SMALL COMMITMENTS FOR BIG CHANGES

Make Small Commitments! Get Big Changes!!!

 

 

“Real and permanent change doesn’t happen by simply resolving to do something. That’s not enough. True change is a slower process. It takes time and self-reflection,” preached persistently an accomplished motivator, Santosh Nair, my superb mentor in the business of helping people.

 

This simple, yet profoundly powerful, advice can gently help you change your life and accelerate your Personal Growth.

 

What’s this got to do with MLM, sales or network marketing? Nothing and everything!!!

 

I’ve been at my learning best ceaselessly ever since I started my career about seventeen odd years ago, and have found it all utterly conducive to my present personal capacities and have always helped me be a cut above the rest in the marathon for success in life. Here’s a synopsis of the simple but pretty potent things that I’ve been learning, for you…

 

Taking Care of You:

 

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables and eat less that is manufactured in processing plants.

4. Avoid eating food that is handed to you through a window.

5. Live the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.

6. Play more games.

7. Read more books than you did in 2009.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

 

 

Your Outlook:

 

1. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

2. Don’t have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

3. Don’t overdo. Keep your limits.

4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.

6. Dream more while you are awake.

7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

8. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind others of their past mistakes.

9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

10. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

13. Learn a new word every day.

14. Smile and laugh more.

15. You don’t have to win every argument.

 

Your Relationships:

 

1. Call your family often.

2. Each day give something good to others.

3. Forgive everyone for everything.

4. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

5. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

6. What other people think of you is none of your business.

7. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

 

Your Life:

 

1. The worst promise you can break is one made to yourself.

2. Do the right thing!

3. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

4. You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.

5. However good or bad a situation is; it will change.

6. The best is yet to come.

7. When you awake alive in the morning, thank God for it!

8. Your Innermost Self is always happy. Follow it.

9. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

 

 

Keep these rules handy and review them often. Follow them and small, almost imperceptible, changes will accumulate into something big. Your life will change, for sure! Cheers all the way…!!! J

GIVING UP, ALREADY!!!

Giving up, already?

 

Quitting is easy. When things are difficult, most people simply give up. They don’t have the vision to keep going when it gets tough. The unfortunate thing about giving up is that after you give up once, it becomes easier to give up a second time. This can lead to a third time and before you know it, you have made it a habit.

 

You can’t get away from failure and rejection if you want to make something of yourself. This is life, and it happens from time to time. This is where ‘working on your internal communication’ comes in.

 

 

Brush through your history books and you will be served with countless stories of both men and women who knew the importance of perseverance and of the warnings of those who gave up!

 

Did you know that Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before the bank lent him money to build Disneyland? Walt had a vision, and stayed committed to fulfilling it and he made what is today known to be ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’.

 

Colonel Sanders was in his sixties when he decided his social security check wasn’t enough to live on and went to market his great idea. What was it? A chicken recipe that he thought everyone would want. He went from restaurant to restaurant asking everyone if they would use his recipe, and they thought that he was crazy and so was his recipe. Finally, after hundreds of rejections, somebody gave him a nod, and the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) was born.

 

When we think of Thomas Alva Edison, did you know that he failed over 9999 times in the process of inventing a light bulb? He said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent, perspiration!” In the beginning Dr. Seuss was rejected by twenty-eight publishers. The publishers considered his books “too outlandish to appeal to children”. In its first attempt to send a rocket to space, NASA failed 20 times. Would you have kept trying after hundreds of failures? Unfortunately, most people wouldn’t.

 

Sometimes, you won’t be able to see what lies ahead. Sometimes you’ll question yourself. Sometimes, you’ll look into the tunnel, and you won’t be able to tell whether you see the sunlight at the other end of the tunnel or a train is coming right toward you. Sometimes you get discouraged and confused when you can’t see the solution. This is all part of the process.

 

If you really want something, the entire universe will conspire for you towards achieving it. But it will take great persistence. Anything that is given consistent attention will grow.

 

 

Michael Jordan once said, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions, I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot…and missed. I have failed over and over again in my life and that’s why… I succeed.

 

Hence, my dear Success-Seeker! In a nutshell, the entire phobia about failure lies in your mind. If you think, you can, you will, but only if you’re ready to sustain your attempts, ‘unconditionally’, at what you really ‘want’.

 

“Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached!”

- Swami Vivekananda

THE COVETED SECRET OF GOOD LEADERSHIP

The Leadership Secret - Knowledge of Theory

 

The man at the top is usually someone who has been in the habit of going to the bottom of things. – Anonymous.

 

 

It’s been quite some time since I last shared a little secret of success at ‘Leadership’ with you, my dear friends! Hence, let me talk about the same with you today. It’s the sine-qua-non of being a good leader to go into the details of any given situation in order to comprehend the same to the T. An average person is not interested in going into the details of a situation. So he argues that he is interested only in practical knowledge. Any effort to educate such a person about “why” and “what” of a situation is ridiculed and labeled as boring theory.

 

It is true that theory alone is not enough. Practice is necessary. Knowing “how to….” is essential for the execution of a job. However, the practice will not be perfect without theoretical knowledge. Moreover, learning a skill is easier compared to decision-making. Visionary people know ‘why’ something must be done and they only decide ‘what’ needs to be done. Average people feel satisfied with learning a skill and think it to be enough.

 

Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways doesn’t probably know how to fly an aircraft but he owns the company.

 

Remember: In order to grow in your career, apart from learning technical skills, you must also have a vision, an analytical mind, decision-making abilities and a definite involvement in the affairs of the organization you belong to. You must be a thinker and you must learn the ‘whys’ and ‘what’s’ too.

 

The one who knows ‘how’

Shall always have a job,

But the one who knows ‘why’

Will be his BOSS.

 

THOUGHT     You say “I think” ten times a day Or fifteen times, or twenty And even more. Well, anyway You sure repeat it plenty. But pause and ponder half a wink And start your brain-cells clinking; “I think” you say, but do you think Or only thinking you’re thinking?   How often is the thing you’ve thought Out of yourself created And not a dictum you’ve been taught And simply imitated? Into a revive you sink And like an owl you’re blinking, But do you actually think, Or only Think you’re thinking?   “I think” you say – and ladle out Some fusty old opinion That probably was known about In Pharaoh’s dominion. Do new ideas ever slink Into your cranium’s chinking? I wonder – do you really think Or only think you’re thinking?   Traditions, customs, fill your head And some of them have virtue, But most of them have long been dead They fester there and hurt you. Son, chuck that clutter in the drink, Wake up – don’t sit there blinking! Wake up! And then perhaps you’ll think And not just think you’re thinking!     - Berton Braley (As quoted in the Forbes Book of Business Quotations)

WHOSE JOB IS IT - WATCH YOUR ATTITUDE

Story of 4 People

(Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, Nobody)

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.   Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.   Somebody got angry about it, But it was Everybody’s job.   Everybody thought Nobody could do it, But Nobody realized that Everybody would not do it.   It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody When actually Nobody asked Anybody!

I suppose, I don’t need to talk more about it… do I? Nevertheless, if ‘Anybody’ has any questions, please do post your comments and I would be happy to answer… J

THE GREATEST LESSON IN LIFE

Be Prepared!

Dear friends, in India, parents are generally over-protective of their children. The worst damage that we can inflict on our children is to protect them from the experience of pain and suffering. Most people are thus under-prepared to face the hardships of life.

While mulling over this significant aspect of an individual’s grooming for his/her future, I am invariably reminded of a highly effective anecdote that was narrated to me by our Guru ji, Shri R B Giri, when I was a student of the Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya, Port Blair. I always love to share it with all my audience.

Once upon a time, a King sent his son to an ashram of a learned guru. The prince stayed in the ashram for 12 years. One day the king received a message from the guru that the education of the prince was over and he could come and collect the prince. The king went happily to the ashram and was pleased to note that the prince had grown physically, intellectually and spiritually the way he had wanted. After the graduation ceremony was over and the king had paid the guru handsomely, he started to leave with the prince.

Suddenly, the guru ran towards them and twice hit the prince ferociously with his cane. The prince had tears rolling down his cheeks. The king was shocked to see the brutish behavior of the guru. However, he controlled himself and said, “O learned one! A moment back, you were all praise for the prince. I don’t see any mistake that the prince has committed in the meanwhile to deserve such severe punishment. Will you please explain?”

The guru said, “The prince has not committed any mistake. I am confident that one day he will become as great a king as you are. However, through these last few days, I was having a feeling that I have missed out on something. Thank God I could gain the insight in time. I forgot to impart the experience of pain and suffering. Without this knowledge, he would have been ill-prepared for hardships that life may inflict upon him. He would also not have the ability to relate to the sufferings of others without experiencing pain himself. O great one, I am sorry to make you witness the unpleasant ordeal. But I am now satisfied that his education his complete in all respects.”

Hence, to a great extent I believe that Indian parents will do well to follow the message of the story and allow their children some exposure to a life of struggle and pain.

A healthy person, after all, is not one who is free of problems, but one who is in a position to deal with them. Am I right or wrong?

We don’t learn and grow through pleasure. Do we? We learn through failures, adversities and painful experiences. All those of you out there, who have tasted different degrees of success and accomplishment in multifarious ways in life, have been able to do so invariably and irrefutably through a series of failures, disappointments, sufferings and setbacks. But you didn’t ever give up and toiled, tirelessly, your way to success, no matter which walk of life you came from.

 “No one is immune to problems. Even the lion has to fight off flies.” – Anonymous.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR SELF CONFIDENCE

How To Build Your Self Confidence

One of the most important steps to achieving your Goals in life is to develop a strong sense of self confidence. This does not however involve becoming loud or arrogant. On the contrary, people with genuine self confidence are usually calm and self assured and do not need to 'big note' themselves.

Here are my Top Ten Tips for building your self confidence:

1. Visualize Yourself as the Person You Want To Be

Each morning, spend a few minutes visualizing yourself as the person you want to be. Think about the way you dress, the way you carry yourself and the way you interact with other people. Seeing yourself as the person you want to become is the first step towards building self confidence.

2. Self Confidence Statement

After visualizing yourself as the person you want to be, read the following statement out loud:

"I know I have the ability to achieve my major goal in life. Therefore today,
I demand of myself persistent and continuous action towards achieving my goal"

Reading this statement out loud is a great way to start your day with a confident state of mind.

3. Dress Well

One of the most effective ways to instantly improve your level of self confidence is to dress well and to make the decision to always be well groomed. This does not mean you have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. Instead, just focus on gradually building up a small collection of good quality clothes. Also remember that simple accessories such as a tie clip or necklace can make a big difference to the way you look and feel.

4. Positive Posture

Another powerful way to build your sense of self confidence is to stand up straight and get rid of the slouch that many of us have acquired over the years. While you may be able to make a change to your posture by simply becoming aware of it, the best way to make a long lasting change to your posture is to practice Yoga.

5. Move with Purpose

A simple but effective tip for increasing your levels of self confidence is to always move with a sense of purpose. In his book 'The Magic of Thinking Big', David Schwartz recommends walking 25% faster than normal. Having a spring in your step lets people know that you have important things to do and actually makes you feel more confident as you go about your daily business.

6. Become a Participant

Have you ever noticed that in most meetings or groups, people immediately head towards the back of the room so that they can remain as inconspicuous as possible? A great way to increase your visibility and sense of self confidence is to make the decision to always sit towards the front of the room and be a participant. When you have something to say - don't be afraid to say it.

7. Connect With Confidence

Another way to quickly improve your self confidence is to practice making a strong first impression. When you meet someone face-to-face, look them directly in the eye (eye-to-eye contact), smile broadly (it’s contagious), shake hands firmly and say, "Hi Rahul, nice to meet you".

Similarly, you can sound more confident on the phone by answering, "Good morning, Anu Bharadwaj speaking" instead of simply saying "Hello…"

8. Build Your Success File

Occasionally, your self confidence will take a hit when something doesn't work out the way you hoped. One of the best ways to repair your self confidence in this situation is to keep a folder outlining your past achievements and successes (Or remember the “I AM” Board!?). You should also include any positive feedback or comments that you've received from others.

As you review your success file and fill your mind with positive comments, your doubts and insecurities will quickly disappear and your self confidence will be restored.

9. Be Prepared

The BIG secret to being self confident that people rarely talk about is - preparation. The more you prepare and practice for an event, the more self confident you will become.

If you are worried about an upcoming event, use your apprehension as a stimulus to take action and practice, practice, practice. The simple but powerful truth is that self confidence grows through repetition and experience.

10. Toastmasters

My final tip for developing self confidence is to join a Toastmasters group.

‘Toastmasters’ is a non-profit organization that helps people from all walks of life to develop their public speaking and leadership skills. In my experience Toastmasters offers a safe and relaxed environment to step out of your comfort zone and develop the invaluable skills of being able to think on your feet and speak in public.

So there you have it!

If you implement some or all of these 10 techniques, you'll gradually develop a greater sense of self confidence which in turn will help you to pursue and achieve your most important life goals, be it Multi Level Marketing (MLM) or any other field.

So, come on! Let’s boost it up, now!!! Cheers! J

Silence Your Major Critic - Self Improvement Tips

Silence Your Major Critic

Dear friends,

Imagine what would happen if you walked up to your best friend, looked them square in the eye and said, “You are stupid, fat and ugly!”

Chances are your friend would be deeply hurt by your words. In reality you would never do this because you value and care about your friend a lot. Nevertheless, this is often precisely what we do to ourselves on a daily basis.

We look into the mirror in the morning and think, “You look terrible!” Throughout the day, our internal self critic is continually yelling at us,

“You Idiot!
You have no self control!
You're Useless!
You can’t do anything right?”

Often the things we say to ourselves are far worse than anything we would ever say to anyone else! An important part of achieving success in life is developing a positive self-image and a strong sense of self-esteem.

A great way to do this is to create an “I AM” board. Here's how it works…

Find a quiet spot, sit down with a pen and paper and write down the things you see as your best qualities. This may be difficult at first because we are often not used to thinking positively about ourselves.

If you are stuck, think about the different roles you have in life e.g. Father, son, husband, mother, sister, friend etc. Also include your talents and the stuff you enjoy doing. Your finished “I AM” board should look something like this:

When you finish your “I AM” board, put it somewhere you will see it regularly, like next to your bathroom mirror or on the back of the bathroom door.

As you read your “I AM” statement each morning, you will find that your inner self-critic will begin to lose his or her voice. Your self-image will steadily improve and you will gain more of confidence to go after your dreams flat out.

Remember The Action Steps:

(1) Find a quiet spot and at the top of a blank sheet of paper write, “I AM”.

(2) Write down a list of your best attributes and character traits.

(3) Put your “I AM” board somewhere you will see it regularly and read it everyday.

(4) Be aware of your inner self-critic and every time you hear his or her voice, simply reject the negative thought outright and focus on who you actually are.

It’s so very motivating when Anthony says, “Dare to Dream!” in his book “The Oracle's Secret”. Kudos to him!

Cheers to your dreams & ambitions in life!!! J