Maheen interviews Mohammed Faris (aka Abu Productive) on the back story of Productive Muslim, how it all got started, challenges faced along the way and advice on how others can make their own projects happen. Highlights from the Show * "Take us back in time and set the scene for us, where did Productive Muslim all start?" (3:11 - Maheen) * "The true launch of the website happened...became like a dream...it It is not just about teaching people how to become productive, it became more of how does Islam teach you to become productive. Overthrow the notion that practicing Islam is going to put you down, that Islam is not just about praying and fasting, it is really a whole system to help you grow and develop" (6:50 - Mohammed) * "With every progression in life, or with every project we face challenges along the way. Could you tell us a bit about some of the big challenges you faced with Productive Muslim and how did you conquer them?" (11:25 - Maheen) * "Just by closing the door to something, like we are not going to take donations, it really opens the door to ways that are really creative for how you can keep the project going, but it is an ongoing process" (12:31 - Mohammed) * "It becomes more and more challenging, how do you really make this project continue and outlast us, the ideal is that if I drop dead today the project would continue, it shouldn't rely on me personally or any team member, it should be self sufficient" (16:00 - Mohammed) * "Debate in the team is very very healthy, having a team that challenges, always asking you know, why can't we do this? why can't we do that? how can we do this better? Really helps us fight complacency" (17:55 - Mohammed) * "What was really interesting for me was, are we really producing good content, not just the generic content that you can find on any blog and that kept me going" (21:45 - Mohammed) * "Final advice to our listeners who are maybe thinking about starting their own project?" (23:33 - Maheen) --- This episode is brought to you by Visionaire Online. Check out visionaire online by going to http://www.muslimlifehackers.com/visionaire