Maximise Potential

Every new year a lot of people have resolutions and research suggests that most people break their resolutions within the first month. I think this is due to unrealistic expectations. Setting goals that are completely out of reach can excite us for sometime but when progress is small we soon throw in the towel. I am not going to talk about resolutions and instead I suggest set goals that excite you. This will have a greater chance of success than resolutions. I also am not going to expand on the SMART formula as everyone knows that. The first step to understand about success is that it is not a destination but a wonderful journey that never ends. The best definition of success I have come across is by Earl Nightingale "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal/goal." It is the process that’s actually exciting. Most of the times once we reach goals like getting the promotion or losing the weight we can’t keep up momentum but it is the process that actuall...

The Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris has something for everyone. I skipped the health section and read the wealthy and wise sections. They were excellent. If you have not followed his podcast this would be a real eye opener. However like me if you have listened to some of the podcasts it is great to have all the information in one place. This is not an easy book to review but I have just jotted down few of the things I learned. Here they are. Push yourself harder than you thought possible. Push towards fear and handle it. This advice is from Stanley  Allen  McChrystal the retired Army General. Affirmations have them today and this advice is from Scott Adams. The main point is having affirmations that work for your situation. Today is going to be a great day is a wonderful affirmation to start the day with. Also have systems instead of goals. I also liked his advice where he says most of us are not going to be good in one specific thing. For example most of us will not ge...

Wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year. As 2017 dawns on us we all want to feel more self-confident. Self-confidence is wonderful quality strongly correlated with success. A lot of times we see people who are highly successful and it is a direct result of their self-confidence. It is not something that you just have when you are born but rather it is something internalized after years of hard work and proving your competence in your area of expertise.  Here are the 15 ways I have identified to become a more self-confident person.  Keep track of your accomplishments  - Everyone has had success at some point in life either in school, extracurricular activities or college. Write down every single achievement you have ever had right from your start. This can be anything from learning a language, learning a sport, or academic achievements. This will give you a good start on your journey towards increasing self-confidence. Some authors advise to have a vict...

Being called a Class Act is a great sign that you are successful. We all admire people who are called Class Act. I have expanded each letter of the word Class Act to understand what it takes to become one. Here are the 8 ways to become a Class Act. Confidence – Without confidence you cannot become a class act and a person who is noteworthy to their close ones and peers. All class acts have enormous confidence in their abilities and have a sense of destiny about them. They are comfortable in their own skin and have taken the time to understand their strengths. They are always improving themselves in order to contribute more to society. Here is a more detailed account on how to develop self-confidence. 10 Ways to develop Rock solid Self-Confidence Luck – Class Acts create their own luck. Luck is sometimes called laboring under correct knowledge. It is when opportunity meets preparation. You have to be always prepared for good things to happen and then luck will follow. As the ...

What does it take to feel great about life? You usually feel great when you feel good about everything in your life.  Here are 22 keys to feel great about your life. You feel great about life when You are totally at peace with yourself and accept everything about yourself. You are totally filled with gratitude for everything in your life. You feel it is a privilege to be alive. You understand that there are so many people struggling and you have been given an opportunity to make an impact. You are in peak health and fitness. You feel physically agile. You have an abundance mentality which means when someone does well you feel genuinely happy. You don’t compare yourself with others and enjoy what you have. You don’t think too much about the past and don’t think what others think of you. You understand that you cannot be liked by everyone. It is just futile and energy draining to think everyone can like you. You are totally true to yourself and understand that yo...

Winning is what we all want in life. With 2017 beckoning we all want to set New Year resolutions and hope the next year will be better than the current year. Irrespective of how 2016 has been you can make 2017 better. Here are 7 ways to win in any year. I have expanded each letter of the word Winning. Work Hard and Smart – It is so important to work hard no question about that. However it is not just about putting 12 hours into your work. It is about maximising productivity with the available time. Focus on top priorities and understand what the key result areas of your job are. Focus only on that and eliminate non value adding activities. Work hard while being smart. Stay Inspired – Inspiration is the fuel you need to accomplish all your goals. Decide on things that keep your inspired. It may be reading a motivational book, for others it may be when you spend time with people who are inspiring, or it may be playing the sport you enjoy. Whatever it is make sure you stay in...

Ego is the enemy by Ryan holiday is a well-researched book. The bottom line of the book is that don’t allow ego to make you complacent and arrogant. A lot of historical stories are shared to showcase this. The book consists of three parts. Part one is about Aspire and here Ryan argues that most of us don’t reach our destination. We think too much of ourselves and believe we have it figured it out but ultimately this leads to ego. You should see yourself with a little distance as detachment is the antidote for ego. You achieve this by thinking big but act and live small. Be action and education focused to curb the ego. Passion isn’t everything and Coach Wooden is sighted as an example of this. He wasn’t about speeches or inspiration and his philosophy was about being in control and never being “passion’s slave.” There is a mention about the canvas strategy which basically means find canvases of other people to paint on. Never pursue your own glory. Some ideas are come up with id...

Talent is not something that is gifted at birth. Of course there are a few exceptions that make things look so easy and we tend to believe that they are born with a certain gift. However if we go deeper they reached their Everest by harnessing their talent and get the best out of themselves. Talent is never enough by John Maxwell is one of the best books I have read. It is quite motivational and inspirational. He identifies thirteen factors that can help maximise your talent. Here is brief overview of them with my take on each. Belief lifts your talent    – The first step is to believe in yourself. You can’t go far without believing in your talent. We can all agree that we have enormous untapped potential and we have to believe first before we get the most out of ourselves. Have a personal mission statement that is exciting. My mission statement is to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs. Passion energizes your talent – Obviously if you want to mak...