< as my friend goes back to school >

One of the things you’d notice on stepping into my room is that the wardrobe is dotted with sticky notes. Quite a number of them. None of them is about motivational quotes. Some of them are about top priority deliverables. And the ones closest to my heart are those on which are written ambitious statements picked up from books and movies or shared with me by friends.

A new sticky note that simply reads “Why Not?” went up there yesterday. Funnily, it was written out and stuck up there while on a call with a priest-friend in a faraway continent. I’d told him I needed to stick those words to my wardrobe lest I forget to do so afterwards. And for about 24hrs that it’s lasted there, you can’t imagine how much time I’ve spent gazing at it, making it my own.

Where did Father get that, and why am I taking it this personally? The name “Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum” rings a bell? The Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, and author of the mindblowing “My Vision,” and the brain behind the Dubai reinvention.

So, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum credits all his sterling accomplishments and unusual discoveries, including the Dubai miracle, to having always asked himself one question: “Why not?” A question that has helped him defy odds, blaze trails, and rebuild his country for global relevance. When Father came across the man and his ideals, he copied him for himself and is well on his way to reinventing his priesthood. While we decry 5G, he wants to run his ministry on it. And he’s back to school to learn how to do that himself.

So, I ask you: Why not?

Only those who dare to ask why not get to learn that nothing is impossible.

Your No.1 fan,
Cornel