatives in Lahore, but he never felt comfortable staying with them. Friends were not ready to tolerate him for long except few really good ones who were going through the same rough time; and shifting of shelters made him frustrated and also cost him dozens of his favorite books and dresses he had collected very hard. His family was insistent to bring him back to his native town as he was not only jobless but according to his closest family members ‘hopeless’.

He launched multiple initiatives with multiple people to try his luck but it seemed like nothing was working out for him. He would appear very motivated with a burning desire to do something bigger, but deep down in his heart he was almost ready to give up. But there was something inside him that kept him going.

Finally he started his first office as a consultant; at McDonald’s LDA branch. (Actually he just assumed this is his office as he had no address on his business card). He started visiting McDonalds daily, mostly he on foot as he couldn’t even afford the public transport. People would come and meet him at McDonald’s. In those two and a half years, he NEVER had the chance to eat McDonald’s burger. He would offer only a cup of tea to his clients, and if a client would ask why you are not taking tea, he would say ‘I have just had one’.

Starved with hunger he would continue reading, writing and preparing his assignments for clients. He had redirected his hunger towards success only. He used to eat outside at some tiny place if felt hungry and then came back to McDonalds to indulge in his work. At one of the most crowded, noisiest, and distracting place, McDonald’s, not only did he prepared his initial training programs, he also managed to wrote his masterpiece book “Shabash Tum Kar Saktay Ho” The hall had drown in to a complete silence.

“Now you know why do I know this boy so much?” speaker said with a compassionate, shivering, shaking and almost crying tone of voice ‘because that’s no one else but me…. Qaiser Abbas.”

Every person in hall stood up and applauded him with eyes filled with tears. My friend Qaiser Abbas was unable to bear the feeling of his first standing ovation given to him by 170 people in the hall. He started crying like kids as he could not believe his dreams were actually coming true.

He wanted to tell everyone that there is no such reason in this world that can keep you from fulfilling your most precious, daunting dreams. Turning back to the audience, he said, “My dreams are still very high, and I consider my beginning still very low.” Today I can assure you that Qaiser Abbas is living the life of his dreams.

Recently, during his motivational session in “Young Leaders Conference” he got two standing ovations. When Qaiser finished, people didn’t have a better idea than giving him one additional, unique standing ovation for touching their hearts and dreams by standing on their chairs.

His purpose in life is to instill self-belief, hope and a certainty of an abundant success for everyone, especially youth of Pakistan.

From a begging of despair and hopelessness, with no resources, money, capital at all Qaiser founded one of the most innovating Management Training & Counting companies, Possibilities operating internationally. He chose the title of Chief Inspiring Officer for him not traditional Chief Executive Officer.

His relentless journey of pursuing excellence and sharing inspiration places him on an international pedestal. Now he facilitates team-building and leadership for best of the best companies such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, P&G, Pakistan Tobacco Company, HinoPak, Total, KSB Pumps, ORIX, & Reckitt-Benckiser to name a few.

He conducts training of the highly ranked government officials at National Institute of Public Administration. His training programs have become the part of curriculum at Civil Services Academy. Pakistan Army and Pakistan Cricket Board have also benefited from his peak performance training programs.

Challenging people to discover their purpose of living and then facilitating them how to accomplish it is Qaiser’s life purpose. That’s all what he does and he takes this work both as his profession and passion. To him, purpose is not about getting, it’s about giving. Why? Because when you focus on giving, God liberates you from the pursuit of getting.

Be with Qaiser in his journey of spreading the word of “Shabash” in the entire world.