We are the descendants of the Maharramovs. My great-grandfather was called Sattar, my grandfather was Alibal, and my father was called Sattar. My name is Alibala, and my son is Sattar. I will also call my grandson Alibal. I am one of those who believe in the energy of names. It seems to me that every person in a family tree continues the fate of his predecessors.
Remember a relay race in athletics competitions. Passing the wand from hand to hand, team members are approaching the finish line. The existence of a pedigree is also possible only by transferring the genetic code from birth to the very end.
Fr centuries our family tree consisted of scientists and doctors, and all of us had fairly high success rates.
I want to talk about my paternal grandfather who has three sons, each of whom was a Doctor of Science. About Alibal Maharramov. Over his 65 years of life, he received the glorious title of «People’s elder», taught many people medicine, as well as the laws of life, the depth of human relations, and was considered a symbol of a successful person worthy to be emulated, including on my part.
My grandfather was a maximalist. No matter what he did, he achieved the perfect result. He was a dentist and was considered a well-known specialist in our district; patients came from everywhere. Besides the fact that he treated his patients, he taught young people the secrets of healing, educating his followers.
Grandfather was a famous public figure. In addition to the authority of the elder, he treasured his status as well. Each newly appointed head of the district considered his first duty to meet my grandfather and receive approval from him. It has become a sort of tradition. Even in the era of intense communism, when people were oppressed for their religious views, the delegation that arrived in Soviet Azerbaijan from Saudi Arabia, the cradle of the holy monuments of Islam, sent the republic leaders to Guba to meet my grandpa.
My grandfather’s surrounding was composed of academics, public and political figures and noble cultural figures. The famous Azerbaijani and Soviet poet of those years, Samed Vurgun, was also a friend of my grandfather. Each time the poet came to meet with my grandfather, the entire population of Guba came to look at them.
Grandfather was an amazing conversationalist, knew a lot of sayings, parables and legends. Everyone wanted to have a conversation with him and each time they learned something new.
This man had endless energy. He always tried to create something and leave a good mark everywhere after himself. He planted a garden with all kinds of flowers from different parts of the world. People came, one by one, to take a look at his asters, gladiolus, chrysanthemums, gloriosas, callas, irises, crocuses, lavender, lilies, lotuses, magnolias, orchids for the first time in their lives.
Grandfather also created a real zoo, which was inhabited by a gazelle, a falcon, a peacock and different types of partridges.
Pupils often took biology and zoology classes in our zoo corner.
My grandfather died in 1981, when I was five years old. I saw him a little, and my memories of him are indistinct, but later my grandmother told me a lot about him. On every street and in every corner of our district, the people I met remembered him with reverence, and expressed their respect.
I also want to mention Haji Babazade, my maternal grandfather. My mom’s family consisted of the native people of Baku, and was also very noble, coming from the Halvachis, an ancient clan of Icheri Sheher (Inner City, or Fortress). One of the most famous clan members was Meshedi Azizbekov, a famous figure in the Bolshevik revolution, who never reconciled with the dictatorship of the Communists, an ardent enemy of imperialism, a consistent supporter of self-determination in people’s destiny. He was a cousin of mom’s father.
Much should be learned from my mom’s father. Doctor of Sciences, teacher, polyglot, playwright, he was also the first director of the Mingachevir hydroelectric station. His credo in life, like that of my other grandfather, was «perseverance and more perseverance.»
There is a famous street in Baku called Zevin Street (now Aziz Aliyev street). Now it’s full of brand boutiques, but before there were grocers of my mom’s father's. When my grandfather was eight years old, his father passed away. So that the shops continued to trade, his mother put him behind the counter. However, he was eager to get an education, so he refused to trade. Despite this, he was not allowed to study.
At that time, there were Russian-Tatar elementary schools, and in order for the child to study at school, one of the parents had to write an application. Do you know what little Haji did to achieve his dream in such a situation? Sitting at the grocery counter and watching passers-by along Zevin Street, he noticed an intelligent-looking man. He ran out, called him and asked him to write an application on behalf of his father to enroll him in school. As a result, my mom’s father began to study and in a very short time became an exemplary student. His mother retreated, realizing that she could not impede the desire of her son.
I gave you an example from my family to emphasize the importance of heredity in the development of a successful person. In the end, as an evidence in this broad topic, I want to state a few facts.
Never think that all Brazilians are good football players, all Jews are financial oligarchs, all Italians are tenors, all Germans are engineers, all French are cooks and fashion designers, all Swiss are watchmakers, all Russians are gunsmiths, all Turks are builders, because it's senseless. Let’s remember the so-called crime lords – immigrants from Georgia, or Chechens – professional soldiers.
All this is proof that for thousands of years the knowledge and skills absorbed in the memory of the people have been passed down from generation to generation under the name of «tradition».
These are traditions in their general meaning. There are also personal traditions. There are many traditions exemplified by one particular kind: the Rothschild dynasty (bankers and financiers from Germany), the Nehru generation (politicians from India), the Rockefeller clan (oil industrialists from America), the Pritzker dynasty (hotel businessmen from America), etc.
In Azerbaijan, for example, we have the Mamedyarov family. One of its members, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, is a grandmaster, the only 2-time world champion among chess players under 20. He is the 13th chess player in the world exceeding the 2800 Elo-point rating. According to the FIDE rating, Shakhriyar is one of the three strongest chess players in the world. His older sister Zeynab is an international grandmaster, and his younger sister Turkyan is also an international grandmaster. Both sisters are also winners of local and international competitions. The father of these three grandmasters, Hamid Mamedyarov, was also a chess player in the past, and he taught children this sport.
Another example: during the Soviet period there were two famous poets, Rasul Rza and Nigar Rafbeyli. They were husband and wife. Their son Anar also became a famous writer. He is currently chairman of the Azerbaijan Writers Association. Anar’s daughter Gunel Anargyzy is also a talented writer. Thus, on the example of my family and some others, I told you about the role of hereditary traditions in achieving success.
I talked about how talent, features and skills are passed down from generation to generation. Using the example of individual facts, I have conclusively determined that the environment in which a person was born and raised plays an important role in shaping a successful person.
But this does not mean you fail if there were no successful people in your family.
Dear reader, if you were unable to take the baton of success from your family and you cannot become a successor, don’t worry. Be the first lucky one in your family. Let it all start with you, and let others follow.
Since childhood, we all choose our icons or idols and try to be like them in everything. This is our characteristic. Indeed, by nature, a person is always inclined towards development and perfection. A desire to resemble the person you have chosen as an example in your life path is very strong. This, incidentally, is one of the secrets to success: the choice of an ideal worthy of an example. Look at the children playing football in the yard. Most of them try to look like today’s most powerful players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. They watch their games, follow them on social networks, collect their videos and photos. Children is just an example. Those involved in professional football, choose their ideals in their role. If you ask a goalkeeper, you will know that he wants to be like Gianluigi Buffon, David de Gea, Manuel Neuer, the defenders want to be like Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva or Marcelo, the midfielders want to become a Luca Modric, Toni Cross or Andres Iniesta, while the attackers want to be like Cristiano Ronaldo, Leonel Messi (whom I mentioned recently) or Neymar.
The same is true for other sports and other professions. In my country, for example, various types of martial arts are very popular. If you ask young men involved in martial arts, they will give the names of world champions and Olympic champions, such as Namig Abdullayev, Rafael Aghayev or Ilkam Zakiyev, who are considered their idols.
What artist does not dream of becoming Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Sattar Bahlulzade, or what director doesn’t dream of being Fellini, Spielberg or Scorsese? What actor (actress) doesn’t dream of becoming the new Alain Delon, Marilyn Monroe or Tarantino, what writer does not dream of becoming Dostoevsky, Nizami Ganjavi or Marquez? What singer doesn’t dream of becoming Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, or what fashion designer doesn’t dream of being Coco Chanel, Pierre Cardin or Giorgio Armani?
I named the first names that came to my mind, though there are many other outstanding people…
Typically, idols or icons are chosen from a local or global circle. Those that we have listed are idols from the local circle. That is, a person engaged in a certain field chooses the most powerful and authoritative person in this field as his idol, tries to imitate him or her and dreams of overcoming the heights that his idol or icon has overcome.
Global idols are great people who have passed away. A person of any profession can choose such an icon. Such people include Jesus Christ, the prophet Muhammad, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Robert Oppenheimer, Alfred Hitchcock, Che Guevara, Winston Churchill, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Bill Gates, Warren Edward Buffett.
Like every Azerbaijani, I also have an example to follow from the personality of Heydar Aliyev. This great man in my understanding is a global icon. Wisdom, deep thinking, ability to analyze and make the right decision, will and perseverance, ability to stand the most difficult situations – these are the bright characteristic features of this outstanding personality.
Due to his excellent leadership skills in 1982, Aliyev reached the highest administrative body in the former USSR – the Politburo – and took the high post of first deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Of course, Kremlin wasn’t very happy with this rapid advance of a non-Russian person under Great Russian chauvinism. Groundless attacks on him, especially the dirty condemnation in Pravda, the most popular newspaper of the time, under the heading «Aliyevism and Crying for a New Time», created an extremely critical situation around our leader. As the famous film playwright Ramiz Fataliev said: «The reason that Heydar Aliyev could not be accepted is his ability to look ahead for 5–6 years, which they themselves were deprived of.» Attacks, obstacles on the way finally forced this great person to resign in 1987. In the prime of life, this man with rich experience and huge baggage of knowledge and skills remained out of work. However, his inactivity did not last long. It was right before the collapse of the USSR, so all 15 republics of the Union, including Azerbaijan, gained independence.
Heydar Aliyev, who returned from Moscow to independent Azerbaijan in 1990, had to survive the persecution in his own country as well. He faced the attacks of former party functionaries with a philistine worldview once he first stepped on his native land – the Baku airport. Harassment in parliament, ban on living in the capital had an extremely severe effect on him, and inflicted great moral trauma. But this man with unbending will soon was able to put back those who considered him to be «decommissioned». Thanks to popular love, in 1991 he was elected chairman of the Supreme Council of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, thereby proving that he had not surrendered and could show himself. In 1993, when the leadership of the republic (which had recently expelled him from Baku) brought the country to chaos and civil war, Aliyev came to power to head the state at the request of people. This great man, the architect of independent Azerbaijan, won great authority not only in his homeland, but also in world political arena, obtaining many awards and honorary titles. He is not forgotten even after death. Streets and parks in many parts of the world are named after him. Today, there is a monument to Aliyev in all cities and regions of Azerbaijan, as well as in Belgrade, Istanbul, Kiev, Tbilisi, Qalyubia (Egypt), St. Petersburg and many other places. I think that the path that Heydar Aliyev has taken can serve as an example for anyone who wants to succeed in life. I am a person born in 1976, when Heydar Aliyev headed the Azerbaijan SSR, so all my life I considered myself his student, studied his biography, his articles and speeches. The life of this person is truly a big school. It can serve as an example to anyone who wants to achieve a goal and is looking for motivation.
I am very happy I was able to implement my admiration for this great man. I was a screenwriter to the documentary «Heydar Aliyev. Lesson of Leadership» (directed Georgy Spasokukotsky, editor Mohsun Gadir-oglu).
One of the most interesting moments in the film is the fact that was carefully concealed in Soviet times. During the Chernobyl tragedy (the disaster occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, USSR, in 1986, as a result of which radioactive particles spread around, creating a great danger to people's lives. All life within 30 km zone was destroyed) Heydar Aliyev opposed the political decision of USSR leaders to «not give in to panic» and convinced them to evacuate women and children with a total number of 800 thousand people to a safe zone. Konstantin Masik, the former deputy minister of Ukraine, talked about this in his interview, calling Heydar Aliyev the savior of the Ukrainians.
In order for my book to be comprehensive, it would be appropriate to publish the recollections of an Arab, in which the Heydar Aliyev phenomenon is revealed in various aspects:
«In 1970s, Heydar Aliyev visited Syria as the head of the CPSU delegation. As an employee of Syrian television, I was fortunate enough to interview him about this trip. During the conversation, Mr. Aliyev asked me: „What would you like from Moscow? I am also a Muslim, don’t be shy, tell me what you need“. Shocked by his sincere attitude, I turned to him for a solution to my problem. At that time, I wanted to marry a Syrian citizen living in Moscow. But certain Soviet circles did not allow her to leave Moscow for Syria. So I turned to Aliyev for a solution to this problem. Smiling, he replied: „I thought you would ask me for something impossible. If that’s all, we’ll figure it out!“
Two weeks later, my bride received a message that there were no objections to her departure to Syria. We got married. Thanks to Heydar Aliyev, I gained family happiness. I will be grateful to this outstanding personality all my life with my wife and three children, and we will always remember him.
Muhammad Hayir Wadi
(Syrian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China)»
If they ask me about the second icon, I would give one name without hesitation. It’s Warren Edward Buffett. My first icon, Heydar Aliyev, is an outstanding world politician, while the second icon, Warren Edward Buffett, is a world-renowned investor. This person is considered one of the most influential investors, as well as one of the richest people in the world. According to Forbes magazine, this person ranks third among the world's richest people. Born in 1913 in the family of American entrepreneur Howard Buffett, Warren has a very interesting biography. His mother Leila Stahl was Jewish by birth. At the age of 11, he had already tested himself on the stock exchange. Warren asked his father to buy shares in Citits Service Preferred. His father bought three shares at 38 dollars each. When the shares got a little cheaper, Buffett was very upset, but when they went up again and began to cost about $40, he immediately sold them, resulting in five dollars. After some time, he found out that the shares costed over $200. Buffett was very sorry. It was at that moment that he decided he would never «get ahead», that is, he would never rush.
He earned his first capital – 10 thousand dollars – thanks to a successful idea: installing pinball game machines in the hairdresser. At the age of 35, he became the owner of a majority stake in the worsted company Berkshire Hathaway, which now forms the basis of his investment holding.
In addition to idols, in my book I also talk about the significant role of teachers and parents for a person’s building a successful career. An important role in Buffet’s successful career, in addition to his father, was played by Benjamin Graham, his teacher from Columbia University. Here is what Buffett says about this: «The second person after my father who was of great importance in my life was Benjamin Graham. It was he who, with the help of fundamental analysis, influenced me to develop my basic skills in reasonable investment.»
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