The Strong Style System: The Personal Strength You Need to Take on the World

Copyright © 2019 by Ali H. A. Al-Waeli.

ISBN:       Softcover       978-1-5437-5549-7

                 eBook            978-1-5437-5548-0

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Dedication

To those who pushed me to where I am today, I dedicate this book.

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.

– Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols

Preface

In the process of writing this book, I took the time to ask myself critical questions. For my age, 24 years old, I am relatively a successful person - and I do consider myself so. All the questions I asked myself revolved around the reason for all the success in my life. I noticed that my behavior has been very consistent, and my approach has always served me well, and so I thought of it as a system. As an engineer, I learned to look at systems and entities with the intention of critical evaluation and optimization. Therefore, I viewed my approach to life as a system, so that I can always analyze it, evaluate its success and efficiency, and optimize and refine it.

My innate need to do better and to help those around me led me to the quest for strength: not just the physical one, but the mental one. If you are mentally strong and you can face the different challenges that are essential to life, then you might make your life and the lives of people around you better. The ongoing pursuit of self-development and progress is not a single event or today’s flavor; on the contrary, it is a lifestyle. Hence, the name ‘The Strong Style System.’

This book is my way of sharing what helped me in education, career, social activities, personal relationships, fitness, and a lot more.

The more I contemplated this system, the more I discovered about how to improve my position in life and thrive to achieve success. I found out a lot about what it is to be strong truly and how to navigate through this world to establish order.

I want to acknowledge every person who crossed my path, for they have taught me a lot about how to live and how to be. I also want to thank my heroes, the great people of this world who inspired me to become more. Lastly, I want to express a great deal of gratitude to my family, country, and the countries I migrated to, you are the core of who I am, and I am forever indebted to you.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Foundation

Where to begin

Higher Calling

Goals

Build momentum

Listen to yourself

Checkpoint zone

Chapter summary

Arsenal

To do list

Distractions

Done so far approach

Landmarks

Chapter summary

Modes

Regular mode

Hyper focus mode

Retrieval mode

Reset mode

Chapter summary

Strategy

Strengths over weaknesses

Quality vs. quantity

Test-Observe-Conclude

Intelligent design

Drop deadweights

The concept of Magma

Chapter summary

Essence

Transformation

Personal empire

Lifestyle

Chapter summary

Downfall

Failure

Deadlocks

Fear of defeat

Chapter summary

Beyond

Regrets

Gratitude

Beyond

Chapter summary

About the author

References

Introduction

The hardship we face every day trying to adhere to the standards which are set by society are immense. Many people throughout the world are discouraged from building a solid foundation to not only survive but to thrive. If you have the state of mind of being scattered and not knowing where to stand or where to go, then you need a system in your life. You need something that guides you to achieve personal growth in all areas of your life. I have had the feeling myself and am sure every human has had at some point in their life. However, what sets apart the people who thrive in life from those who can barely survive is that those people act. Regardless of their position, whether due to their own lack of effort or being left behind by society, these people acknowledge the need for a ground to stand on, and they act with the intention of growth. I consider those to be the strong, and I believe we collectively have that strength within us.

This book presents a system to navigate through life, which I call the Strong Style System (StSyS). This system was not created; it was found. I found this system, as many of my friends and family members have asked me repeatedly, on the secret of my growth at a fast pace. I began wondering what the reasons for my success in life are and at a young age. I investigated and documented my activities and the tools I used daily. Then I began drawing maps to assist me in understanding the logic behind what I have done intuitively; after all, the ideas we create are partially a result of our needs. Once I had the foundation to this system, I took more time, four years specifically, to contemplate how the system can help others grow and navigate through the continuous challenges in their life; perhaps the system could be of use. Finally, I created this system, and it is something that I follow in my life, and it is a way for you to grow as a person and become a contributing member of society. The system is comprised of seven stages, which are laid out across seven chapters. In each chapter, you will pick up a piece, up until the last, where you will conclude the Strong Style System (StSyS) and begin playing in the game of life.

CHAPTER I

FOUNDATION

Where to begin

Every story must have a beginning, a plot, and an end. We all find ourselves longing for that success story that put us on the map, that turns our lives around, that makes us immortal where kids hear tales of our battles and victories and where we achieve unimaginable powers that help us slay dragons and save kingdoms. We keep reminding ourselves that we are destined for greatness. Sometimes we do that indirectly. In other times, a story conceptualizes itself within our imagination. We are the last of the forgotten warriors, we have fought enough and never got what we deserve, and now we are cursed. We then should live in the dark, decay with time and forget about history, the same way it forgot about us. These two stories are very compelling. They represent two romantic ideas we have in our heads. Maybe two ancient archetypes that have been presented to us many times over in books, movies, and TV. I, for one, have lived through both phases ranging from states of extreme consciousness on some days and absolute nihilism on others. Although these two stories are entirely different, they both present an idea of narrative, an idea that we are what we want to be, an idea that has changed my life forever.

My story began when I was a high school senior. Back then I used to have imaginations of living the life of an adventurer. A man on a journey traveling from one place to the next. Someone who discovers the secrets and wonders of this world. Meets different people from different cultures and achieves what is meaningful in