Due to the rapid growth in technology people are often in the rat race to compete with others little realizing that they are losing so much or so little. People often search for stones by leaving gems at home. People often think that they will be happy at a later stage if they work hard today. However, there is no guarantee about happiness at later stage. In this context, I would like to discuss about Ben-Shahar’s Happiness Model which is thought provoking for the busy people to take a look at and find meaning for their lives.
Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar
Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar is an author of several books and specialist in “Positive Psychology." He is the author of various books such as The Pursuit of Perfect: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Start Living a Richer, Happier Life and Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment. He has designed a Happiness Model which is also known as "The Hamburger Model". It contains four quadrants representing Nihilism, Hedonism, Rat Race and Happiness. Here is the information taken from his book ‘Happier’ to bring awareness about this model for the benefit of readers.
Ben-Shahar's Happiness Model
Nihilism: Nihilism falls in the bottom left hand quadrant of the Happiness Model. Nihilists are people who have given up hope of finding meaning in life. They don't enjoy any present happiness, nor do they have any sense of purpose or hope for the future. As a result, they're "resigned to their fate."
Hedonism: Hedonism falls in the lower right hand quadrant of the model. Hedonists focus on present happiness only, and give little thought to future consequences. They may think that "working hard" is painful and tedious, and may avoid this. As a result, hedonists feel unchallenged, and are often unfulfilled.
Rat Race: The Rat Race falls in the upper left hand quadrant of the model. In the Rat Race, we detrimentally put off present happiness in the hope of some future benefit. This archetype is likely the most familiar to many of us. Here, people constantly pursue goals that they think will make them happy. When those goals are achieved, however, a new goal almost immediately takes its place. While Rat Racers may experience brief flashes of satisfaction when they achieve goals, any thought of present happiness is then quickly pushed to the side.
Happiness: The Happiness archetype falls in the upper right quadrant of the model. This archetype reflects a good balance between present happiness and future benefits.
Precisely, the Happiness Model defines four happiness archetypes as follows:
1. Nihilism - Nihilists have lost the joy in life. They derive no present pleasure in their work or life, and expect no future benefits or rewards. They've "given up."
2. Hedonism - Hedonists live for the moment. They pursue pleasure and an easy life, and give little or no thought to future consequences and plans.
3. Rat Racing - The Rat Race archetype often sacrifices current pleasures and benefits in anticipation of some future reward.
4. Happiness - True happiness is achieved when there is a perfect balance between present pleasure and future benefits.
Current Global Scenario
It is rightly said that a young person looks at the future; the middle aged person looks at the present while the old aged person looks at the past. However, in the cut-throat competitive world young, middle aged and the old are running behind something for which they don’t have any clarity.
The present position is such that parents don’t have time to spend with their children. As a result, children find emotional gaps and search elsewhere for the same. Sometimes the crimes shoot up among the children and teenagers as parents don’t find time to guide and groom them. Old people are uncared by children as the latter are busy with their survival and success.
We are living in a competitive world where people often intend to outsmart others without realizing any meaning to life. God gave us life. We must learn to make use of the most by striking balance between pressure and pleasure, between rapidity and slowness. Otherwise there is no meaning to life.
Is Happiness a Hope or Hype?
Happiness is a state of mind. It comes in any way such as through wealth, knowledge, power, prestige or love. However, it depends on the priority of the person. People often think that happiness is an end but the fact is that happiness is a means. People struggle and sacrifice throughout their life journey for thinking about destination of happiness. In fact, true happiness lies in journey, not in destination.
It is essential to strike the balance between today and tomorrow. There are number of books that have come up learning to live in present than getting bogged down about past and overanxious about future. Hence, let us learn to live in present rather being worried about the past that cannot be changed and over concerned about future that can not be predicted. Learn to strike balance between the past, present and future and also between the pressure and pleasure to find meaning to your life.
Reference
Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar’s book Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment (2007)
Note: Few portions of the model have been taken from the book to bring awareness among the readers.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
“Dr. Marshall Goldsmith – The Man Who Moves and Mesmerizes Leaders” - Professor M.S.Rao
“When successful people write down goals, announce these goals to respected colleagues and involve the colleagues in helping them improve (in a supportive way), positive measurable change is much more likely to occur.” - Marshall Goldsmith
Dr. Marshall Goldsmith needs no introduction in leadership and executive coaching. He is the New York Times and million copy best-selling author of MOJO and What Got You Here Won't Get You There. He is the number one coaching guru and one of the top ten leadership gurus in the world. He is an executive coach who helps successful leaders become better by bringing out behavioral changes.
There are specializations in coaching. For instance, late C.K.Prahald was specialist in strategy related coaching and Richard Leiter is specialist in life coaching. However, Marshall is specialized in interpersonal skills and behavioral skills.
It is true that behind the success of every leader there is someone who laid the ladder for his or her growth. That ladder is none other than the executive coach in corporate world who constantly grills, grinds and makes leaders sharper and wiser through coaching and constructive feedback.
Coaches are the ladders who keep the ladders on the right side of the wall. Leaders know how to climb and why to climb but it is the coaches who know where these leaders should climb. It is said that behind the success of every man there is a woman. That is a traditional cliché. However, in the corporate world behind the success of every leader there is a coach who placed the ladder of the leader on the right side of the wall. Marshall has put the ladders of several leaders of Fortune 500 companies on the right side of the wall thus ensuring their success.
Few cynics opine that coaching is a management fad. Coaching is going to survive and play a crucial role in the corporate world. Although the term coaching is new, it has been existing since time immemorial. Due to the growing complexities in the corporate world there is growing emphasize on coaching to enhance performance of leaders.
Marshall – A Level 5 Leader
According to Jim Collins, the level 5 leaders don’t mind who gets credit. Their main job is to deliver the goods best without looking for any rewards. Besides, the level 5 leaders have the humility and professional will. Marshall Goldsmith is a Level 5 Leader in the language of Jim Collins who shaped several CEO’s careers without taking credit. He is humble at core, down-to-earth and is a thorough professional who means business.
Next to Peter F. Drucker it is the Marshall Goldsmith who deserves Nobel Prize for his contribution towards management and executive coaching. He is a man with humility who is ready to handhold leaders beyond geographical boundaries. He has great global appeal with huge fan base. Norwegian Committee must constitute Nobel Prize for the management discipline and must award Nobel Prize to this leadership legend.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.
Dr. Marshall Goldsmith needs no introduction in leadership and executive coaching. He is the New York Times and million copy best-selling author of MOJO and What Got You Here Won't Get You There. He is the number one coaching guru and one of the top ten leadership gurus in the world. He is an executive coach who helps successful leaders become better by bringing out behavioral changes.
There are specializations in coaching. For instance, late C.K.Prahald was specialist in strategy related coaching and Richard Leiter is specialist in life coaching. However, Marshall is specialized in interpersonal skills and behavioral skills.
It is true that behind the success of every leader there is someone who laid the ladder for his or her growth. That ladder is none other than the executive coach in corporate world who constantly grills, grinds and makes leaders sharper and wiser through coaching and constructive feedback.
Coaches are the ladders who keep the ladders on the right side of the wall. Leaders know how to climb and why to climb but it is the coaches who know where these leaders should climb. It is said that behind the success of every man there is a woman. That is a traditional cliché. However, in the corporate world behind the success of every leader there is a coach who placed the ladder of the leader on the right side of the wall. Marshall has put the ladders of several leaders of Fortune 500 companies on the right side of the wall thus ensuring their success.
Few cynics opine that coaching is a management fad. Coaching is going to survive and play a crucial role in the corporate world. Although the term coaching is new, it has been existing since time immemorial. Due to the growing complexities in the corporate world there is growing emphasize on coaching to enhance performance of leaders.
Marshall – A Level 5 Leader
According to Jim Collins, the level 5 leaders don’t mind who gets credit. Their main job is to deliver the goods best without looking for any rewards. Besides, the level 5 leaders have the humility and professional will. Marshall Goldsmith is a Level 5 Leader in the language of Jim Collins who shaped several CEO’s careers without taking credit. He is humble at core, down-to-earth and is a thorough professional who means business.
Next to Peter F. Drucker it is the Marshall Goldsmith who deserves Nobel Prize for his contribution towards management and executive coaching. He is a man with humility who is ready to handhold leaders beyond geographical boundaries. He has great global appeal with huge fan base. Norwegian Committee must constitute Nobel Prize for the management discipline and must award Nobel Prize to this leadership legend.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
“People, Problems and Politicians in India” - Professor M.S.Rao
“We are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we grapple with problems. But there are tens of thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on.” - Richard P. Feynman
In India people often blame politicians for all the problems. In fact, politicians are the biggest scapegoats in democracy as politicians cannot talk against people for fear of losing votes from them during elections. Politicians often present smiling faces despite being criticized by people. People have so many expectations and they know that it is impossible for them to accomplish. They take solace by blaming politicians. People make several mistakes and ultimately they pin responsibility on politicians.
People must know that politicians have come from people only. People must know the slogan that people get the government they deserve. Next time when you blame politicians blame yourself first as you have elected such politicians. Next time when you pin responsibility on politicians think yourself first how much responsible you are.
John C. Maxwell says in his book Be All You Can Be, “We have developed a society in which people would rather take the easy way out; we have become a relief-syndrome culture. This type of society does not make good leadership training ground. But those who are willing to pay the price will make it, and the world will sit back and wonder how these successful men and women ever got so lucky. Luck has nothing to do with it; they were simply willing to do what all the rest of the people were unwilling to do.”
You cannot expect a problem-free society. Problems will be there as long as man is there. If people don’t have any problems, then they will be in the graveyard. Hence, let us not blame politicians for all the problems we face. We must learn to face the problems squarely so that we can grow stronger and wiser and pass on a better society to our next generation.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
In India people often blame politicians for all the problems. In fact, politicians are the biggest scapegoats in democracy as politicians cannot talk against people for fear of losing votes from them during elections. Politicians often present smiling faces despite being criticized by people. People have so many expectations and they know that it is impossible for them to accomplish. They take solace by blaming politicians. People make several mistakes and ultimately they pin responsibility on politicians.
People must know that politicians have come from people only. People must know the slogan that people get the government they deserve. Next time when you blame politicians blame yourself first as you have elected such politicians. Next time when you pin responsibility on politicians think yourself first how much responsible you are.
John C. Maxwell says in his book Be All You Can Be, “We have developed a society in which people would rather take the easy way out; we have become a relief-syndrome culture. This type of society does not make good leadership training ground. But those who are willing to pay the price will make it, and the world will sit back and wonder how these successful men and women ever got so lucky. Luck has nothing to do with it; they were simply willing to do what all the rest of the people were unwilling to do.”
You cannot expect a problem-free society. Problems will be there as long as man is there. If people don’t have any problems, then they will be in the graveyard. Hence, let us not blame politicians for all the problems we face. We must learn to face the problems squarely so that we can grow stronger and wiser and pass on a better society to our next generation.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
“HALT Your Decision” - Professor M.S.Rao
“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” – Napoleon
We all make decisions in life. All decisions may not deliver fruitful results as some decisions succeed while some fail. If we take precautions while making decisions the probability of success will be higher. But how to make smart decision is a million dollar question. There is no magic wand to make sure all decisions are successful. However, what we can do is to HALT your decision where HALT is the acronym for Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tensely to make sure higher success rate in decision-making. Here is how HALT goes:
When you are in hungry you tend to make biased decisions as you have a strong appetite. When you are in anger you make decisions impulsively. When you are lonely you make decisions based on your emotions without consulting others. Finally, when you are in tense mood you are in a confused state.
For successful decision-making it is vital to use your head and heart. People either use their heads or hearts and rarely do they blend both to achieve the desired outcomes. When you go by head you go by logic and reason but you may not have any concern for people. Precisely, you go by task orientation. In contrast, when you go by heart you go by emotions and feelings with a concern for people. Precisely, you go by people orientation. However, if you want to eat the cake and have it too, then it is essential to blend both your head and heart that is to care for people and also production so that you can achieve desired outcomes by taking all aspects in view.
Hence, halt your decision when you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tense and blend your head and heart to make sound decisions. Good Luck!
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
We all make decisions in life. All decisions may not deliver fruitful results as some decisions succeed while some fail. If we take precautions while making decisions the probability of success will be higher. But how to make smart decision is a million dollar question. There is no magic wand to make sure all decisions are successful. However, what we can do is to HALT your decision where HALT is the acronym for Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tensely to make sure higher success rate in decision-making. Here is how HALT goes:
When you are in hungry you tend to make biased decisions as you have a strong appetite. When you are in anger you make decisions impulsively. When you are lonely you make decisions based on your emotions without consulting others. Finally, when you are in tense mood you are in a confused state.
For successful decision-making it is vital to use your head and heart. People either use their heads or hearts and rarely do they blend both to achieve the desired outcomes. When you go by head you go by logic and reason but you may not have any concern for people. Precisely, you go by task orientation. In contrast, when you go by heart you go by emotions and feelings with a concern for people. Precisely, you go by people orientation. However, if you want to eat the cake and have it too, then it is essential to blend both your head and heart that is to care for people and also production so that you can achieve desired outcomes by taking all aspects in view.
Hence, halt your decision when you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tense and blend your head and heart to make sound decisions. Good Luck!
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
Monday, May 16, 2011
“Man, His Problems and God” - Professor M.S.Rao
“We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.” - Albert Einstein
Man is responsible for most of the problems. He often blames God for all his problems for which he alone is responsible. Most of the problems for man are due to his rotten attitude. When man attacks others negatively with rotten attitude he invites problems for himself. Sometimes he develops envy and breaks relations with others. Ultimately he blames God. In fact, man makes mistakes and makes God as a scapegoat for most of the time. As long as man has pleasures, he forgets God and the moment pressures start he recalls God and holds Him accountable for all his problems. Man must have the attitude of gratitude towards others and God.
In addition, most of the times man reacts to the problems rather than acting to the problems. Man blames individuals for all issues without looking at ideas for resolving them. Man often wants to have an easy going and success and compromises several things and, finally, blames God for the consequences. Hence, man must learn to act rather than react.
90:10 Principle
When one of my students wanted to share with me about 90:10 principle, I requested him to share in the presence of other students so that the students are also benefited from his knowledge. He said that 90 percent of the problems can be solved by acting rather than reacting to the situation and 10 percent of the problems were beyond human control. Therefore, we should not bother much about 10 percent of the problems that arise out of external forces and factors whereas we need to take a quick look at 90 percent of the problems that can be tackled easily with proactive attitude and approach. Treat every problem as a prospect and treat every lesson as a path towards your success.
To conclude, have a positive, right and strong attitude and learn to act rather than react to the situations and finally, have an attitude of gratitude towards God.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
Man is responsible for most of the problems. He often blames God for all his problems for which he alone is responsible. Most of the problems for man are due to his rotten attitude. When man attacks others negatively with rotten attitude he invites problems for himself. Sometimes he develops envy and breaks relations with others. Ultimately he blames God. In fact, man makes mistakes and makes God as a scapegoat for most of the time. As long as man has pleasures, he forgets God and the moment pressures start he recalls God and holds Him accountable for all his problems. Man must have the attitude of gratitude towards others and God.
In addition, most of the times man reacts to the problems rather than acting to the problems. Man blames individuals for all issues without looking at ideas for resolving them. Man often wants to have an easy going and success and compromises several things and, finally, blames God for the consequences. Hence, man must learn to act rather than react.
90:10 Principle
When one of my students wanted to share with me about 90:10 principle, I requested him to share in the presence of other students so that the students are also benefited from his knowledge. He said that 90 percent of the problems can be solved by acting rather than reacting to the situation and 10 percent of the problems were beyond human control. Therefore, we should not bother much about 10 percent of the problems that arise out of external forces and factors whereas we need to take a quick look at 90 percent of the problems that can be tackled easily with proactive attitude and approach. Treat every problem as a prospect and treat every lesson as a path towards your success.
To conclude, have a positive, right and strong attitude and learn to act rather than react to the situations and finally, have an attitude of gratitude towards God.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
“Housing for Poor @ $300 By Vijay Govindarajan is A Brilliant Innovative Idea!” - Professor M.S.Rao
Innovation and Vijay Govindarajan go together. We all talk of innovation in every area. But we rarely look into innovation from the perspective of common man and especially for poor and homeless. Global innovation guru, Vijay Govindarajan who is popularly called VG globally has come out with an innovative idea of housing for poor.
In August 2010, VG, along with Christian Sarkar, a marketing expert, issued a challenge in the Harvard Business Review blog to design a $300 house for the world's most desperately poor citizens. The response was overwhelming. Last week, The Economist magazine's Schumpeter column has a thoughtful perspective on the $300 house vide link: http://www.economist.com/node/18618271?story_id=18618271&fsrc=rss
Tata Motors has come out with low cost car that worked out well for lower middle class people in India and it drew the global attention. Currently Vijay Govindarajan’s innovative idea of housing for poor at low cost is catching up attention globally. The business thinkers and experts must look at low cost ways and means of serving the poor and downtrodden to make a difference in their lives.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
In August 2010, VG, along with Christian Sarkar, a marketing expert, issued a challenge in the Harvard Business Review blog to design a $300 house for the world's most desperately poor citizens. The response was overwhelming. Last week, The Economist magazine's Schumpeter column has a thoughtful perspective on the $300 house vide link: http://www.economist.com/node/18618271?story_id=18618271&fsrc=rss
Tata Motors has come out with low cost car that worked out well for lower middle class people in India and it drew the global attention. Currently Vijay Govindarajan’s innovative idea of housing for poor at low cost is catching up attention globally. The business thinkers and experts must look at low cost ways and means of serving the poor and downtrodden to make a difference in their lives.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
“Obama vs. Osama” - Professor M.S.Rao
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” - W.W. Ziege
American President, Barrack Obama has proved his leadership skills once again by successfully eliminating Osama Bid Laden on this earth who was a symbol of global terrorism.
Although the names both Obama and Osama appear to be similar, these personalities are poles apart. Barrack Obama has positive attitude and has grown as a successful global leader while Osama Bid Laden had negative attitude and became a terrorist. Both Obama and Osama are intelligent leaders and the former used for the benefit of mankind while the latter used for the destruction of mankind by unleashing terror. It is a great lesson to all terrorists in the world who live on gun culture. It is true that the one who lives with violence and dies with violence and same happened for Osama.
The way the operation was conducted in Pakistan reveals the military and intelligence supremacy of Americans. That too it was conducted in an alien land without the knowledge and assistance of Pakistan and without any casualties on civilians. Hats off to American intelligence (CIA)!
Indian government has been making hue and cry for many years that Pakistan has been harboring terrorists and the culprits who attacked Indian parliament and Mumbai Taj hotel still live in Pakistan. It is reported that Dawood Ibrahim, the culprit behind Mumbai riots still lives in Pakistan. But nobody is taking the issue seriously. America took the issue of Osama seriously because Osama was the mastermind in twin tower blasts and America avenged by eliminating him. Now America must act against Pakistan by declaring it as a terrorist state and asking it to hand over the culprits to Indian government who were involved in creating communal clashes and riots in India.
Coming to Barrack Obama, he is a great American leader next to Abraham Lincoln who rose from ranks. Although Lincoln had shorter tenure as President he played crucial role in averting the disintegration of America and united America as a one nation apart from ending slavery in America. To conclude, Lincoln united America and Obama ensured peace in America and in the world with great leadership skills. Hats off to Obama! God bless Obama and God bless the world
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
American President, Barrack Obama has proved his leadership skills once again by successfully eliminating Osama Bid Laden on this earth who was a symbol of global terrorism.
Although the names both Obama and Osama appear to be similar, these personalities are poles apart. Barrack Obama has positive attitude and has grown as a successful global leader while Osama Bid Laden had negative attitude and became a terrorist. Both Obama and Osama are intelligent leaders and the former used for the benefit of mankind while the latter used for the destruction of mankind by unleashing terror. It is a great lesson to all terrorists in the world who live on gun culture. It is true that the one who lives with violence and dies with violence and same happened for Osama.
The way the operation was conducted in Pakistan reveals the military and intelligence supremacy of Americans. That too it was conducted in an alien land without the knowledge and assistance of Pakistan and without any casualties on civilians. Hats off to American intelligence (CIA)!
Indian government has been making hue and cry for many years that Pakistan has been harboring terrorists and the culprits who attacked Indian parliament and Mumbai Taj hotel still live in Pakistan. It is reported that Dawood Ibrahim, the culprit behind Mumbai riots still lives in Pakistan. But nobody is taking the issue seriously. America took the issue of Osama seriously because Osama was the mastermind in twin tower blasts and America avenged by eliminating him. Now America must act against Pakistan by declaring it as a terrorist state and asking it to hand over the culprits to Indian government who were involved in creating communal clashes and riots in India.
Coming to Barrack Obama, he is a great American leader next to Abraham Lincoln who rose from ranks. Although Lincoln had shorter tenure as President he played crucial role in averting the disintegration of America and united America as a one nation apart from ending slavery in America. To conclude, Lincoln united America and Obama ensured peace in America and in the world with great leadership skills. Hats off to Obama! God bless Obama and God bless the world
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
Monday, May 2, 2011
“Work from Home”- Professor M.S.Rao
Learning is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century.” – Perelman
One day a friend of mine from New Zealand asked to talk over the phone for a query on endorsement of my upcoming leadership book. When I rang up and enquired him about the endorsement he initially felt excited with my call. He asked several questions that I had clarified. After completion of formal conversation, I curiously asked him, “David, where you are now and what do you do?” He replied, “Professor Rao! I work from home and provide training programs on leadership for top global companies. Of course, I also work from home and provide training and teaching programs on freelancing basis. I decided to use this term hereafter as it sounds interesting and appears polished. I also wanted to share with my bloggers. Here is it!
What is Work @ Home?
Work from home is a new method of employment where employees work from home at their convenience. It is catching up globally as people crave for more freedom and dignity. It has innumerable benefits especially there will not be any organizational politics and no need to ask for a raise from your boss. It saves time, money and energy as it avoids hassles of commuting. There are tax benefits as well. You will have lot of liberty as you don’t have to report to one boss. If you don’t like, you can stay away from a specific assignment. However, you have to take care of financial aspects. Sometimes you earn more than the monthly salary and most of the times less than that. But the pleasure of working from home is amazing.
You must have good networking skills. LinkedIn is the best place to develop links. You need to have an educational blog to touch the right audience to make right noise to get recognized and branded appropriately.
However, work @ home has several challenges as it is often tough to find out genuine assignments online. It is not possible to network with others physically and there is no room for sharing of ideas and knowledge with others. As man is a social animal, people love to socialize with others although it involves encountering challenges during socialization.
Age is not a deterrent to work from home. You can undertake online tuitions, assignments and contracts through right links. You get teaching and training assignments and also writing assignments through online. To achieve all this, you need to be passionate to learn and grow continuously and update with latest technology and happenings in your area of interest.
Work from home is 21st century way of working either through online or offline by working from home. You can concentrate on your passionate areas as it you gives great independence apart from giving your financial freedom.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
One day a friend of mine from New Zealand asked to talk over the phone for a query on endorsement of my upcoming leadership book. When I rang up and enquired him about the endorsement he initially felt excited with my call. He asked several questions that I had clarified. After completion of formal conversation, I curiously asked him, “David, where you are now and what do you do?” He replied, “Professor Rao! I work from home and provide training programs on leadership for top global companies. Of course, I also work from home and provide training and teaching programs on freelancing basis. I decided to use this term hereafter as it sounds interesting and appears polished. I also wanted to share with my bloggers. Here is it!
What is Work @ Home?
Work from home is a new method of employment where employees work from home at their convenience. It is catching up globally as people crave for more freedom and dignity. It has innumerable benefits especially there will not be any organizational politics and no need to ask for a raise from your boss. It saves time, money and energy as it avoids hassles of commuting. There are tax benefits as well. You will have lot of liberty as you don’t have to report to one boss. If you don’t like, you can stay away from a specific assignment. However, you have to take care of financial aspects. Sometimes you earn more than the monthly salary and most of the times less than that. But the pleasure of working from home is amazing.
You must have good networking skills. LinkedIn is the best place to develop links. You need to have an educational blog to touch the right audience to make right noise to get recognized and branded appropriately.
However, work @ home has several challenges as it is often tough to find out genuine assignments online. It is not possible to network with others physically and there is no room for sharing of ideas and knowledge with others. As man is a social animal, people love to socialize with others although it involves encountering challenges during socialization.
Age is not a deterrent to work from home. You can undertake online tuitions, assignments and contracts through right links. You get teaching and training assignments and also writing assignments through online. To achieve all this, you need to be passionate to learn and grow continuously and update with latest technology and happenings in your area of interest.
Work from home is 21st century way of working either through online or offline by working from home. You can concentrate on your passionate areas as it you gives great independence apart from giving your financial freedom.
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
Book Review “Be All You Can Be” Authored By John C. Maxwell – Professor M.S.Rao, Reviewer
I have read John C. Maxwell’s book titled “Be All You Can Be – A Challenge To Stretch Your Potential” with great interest. The book contains 13 chapters. It breaks the ice with a foreword, ‘Yes You Can’ that can program your mind for success. Maxwell maintains conversational tone throughout the book and makes readers glued to the book. The book contains several anecdotes with an emphasis on Christianity as Maxwell was a pastor.
Maxwell differentiates between leaders, followers, and losers. Leaders stretch with challenges. Followers struggle with challenges. Losers shrink from challenges. He says that most of our problems are in our heads. It’s not what happens to us; it’s what happens in us. Joy is a by-product of following right principles.
Maxwell compares people with plows and bulldozers, “We can either work with people or war against them. We can be plows or bulldozers: The plow turns over the earth, stirring it up, cultivating it, making it a good place for seed to grow; the bulldozer scrapes the earth, pushing obstacles aside. Both plows and bulldozers are useful instruments, but one wrecks while the other cultivates. The plow type of leader sees in people riches waiting to be uncovered and cultivated; the bulldozer type of leader sees in people obstacles to be destroyed. Be a cultivator!”
Maxwell recalls the story as follows: When Berlin was being divided into East Berlin, controlled by the Communists, and West Berlin, part of the free world, a group of East Berliners dumped a whole truckload of garbage on the west side. The people from West Berlin thought they’d pick up all the garbage, put it on a truck, and dump it back on the east side. Then they decided that wasn’t the way to handle it. Instead they filled a dump truck with canned goods and other non-perishable food items, went over the east side, stacked it neatly, put a sign beside it. The sign read, “Each gives what each has to give.”
John C. Maxwell says about conviction and leadership as follows: “People don’t follow a leader because of character; they follow a leader because of conviction. People do not do something because it is right; they do something because they feel that it’s right. When we act on our conviction, others are drawn to us. Without conviction we may communicate truths, but we’ll develop no disciplines. We will have people who have the right answers, but we won’t have people who live the right lives.”
Maxwell reveals the research, “Approximately 95 percent of us have never written out our goals in life, but of the 5 percent who have, 95 percent have achieved their goals. In 1953 at Yale University, 3 percent of the graduating class had specific, written goals for their lives. In 1975, researchers found that the 3 percent who wrote down their goals had accomplished more than the other 97 percent put together.” He recalls reading an article n 1972 in Life magazine. It was entitled, “One Man’s Life of No Regrets.” It was about a forty-seven-year-old man who had set out at the age of fifteen with 127 specific goals in his life. By the time he was forty-seven, he had reached 105 of his goals.
Maxwell unfolds, “The average person’s lifetime includes twenty years of sleeping, six years of watching television, five years of dressing and shaving, three years of waiting for others, one year on the telephone, and four months of tying shoes.”
Maxwell reveals, “Most people only use 10 percent of their potential; if they use as much as 25 percent, they’re called geniuses. If we can go from using 10 percent of our potential to using 20 percent, we could double our productivity and still have 80 percent of our potential untapped.”
Maxwell motivates readers about personalities with tenacity, “Cripple (a man) and you have Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in prison and you have John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Fore and you have George Washington. Raise him in poverty and you have Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis and he becomes Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that doctors say he will never walk again and you have Glen Cunningham, who set the world’s record in 1934 for the outdoor mile. Deafen him and you’ll have Ludwig van Beethoven. Call him a slow learner, retarded, and write him off as uneducatable and you have Albert Einstein.”
He differentiates between a dreamer and a person who has a ream. There are thousands and thousands of dreamers, but there are very few people who have dreams – and there’s a world of difference between them. Dreamers talk too much but do little. A person who has a dream talks little but does much. You may not hear all about the dream, but if you watch, you’ll see it happen. This kind of person is driven by the dream.
He describes that many great dreams die because the dreamers lack conviction to act on them. There’s a difference between commitment and conviction. Commitment keeps me going when things get tough. Conviction keeps others going when things get tough.
Purpose makes the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary. A person with a purpose does things out of the ordinary, above average. Personality doesn’t make a person extraordinary. Neither does intelligence nor education. What makes a person extraordinary is purpose – the consuming desire to accomplish something in life.
Maxwell provides a good formula to remember regarding timing and decision-making as follows:
The wrong decision at the wrong time = disaster.
The wrong decision at the right time = a mistake.
The right decision at the wrong time = unacceptable.
The right decision at the right time = success.
Now you have the five stages of decision making. Don’t underestimate the value of understanding and practicing this process. A leader’s ability to make decisions and see them work means the difference between success and failure. Remember, success is not for the chosen few, but for the few who choose.
Age, Achievement and Vision
Maxwell describes that age is not a deterrent to achieve success in life. For instance, Colonel Sanders at seventy years of age discovered “finger lickin’ good” chicken. Picasso still painting at eighty-eight, and George Washington Carver, who at eighty-one became head of the Agriculture Department. There’s Thomas Edison who at eighty-five invented the mimeograph machine, and John Wesley, who was still traveling on horseback and preaching at age eighty-eight.
We all hear about vitamin B and vitamin C, but the best vitamin you can have is vitamin V - the vision vitamin. When people take vitamin V, they are revitalized daily. Age never becomes an issue because they still have a goal, they still have a dream, and they still have a vision. At eighty-five years of age, Caleb was ready to go to war for the land. His strength had not abated. Why Vitamin V. He had a vision.
Maxwell emphasizes the importance of vision in life. He advises never be content with having reached a goal; don’t rest on your laurels. History is filled with examples of people who, though they had accomplished great things, lost sight of their vision. When Alexander the Great had a vision, he conquered countries, when he lost it, he couldn’t conquer a liquor bottle. When David had a vision, he conquered Goliath; and when he lost his vision, he couldn’t conquer his own lust. When Samson had a vision, he won many battles; when he lost his vision he couldn’t win a battle with Delilah. When Solomon had a vision, he was the wisest man in the world; when he lost the dream God had given him, he couldn’t control his own evil passion for foreign women. When Saul had a vision, he could conquer kings; when he lost his vision, he couldn’t conquer his own jealousy. When Noah had a vision, he could build an ark and help keep the human race on track; when he lost his vision, he got drunk. When Elijah had a vision, he could pray down fire from heaven and chop off the heads of false prophets; when he lost the dream, he ran from Jezebel. It’s the dream that keeps us young; it’s the vision that keeps us going.
Leadership Means Dissatisfaction
John Wesley was one who understood that leadership means dissatisfaction. He averaged three sermons a day for fifty-four ears, preaching more than forty-four thousand times altogether. To do this, he traveled by horseback and carriage more than two hundred thousand miles, or about five thousand miles a year. He was greatly devoted to pastoral work. During a later period in his life, he was responsible for all the churches in England. To get his work done, he rose at four every morning and worked solidly until ten at night, allowing brief periods for meals. At age eighty-three he was upset to discover that he could not write more than fifteen hours a day without hurting his eyes. At age eighty-six he was ashamed to admit that he could not preach more than twice a day and he was angry that he would sleep until 5:00 a. m.
Charles Spurgeon was known as the prince of preachers. Like Wesley, he was not satisfied with just being a great orator; he had a passion for the work of god, and he was never satisfied with the number of souls that he had won.
Problem Solving Principles
The happiest people on earth are not people without problems. The happiest people on earth are people who have learned to appreciate the possibilities for growth that problems bring. Maxwell provides blueprint for solving problems. The first key to handling problems is to get the right mind-set: Every problem is solvable.
• Define your problem clearly on paper.
• Organize to divide and conquer your problems. If you have a problem that needs attacking, divide it into parts. Suppose you look at it and see five areas of difficulty; ask yourself which area you could handle most quickly.
• Keep going until the problem is gone.
• No man is an island, and no man solves problems by himself. This is an area that is too often overlooked in problem solving.
• List all the possible courses of action that you can think of.
• Visualize these different courses of action.
• Choose the best course of action and get going.
• Never let problems stop you from making the right decision.
Handling Disruptions
When we have disruptions, do we react or respond? I continually need to remind myself of the importance of responding. People who are schedule oriented, who have their to-do lists, and who have strong goals will always have some tension over disruptions. We have to remember the leadership is more than taking a pen to our to-do lists and marking off numbers.
A good example of somebody who knew how to deal with his disruptions positively was the great boxer Gene Tunney, who took the heavyweight title from Jack Dempsey. When Gene Tunney was in World War I, he broke both his hands. His doctor, who was also his manager, told Tunney that he had brittle hands; he would no longer be a boxer. But Tunney decided to try a strategy change. Instead of relying on the hard punch, as he had before, he became a strategic boxer; he learned to move well, to score points, and to be an artful dodger. He changed his strategy but not his goal. That is exactly what we have to do with our disruptions.
Ten Conflict Commandments
1. Love people more than opinions. Anyone who loves his opinions more than he does his friends will defend his opinions and destroy his friends. People who are not effective in relationships usually have a higher regard for their opinions than they do for people. We need to step back and look at what is really important to us. Is it helping or hindering our relationships with people?
2. Give others the benefit of doubt. When working with yourself, use your head; when working with others, use your heart. Give other people the benefit of the doubt.
3. Learn to be flexible.
4. Good leaders learn how to say, “I’m sorry” more quickly than followers.
5. Provide an escape hatch for the person in conflict.
6. Check your own attitude.
7. Don’t overreact to conflicts. You’re going to have conflicts; don’t make them worse by overreacting to them. Don’t drop a bomb when a slingshot will work. If you expect conflicts, you will be better prepared to handle them sensibly.
8. Don’t become defensive.
9. Welcome the conflict. Conflicts will either give you ulcers or understanding: You choose which it will be.
10. Take a risk.
People and Problems
Maxwell says that we have developed a society in which people would rather take the easy way out; we have become a relief-syndrome culture. This type of society does not make good leadership training ground. But those who are willing to pay the price will make it, and the world will sit back and wonder how these successful men and women ever got so lucky. Luck has nothing to do with it; they were simply willing to do what all the rest of the people were unwilling to do.
It is popular in our society to believe that we are victims of our situations. Society looks at a person and says, “That poor person was born on the wrong side of the tracks and doesn’t have a chance.” Society emphasizes the problem rather than the person. That’s a major mistake. Your problem is not your problem. If you can get the person right, the problem will be fine.
The person who expects to live in a problem-free society is going to be as frustrated as the fellow who thought that he was going to rid his lawn of all the dandelions.
Problems defeat us when we lack purpose in life. Goal-oriented people don’t let problems deter them from their goals. If they want to reach them badly enough, they’re going to reach them.
Successful Failure
In fact, on an average, successful people fail two out of every five times they attempt something and unsuccessful people fail three out of five times. That’s not a lot of difference, is it? Actually, there are several similarities between the person who fails three out of five times and the person who fails two out of five times, even though one would be classified as successful and the other one would be classified as unsuccessful.
We successfully fail when it stirs us to keep trying. The setbacks that look as though they will finish us off can spur us on to come out on top. A Louisiana farmer’s favorite mule fell into a well. After studying the situation, the farmer came to the conclusion that he couldn’t pull the mule out, so he might as well bury him. He got a truckload of dirt, backed up to the well, and dumped it on top of the mule at the bottom of the well. When the dirt hit the mule, it started snorting and tramping. As it tramped, it began to work itself up on top of the dirt. So the farmer continued to pour dirt in the well until the mule snorted and tramped its way to the top. It then walked away, a dirtier but wiser mule. What was intended to bury it turned out to be its salvation. That’s a successful failure.
Maxwell concludes the book with, “Commitment will free you and let you loose to do great things for God.”
Great Quotes
“Success means a person is reaching the maximum potential available to him at any given moment.” - Ted Engstrom
“You can always tell when you are on the road to success: it’s uphill all the way.” - Paul Harvey
“I start where other men leave off.” - Thomas Edison
“In matters of principle, stand like a rock. In matters of taste, swim with the current.” - Thomas Jefferson
“A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats the little man.” – Carlisle
“Nothing will be attempted if all possible obstacles must first be removed.” - Samuel Johnson
Leadership Lessons
• We tend to overestimate events and underestimate process. Events are good for making decisions and for picking up a few valuable nuggets.
• If you make it your discipline to do little bit of growing every day, in just a few years you will be amazed by your transformation.
• The best way to define success from the world’s standpoint is that it’s the power with which to acquire whatever one demands of life without violating the rights of others.
• Sometimes we are afraid because success puts pressure on us to continue to succeed.
• People who have poor self-images will always shy away from success.
• It’s lonely at the top. Risk is another reason; people don’t want to stick their necks out.
• If you want to unlock your hidden potential, spend your time with people who will stretch you.
• If you find a path that has no problems, you will find that it leads nowhere.
• One of the most common mistakes and one of the costliest is thinking that success is due to some genius, some magic something or other, which we do not possess.
• Happiest people in the world are growing people. Your happiest moments happen along the way, not at the end of the trip.
• We will never reach our potential unless we follow our dreams, unless we fulfill our visions.
• There are too many people in leadership positions who are not successful because they’re not facing problems head-on.
• Learn to live for tomorrow.
• We see our problems based on three things: past experiences, present environment, and personal evaluation.
• As our purpose increases, our problems decrease. As our goal decreases, our problems increase.
• We will continue to fail until we die.
• The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.
• No failure is significant enough to sink a person.
• Affirm personally, and don’t be afraid to affirm in front of others. Nothing is more encouraging than to receive honest praise in front of your peers.
• There is a difference between taking shortcuts and working smart.
• The poorest person in the world is not the person who doesn’t have a nickel. The poorest person in the world is the one who doesn’t have a vision. If you don’t have a dream – a goal and a purpose in life – you’re never going to become what you could become.
The book highlights mostly from the perspective of Christianity. Maxwell maintains conversational tone throughout the book and advises to transform possibilities into realities. In Maxwell’s book you will find pearls of wisdom in each sentence. The book is worth reading for stretching your potential and for converting your problems as prospects. Enjoy reading!
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
Dear readers,
I would appreciate your comments about this article.
Maxwell differentiates between leaders, followers, and losers. Leaders stretch with challenges. Followers struggle with challenges. Losers shrink from challenges. He says that most of our problems are in our heads. It’s not what happens to us; it’s what happens in us. Joy is a by-product of following right principles.
Maxwell compares people with plows and bulldozers, “We can either work with people or war against them. We can be plows or bulldozers: The plow turns over the earth, stirring it up, cultivating it, making it a good place for seed to grow; the bulldozer scrapes the earth, pushing obstacles aside. Both plows and bulldozers are useful instruments, but one wrecks while the other cultivates. The plow type of leader sees in people riches waiting to be uncovered and cultivated; the bulldozer type of leader sees in people obstacles to be destroyed. Be a cultivator!”
Maxwell recalls the story as follows: When Berlin was being divided into East Berlin, controlled by the Communists, and West Berlin, part of the free world, a group of East Berliners dumped a whole truckload of garbage on the west side. The people from West Berlin thought they’d pick up all the garbage, put it on a truck, and dump it back on the east side. Then they decided that wasn’t the way to handle it. Instead they filled a dump truck with canned goods and other non-perishable food items, went over the east side, stacked it neatly, put a sign beside it. The sign read, “Each gives what each has to give.”
John C. Maxwell says about conviction and leadership as follows: “People don’t follow a leader because of character; they follow a leader because of conviction. People do not do something because it is right; they do something because they feel that it’s right. When we act on our conviction, others are drawn to us. Without conviction we may communicate truths, but we’ll develop no disciplines. We will have people who have the right answers, but we won’t have people who live the right lives.”
Maxwell reveals the research, “Approximately 95 percent of us have never written out our goals in life, but of the 5 percent who have, 95 percent have achieved their goals. In 1953 at Yale University, 3 percent of the graduating class had specific, written goals for their lives. In 1975, researchers found that the 3 percent who wrote down their goals had accomplished more than the other 97 percent put together.” He recalls reading an article n 1972 in Life magazine. It was entitled, “One Man’s Life of No Regrets.” It was about a forty-seven-year-old man who had set out at the age of fifteen with 127 specific goals in his life. By the time he was forty-seven, he had reached 105 of his goals.
Maxwell unfolds, “The average person’s lifetime includes twenty years of sleeping, six years of watching television, five years of dressing and shaving, three years of waiting for others, one year on the telephone, and four months of tying shoes.”
Maxwell reveals, “Most people only use 10 percent of their potential; if they use as much as 25 percent, they’re called geniuses. If we can go from using 10 percent of our potential to using 20 percent, we could double our productivity and still have 80 percent of our potential untapped.”
Maxwell motivates readers about personalities with tenacity, “Cripple (a man) and you have Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in prison and you have John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Fore and you have George Washington. Raise him in poverty and you have Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis and he becomes Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that doctors say he will never walk again and you have Glen Cunningham, who set the world’s record in 1934 for the outdoor mile. Deafen him and you’ll have Ludwig van Beethoven. Call him a slow learner, retarded, and write him off as uneducatable and you have Albert Einstein.”
He differentiates between a dreamer and a person who has a ream. There are thousands and thousands of dreamers, but there are very few people who have dreams – and there’s a world of difference between them. Dreamers talk too much but do little. A person who has a dream talks little but does much. You may not hear all about the dream, but if you watch, you’ll see it happen. This kind of person is driven by the dream.
He describes that many great dreams die because the dreamers lack conviction to act on them. There’s a difference between commitment and conviction. Commitment keeps me going when things get tough. Conviction keeps others going when things get tough.
Purpose makes the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary. A person with a purpose does things out of the ordinary, above average. Personality doesn’t make a person extraordinary. Neither does intelligence nor education. What makes a person extraordinary is purpose – the consuming desire to accomplish something in life.
Maxwell provides a good formula to remember regarding timing and decision-making as follows:
The wrong decision at the wrong time = disaster.
The wrong decision at the right time = a mistake.
The right decision at the wrong time = unacceptable.
The right decision at the right time = success.
Now you have the five stages of decision making. Don’t underestimate the value of understanding and practicing this process. A leader’s ability to make decisions and see them work means the difference between success and failure. Remember, success is not for the chosen few, but for the few who choose.
Age, Achievement and Vision
Maxwell describes that age is not a deterrent to achieve success in life. For instance, Colonel Sanders at seventy years of age discovered “finger lickin’ good” chicken. Picasso still painting at eighty-eight, and George Washington Carver, who at eighty-one became head of the Agriculture Department. There’s Thomas Edison who at eighty-five invented the mimeograph machine, and John Wesley, who was still traveling on horseback and preaching at age eighty-eight.
We all hear about vitamin B and vitamin C, but the best vitamin you can have is vitamin V - the vision vitamin. When people take vitamin V, they are revitalized daily. Age never becomes an issue because they still have a goal, they still have a dream, and they still have a vision. At eighty-five years of age, Caleb was ready to go to war for the land. His strength had not abated. Why Vitamin V. He had a vision.
Maxwell emphasizes the importance of vision in life. He advises never be content with having reached a goal; don’t rest on your laurels. History is filled with examples of people who, though they had accomplished great things, lost sight of their vision. When Alexander the Great had a vision, he conquered countries, when he lost it, he couldn’t conquer a liquor bottle. When David had a vision, he conquered Goliath; and when he lost his vision, he couldn’t conquer his own lust. When Samson had a vision, he won many battles; when he lost his vision he couldn’t win a battle with Delilah. When Solomon had a vision, he was the wisest man in the world; when he lost the dream God had given him, he couldn’t control his own evil passion for foreign women. When Saul had a vision, he could conquer kings; when he lost his vision, he couldn’t conquer his own jealousy. When Noah had a vision, he could build an ark and help keep the human race on track; when he lost his vision, he got drunk. When Elijah had a vision, he could pray down fire from heaven and chop off the heads of false prophets; when he lost the dream, he ran from Jezebel. It’s the dream that keeps us young; it’s the vision that keeps us going.
Leadership Means Dissatisfaction
John Wesley was one who understood that leadership means dissatisfaction. He averaged three sermons a day for fifty-four ears, preaching more than forty-four thousand times altogether. To do this, he traveled by horseback and carriage more than two hundred thousand miles, or about five thousand miles a year. He was greatly devoted to pastoral work. During a later period in his life, he was responsible for all the churches in England. To get his work done, he rose at four every morning and worked solidly until ten at night, allowing brief periods for meals. At age eighty-three he was upset to discover that he could not write more than fifteen hours a day without hurting his eyes. At age eighty-six he was ashamed to admit that he could not preach more than twice a day and he was angry that he would sleep until 5:00 a. m.
Charles Spurgeon was known as the prince of preachers. Like Wesley, he was not satisfied with just being a great orator; he had a passion for the work of god, and he was never satisfied with the number of souls that he had won.
Problem Solving Principles
The happiest people on earth are not people without problems. The happiest people on earth are people who have learned to appreciate the possibilities for growth that problems bring. Maxwell provides blueprint for solving problems. The first key to handling problems is to get the right mind-set: Every problem is solvable.
• Define your problem clearly on paper.
• Organize to divide and conquer your problems. If you have a problem that needs attacking, divide it into parts. Suppose you look at it and see five areas of difficulty; ask yourself which area you could handle most quickly.
• Keep going until the problem is gone.
• No man is an island, and no man solves problems by himself. This is an area that is too often overlooked in problem solving.
• List all the possible courses of action that you can think of.
• Visualize these different courses of action.
• Choose the best course of action and get going.
• Never let problems stop you from making the right decision.
Handling Disruptions
When we have disruptions, do we react or respond? I continually need to remind myself of the importance of responding. People who are schedule oriented, who have their to-do lists, and who have strong goals will always have some tension over disruptions. We have to remember the leadership is more than taking a pen to our to-do lists and marking off numbers.
A good example of somebody who knew how to deal with his disruptions positively was the great boxer Gene Tunney, who took the heavyweight title from Jack Dempsey. When Gene Tunney was in World War I, he broke both his hands. His doctor, who was also his manager, told Tunney that he had brittle hands; he would no longer be a boxer. But Tunney decided to try a strategy change. Instead of relying on the hard punch, as he had before, he became a strategic boxer; he learned to move well, to score points, and to be an artful dodger. He changed his strategy but not his goal. That is exactly what we have to do with our disruptions.
Ten Conflict Commandments
1. Love people more than opinions. Anyone who loves his opinions more than he does his friends will defend his opinions and destroy his friends. People who are not effective in relationships usually have a higher regard for their opinions than they do for people. We need to step back and look at what is really important to us. Is it helping or hindering our relationships with people?
2. Give others the benefit of doubt. When working with yourself, use your head; when working with others, use your heart. Give other people the benefit of the doubt.
3. Learn to be flexible.
4. Good leaders learn how to say, “I’m sorry” more quickly than followers.
5. Provide an escape hatch for the person in conflict.
6. Check your own attitude.
7. Don’t overreact to conflicts. You’re going to have conflicts; don’t make them worse by overreacting to them. Don’t drop a bomb when a slingshot will work. If you expect conflicts, you will be better prepared to handle them sensibly.
8. Don’t become defensive.
9. Welcome the conflict. Conflicts will either give you ulcers or understanding: You choose which it will be.
10. Take a risk.
People and Problems
Maxwell says that we have developed a society in which people would rather take the easy way out; we have become a relief-syndrome culture. This type of society does not make good leadership training ground. But those who are willing to pay the price will make it, and the world will sit back and wonder how these successful men and women ever got so lucky. Luck has nothing to do with it; they were simply willing to do what all the rest of the people were unwilling to do.
It is popular in our society to believe that we are victims of our situations. Society looks at a person and says, “That poor person was born on the wrong side of the tracks and doesn’t have a chance.” Society emphasizes the problem rather than the person. That’s a major mistake. Your problem is not your problem. If you can get the person right, the problem will be fine.
The person who expects to live in a problem-free society is going to be as frustrated as the fellow who thought that he was going to rid his lawn of all the dandelions.
Problems defeat us when we lack purpose in life. Goal-oriented people don’t let problems deter them from their goals. If they want to reach them badly enough, they’re going to reach them.
Successful Failure
In fact, on an average, successful people fail two out of every five times they attempt something and unsuccessful people fail three out of five times. That’s not a lot of difference, is it? Actually, there are several similarities between the person who fails three out of five times and the person who fails two out of five times, even though one would be classified as successful and the other one would be classified as unsuccessful.
We successfully fail when it stirs us to keep trying. The setbacks that look as though they will finish us off can spur us on to come out on top. A Louisiana farmer’s favorite mule fell into a well. After studying the situation, the farmer came to the conclusion that he couldn’t pull the mule out, so he might as well bury him. He got a truckload of dirt, backed up to the well, and dumped it on top of the mule at the bottom of the well. When the dirt hit the mule, it started snorting and tramping. As it tramped, it began to work itself up on top of the dirt. So the farmer continued to pour dirt in the well until the mule snorted and tramped its way to the top. It then walked away, a dirtier but wiser mule. What was intended to bury it turned out to be its salvation. That’s a successful failure.
Maxwell concludes the book with, “Commitment will free you and let you loose to do great things for God.”
Great Quotes
“Success means a person is reaching the maximum potential available to him at any given moment.” - Ted Engstrom
“You can always tell when you are on the road to success: it’s uphill all the way.” - Paul Harvey
“I start where other men leave off.” - Thomas Edison
“In matters of principle, stand like a rock. In matters of taste, swim with the current.” - Thomas Jefferson
“A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats the little man.” – Carlisle
“Nothing will be attempted if all possible obstacles must first be removed.” - Samuel Johnson
Leadership Lessons
• We tend to overestimate events and underestimate process. Events are good for making decisions and for picking up a few valuable nuggets.
• If you make it your discipline to do little bit of growing every day, in just a few years you will be amazed by your transformation.
• The best way to define success from the world’s standpoint is that it’s the power with which to acquire whatever one demands of life without violating the rights of others.
• Sometimes we are afraid because success puts pressure on us to continue to succeed.
• People who have poor self-images will always shy away from success.
• It’s lonely at the top. Risk is another reason; people don’t want to stick their necks out.
• If you want to unlock your hidden potential, spend your time with people who will stretch you.
• If you find a path that has no problems, you will find that it leads nowhere.
• One of the most common mistakes and one of the costliest is thinking that success is due to some genius, some magic something or other, which we do not possess.
• Happiest people in the world are growing people. Your happiest moments happen along the way, not at the end of the trip.
• We will never reach our potential unless we follow our dreams, unless we fulfill our visions.
• There are too many people in leadership positions who are not successful because they’re not facing problems head-on.
• Learn to live for tomorrow.
• We see our problems based on three things: past experiences, present environment, and personal evaluation.
• As our purpose increases, our problems decrease. As our goal decreases, our problems increase.
• We will continue to fail until we die.
• The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.
• No failure is significant enough to sink a person.
• Affirm personally, and don’t be afraid to affirm in front of others. Nothing is more encouraging than to receive honest praise in front of your peers.
• There is a difference between taking shortcuts and working smart.
• The poorest person in the world is not the person who doesn’t have a nickel. The poorest person in the world is the one who doesn’t have a vision. If you don’t have a dream – a goal and a purpose in life – you’re never going to become what you could become.
The book highlights mostly from the perspective of Christianity. Maxwell maintains conversational tone throughout the book and advises to transform possibilities into realities. In Maxwell’s book you will find pearls of wisdom in each sentence. The book is worth reading for stretching your potential and for converting your problems as prospects. Enjoy reading!
Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com
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