[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

1st March 2011

There is no such thing as can't, only won't. If you're qualified, all it takes is a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change. Go forward, go backward. Whatever it takes! But you can't blame other people or society in general. It all comes from your mind. When we do the impossible we realize we are special people.

Jan Ashford

I read a Buddhist proverb `if we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is to keep on walking'. There are two basic criteria for success: setting goals and working for the same. The size of the goal is our choice and the amount of work is also our choice. But the result is not our choice! It is decided by the size of the goal and the matching effort level!!

No one can make us to set lofty goals nor can anyone make us to work hard enough. Again it's our choice. Isn't common sense that once we've exercised our own choice, we should not blame others for our plight?

It all starts as a small spark and grows into a ball of fire in our mind. Our sincere desire to have the goal realized fuels the ball of fire until it occupies our entire mind. The more and more we think about the goal and mentally visualize the same, the more it becomes an obsession in our mind. This process is what sustains our effort level. Napoleon Hill said `the object is to want…and to become so determined to have it that you convince yourself you will have it'. This process of self convincing makes the goal a life and death issue.

The following steps are relevant to make an ordinary desire a `burining desire':

v     Seek an environment which will boost your desire.

v     Surround yourself with such people who will fuel the fire inside you.

v     Feed your mind with such facts and information which will convince you that you deserve your desire.

v     Empower your mind with healthy thoughts and positive energy.

v     Go away from and avoid negative people.

v     Dress for success and internal energy.

v     Programme your mind to sustain your effort level.

v     Visualize, visualize, visualize and visualize!

Do the impossible and prove yourself that you are a special person!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Get great advice about dogs and cats. Visit the Dog & Cat Answers Center.

.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

28th February 2011

The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those, which fail.

 

Napoleon Hill

In my NLP programmes I talk about the NLP presupposition `there is no such thing as failure, but only feedback'. This means that we have to be sensitive to what we are doing and not merely on what we are getting. If we are not getting what we want, it does not mean that we are wrong, but that our process is not effective. We have to constantly match our process with the changes that are taking place outside us and ensure that we are competitive.

One day we may cease to be effective, our talents can become out of date, our skills may become obsolete, our body may become too weak to sustain our efforts and support our dream. We need to ask a simple question: do I want to be as effective as I have bee?  If the answer is yes, reinvent yourself; if the answer is no, quit once and far all!

I recall what I read about how eagles deal with their mid life crisis.

Eagle have the longest longevity amongst the birds and can live upto seventy years. However, in order to live the full life, an eagle has to take an important decision when it reaches forty years of age. At forty its long and flexible talons can no longer grab prey which serves as food; its long and sharp beaks will become bent; Its old aged and heavy wings, due to their thick feathers, become stuck to its chest and make it difficult to fly. Then the eagle is left with only two options: die, or go through a painful process of change that lasts for 150 days. The process requires the eagle to fly to a mountaintop and sit on its nest.  There the eagle knocks its beak against the rock until its plucks it out. After plucking it out, the eagle will wait for a new beak to grow back and then it will pluck out its talons. When its new talons grow back, the eagle starts plucking its old-aged feathers. And after five months, the eagle takes its famous flight of rebirth and lives for 30 more years!

Over this weekend, think: in what way your present situation resembles the eagle's predicament and how you are going to reinvent yourself?

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
MARKETPLACE

Find useful articles and helpful tips on living with Fibromyalgia. Visit the Fibromyalgia Zone today!

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

25th February 2011

The power of small improvements

Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.
Henry Ford

 

I do a lot of mentoring these days and this gives me an opportunity to meet a cross section of people who have many ambitions in their life. I come across people who achieve great things in life. Many of them ask me one question: how hard should I work? How many hours should I work? How many hours should I sleep?

One simple idea I give them is the power of small improvements in life. Great achievement is not an overnight event. It is the result of small but continuous improvement. Have you seen a banyan tree growing? Just because it is going to be very big tree, it does not grow faster than an ordinary tree. It also grows at the same pace like any other tree. A thousand mile road is laid at the rate of a few feet at a time.

Let me take the issue of changing a habit which we find it difficult to change. One student came to be with the question: I get up at 8 am everyday that I want to change. On the days I forcefully wake up at 6 am, I find the whole day is lost. Tell me how to get up at 6 am?

I told him to set an alarm clock to go at 7.55 am and get up five minutes early for a week. Next week he will get up at 7.50 am and 7.45 am the week after next. Last week I met the person in a seminar and I was pleased to know from him that for the past six months he has been consistently getting up at 5 am and jogging!

Small is not only beautiful, but also possible!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Find useful articles and helpful tips on living with Fibromyalgia. Visit the Fibromyalgia Zone today!

.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

24th February 2011

`It is not because things are difficult that we don't dare; it is because we don't dare that they are difficult'

Seneca

In life, we take a lot of decisions which ultimately decide the quality of our life. One important decision is judging how far we should stretch our efforts. We have a choice to decide our own standards and benchmarks. Many times we decide that a thing is `difficult' based on certain data and information. If our decision is based on specific data, then it is a fact-based decision. However, if our decision is based on our `opinion', we need to challenge if our opinion is a reality or a perception.

I have been repeatedly writing about the link between our mind and brain. our brain is controlled by our mind. If the mind is bold and courageous, our brain looks for such information that will support our action plan. On the other hand, if our mind is filled with fear or threat, our brain will direct our attention to seek such facts that will discourage us from acting.

But our mind is a sincere servant and wants to protect us. Like any other servant, the mind also needs to be mentored and trained. Any self-development is mind development. When we are born, our brain is fully formed and we cannot `develop' our brain. But our mind is blank when we are born and gradually evolves to maturity by careful training and mentoring.

One way to make our mind powerful is to feed it with such information which will empower us. in my time management seminars I encourage participants to read success stories and autobiographies of great achievers. There are blind people who have achieved great things; there are physically handicapped people who have climbed the Mount Everest. There a hundreds and thousands of rags to riches stories; there are people who ultimately succeeded when everyone thought they will fail. Einstein, Watson, Steven Spielberg, Paton, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs are all examples who dared.

So, tonight you decide which category you belong to: are you the person who feels a thing is difficult and so you don't dare, or you don't want to dare and rationalize your decision by saying that it is difficult!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

23rd February 2011

 

You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone, which can become a watered-down, occasional hope that you'll get to tomorrow. Intention without action is useless.

 

Caroline Myss

 

What is the use of software without a computer system? What is the use of a computer without the requisite software? What is the use of a most advanced computer with the latest software without the knowledge of how to use the same? what is the use of a state of the art computer fully loaded with the latest software in the hands of a software technician without the intention of using the same?

Ultimately, it is the action and the will to act. Everything else is secondary.

In my intensive time management programme, I take the participants on the various details of goal setting process. We even break the goal into long term, medium term and short-term goals. We divide the goal into tasks, tasks into subtasks and the participants even decide a step-by-step action plan to realize the goals. Some participants even have a plush leather bound `organizer', which is a wonderful tool to plan one's activities and link the same with a time frame.

But, at the end of one week or a fortnight, I have seen many participants at the same stage I left them in the programme! At the same time they will be as enthusiastic about their goals as they were during the programme.

I call this as `action paralysis'. The reason for this the fact there is no link between what the mind wants to do and what the brain wants to do. Something should take place in the human system to make this connected. If we are not connected with our goals emotionally, we will never come out of the action paralysis syndrome.

The more and more I underwent NLP training, the more I understood how to make this connection.

Think for a while: are you suffering from `action paralysis'?

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

ooo

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Find useful articles and helpful tips on living with Fibromyalgia. Visit the Fibromyalgia Zone today!

.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

22nd February 2011

Continuity and Concentration

Concentrate; put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket...

Andrew Carnegie

For accomplishing any task there is a minimum processing time. For any commercial venture there should be a minimum investment. For any outcome there should be a minimum amount of effort. If an electric bulb is to burn, there should be a minimum amount of electric current. These are laws of nature. If we do not cause an effect by some investment or other, the effect will not be there.

I interviewed over five hundred successful person before writing my book `The Gift of Time' which contains over 550 simple tips on how to invest time to enhance the output per unit of time, which I call as the productivity per unit of time. One common trait I noticed in successful people is their enthusiasm to concentrate on their task for a considerable amount of time. It is their will power to focus all their attention for a sufficiently long duration of time on their task by consistently pursuing the required efforts. I also noticed that they also get interrupted like any one of us. But, what distinguishes them from us is their remarkable ability to return to the task after the interruption is over.

Nothing comes out of nothing. Unless we develop, we will not get certain traits and habits. We need to develop this trait of consistency and continuity of efforts. It is like developing biceps and triceps in our muscles.

Before developing anything, we have to know where we are now and where we want to be. This gap assessment will reveal how much practice and training we have to put in to reach the requisite level.

Tonight do a simple exercise. Start counting one to hundred, fully concentrating all your attention on the number you are counting. After reaching hundred, count back to one. In between if you miss out any number, you have to go back and start again. Do this exercise sincerely and you will be pleasantly surprised how weak we are on this important trait of continuity and concentration!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

ooo

 

 

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

21st February 2011

 

Nothing limits achievement like small thinking; nothing expands possibilities like unleashed imagination.


~William Arthur Ward

 

In my time management programme, I give a project to the participants called `My Mount Everest'. I this project I encourage the participants to come out with wildly important' goals in their lives. In this the word wildly is very relevant for the project. All of us have an urge to achieve. But the urge should be used to fuel great things in life.

If we really think, our own thinking restricts us. If we think something is possible, we will take all those actions, which need to be taken. If the goal that is to be achieved is great, we take great efforts. If we pursue ordinary goals, we will take ordinary efforts.

The moment we set our eyes on huge tasks, all our limitations will disappear and all our hidden forces will appear. The question is: are we inspired by great thoughts? We need to explore our inner potential and reach put to the world of fantastic opportunities.

The difference between choosing an ordinary goals and an extraordinary goal will be in the amount of internal energy that will be generated. Bigger the goal, higher will be our energy level. We should find a goal big enough to inspire us, something that will cause us to unleash our hidden power. This mindset will make our hidden potential to turn the invisible to visible.

Let explain this with a simple example. Whenever we have to undertake a long travel, don't we check and mobilize our resources? Don't we fuel our car adequately? Don't we take enough rest before we start our journey so that we complete the travel safely? The difference lies in the destination we have in our mind and what we will get when we arrive at the destination.

This mental preparation will give us the extra boost of energy to reach out to the world of infinite opportunities.

Over this weekend list out three Mount Everest projects in your personal or official life and visualize the benefit that will accrue to you when you achieve the same. Meditate on the project and notice what happens to your energy level!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

18th February 2011

`Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, not do the children of men as whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing'

Helen Keller

We live in a world of endless opportunities. This is also an era of total change. In a changing society, there are only challenges and crisis. The pace of change is amazing.  If you consider all the changes that have taken place in the last two decades and compare just the changed during the last two years, you will understand what I mean.

Security is a mirage. It appears as though it is there. But it is myth. There is no security in the society. What was valid and true during the last decade is not relevant today. Our modern children are brought up is an environment of protection. When the protection is removed, they will realize what real life is.

During the recent recession, organizations that survived are those who were prepared for the change. A highly protected company will find it very difficult to manage when the protection is removed.

In schools subjects are taught. But what is not taught is even more important and critical for survival. Life skills education is very important. We have become mature to handle any contingencies.

We need to develop certain attitudes to survive the world of change and challenge. On way is what I call as `tasking', which I teach in my time management programme. It consists of taking up a task which is somewhat beyond your comfort level and challenging ourselves to do it. If we are used to receiving some help, we should surrender the help and still doing it to check if we are over dependant on the external help. Have you ever tried to walk with eyes closed? Do it for a while and realize what is meant by challenging ourselves.

Daring is an attitude of mind. To dare is become bold. You cannot become bold if you do not task yourself with difficult projects.

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] Arise, awake and take charge!

 

17th February 2011

`Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds

Awake to find that all was vanity;

But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men,

That they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it possible'

T E Lawrence

There are two types of dreams – the daydream and the night dreams. From very young days, we are instructed not to daydream. But, in my time management seminars, I say just the opposite – ask the participants to daydream! 

One important aspect if self-development is goal setting. If we don't set goals, we will lose the focus in life. We need to have clarity on our long term, medium term and short term goals. We have to be clear as to what we want to achieve in a shorter span of time such as a week, day and even the next one hour.

Day dreaming has to be structured. In NLP, we talk about what is called a `as if frame'. In this we take a hypothetical example and imagine as if it is true and consider how we are going to tackle the same. In management terminology, we can call it as strategy formulation.

Edward De Bono is an amazing person who propagated a concept called lateral thinking. In one process called `Po', which stands for provocation, he suggests that we should assume a hypothetical situation, which will provoke us to think differently. In life, we take certain things for granted. With such frame of mind, we may assume an ideal situation and flow of events. Sometimes it may not be true.

For example, we know that a wheel is round. Supposing we say `Po, the wheels are not round, but in a square shape', it will make us to think in a completely different dimension. If the wheel is in a square shape, perhaps we have to redesign the braking system, the suspension, the axle etc. Such a thinking may open new possibilities and opportunities.

Many of to-days' inventions are the result of someone daydreaming new opportunities.

So dream – daydream!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Get great advice about dogs and cats. Visit the Dog & Cat Answers Center.

.

__,_._,___
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)