Maximise Potential

I watched the TEDx talk of David Allen David Allen Talk the productivity guru and author of the best seller Getting Things Done. His concept of managing time is simple but has stood the test of time. Here are the steps to get better control of our time. Purpose: - Having a purpose creates energy to keep focused on the most important items. First step is to capture everything to be done where there it is a small or big item, so calling the dentist gets into this list. Once the list is there organize it and then prioritize. This is not earth shattering stuff but again fundamentals are always simple it is only in our execution that things awry. Don’t make it more complicated than it should be. Don't keep anything in your mind. Nothing should be in your mind so capture everything that has your attention. Also understand why this item has your attention in other words what is the purpose. Vision : - Decide what your final ideal outcome is going to be. Or put in another way what ...

Mindset is something we all associate with sports and we know a lot of athletes who are at the top of their game have a great mindset. Another thing we have heard a lot is the growth mindset and fixed mindset by Carol Dweck. Point is to have a growth mindset where you always believe that you can learn anything new and you are open to new challenges. If you have a great mindset you can overcome setbacks much easier. Here I have expanded each letter of the mindset below. Here are 7 simple ways to bulletproof your mindset. Again this has to be done consistently to get benefits. Mind  – What goes into your mind is what comes out. The point is to always feed your mind with positive books, positive podcasts, positive audio books and positive people. If you do this on a consistent basis you will be happier, calmer and your mind will serve you better. The key is we need to evaluate before we do anything if this will help us or hurt us. So be careful about the input to your mind as ...

The aim of this article is to give the fundamentals of success and it is still the same. There are ten fundamentals of success which you would need to achieve big in life. Here are the 10 fundamentals of success I have identified to get the most out of yourself. You need a mission – When you have a personal mission statement for your life you feel enthusiastic. You get the big picture of your life. Crafting a personal mission statement is very important. For this first identify your personal strengths and then see how this can help others. This would give an idea of what your personal mission statement should look like. You need to have a vision - Vision is not something only reserved for CEO’s. All of us need a reason to get out of bed every day. A compelling vision will provide the fire of passion to light up your days. Once you have a compelling vision you won’t need someone external to pump you up as you would be charged on your own. Create a vision for your life not only c...

We all want our lives to matter and find the purpose behind our existence. A worthy addition to the literature in this genre is The Power of Meaning by Emily Esfahani Smith. I found it to be deeply engaging and got me reflecting on what I want my life to stand for. The two questions most people have are what is the meaning of existence and how can I lead a meaningful life. The people who have found meaning have three conditions that are satisfied 1. They evaluate their lives as significant and worthwhile, 2.they believe their lives make sense and 3.they believe their lives are driven by a sense of purpose. Here is a wonderful quote by John Stuart Mill “Those only are happy (I thought) who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way. Ask yourself whether y...

We all want to be peak performers. A worthy addition to the literature in this genre is Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. It is a concise practical take on peak performance which all of us can benefit from. There will be some similarities if you have already red Peak by Anders Ericsson or Grit by Angela Duckworth. I still found this to be insightful. The book is broken into 3 sections based on their key principles of: The Growth Equation (stress + rest = growth) Priming - It consists of developing optimal routines and designing your day Purpose - This ensures you are focused and motivated Here are the 14 lessons I gleaned with my take as well. Creativity – You are generally creative not when you are doing the work but when you are doing something totally different. For example you might be playing with your kid and suddenly something comes to your mind. Most masters keep a notepad near their bedside to jot down ideas. It is not that we don’t get...

We have heard it so many times that business is all about relationships. I would say life is also about relationships. Sometimes when we feel down it is an interaction with another person that puts us in a good place. I love the way Albert Schweitzer put it "Sometimes our light goes out but is blown again into flame by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light." Here are 8 tips on maintaining high quality relationships in both our personal and business lives. Be Real and Vulnerable  – There is nothing more disturbing than trying to be someone we are not. The only way relationships are built for the long term is by being ourselves. We should be comfortable in our own skin and never try to be someone we are not. Each of us is unique and that’s what makes life special. Vulnerability has been made famous by Brene Brown and yes being vulnerable does get admirers while it does take courage to showca...

Reinvention is something we are going to hear more and more as we go forward with breathtaking speed. Technology and information is exploding at a breathtaking speed and if we don’t align ourselves to the change we will be left behind. I recently read a book called Reinvention by Shane Cragun and Kate Sweetman. It is a wonderful book and they talk about 10 powerful attributes of successful reinventors. A lot of it is commonsense and we might already know them. Here they are with my take on each. Reinventors are dissatisfied with status quo – This is the first step in any reinvention. If you are satisfied with status quo you will not take any steps to change. You have to be slightly discontented to effect any change. Irrespective of where you are it is good to have a healthy discomfort with status quo. Always be on the lookout for making things better. Reinventors embrace change – Change is the only constant. We are moving at hyper speed and if we don’t keep up wi...