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It’s 2024 and the media is manipulating the public against muslims once again.

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On Tuesday 30th July, 3 young girls below the age of 10 were killed by an illegal immigrant here in the UK.

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The media kept the identity of this mentally ill young man secret, leaving room for people to make their own assumptions.

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For 3 days we waited to hear who the man was and where he was from.

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Those 3 days were enough for rumours to spread round that the killer was “as always” a Muslim.

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There have been riots in the streets, protests starting peaceful yet turning violent, and several counts of people with darker skin being attacked throughout the country.

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A Muslim man was stabbed here in Liverpool, a woman had acid thrown on her face in Blackburn and angry groups of “islamophobic” protestors have been gathering outside mosques, even causing damage to the holy buildings.

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Want to know what the funny thing is about all of this?

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If you didn’t know already, it soon came out that the killer of those innocent children was not a muslim. 

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The killing had nothing to do with Islam.

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Yet near a week later, there are still protests and riots taking place over the country, and an undeniable attack against the islamic community from those who wish not to see the truth.

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Do not be mistaken…

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The protests are not all targeting muslims.

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A lot of people are angry at the government for allowing illegal immigrants into the country who are supposedly “costing the British public a lot of money”.

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Although they are not attacking islam directly they are yet again… missing the point.

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Who is the real villain here?

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Is it illegal immigrants?

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Is it the government?

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Is it muslims?

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Well…who costs the British public more?

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Those seeking refuge out of desperation to survive?

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Or the millionaires and billionaires who have avoided paying tax for oh so long?

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People like Rupert Murdoch, who for 11 it’s believed did not pay any corporation tax…

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I’ll leave you to ponder on that.

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What’s sad is that the protests and riots have taken over social media and the news, while the families of those 3 young girls are in deep grief and pain.

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Although matters of racism are not the point here, there’s much to be learned from this experience.

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As usual, I stay out of the drama.

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When people tell me to stay at home, I don’t…

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When people tell me be careful on the streets, I tell them to stop playing the victim.

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When people are busy talking about the drama and causing an uproar, I’m reflecting and looking at the opportunities before us.

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Opportunities?

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How on Earth could anything good come from this? You might ask.

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Well…

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Let’s start by saying…

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Is The Islamic Community Weak?

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On Friday 2nd August a group of muslim-haters were said to be planning an attack on Britain’s first mosque here in Liverpool, The Abdullah Quilliam Masjid.

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Word spread around quickly.

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Mixed signals were being transmitted about what the appropriate response would be.

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During Friday prayer, the imam recommended that we should all stay home and stay away from the danger, for if the mosques were to be torn down, they would not surmount to the value of a single drop of muslim blood.

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I understood this perspective, however I felt a great need to at least show up and show my intention to protect the mosque.

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I decided to go…

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I waited outside the mosque.

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Nobody was there but the staff behind gates.

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A was not allowed inside.

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People started arriving.

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Non muslims, characters of all walks of life…

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I wondered, are these the people who are going to attack the mosque?

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How surprised I was to find out the answer was no.

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There people were there to support our place of worship.

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Over the next few hours, hundreds of non-muslims from the community and beyond came to support.

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There were people who travelled from places even as far as London.

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Subhanallah (Glory be to Allah).

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I couldn’t believe it, nor could I understand.

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Why were there just a handful of muslims standing together protecting the mosque, while hundreds of people who had never entered the mosque were there in support?

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My surprise lead me to asking protestors why they had come.

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Repeatedly the same answer came my way.

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“Because it’s just the right thing to do isn’t it” they all said.

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Time and time again that response was given to my question.

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“The right thing to do…”

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I was blown away by the courage, honour and empathy of all those who came.

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How un-selfish.

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How open hearted…

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Hours went by and the count of muslims there to protect the mosque hardly increased.

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There must have been only a handful of us. Perhaps 20 at most.

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While hundreds chanted and opposed those wanting to oppress the islamic community.

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Something didn’t feel right…

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Why was there not more of us muslims (especially the brothers) there protecting the masjid?

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I left both uplifted by the community spirit, yet disappointed in the islamic community.

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Sure…

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To my brothers in Islam I say this…

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Maybe you had work that night, that’s ok

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Maybe you were out of the city, ok… cool.

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Or maybe you were afraid of getting hurt somehow and therefore decided to stay at home in your comfort zone.

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Which one was it… honestly?

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Do not lie to yourself.

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Don’t get it twisted.

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I was scared too!

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Or at least, I was concerned about getting caught in a cross-fire or being stabbed by some racist hooligan.

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But I still showed.

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The reality of the situation unfolded quite nicely.

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Thanks to the police and those committed, beautiful, united supporters of peace, nothing too troublesome took place.

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Nobody was hurt.

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The mosque took no damage.

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And we all preserved our honour.

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While you… stayed at home and watched through your social media feed.

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Cowards…

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“Just Follow The Way Of The Prophet”

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Our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is said to have been the perfect man. The role model whom we should all strive to be like in all domains of life.

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Honestly, I’m still on my journey of learning about the prophet ﷺ and am not the type to just blindly follow.

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Here’s what I will say the statement in bold above…

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As true as this might be… it’s not the best advice.

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At least, it has no consideration for the nature of behaviour change.

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If it were so simple as to say “just do it” and it would be done, you would not be reading this letter right now…

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You would be doing the thing you most probably are avoiding.

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“Just do it” or “Just be like the prophet ﷺ” is bad advice because there’s more to behaviour change than “just doing it”.

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If we want to make muslims strong again, and if you are to become strong again, then you’re going to need a strategy.

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A plan of action, a broken down, simplified, structured blueprint that’s going to serve as a map for getting from where you are now, to where you want to be.

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The Destination

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Please for the love of Allah stop focusing on the house, the cars, the women, the material possessions, the social status, and whatever else it is you think you need in order to feel fulfilled in life.

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Rather than pursuing such temporary, worldly goods, turn your compass inward and set internal goals instead.

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What I mean is… make becoming strong your goal! Then everything else will follow.

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To put it in better words:

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“Aspire to be the person you most admire”

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This is a principle I’ve heard in several different forms over the last decade from different people.

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“Becoming the strongest version of yourself” - Elliott Hulse

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“Create the person you admire, then give that person to the world” - Wes Watson

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“Awaken the giant within” - Tony Robbins

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The message is the same…

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There is something within you, a seed of potential that wants to be sprouted and grown into a majestic tree, that will then bare fruits for the benefit of others.

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So this is where you start…

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Set your ultimate goal as becoming the strongest version of yourself or, becoming the person you most admire.

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Whatever rings best with your heart.

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Domains of Life

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Now we need to devise a plan on how to get there.

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You thought this was going to be a 2000 word newsletter of some guy complaining about weak muslims?

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Come on! It’s all about creating solutions man.

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Let’s go.

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The strongest version of you is not just strong in health, but strong in faith.

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That version of you who you aspire to be most like is not just rich in material, but rich in relationships.

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So we need to make sure we’re sensible here.

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You’re not here to become a lonely person sitting on a pile of money.

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Or a health freak who can’t pay the bills…

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You need full spectrum success

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And that means creating strength in the following 4 areas:

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• Faith
• Fitness
• Family
• Finance
• Fun

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Now here’s what you’re going to do

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If the goal is to become the person you most admire, then you should be able to articulate an ideal case for each of these 4 domains.

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With that being said, you could spend your life pursuing these 5 things yet reach no fulfilment in the end.

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Why or How?

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By allowing the values and preferences of other people to infect your heart.

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It is absolutely crucial that you get clear on what success means to you in all of these 5 domains.

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For example, countless guys post on social media these days flashing cars, watches, chains, tattoos and self-disrespecting women they can fornicate with.

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I honestly have no interest in that.

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Fun for some is spending all night dancing in sweaty clubs, kissing girls who have just thrown up from drinking too much alcohol, taking them home and doing bad business.

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What is your dream? This might take some deep reflection or journalling.

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You have to get the ideas that society, celebrities and social media have planted into your brain.

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And don’t worry, your dream is allowed to change and better yet, it should.

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Fulling your dream is your purpose in life, it calls you to become the strongest version of yourself.

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After that particular dream is fulfilled, a new dream will reveal itself, pursuing that will require you once again to become even stronger. Remember, these are internal goals, we’re playing the infinite game.

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For me, my dream is to have my own land, to ride a horse through to hear the sound of my horse's hooves clacking against a stoney path in the quiet countryside.

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There’s more to my dream, but I’m not going to make this about me.

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This is about you!

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So…

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I want you to take 5-10 minutes and write down a list of all the things most important to you in each of the 5 domains above.

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These are called your core values.

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The things you value most in this life.

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They will serve as a guiding compass, directing you towards becoming the strongest version of yourself.

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Action step: Write a list of what is most important to you in each of the 4 domains, Faith, Fitness, Family, Finance, Fun

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Summary

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I think that’s enough for today

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Your homework is to have your list of core values written out before next week’s newsletter is released.

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If you do that, I will be massively impressed.

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Most people just want to consume information and do nothing about it.

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But remember, that’s not who you are. That’s not the person you most admire is it?

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Get it done, and well done for reading all the way to this point.

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Check my stuff out below:

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Alpha Mind - Learn to master your mind for bulletproof concentration, focus and unshakeable inner-peace with this self-lead course (click here)

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The Unchained Method - Break the chains of self-destructive behaviour patterns and become the person you most admire through 1:1 personalised coaching - (Your purpose awaits you here)

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5 Element Yoga System - Establish the daily habit of mindful movement for health, longevity and serenity of mind with this self-lead course. (Learn more here)

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Free Offerings:

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The Mastery Letter: Get your mind blown weekly and read the things about my personal life, discoveries and experiences I don’t share anywhere else ever Thursday at 6:30pm (sign up free)

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Habit Tracker: Download you free self accountability system. Track your habits and stay consistent in positive behaviour change. (download here)

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With that being said.

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Have a great week.

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Stay sharp.

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And stay blessed.

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@usman_unchained

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