What Means SUCCESS to YOU?

I recently posted this discussion: What means SUCCESS to you?.. on LinkedIn and am overwhelmed with the responses. My wholehearted thanks to everyone who contributed precious time to comment. Most of the people felt that you should follow your calling to be successful. They also agreed that the meaning of success changes from time to time. To my surprise, many also felt that just one thing cannot be packaged as success, it’s a combination of many factors.

Here are some of the most stimulating comments:
“I look to my expectations of myself and goals I set. I don't compare myself to others as the "yard stick" for measuring is different for each person. I try to look at myself in a 360 view, as a well balanced person (I think) needs to "be successful" in all parts of their life, not just a couple. You can't have a great career and completely blow your personal relationships, that sort of thing. I agree with you Vivek, we continually change.”

Dorothy Tannahill Moran
Life Coach

“I think the steady realization of a dream and an ideal that is driven by the heart and Passion that cannot, and will never be denied, is Success from my point of view.”

Kalpana Panwar
Management Student

“For me Success is to balance my professional as well as personal life.”
Ankita Verma
University Student

“Success to me is achieving my goals and sharing it with my world.”
Jaya Lachhwani
Healthcare Professional

“Getting what you like is Success and Liking what you get is Happiness. Success is in Big things of life and Happiness is in Little things of Life. Success is more a relative term. It depends on with whom we compare our success. I compare my present success with my past success. I'm my own Benchmark…We should try to be Successfully Happy and Happily Successful!”
Arun Davay
Corporate Trainer and Management Professor

“Success to me means Happiness, apart from the acknowledgement by family, friends, colleagues and society in general, that I have made a difference to their lives.”
Balasubramaniam M.
HR Professional

“Success to me is my inner satisfaction with the things that I do..also positive feedback that I receive for my work.”
Pankaj Choudhary
HR Professional

“Success to me is a relative term and it keeps evolving. To me success is enjoying all that i do professionally and personally. I feel and sense success when I sense the gratitude in the responses from the people whose lives I have touched…”
Neerja Singh
HR Professional

Let’s take this opportunity to share your idea of success. Waiting for your insightful comments..

Love!
Vivek

A Cold Winter Forecast

Today I read this beautiful story and have been appreciating this profound thought since then. This incredibly tells us the influence we have on others although widely undermined by ourselves. Many of us get influenced by others, hardly do we know that we too influence many more. Must read!

Please do not hesitate to share it with all your loved ones.

Love

Vivek

It was autumn, and the Red Indians on the reservation
asked their New Chief if the winter was going to be
cold or mild. Since he was a Red Indian chief in a
modern society, he couldn't tell what the weather was
going to be. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side,
he replied to his tribe that the winter was indeed
going to be cold and that the members of the village
should collect wood to be prepared.

But also being a practical leader, after several days
he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the
National Weather Service and asked "Is the coming
winter going to be cold?" "It looks like this winter
is going to be quite cold indeed," the meteorologist
at the weather service responded.

So the Chief went back to his people and told them
to collect even more wood. A week later, he called the
National Weather Service again.

"Is it going to be a very cold winter?"

"Yes," the man from the National Weather Service again
replied, "it's definitely going to be a very cold winter."

The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them
to collect every scrap of wood they could find.

Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service
again. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be
very cold?"

"Absolutely," the man added. "It's going to be one of the
coldest winters ever."

"How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked.

The weatherman replied, "The Red Indians are collecting
wood like crazy.

Source: www.managetrainlearn.com

If you can’t Measure, You can’t Manage

I was going through a time-management presentation and this slide hit me hard. The full credit for this quote goes to Peter Druker. How apt it is in our life?
It’s fun not to measure what we do. It takes extra effort to keep track of our performance.

Most of us complain for overwork in the office. If you make a log of productive hours, you will notice how underworked you are. We count the number of hours, not how the hours are spent. It goes very well with the saying:

“It doesn’t matter how many years you have in life; what matters is how many life you put in those years.”

80 per cent of our activities in life are not measured. Whatever we are is the result of the remaining 20 per cent. Imagine, where we would land if we measure just a little more?

Set goals, set up parameters to measure and strive beating yourself every time you try. It’s not going to be easy, but it will be worthwhile.

Smile

My wife shared this poem with me yesterday and it's truly inspirational. You too enjoy it and keep smiling. Let this poem travel the world, you can simply email to the ones who you want to SMILE.

Love
Vivek

SMILE

Smiling is infectious,
You catch it like the flu,
When some one smiled at me today,
I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner
And someone saw my grin;
When he smiled I realised
I’d passed it on to him.

I thought about that smile
And realised its worth,
A single smile just like mine,
Could travel round the earth.

So if you feel a smile begin,
Don’t leave it undetected;
Let’s start an epidemic quick –
And get the world infected!

I Will Keep Trying

At my first job, I had a very dynamic and wise colleague who was recently promoted. I was curious to know what led to his promotion while many others could not succeed.
He said, “Interviewers asked me, what would you do, if a guy in your team is not performing despite your best efforts?”

Out of inquisitiveness, I asked, “how did u respond?”

He said, “I said, I will coach him again, help him out with his problems and try to raise his level.”

But the interviewers were not convinced, they asked again, “If the guy still doesn’t improve, what will you do?”

He said, “I will keep trying until he improves!”

I was not surprised. He was the best fit for the job.

Forgive for Your Own Sake

An early morning, when I turned on BBC, I was in the middle of an ongoing documentary. An old lady in late 50s was talking about her only daughter who was brutally killed after being sexually assaulted by a robber at the farmhouse.
Like others, she decided to fight for her daughter’s justice. The court case lasted for many years. At last, the accused was awarded a death sentence. Finally this is what she said, “… I had a satisfaction that the sinner was punished. But, still I was not at peace. One day I decided to see the convict at the prison. His face was stubbed and pale, and he looked hopelessly at me. I couldn’t believe. I was moved, something from inside stirred me and I decided to forgive..”

“..just in a moment my life was transformed. I felt as if I’m relieved of a big burden. I felt free.”

Revenge is a natural response right after we are hurt. It might console for a while but doesn’t set us free. We still live with a heaviness of guilt. The only way to freedom is forgiveness.

As a human, we feel generous while forgiving. Do it, not for anyone, but yourself!

Are You a Discounting Brand?

Recently I read a brilliant interview of Lutz Bethge, CEO Mont Blanc at economictimes.com. He was asked whether he would also resort to discounting like other luxury retailers. Here is what he said:

“That is not our way. Mont Blanc has always conveyed to customers that we create products of sustainable value. …If you have a promise from a brand that says this is the kind of product you can pass down the generations and the next day you see it heavily marked down, would you still trust the brand?”

I have enormous respect for the confidence he has in Mont Blanc. A true brand is what it stands for unaffected by the market conditions.

We too, like these brands get under pressure in challenging times. We too have the temptation to surrender our values and embrace painless choices. We forget, that’s the real test of what we stand for. If we stand by our values even in demanding times, we would rise above mediocrity and be an example for mankind to follow.

What's Your Brand Name?

Nike, GE, Philips, Fed Ex, Ferrari, Toyota, Google, Rolex--- What do these brands known for? You’d say reliability, quality, good service, value, trust, innovation etc.

How did these words flash to your mind? Most of these companies have been in business for decades and have displayed these incredible characteristics over a period of time, which have created a niche in our memory.

Does this apply to us human beings? Oh yes!

In my behavioral training sessions, I ask participants to think of five adjectives what their family, friends and relatives will put before their name. This is a very powerful exercise which gives them an opportunity to see from a different eye. You can try this too.

Each one of us has created a brand image in the eyes of others and will continue to do so. Based on which our relationship is defined. Now, it is up to you to decide what do you stand for--- trust, reliability, innovation, energy or ---?

What's the price

Paulo is unquestionably the greatest storyteller of present times. I picked this story from his blog. Enjoy reading!

Love
Vivek



“Is the price of living a dream much higher than the price of living without daring to dream?” asked the disciple.

The master took him to a clothes store. There, he asked him to try on a suit in exactly his size. The disciple obeyed, and was very amazed at the quality of the clothes.

Then the master asked him to try on the same suit – but this time a size much bigger than his own. The disciple did as he was asked.

“This one is no use. It’s too big.”

“How much are these suits?” the master asked the shop attendant.

“They both cost the same price. It’s just the size that is different.”

When leaving the store, the master told his disciple, “Living your dream or giving it up also costs the same price, which is usually very high. But the first lets us share the miracle of life, and the second is of no use to us.”

Source: www.paulocoelhoblog.com

Do You Check Your Unproductive Ego?

Ayn Rand quotes in her bestseller the Fountainhead-"Man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress." And I know there are millions of Rand-fanatic across the world including me. I too agree with her, but only if the ego is used productively.

When you look around, do you notice most of the disasters are caused because of ego.. rather unproductive ego?

Joseph is a functional head with poor Excel skills. He struggles for hours to get the formulae and links right, when he has to send the monthly MIS. He can seek help of Yana, his assistant, but he doesn’t. What stops him to reach out? Ego!

Vishesh has a justification ready for everything he says. He very well knows that he is not right. Still he does it, because he can prove others wrong. How do others feel?

Laura never says sorry, despite knowing she is on the wrong side. She feels a boss is always right.

Krish never walks to his team. He rather uses intercom to call them. He has a mindset that people should visit the manager not vice versa. He’s never thought how people will feel when he reaches out to them.

Whether it is family or work, social event or a private moment always have a check on your unproductive ego. By doing this you will open new doors of opportunity and success.