© A. Maharramzadeh, 2020

© International Union of writers, 2020

Alibala Maharramzadeh was born on August 9, 1976 in the city of Quba of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He graduated from the Azerbaijan State University of Economics in Baku and the Faculty of Economics of Istanbul University.

Alibala Maharramzadeh – Doctor of Economics, professor, motivational speaker, coach and writer. Author of a series of books. Winner of Rasul Rza Prize (Azerbaijan), holder of the St. George Order (Ukraine).

01. Not «Impossible», But «Possible»!

Two men looked out from prison bars. One saw the mud, the other saw stars.

John Mcwell

To some people, all colors appear black.

To some people, all colors appear colorful.

I am a supporter of seeing colors as they are.

Once a middle-aged man who had lost his loved ones in a car accident said that my advice «be optimistic», «don't break in front of grief», «work on yourself», «don't inflate your problems» was inappropriate. During the conversation, my interlocutor told how much literature he read from the Internet, and also noticed, with a sigh, that not a single psychologist, friend or author of a motivational bestseller could help him in his condition.

Similar words were also told by a young man who, for the sake of treating his sick child, sold all his property, and did not have money left to buy the necessary medicine.

Both of them agreed on one thing: «I fell, and my ascent is impossible.»

But why can't the fallen rise? Isn't «stand up» an antonym to the word «fall»? If you can fall, then you can get up. But along with strength, you must have decisiveness and patience to do this. We die not when we fall, but when we stop fighting, and resign to the situation we’re in. It’s when we justify our inaction, saying: «I fell, and my ascent is impossible», as if we are putting on a shroud when we’re still alive.

In this book, I will try to discover the secrets of conquering the peaks to those who are standing, but I will also show the way to those who fell.

Remember, the word «impossible» is not a verdict, but just an opinion. The word «perhaps», on the contrary, can become a verdict due to faith and determination.

This book comes to mobilize you say the word «maybe.»

02. Why I Wrote This Book

I wrote this book for years in my thoughts. The desire to write it, to express my thoughts on its pages never abandoned me. I thought about this both during my studies at the Faculty of Business of the Institute of National Economy Management, and when I received my next higher education at the Economics Department of Istanbul University of the Turkish Republic, and later, when I provided the services of an auditor and consultant, as well as during my entrepreneurial activity and when engaged in scientific and artistic creativity. Finally, the implementation of my long-standing plan came in March 2018. Right now, on this windy and rainy March day, I realized that excuses like «I’ll start tomorrow», «I’ll postpone the next month», «I’ll write exactly next year» no longer pass. Sometimes a saying itself follows from the current situation, and it is impossible to resist.

The large audience of my art and scientific books mostly consists of the people I contact in connection with my professional activities, the youth who often invite me to meetings, as well as ordinary people who can come up on the street, near my house or office, are those whom I rendered all possible assistance on duty, motivated, gave advice, guidance, in a word, did not leave in trouble. There are thousands of them. Still this is a close circle. But what about those who remain outside this circle, people who are unable to solve their personal problems and are suffocated in a whirlpool of cruel laws of life? No need to say there are a lot of people deprived of a sense of self-confidence, as well as those who are unable to overcome the syndrome of helplessness and weakness due to their complexes?

How does it feel like to be prone to depression in the era of the world-wide economic crisis, natural disasters, all kinds of catastrophes and epidemics, the consequences of moral degradation, as well as continuously degrading empirical realities, pressure on metaphysical views? How depressed people can live with a sense of hopelessness, watching the horrors of war and terror?

Don't they need motivation?

This means that in order to ensure scale and a full circle in the contact zone, it is necessary to turn to motivation in the form of a book.

It should be noted here that in addition to being the author of a number of art, political and corporate books, I also develop custom-made business plans for those who wish to succeed in starting their own business. These business plans bring real success, and many entrepreneurs make good money thanks to my ideas. My ideas are based on certain theories and are somewhere a collection of theoretical and practical knowledge. Their sources contain many important points, so it would be nice to share them with readers.

Here is another reason to write a motivational book.

I want to speak with all my voice to all people on Earth: no target is better than our ability to aim with a narrowed eye and a finger bent on the trigger.

Inspired by this slogan, I want to say one more thing: the formula for success is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. You just need to complete a few homework. And I want to start my conversation by placing this sentence as a subtitle for this book.

Let's start the conversation. And, reading these 250 pages, let’s be extremely frank and try to understand each other.

This is not a textbook on sociology, philosophy, psychology or economics. This is a collection of thoughts with sociological, philosophical, psychological and economic nuances. Sometimes mysterious letters and words, merged, are converted into miraculous sentences. Just listen to them and stay in the zone of attraction.

So, let’s start!

03. What is Luck and Success? What Are Their Symbols?

The concept of «success» is an essential component of our lifestyle. No matter where we go or what we take, we always think about how to succeed. This is undoubtedly true. For whatever we, Azerbaijanis, and many other peoples undertake, we always pronounce the eternal expression: «Good luck!» Our success lies in achieving the cherished goal. That is why all success formulas are determined by the same strategy: desire – goal – building plans – action – result.

If in general «success» has the same meaning for everyone, then for each individual this term gains its own meaning, based on his subjective desires. For some people success means a high position, authority or prestige; for others it’s the uncountable wealth, for some it means two hearts join and create a successful family life; for some of them it’s a triumph in competitions.

In general, the meaning of the word «success» in all world dictionaries is explained approximately like this: completion of certain upcoming processes or circumstances on a positive note, achievement of the goal! And in many languages, this word is also used as a synonym for «luck.» In this case, we mean random, unexpected success (a striking example is winning the lottery). This is what we call «luck.»

A lot of writers and directors gave their artworks the name ‘Success’. It’s Italian film director Dino Risi (1963), Soviet film director Konstantin Khudyakov (in 1964), German writer Lion Feuchtwanger (in 1984), etc.

In short, it is no coincidence that people who are determined to succeed choose all kinds of symbols, as well as talismans, for this purpose. For example, we can recall the traditional Western symbols: clover, ladybug, chimney sweep… The latter is a very funny symbol, isn't it? It is believed that if a person meets a chimney sweep on the way to solve a very important matter, his success is a foregone conclusion. In some countries, such as Germany, Austria and Poland, people present each other objects depicting this artisan. Four-leaf clover is considered the most common symbol of good luck. According to the legends, the one who meets this plant on his way is expected to have great success in life. You should always wear a dried clover leaf with you. It will protect you from all the negative, from the evil eye, and will attract positive and good things like a magnet.

Imagine that the Irish declared four-leaf clover (shamrock) their national symbol!

Finding a ladybug is also considered a very good sign in Western countries. This is mainly due to myths and rituals. Thus, according to mythology, this insect lives in heaven and, in exceptional cases, descends to earth to convey God's will to people. You can’t imagine a happier person than a Dutchman on whom the ladybug sits, or a Czech who has met this insect. The French give their children an amulet with its image, hoping that it can protect them from all adversities.

It is no coincidence that the Russians call this insect ‘God’s cow’. In English-speaking countries, it is called ladybug in honor of the Holy Virgin Mary. For the Germans it’s the «God’s candle», for the Bulgarians it’s «the beauty of God.» Other European nations call it «the butterfly of Mary,» «the bird of St. Mary,» «the animal of God.» According to legends, a mascot with the image of ladybug brings good luck. An insect with seven black spots on its back is considered a special symbol of eternal good luck and happiness.

The next popular symbol of good luck is the horseshoe, not only in the West, but also in the East. It should be noted that you can not buy it. If we are talking about an object that brings good luck and happiness, then it only needs to be found, and it must be metallic. It also matters in which position to hang it. There are two views on this subject. In the East, in Latin America and in Europe, a horseshoe is hung with its ends down. This means that success and happiness will be directed or flow to you. The British and Irish, on the contrary, hang it ends up in the hope that luck will not run away or not flow.

In China, trout fish is considered a symbol of good luck and fertility. In Chinese houses you can quite often see an aquarium with eight golden (or red) and one black fish.

Another symbol of good luck in the Far East is a three-legged frog with a gold coin in its mouth. It is also considered a symbol of wealth. According to a legend, in ancient times, this creature belonged to evil spirits, but Buddha tamed it and forced it to serve people. After that, the frog began to release gold coins from its mouth.

The first earned banknote for an American is considered a symbol of good luck, and for this reason it is stored and not spent. The Japanese symbol of success or good luck is a cat they call Maneki-neko, with a raised paw. For Italians, a key is the symbol of good luck. In other nations, it can also be a chrysanthemum or a bat. In addition to the widespread symbols of good luck, you can also find different signs of good luck and rituals in different nations.

We, Azerbaijanis, also have very interesting and peculiar signs of good luck. When you go on business, it is important who you meet first on your way. If everything went fine, you say this person «has a light foot», so you have confidence in the successful resolution of a problem if you meet this person next time. In addition, we believe that if at the beginning of your journey you come across a person with a full bucket or a full basket in his hands, everything will be fine.

The word «ugur» (which means «luck») is also a proper name in our language. Especially today, at the beginning of the XXI century, parents call their newborn boys Ugur with great aspiration.

In response to the joy and happiness associated with luck, life, unfortunately, cannot do without its antonym – failure, which brings grief and disappointment.

It happens that a person can consider himself or herself unsuccessful, whether it’s due to unemployment, unsuccessful love, financial insecurity or illness (failures will be the topic of a separate conversation).

And it even happens that the concept of good luck and success acquires painfully primitive meaning. I know loafers who consider themselves fortunate because they won in dominoes they played all day as they had nothing to do. I also know snotty creatures happy with the fact they have acquired another property, repaired and furnished for their unborn descendants. In their understanding, this is a success.

But now we are not discussing a far-fetched and distorted concept of success, but absolute, ordinary, and statistical success. The one we strive for, regardless of whether we are rich or poor, old or young, educated or not. How to succeed? How to find the shortest and surest path to success?

In this book we will try to find the answer to this question.

I also wanted to note one thing. I have always been an active and agile person, and have a rather busy schedule, since I am engaged in scientific work, business and audit. Plus, I’m also engaged in social activities. I am often invited to various scientific, social, cultural and media events, and try to participate in all of them. Charity work is also an important part of my life. Quite often, people have to come to help in solving a particular problem. This is material assistance, both legal and moral. For the work that I do, I never wait for reward and gratitude. This is obvious. I’m talking about the fact that as a result of my erudition, my rich and comprehensive activity and the desire to learn from wise people, I developed the ability and skills to motivate people, and these skills improve over time, becoming more effective. This prompted me to collect and present all my knowledge in the form of a book. Success in various industries is proof of how lucky I am. This means that I have the right to share my formula for success, to give advice to young people who have failed or have encountered various difficulties on their life paths, to tell young men what they should do and what they shouldn’t. This is another reason to write this book.

In the meantime, I want to summarize the essence of my formula for success. This somewhere can also be considered a summary of my work: work hard, set goals for yourself and achieve them. In fact, success is a materialistic concept. You should motivate people around with your diligence, determination, knowledge and ability and strive for a goal.