I’m Glad I Didn’t Bury My Dream

I’M GLAD I DIDN’T BURY MY DREAM…

This morning I’m still in Manchester, UK. I woke up earlier than usual. Fajr here starts as early as 3.10 a.m. Once I finished my Subuh prayers, I couldn’t get back to sleep. A lot of things were running through my mind.

I arrived here yesterday morning from Malaysia. Insha-Allah, this evening around 5 p.m. UK time — about 12 midnight Malaysian time — I’ll be at my Global MBA graduation ceremony at Alliance Manchester Business School, the business school under the University of Manchester.

Yesterday evening I walked past the building where I attended my MBA classes for the past two years. Honestly, when I think back, I had long buried and written off my dream of studying at this university. I still find it hard to believe… in my head… this was almost impossible. Why did I say it was almost impossible?

One — Alliance Manchester Business School runs one of the best MBA programmes in the UK, and one of the best in the world.

Two — back then I didn’t have a degree. No master’s, let alone a PhD. All I had was a Diploma in Investment Analysis from UiTM Segamat. And the entry requirements? You need a degree or a master’s with good results, work experience at the level they expect, and a whole list of other things.

Three — the fees were crazy expensive. That’s before flights, travel, hotels, going back and forth to the UK and everything else. That was how I used to think.

Today, insha-Allah, after 24 months of this Global MBA journey… around 5 p.m. this evening I’ll be at my graduation ceremony.

I don’t know why, but this morning what’s on my mind isn’t the ceremony. Not the gown. Not the certificate. It’s how far I’ve had to travel to get here. A journey nobody knows about. Nobody saw it, and if I hadn’t lived it myself, I probably wouldn’t believe it either.

I still remember the day I got my offer to do a Degree in Finance at Rochester Institute of Technology in the United States, around 1995, just after finishing my Diploma in Investment Analysis at UiTM Segamat. I was over the moon. I thought, “This is the opportunity that will change my life and my family’s.”

But… at that same time, MARA froze its sponsorship and loans for students going overseas in business, management and finance. And my family simply couldn’t afford it. I felt sad, angry, disappointed, useless… I didn’t know who to blame. It’s not that I wasn’t accepted. It’s not that my results were bad. It’s not that I wasn’t smart. I was accepted. But I couldn’t go. I don’t know how to describe that feeling. I was crushed.

Back then, getting the chance to study overseas was the big dream for many people who wanted to change their family’s life. And it just wasn’t my rezeki.

Maybe Allah had other plans that I couldn’t understand at the time. I kept that dream deep in my heart and got on with life.

Today, when I look back, I have no regrets about the path Allah chose for me. Because if I had gone to America then, my life might not look like this today.

Maybe I wouldn’t have gone straight into working at a stockbroking firm, wouldn’t have quit and started my own business and gone through all those failures, maybe I wouldn’t have been part of building my sales and marketing company from 2001 until I was leading projects as Organisational Head Malaysia in 2006.

Maybe in 2008 I wouldn’t have started RichWorks, and I wouldn’t have met so many entrepreneurs who are part of my life’s journey today.

And maybe I wouldn’t have gone through all the ups and downs that shaped who I am today.

I accept Allah’s decree. But I never accepted giving up on my dream. Those are two different things. I accept the road Allah set for me, but in my heart… I still held on to hope. I still believed that if Allah allowed it, one day I would still go back and study at the university I had always dreamed of.

Until three years ago… I came to Manchester to watch a Coldplay concert. Actually, it wasn’t my first time in Manchester.

Years ago I studied and graduated with a Master of Science in Marketing from the University of Salford. Well, like people say, if you can’t get into the university you really dream of, at least you can study somewhere nearby. I don’t know why — maybe because I admire the story of Sir Alex Ferguson building Manchester United into a club full of legacy. One way or another, this city of Manchester holds a special place in my heart.

As it happened, on the way to the Etihad Stadium our car passed in front of the University of Manchester. I saw the logo. Out of nowhere I told my wife, “Papa wants to try applying to the University of Manchester.” Back when I was young I only had a Diploma. Now maybe my qualifications, my experience and my life journey are different. I said, “Let me just apply… and see if there’s rezeki or not.”

Then I said to myself, “Azizan, all this time you’ve said you wanted to study at a university like this… but have you ever once tried?” The answer… never.

I made a decision. I would apply. If I got rejected, I’d accept it. It’s not like I’ve never been rejected before. I had applied to a few top universities in the United States before and been rejected. Never mind. At least this time I tried. Because I realised that all this while, the person limiting me the most wasn’t other people. It was me.

Not long after I got back from Manchester. Alhamdulillah… I received the news that changed everything. I was accepted. Allah opened a door I thought had long been closed.

And this morning, a few hours before I walk into the convocation hall, I still almost can’t believe it. Turns out the dream never died. I was the one who almost killed it with my own thinking. I was the one who felt I wasn’t worthy. I was the one who felt I couldn’t do it. And Allah had never once said “no”.

So if there’s one thing I want to share this morning, it’s this: don’t bury your dream too quickly just because of where your life is today.

Many people don’t fail because they can’t. Many people fail because they stop trying. They give up on themselves. They decide on their own that the dream can no longer happen.

I chose to believe instead — maybe not today. Maybe not this year. But if Allah put that dream in our heart… maybe He’s just waiting for us to be truly ready, truly committed, and to never stop trying. Sometimes it’s not the dream that changes. It’s us. And when we change, Allah opens doors we ourselves once thought impossible to open.

Pray for me.

Insha-Allah this evening I’ll be at my graduation ceremony in Manchester. May Allah make everything easy and let it all run smoothly. Once it’s over, insha-Allah I’ll share the photos and videos of this very meaningful journey with all of you.

Alhamdulillah, another MBA. Soon another MBA from Fudan University, China, and pray that next year I finish my PhD from UPM.

Datuk Wira

I’m Glad I Didn’t Bury My Dream Before Giving It a Chance

This morning I woke up earlier than usual here in Manchester. Fajr prayers start as early as 3.10 a.m. at this time of year, and after I finished, I couldn’t get back to sleep. My mind kept going back to one thought.

In a few hours I’ll be at my Global MBA graduation ceremony at Alliance Manchester Business School, part of the University of Manchester. But strangely, I wasn’t thinking about the gown, the certificate or even the ceremony. I was thinking about how close I once came to convincing myself that studying here was simply impossible.

There was a time when this university felt far out of reach. Alliance Manchester Business School is recognised as one of the world’s leading MBA institutions, and years ago I didn’t even have a bachelor’s degree. My highest qualification was a Diploma in Investment Analysis from UiTM Segamat. And once you added up tuition fees, flights, accommodation and travelling back and forth between Malaysia and the UK, the cost felt overwhelming. Looking back, I realise it wasn’t just my circumstances that made the dream feel impossible. It was the story I had started telling myself.

That feeling reminded me of another chapter in my life. In 1995, shortly after finishing my diploma, I received an offer to pursue a Finance degree at Rochester Institute of Technology in the United States. I truly believed that opportunity would change not only my future but my family’s too.

Unfortunately, around the same time, MARA suspended sponsorships for students pursuing business, management and finance programmes overseas. My family simply couldn’t afford it. The painful part wasn’t that I had failed to qualify. I had been accepted. I just couldn’t go.

Back then, studying overseas was one of the biggest opportunities a young Malaysian could hope for. Of course I asked why this had to happen. In the end, I accepted Allah’s decree and moved on with life, trusting that He had a plan I simply couldn’t understand at the time.

Today I have no regrets about the path Allah chose for me, because I now realise that if I had gone to the United States then, my life might have turned out very differently.

Maybe I would never have worked in the stockbroking industry before leaving to start my own business. Maybe I would never have gone through the failures that became some of my greatest teachers. Maybe I would never have helped build a sales and marketing organisation from 2001, eventually leading projects as Organisational Head Malaysia in 2006.

Maybe I would never have founded RichWorks in 2008. More importantly, maybe I would never have met the thousands of entrepreneurs who have become such an important part of my life’s journey, or gone through the challenges that shaped me into who I am today.

Looking back, I can see clearly that Allah wasn’t denying me something better. He was preparing me for a different assignment.

I accepted Allah’s decree, but I never really let go of the dream of studying at a world-class university. Deep inside, I kept believing that if Allah willed it, the opportunity would come one day. And it showed up unexpectedly three years ago, during a visit to Manchester.

While driving to the Etihad Stadium for a Coldplay concert, we happened to pass the University of Manchester. Looking at the campus, I turned to my wife and said maybe I should finally submit an application. Almost immediately another question crossed my mind: “Azizan, you’ve spent years saying you wanted to study here, but have you ever actually tried?”

The honest answer was no.

It became clear that the biggest limitation had never been the university, my qualifications or even my age. The biggest limitation was the assumption I had carried for years — that I was no longer qualified to dream that dream. So I submitted my application, fully prepared to accept rejection if it came, because I realised that living with rejection is far easier than living with regret.

Not long after I returned to Malaysia, I received the news that changed everything. I had been accepted into the programme, and Allah opened a door I had already convinced myself was permanently closed.

As I get ready for today’s graduation ceremony, I realise the dream itself never disappeared. I was the one who almost buried it with my own doubts and assumptions.

After mentoring entrepreneurs for almost two decades, I’ve come to realise this happens far more often than people think. Many people don’t stop short because they lack intelligence, capability or opportunity. They stop because they quietly decide something is impossible long before life has made that decision for them.

Our circumstances may influence our journey, but they should never have the final say over our future. As Muslims, we believe Allah’s plans are always better than our own. Tawakkul doesn’t mean abandoning our dreams. It means continuing to prepare ourselves, continuing to strive with excellence, and trusting that Allah’s timing is always more perfect than ours.

Sometimes the delay isn’t because Allah is withholding the blessing. Sometimes He’s preparing us to become the person capable of carrying it.

As I walk into this graduation ceremony today, I feel immense gratitude — not just because I’m receiving another MBA, but because this journey has reminded me that dreams rarely die on their own. More often, they get buried by our own assumptions before Allah has even answered them.

Alhamdulillah for this milestone. By His permission, the journey of learning continues with another MBA at Fudan University in China and, insha-Allah, the completion of my PhD at Universiti Putra Malaysia.

The pursuit of knowledge has never been about collecting qualifications. It has always been about becoming a better leader, a better mentor and, above all, a better servant of Allah.

Datuk Wira