[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

2nd June 2012

Even a good idea may not work!

You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere.
Lee Iacocca

You may have an excellent idea and you may also have all the intelligence to convert the idea into a tangible product and services. You may be excited about your product. The product and service that you offer may be really good.

Yet, there may be no takers for your product.

Last year I met a person who was so excited about a very useful book he was about to release. It was about how to appear before an interview board. The target audience was college students. He explained to me how he has presented the subject with demos and simple tips. He also got a retired person from the Civil Service to write the foreword. He said he was planning to sell about 100,000 copies of the book and use the revenue to found his own publishing company.

Last week I met him. He was a very disappointed man. He published his dream book. But there was no one to take the same. He is now having all the books in his house. He asked me why such an useful book did not sell?

I told him a Taoism story relevant to his experience. But you have to wait for a day to know what the story is!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

30th March 2012

Be smart with your talent!

`A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.'

William Blake

You should be wise to know the commercial value of your ideas and talents. I recall a story from Taoism.

There was a family involved in bleaching. When they bleached, their hands became sore. One member of the family invented a cream and when bleachers applied the cream on their hands, the soreness disappeared and they were always used the cream. The recipe for this cream was a family secret.

One day a passerby saw the family applying the cream on their hands and enquired and got to know the effect of applying cream on the hands. He paid hundred gold coins and purchased the recipe for the cream. The head of the family was very happy since he got money for the first time for his cream.

The man went to the King and offered this cream to help soldiers whose hands became sore when they fight the enemies on the northern battlefields and found it difficult to wield the swords. The King sent the man along with his soldiers to the battlefield and the soldiers used his cream and did not get soreness in their hands and won the battle. The King rewarded the man thousands of gold coins for helping the soldiers to win the battle.

Moral of the story: you should know where and how to showcase your talent!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

29th March 2012

`If you want success, then don't rely on other people to do what you can do'

Sasha Azevedo

We have infinite potential hidden inside us and the world also offers infinite opportunities. The limitation is only in our mind. If we have a talent, we should seek a platform to showcase the same. We have to decide the scope and size of the platform we want to be in.

If I am talented in chess, and if I win you over a game of chess, I give a narrow scope to showcase my talent. I can expand the scope by wanting to beat you and all your friends and the scope becomes slightly larger. If I want to become the world chess champion by beating the current World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, the platform becomes the biggest. It is all for me to decide the size and the scope of the platform. No law in the world can stop me from competing for the world championship title.

Today you decide what should be the size of your platform. Let not anyone other than you limit your scope. Your talent has a commercial value and the more you market your talent, the more material wealth you get. What is the use of your talent if you cannot offer it to a larger population?

I have an interesting story to tell on the marketability of your talent.

Wait!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

28th March 2012

Its all about training your body and mind…

Ninety percent of my game is mental. It's my concentration that has gotten me this far. 
Chris Evert 

One day when Chuang Tzu was passing through a forest, he saw an old man catching circada insects effortlessly. He stopped and asked the old man how he was able to do so in spite of his age.

The old man replied that for six months he balanced one ball over another ball on a tick; then for the next six months he balanced three balls one over the other over a stick; over the next six months he practiced balancing four balls one over the other over a sick; for the next six months he balanced five balls one over the other over a tick. Still he was not satisfied with his power of concentration. Then he practiced standing like a trunk of a tree, but not satisfied about his ability to concentrate. At last he learnt to concentrate all his attention on catching circada insects. Only then he was able to catch the sircada insects so effortlessly. He said that when he is catching sircada insects, his mind does not think anything else!

Consider that old man's effort level to train his mind to focus on oneness with that of yours and evaluate your effort level!

Your mind is capable of focusing on your project if properly directed. We don't do it ultimately we blame the mind.

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

20th March 2012

`Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity'

Augustine of Hippo

I mentor people on life skills and goal setting. I get a lot of students into my seminars. One question my participants ask relate to some habits such as: `Can I sleep in the afternoon? Can I have coffee too frequently? Can I smoke?'  Etc. Many of them have got into some of the habits and they don't know if it is a good habit or not. For example, I come across people who have to take a nap in the afternoon and the problem is they feel guilty when they do so!

The question is not whether you can have a nap in the afternoon or not. What is more important is: does the habit help you or hinder you? Any habit which helps you should be encouraged and any habit which hinders you should be stopped. Simple common sense isn't it?

The problem is how to come out of a habit. The only way is to resist it and if you don't resist, it will become a necessity and you will rationalize the same by saying `unless I sleep for an hour in the afternoon, I cannot work till late in the night'!

Over this weekend you are going to list your `friendly habits' and not so friendly habits'. Friends do not harm you, do they?

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

27th March 2012

A lifetime of training for just ten seconds. 
Jesse Owens

The other day I was having an interesting chat with a person who is a coach to the Indian cricket team who told me that even though from outside the life of top ranking cricketers appears to be enviable, they undergo a lot of pain to remain what they are. He said that in a year of 365 days, a top ranking cricketer has to be practicing for over 300 days and the balance 65 days he may be sick and hence not practicing!

I believe this since I have heard of similar things about Olympic and Wimbledon players. Those who climbed to the pinnacle of success did so by improving their skill to reach the world-class standards. This is true in any field.  

Just imagine what it means to face the world's fastest bowler delivering the ball at a speed of over 160 kilometers per hour! To face and deflect a ball which arrives at such a great speed to the boundary, the batsman has to hit the ball to travel at over 80 kilometers per hour! This does not come, by merely sitting and dreaming about wanting to become a world-class cricketer!

I have an interesting story to tell from Taoism! Curious to know it? Wait!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000 

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

26th March 2012

`It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action'

Al Batt

We are all equal to notice of deviations, but what distinguishes the successful from the not so successful is the action plan and implementation to rectify what is to be rectified.

The whole world was shocked on what is called the `Bhopal gas tragedy' in which thousands of innocent people died due to the leakage of a poisonous gas and several thousands of people became disabled on the fateful night of December 2nd 1984. I read somewhere that an office boy noticed the gas leak from a valve, but he did not know how to close the valve. If only he had taken the necessary action, the tragedy could have been averted.

The same applies to our daily life. We should not only know what is going wrong, but also know what to do about it.

Over this weekend, list three things in your life which are going wrong. For example: `of late I have become lazy', `of late I over eat', `of late I procrastinate' etc. Against each of these statements, write one specific action you want to take to come out of that situation and review your plan of action over the next three weekends. You will understand what it means to getting up and taking action.

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

23rd March 2012

Discontent is the first necessity of progress.
Thomas A. Edison

I was reading an article on the website on how the Chinese children are trained in `sports schools' for getting Olympics gold medals. You can also log on to any search engines and read. The information you will come across will make you to understand what makes the Chinese sportsmen special: hard work and sacrifice.  

One of the factors which motivates most of the Chinese students is poverty. The parents realised that if they want their children to earn lot of money they have to work very hard to showcase their talents.

The history of the industrialization of Modern Japan tells you the same lesson. The Japanese who were devastated during the Second World War hated their poverty and declared a war against their poverty. The Japanese generation of elders who hated their poverty built the modern Japan with their sweat and hard work.

Contentment is fine to make you feel happy with what you have. But discontentment will motivate to take some unpleasant decisions and work painfully hard and prosper.

Over this weekend list three areas of your personal life in which you are not contended and how the same has affected the quality of your life. Ponder over this aspect of your life and notice what happens to your resolve to work hard!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

22nd March 2012

Act now or face the consequence!

Timeliness is best in all matters

Hesiod

The timing of our actions will decide our fate. If we miss the right time, no matter how hard we work, we will not be able to get what we want.

I have an interesting story to tell you. All the animals in a forest started a humour club and decided to have a `stand up comedy time' every day. They also decided to be friendly at this time to enjoy the humour. There was one strict condition: even if one member does not laugh, the person who told the joke will be beheaded.

All the animals agreed for the condition.

On day 1, the donkey told a joke and everyone laughed except the tortoise. The donkey was beheaded. On the second day, the giraffe's head was beheaded since the tortoise did not laugh. The same was the fate of the elephant on the next day.

Next day, it was the turn of the lion. The moment the lion stood up to tell the joke, the tortoise broke into a loud laughter! The other animals were surprised and asked the tortoise why he was laughing even before the lion has told the joke. For this the tortoise replied that he was laughing to the joke told by the elephant the previous day!

If only the tortoise had laughed in time, the life of several animals could have been saved. This is what happens in our life. Our inaction at the right time could cost the life of someone somewhere!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

21st March 2012

Unless you miss, you will not long for it!

`When something is missing in your life, it usually turns out to be someone'

Robert Brault

We have to take efforts to get anything in life. The more the effort, the more will be your success. It is not merely the amount of efforts, but the quality of effort that will decide your chances of success. The main question is: what will decide our effort level, perseverance and consistency of action?

In the first place you have to long for it. If you long for it, you will miss it and if you miss something you will long for it! It is more so in relationship building. If you miss someone you will yearn to meet that person. The more you miss the company of someone, the more effort you will take to reach out to him.

If you don't miss someone, distance will be a problem; health will be a problem; resources will be a problem; obstacles will be a problem. If you miss someone, all this will disappear from your mind.

Here's an exercise for your weekend. Take someone whom you have not met for some time and evaluate how much you miss him. Take another person whom you meet every day and evaluate how much you will miss him if he is not there!

You will understand what I mean in this piece!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

19th March 2012

Necessity – the mother of not only invention, but also speed!

`Men try to run life according to their wishes; life runs itself according to necessity'

Jean Toomer

When we have to, we will and that is the beauty of the human talent. Like an iceberg, what remains hidden inside us is much more than what is seen outside. Unless and until we want, we will not improve our productivity.

At the same time, life is not just speed and pace of work. The only issue question is: do we want to be faster and even more effective.

Couple of years ago I was a part of an Indian delegation to Asian Productivity Organization, Tokyo, Japan to attend a seminar on Motivation for Productivity. We went to a pet food company call Shin Nippon Pet Food Company. There I noticed the symbol for quality circles as `S'. Normally companies use the letter `Q' as the symbol to refer to their quality improvement drives. Interested to know why this company used the letter `S', I asked the Managing Director of the company.

He said that the letter `S' represents `survival' and he said that the survival of the company depends on the quality of the product and services and hence the symbol `S'!

I was quite impressed about the logic!

In my productivity improvement seminars, I use an interesting example explain the link between survival and speed, but you have to wait for one more day to know it!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

16th March 2012

You decide if you are fast enough!

`Time is more valuable than money, you can get more money, but you cannot get more time'

Jim Rohn

We have our own internal standards to judge our performance and until we decide, we will not speed up.

I recall an old story I read somewhere. There was a tortoise at the backyard of an old dilapidated house. It took three weeks to move from the garden to reach rear room. It continued to move and in two more weeks reached the kitchen. From there it took another ten days to reach the hall. From there it reached the frontage of the house in two weeks time. It continued to move and in another ten days it stepped out of the house and reached the portico. At this time the old house collapsed. The shocked tortoise said `thank God, I moved out of the house quickly! What would have happened if I had not acted this fast!

The future belongs to those who are conscious and sensitive to time and deadline. If you have been working in organisations, you would have noticed that the time to manufacture a product is drastically slashed down; the response time to redress customer grievance has come down; the travel time is coming down.

Over this weekend you may like to explore yourself and ask the question: `am I fast enough? How is my speed compared to my competitors? Can I be faster without sacrificing the quality of my work life?'.

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

[Time-Management] 100 More Exciting Ways to Live!

 

15th March 2012

Seconds count when it comes to international sports!

But to be fair, if you take players from my era to now, the game has changed and the players have many more shots. They use them differently than we did. The speed of the game has changed.
Ivan Lendl

In car racing, a car may meet with some problem like a flat tyre. Depending on the type of racing, the size of the pit crew will differ.  In Formula One Series, 19 trained mechanics will make the pit crew working as a team with perfect delegation of responsibilities.

Each tyre will be attended by three mechanics – one to use the pneumatic wrench to remove the wheel's lug; one to take off the used tyre; and the third to reinstall the  new tyre. Two mechanics will be lifting the car, one in the front and the other at the rear. One mechanic will function as the starter man and another as the fuel man. While these mechanics are allotted specific and precise  jobs, a `lollipop man' will be guiding the driver to slow down, to brake, to stop etc. The balance mechanics will be deployed with very specific responsibilities to save every millisecond of the tyre changing and the refueling process!

You've heard the proverb `too many cooks spoil the broth'? Not when they are trained well as to what and how to do their jobs!

I have a story to tell you to explain how to bench mark the pace of our work!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

0000

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

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