The Pen- Sultan's Wisdom

by Dennis Galloway

  Harold paid close attention to what Karim said to Al-Hamid. He noticed Al-Hamid applying this principle when conducting business. He saw how effective it was in the relationships he developed between him and the merchant he was dealing with time and again. Harold knew that this particular principle was important to remember.

  I saw this principle acted out time after time when two people negotiated a deal for a trade: One dominated the other, or took advantage of their weakness, or tricked the other into a settlement they did not want. The one who did this was eventually brought down by life’s circumstances. It seems the Universe likes balance.

  Finding the Right Skills

  As the writing flowed out of Harold’s head and onto the paper, he woke up, stretched, and grabbed a fresh piece of paper. He wrote down, with another pen, in English, the wisdom he had just learned in his dream travel with Al.

  Harold read this wisdom over several times to be sure he understood it. Then he placed the paper in a special file for safe keeping. He got up and prepared for his day.

  As Harold settled into his new position, he learned more about dealing with people than ever before. In his previous position, he had only dealt with his peers and focused on his clerical duties. With this new position, he would be given a task by his new supervisor, Mr. Fraser, and was expected to carry it out on his own.

  “Harold, I want you to complete this task, and I wanted it done by the end of the week,” Fraser would say.

  “Yes, sir, Mr. Fraser. I’ll get on it right away,” Harold would reply.

  As Harold read over the newest task, he realized he did not have the resources to complete it, so he went to talk to Mr. Fraser.

  Fraser’s desk was in the corner of the large office space. It was covered with stacks of paper on both sides. Mr. Fraser had another person standing in front of his desk whom he was talking to when Harold appeared.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Fraser. I read over the task you assigned me, and it’s going to require some extra people to accomplish. Can you assign me some additional clerks?”

  Fraser stopped talking to the man in front of him. He handed him some papers, and the man left. Then Fraser looked up at Harold and said, “Harold, I hired you as my assistant, expecting you to be able to accomplish the tasks I give you. You will have to figure out how to accomplish the task without your own staff. I am fully confident in your ability to do what I ask. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my tasks.”

  Harold went back to his desk and sat down.

  Harold did not know how to carry out the new task if he was not given the needed resources. Frustrated, he started to do the work himself—he believed if Fraser had faith that he could do it on his own, all he had to do was put in the extra time, and he could do it.

  Later that same day, Mr. Fraser came by Harold’s desk.

  “Here you go, Harold—another task for you. I know you can do this also by the end of the week,” he said, tossing a new task on Harold’s desk.

  On his own, Harold found himself falling behind on the tasks as more and more were added to his pile. He needed help. He realized he would have to get help from others to get his tasks done, even though they might not work directly for him. It was a challenge.

  He needed to find a way to delegate to those who did not take orders from him.

  He went to a clerk beneath his grade, but in another office, and approached him about doing one of the tasks.

  “Say, Sam, you have helped me out a little bit in the past. I was wondering if you could do this small task for me. I would appreciate it very much,” Harold said.

  Sam stopped writing and looked up at Harold, who was holding out some papers to him. Without taking them, he replied, “Harold, you know how overworked we clerks are. You have your new position, so do your job, and let me do mine. I don’t have any spare time at all. In fact, I might even have to work late tonight just to finish what I’ve already been given.”

  Sam went back to writing and ignored Harold.

  Harold went back to his desk to see yet another task had been placed on his growing pile. Harold felt, as the tasks piled up, he was falling further and further behind.

  Then Harold remembered what he had written down from his dream travel with Al-Hamid. If you negotiate the agreement so it is beneficial to each party, you can usually get what you want.

  Harold returned to Sam’s desk. Sam did not look up from his work.

  “Sam, you are right. You are overworked. How about I take two of the tasks off your desk in exchange for this one task I need you to do?” asked Harold.

  Sam stopped writing and looked up at Harold with a surprised look.

  “Now, that is a generous offer, Harold. That would help me a great deal because I would not have to stay late tonight.”

  Sam took Harold’s task and handed Harold two small ones of his own. Harold went back to his desk and grabbed up another of his own tasks. He then went to another clerk he knew could accomplish all three tasks easily and offered to take some of his work in exchange for getting his trio of tasks done. Harold did this many times, and the clerks were grateful he was replacing tasks they found difficult with tasks more suited to their skills. Harold would simply take troublesome tasks and give them to someone who had the skills to do them efficiently. Thus, Harold learned to delegate, and by doing so, learned each clerk’s particular skills, which he used as a resource when new tasks came in.

  Fraser soon saw Harold as a very efficient manager. It seemed like no matter what his boss gave him to do, it got done, on time and well. By being of great assistance to others, Harold’s reputation in the office grew. He was soon rewarded with a pay raise.

  Using the type of agreement he had learned from the dream-travel experience, Harold found it served him well and so vowed to himself to use it from now on.

  Each evening, he would write with the pen, anxious to dream-travel with Al-Hamid and perhaps learn more wisdom. When he picked up the pen, he felt good, and the Arabic writing flowed.

  Getting What You Want

  Harold saw Al-Hamid looking down at his feet while standing in front of his master. He heard his voice in his head.

  One day my master saw me looking at my feet and shabby sandals.

  “So, you want some new sandals?” asked my master.

  “Yes, sir. That would be very fine,” I said.

  “What kind of sandals do you want?”

  “I am not sure, but something of fine handiwork.”

  “Why don’t you draw out a picture of what you want so you know what you are looking for?”

  He gave me some parchment and a stick of charcoal with which to draw.

  I sat down and drew out wonderful sandals, soft leather on top and tough hide on the bottom, all covered in beautiful beads. They were beautiful. I really wanted a pair like these.

  I showed my master the drawing. Then my master told me to do something strange.

  “At night, just before you go to bed, look at the picture and imagine yourself wearing the sandals. Then place the drawing on the wall near your pillow and go to sleep. In the morning, sit up and, first thing, look at this drawing again, and imagine yourself wearing them. After that, start your day and think of it no more, but believe you have them already. Repeat this every evening and every morning and see if Allah blesses you.”

  I thought this was strange but did as my master instructed.

  Harold watched as he hung the drawing on the wall by his bed. He watched him look at it at night before he went to bed and again when he got up in the morning before he went out to work. Time appeared to go by in a blur as Al-Hamid continued to narrate his life story.

  I did this unfailingly for three or four months, but no blessing had occurred, and I was getting discouraged.

  Then, going to the market one day at my master’s bidding, things changed.
I was standing next to a richly attired woman who was purchasing some fresh fruit. She had her money pouch out to pay the merchant when all of a sudden it was snatched away by a thief.

  She screamed, “Help! My money has been stolen!” She pointed at the back of a man running through the market.

  I gave chase. I was faster and more agile than the thief and soon caught him. It was Jamal.

  “Jamal, what are you doing?” I asked him.

  Harold had just caught up with Al-Hamid and saw Jamal being held by Al-Hamid’s strong hands.

  Jamal looked haggard, thin, with a scar on his face. He looked as if life had not treated him well after I left him.

  “Al-Hamid, my friend, I am lucky it is you who caught me! Let me go and I will share this prize with you!” he said desperately, clutching at the purse as I tried to wrestle it from him.

  “Jamal, I am no longer a thief. I have a good position with a master merchant and do not intend to return to the streets,” I told him as he struggled to hold on to the money pouch.

  “Don’t be a fool. Be free with me. Come; let us get away while we can!” said Jamal.

  “No!”

  We briefly fought over the pouch, but Jamal had grown weaker since I knew him, and I finally won. Jamal, with frightened eyes, ran away, looking strangely at me as if he no longer knew me.

  I watched him go, sadly, and then returned the pouch to the woman. She was so grateful.

  “Thank you so much for returning my purse. Here is a reward for my brave man.” She dropped three silver dinars in my hand.

  My eyes lit up.

  “Thank you, thank you. A thousand times, thank you,” I said, bowing with enthusiasm and delight.

  As I left the market after performing my master’s task, I came across a stand where handmade sandals were sold. And there they were, the exact sandals I had drawn. They were so fine they cost five dinars. Too much! I decided to negotiate a better price.

  Harold looked at the sandals. They were beautiful. He began to reach out to touch them, but he decided not to. Instead, he watched Al-Hamid as he negotiated. It was an opportunity to learn.

  “I see you have some sandals for sale?” I inquired while slowly picking over another pair, carefully avoiding the ones I really wanted.

  “Why, yes,” said the merchant. “I sell only the very best, finely crafted sandals from all over Egypt! Wonderful sandals, leather, and weaved of grass by expert artisans. I sell them at excellent prices that cannot be beat by any other vendor. I, Samuel, have the best there is!”

  “Oh, I don’t know if I really want any sandals today,” I said and started to walk away.

  “Wait, wait, my young master!” the merchant called after me, holding up a pair of sandals. “Look at these—imported from Morocco. Real leather.”

  “Why, yes, they are fine,” I said, turning back. “How much do you want for them?”

  “Only five silver dinars, a bargain at that price,” he said.

  “No, I don’t think that is a good price,” I said.

  “For you, I make a special price of only four pieces of silver.”

  “Will you take three?” I asked.

  “I cannot do that. That is robbery. I paid more than that,” he said with a frown.

  “Well, that is too bad. What about these?” I asked as I picked up the pair I really wanted.

  “These are handcrafted, of excellent design. I could not let those go for less than five silver dinars,” he said with a firm voice.

  “Will you take three?” I asked.

  “I also cannot do that.”

  “Well, then, I guess I don’t really need sandals today,” I said as I set them down and began to turn away.

  Harold thought the lesson was over, and since Al-Hamid had not been successful in bargaining, he turned to walk away with him.

  “Okay, okay. You drive a hard bargain. I will lose money on this deal, but if you tell others about the excellent quality, I will sell these to you for three pieces of silver. But only for you. Do not tell anyone you have this special price, or I will go out of business.”

  I turned back to face the merchant.

  “I see you are an honorable merchant and willing to make a sale. I do not want you to suffer at my gain, but I want us both to profit in this transaction. I will give you four silver dinar instead of the three you asked for and consider that a good bargain,” I said as I handed over the three dinars I had just received as a reward, plus one more I had earned from my master. “And if these are as finely crafted as you say, I will tell others you offer the best sandals at fair prices.” The merchant smiled and bowed in appreciation as he handed me the sandals. By paying him a fair price, I was following a law of the Universe I had just learned about.

  Harold was surprised. The merchant really did want to sell to him after all, and Al-Hamid stayed true to what he had learned about the law of the Universe and fair transactions.

  When I returned to my master’s shop, I was wearing the new sandals.

  My master saw the new sandals and gave me a questioning look.

  I quickly told my master what had happened and about the reward I had received. My master smiled, and putting his hand on my shoulders, said, “Well done. You have been blessed by Allah.”

  After that, I began to draw out other things I wanted because I believed if I could see what I wanted, imagine having it already, and do this every day—morning and night—I would eventually receive what I showed myself. I was so happy with my sandals and the way I had obtained them that I wanted to try the method again.

  I decided I wanted a new kaftan because my old one was well worn. I sat down one day and drew a picture of the kind of kaftan I wanted.

  Harold watched as he removed the original drawing of the sandals and replaced it on the wall by his bed with a drawing of the robe he wanted.

  I would look at the drawing and envision myself wearing it. I would see people asking me where I had obtained such a wonderful garment. I would feel its coolness in summer and its warmth in winter. It felt so comfortable to wear all the time.

  I would look at the drawing in the evening just before I slept. Then, in the morning, the first thing I did was look at it again. I would feel as if I owned the kaftan and was about to put it on and go to work. I did this every day, for a month.

  One day, a new merchant came to town selling woven kaftans of the best design. Jomana Karim was interested in selling a number of these garments in his booths and talked to the merchant. The garment merchant would come to Jomana’s house to discuss business and show his wares. My master offered my services to help him set up his booth and demonstrate the items. I did so eagerly because the garments were beautiful.

  The merchant was very successful in his business. He was a good man and very grateful for my help. He offered a kaftan of my choosing as payment for my help. I went through the garments and found the exact one I had drawn and dreamt of!

  Again, drawing and thinking about the drawing had helped me obtain what I sought. Again, the technique held true. It worked like magic. The power of my visioning belief changed my life forever.

  Harold found himself in Al-Hamid’s chamber, looking at the wall with his drawings. He saw the original drawing of the sandals on the floor and reached down to grab it as the scene faded to black.

  Harold Draws What He Wants

  Harold awoke with Al-Hamid’s drawing in his hand. He was astonished but smiled. He got up from the chair he had fallen asleep in and walked over to the wall that held the shackle. He hung the drawing on the wall next to the shackle and stepped back. It looked very old.

  “Amazing, just amazing. I wonder what else lies in store for me on these dream travels,” he said to himself.

  It was very late, so Harold put the pen in its box and put the box on the shelf. He turned out the light over the desk
and shuffled out of the room.

  Over the next couple of days, Harold translated the Arabic writing and verified exactly what had happened during the dream travel.

  “Just amazing, just amazing,” Harold kept saying to himself as he reread the English translation. It was a word-for-word account of his experience.

  One evening, as Harold settled into his bed, pulling the covers up to his chin, he closed his eyes. But sleep would not come to him. His mind kept saying, “What if it’s true?” He thought about Al-Hamid drawing out what he wanted and then getting it.

  “If it is true, I could have anything I wanted!”

  He tossed and turned in his bed. Throwing off the covers, he sat up on the edge of his bed. Harold got up, wrapped his robe about himself, slipped on his slippers, and headed off to the study, shivering a bit at the cold. He turned on the light at the desk and grabbed the translation he had done earlier containing the account of what Al-Hamid’s master had taught him about visualizing what he wanted.

  “By jolly, I am going to try this drawing thing and see what happens!” he said.

  He opened a drawer and got out a clean sheet of writing paper. But instead of getting the pen he was using to draw a picture of what he wanted, he gathered a pencil, sharpened it, and placed it on the paper.

  “Hmm, now what is it I want? Something simple, Al-Hamid said. Something not too expensive, but fair. Something I have wanted but haven’t purchased because I could not afford it or because it was not available. Hmm.”

  Harold sat at the desk and tapped the pencil on the paper. “Aha! I know.”

  He proceeded to draw a fine red Moroccan leather binder case he had always wanted but could not find. It would be ideal for carrying his work to and from home.

  He put in detail after detail of the case. He spent more than an hour with the drawing until he was satisfied it looked exactly like what he wanted.