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Understand You Might Be Misunderstood

December 30, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan 1 Comment

When we say, “CHANGE your thinking, CHANGE your life,” we acknowledge the Power of language, of words, to affect us in this world. The combination of language plus image plus emotion is the builder of consciousness. Words trigger images, images trigger feelings, feelings have impact on our belief system. Words matter. Sometimes our word to another may be Powerful. That is, it may have more intention behind it than our word to ourselves.The capacity to keep one’s promises and agreements is paramount in a Spiritually mature person. When we use words loosely or without clear intention, we waste their Power. When you speak to yourself, mean what you say or do not say it. When you speak to others, do the same. If it is not your habit to do that now, then be with the discomfort inherent in making a worthwhile change. Do not lose anymore Power or Love in your Life.

— From The Science of the Mind Magazine

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan- Birmingham, AL Home and Garden Show

Me giving tips at the Home and Garden Show in Birmingham, Alabama 2013. I think they “understood” what I was talking about!

Yes words are powerful. They are also quite limiting, considering we use them with ourselves and others, who may have a very different understanding of the same words.

As a landscape contractor and creative entrepreneur, I use words all the time. Emails, contracts, and text messages are just a few of the ways in which I communicate and seek to clarify and define what’s intended. Descriptively, there are a slurry of words that I use to convey my intentions around any number of relationships between clients, workers, sub contractors and others. I draw upon my mental thesaurus and let ‘er rip!

I need always keep in mind that even though I feel like I’m speaking directly to what we might be crafting an agreement around, there is always room to be misunderstood. It can happen. Universally it DOES happen!

When it does, it tends to annoy us, piss us off, and can even lead to divorce or major catastrophe. We sit back and wonder why…

Look at Merriam’s definition of the word “Understand”

1. to perceive the INTENDED meaning
2. INFER something from information received.
3. to KNOW how (someone) thinks, feels, or behaves

Now according to those three definitions, how could you truly know how someone thinks, feels or behaves? You can’t.

This is why in contracting I use my wonderful little “Landscape Design and Scaled Drawing”. This is nothing more than a visual tool. It assists me with describing what goes where. It also assists my female client, her husband, their neighbors, the attorney, and the judge; so that if there were ever any question, we can all see just what is or was expected and involved with their project. Of course, there’s also got to be a written description for the work and services that are to be included as part of any landscape and construction project.  In this way, we can all be a little more clear with what’s expected, and agreeable with regards to time, money, and expectations.

When I hosted Yard Crashers, the homeowners paid for nothing out of pocket so a fiduciary contract was not required. The Network paid for the yards with their “Show budget” and the production company administered this expense by contracting out the various jobs and all of the work. It’s amazing how smooth things can go when you’re giving someone something for free. My team and I pretty much had free reign with being creative. Of course, because I’ve been doing landscaping and reading people for a long time, I always seek to truly appeal to my clients and what they’re really wanting and needing in their outdoor living space.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Yard Crashers Yard

A yard I crashed when I hosted the show. More pictures of crashed yards can be found by following the Yard Crashers link in this post!

It’s like offering the hungry homeless person your leftovers while walking down street. If he’s truly hungry, he’s appreciative. It’s up to him what he wants to eat and/or discard. Yet, you take this same guy into a restaurant and have him pay for a meal, request no onions or salt, and it’s served to him with both onions and salt; he’ll likely return the whole damn plate! Or… he might simply decide to pick through the onions and deal with the salt. One can never say because choice is the privilege that each of us has.

Like the affirmation says, words trigger IMAGES, images trigger EMOTIONS, and emotions bring about CHANGE. As it relates to Ahmad Hassan Landscape Services, that change is either moving us closer towards what we’re agreeing on, or further away from what was mutually shared, discussed, understood, or misunderstood.

My day to day job is that of a designer. I design landscapes, my two retail nursery locations, my home, my yard, and so many other aspects of my livelihood. With each of these items I’m not alone. I live just like you do in a world filled with other beings that also view the world differently than me. Some like it hot, some like it cold. Some listen to Country music, while others prefer Reggae. I like tomatoes in my salad, my wife Tiffanie prefers cucumbers.

Each of us has our own unique view of life and everything in it. We’re as different as our finger prints.
It’s no wonder that we don’t agree on everything in life with a single person. How could we?
Integrity lies in doing what you said you would do. This must always start with YOU. Then expand outward.

To practice self love and respect, we’ve gotta learn how to forgive ourselves and give ourselves a break. Since we do this for other people that we love, it is essential that we take time to do the same for ourselves.

Not too long ago I made a social media post that stated, “Our birthright is to always maintain the right to say “YES, NO, MAYBE SO, & I’VE CHANGED MY MIND”.

The reason I state this and continue to tell this to folks that I am close to is because we all need to learn how to love ourselves. We live in a society where we are taught to do for others and love others. Yet concepts such as “self love, self respect, and taking care of our mental, emotional and physical self” isn’t necessarily understood so well or applied.

I encourage you to utilize your words, your print(type) and your intentions for good.

Do your best to clearly and courageously communicate but don’t get stuck thinking that everyone else must understand.

You’ll likely always be somewhat misunderstood. You’re unique! I thought you knew. 😉 Uniquely you!

 

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#GoGreenWithAhmed #TeamAhmedTV

Filed Under: Aesthetics & Gardening, Landscape Construction & Property Improvements, Philosophical Rants & Analogies Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan on Television, Ahmed Hassan Personal Appearance, Ahmed Hassan TV, Celebrity Landscaper, Landscape, Landscaping, life, personal growth, perspective

I Miss Him So

December 14, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan 49 Comments

Those that know me, and have ever heard me even mention MY father, know that I loved Muneer Hassan Sr. more than any other person on the planet. Today, Dec 14th is the anniversary of his death.

In 1994, when I was just 20 years old, my dad committed suicide.

It was labeled an accidental death, but nonetheless I experienced my real life SUPERMAN lying there lifeless on the floor of his San Francisco home. I had never seen my dad, lifeless. Yet there he WAS quiet, still, and completely done with life. Besides the shock, my 20 year old conscience spoke to me. It was humbled and it said,

“When you die, you do nothing.”

Of course we’ve all got our beliefs and our wishes around death and some of us even have our fears around death.

My dad wasn’t afraid.

As a matter of fact, people that commit suicide aren’t afraid of death; they are afraid of life. Life is extremely challenging at times. Living and creating expectations or trying to live up to others expectations is truly a struggle at times. Unless we learn how to really get to know, love, and respect ourselves; and I do mean on a selfish level, sometimes it’s all about you. If we cannot do that, we will always have a hard time finding true peace and serenity.

OF COURSE I miss my father.

Of course I wanted him to see me get married.

He did, after all, know Tiffanie and he always told me, that if they were friends of mine, they were friends of his. MY DAD was a genius. He understood people and knew how to make them feel special. He was as charming as I am, and a studied man that could speak and teach with such confidence and conviction that even if he was bullshitting you, you’d be buying every wooden nickel he was selling… then he’d smile!

Ahmeds Dad - Muneer Hassan Sr.

My Brilliant Father

My dad was a ladies man and a bigger flirt than myself. I remember he’d get on me for calling him ‘dad’ in the grocery store and be like, “Hey man, call me bro or something, but don’t be calling me dad!” He was kidding of course, but I so loved him for his sense of humor. My dad also taught me so many of life’s secrets and mysteries both with his life and in his death. He taught me that the element of surprise is an awesome game changer, with both your enemies and those you love.

What my dad had the hardest time with was the intimate relationships he had with women, and of course, himself.

He had his first child with Linda, another three with my mom Paula, who raised my half-brother Shakir for a time as well. Then he married Mabel, my step mom, AND raised her daughters Crystal, Evangela and their love child, Malikah. He finally hooked up with Barbara Maguirre and had Melissa; she is my youngest sister that I currently have no relationship with. It saddens me, and it made him sad as well, to have these relationships with women, then go through a shift in emotions and come to a point in the relationship where he had no tools and/or understanding as how to make things work.

My dad was a Leo, he knew very much how to fight or flee. He did both! While I now understand his limitations and short comings as a man, I STILL CELEBRATE HIM because while he’s no Superman, like I thought he was, he was a loving and caring father to all of his kids. A simple man raised in a dysfunctional family just like the rest of us. He did his best and when he couldn’t bear the pain anymore, he checked out.

He shot up a speedball after six years of sobriety and working in recovery. He said fuck it!

Yes, I use foul language like my dad did. I was raised by him primarily and he allowed me to curse as a kid. He also taught me to be appropriate with my energy and actions. I know better than to go into a synagogue, or house of prayer, and be Mr. Potty Mouth. Yet, I’m a grown and responsible man who sometimes chooses to use these colorful adjectives to express my grittiness, and give a bit of flavor to my words.

This morning’s post is really about me celebrating the life of my father.

 

The man that inspired me to operate tractors,…

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Tractors

My love for these awesome machines came from my father.

…and got me into landscaping in the first place.

Ahmed Hassan DIY Network

My DIY Network days!

 

My dad was a comedian and often acted crazy. He was Bipolar, no wonder! None of these qualities could fully label and explain who he truly was as a person though. The only way to express that, in my opinion, would be to say that he was beautifully complex.

Just like the way that life is.

Life isn’t static. It’s forever changing.

Ahmed Hassan - Clouds Rolling In

Clouds roll into our lives from time to time

The clouds often roll in and bring a gloomy darkness in order to create balance.  Yes, I’m speaking philosophically. I’m a self-proclaimed philosopher, I thought you knew. Philosophy is nothing more than a way of seeing or living life. It gives reason or meaning to life. I live the way I do and I am the way I am because I subscribe to the belief that we’re all evolving. We’re developing and growing, hopefully learning and improving so that we can improve our future lives, definitely our kids, and even those that come after us.

I’ve always thought that the most significant way that I can pay homage to my father is to continue to evolve and take all of the tools and characteristics I learned from him and go a bit further. I want to stretch into the unknown and not allow the demons that ultimately took him out to do the same work on me through my mind.

Again I think back to that December 14th, 1994.

I remember my consciousness acknowledging that when you’re dead you do nothing. I also recall that my next thought was “Well if I’m alive and being alive is the opposite of being dead, apparently I’m supposed to be doing everything!” I have been doing everything ever since.

Ahmed and Tiffanie Hassan

I plan on leaving a proud legacy for my beautiful bride and our wonderful family

I am Ahmed, son of Muneer, the luminous and brilliant one.

I have an obligation to my father and his father and my ancestors that have passed.

I have an obligation to the planet and those people that know me.

An obligation to learn, to teach, to love and then perish.

I consciously choose to harness all of my pain, my internal struggles, and my passion to create the life of my dreams. No matter what, I will stay focused on this as the goal. I may, or may not, be understood. I may, or may not, be accepted; but no matter what I’ll remember to always love myself. I’ll stand in the space to remind others to always love themselves.

I love and miss you Dad and I thank the Universe for allowing me the privilege of coming and learning from you.

ASII (And So It Is)

 

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Filed Under: Philosophical Rants & Analogies Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan on Television, Ahmed Hassan Personal Appearance, Ahmed Hassan TV, celebrate life, Celebrity Landscaper, family, Landscaping, life, superman

It All Started a Few Months Ago…

December 12, 2014 By TeamAhmed 3 Comments

Hi folks my name is Jason Britt and I serve as the blog editor/manager for AhmedHassan.tv. That’s me in the pic there.  Ahmed asked me to log in and share a few thoughts this week concerning our relationship; specifically, how we met, and how we work together. I think you guys will get a little insight into the world of Ahmed, and my hope is that you can use this post to inspire some resolve and focus in your own life.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan - Jason B freelance

When I’m not writing, I’m outside!

So with that where should I begin. It all started a few months ago when I reached out to Ahmed about his blog. I was a fan of Yard Crashers and kept up with him on Facebook. Every now and then, I would send him a message with a little tidbit about life or leadership, and he would respond. Over time, we developed a friendship that spans the coast. He lives in Sacramento, California, and I myself hail from Savannah, Georgia.

One day I’m online and notice that he has launched his website, AhmedHassan.tv. I messaged him to let him know that if he ever needed help with his blog, that’s what I do. I freelance for people who are literally scattered all over the world and as such, write/manage a lot of content throughout the week. What happened next was a flurry of events! We exchanged phone numbers, and set up a conference call where I was introduced to several other key players on #teamAhmed such as Tiffanie, his wife and business partner; Marie, his friend and author, and Aimee and Lynne, web design and content gurus extraordinaire. I was thoroughly vetted.

They said things like “Do you like his writing?”, “Is he good enough?”, “Be honest guys”, etc. It was a very direct interview. Lesson One… anything you want to do in life deserves to be examined and scrutinized before you make decisions. That is just sound business. Anyway, after that first call, I knew I would fit in well with the gang. I appreciate honesty and am a “get it done” type of guy. So after another conference call, the blog took shape and we launched the ship. What has happened since then is nothing short of amazing. Each week Ahmed comes up with advice on life and landscaping. He is funny, engaging, practical, and authentic. Yet pulling off what is necessary to get a post up in a week’s time is more challenging than you might think. I mean come on let’s be honest, this is not me or you getting up and going to work in our home office. This is a guy who makes a celebrity appearance at a Home Show one weekend, the Today Show two weeks later, Gardening Shows four days after that; the list goes on and on. In a word, Ahmed is busy.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassaan - Savannah GA

Life on the Georgia Coast is great!

As such, that means I have received mid flight texts, pictures on the fly from the set of the Today Show, and topics at 5 pm for posting the next morning. He is dedicated to the task and gets it done. If you are a guy, you know how much you appreciate working with a guy like that. No hiding behind emails and no voice mail screens. For all his busy-ness, Ahmed is accessible. I know my job is done when I get a“Thanks brotha Jay”, or “Awesomesauce!” text from him. So now that you see a little bit of the flurry and scramble that is involved with a weekly posting, I will leave you with this…

You can do it!

No matter how busy, how depressed, how ADHD, how happy, or how unprepared you think you are, you can do it. Each week #teamahmed proves this time and time again. No is simply not in our vocabulary and is not how we live our lives. We are all upbeat, positive people who really want to achieve some great things and have a definite course set for our lives.

Speaking of, stay tuned in 2015 because Ahmed has some pretty neat things planned and it is exciting to see them take shape. That is one of the privileges you get when you work with the Wizard of Oz. You get to be the “man behind the curtain” and see ideas take shape as they go from seed to fruit. However, don’t think for a minute that the Hassan’s need a brain, a heart, or lack courage. I have deep admiration for who they are and how they do life. I’m just a guy who is grateful to follow them down the yellow brick road!

With Much Love and Admiration,

Brotha Jay 🙂

P.S. For all the latest updates, be sure to follow Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Filed Under: Aesthetics & Gardening Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan TV, blogging, Celebrity Landscaper, life, teamwork

Keeping Your Christmas Tree Healthy for the Long Haul

December 3, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan Leave a Comment

The folks over at the Today Show asked me to stop by and do a segment on Christmas trees with them. So earlier yesterday, I joined Al Roker and Natalie Morales on the outside studio plaza to educate the masses on different types of Christmas trees and the best way to keep them looking healthy throughout the holiday season.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan Three Christmas Trees

Three types of Christmas trees used for my segment on the Today Show (pictured in photo background). Douglas, Fraser, and Noble Fir (l to r).

To begin with, let me just say that there are many types of trees that are used for Christmas trees depending on where you might live. Today we only focused on what I’ll call the big three during our 4 minute Today Show segment. These are the Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, and Noble Fir evergreen varieties.

Douglas Fir
There are a few differences worth mentioning between each type of tree. For starters, the Douglas Fir is the most popular because quite frankly, it’s the cheapest. I mentioned on the segment that back here in Sacramento, we commonly use this type of tree for construction lumber because it is so plentiful and grows relatively fast. As such, it makes for a cheap Christmas tree during the Holidays as well. That’s why many families choose this common evergreen. It’s a great way to get a live tree without breaking the bank.

Fraser Fir
Second, the Fraser Fir has been rated as America’s favorite Christmas tree year after year. Part of this reason lies in the fact that the leaves are somewhat two-tone with their blue green color, and they also give off a fantastic scent! Also, their limbs are much sturdier than the Douglas Fir, making them the perfect appendages for holding all of those ornaments, garland, and lights.

Noble Fir
Finally, we have the Noble Fir. This is one of those grand statement piece trees. Nice full branches that are evenly spread out, an aroma that makes you feel like you’re in the forest, and available in any type of size you need, these are majestic trees for sure. In fact, the one pictured below is the tree that they will be lighting in Rockefeller Center tonight. While it looks a lot like a large Noble Fir, it’s actually a Norway Spruce.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

This majestic Norway Spruce will serve as the Christmas Tree for Rockefeller Center this year

Maintaining Your Tree
Regardless of which variety of tree you choose, there is one thing you need to do in order to get the most out of your cut specimen during the holiday season. When you take your tree home, make a fresh cut towards the bottom of the trunk just before you place it into your already, water filled, tree stand. Be sure to not put too much, since it’ll over flow. You can always top off the tree stand with water once you’ve got the tree straightened out to your liking.

Keeping the fresh cut moist so it takes up water will ensure that the sap does not run to the bottom of the tree trunk and seal it off. This can happen really quick, that’s why I suggest you cut the tree just before you place it in your tree stand rather than at the tree lot. Many Christmas tree farms will offer to cut trees on site, however, don’t do it. Just kindly thank them and make this final cut when you get home; that will be sufficient. Your tree will continue to take up water, just like cut flowers do. Ideally it should last for the entire month of December or at least until until the last Ho, ho, ho is heard and many memories are made; since that’s what it’s all really about right? 😉

Christmas trees are about tradition. For the last 5 years or so, we at the Hassan household have used a wonderful fake Christmas tree. It came with lights and it spun. I say that as past tense because it no longer spins and half of the lights no longer work. Oh, and it’s a hand me down. Tiffanie’s sister Angelique had it for a year or two prior. Have I mentioned that I’m frugal? I’m also a “Green Industry” pro and a believer in recycle/reuse.  As such, I haven’t been willing to toss this tree into the landfill.

My kids, however, were vocal this year and asked if we could get a real live (actually, cut down and dead they just don’t know it) Christmas tree next year. Something about my son Julian wanting to cut down his own tree and them all wanting the smell of Christmas, aka the smell of juniper or pine, in our house. I did, of course, invite them to go outside and cut some of the green juniper to bring in and decorate with. That’s when my daughter Faith rolled her eye’s and exclaimed, “Dad!” I just smiled like a dad who knows that in spite of what makes good, financial sense… I need to encourage the exploration of my lil one’s dreams.

After all:

Who am I to stand in the way of Julian being a lumberjack on my dime?

Who am I to limit the essence of that beautiful fresh cut pine smell throughout my home each year?

Who am I to think about sustainability and being frugal over the dreams and aspirations of these young Hassan’s?

Come January 1st I’ll take on the task of figuring out just how complicated it will be to recycle the metal framed tree that used to spin and light up. I imagine I’ll need wire cutters and a whole lotta patience. I will likely get lil to no help from momma and the kids, but then again… that’s why they call me Daddy.

 

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Filed Under: Aesthetics & Gardening Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan on Television, Ahmed Hassan Personal Appearance, Ahmed Hassan TV, Celebrity Landscaper, christmas trees, Landscaping, Television, TV

The Truth About Sustainability

October 3, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan

Join Celebrity Landscaper – Ahmed Hassan, in Fairfax, Virginia on Saturday, October 4, 2014 to learn the truth about sustainability. Those who attend can expect to be both informed and entertained, but most importantly Ahmed will demystify the process for you.

If you aren’t in the local Fairfax region, you can tune into Merrifield’s weekly televised gardening program, Merrifield’s Gardening Advisor. This popular television program airs Saturday at 8 a.m. on NewsChannel 8 in District of Columbia, Maryland and Northern Virginia as well as  being seen on DIRECTV.

Would you like to ask Ahmed a question? Visit Merrifield’s Facebook page before 4:00 PM on Friday, October 3rd and post your questions on their wall and your question may be selected for Ahmed to answer on their live TV show!
Ahmed-Hassan-Truth-About-Sustainability-Seminar


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Filed Under: Television & Dreamscapes Tagged With: Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Hassan on Television, Ahmed Hassan Personal Appearance, Ahmed Hassan TV, Celebrity Landscaper, eco-friendly, eco-friendly gardening, environmentally friendly, Fairfax, garden, Landscape, sustainability, Television, TV, Virginia

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