Personal Growth Archives - Page 5 of 6

October 16, 2012October 16, 2012

Creating Your Future Roadmap Today

Today is the tomorrow spoken about yesterday. So, each time we put off what we are supposed to do today till tomorrow we are only saying we are not ready to be in control of our lives. To be in charge of one’s life one must be willing to live each day on purpose. In fact, a man who is leading a purpose-driven life does not procrastinate. He/she is driven by the purpose he/she has discovered. Show me a man who is living a purpose-driven life and I will tell you he is a man who is creating his future today.

The future is not a long time away. The future we talk passionately about is now. It is not tomorrow. It is not the day after the next. Neither is it years to come. Every second we breathe in and out we have a chance to create our future. As long as we still have life in us the opportunity to create the future we desire presents itself to us. Life is a journey. I am yet to see a man who will want to go on a journey from one point to the other without a map. It is the map that will help him/her to navigate through. The same thing is applicable to the way we live our lives. Continue reading “Creating Your Future Roadmap Today”

October 11, 2012

Start with the End in Mind

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Some will say with a step in the right direction. As for me, all I know is that it starts with a step. You cannot complete what you have not started; neither can you have any experience on that you had wished for. If wishes were horses beggars would ride. Those ideas you endlessly talk about are mere wishes. And they may remain so if you don’t act on them. To bring to fruition those beautiful ideas of yours, you need to step out and expedite action on them.

It has always been my dream and it is still my dream to have a-200 acre farm where nations will be fed and several unemployed people are given sustainable means of livelihood. Yes, I dream of a farm where technology and nature will meet without causing any harm to the environment. It is a farm where nature will inspire ideas that will uplift humanity and lead to sustainable development. What a commendable and lofty dream, you may say! Lofty, yes! But it is achievable. I believe it is accomplishable and I am also aware that things don’t just happen. They are made manifest by those who believe and follow their beliefs with actions. We need to inject life into our dreams for them to become realities. For this reason, I started out my farm with 35 birds in January 2011 in a single room. One and a half years after, the birds have grown to about 500 and we also have some rabbits on a-2 plot of land. This is a step in the direction of having a-200 acre farm. We had taken the first most important step with the end in mind. And we believe in not too distant a future we will get there. Continue reading “Start with the End in Mind”

October 4, 2012October 4, 2012

You Can Only Be Young Once

No one will live forever. We are all here for a short while. It is actually not how long we live that matters but how well we live. To live well and live a life of meaningful impact we need to discover purpose on time. Nobody will be celebrated for what he/she would have done, only for what he/she did. There is no better time to start living one’s dreams than yesterday. After all, you can only be young once.

Methuselah lived for 969 years on the surface of the earth! That was the only record we read of him in the Bible. No record of what he did nor what he would have done. Each time I read this portion of the Bible, the question is: What did this man do with his youthful years? As I write I am still at sea over living for such a long period of time without any record of meaningful impact. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, lived for 33 eventful years of impact. At 12 He knew His purpose and wrought his first miracle at 30 – he turned water to wine. He actually fulfilled His mission on earth within 3 years! He set forth at dawn knowing full well that he could only be young once. His impact still reverberates throughout the world more than 2000 years after His death. Methuselah lived for 969 years of no impact and Christ lived for 33 years of indelible impacts. What a contrast! What are you still waiting for? Remember, you can only be young once. Continue reading “You Can Only Be Young Once”

October 4, 2012October 4, 2012

Thank God It’s Monday

Many people are fond of saying “Thank God It’s Friday”. Why is this so? It is so because Friday comes as a big relief to such people. They look forward to Friday right from the beginning of every working week. Some cannot wait for Friday to come before they go into wild jubilation. Friday becomes a day of escape from the drudgery they call “work”. They are ecstatic about Friday simply because they are not enjoying what they do. When you enjoy what you do you will look forward to the beginning of every working week rather than the end of it. In fact, everyday is your Friday. Your slogan will then change to “Thank God It’s Monday”.

In the course of my interaction with people at various fora I have come to realise that if you are not passionate about what you do you cannot make any meaningful impact in life. People that eagerly look to the arrival of Friday are only working to survive. They are not doing it because they crave for fulfilment. So, they will only be happy on Friday when they can escape from the torture they call work or job. Continue reading “Thank God It’s Monday”

September 29, 2012October 4, 2012

What You Should Never Compromise On While Building Your Career

Kathy Caprino

As a career coach to mid- and senior-level professionals, and in my former work as a therapist, I’ve come into contact with thousands of questions, concerns, mistakes and crossroads that emerge in people’s personal and professional lives. Observing the long arc of many careers, I’ve noticed that the worst missteps – the ones that make us feel deep pain, regret, sorrow and remorse – are mistakes reflecting what people have chosen to compromise on or to give up in order to be “successful.” These compromises don’t feel like “choices” at the time, but they are, and they lead to common crises and challenges that are disastrous for the individual.

Below are the top five things you should never compromise on while building your career (or you’ll regret it deeply):

Your Standards of Integrity

I view “standards of integrity” as core principles and values that guide our behavior. Integrity is a choice, and while it is influenced by a myriad of factors (your culture, upbringing, peer influences, etc.), it can’t be forced. (If it is, you have played a part in that.) One who has strong and well-defined standards of integrity behaves with wholeness, integration, honesty, and does right by himself/herself and by others. Standards of integrity involve values and virtues such as honesty, kindness, trust, wisdom, loyalty, transparency, objectivity, acceptance, openness, empathy, and graciousness. Continue reading “What You Should Never Compromise On While Building Your Career”

July 4, 2012January 6, 2013

Take Risk on The Cheap: A Lesson on Decision Making

In the NLF (National Football League) draft, a player may be labeled as a risky pick for a particular team, while another player is rated as ‘High Value’ pick for another team. As I wrote in my earlier post, great General Managers don’t make decisions based solely on analysts’ ratings.

Analyst and pundits may call a player ‘too risky’ for a team based on circumstances at theme. Again, note that a player may be too risky for a 1^st round pick, but if that same player is available for a 6^th round, he may be a bargain. Sometimes, the breakthrough to success comes by simply grabbing the opportunity to take something which has become dirt cheap because of perceived risk. Continue reading “Take Risk on The Cheap: A Lesson on Decision Making”

June 24, 2012

Look Under the Radar, Make Smart Choices

The key point in this essay is that in making tough choices in life, sometimes it’s best to look under the radar, because the best things, in most cases, are not found in the hype.

If you live in the US or follow US sports news, you will know that period leading to the NFL (National Football League) draft is one of the most exciting times for sports fans in the US. As sports analyst and experts present personal attributes (height, weight, reach, etc) of players and playing statistics, the general public is invited into a passionate debate around who should make the first round pick and who should wait until the third or 6^th.

Pick Like a GM

Make decisions like a GM a football team at draft night. A Good General Manager of a football team does not make a pick based on the recommendation by pundit on TV, hearsay, print media or rudimentary evidence of a player’s ability. He does his homework because he knows that at the end of the day, it’s not only the height and weight, 40-yard dash and yards-per-carry that matter. He knows there are intangibles that determine the success of a team. Continue reading “Look Under the Radar, Make Smart Choices”

June 15, 2012July 8, 2012

Get More From Networking Events Beyond the Wine and Cheese

[ad#GBAF-2-pix]Chances are a few times in a year, you will have an invite to a birthday or send off party, a retirement dinner, an after-graduation ceremony or a corporate executive meet and greet ritual. Before you delve deeper into this essay, I would like to point out that in today’s world if you know how the ‘system’ works, you should know that it’s not about the food.

‘It’s all about whom you know’ has become a cliche and to some of you, it’s a negative one. Unfortunately, it is the reality, like or not.

We’re so interconnected and interdependent that in order to take full advantage of all that’s available to you, you need to artfully and purposely network using every opportunity that’s offered to you. Continue reading “Get More From Networking Events Beyond the Wine and Cheese”