A.R.Rahman needs no introduction. He is, now-a-days, on top of the world with the Oscar nomination of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ which is a rags to riches story where it depicts of a boy growing up in the slums of Mumbai. The film coincides with the rise of Rahman from nowhere to number one status by passion, perseverance and persistence. He suffered several personal and financial hardships right from his childhood before reaching the top slot.
The film bagged 10 Oscar nominations which is a great achievement for Indian film industry – Bollywood and India as a whole. In the past, only heroes took credit for the success of most of the films. Gradually, due to the growing professionalism, the directors, choreographers, producers and music directors, editors, designers and all other key players are getting equally focused, respected, recognized and branded. It is positive sign where the film industry is evolving in tune with global standards.
Link your talents with skills for success:
Every individual is born with a set of talents. But very few realize and tap. Talents are inborn which one acquires through heredity. Individuals rarely look deep within and diagnose what they have. They ape others just because others are successful. That leads to most of the failures. Individuals can never succeed just by copying or aping others.
You need to take stock of your talents into account. List out and prioritize the same. There are psychometric instruments that will help to find out the strengths and weaknesses. Once having known your talents, set your goals in tune with your mindset, toolset and skill set. It is necessary to acquire the skills on a regular basis.
Goal Setting:
Goal setting as a tool is effective when planned and executed effectively. Setting goals helps in eliminating negative thoughts from your mind. It helps you getting focused and keeps you powering towards your cherished goals. It helps you to live longer as you continuously think of reaching your goals. Simultaneously, it helps you think positively about your life thus raising your optimism and confidence. Your thoughts and actions will have to be regularly aligned towards your goals.
Skills are the abilities that can be acquired by reading, observation, practice and experience. Skills have to be tuned and honed as per your goals. Every goal needs its own way of tools to be procured. You need to pile of tools on a regular basis which will be complementary to your skills set. Finally, you need to have a strong mindset that is passionate and positive that keeps fueling your ambitions. The three sets such as mindset, tools set and skills set are the three pillars are essential for achieving anything and everything in the world.
Right blend of both innate talents with acquired skills is necessary for reaching your goals. It is essential to align your strategies regularly with your cherished goals. At times, problems arise out of external environment which can be predicted. But you need to have several plans to manage threats like Plan A, B, C, D …
Conclusion:
Success comes when you tap your hidden talents and realize. Success comes when you equip your recognized talents with your mind set, skill set and tool set. Success comes when you align all these ingredients towards your cherished goals. Finally success comes when you pursue and persevere the same tirelessly.
A.R.Rahman proved to the world that music has no geographical boundaries. Music connects the people across the world as everyone can listen and enjoy. On the contrary, language has limitations as people have to put in more efforts to understand the essence. Let us congratulate Rahman for wonderful feat. Whether he wins Oscar or not, but he made India proud by bringing Indian music to the world.
The End
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Motivation Vs Inspiration
ABSTRACT
Often people confuse between motivation and inspiration. This article focuses on the basic differences between the both. Various merits of motivation and the types are explained in detail. It addresses various motivational tips people can learn and follow easily thereby getting equipped and energized.
- - - - - - -
KEY WORDS: Introduction, Motivation and Inspiration, Merits of Motivation, Types of Motivation, Motivational Theories, and Tips for Motivation & Conclusion.
INTRODUCTION:
"Man's greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time he falls", Oliver Goldsmith.
He failed in business at 21 years. He was defeated in elections at 22 years. Again he failed in business at 24 years. He lost his wife at 26 years and had nervous breakdown at 27 years. He lost senatorial elections at 45 years, lost elections as Vice-President at 47 and again at 49 years. Ultimately he became the President of USA at 52 years. By this time, it is obvious to every reader that he was none other than Abraham Lincoln. What do we call his spirit? Can we call it as motivation? Certainly, Yes. Success is product of successive setbacks. The word motivation is coined from the Latin word "movere", which means to move. Motivation can be defined as an internal drive that activates behavior and gives it direction. To put it succinctly, the ability to move from one failure to another without losing energy and enthusiasm is known as motivation. If someone achieves success after a success without any setbacks, can we call it as motivation? Of course, Not. By the way, let us know the definition of motivation from Wikipedia also.
Motivation (Wikipedia) is the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior, especially human behavior as studied in psychology and neuropsychology. These reasons may include basic needs such as food or a desired object, hobbies, goal, state of being, or ideal. The motivation for a behavior may also be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism or morality. According to Geen, [#] motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behavior.
MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION:
Often people confuse between motivation and inspiration. Motivation comes out of external influence that encourages you either with ideas or with individuals. While in inspiration, it comes from with in and with internal influence. Inspiration results in a feeling of excitement and well being, and a desire to get into action instantly without any prompting while motivation needs prompting and encouragement by others.
Motivation comes from the word ‘motivate’ that means ‘a stir to action’. On the other hand, inspiration comes from the word ‘inspire’ that means ‘to fill with noble or reverent emotion’. In a nutshell, motivation stirs you while the inspiration fills you. And that is one of the major differences between the both. In many ways inspiration is bigger than motivation and, in fact, inspiration is more enduring and everlasting. You become inspired and you get motivated and that makes the subtle difference between the both. Many a time success is the product of both inspiration and motivation.
MERITS OF MOTIVATION:
1. Motivation helps in shaping ones personality.
2. It helps individuals grow personally and professionally.
3. Helps in building positive and healthy circle of friends.
4. Helps in dreaming big and achieving big by removing negative thoughts.
5. Helps in achieving goals and objectives and makes life more meaningful.
6. Builds the bricks towards positive attitude.
7. Enhances self-confidence and self-esteem.
8. Makes an ordinary man as an extra-ordinary man.
TYPES OF MOTIVATION:
Basically there are three types of motivation such as internal motivation, external motivation and incentive motivation. In internal motivation, the individual gets motivated of his own by various ways and means without expecting any external support. In this scenario the individual has extraordinary will power and he constantly and continuously motivates himself whenever he is faced with failures and then gradually rises like Phoenix. It can also be called as self-motivation. It is the hallmark of great leaders. In the case of external motivation, the individual is motivated by means of external influences by way of inspirational songs, slogans, pictures and persons. When the individual is motivated due to monetary reasons, which usually happens in the corporate world, it is known as incentive or monetary motivation. Both internal and external motivation does not involve monetary aspects and hence belong to non-financial motivation. In this context, let us know what is the basic need every human being wants and craves by going with various motivational theories.
MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES:
According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, every human being has certain needs to fulfill. The first and foremost need is the physiological need without which man cannot survive and these are the basic needs for all. After fulfilling this need man craves for security needs. That is, he wants to protect and secure himself from any threats towards his life. After meeting the second level of needs, he is eager to have affiliation needs. He needs to belong to his own group of people and feels like to get associated. Aristotle aptly said, 'Man is a social animal’. He cannot live alone and he always wants to move with his group'. He would not only like to be affiliated but also like to be accepted with in the group. And he would try to flex and adapt to fulfill this need. The fourth one is self-esteem needs. And the fifth one is the self-actualization needs where by after having all the basic needs he wants to prove himself of a superior and like to excel in life. Every man after reaching one need gradually graduates to the next higher level of the need in the hierarchy and that is why Abraham Maslow called it as 'hierarchy of needs'. This is why it is suitably said that man can't live by bread alone.
On the contrary to this theory, Vroom hypothesized that to motivate a person there is a need to link effort, performance and motivation. He proposes three variables to account for this, which he calls Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality. Having known what one needs and what is motivation it is relevant to briefly explain the tools and techniques to motivate.
TIPS FOR MOTIVATION:
• Always surround with healthy and positive people. The positive vibes will have tremendous effect. As every person has positive and negative thoughts, when one is faced with negative emotions, feelings, which arise out of successive setbacks, it is the healthy ambience that will bring up the person from falling into abyss.
• Listen to music, which is encouraging and soothing.
• If required, relax your mind by giving a break.
• Daily spend some time for meditation and stay in a serene place. Don’t let noise disturb your mind. You will discover many things in life and that keeps motivating you.
• Reward yourself whenever you achieved something by holidaying or partying or celebrating with your kith and kin.
• At times, positive self-talk can trigger motivation.
• Keep slogans, which are inspirational in your home and office. These days we find slogans in corporate offices, which will constantly raise the spirits. The author has the poster of Swami Vivekananda with a slogan of 'Arise, Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached' in his bedroom. He reads after waking up and before going to bed. Slogans make magic and which one reads regularly twice it will go to the subconscious mind it will constantly keep the person on toes. Even if the person goes out of track due to failures or setbacks the subconscious mind alerts and puts him on the right track and on the fast track.
• Goal setting is a wonderful tool, which encourages the individual to stay focused. Goals will keep the individual to move ahead despite odds. Dividing the goals into short term and long term is essential. Even if there is failure in short-term goals, the long-term goals will overtake the setbacks in short term goals. Make sure that the goals set are specific, measurable, achievable, reachable and timed. Once goals are set there should not be any doubt and try to take constructive and positive feedback. Focus on the areas and activities where you are confident and comfortable as it gets the going easily. Besides, it provides you adequate momentum to move forward. If the goal happens to be big then break the same into small pieces and start executing one by one.
• Take a role model who is ideal and symbol of values, principles and success and start dreaming about him.
• Visualizing success as though you had reached your goals will boost your energy levels.
• Meditation will motivate and bring fresh levels of enthusiasm. You can draw more mental powers by way of meditation.
• Recall your past achievements and ruminate for sometime.
• Read the biographies and autobiographies of great leaders across the world.
• Maintain a separate diary for collecting motivational quotations and read it whenever you are upset it will energize you instantly.
• Faith is the force of your life. Have strong faith in your abilities and capabilities.
• Believe in yourself and know that every dog has its own day.
• Lend your hand to the unsuccessful persons and it will bounce back automatically because good begets good.
• Try to find out what motivates you. Whether it is love, money, success, comforts, power, prestige and then pursue it.
• Never stick to one place as it may lead to regimented thoughts and ideas. Try to change, as every change will lead to better opportunities. And of course, opportunities stimulate and motivate.
• Always put your imagination at work.
• Thing big and break your mental barriers.
• Do know that failure is only a comma but not a full stop.
CONCLUSION:
Motivation is built on the bricks of optimism and confidence. These two fundamental factors are the driving forces towards higher motivational levels. It is necessary to get motivated all the times so as to succeed in personal, professional and social life. It is equally more important to motivate so as to motivate others. Problems are part of life and each problem will teach many lessons and makes an individual tough. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. It is a well-admitted fact that a smooth sea never makes a skillful mariner. And success touches to the toes of skillful mariners only.
Often people confuse between motivation and inspiration. This article focuses on the basic differences between the both. Various merits of motivation and the types are explained in detail. It addresses various motivational tips people can learn and follow easily thereby getting equipped and energized.
- - - - - - -
KEY WORDS: Introduction, Motivation and Inspiration, Merits of Motivation, Types of Motivation, Motivational Theories, and Tips for Motivation & Conclusion.
INTRODUCTION:
"Man's greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time he falls", Oliver Goldsmith.
He failed in business at 21 years. He was defeated in elections at 22 years. Again he failed in business at 24 years. He lost his wife at 26 years and had nervous breakdown at 27 years. He lost senatorial elections at 45 years, lost elections as Vice-President at 47 and again at 49 years. Ultimately he became the President of USA at 52 years. By this time, it is obvious to every reader that he was none other than Abraham Lincoln. What do we call his spirit? Can we call it as motivation? Certainly, Yes. Success is product of successive setbacks. The word motivation is coined from the Latin word "movere", which means to move. Motivation can be defined as an internal drive that activates behavior and gives it direction. To put it succinctly, the ability to move from one failure to another without losing energy and enthusiasm is known as motivation. If someone achieves success after a success without any setbacks, can we call it as motivation? Of course, Not. By the way, let us know the definition of motivation from Wikipedia also.
Motivation (Wikipedia) is the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior, especially human behavior as studied in psychology and neuropsychology. These reasons may include basic needs such as food or a desired object, hobbies, goal, state of being, or ideal. The motivation for a behavior may also be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism or morality. According to Geen, [#] motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behavior.
MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION:
Often people confuse between motivation and inspiration. Motivation comes out of external influence that encourages you either with ideas or with individuals. While in inspiration, it comes from with in and with internal influence. Inspiration results in a feeling of excitement and well being, and a desire to get into action instantly without any prompting while motivation needs prompting and encouragement by others.
Motivation comes from the word ‘motivate’ that means ‘a stir to action’. On the other hand, inspiration comes from the word ‘inspire’ that means ‘to fill with noble or reverent emotion’. In a nutshell, motivation stirs you while the inspiration fills you. And that is one of the major differences between the both. In many ways inspiration is bigger than motivation and, in fact, inspiration is more enduring and everlasting. You become inspired and you get motivated and that makes the subtle difference between the both. Many a time success is the product of both inspiration and motivation.
MERITS OF MOTIVATION:
1. Motivation helps in shaping ones personality.
2. It helps individuals grow personally and professionally.
3. Helps in building positive and healthy circle of friends.
4. Helps in dreaming big and achieving big by removing negative thoughts.
5. Helps in achieving goals and objectives and makes life more meaningful.
6. Builds the bricks towards positive attitude.
7. Enhances self-confidence and self-esteem.
8. Makes an ordinary man as an extra-ordinary man.
TYPES OF MOTIVATION:
Basically there are three types of motivation such as internal motivation, external motivation and incentive motivation. In internal motivation, the individual gets motivated of his own by various ways and means without expecting any external support. In this scenario the individual has extraordinary will power and he constantly and continuously motivates himself whenever he is faced with failures and then gradually rises like Phoenix. It can also be called as self-motivation. It is the hallmark of great leaders. In the case of external motivation, the individual is motivated by means of external influences by way of inspirational songs, slogans, pictures and persons. When the individual is motivated due to monetary reasons, which usually happens in the corporate world, it is known as incentive or monetary motivation. Both internal and external motivation does not involve monetary aspects and hence belong to non-financial motivation. In this context, let us know what is the basic need every human being wants and craves by going with various motivational theories.
MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES:
According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, every human being has certain needs to fulfill. The first and foremost need is the physiological need without which man cannot survive and these are the basic needs for all. After fulfilling this need man craves for security needs. That is, he wants to protect and secure himself from any threats towards his life. After meeting the second level of needs, he is eager to have affiliation needs. He needs to belong to his own group of people and feels like to get associated. Aristotle aptly said, 'Man is a social animal’. He cannot live alone and he always wants to move with his group'. He would not only like to be affiliated but also like to be accepted with in the group. And he would try to flex and adapt to fulfill this need. The fourth one is self-esteem needs. And the fifth one is the self-actualization needs where by after having all the basic needs he wants to prove himself of a superior and like to excel in life. Every man after reaching one need gradually graduates to the next higher level of the need in the hierarchy and that is why Abraham Maslow called it as 'hierarchy of needs'. This is why it is suitably said that man can't live by bread alone.
On the contrary to this theory, Vroom hypothesized that to motivate a person there is a need to link effort, performance and motivation. He proposes three variables to account for this, which he calls Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality. Having known what one needs and what is motivation it is relevant to briefly explain the tools and techniques to motivate.
TIPS FOR MOTIVATION:
• Always surround with healthy and positive people. The positive vibes will have tremendous effect. As every person has positive and negative thoughts, when one is faced with negative emotions, feelings, which arise out of successive setbacks, it is the healthy ambience that will bring up the person from falling into abyss.
• Listen to music, which is encouraging and soothing.
• If required, relax your mind by giving a break.
• Daily spend some time for meditation and stay in a serene place. Don’t let noise disturb your mind. You will discover many things in life and that keeps motivating you.
• Reward yourself whenever you achieved something by holidaying or partying or celebrating with your kith and kin.
• At times, positive self-talk can trigger motivation.
• Keep slogans, which are inspirational in your home and office. These days we find slogans in corporate offices, which will constantly raise the spirits. The author has the poster of Swami Vivekananda with a slogan of 'Arise, Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached' in his bedroom. He reads after waking up and before going to bed. Slogans make magic and which one reads regularly twice it will go to the subconscious mind it will constantly keep the person on toes. Even if the person goes out of track due to failures or setbacks the subconscious mind alerts and puts him on the right track and on the fast track.
• Goal setting is a wonderful tool, which encourages the individual to stay focused. Goals will keep the individual to move ahead despite odds. Dividing the goals into short term and long term is essential. Even if there is failure in short-term goals, the long-term goals will overtake the setbacks in short term goals. Make sure that the goals set are specific, measurable, achievable, reachable and timed. Once goals are set there should not be any doubt and try to take constructive and positive feedback. Focus on the areas and activities where you are confident and comfortable as it gets the going easily. Besides, it provides you adequate momentum to move forward. If the goal happens to be big then break the same into small pieces and start executing one by one.
• Take a role model who is ideal and symbol of values, principles and success and start dreaming about him.
• Visualizing success as though you had reached your goals will boost your energy levels.
• Meditation will motivate and bring fresh levels of enthusiasm. You can draw more mental powers by way of meditation.
• Recall your past achievements and ruminate for sometime.
• Read the biographies and autobiographies of great leaders across the world.
• Maintain a separate diary for collecting motivational quotations and read it whenever you are upset it will energize you instantly.
• Faith is the force of your life. Have strong faith in your abilities and capabilities.
• Believe in yourself and know that every dog has its own day.
• Lend your hand to the unsuccessful persons and it will bounce back automatically because good begets good.
• Try to find out what motivates you. Whether it is love, money, success, comforts, power, prestige and then pursue it.
• Never stick to one place as it may lead to regimented thoughts and ideas. Try to change, as every change will lead to better opportunities. And of course, opportunities stimulate and motivate.
• Always put your imagination at work.
• Thing big and break your mental barriers.
• Do know that failure is only a comma but not a full stop.
CONCLUSION:
Motivation is built on the bricks of optimism and confidence. These two fundamental factors are the driving forces towards higher motivational levels. It is necessary to get motivated all the times so as to succeed in personal, professional and social life. It is equally more important to motivate so as to motivate others. Problems are part of life and each problem will teach many lessons and makes an individual tough. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. It is a well-admitted fact that a smooth sea never makes a skillful mariner. And success touches to the toes of skillful mariners only.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Knowledge Grows When Shared
“'Rivers do not drink their own water, nor do trees eat their own fruit, nor do rain clouds eat the grains reared by them. The wealth of the noble is used solely for the benefit of others?”
John Ruskin’s ‘Unto This Last’ to read during his thirty-six hours journey from Johannesburg to Durban, in October 1904 which changed Gandhiji’s life and led to the setting up of the Phoenix Settlement . After reading Ruskin’s book Mahatma Gandhi said, "I could not get any sleep that night. I was determined to change my life in accordance with the ideals of the book." Ultimately it is the ideas that change anybody’s life. It proves beyond doubt that ideas and ideals rule the world.
Mahatma Gandhi led India to independence through non-violence and Satyagraha. Very few people know that he took these principles from John Ruskin’s book ‘Unto This Last’. Mahatma was so influenced by the thoughts and writings of Ruskin that he experimented the principles for the liberation of India from colonial yoke.
Did the author ever imagine at the time of writing that his own ideas will help a country to attain independence and setting a trend for others to follow? Never, but it happened. Taking a leaf from Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela also implemented the same principles for equal rights for Blacks along with Whites in America and abolition of apartheid in South Africa and they succeeded. Mahatma Gandhi honestly admitted that these principles were not his own but read and implemented. It is for these reasons he is revered as Mahatma Gandhi across the world.
All individuals have great ideas. Few individuals only share. And very few individuals accept and experiment. Usually the credit goes to these few individuals as they accepted, tried and tested with courage and conviction. What a great satisfaction the creator of the ideas gets when his or her ideas are accepted magnanimously and tried and tested by others successfully.
Great individuals never bother who gets credit for achievements. It is just because they are great. Many people have read John Ruskin’s book. But, did how many people take his great ideas into practice?
In our real life, we find few people having vast knowledge but not sharing. It does not help in any away. What happens when water stays in one place without any movement? It stinks. As there has to be flow of water movement there has to be flow of ideas and sharing of knowledge.
At any point of time, people will have similar ideas and insights. When opened up, the same can be shared resulting into generation of more ideas. This is the essence of the day.
The world is becoming complex everyday with the rapid growing technology. More and more problems are arising as a result of complexity and uncertainty. Having multiple ideas will help to tackle the problems.
This article is dedicated to those unsung heroes and heroines who share their knowledge and ideas with others with magnanimity without expecting any rewards or credit. If my blog “Where Knowledge is Wealth” becomes the torchbearer of knowledge,ideas and ideals, it gives me a sense of great satisfaction and joy.
John Ruskin’s ‘Unto This Last’ to read during his thirty-six hours journey from Johannesburg to Durban, in October 1904 which changed Gandhiji’s life and led to the setting up of the Phoenix Settlement . After reading Ruskin’s book Mahatma Gandhi said, "I could not get any sleep that night. I was determined to change my life in accordance with the ideals of the book." Ultimately it is the ideas that change anybody’s life. It proves beyond doubt that ideas and ideals rule the world.
Mahatma Gandhi led India to independence through non-violence and Satyagraha. Very few people know that he took these principles from John Ruskin’s book ‘Unto This Last’. Mahatma was so influenced by the thoughts and writings of Ruskin that he experimented the principles for the liberation of India from colonial yoke.
Did the author ever imagine at the time of writing that his own ideas will help a country to attain independence and setting a trend for others to follow? Never, but it happened. Taking a leaf from Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela also implemented the same principles for equal rights for Blacks along with Whites in America and abolition of apartheid in South Africa and they succeeded. Mahatma Gandhi honestly admitted that these principles were not his own but read and implemented. It is for these reasons he is revered as Mahatma Gandhi across the world.
All individuals have great ideas. Few individuals only share. And very few individuals accept and experiment. Usually the credit goes to these few individuals as they accepted, tried and tested with courage and conviction. What a great satisfaction the creator of the ideas gets when his or her ideas are accepted magnanimously and tried and tested by others successfully.
Great individuals never bother who gets credit for achievements. It is just because they are great. Many people have read John Ruskin’s book. But, did how many people take his great ideas into practice?
In our real life, we find few people having vast knowledge but not sharing. It does not help in any away. What happens when water stays in one place without any movement? It stinks. As there has to be flow of water movement there has to be flow of ideas and sharing of knowledge.
At any point of time, people will have similar ideas and insights. When opened up, the same can be shared resulting into generation of more ideas. This is the essence of the day.
The world is becoming complex everyday with the rapid growing technology. More and more problems are arising as a result of complexity and uncertainty. Having multiple ideas will help to tackle the problems.
This article is dedicated to those unsung heroes and heroines who share their knowledge and ideas with others with magnanimity without expecting any rewards or credit. If my blog “Where Knowledge is Wealth” becomes the torchbearer of knowledge,ideas and ideals, it gives me a sense of great satisfaction and joy.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Comments from Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling at Attitudes for Selling
On Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 11:09 AM, Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling at Attitudes for Selling wrote:
Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling at Attitudes for Selling has left a new comment on your post "LINCOLN'S ELEVEN E'S":
Prof Rao.
I liked your article on Lincoln's E's. I will adapt some of it in my work with small businesses and when I am a guest speaker in high school and college business & marketing classes. Thank you!
The "Lincoln" revisitations due to Mr. Obama's election has been very interesting. We've had more books published or reprinted, picture exhitions in galleries and museums, television programs of all kinds,that our minds are becoming overloaded with Linolnisms.
I also have a distant tie to Lincoln as I graduated from Lincoln High School here in Portland, Oregon and it is celebrating its 100 year anniversary on the 200 year anniversary of his birth. In addition, I am a member of the LHS Alumni Committee that raises money to invest and the interest gained goes to giving two college schoolarships.
Besides my "6 degrees of separation" to Lincoln, I have, in some ways, the same 6 degree with you because I have done many workshops and seminars for teachers, administrators, staff on why they, even if they don't want to admit it, are in sales.
At one talk, I greeted my audience of liberal arts teachers with "I'm please to be speaking to so many vocational education teachers." If they had rotten tomatoes or eggs handy, I would have been pelted with them. The theme of my talk was that every subject they taught have a direct relation to business and, whether they think it so, everybody goes into business. It is not a case of if, it is a case only of when. (For this event, I gave them several handouts related to the theme of my talk. Now I send it by ftp.)
Interesting, most educators do not realize it but there is more selling taking place in education than in any other field.
I will be interested in learning if you find any of the articles on my web site fit or augment some of the consulting and things you do.
Alan
Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling at Attitudes for Selling has left a new comment on your post "LINCOLN'S ELEVEN E'S":
Prof Rao.
I liked your article on Lincoln's E's. I will adapt some of it in my work with small businesses and when I am a guest speaker in high school and college business & marketing classes. Thank you!
The "Lincoln" revisitations due to Mr. Obama's election has been very interesting. We've had more books published or reprinted, picture exhitions in galleries and museums, television programs of all kinds,that our minds are becoming overloaded with Linolnisms.
I also have a distant tie to Lincoln as I graduated from Lincoln High School here in Portland, Oregon and it is celebrating its 100 year anniversary on the 200 year anniversary of his birth. In addition, I am a member of the LHS Alumni Committee that raises money to invest and the interest gained goes to giving two college schoolarships.
Besides my "6 degrees of separation" to Lincoln, I have, in some ways, the same 6 degree with you because I have done many workshops and seminars for teachers, administrators, staff on why they, even if they don't want to admit it, are in sales.
At one talk, I greeted my audience of liberal arts teachers with "I'm please to be speaking to so many vocational education teachers." If they had rotten tomatoes or eggs handy, I would have been pelted with them. The theme of my talk was that every subject they taught have a direct relation to business and, whether they think it so, everybody goes into business. It is not a case of if, it is a case only of when. (For this event, I gave them several handouts related to the theme of my talk. Now I send it by ftp.)
Interesting, most educators do not realize it but there is more selling taking place in education than in any other field.
I will be interested in learning if you find any of the articles on my web site fit or augment some of the consulting and things you do.
Alan
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Comment from Alexis Lerro about my articles on Abraham Lincoln
On Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 2:04 AM, 21st Century Abe wrote:
Dear Professor,
Abraham Lincoln is turning 200 in February, and we want you to celebrate his bicentennial with us!
We've read your site Where Knowledge is Wealth and think you'd be interested in hearing about our project because your blog has several posts citing Lincoln.
My name is Alexis Lerro and I work for a company called Lime Projects based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the last month or so, we have been helping the Rosenbach Museum & Library get ready to launch an exciting new project called "21st-Century Abe" to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abe Lincoln's birth.
21st-Century Abe grew out of an awareness that there is an intense interest in Lincoln among the great number of web-savvy folks who spend much of their days surfing the net, as the abundance of Lincoln-themed YouTube videos and MySpace pages will attest, but that he is almost exclusively represented and discussed in a mythical and clichéd way. The goal of 21st-Century Abe is to engage this audience in exploring a nuanced and complex view of Lincoln and to create a community of dialogue (both textual and artistic) around contemporary issues that grow out an understanding of Lincoln's historical materials. The organizing themes of the project include Lincoln's views on race, his patterns of thought and rhetoric, and his role as a celebrity, both in his own day and ours.
In addition to the blog the Rosenbach has started, there will be a full website launch on February 12^th , Lincoln's 200^th birthday, and exciting contributions from scholar and author Douglas Wilson, co-director of the Lincoln Studies Center and respected Lincoln academic; visual artist Maira Kalman, author and illustrator of numerous children's books and illustrator of the illustrated version of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style; composer and rock musician Bryce Dessner, (member of the band The National); and multi-media artists Archive (Anne Walsh and Chris Kubick) as they reflect on Lincoln documents and provide their own creative interpretations.
But we're not stopping there! Your responses—in words, songs, videos, photos, drawings, web links, whatever — define 21st-Century Abe. With the full site launch, we invite you to contribute your own Abe finds and interpretations and maybe even win one of our Abe contests.
After researching many blogs on the subjects of history, civil war reenactment, art, politics and education, we are excited to share 21st-Century Abe at the Rosenbach with your website, Where Knowledge is Wealth.
The 21^st -Century Abe blog is located at the following URL: http://www.21stcenturyabe.org
Plus there are great supplementary Abe media sites like:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/21stCenturyAbe
Bebo: http://www.bebo.com/21stCenturyAbe
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/21stcenturyabe
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1586996051&ref=profile&pub=2309869772
Let us know what you think about it! If you like it, pass it along and tell a friend, or even post about it on your blog.
Thanks for your time—we hope to hear from you on our blog and website, and if you're in the Philly area, we hope to see you at the Rosenbach's festivities!
Sincerely,
Alexis
Alexis Lerro
Production Manager and Research Coordinator
Lime Projects
abe21@limeprojects.com
tel. 267.886.9224
Dear Professor,
Abraham Lincoln is turning 200 in February, and we want you to celebrate his bicentennial with us!
We've read your site Where Knowledge is Wealth and think you'd be interested in hearing about our project because your blog has several posts citing Lincoln.
My name is Alexis Lerro and I work for a company called Lime Projects based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the last month or so, we have been helping the Rosenbach Museum & Library get ready to launch an exciting new project called "21st-Century Abe" to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abe Lincoln's birth.
21st-Century Abe grew out of an awareness that there is an intense interest in Lincoln among the great number of web-savvy folks who spend much of their days surfing the net, as the abundance of Lincoln-themed YouTube videos and MySpace pages will attest, but that he is almost exclusively represented and discussed in a mythical and clichéd way. The goal of 21st-Century Abe is to engage this audience in exploring a nuanced and complex view of Lincoln and to create a community of dialogue (both textual and artistic) around contemporary issues that grow out an understanding of Lincoln's historical materials. The organizing themes of the project include Lincoln's views on race, his patterns of thought and rhetoric, and his role as a celebrity, both in his own day and ours.
In addition to the blog the Rosenbach has started, there will be a full website launch on February 12^th , Lincoln's 200^th birthday, and exciting contributions from scholar and author Douglas Wilson, co-director of the Lincoln Studies Center and respected Lincoln academic; visual artist Maira Kalman, author and illustrator of numerous children's books and illustrator of the illustrated version of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style; composer and rock musician Bryce Dessner, (member of the band The National); and multi-media artists Archive (Anne Walsh and Chris Kubick) as they reflect on Lincoln documents and provide their own creative interpretations.
But we're not stopping there! Your responses—in words, songs, videos, photos, drawings, web links, whatever — define 21st-Century Abe. With the full site launch, we invite you to contribute your own Abe finds and interpretations and maybe even win one of our Abe contests.
After researching many blogs on the subjects of history, civil war reenactment, art, politics and education, we are excited to share 21st-Century Abe at the Rosenbach with your website, Where Knowledge is Wealth.
The 21^st -Century Abe blog is located at the following URL: http://www.21stcenturyabe.org
Plus there are great supplementary Abe media sites like:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/21stCenturyAbe
Bebo: http://www.bebo.com/21stCenturyAbe
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/21stcenturyabe
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1586996051&ref=profile&pub=2309869772
Let us know what you think about it! If you like it, pass it along and tell a friend, or even post about it on your blog.
Thanks for your time—we hope to hear from you on our blog and website, and if you're in the Philly area, we hope to see you at the Rosenbach's festivities!
Sincerely,
Alexis
Alexis Lerro
Production Manager and Research Coordinator
Lime Projects
abe21@limeprojects.com
tel. 267.886.9224
Monday, January 19, 2009
Individuals, Issues and Ideas
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”- George Bernard Shaw
All individuals can be judged by the way they maintain their friend circle. A below average individual always talks of other individuals whether it is good or bad. An average individual always discusses about the events, issues, activities and problems. And finally, the above average individual always focuses on ideas and solutions. All individuals are alike but their thought processes is unique.
The individuals who are above average and who always crave for solutions and ideas are sure to succeed in their lives. Besides, these individual are always out of their comfort zone thus switching over to effective zone. If they feel that the effective zone becomes the comfort zone they switch over to the next higher orbit. They never remain silent and they are always passionate about challenges and changes.
All individuals can be judged by the way they maintain their friend circle. A below average individual always talks of other individuals whether it is good or bad. An average individual always discusses about the events, issues, activities and problems. And finally, the above average individual always focuses on ideas and solutions. All individuals are alike but their thought processes is unique.
The individuals who are above average and who always crave for solutions and ideas are sure to succeed in their lives. Besides, these individual are always out of their comfort zone thus switching over to effective zone. If they feel that the effective zone becomes the comfort zone they switch over to the next higher orbit. They never remain silent and they are always passionate about challenges and changes.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Be an Eagle and Soar Like a Leader
When we look at turtles, they have low goals and low relationship. Sharks have high goals but low relationship. Teddy bears have high relationships but unfortunately low goals. The relationship and goals for fox is medium. It is only the eagle that has high relationship and high goals. Eagle is the only one which stands distinguished from the rest of other birds because of certain unique qualities. And these can be called as leadership qualities.
Eagle is good at goal setting. It can see any object from a distance of 500 feet. The leaders know the big picture and they set their vision. The eagle is highly focused and does not get deviated from its goals. It tries various ways and means to get its meal. Once it clearly targets the same, no amount of external factors or forces stop from acquiring. So is the case of a leader.
Eagle loves challenges and undergoes changes during lifetime which is essential for leaders. Eagle loves and thrives in thunderstorms. It believes in uncertainly and is highly confident. Eagle is a risk taker as well.
Eagles think big, dream big and dare big. They never settle for less. They want the best of everything in life. So are the leaders who are passionate, dreamers, doers and pursue their vision with dogged determination.
It is a competitive world where it is not only the fittest but also the most adaptable can survive. You have to change with rapid changing times. And to be a successful leader, you must be able to learn lessons fast from your failures, quickly correct yourself and move forward aggressively without regretting and brooding over failures.
Leaders are always compared with eagles because they soar above the crowd. They know where they are going and why they are going. No amount of external disturbances prevents them reaching their goals. Therefore, be an eagle and soar like a leader.
Eagle is good at goal setting. It can see any object from a distance of 500 feet. The leaders know the big picture and they set their vision. The eagle is highly focused and does not get deviated from its goals. It tries various ways and means to get its meal. Once it clearly targets the same, no amount of external factors or forces stop from acquiring. So is the case of a leader.
Eagle loves challenges and undergoes changes during lifetime which is essential for leaders. Eagle loves and thrives in thunderstorms. It believes in uncertainly and is highly confident. Eagle is a risk taker as well.
Eagles think big, dream big and dare big. They never settle for less. They want the best of everything in life. So are the leaders who are passionate, dreamers, doers and pursue their vision with dogged determination.
It is a competitive world where it is not only the fittest but also the most adaptable can survive. You have to change with rapid changing times. And to be a successful leader, you must be able to learn lessons fast from your failures, quickly correct yourself and move forward aggressively without regretting and brooding over failures.
Leaders are always compared with eagles because they soar above the crowd. They know where they are going and why they are going. No amount of external disturbances prevents them reaching their goals. Therefore, be an eagle and soar like a leader.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
What is True Love?
"Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back! Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart but if it does not, be content it grew in yours."
Body Language and Public Speaking
“The body never lies and the body never keeps quiet”, Ancient Chinese proverb.
Body language constitutes 55 per cent of any communication with 7 per cent towards verbal and the rest 38 per cent towards voice modulation. Body language constitutes the major portion of any communication. It is the blend of both body animation and facial animation. For becoming a successful public speaker it is essential to concentrate a lot on this aspect. The audience mostly observes the body language as it alone gets registered quickly in the human subconscious mind. Even if the oral language is not clear to the audience, the body language helps them understand the message.
Research reveals that human beings tell many lies orally but the body gestures never signal wrong. Any misalignment between the both leads to communication gap or miscommunication. For instance, if an authoritarian leader says that he believes in participative or consensus style of functioning by thumping the table aggressively, it reflects that he still believes in dictatorial or authoritative attitude although orally he may have said as a democratic leader.
There are several Do’s and Don’ts in body language and observing and adopting the same will lead to successful public speaking. Pointing finger at others during public speaking sounds negative and sends wrong signals to the audience. Open palm is an indication of integrity and open mindedness and it mostly impresses the audience.
There has to be effective synchronization and coordination between both oral and body language for an effective public speaking. Practice is essential to bring out the necessary behavioral changes. Observing the speeches of great speakers and their audio programs will help in improving body language. You can videotape your own speech and improve your body language by taking feedback. You can also deliver presentation in the presence of a group of friends or family members and take feedback for improvement.
Most of the successful leaders across the world are basically good at public speaking. The charisma is created out of effective public speaking.
Despite lack of several skills, the skill of public speaking tips the scale towards success for any leader. People who crave for becoming successful leaders should first learn to speak and impress their audience well. Therefore, public speaking is one of the key skills for becoming a successful leader. And positive body language helps in this regard.
The End
Body language constitutes 55 per cent of any communication with 7 per cent towards verbal and the rest 38 per cent towards voice modulation. Body language constitutes the major portion of any communication. It is the blend of both body animation and facial animation. For becoming a successful public speaker it is essential to concentrate a lot on this aspect. The audience mostly observes the body language as it alone gets registered quickly in the human subconscious mind. Even if the oral language is not clear to the audience, the body language helps them understand the message.
Research reveals that human beings tell many lies orally but the body gestures never signal wrong. Any misalignment between the both leads to communication gap or miscommunication. For instance, if an authoritarian leader says that he believes in participative or consensus style of functioning by thumping the table aggressively, it reflects that he still believes in dictatorial or authoritative attitude although orally he may have said as a democratic leader.
There are several Do’s and Don’ts in body language and observing and adopting the same will lead to successful public speaking. Pointing finger at others during public speaking sounds negative and sends wrong signals to the audience. Open palm is an indication of integrity and open mindedness and it mostly impresses the audience.
There has to be effective synchronization and coordination between both oral and body language for an effective public speaking. Practice is essential to bring out the necessary behavioral changes. Observing the speeches of great speakers and their audio programs will help in improving body language. You can videotape your own speech and improve your body language by taking feedback. You can also deliver presentation in the presence of a group of friends or family members and take feedback for improvement.
Most of the successful leaders across the world are basically good at public speaking. The charisma is created out of effective public speaking.
Despite lack of several skills, the skill of public speaking tips the scale towards success for any leader. People who crave for becoming successful leaders should first learn to speak and impress their audience well. Therefore, public speaking is one of the key skills for becoming a successful leader. And positive body language helps in this regard.
The End
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Love, Courage and Strength
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. - Tao Tzu
When you love someone you will have courage to go to any extent. When someone loves you it gives you strength because there is someone to take care of you. That makes the difference between courage and strength. Besides, it is the strength that ensures your survival and it is the courage that ensures your success. It is a blessing when someone loves you deeply. However it is a blessing for the other person when you love.
Love is like a perennial river flowing without any let up. It is kind of feeling and affection sparking among the people. It involves emotions, feelings, desires, and attitudes. It need not to be a physical attraction. Love brings smiles and happiness. Love enhances interpersonal relations and commitments. Pure love removes negative thoughts from mind.
Love has nothing to do with age. Love can blossom at any age. It is all about igniting your spark. When some people see someone, the spark gets ignited and it is nothing but love. When you love someone with pure heart you can definitely win the love. Even if the loved ones are separated, they get connected after some years if the love is pure and strong.
We don’t see anybody dying for the sake of brother, mother, father. But we find people dying for the sake of love. Why it is so? Courage comes from love. When your loved one is being taken away or is hurt you get courage to go to any extent to protect even risking your life.
When you love someone you will have courage to go to any extent. When someone loves you it gives you strength because there is someone to take care of you. That makes the difference between courage and strength. Besides, it is the strength that ensures your survival and it is the courage that ensures your success. It is a blessing when someone loves you deeply. However it is a blessing for the other person when you love.
Love is like a perennial river flowing without any let up. It is kind of feeling and affection sparking among the people. It involves emotions, feelings, desires, and attitudes. It need not to be a physical attraction. Love brings smiles and happiness. Love enhances interpersonal relations and commitments. Pure love removes negative thoughts from mind.
Love has nothing to do with age. Love can blossom at any age. It is all about igniting your spark. When some people see someone, the spark gets ignited and it is nothing but love. When you love someone with pure heart you can definitely win the love. Even if the loved ones are separated, they get connected after some years if the love is pure and strong.
We don’t see anybody dying for the sake of brother, mother, father. But we find people dying for the sake of love. Why it is so? Courage comes from love. When your loved one is being taken away or is hurt you get courage to go to any extent to protect even risking your life.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Humor and Public Speaking
Is humor essential in public speaking? The answer is both ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. It appears strange! Humor has several advantages. Humor helps in breaking the tense situation. It helps in breaking the ice. It helps in bringing commotion to peace and in catching the attention of the audience quickly. It also helps in providing break to the stressed audience.
Humor, when used in wrong situations and places damages effective speaking. A few public speakers use humor as a tool to have an entry to the audience, i.e. connecting with the audience quickly. The trainers and speakers use humor as an ice breaking activity to take the audience to the actual content. Keeping the profile of the audience in mind, the speakers use humor to connect with the audience. The tools and techniques deployed differ from situation to situation. There is no fixed formula as such that a specific tool works out.
Successful speakers immediately get into the shoes of the audience by using humor. Once it is done half of the battle is won. They demonstrate to their audience that they surrendered and gradually they take their audience to the real issues and challenges and real message. They use proper pauses and pace to see that the message is carried. During the process they maintain smooth flow by lowering and raising their pitch depending on the context and content. They gradually exit the speech once they are convinced that the message is effectively conveyed. It is a mental process where the audience may not know the techniques deployed by the speakers. However at the end, it is the message that counts not humor.
The objective of any public speaking is to convey the content effectively and efficiently. In a nutshell, getting across the message to the audience is the key to successful public speaking. How the speaker gets across the point depends again on the ability of the speaker.
Human beings love to listen stories. A few speakers use some small stories to arouse interest in the audience. A few bring in anecdotes and examples to get the message across.
A few speakers use too much of humor which is not healthy as it sidetracks and sidelines the essence of the message. Successful public speakers use limited humor to quickly connect with audience. They use humor as a tool to convey the message. A few public speakers fail to realize this and resort to excessive humor thus defeating the very purpose of message. For an effective and successful public speaking it is essential to blend both entertainment and education with more emphasis on the latter.
Therefore, never confuse humor with message. It is necessary to draw a fine and thin line between both. The objective of public speaking is to drive home the message and in this process humor becomes only a means not an end. Ultimately it is the takeaways’ that last in the minds of the audience.
The End
Humor, when used in wrong situations and places damages effective speaking. A few public speakers use humor as a tool to have an entry to the audience, i.e. connecting with the audience quickly. The trainers and speakers use humor as an ice breaking activity to take the audience to the actual content. Keeping the profile of the audience in mind, the speakers use humor to connect with the audience. The tools and techniques deployed differ from situation to situation. There is no fixed formula as such that a specific tool works out.
Successful speakers immediately get into the shoes of the audience by using humor. Once it is done half of the battle is won. They demonstrate to their audience that they surrendered and gradually they take their audience to the real issues and challenges and real message. They use proper pauses and pace to see that the message is carried. During the process they maintain smooth flow by lowering and raising their pitch depending on the context and content. They gradually exit the speech once they are convinced that the message is effectively conveyed. It is a mental process where the audience may not know the techniques deployed by the speakers. However at the end, it is the message that counts not humor.
The objective of any public speaking is to convey the content effectively and efficiently. In a nutshell, getting across the message to the audience is the key to successful public speaking. How the speaker gets across the point depends again on the ability of the speaker.
Human beings love to listen stories. A few speakers use some small stories to arouse interest in the audience. A few bring in anecdotes and examples to get the message across.
A few speakers use too much of humor which is not healthy as it sidetracks and sidelines the essence of the message. Successful public speakers use limited humor to quickly connect with audience. They use humor as a tool to convey the message. A few public speakers fail to realize this and resort to excessive humor thus defeating the very purpose of message. For an effective and successful public speaking it is essential to blend both entertainment and education with more emphasis on the latter.
Therefore, never confuse humor with message. It is necessary to draw a fine and thin line between both. The objective of public speaking is to drive home the message and in this process humor becomes only a means not an end. Ultimately it is the takeaways’ that last in the minds of the audience.
The End
Monday, January 5, 2009
Passion, Survival & Success
Richards was passionate in becoming a trainer. His ambition was to become a successful trainer in leadership. All along his life, he faced several lows and highs in life. Having come to the middle age, he decided to make use of his corporate experience by becoming a successful trainer in leadership. Although he tried for several jobs for becoming a trainer he failed to become. He had several employment offers other than trainer. Since he had family with children he had several responsibilities. Therefore, he decided to compromise with his passion and joined in a multinational organization as middle level manager. He was able to deliver the goods on an average basis but could not utilize his full potential. For him, survival became more important than his passion to become a trainer.
Likewise, we find many people compromising with their passionate areas and settling down for less than what they aspire, desire and deserve. Can the Richards’ decision be justified? Can he grow in the present job that he does for the sake of survival? It is a debatable issue.
Life:
Life is replete with complexity and unpredictability. Anything can happen at any time and many things are out of our control. A few people struggle to control the external factors and achieve success. And a few people compromise with what they can do with in the internal factors and survive. Everyone’s life revolves around these three factors like passion, survival and success.
Success:
Success comes when there is confluence between one’s expectations and realities. Success can be defined as the result arising when there is matching between dreams and desired outcome. It comes when the right person is in the right place at the right time. Success comes when the forces and factors in the internal and external environment are effectively managed and coordinated.
Success does not come when you compare with others. Success comes when one’s own performance is superseded or surpassed by previous performance. For instance, initially if you run 15 kilometers in one hour and subsequently if you run 16 kilometers within the same time, it means you are successful. Never compare yourself with others as it leads to frustration. Everyone is unique. No two individual are alike. Even twins are not alike in temperaments. How can you compare with others?
Passion:
Passion is an immense love towards one’s area of interest. It is a fire that keeps the people moving forward. It is immeasurable and intangible and it can only be felt, when one achieves success. It never listens to ‘No’ and always listens to ‘Yes’. It makes the people to go any extent to achieve anything under the sun in the earth. The fact that many inventions occurred and the human civilization prospered and evolved to the current stage is because of the passion.
Passion keeps the people focused. It never distracts from the cherished goals. It keeps the people in the right track and in the fast track. No amount of criticism hinders the passionate person.
Passion is nothing but the burning desire to become big. Passion is like a volcano hidden among the people. It keeps burning internally and drives the people ahead. It is the passion that led Dhirubhai Ambani to build Reliance Empire in India. It is the passion that led Gordon Binder to turnaround Amgen Company. These passionate leaders had clarity and knew where they were going.
Conclusion:
Passion is the key to success. Find out where your heart is. Tap and channelise your energies and efforts in those areas. Do what you love to do. Fear not for failures. Fear not for criticism. Look at your goal. Hit the bulls’ eye. Only then, you can achieve success in your life.
Loving what you do is survival. Doing what you love is success. Pursuing what you desire is passion. Decide yourself.
The End
Likewise, we find many people compromising with their passionate areas and settling down for less than what they aspire, desire and deserve. Can the Richards’ decision be justified? Can he grow in the present job that he does for the sake of survival? It is a debatable issue.
Life:
Life is replete with complexity and unpredictability. Anything can happen at any time and many things are out of our control. A few people struggle to control the external factors and achieve success. And a few people compromise with what they can do with in the internal factors and survive. Everyone’s life revolves around these three factors like passion, survival and success.
Success:
Success comes when there is confluence between one’s expectations and realities. Success can be defined as the result arising when there is matching between dreams and desired outcome. It comes when the right person is in the right place at the right time. Success comes when the forces and factors in the internal and external environment are effectively managed and coordinated.
Success does not come when you compare with others. Success comes when one’s own performance is superseded or surpassed by previous performance. For instance, initially if you run 15 kilometers in one hour and subsequently if you run 16 kilometers within the same time, it means you are successful. Never compare yourself with others as it leads to frustration. Everyone is unique. No two individual are alike. Even twins are not alike in temperaments. How can you compare with others?
Passion:
Passion is an immense love towards one’s area of interest. It is a fire that keeps the people moving forward. It is immeasurable and intangible and it can only be felt, when one achieves success. It never listens to ‘No’ and always listens to ‘Yes’. It makes the people to go any extent to achieve anything under the sun in the earth. The fact that many inventions occurred and the human civilization prospered and evolved to the current stage is because of the passion.
Passion keeps the people focused. It never distracts from the cherished goals. It keeps the people in the right track and in the fast track. No amount of criticism hinders the passionate person.
Passion is nothing but the burning desire to become big. Passion is like a volcano hidden among the people. It keeps burning internally and drives the people ahead. It is the passion that led Dhirubhai Ambani to build Reliance Empire in India. It is the passion that led Gordon Binder to turnaround Amgen Company. These passionate leaders had clarity and knew where they were going.
Conclusion:
Passion is the key to success. Find out where your heart is. Tap and channelise your energies and efforts in those areas. Do what you love to do. Fear not for failures. Fear not for criticism. Look at your goal. Hit the bulls’ eye. Only then, you can achieve success in your life.
Loving what you do is survival. Doing what you love is success. Pursuing what you desire is passion. Decide yourself.
The End
Love, Success and Age
Success is like a beautiful woman who may go away at any time, but failure is like a mother who will be with you forever and teaches you many lessons.
Success is the sweetest word in the world. Failure is the hardest word in the world. But both are essential for a meaningful and successful life. While failure teaches many lessons success keeps you moving forward.
Lincoln’s Failure:
“Failure should not alienate you and success should not elevate you”- Prof.M.S.Rao
Leaders like Abraham Lincoln are an inspiration and motivation for the people who fail miserably in life. He set an excellent example in getting along with failures and became the first Republican President of America. Whenever any individual faces failures look at this American legend who faced maximum failures successively for many years. Yet he demonstrated his dogged determination and iron will to prove the world that anything and everything is possible at any age provided lessons from the failures are well learnt.
Success - By Result:
Success should never be treated as an end result rather it should be treated as a by result. You need to put in efforts and energies regularly with a view of loving to do the job. When efforts are sustained and focused for a longer time, success is sure to wed. In Mahabharata epic, Lord Krishna rightly said, ‘Do your duty and don’t look for results’. When you look everything from success perspective, there is bound to be frustration as you focus more on success rather on your efforts. When you focus more on efforts not on results then success is sure to touch your toes.
Move in Matrix:
You need to move in a matrix. Life is all about numbers. You need to change the strategies that do not work properly. You need to align your strategies to reach your goals. In life, there are two things to be stressed upon – one is internal environment and the other is external environment. Mostly, failure is the result of the factors and forces prevailing in the external environment. When you face failure as a result of the influence of external environment you do not have to regret. When you face failure as a result of internal environment you need to take a quick look at the strategies that did not work. You need to accept the blame, change the strategies that are feasible and possible and move forward with energy and enthusiasm. If you see the big and broad picture even some of the problems arising out of external environment can be anticipated and checkmated to avoid any fiasco. But it requires a typical and extraordinary mindset crafted from rich experience.
Examine Failures:
When faced with failures just think whether you failed in the same way by applying similar strategies. In that case you stand out to be a fool who do not learn lessons from your failure. If you failed differently there is no cause for concern because you tried to work out different strategies towards success and the same did not work out. Therefore, examine the failures critically and creatively to learn lessons and accordingly change strategies for achieving success.
Love, Success and Age:
Love and success has nothing to do with age. Anyone can love at any age and anyone can succeed at any age. If you have a big heart, love can blossom regardless of age. Similarly, if there is will power, success can be acquired by turning around failure regardless of age.
Failure – A Comma, Not A Full Stop:
If you say that you have not failed, that means you have never tried. If you say that you have failed that means you are mature to admit that you tried and learnt lessons. It is folly to blame the fate for all your mistakes. As a human being it is necessary to put in best of your efforts and energies unmindful of the results. Over a period of time, success does not become a by result but an end result. To conclude, failure is only a comma, not a full stop. You can turn the tide towards success with your passion.
The End
Success is the sweetest word in the world. Failure is the hardest word in the world. But both are essential for a meaningful and successful life. While failure teaches many lessons success keeps you moving forward.
Lincoln’s Failure:
“Failure should not alienate you and success should not elevate you”- Prof.M.S.Rao
Leaders like Abraham Lincoln are an inspiration and motivation for the people who fail miserably in life. He set an excellent example in getting along with failures and became the first Republican President of America. Whenever any individual faces failures look at this American legend who faced maximum failures successively for many years. Yet he demonstrated his dogged determination and iron will to prove the world that anything and everything is possible at any age provided lessons from the failures are well learnt.
Success - By Result:
Success should never be treated as an end result rather it should be treated as a by result. You need to put in efforts and energies regularly with a view of loving to do the job. When efforts are sustained and focused for a longer time, success is sure to wed. In Mahabharata epic, Lord Krishna rightly said, ‘Do your duty and don’t look for results’. When you look everything from success perspective, there is bound to be frustration as you focus more on success rather on your efforts. When you focus more on efforts not on results then success is sure to touch your toes.
Move in Matrix:
You need to move in a matrix. Life is all about numbers. You need to change the strategies that do not work properly. You need to align your strategies to reach your goals. In life, there are two things to be stressed upon – one is internal environment and the other is external environment. Mostly, failure is the result of the factors and forces prevailing in the external environment. When you face failure as a result of the influence of external environment you do not have to regret. When you face failure as a result of internal environment you need to take a quick look at the strategies that did not work. You need to accept the blame, change the strategies that are feasible and possible and move forward with energy and enthusiasm. If you see the big and broad picture even some of the problems arising out of external environment can be anticipated and checkmated to avoid any fiasco. But it requires a typical and extraordinary mindset crafted from rich experience.
Examine Failures:
When faced with failures just think whether you failed in the same way by applying similar strategies. In that case you stand out to be a fool who do not learn lessons from your failure. If you failed differently there is no cause for concern because you tried to work out different strategies towards success and the same did not work out. Therefore, examine the failures critically and creatively to learn lessons and accordingly change strategies for achieving success.
Love, Success and Age:
Love and success has nothing to do with age. Anyone can love at any age and anyone can succeed at any age. If you have a big heart, love can blossom regardless of age. Similarly, if there is will power, success can be acquired by turning around failure regardless of age.
Failure – A Comma, Not A Full Stop:
If you say that you have not failed, that means you have never tried. If you say that you have failed that means you are mature to admit that you tried and learnt lessons. It is folly to blame the fate for all your mistakes. As a human being it is necessary to put in best of your efforts and energies unmindful of the results. Over a period of time, success does not become a by result but an end result. To conclude, failure is only a comma, not a full stop. You can turn the tide towards success with your passion.
The End
Can Soft Skills Be Called As Employability Skills?
“You can give lifetime employability by training people, by making them adaptable, making them mobile to go other places to do other things. But you can’t guarantee lifetime employment.” – Jack Welch.
There are number of definitions about soft skills. And everyone gives their own way of definition about soft skills. There is yet another problem about this domain, as people call it with different names such as people skills, emotional intelligence, life skills, interpersonal skills etc., Soft skills can also be called as employability skills as it equips the students with certain skills, abilities, attributes and competencies those are essential for getting placement at the corporate world.
Soft skills is an evolving domain and yet to take a concrete shape. When we look at soft skills, these are the skills, traits, abilities which are essential for surviving and succeeding in the corporate world such as: emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, communication skills, motivation, leadership skills, decision making skills, negotiation skills, business etiquette, problem solving skills, conflict management, stress management etc., These are all the essential ingredients for everyone for personal, professional and social success.
In this context, it is necessary to know other side of the soft skills - hard skills. These are the skills other than domain skills - technical skills supplement the soft skills. The soft skills help in effective presentation of hard skills. Therefore both soft skills and hard skills are the two sides of the same coin and one without the other has no meaning.
People may dispute those soft skills alone, not hard skills are sufficient for ensuring professional success. But if there are no hard skills then what would be communicated? Similarly, if there are hard skills alone and no soft skills then there is no effectiveness. It can also be said that hard skills are the core skills and soft skills are the surface skills while former becomes the infrastructure and the latter becomes the super structure. Soft skills bring the cosmetic changes to the hard skills that are essential for success.
The qualities and skills such as communication skills, presentation skills, team spirit, positive attitude, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, leadership skills, time management, learnability, absorbability, integrity and passion to perform are essential for all students to get employment. Then what is wrong in calling the soft skills as employability skills?
The End
There are number of definitions about soft skills. And everyone gives their own way of definition about soft skills. There is yet another problem about this domain, as people call it with different names such as people skills, emotional intelligence, life skills, interpersonal skills etc., Soft skills can also be called as employability skills as it equips the students with certain skills, abilities, attributes and competencies those are essential for getting placement at the corporate world.
Soft skills is an evolving domain and yet to take a concrete shape. When we look at soft skills, these are the skills, traits, abilities which are essential for surviving and succeeding in the corporate world such as: emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, communication skills, motivation, leadership skills, decision making skills, negotiation skills, business etiquette, problem solving skills, conflict management, stress management etc., These are all the essential ingredients for everyone for personal, professional and social success.
In this context, it is necessary to know other side of the soft skills - hard skills. These are the skills other than domain skills - technical skills supplement the soft skills. The soft skills help in effective presentation of hard skills. Therefore both soft skills and hard skills are the two sides of the same coin and one without the other has no meaning.
People may dispute those soft skills alone, not hard skills are sufficient for ensuring professional success. But if there are no hard skills then what would be communicated? Similarly, if there are hard skills alone and no soft skills then there is no effectiveness. It can also be said that hard skills are the core skills and soft skills are the surface skills while former becomes the infrastructure and the latter becomes the super structure. Soft skills bring the cosmetic changes to the hard skills that are essential for success.
The qualities and skills such as communication skills, presentation skills, team spirit, positive attitude, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, leadership skills, time management, learnability, absorbability, integrity and passion to perform are essential for all students to get employment. Then what is wrong in calling the soft skills as employability skills?
The End
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