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Making Beautiful Things

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Writer's pictureAykhan.M.P

Inspirational story from Alfred Nobel : "How do you want to be remembered ?

Updated: Dec 8, 2019

What motivated this Swedish munitions manufacturer to dedicate his fortune to honoring and rewarding those who benefited people?



The world's most famous set of awards are the Nobel Prizes. Presented for outstanding creation in literature, peace, economics, medicine, and the sciences, they were created a century ago by Alfred B. Nobel (1833-1896), who amassed his fortune by producing explosives. Among other things, Nobel invented dynamite. What motivated this Swedish munitions manufacturer to dedicate his fortune to honoring and rewarding those who benefited people?


The creation of the Nobel Prizes came about through a chance event. When Nobel's brother died, a newspaper ran a long obituary of Alfred Nobel, believing that it was he who had passed away. Thus, Nobel had an opportunity granted few people: to read his obituary while alive. What he read horrified him: The newspaper described him as a man who had made it possible to kill more people more quickly than anyone else who had ever lived. The obituary included sentences like, “Dynamite King Dies.” and “He was the merchant of death.”. Alfred Nobel was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words “merchant of death,” he asked himself a question, “Is this how I am going to be remembered?” he asked himself. He decided that this was not the way he wanted to be remembered and he decided to change.


From that day on, he started working toward world peace. Shortly thereafter, he established the awards. Today, because of his doing so, everyone is familiar with the Nobel Prize, while relatively few people know how Nobel made his fortune. The Nobel Prize has been honoring men and women from all corners of the globe for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and for work in peace since 1901.


Thinking about how one’s obituary is going to read can motivate one to rethink how he is currently spending his life. No eulogy ever says he/she dressed well, lived extravagantly, took fabulous vacations, drove an expensive car, or built the most expensive home. The people who are most mourned are not the richest or the most famous, or the most successful. They are people who enhanced the lives of others. They were kind. They were loving. They had a sense of their responsibilities. When they could, they gave to charitable causes. If they could not give money, they gave time. They were loyal friends and committed members of communities. They were people you could count on.


God (Allah) decides how long our chapter on earth is going to be; it’s up to us to make every paragraph and sentence count. Immortality lies not in how long you live but in how you live. Every day is a gift from God and we should use it to the fullest to celebrate life and become a blessing to others.


Moral : Just as Alfred Nobel got in touch with his feelings and redefined his values, we should step back and do the same. It is never late to start over.


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