The news on Sunday, December 1

⏳ 4 Minutes

Creating, as you know, means building, producing, and bringing something into existence.

What is value?

Value is anything that, when you and your customers see it, you both acknowledge that you have become more valuable.

Arad is always thinking about creating new value for itself every day and never grows tired of it, because it knows that people are willing to pay easily for a business that continuously adds value.

In Islam, the foundation of a correct economy is based on added value.

God says in His book:

“If ye are grateful, I will add more unto you.” Surah Ibrahim, verse 7

Most people, especially the general public, translate this verse as: “If you are grateful, God will increase His blessings.” However, the verse does not mention "blessings" or anything similar.

God says, "I will add more unto you." He does not say, “I will increase your blessings.”

When we say He will increase the blessings, the mind often thinks of things like clothes, cars, houses, children, and all of these are blessings.

But there are other blessings, such as character, personality, and humanity. If these increase, it truly means the person has grown.

All of you, whether you have experienced financial growth or not, have certainly experienced personal and intellectual growth.

But do people consider those who have grown personally but not financially as having truly grown?

No.

People only consider someone to have grown when their wealth increases.

God says, "If you are grateful, I will add more unto you."

When He adds more unto you, your wealth and other assets will also increase.

This means adding value to yourself.

Had He said, "I will increase your wealth or assets," there would be a flaw in the Lord’s words. What’s the benefit of increasing wealth that is lost at death?

But when He says, "I will add more unto you," this you stays with you even after death.

So, always strive to add value to yourself.

I don't want to go into detailed examples, but even when your expression becomes stronger, that's adding value.

When your mind grows, that is adding value.

Expand the range of words you use — that’s added value.

You’ve become more patient — that’s added value.

Your technical knowledge about your product has increased — that’s added value.

You interact with high-level people — that’s added value.

You’ve removed jokes and trivialities from your life — that’s added value.

Anything and everything that, when you measure it in the quiet moments of reflection, makes you say, "I have become more valuable."

Every day, think about making yourself more valuable.

Customers love working with valuable people.

Some outdated thoughts suggest that we should hide our values, fearing it might be seen as showing off.

Dear one, riya (showing off) is for prayer, especially voluntary prayers. Even the obligatory prayers are better offered somewhere they might be seen, so that God’s traditions are not forgotten.

Riya (showing off) is specific to voluntary acts of worship, and even in obligatory acts, it's better for it to be seen than not.

In business, you should show off as much as possible.

Riya comes from the root word "ray" meaning to see.

You should show everyone the values you’ve created every day.

The more power you have in showcasing them, the more successful you will be.

This is where the need for an independent media platform becomes crucial.

When we talk about independent media, many try to make excuses, saying things like, "I don’t know how" or "I’m not good at it."

These are all excuses. Otherwise, training on these topics is available for free online, and the Media and Culture Commission has repeatedly issued calls offering to teach you everything from A to Z for free.

I admire traders who are savvy and clever.

God bless them.

Every presentation meeting they have with Arad’s foreign representatives, they record the video and post it on their website, stories, and social media, with titles like:

“My meeting with my foreign representatives.”

“My meeting with my Arabic-speaking representatives.”

“My meeting with my English-speaking representatives.”

Personally, I asked Mr. Shabani from the beginning if it was okay to say “my representatives” instead of “Arad’s representatives.” He said, “I told them to remove the word Arad and write 'my representatives' instead."

Respected council members who share their videos and photos.

Business enterprise owners who take photos and videos of their meetings.

Traders who take photos and videos every time they go for a negotiation or business workshop.

All of this is about showcasing my values.

A few days ago, I read a comment that made me want to bang my head against the wall.

It said, “I don’t feel the need to show off. If a customer is meant to work with me, they should come to that conclusion themselves.”

Does the customer have clairvoyance?

Does the customer have a supernatural vision?

How would the customer even come to this realization?

Then you learn one word, "show off," and you make it sound negative?

Haven’t you heard of showroom?

It means a room for showcasing.

It's an essential principle in exports, and you question all the principles of business with just one word?

We must showcase.

We must display.

We must demonstrate.

You’re not showing lies.

You’re not using artificial intelligence to make fake films.

You’re not taking others’ films and claiming them as your own.

It’s the value you’ve created yourself, and now you want to showcase it.

If you didn’t see the values created by Arad, posted every day on Arad’s website through the media, would you give money to Arad?

I swear to God, if there were no videos produced by the media, and you had to read my texts every day, you would raise your voice in protest, asking me to stop talking so much.

You would ask, “Show us something, what do you have to offer?”

That’s why you watch the media’s videos, feel calm, and then read the texts and learn something new.

Use the same approach with your customers.

Show them as many videos and photos as you can that prove your worth.

If someone were to take a video of Arad over these 18 years and play it at fast speed, they would see that Arad has always been focused on one goal: the economic growth of Aradis.

They would see that Arad's entire focus has been on identifying and fixing flaws, improving, and refining its work system.

You should do the same.

Don't jump from one thing to another.

Have you understood that there is no way to salvation except through trade?

Stick to this trade.

If you say you still don’t understand, then watch the Business School more carefully to understand.

Once you’ve recognized the right path, why go down the wrong one?

Misguidance is always wrong, but God strongly dislikes those who go astray after being guided.

“But if any one, after Allah’s favour has come to him, substitutes [something else], Allah is strict in punishment.” Surah Baqarah, Verse 211

This means that at this point, God will not show mercy.

Until yesterday, you could say you didn’t know that the way to salvation was through trade, and you led your family through poverty, hardship, and economic struggles.

Now that you know the way to salvation is through trade, why are you still in poverty?

At this point, you have no excuses.

I believe that anyone who has become familiar with trade and Arad and is still poor has no excuse in front of their Lord.

Those who didn’t know can still say, “O God, we had no one to show us the way,” and perhaps their plea will be accepted. But you cannot say this.

Now that the goal is clear, the path is evident, and a wise and benevolent guide has been provided for you, then...

Stick to this one goal to ensure your success.

When some people ask, “How long should I stay?”

The answer is: Until death.

Is there a better way you know of, that you want to leave this path for?

If you know of one, tell us so we can inform the other Aradis, and we can all follow your better way together.

When we are certain that there is no better way than trade, these questions are meaningless.

It's enough for someone from outside of Arad to come and see the internal atmosphere of Arad.

In the first meeting, they will confirm this and say:

How polite and obedient the people of Arad are.

These two traits stand out from a distance.

Thank God, most of the traders in Arad are like this.

However, among them, there are a few who do not obey.

In other words, they oppose whatever is said.

Question: Is it not true that this opposition means opposing the very strategy that has been set?

Arad has shown that if a plan is right, even if everyone opposes it, it will follow through with it.

So, who falls behind in this situation?

Those who opposed.

A few days ago, I read a comment where someone wrote: "If Aradis are valuable to Arad, why doesn't it conduct a vote for every plan?"

With my limited understanding, I respond this way: Should Arad conduct a vote just to make you Aradis miserable?

Most of the brilliant resolutions Arad has today would not have been passed by the collective intellect of all of you, and plans that were not Arad's would have been approved instead.

Let's assume, on the first day that Arad was planning to come to Qom City, if a vote had been held, would it have passed?

It still wouldn't have passed.

Only time reveals the truth of many of Arad's plans to the Aradis.

So, blessed are those who have realized the importance of obeying.

Now, there are two types of obedience here.

1. Obedience with reason
2. Obedience without reason

The first group are those who say they will obey when they understand the reason behind it.

Thank you for your understanding, dear.

But that's no longer obedience.

When you ask for a reason, and it needs to align with your own logic, that’s no longer obedience.

It just becomes your own reasoning.

Obedience means following without knowing the reason behind it.

By the way, imagine that Arad wants to implement a project.

If implementing a project takes 100 units of energy from the structure, do you think explaining the reason behind it, and having you read that reason and understand it—or not—then deciding whether you accept it or not, will not take a lot of energy?

Personally, I believe that if implementing a full project takes 100 units of energy, providing the reasons, listening to them, and the rest of the process takes more than a thousand units of energy.

Because honestly, I have noticed how much energy I have taken from senior managers when I asked for reasons.

What they asked me to write was not difficult, but asking for reasons made the matter much harder.

Blessed are those who trust.

Now, it’s interesting that you trust easily in many situations.

You sit next to a strange driver and trust him with your life, even sleeping while he drives. So you trust him.

Did you ask the driver for a reason as to how he will safely get you to your destination?

Years of school and university, don't even mention it, it makes one's heart burn.

Did we ask teachers or university professors for a reason when we spent 12 years, then 4 years, and then 2 more years of our lives with them? Did we demand a reason from them, asking what benefit they were giving us?

Please tell us this with a reason.

Did we ask the stock market for reasons?

Did we ask the banks for reasons when they take our money and give us interest rates lower than inflation?

I really think some nights, God, what happens to these people who trust every unworthy human without any reason, that they become so fond of evidence and reasoning when they reach Arad?

Is it possible to find another hand other than the hand of the devil?

It is Satan who creates the obsession with asking for reasons, to slow down the progress of a person when they are on the right path.

Why did Arad do this?

Why did the senior manager say this?

God bless you.

But why do you not ask for reasons in other areas of life?

You sit with some relative for years without any benefit, why don’t you ask for reasons?

You’ve been scrolling through Instagram and surfing the web for hours without gaining a single dollar, why don’t you ask for reasons?

You watch meaningless and valueless movies and series for years, why don’t you ask for reasons?

Why is it when you arrive here, you become so focused on reasons and logic?

Think about this.

Go and satisfy your need for reasons elsewhere, where it has been holding you back for years.

Here, just obey, and it will multiply your growth speed by several times.

If you are truly determined to remain a business enterprise owner and elevate your future from the ground to the skies through business, then you must strengthen these 5 fundamental principles within yourself every day, even if it is difficult.

A successful business enterprise owner is one who embraces these five principles, and without them, you cannot achieve significant success.

Now, it's not a matter of being either all or nothing; the stronger you become in these five principles, the more your growth will increase.

Arad will also give you time to strengthen yourself every day.

Here, it is necessary to truly update yourself.

"Up" means rising.

"Date" means day.

"Update" means rising every day, growing every day.

And this is the characteristic of a business enterprise owner.

Now, the five principles are:

1. Increasing the level of interaction and communication

A business enterprise owner always strives to increase their level of constructive communication and interaction with both non-members and existing and new members.

Your job as business enterprise owners is to communicate with people and help them.

So, how do you help them?

Do you need to move something for them?

Do you need to buy something for them?

Do you need to take them from one place to another?

Do you need to cut their hair?

Do you need to fix their household appliances?

No, none of these things are required.

You can help them when you change their beliefs because it is outdated beliefs that have kept the people of Iran in poverty.

So, where does this belief change begin?

It begins with you speaking and them listening, and also with them speaking and you listening.

This is what constitutes constructive interaction.

Therefore, a business enterprise owner must love both speaking and listening.

The greater the level of communication, the more successful you, as a business enterprise owner, will be.

2. The Power of Presentation and Command

Now, if you are supposed to speak so that others can hear you, what happens if you are weak in presenting your ideas?

Will there be any energy left in them to listen?

Certainly not.

So, you must have strong presentation skills.

Practice and repetition will help you a lot in this regard.

I am willing to testify that before Arad, even though I was a writer, my ability to present my ideas was not even one-tenth or one-hundredth of what it is today.

Do you know what made me stronger?

It was listening to the talks of senior managers.

For your information, I should mention that apart from attending all the meetings, I also spend a few hours at the business school.

I believe that nothing increases presentation skills and eloquence as much as listening to senior managers speak.

These esteemed individuals are role models for me in the art of presentation.

I advise business enterprise owners to watch and listen to senior managers frequently.

Unconsciously, their speaking skills and presentation power will become stronger.

The next topic is the power of command.

You own a business and you must be able to give orders, even to strangers.

You must tell them, "Do this," or "Don't do that."

You can’t always rely on a consultative attitude or a soft approach.

In certain situations, firmness and the power of command are necessary so the other person understands that you are very powerful.

People enjoy being part of a group led by a strong individual.

If you want your team to grow and respect you, increase your power of command.

Don’t argue with people over small things.

If you had seen last night's meeting with Mr. Vahid, you would have witnessed a perfect example of the power of command, which cleared many misconceptions.

Perhaps less than two percent of people might not like this style, but they are the ones who don't like any style, while the majority of the group enjoys having such a powerful senior manager.

Learn from these examples.

3. Technical Knowledge of Services and Products

You can only be a strong business enterprise owner if you master two technical areas.

1. The promotional services that Arad offers and the commercial services available globally.
2. Technical knowledge of products based on geographical regions and ...

This knowledge will greatly help others understand that if they place their trust in you, they are putting the work in the hands of an expert.

So, increase the technical knowledge of your services and products as much as possible.

You need to know which products are best exported to which countries and which ones are restricted for export.

You should be aware of which products are best sourced from which cities.

You should even have information about overall shipping costs and the challenges faced in trade.

People must see you as an expert in business to accept you as their guide and mentor.