Maximise Potential

We are well into the third month of 2020. This year has started off really well for me. I still remember Jan 1st this year and I was filled with a lot of hope and optimism. My only question is how can I hang on to that optimism for the rest of the year. Here are my thoughts on maintaining that for the rest of 2020. As Earl Nightingale said "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal." It is the progress towards what we want that makes us feel better about ourselves. Success is not reaching a destination because sometimes we never reach where we want to go. We also can overcome failures better if we view success as a journey. Here are 8 things I have learned that can help us on our success journey. Never Give up — No matter what happens in life never give in. Life is not a sprint it is a marathon. If we want enduring success we cannot be impatient. Rome was not built in a day, we can’t lose weight in a week, and we can’t become world-class in a year. As re...

The following are the books I have read over the last month which I found interesting enough to share. Contagious You by Anese Cavanaugh   – This is an excellent book on leadership. It has also been selected to be one of the best business books of 2020. It is worth a peek for sure. I had reviewed her earlier book Contagious Culture here  Contagious Culture . There is a concept which she has called Intentional energetic presence. For every interaction you can ask what your intention is, what impact you are having and the energy you are bringing to it. The key to the whole book is we should engage in self-care and we are contagious with our emotions and energy. All of us can be more aware of the effect our emotions and energy has on others. You can read my review here.  Contagious You Life's Great Question and It's not about you by Tom Rath  – Both of these books were a quick read on how to find your true purpose in life. The main theme is life is not a...

All champions are born but a lot of them are made through sheer persistence and hard work. We almost always associate champions with sports and that can be still a metaphor for life. Life is like a sport as we all face defeat, victory, setbacks and elation. There are certain traits champions have whether it is in business, sports or politics. Here is my analysis of the 9 traits that set the champions apart from the rest. They know their outcome:  If you don’t know where you are going then any road will get you there. Unless you have defined the outcome you want in your life it is very difficult to get any momentum. All champions have clearly defined what success looks like to them. It may be a financial goal, physical goal or learning goal. Whatever it maybe they have taken the time to identify what they really want their end game to look like. This could involve writing down goals in every area for your life. Some of the ideas include among others like physical, self-im...

Contagious you by Anese Cavanaugh is an excellent book on leadership. It has also been selected to be one of the best business books of 2020. It is worth a peek for sure. I had reviewed her earlier book Contagious Culture here  Contagious Culture . There is a concept which she has called Intentional energetic presence. For every interaction you can ask what your intention is, what impact you are having and the energy you are bringing to it. The key to the whole book is we should engage in self-care and we are contagious with our emotions and energy. All of us can be more aware of the effect our emotions and energy has on others. There was a chapter on super powers which I liked. I have noted some of them down. Here they are with my take on each.  Self-awareness  - This is the starting point of all leadership. Daniel Goleman’s work also emphasizes self-awareness. To me self-awareness is all about knowing your strengths, goals, purpose and knowing where you must...

We are at that time of the year where we are just completing winter and moving towards spring. Winter can be stressful depending on which part of the world you live in. So this article is a reminder to reduce the stress and increase our happiness levels. Daniel Amen is one of the premier experts on mental health. One of the books he wrote is Memory Rescue. In one of the chapters he gives some simple suggestions on how to reduce stress and increase happiness. Here are some of them with my take on each. Start every day with passion – When you start the day with the phrase “Today is going to be a wonderful day” it does make you feel better. It also sets the tone for the entire day. Lot of science-based research on this.    Write down 3 things you are grateful for – This is as simple as it gets. Deliberate gratitude has shown to instantly boost happiness. The only thing is we must do it to get the benefits.   Send a note to someone you appreciate – Appreciating some...

Here are my thoughts on how to become more successful and enjoy life. There are 42 keys I have identified and we all do well in some areas and we can improve in other areas. This comprehensive list can increase our awareness and help us on our journey towards greater personal success. First off before we start I wanted to say that no one else can define what success means to us. This is just my list on what can help us on our success journey. If we are moving towards something that we want and we are making progress then that is where you can find your version of success. We have all known people who have had so much public success but they never felt successful. So it is something which each individual has to define for themselves. Here are the 42 keys I have identified that can help us on our journey. You are unique  — Even identical twins do not have the same characteristics. Be comfortable with who you are. As it is often said be comfortable in your skin. Celebrate ...

Management is both an art and science. It has specific actions that need to be taken and the results will be predictable. There is a lot of hot air around leadership and I totally agree that leadership is very important. However management is absolutely imperative to achieve the vision set by the leader. If we have a leader who can manage and a manager who can lead then we would have an ideal mix of traits to ensure the success of the organization. Sometimes management is also defined as getting the work done through others. I read the book  Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull (President of PIXAR ANIMATION and DISNEY ANIMATION) a couple of years back and it is one of my favorite business books. He says  "The way I see it, my job as a manager is to create a fertile environment, keep it healthy, and watch for things that undermine it. I believe the best managers acknowledge and make room for what they do not know - not just because humility is a virtue but because until one...