Dzikir & Do'a

Pengarang : M.Quraish Shihab
Diterbitkan : 2007

Zikir sebagai salah satu cara mendekatkan diri kepada Allah, sesungguhnya mengandung doa, demikian juga sebaliknya, doa adalah zikir. Ketika seseorang berdoa dengan tulus, dia mengingat dan menyeru Allah, tanpa itu dia tidak dianggap sedang berdoa. Sebaliknya, ketika seseorang berzikir, dia akan merasa sangat kecil di hadapan-Nya dan tentu saja membutuhkan bantuan-Nya. Ketika itu, walaupun tidak terucapkan dengan kata-kata, sesungguhnya dia sangat mengharapkan pertolongan Allah dalam bentuk petunjuk maupun bimbingan-Nya.

Buku ini hendak menjelaskan tentang ketergantungan manusia kepada sesuatu yang bersifat adi-manusia, dalam hal ini Allah. Zikir dan doa, di samping menjadi media yang menghubungkan manusia dengan Allah, juga menjadi bentuk pengakuan manusia akan keberadaan dirinya yang dependent (memiliki ketergantungan). Allah sangat mengecam orang yang tidak mau berzikir dan berdoa. Karena keengganan melakukan zikir dan doa, hingga batas-batas tertentu bisa diartikan sebagai bentuk penolakan manusia akan ketergantungan kepada Tuhan.

Banyak manfaat yang bisa ditangguk manusia lewat zikir dan doa, dan tak sedikit mudharat yang menimpa jika manusia mengabaikannya. Zikir dan doa sangat mudah dikerjakan dan bisa dilakukan kapan dan di mana saja. Jika ketenangan, kedamaian, dan kebahagiaan yang didambakan manusia, maka zikir dan doa adalah media yang sangat dianjurkan al-Qur’an untuk mencapainya.

Wawasan Al-Qur'an

Don't Grow Old - Grow Up

By Dorothy Carnegie

summary of her book, from 1956

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Part One : The first step toward maturity - Responsibility

1. Don't kick the Chair. Be willing to account for yourself; don't blame others.
2. Damn the Handicaps! - Full Speed Ahead. Don't make a handicap an excuse for failure.
3. Five Ways to Ditch Disaster: Accept the inevitable; give time a chance.
4. Take action against trouble. Concentrate on helping others.
5. Use all of life while you have it. Count your blessings.

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Part Two : Action is for adults

1. Belief is the Basis for Action.
2. Know what you believe and act accordingly.
3. Analyze Before You Act.
4. Two Wonderful Words that Changed a Life.
5. When the time for action arrives, don't hesitate.

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Part Three : Three great rules for mental health: Know yourself, Like yourself, Be yourself

1. There's Only One Like You Learn to know yourself by: Cultivating moments of solitude. Breaking through the habit barrier. Developing excitement and enthusiasm.
2. Conformity: Refuge of the Frightened.
3. Be yourself by developing your own convictions and standards; then have the courage to live with them.
4. Why is a Bore? Develop inner resources to avoid boring yourself and others.
5. The Maturing Mind: Adventure in Adult Living. Develop your mind through intellectual activity.

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Part Four : Marriage is for grownups

How to Get Along with Women. Here are seven ways:

1. Give her appreciation.
2. Be generous and considerate.
3. Keep yourself attractive.
4. Understand a woman's work.
5. Be dependable.
6. Share her interests.
7. Love her.
8. Father Come Home.
9. Children need fathers too.

How to Get Along with Men. Here are seven ways: Be good-natured.

1. Be a good companion.
2. Be a good listener.
3. Be adaptable.
4. Be efficient, not officious.
5. Be yourself.
6. Be glad you're a woman.
7. The Rediscovery of Love. We must develop a more mature concept of love.

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Part Five : Maturity and making friends

1. Loneliness: The Great American Disease.
2. People are Wonderful.Learn to appreciate them.
3. Why Should People Like You? They will like you if you like them and develop qualities of warmth that attract others.

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Part Six : How old are you?

1. If You're Afraid of Growing Old, Read This.
2. Learn some of the facts about aging.
3. How to Live to be 100 and Like it.
4. To live longer, develop attitudes that promote health of mind.
5. Don't Let the Rocking Chair Get You.
6. Work as long as you can.

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Part Seven : Maturity of spiritThe Court of Last Appeal.

1. When all else fails, try God.
2. The Food of the Spirit.
3. Our spirit is nourished through prayer

Good Speaker

The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carniege

The Quick and Easy Way to Effective SpeakingThis is Dorothy Carnegie's summary of her book, from 1962, which is based on Dale Carnegie's Public Speaking and Influencing Men in Business, from 1931.
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Part One : Fundamentals of Effective Speaking

1. Acquiring the Basic SkillsTake heart from the experience of others Keep your goal before you Predetermine your mind to success Seize every opportunity to practice
2. Developing ConfidenceGet the facts about fear of speaking in public Prepare in the proper way Predetermine your mind to success Act confident
3. Speaking Effectively the Quick and Easy WaySpeaking about something you have earned the right to talk about through experience or study Be sure you are excited about your subject Be eager to share your talk with your listeners

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Part Two : Speech, Speaker, and Audience

1. Earning the Right to TalkLimit your subject Develop reserve power Fill your talk with illustrations and examples Use concrete, familiar words that create pictures
2. Vitalizing the TalkChoose subjects you are earnest about Relive the Feelings you have about your topic Act in earnest 6. Sharing the Talk with the AudienceTalk in terms of your listeners' interests Give honest, sincere appreciation Identify yourself with the audience Make your audience a partner in your talk Play yourself down

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Part Three : The Purpose of Prepared and Impromptu Talks

1. Making the Short Talk to Get ActionGive your example, an incident from your life State your point, what you want the audience to do Give the reason or benefit the audience may expect
2. Making the Talk to Inform Restrict your subject to fit the time at your disposal Arrange your ideas in sequence Enumerate your points as you make them Compare the strange with the familiar Use visual aids
3. Making the Talk to ConvinceWin confidence by deserving it Get a Yes-response Speakin with contagious enthusiasm Show respect and affection for your audience Begin in a friendly way
4. Making Impromptu TalksPractice impromptu speaking Be mentally ready to speak impromptu Get into an example immediately Speak with animation and force Use the principle of the Here and the Now Don't talk impromptu--Give an impromptu talk

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Part Four : The Art of Communicating

Delivering the TalkCrash through your shell of self-consciousness Don't try to imitate others--Be yourself Converse with your audience Put your heart into your speaking Practice making your voice strong and flexible

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Part Five : The Challenge of Effective Speaking

1. Introducing Speakers, Presenting and Accepting AwardsThoroughly prepare what you are going to say Follow the T-I-S Formula Be enthusiastic Thoroughly prepare the talk of presentation Express your sincere feelings in the talk of acceptance
2. Organizing the Longer TalkGet attention immediately Avoid getting unfavorable attention Support your main ideas Appeal for action
3. Applying What You Have LearnedUse specific detail in everyday conversation Use effective speaking techniques in your job Seek Opportunities to speak in public You must persist Keep the certainty of reward before you

Karya Harun Yahya

Buku Bapak Harun Yahya sangat banyak sekali dan isinya seringkali membuat kita menyadari posisi kita sebagai hamba antara lain dalam buku beliau di bawah ini :

24 Jam Kehidupan Muslim

Cita rasa seni Ilahi & Keajaiban Laba-Laba

Relationship

Buku - buku karangan Dale Carniegie ini bagus sekali untuk memotivasi diri terutama dalam memperbaiki hubungan dengan sesama. Buku ini membuat saya banyak menemukan kesalahan - kesalahan dalam bersikap yang semestinya tidak perlu terjadi dan memotivasi saya untuk merubah diri agar menjadi pribadi yang lebih menyenangkan dan suskes dalam menjalin hubungan dengan siapapun baik itu hubungan bisnis ataupun persahabatan. Semoga teman - teman yang lain juga bisa memanfaatkan buku ini meskipun terjemahan Indonesia nya blm ada.
Terimakasih :)

How to Win Friends and Influence People

This is Dale Carnegie's summary of his book, from 1936

Part One : Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

1. Don't criticize, condemn or complain.
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.

Part Two : Six ways to make people like you

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
6. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

Part Three : Win people to your way of thinking

1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
2. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong."
3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
4. Begin in a friendly way.
5. Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately.
6. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
7. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
8. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
9. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
10. Appeal to the nobler motives.
11. Dramatize your ideas.
12. Throw down a challenge.

Part Four : Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing ResentmentA leader's job often includes changing your people's attitudes and behavior. Some suggestions to accomplish this:

1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
2. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other person save face.
6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement.
7. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."
8. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
9. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
10. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

Other Book:
Golden Book

The Art of Public Speaking

How to Stop worrying & Start Living