Priya Kumar - heart to heart

"Will" against "Wont"

2011-07-11T02:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was washing my face in the basin and there was this annoying housefly buzzing around. I am normally tolerant of 'annoyance' but this housefly was aiming for my face. I decided to tell my house maid later to get rid of it (which she understands as kill it). I got dressed and came to the bathroom and saw a black spot on the wet floor. It was the same housefly. I bent down surprised how it had been suicidal enough to land up on the wet floor. I don't know how it did it, but it was stuck on the wet floor wings down and waving its legs in the air frantically trying to lift its wings off. I had wanted to get rid of the housefly, and here it was on the floor near dead, my job half done.

But...... I could not turn away. I could not turn away from a life form, that was near dead, struggling to live. I could not turn away from the tiny life of a housefly with a big will to survive. I could not turn away knowing that I was the only help that it had, to live. So here is what I did - I put the tube of my face-wash next to its legs, so it got a grip. The fly climbed onto the tube. Then I left the tube by the side of the basin so it could dry off and fly away, or buzz around my face annoyingly in the evening.

I could not shake off this incident the whole day. It was my "wont" against the housefly's "will". Life is like that.... no matter how much we think that the other person will get annoyed enough with us to get rid of us, in the end, its our own will to survive that shapes the final call.

My friend, now a successful businessman, had no money or industry support. He had "wont work" as advises from everyone he turned to. But his will was so strong, that today, ten years later he not only owns one of the biggest fashion brands in the country but also has in his list of supporters and colleagues, the same people who had attempted to get rid of him in his early days.

My lesson for the day came from the house fly. It's will to live was stronger than my agenda for it to die. That is true for business, that is true in relationships, that is the truth you find everywhere you go. "Will" "Intention", whatever you call it, is the primary reason for all that happens to you. If our daily intentions and willingness is aimed towards success and progress, the universe has no option but to comply.

Is it YOUR purpose?

2011-06-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Is it YOUR purpose?

Now that we are talking about “Purpose”,,,,, a lot of thinking comes out of the closet. Just because you are doing ‘something’ or headed ‘somewhere’ does not mean that you are on the path of your purpose. You could be working for twenty five years without a clue about your purpose at work or generally in life.

So how does one find one’s purpose? By finding the real reason why you are doing what you are doing? Here is how I helped one of my colleagues and you can see if the following serves any good for you.

‘So why are you doing this job? – Because it pays my bills.
Why do you need to pay your bills? – Because that is my duty, responsibility.’

See this was my point. A lot of people mistake duty and responsibility to be their purpose. Purpose is a personal thing. It is that force that drives you, that motivates you and inspires you. It’s beyond duty. It’s beyond responsibility. It is your soul’s desire for creation.

So we tried again:

‘So why are you doing this job? – Because it pays well.
No. Why are you doing this job and not any other job? – Because I got selected for this one!
If you had a choice, what kind of job would you prefer? – Ummmm, if I had a choice, I would be a musician. I love to play music. But I gave it up because I got this job.
Why do you want to be a musician? – Because I love music. Because when I play the guitar I get lost in another world. Time stops, my worries stop and a whole new world opens up. I love that place. I have a hundred melodies inside me…..’

Now we made some massive headway. Continue with the why, until you hit upon that reason of love. Continue your search until you hit upon that emotional place that makes you gulp. Your purpose must be your purpose. Your purpose must be your love, your calling, your world that you build in the depths of soul. Your purpose must be that drive which stops time, stops your worries, and opens up a whole new world of possibilities and passion. Your purpose inspires you to think creatively, to find solutions and find in you the perseverance to stay on track. Your purpose adds value to the lives of those who are touched by it. That is your purpose.

One thing became clear to my colleague though; he was doing something for which he had no drive, no feelings and no attachment. It was just a job and his purpose was that he had to pay his bills. That was the only reason for him to go to work. Do you think he was creative at work? Do you think he brought energy and drive to make things happen? Do you think he really added value at work? Well, if he had interviewed for a job at my company and if he had mentioned that he was taking up the job to pay his bills, I would not have hired him.

His real purpose was to be a musician because he loved to create music. Because when he plays music he adds value to the world.

“What is your purpose?” – What would you like to achieve in this lifetime? What would you like to do for your own self? For your family? For the world?
“What is your purpose?” – Finding an answer to this question can fuel you with endless energy and drive for a lifetime to see fulfillment!
“What is your purpose?”…….. Even if you are doing a job or are preparing for one, it is never too late to wake up to the realization of what you really want to do. And once that door is open, the next step is HOW to get through it.

The Power Series

2011-06-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

Purpose-Passion-Power

I have a young friend (all of 22 years) and while visiting my home, he sat down and said, "I am so confused Priya, I dont know what to do in my life. There are so many options, opportunities and openings, I am confused."
I guess this kind of confusion hits many. Even though this young man is at the start of his career I have seen many seasoned executives often standing at the crossroads of their professional dillema wondering, "What do I do now?"

In my opinion, if there was a life changing question, the answer to which would put your actions, your thinking and your future towards progressive evolution, then that question is "Why?" Why is a question that will compel you to look for that reason, that motive behind what you will eventually choose to do. And that reason is your purpose; the purpose behind what you do.

So before you ask yourself "What should I do? Or How should I do it?" Stop and ask yourself, "Why should I do that at all?"
"Why should I write?"
"Why should I work?"
"Why should I exercise?"
"Why should I risk in love?"
"Why should I marry?"

The answer to The Why must give you goose bumps. The answer must make you stand up. If you feel the electricity flowing through your body, if you feel the surge of energy and a sudden burst of well being, then you have hit the correct why, the jackpot that will turn your life around.

"Why should I write?" - Because I have nothing better to do - Is not The real Why. It does not excite you. It does not enthrall you. It does not inspire you to get to your table and start playing on your key board. Continue for reasons until you jump out of your chair with the spirit to change the world with your writing!!!

Finding the real PURPOSE behind your actions is the real source of power. Purpose will ignite you, it will strengthen your spirit, it will spark your soul, it will fuel you with energy that will prevail for eternity in all the tasks you do. When someone witnesses your work, they will not help but be touched by your purpose. That is power, real power.

Stop for a moment, put your pen to rest, put your phone back on the reciever, take your fingers of your blackberry, and think "Why am I doing what I am doing?"
Purpose=Power=Life.

Passion&Purpose, my speech on TEDx Bits Pilani,7th October in Dubai

2010-10-14T01:17:00.000-07:00

I am going to do today what I have never done in my 12 years of being a corporate trainer. I am going to read from the paper that I wrote out last night. I am a speaker and man… I can talk. But since my speaking slot is only 18 minutes, THAT needs a skill I have not yet mastered.

If there was one after thought that I would leave you with today, then that would be the power that passion and purpose hold. When you bring passion and purpose into your job, you create realities that earlier seemed impossible.

So how does one become passionate? See, you touch passion, when you have access to it. If this is your job and this is you. And by the way students, home makers and anyone who does not yet earn money is also doing a job. You touch passion when you move ahead of your job. A lot of people hide behind their jobs. You know someone is hiding from responsibility when they tell you, “That’s not my job!” And because they hide behind their jobs, they can never access the passion that is actually innate to human beings. It is only when you place yourself beyond the job and open yourself to the entire spectrum of responsibility, then you have immersed yourself in the ocean of passion that will drive you, that will propel you, that will sky rocket you to the life of your dreams.

Let me take you on a little journey here: Mine. I have done three jobs and been an entrepreneur at all. I was at a seminar once and there was one lady who made a comment, she said, “Priya you are very blessed and lucky. I cannot even dream about being in your position, I am just an ordinary tuition teacher, teaching 8th grade students. To even think of reaching where you are, is unimaginable.”

I don’t know if she really wanted to be in my position, or was she merely justifying her current reality.
See I started my career as a tuition teacher in 1989. I used to teach French to school children, while I was still a student. So even though I had taken a very enterprising step to earn my pocket money, I was doing the job of a teacher.
See a teacher’s job is to teach the student. That’s all. But passion becomes evident when the teacher not only teaches the student but also takes responsibility for the student to study.

In doing my job as a teacher I realized my students were sent to me because they did not study in school in the first place. I had to go above my job of teaching and get the students to study. I figured that one cannot study if their mind is occupied with other stuff. When I was upset so to say that my head had stuff in it, the teachers words bounced off. Isn’t it true? When you have things occupying your mind, the words fly in front of your eyes without making any sense. I figured that for my job to last, I needed to deal with the stuff in my students heads. I needed to go beyond my job and touch that place which I now know as passion. When I cared enough to look, my students’ heads were full of the same things that fill most people’s heads, they were full of longing for love, waiting to be heard, dying to be acknowledged, worried about the love of their life, anxious about their pet, the bills to pay, the money to receive and so on. How can any one study or for that matter work or do anything when one’s head was full. I learnt that to teach them anything I had to empty their heads first.

I remember I used to start my class by serving my students lemonade, playing a song on the guitar, to make them cheerful. When people become cheerful, the stuff in their heads temporarily unravels. During the class if they hesitated or looked lost, I asked them what was wrong. And when they told me what was wrong, I shared some of my own ‘that’s wrong with me too’ story and they emptied their stuff. Not that I offered any solution, but that I understood and I acknowledged was all that was needed to get them back to study. I baked a cake, for every students’ birthday. I taught 1900 students in 9 years and practically every day was a birthday. I watched movies with them. I took them out for picnics. I organized social service activities. I promoted their talent. I cried with them, they laughed with me and they knew they could count on me for anything that the world threw on them. My first class used to start at 8am and my last class would end at 11pm. And even though the tuition teacher would wind up the class, the friend was available twenty four hours. When there was a black out in the area, I was on a call with my student who was afraid of the dark. When things got nasty at home, my house was open for those who needed to get away. When someone’s little dog was sick, I looked after the puppy under my chair while I taught a bunch of 8th graders who also joined in the mission. I was doing a job of teacher and when I moved beyond that to encompass everything that remotely was connected with teaching; I became passionate about my job.

My greatest compliment still remains when one father of a student called and said, “My son has high fever and he wants to come for tuitions. He says, when he comes for class, he feels better,”

Being a tuition teacher changed my life. My first job taught me lessons I could never have managed to learn on my own. I carry those lessons to date. You know when a person’s phone line is engaged, you cannot reach him. It is true for everyone, whether you are a manager taking to a client, whether you are a lover talking to your loved one, that you can’t reach them, you can’t talk to them and be heard, if their head is full of stuff. If you could care enough to disengage their head from the stuff that they cannot seem to silence, you not only touch passion, you touch their soul.

I started my second career as a speaker in the year 1998. It was a historic transition from tuition teacher to motivational speaker. And in two years of doing a job at speaking, I fell flat on my face. Nothing seemed to work. People said the passion was lacking and mainly that my words didn’t hit home. Something was terribly amiss and I was almost falling into the trap of “My job sucks. I am not lucky like the other speakers I had admiration for. I spoke loud, I dressed well, I said exactly what I had learnt to say but something seemed amiss.” And then one day in December 2000 it hit me when half the class of my participants walked out and never came back. I was in the rest room during the lunch break and I heard one of the participants say outside the door of my cubicle, “Why should anyone listen to her? What has she done with her life? Who is she to tell me what I should do with mine!” I stayed in the cubicle till everyone had walked out. I did not have the courage to walk out in front of them and own up to the truth they had just said. And that’s when I realized that words don’t inspire, actions do. From that day, I had one purpose, to put into action all that I was telling others to do. I had attended seminars that gave me the certificate to practice as a corporate trainer, but I had forgotten to earn my ‘right’ to motivate people. It was from December 2000 that I spent every waking hour of my day in self improvement, in self betterment, in applying every little law of success I had ever read about to my life, and conducting my seminar from THAT reality. And when I did that, my work became magical!!!! I guess when one spends one’s energy in constantly improving at one’s job, one touches passion. I had to move beyond my job of speaking words, to actually do with my life that which I expected others to.

In moving beyond my job as a trainer I realized that words really don’t change anyone’s lives, they may bring a temporary sense of well being, but the only thing that changes lives is your own application of all that you know is right. In my seminars, I only share from my life. I have nothing to teach anyone, because that would be pretty arrogant to even imply that I have lived ‘my’ life for 37 years and I know more about ‘yours’!!!! Passion is not in leading another; passion is only found in leading oneself ahead every day. It’s been 10 years and I am still ahead of my job as a trainer and I still live my life daily in self improvement, and when that works for me, I have new stories to tell in my seminars.

Anyone can be a trainer, as long as they realize that people don’t need you to tell them what to do, they need you tell them what you did when you didn’t know what to do. They need to know what you did when you hurt when you failed when you were lost and had nowhere to go. And when you tell them THAT truth, you become the greatest trainer in the world.

And then a lady comes along and says, “Priya you are very blessed and I am just an ordinary tuition teacher, teaching 8th grade students.” In my long career I know of many ordinary trainers and many extra ordinary tuition teachers, and what sets them apart is not the work that they do, but how far they go to get their work done.

Now coming to my 3rd job. In 2009 I started a new job as an author. A few weeks ago I met a gentleman at dinner and I was introduced as, “This is Priya, she is an author,” And the gentleman said, “How nice to meet you, I am also writing a book.” And I love it when people say that, I said, “No, Sir. You are not writing a book, you are talking to me.” He was a little puzzled and said, “No. I AM writing a book.” And I said, “NOOOOO. You are talking to me!” You see, he was not getting it. Finally I had to tell him. You don’t have a pen and paper in your hand right now. What kind of statement is “I am writing a book” when you clearly aren’t!!! When you don’t put a time line on your job – you dissipate passion and you invite frustration. When you don’t align yourself on the start and finish line, you are not even in the race, forget in the job. And if you are not in the job, then passion is not even a necessity. You have to make time for your job first, and then to go beyond it for passion to even exist.

In doing my job as an author, and by the way, it’s a job of great responsibility, I can say that yet again, I have discovered a BIGGER and BETTER me. A journalist asked me one day, “So how did you create this story?” And she left me speechless for the entire interview. I had to call her back after 2 days to finish her questions. See all I knew was that I WROTE the story. HOW? I don’t know. All I knew was that I went off alone, gave my office authority to my manager and said, you are the boss, I kept my phones off and I just wrote. How did I create the story? That answer changed the way I have lived ever since. See, up until then I thought passion was enough to create legends and it was here I learnt, that purpose is superior to passion.

Let me explain this. You see, I created a story. I knew I wanted to write a story that would add great value to the life of the readers. So the purpose of the book was created first. I wanted to write a book which very subtly, very gently, through a thrilling adventure persuaded people to wake up and stop complaining and take control of their lives. After the purpose was set, the characters were created. I knew there was a lead character of a lost soul. I then created the master, the wise person who had the answer to all the questions ever asked. Then I created a lot of obstacles and put the lead character through tests and turmoil’s and traumas. Then I also created all the characters who would pose problems for the lead character. I then created realizations, solutions, passion , victory and wisdom that the lead character discovered about herself to over come all the challenges that came her way and emerged glorious at the end of the fable. Those 8 days of my life, I lived a parallel life literally. I lived as each one of the characters individually. When I wrote about the hero, I became the hero. When I wrote about the villain, I became one. When I wrote about the master, I could only do that by becoming one first. Those 8 days I stopped living my life as Priya Kumar the corporate trainer and I started to live the life of all the characters, which by the way were totally created by me from start to finish. The lost, the wise, the evil, the good were all my creation, an extension of my own thinking which all eventually came into alignment with my original purpose of writing the book. How the book would end was evident from the purpose with which the book was started, isn’t it? I can’t have the purpose of writing a self help book and then ending it with failure! For those 8 days I lived a life that I had created. Do you understand what I understood in telling you this?

We all create our lives with or without passion by virtue of the purpose we assign ourselves to. Let me give you a more plausible example. A wrong example of misplaced passion fuelled by misplaced purpose. If you have ever told a lie, then you have attempted to alter realities. Ask the woman who cheats on her husband. She now must tell a story to her lover to mislead him into believing her justification on why it is ok for her to put her marriage to shame. Heck her story is so powerful that she almost builds reason and respect in her action. She then by her actions leads her lover away from the truth. She also guards her husband from finding out the truth. Her actions and words and intentions are all focused on creating a whole new world of lies and deception. And does she succeed in creating characters out of the people in her world, yes!! Does she succeed in creating circumstances that lead her and others into her lies? Yes!! Does she succeed in creating challenges and struggles and momentary victories in all of this? Yes!! But sadly, the end of her story is a disaster because the starting purpose was a lie. And though creation of a reality needs passion but if the purpose is misplaced, disaster is inevitable.

No matter what job you do, know that you create your own confusion, that you create all the characters that then by virtue of your creation become a part of your life, that you create your own challenges and circumstances, and in the end you create your own victory or failure. Its all self created. I create it when I start with a clear purpose, like how I started my book with a purpose. Without a purpose the book becomes a deception, where the writer thinks he is writing, but the reality is that he is nowhere even close to a pen or paper. Without a purpose a person’s life becomes a deception, where the person thinks he is living life, but is nowhere even close to the glory that life holds for him.

No matter what job you do, if you care enough to care for people you deal with, if you constantly focus on self improvement, if you keep your purpose expanded towards service then you connect to a degree of passion that will raise you to heights beyond your wildest dreams.

The true test of purpose driven by passion is “Did your job change your life? Did you emerge bigger? Did you make a contribution far greater than you will be ever be compensated for. And if your answer is a hesitant yes,,, then my friends you have taken a leap beyond passion, you have touched and fulfilled the purpose of life itself!!!!”

Emotional Atyachar

2010-06-27T00:09:00.001-07:00

Emotional Atyachar

Underneath most professional disasters I can see unresolved personal emotional distress. As much as we have agreed on the professionalism at work we must not forget that we after all are emotional beings. And the word motion (action) is contained in the work Emotion (feeling). Which simply means that we will behave in accordance to how we feel.
When employees don’t ‘feel’ emotionally positive then don’t deliver expected results. People who are suffering from emotional distress are likely to make errors, be forgetful, be irritable, indifferent and would even break down if you confronted them. On many occasions that people fail to deliver results not because of a lack of ability, but because of a lack of ‘emotional control’. It is very important not to make your emotional mess a professional atyachar at work. Emotional stability is an art and a discipline that can be followed. Here are some things for your to remember next time you bring your emotional baggage to work.
1. Know your role well. I once asked one of my employees why he looked so ‘down’ he said that he was having problems managing time with his children at home and his wife was accusing him of being a bad father. Well, we all fall trap to accusations as a result of other people’s bad moods at home. That does not mean we bring the bad father or the bad husband to work. We need the good employee at work. Know your role and be that role. At work be a good employee and at home attempt at being a good father. When you bring a bad father at work, you create a bad employee too.
2. Know your purpose well. I was once visiting a colleague at work and he looked really ‘low’ and he was not the same ‘cheerful’ person I knew. When I asked him if everything was ok, he said that he was really shattered because he was having financial problems at home and I almost yelled out to him, “I’m having financial problems too, and that’s why I come to work!” I guess what people don’t understand is that when they bring their personal worries to work, then will create worries in their career too. You come to work to create better possibilities of a better life. When you mess up your work space with your emotional hang ups you certainly lower your chances of prosperity.
3. Know your commitment well. When you signed the dotted line and came into the organization you committed to deliver results in exchange for the salary you get. When you come in sulking like a school boy you will create professional blunders. I once had an employee who hung out more in the corridors smoking away his worries. Instead of putting his head to his work and creating the results he was getting paid for he was burning his heart outside over his girlfriend who was marrying an old rich man. His emotional indulgence during work hours did not bring his girlfriend back but sure turned his career in. Your company and your colleagues do not deserve your bad mood and subsequent negligence. Just like you did not bring a foul temperament to the interview you must keep it away every day of your work life.

If you have a problem solve it at the place where it exists. You can’t solve problems with your wife while you are at work. While at work, put the personal problems at hold and solve them after work hours. Similarly when at home put your professional problems at hold and solve them at working hours. When you carry foul moods to places where they don’t belong you will not only lose your stand on the problem you were in but you will also create a new problem in the area you neglected as a result. Most people cave themselves in because have mixed up their emotional baggage so much that everything personal has become professional and everything professional has become personal. Such people become a professional liability and personal failures. Keep your professional space clear of emotional clutter, that by far is the fastest route to success and prosperity and a clearer and happier state of being.

Home Coming

2010-06-04T21:03:00.001-07:00

Its been really really long since I blogged. Everyone has been literally on my case since a few months and every time someone says, "Why havent you posted a new blog?" My usual defensive reply is "yes yes I will!". And since I never did, I became more and more defensive when anyone brought it up.

See I started the blog because I liked writing my thoughts and sharing it with the world. That was the start of my journey towards passion and love. And somewhere along the line my passion crossed the line and moved towards commitment which I think I was not ready for. And so many times I have seen talent wither away because people were not able to make the transition from passion to committed contribution. A master is a master because he is committed to contribution... and then there are people like me, who want to remain in the realm of love at my our convenience.
But..... I have figured that when I write somehow learn my own lessons. My second book is evidence of that. And so I am pushing my love for writing to committed contribution !
Thank you everyone for irritating the living daylights out of me.
I will grow more and I owe that to your persuasion.

You Are The Voice

2009-11-25T19:52:00.000-08:00

You’re the voice

In my workshops I am often encountered with people who say they are lost. They feel they need direction and want me to show them. “I hate my job and I want to quit, what do you think I should do ?” “My husband abuses me, I want a divorce, what do you think I should do ?” “I am not happy with my life, what do you think I should do ?”

At some point or the other we have all felt lost. We found ourselves at a junction where we didn’t know which turn to take ! We have all been at cross roads of right/ wrong/ compromise/ follow your heart. And it is in times extreme stress and despair that we look for a person who has the answers to our questions. We look for that voice outside which will give us those magical words of wisdom to set our world right.

What I am proposing is this. There is no answer outside. All answers are within. You are more than you give yourself credit for. If you asked me my age, and if I said, “I am 63” you would laugh at my face. You asked me a question and I gave you an answer, but you didn’t buy it ! I move on to tell you “I am 42”, you still won’t believe me. Then I say “I am 32” and you would go “hmmm that could be possible, but you look a bit younger”. The point I am driving at is this, in asking me the question you already have an estimate of the answer. You are merely looking for a match in my words. In other words, when we have a question or confusion, we already know the estimate answer. Why not act on our own answers anyways. When we seek answers from others, what we are actually seeking is companionship and re assurance that we are understood. When we turn to others to sort our world we are actually calming our own loneliness. We really want to be heard and understood than to seek advice. The greatest frustration of counsellors is that their patients don’t follow their advice. The truth is the patients just want to be heard and understood. They didn’t pay the money for advice, they paid the money to be understood. And that feeling of being heard and understood gives them enough sanity to move on with their own decisions.

I do workshops where I get people to walk on fire. Now there are many theories why the coals won’t burn you. I can quote from physics, from biology, philosophy and even spirituality. All this data helps in understanding one’s fear and one’s power. But believe me, when you are faced with the gleaming hot coals and you are next in line to take that step on the fire, you won’t remember a word of what I said. Fear does not understand science. Fear does not understand faith. Fear only understands your perspective. When fear is knocking your power out, it is what you tell yourself that will decide whether you will step on the coals or not. By the fireside, there is an intense conversation happening, between you and yourself. And finally when people walk across the coals without getting burnt, I ask them “How did you do it ?” ! And every single time I get this answer, “I told myself ............” It is always what they told themselves that took them across the coal.

Advice is good, opinions are good, knowledge is good. They give you a broader view and perspective on the world around you. But end of the day you are the one who knows your reality best. You are the keeper of your own truth. And the only person who can take you across your firewalk is your own voice.

At the fireside, there are only two options; to take the step forward in faith or to step back in fear. And that step is propelled by your own voice.

You will never know ‘how to walk on the fire’. You will never know if you will find love in your life again. You will never know if your next boss will be a better person. You will never know if you will burn on the fire. But one thing you will know for sure; when you make up your mind and take the step forward despite your fears and past failures, your entire system will support you because that is what it is designed to do. And no matter what the consequence, the place at the end of the fire bed is far more exhilarating than the place you were before.

So next time you find yourself at cross roads, consider all facts and opinions but in the end listen to your heart. People love to experiment with others lives by advicing them. And somehow all of us are experts in what is best for others. Only you know the real truth about who you are you and what you do. Only you can really sort your life. Make up your mind in the direction YOU know is right, and you will succeed. I have absolute certainty that we all know what the right thing to do is, whether we do it or not.

We belong to a culture that thrives on opinions and moves on approvals. When you open up your problem book to another, you are turning away from your own power. Listen to your own voice before it drowns in the noise of others.

Destiny is a Daily thing

2009-10-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Each one of us has our fair share of ‘potential’ destiny, just as the seed has the ‘potential’ of a tree. Unlike the seed, which is at the mercy of its environment to grow, we are blessed with the gift of choice, which gives us power over our environment. In other words, what that means is, we can create our own circumstance.

Life is a perspective. When you change your perspective, you change the way you think. When you change the way you think, you change how you feel. When you feel better, you perform better. And when you perform better on a daily basis, you see magical results.

A lot of people feel that the past shapes the future. If you look carefully, today is a result of your past. Today will be the past for tomorrow. So in a more intense perspective, it is today that will eventually equal to your future. Don’t use your past mistakes and mishaps as the foundation of an unfortunate future. You fail tomorrow if you fail today. You don’t fail tomorrow because you failed yesterday.

You can have a shot to success everyday. A lot of people quit on their lives because they feel that their past has been too messed up. Success eludes them because they continue to live their life ‘everyday’ in the same mindset of helplessness. At some point or the other, we have all made mistakes, we all have been beaten, we all have been cheated, we all have all fallen short of our own expectations. At some point or the other, we have wronged ourselves and wronged others. But the only point where destiny is shaped is the point where you stand now. It is ‘now’ where you choose what you will do about all that has happened to you and all that you can make happen for yourself. It is in your choice today, that you will set a whole series of events and intentions in action for the future. Today is a chance for you to set your past right. Learning from your past is a smart thing to do, but only the ignorant live their past everyday.

I do personal breakthrough workshops and use the firewalk as an analogy to make this point. I often tell people that just because they got burnt in the past does not mean that they will burn today on my firewalk. Burns like accidents happen when one is not paying attention, when one acts out of ignorance and when one lacks intention. When people do walk on fire, they do so with full attention, awareness and intention. Is it then magic that they did not get burnt ? Certainly it is magic. There is magic in paying attention, there is magic in awareness and there is magic when actions are done intentionally. So what role does a past burn have to play in the decisions you make today ? Every burn, every loss, every hurt teaches you one lesson: “responsibility”. If you learn to take responsibility of what happens to you, then you become a powerful person. Destiny is not about what happens to you, destiny is shaped in what you do about it here from.

All people who rose to greatness had pasts they were not proud of. They have also had their share of misfortunes. They became great because no matter what happened to them, they made choices of greatness on a daily basis. Whether it is Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Mahatma Gandhi, your next door neighbour, or you, all alike, have some parts of their past that could potentially destroy them. And all alike, have equal opportunity to create a better life. And that opportunity knocks your door daily in every choice and in every decision you make.

You too can create your own destiny, and you can start today. As long as you are alive, you have your shot at creating your world the way you want it. Your destiny is giving you a chance daily. Grab it.

I have a great life

2009-09-29T00:44:00.000-07:00

I have a great life, and if only I would tell myself that everyday, I would have a great life everyday :)

Im here in East Grinstead and just being here is an indication of a great life. I landed at Heathrow and the madness I left in Bombay picks you up right at the airport. Its as busy as life can sometimes be. I had to walk a mile with my suitcase (thank God for trolley bags) to the Central Bus Station. People pass you by and everyone has somewhere to go, no one is really there. Only bodies present in the airport, the mind is always somewhere else, either at the place they left, or the place they were headed for. I tried my best to be "there" and I found I was alone.

The Central Bus Station is not a fancy pick from the Bollywood movie. Its pretty cold with just alleys for buses to stand. Unlike in India you have vending machines near the benches while you wait. I was hungry and I was cold. Its funny how cold and hunger go together. I have never found myself saying "Im hot and Im hungry", thirsty is much appropriate. I dont know what the English were thinking when next to the bench at the bus station, out in the cold, they have vending machines selling ice creams. I was cold and I was hungry and the only thing I could find handy to eat was ice cream. I dont know what the selling psychology is here, but I headed for the machine. Atleast after eating the ice cream I wont be hungry anymore, only a lot more colder. I put in a 10 pound note with the queen side up, and the machine swallowed her with delight spitting out some wasted change in disgust, and out popped a "Caramel Cream" cup. I ate it with sadistic pleasure my teeth and oesophagus (the canal that takes your food from the mouth to the stomach) shivering in a musical rythm. By the time I finished my cup, my tongue was numb and when the ticket collector asked me "Where are you getting off my lady" I could only babble "South Terminal". He gave me a puzzled glance and shrugged his shoulders "hop in" was all he had to say.

East Grindstead is a pretty small town. And Forest Row is a pretty place, true to its name, with Forests everywhere.

My first few days were mainly a focus on my health. "How can anyone make themselves so sick ? You have done a great job at that !" Is what my teacher had to say. I felt great already. Whenever someone compliments me, I feel great, even if the compliment was directed at me making myself sick. I guess in my delight that "I did it", I also realised "I" did it. And now I didnt want to do it anymore. "How can I undo my sickness ?" I asked alarmed. "I was beginning to think you would never ask" my teacher said. I always thought she was too pretty to be a teacher. All teachers I had since then were bland, unattractive and yet very wise. I always thought wisdom and beauty dont stay in the same place, but G changed that perception. She was a stunning teacher.

I was sent to a chiropractor who would tell me how to undo my sickness. Its funny how I created sickness without any instructions and now I had to be taught how to undo it. "Whatever" I muttered to myself "I will make myself well".
The chiropractor was an Italian guy. Massimo. Nice name I thought. Instantly in image of an Italian hunk, long hair, golden skin, dimpled cheek, shiny white teeth came to my mind. And before I could complete my mental sculpture the door to the consulting room opened and out walked a lean man "You must be Priya" he said in a twist almost biting his tongue. It sounded like my name in some strange language, but since he was looking at me with a smile, I nodded.
Massimo was Italian. He wore pants shorter than his size and a white shirt like the ones that sailors do. He seemed like a man who was so passionate about his work, that he had no time to dress up...er... like an Italian man. He sure had a set of shiny white teeth but the huge mole on his lip took your attention away from that. He had a dimple alright but everytime he smiled the mole almost touched the dimple. "Lets set you right" he said in a very Italian Accent, and I was ready.
A chiropractor works with your bones and aligns your body. When he finds your spine out of order he can also point to the disorder in the organs that are related with that point on the spine. One tickle down my spine and he figured that I had a colony of parasites in my stomach and intestines and also some that were causing me allergies and headaches. Wow. Italian men are smart. The first step was to set my spine right.
He lay me on a table and asked me to fold my arms clutching my shoulders. Then he twisted my neck on the side and said that he would raise me from the back, pull me in an embrace and crack my spine. "Good Lord ! If he makes a wee tiny mistake, I will not need this body anymore." I closed my eyes and Massimo put his hands under me raising me from the back in a one short "huh" cracked 6 bones on my back. "Thats good" he said. As I straightened my self on the table feeling a distinct relief in my back I realised that my long time dream had come true, of being in the arms of an Italian man, even if he was a chiropractor with short pants and a mole in his lip, genuinely interested in the vertebrae of my spinal cords and the energy imbalance of my body.

I must say that the spinal correction worked wonders on my body, though usually the hug would suffice, and I quite look forward for more wellness. ....

(to be continued) (only on special request)

Wrong Place... Wrong Time

2009-06-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been in a situation, kinda, wrong place at the wrong time ? You got fired for something you didn't do ? You got hit by an angry boyfriend when you weren't even hitting on his girlfriend ? You got caught for a crime you didn't commit ? You got ketchup on your new shirt which you weren't even pouring ? Your car got banged at the signal you didnt even break ? Well, thats called timing.... at the wrong end.

I am a believer that life is not an accident. That somewhere there is a hidden intent in all that happens to us. That somewhere, unknowingly but certainly, we create our own realities.

If you have been raising your fist at the sky muttering, "Why does this always happen to me ?" Then here is some news for you.... You lead yourself towards your greatest lesson. And if you care to inspect closely, there IS something you DID or DIDNT DO that you SHOULD HAVE DONE to cause or to prevent what happened to you.

And if you are the kind who must blame another for all that happens to you, then you have bought yourself a life full of misery. It would take considerable courage to look at the situation squarely and ask yourself "How did I cause this to happen ?" The answer is not to make you small but to make you powerful. You become powerful when you are at cause and you become weak when you are at effect. If you can catch yourself "causing" all the "accidents" in your life, then you certainly can turn that around and get lucky.

Being at the right place at the right time, is what happens to a person who knows what he wants and wants it at all costs. Being at the right place at the right time needs you to be aware, to be sensitive and above all to be prepared. So when you compare this to all the "bad things that happened to you" you will find that at that time you were in a state of ignorance, confusion and chaos.

Your destiny is defined in the clarity of what you want. You lead yourself to your greatest lesson. If you are not aware, sensitive and clear then you will create that knock on your head to stop and get back in focus. Stop you sure do (raise your fist and curse) .... but get back in focus (learn and move on) is what you must do.

The Price of Love

2009-05-29T03:53:00.000-07:00

The most liberating emotion that any human can be blessed with is the ability to love and 'to allow' being loved. And when you have pets, love becomes second nature. Thats what Betty brought into my life - an experience of unconditional love, literally.

For 13 years my dog lived with me, for only one purpose, love. There was no other reason, no agenda, no expectation, no quarrels, no upsets, no negative expectation - only joy and only love.

Life was amazing for 13 years. No matter how tiring or difficult a day, Betty was there to end it in joy. One creature was always ecstatic to see me. She was my source of joy, my source of relaxation and my ever ready source of play. Betty had no reality of a "hard day" or "heart break". All she knew was "its fun time" everytime.

And the price I paid for that bundle of joy was the pain of letting go, was the pain of watching her die. I am generally a VERY strong person, but Betty tested my strength BIG TIME. It was not easy to say "good bye".

All the hardships that I have been through in life seem petty today in the face of the pain that I experienced in allowing my source of love to leave, to move on, to be set free.

Love in all purity also brings with it pain in full power, if love is not understood. What I understand now is that love is a feeling, not a person or animal. Love is in the action. Love is in the intention. And so there is no end to love. And the power of love is in spreading it. The only true source of love is the ability in each one of us to express it. I was the beneficiary of it for 13 years, and now the price is in passing it on - to BE that source of love.

My tribute to Betty is that I will be that source of joy and love in all I do. That every moment is a reason for enthusiasm and energy. That because I am alive, I must bring happiness. That the only relationship that I have with others, is the relationship of love. And in doing that I am allowing my soul to move on in peace, because I am sure hers already is !!!

A.R. Rehman and You

2009-04-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

A.R. Rehman has practically become a living legend in the music industry. With success following him with every passing year, the 43 year old soft spoken maestro still prayers before every composition and chooses to love in all he is and all he does. With a humble beginning to worldwide recognition at the Oscars, his journey has been the path less trodden. Here is following A.R. Rehman to his stardom and leading you to yours.

1.Train well: A.R. Rehman started playing the piano at age of 4. And ever since he has trained under almost every great musician the industry has had to offer. Be aware that learning takes time, money and above all humility. You cannot expect to earn before you learn. And when you do get to learn, take it to the point of mastery like Rehman did.

2.Go the extra mile when you start: At the age of 19, Rehman used to play the keyboard for Zakir Hussain’s troupe and even after his work, he would stay back in the studio, sitting through other musicians pieces, eyes and ears tuned in, constantly imbibing. How far you want to go in your life is determined by how far you will go in your quest to learn and get better.

3.There is no substitute for experience: Before Rehman composed his first song for films, he had the experience of 300 jingles behind him. And before he composed his first jingle, he had 10 years experience of playing music in concerts, big and small. And before Rehman got his first Oscar, he had 39 years of active music experience behind him. Success is a series of experiences, the more the experience, the closer you are to success.

4.Work comes first, money follows: Even though Rehman’s advertising career was flourishing he accepted to compose music for Mani Ratnam at Rs.25,000. It was a sum that he could make in three days composing ad jingles. But he did the project for the sake of expressing his talent and not for the money. If you want to make a new start, focus on your work, the money will follow.

5.Work your options well: Rehman was a well trained musician but before starting something new he worked his options out well in advance. Before he quit advertising to take up music composition for films he learnt driving so that he could at least temporarily survive as a driver in case the film world ended for him.

6.Have a work philosophy: Rehman has a very strict work philosophy, "Rather than making money, I believe in making people happy; all other things are secondary.” If your work makes people happy, you are in business and on the path of progress.

7.Treat others with dignity and importance: It is every singer’s dream to work with A R Rehman because he makes you feel like God. His singers even go to the extent of saying that he makes you feel as if you are AR Rehman and he is just an ordinary fellow. When you treat people with importance you put them in a state of peak performance. And when your team, department and colleagues perform well, overall you stand to win too.

8.Get the best out of your team: Rehman tries to extract something extra from every one of his musicians as well as his playback singers. He believes in their additional input. And with that he makes a point to improvise, every single time. Getting the opinions of those involved in your project is the smarted thing one can do to in order to project a master piece to the world.

9.Work with people: According to Rehman his best music comes when there's an exchange of ideas, when there are stories that inspire him. Connecting with people and his team and picking their brains keeps his creativity to the highest.

10.Learn to say no: Rehman’s philosophy is simple, "To achieve something you have to take the risk of offending someone by saying no.” He can only do so many films and can compose only so many songs and has to turn down others because he just can’t do it all. Saying no is important to remain in the business of quality.

11.There is no burnout in work: Rehman believes that a burnout occurs when one is not happy with what he is doing. If you are doing work out of family pressures or financial hassles, keep your eye rested on your passion, and follow it with the first opportunity. Because if you enjoy what you do, you will never want to take a break.

12.Success is a start, not an end: On winning the Oscar’s, which is a lifetime achievement for many, Rehman was humble enough to say "It's a starting point in my career”. When you succeed, you have only started. The true journey of responsibility and creativity begins here on.

Wouldn't It Be Nice If....

2009-03-22T13:29:00.001-07:00

Games are fun. They shape our character. They set up our personalities and also impact the way we think. Thats why its encouraged for children and adults alike, to enagage in sports and games as a part of their life.

There is this game I like in particular and playing it regularly will have a deep impact on the way you think, the way you manage your emotions, and the way you set the course of your dreams.

It's the game called "Wouldn't it be nice if...". Rules are simple, and can be played at any point of the day and other partners or players are not necessary, but sure helps in creating the some fun. The best time however to play this game is when you wake up to the world in the morning, and also at times when you feel low, lost or stuck.

Here is how it goes, when you wake up in the morning, spend about a few minutes playing and contemplating... "Wouldn't it be nice if.........." and you can complete the sentence with your hearts desire. This way you are acknowldeging all that you desire and also releasing it's hold on you by giving it away in a game. It's not a prayer, it's not a strong need, it's a game. You have fun, you imagine, you let it go,,, and by the way that's a very strong intention set in motion.

Try to play this game as a cheer yourself up tool when you are lost in your own web of worries. Worry is a game which is the exact opposite of "Wouldn't it be nice if.." Worry is a game that says, "Wouldnt all be ruined if...." The rules are the same, the impact is inevitable. Only one pushes you forward and the other pulls you down.

Wouldn't it be so nice if, everyone who read this finds happiness in the little things, such as the coincidence of this blog. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone greeted each other with a smile. Wouldn't it be nice if today I would be kinder and more tolerant. Wouldn't it be awesome if today I chose to forgive someone I had a longstanding grudge with. And wouldnt it be divine if today I chose to live in gratitude of all that have and more.
Wouldnt it be nice if you.... were lead to your own divinity.

Pain - Dental is Mental

2009-03-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

If you have ever had a tooth ache (especially the one you have ignored for a long time), then you will understand that dental pain crosses that line of being just physical pain, it eventually becomes mental. Well, maybe,,, all pain, if left unattended, eventually affects us mentally.

Im the kind of person who does not eat medicines. I believe that the world's biggest pharmacy exists in our nervous system, and if we just allow ourselves the time and the rest, we will heal. But, some people have zero tolerance for pain. The minute there is pain, they want to run and hide from it, and pop the "pain killer". Well, let me tell you this, the pain killer does not kill the pain. It deadens or numbs the pain receptors so you wont feel the pain. Now here's the deal. The pain exists. Only you cant feel it. What good would it be too deaden a process that is naturally designed to save you ? If there were no pain, dude, you would have been long past dead.

Now imagine this, you stub your toe real bad and your nail is ripped off. But you feel no pain, and you continue on your way. And by the time, your foot grabs your attention, its already bled you off and become septic. And to take that scenerio to an extreme consequence.... you have to chop of your "gangerene" stricken foot. So is pain good ? Yes, it brings your attention towards a hurt and malfunction, so you may correct and fix it.

So, my tooth hurts and I refuse to eat a pain killer. So when pain struck me, I decided to time its duration. I took out my stop watch and observed that each time the pain struck, it lasted only 3 minutes or less. What I learnt is that if I just allowed "some time" the pain would pass. And the same is true for all pain in life. If I just "allow it some time" it will pass.

To kill pain receptors makes the system weak. To allow your system to learn and fix I think is the greatest survival tool one can learn.

Even when I have a head ache, if I just sleep it off, I am fine.
Even when my stomach is upset, if I just allow myself two days and light eating, I am fine.
Even when I catch a cold, and if I just drink some extra juice and rest, I am fine.
What I have done in the process is given a chance to my body to heal naturally, because it will. Its designed to heal, not to quit on your on a simple running nose or skin allergy. When I count on my nervous system to heal, it works up and it works fast.

And medicines, create more rucass than they heal. Pick up the pill pack and read the booklet. The "side effects" part wont impress you much. So the deal is, would you rather risk the 10 side effects mentioned , or fight out the pain for two days ? Your answer will either put you on the path of natural well being or artificially derived temporary relief.

All Paths are the Same.....

2009-01-24T23:42:00.000-08:00

All paths are the same.... they lead nowhere :O)

If you really think about it life, learning and love are all in the journey. Where does that path lead you ? It quite depends on how you live your life. It quite depends upon what perspectives you learn from. And it quite depends upon how freely and easily you choose to love. There is no end to this journey because life and love like the Universe itself are ever expanding.

The Universe has no end. We have not been able to trace it's beginning and we have no sight of it's end. Astronomers have declared that the Universe is expanding, every minute. In that perspective, where does your journey end ? It's ever increasing. The more you do, the more there is to do. The more you learn, the more there is to learn. The more you love, the more there is to love.... What is of important is that you move towards expansion, that you move towards the creation of your own being and doing.

Wherever you are right now, make sure that your heart is in it. If your heart is not where your feet are leading you, then you cannot live, let alone learn and love. If you are lead by your heart... no matter where you are going it will make for a joyful journey.

As long as you put your heart in every moment, in every task, in every word, in every thought, you will be directed on the path of eternal bliss and divinity. And where does that lead to ? Does it really matter ? For as long as a man follows his heart and is on his way, he has connected with his infinite nature.

Drum Beats ??

2008-12-25T02:20:00.000-08:00

Success is the prime focus for most people. Whoever you meet, wants to be successful, rich, famous, powerful, magical :O) and these are great desires to have. After all, they encourage one towards greatness. In being successful one has to stretch himself beyond what he currently is and that is "human evolution" in action.

What you must definitely know is that success is a BYPRODUCT of other virtues, habits, beliefs and attitudes. Success is an INDIRECT achievement. It is achieved AS A RESULT OF other factors. One factor that I want to talk about is the company that you keep. Someone very wisely said, "Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are and will be". Our company defines us, and the best part is that we CHOOSE who we spend our time with.

If you want to get on the fast track of success, no matter what meaning success has for you, with IMMEDIATE effect, get the negative people out of your company. Negativity is an amazing phenomena, its like that slow poison that will take over your whole system without your consent or knowing and eventually kill you; maybe not literally but surely in all ways that matters.
No matter how positive, vibrant or pan determined you are... negativity and negative people will eventually catch up on you and destroy your spirit.

What is negativity after all ? Negativity is not a physical thing. Its not an object. Its energy, its a vibe that disturbs you, that creates an effect of discomfort within you, and trust me, to break that energy flow is quite a task. It eats up many a good individual. Consider the example of a guitar. Take a guitar and frantically beat a drum in close proximity of it, without touching the guitar. And guess what ? within seconds, the strings of the guitar will begin to resonate and vibrate in the same frequency. Human beings are quite like that. When you have a negative person in your vicinity, you will eventually begin to vibrate in reaction to them. There is no escape.

See these are universal laws. Whether you and I like them or not, they exist. Make an effort to surround yourself with people who beam with positive energy and Lo ! you will find yourself inspired and charged to carry you through your endeavor of success.

And success becomes easier and fun when you spend your energy in moving beyond other hurdles than spending your energy aimlessly dealing with negative people. Its a waste of energy. You had rather use that force of energy in more productive and meaningful avenues.

Wishing you blessed company always.

Even A Crow Knows The Secret Of Life

2008-12-17T03:51:00.000-08:00

Some years ago,
In the many years that I had known him...
I asked a wise man just one question...
To unlock for me the mystery of life.

And he looked at me and smiled
And i asked
"Am I not allowed this particular question ?
Is this a mystery of life forever hidden to us ?
must we live in this world, yet blind ?"

And his answer was,"Not all!"
"All living creatures ask and are entitled to this answer...
and all seek the light of knowledge."

"So, do one thing," he said
"You see that crow sitting on that fence ?
Go quickly, before he flies away
and ask him this question"

And I laughed and said,
"So this is truly not a question that i am allowed to ask !"

And he said again, "Not at all !"
" Of-course you can ask...
but you think that just because you can get an answer from me,,,,
a man who wears the robes of the wandering mendicant ..
that it will carry more weight,,,
and my experience will somehow enlighten your own mind ?"

"It is the other way around...
it does not matter who speaks a truth
what matters is who is listening
the day you are ready to hear and understand
and accept the full meaning of your own question,,,
even a lowly crow will give you the answer
to the ultimate mystery of life !"

Ponder that .... :O)

IMPATIENCE

2008-12-16T15:47:00.001-08:00

I talk a lot about white water rafting in my workshops. Well, its an amazing sport to indulge in and to learn life lessons from.

You when you start upon a quest, whether it is to move your career to the next level, meet and marry the man of your dreams or to attain whatever your heart has taken a fancy of, there is one thing which is inevitable and that is : IT TAKES TIME. There is no fast track really, because the learning, the growing, the loving and the living lies in the journey, not in the destination.

You know when we went white water rafting, we drove up 5 km only to come down the river which covered a 20km distance. That 20 km distance was fully loaded with the calms, the rapids, the life threatening boulders and the falls. Now imagine when we went to the start point and put our raft in, and then because we were impatient to get to the finish point, put the raft back in our car and drove to the finish point in 15 minutes, and said, "Wow, we are there already". What would that experience be worth ? Nothing at all. Though we are there at the finish line, but the journey meant nothing. There was no adventure, there was no thrill, no fun, no falling, no excitement at all. So even though we were standing at the end point with our flag, what was missing was the purpose. The fulfilling of the purpose is in the journey.

Life is in the current. Don't mess it up with your impatience. All things worthwhile take time. Enjoy the ride.

Drop The Oars

2008-12-15T03:17:00.000-08:00

I went white water rafting a couple of months ago. And if you have been as crazy as I, you will know that the joy of white water rafting is amidst the rapids that threaten to throw us off, into the raging river.
Imagine how boring it would be to get into a raft and just sail through with no excitement, no fear, no thrill and above all no challenge. Life is such. Lived to the fullest when we are thrown into rapids and like rafting, even if you fall you wont drown. The key is in trusting the system. And as long as there are people emerging rejuvenated at the finish line, all is well for you.

And the most profound part of white river rafting is that you are "expected" to go with the flow, downstream. And yet, many an ambitious fool want to row upstream. The result: So much toil and yet they get no where. And if you are those kind, who must fight against what you know best, and row upstream, you will find yourself all worked up, and with nothing to show. The raft just doesnt move. Now is the time to drop the oars. Just drop the oars. Quit the struggle, leave the fight, and surrender to the river. And when you do that, the flow turns your raft and gets you moving in the right direction. Fear not my friend, life and magic is all downstream.

Many a times I find myself moving upstream, unknowingly. But the minute I catch myself on the symptoms of unhappiness, frustration, fatigue and anger, I drop the oars. I let go of expectations and focus my attention on what makes me happy, and guess, every time I have done that, every single time I have done that, my raft turned naturally downstream.... where my true purpose, true joy and true salvation lies.

So next time you find yourself moving upstream, know that the answer lies in dropping the oars.

God Bless you, always.

2008-12-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

I looked inside a dream today
in it i found another....
I looked inside a man today
in him, i found my brother.

If you look carefully into your dreams, in it there is home to many more dreams of a beautiful life for yourself and others. Its a dream within another dream. The thread that holds all these dreams together, is the thread of happiness. If its a dream, then it must be an attempt towards happiness and joy. Whether that joy is in driving your new sports car, connecting with your soul mate, cracking that business deal or helping a stray injured cat, each one of us have a different path towards happiness.

An ignited individual lives his life in accordance with his happiness and his every act is an act of joy and divinity. And those who still havent figures their heart out, no matter what they do, happiness still seems a corner afar.

And no matter how far you have come in your journey in the pursuit of your dreams, if you look carefully into another human being, no matter how afar their goal and your standard they may seem, you can see in them a glimpse of your own spirit. For you too, started your journey at the same point. If you could make it so far, so can he, and by all means he can.

No one is less or more, as much as no one is evil or divine. The contrast is within us all. The saint has all potential of evil and a sinner has full potential of sainthood. Its the choices we make that brings us to who we become. At any point you can choose to be on any side of the contrast.

If you are a dreamer, then you are walking the path of happiness already and if you can be compassionate towards your fellow beings than you have touched upon the spark of divinity.

God Bless you, always.

Give Yourself Away... for FREE

2008-11-16T03:31:00.000-08:00

Give yourself away for free :O)
Give praise, give ideas, give warmth, give kindness, give love, give your time, give a helping hand.
Giving does not make you less. Giving makes you more, for to give you need to have it first. In giving yourself away, you will discover more of you. You will discover emotions you never thought you would ever feel, compassion you never thought you were capable of, and love you never imagined could be so real and so pure.
When you intent to give of yourself, you cannot expect anything in return, because there are some things than can never be paid back, they can only be paid forward. The kindness you showed to someone else, would in turn light up thousands of lives just because one life was touched.
Spend yourself in love, spend yourself in service, spend yourself in compassion, and you will have lived a life well spent.

To make a difference, YOU are enough. Infact, you are enough all by yourself. Just reach out and give yourself away,,,for free,,,and you will be rich in all that counts.

Let Your Light Shine

2008-11-13T07:17:00.000-08:00

Our Greatest Fear is NOT that we are Inadequate...
Our greatest fear is that we are POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE.
It is not our darkness but our light that scares us most.
There is no divinity in shrinking so that others around us wont feel small.
We were all meant to shine like children do. Its not just in some of us, its in all of us. And when we let our light shine, we unconscoiusly give others permission to do the same. And when we are liberated from our own fears, OUR MERE PRESENCE, liberates others.

Lost and Found

2008-11-13T06:36:00.000-08:00

Lost and Found,,,, is something only a person in love can understand. For to be in love, you have to lose all the "stuff" that you built around you which is "not love"... The stressful schedules, the tension at work, the tiff between colleagues and mates, the drain of the economy falling, the fake high of being rich, the lack of time for all that is important, the fatigue at the every sunset, the lonliness at every corner, and more....
When you are in love, you begin to get lost because somehow "all of that" does not matter anymore. And suddenly it dawns on you, "Jeez !! Im lost !. I have lost track of time, I have lost all worry, I have even lost my appetite," and for many they also lose the wrinkles on their face. Nothing about anything matters except that you know that all will be well.
And as you lose all of "that", you find, a smile you cannot erase off your face. Other people find the glow on your skin and the sparkle in your eyes.
Suddenly you find that time has moved into eternity and you are aware of every second that passes by.
You find that life is short and there is so much to give. Infact, you realise you HAVE so much to give. And more over, you WANT to give yourself away.
You find in you that innosence that connects you straight with the Lord because only a person in love is capable to heal, to bless and above all to evolve.
You find that life is beautiful and the moon is brighter now than ever before. You find new meanings, more beautiful meanings to life.
And as you lose all the earlier crap, you find YOURSELF, you find YOUR PURPOSE. And only a person in love, whether in love with himself, another or the universe has the sense and the ability to live his life for the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
May you lose yourself and find love...for that is the greatest state of being.
God Bless You.... may you find love.

Mouth Shut

2008-10-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Mouth Shut
Silence is sometimes golden especially if opening your mouth can cost you your job and good will. People will talk and that is something you have no control over, and their talk can sometimes get you in trouble if you choose to talk on. If you violate the golden rule of silence in the following areas, the adverse consequences of your speech will cause your career and reputation much damage. Below are some situations where your silence will keep your reputation and stakes guarded.
1. Love life: Colleagues sometimes love to talk about their love life by taking you in confidence. It’s more of a declaration of their importance than the necessity to share. Make sure you don’t discuss that personal information at all with other colleagues.
2. Squabbles at home: Colleagues will sometimes discuss their squabbles at home with you. In your discussing that with others will invalidate your trustworthiness and respect. Sometimes people just want to talk their problems out. Keep it only till you.
3. Sneering about their colleagues: In talking their problems out, people may often complain about other colleagues to you. Don’t make the mistake of taking action on it, and definitely don’t make the mistake of spreading the word around. Let them sort out their differences, keep yourself out.
4. Gossip on colleagues especially the boss: Whenever some gossip reaches you about colleagues or your boss make sure you keep your lips tightly sealed. The minute you leak it out, you will also be rounded up in the process of losing good will.
5. Their dirty past: Sometimes colleagues in moments of weakness or intense emotions may let you in on their dark secrets. Forget you ever heard it. If your mouth is not shut on it, you will create an enemy out of your colleague.
6. Your opinion about other colleagues: When asked about your opinion in a negative context about a colleague, never talk negative. The idea is to rope you in on the mudslinging gang. If you have nothing good to say, it’s best to say nothing at all.

Dont be Jealous... Be Inspired

2008-10-15T00:10:00.000-07:00

Don’t Be Jealous - Be Inspired
When we see people do things we cannot do, or have things we don't have, it might be tempting to be a little jealous. But, jealousy doesn't lead to anything except resentment, and that isn't going to help you. Instead of being jealous of others, focus on being inspired. Let the success of others move you forward towards your own success. After all, people who are doing things you want to do or have things you want are examples of what is possible for you. Next time you find yourself turning green over the success of someone else, here is what you need to consider.
1. After all, if one person can do it, it can be done. Those people ahead of you are setting a great example of what is possible. Be thankful to them because they provide examples and paths to follow. Use other people’s success to build your own confidence and power.
2. When one succeeds, it doesn't mean you have to do exactly what they do, but it gives you clues as to what works. You can still do success your own way, but it sure is great to have examples to reference. Other people’s reference will give you company in bridging your own challenges.
3. Use the examples of successful people as guides to help you achieve what you want. Learn from their success and most importantly learn from their journey and plan yours in accordance. When doing your study make sure you focus on their journey in detail. Just vying for their success may not help much but their journey towards that success will inspire you to walk on strong.

Follow Your Purpose

2008-10-01T02:46:00.000-07:00

I took me a while to come to terms with the fraud that my ex employees did to my company. Its strange that money makes people do wierd things. Stealing money, stealing data is something that can be stolen and they did. But what they could not steal is my good will, what they definately could not touch is my talent and my purpose. My ex employees mistook that I run a "business" of training, what I do in that guise is that I follow my purpose.
My ex employees found that training is a very profitable business and that they thought they could start their own venture by stealing from me, and the consequences four months later are hilarious....
I feel that only those people who have no confidence in their ability and greatness to create and flourish would stoop to stealing. There is enough affluence on this planet for everyone. I feel that every business has the potential to being profitable, if you put your heart and soul in it. Only a purpose is nurtured to that extent of putting one's heart and soul. By doing a business for the sake of money is a waste of time. But doing business for a bigger purpose of helping make people's life easier (no matter what business you do), is that right foundation for that establishment.
By doing something because someone else is shining in it, is deviating from one's own calling. Do what resonates with YOUR heart, for in following that you will create an empire that no one can touch, you will earn that which can never be stolen.... For good will, respect, admiration, knowledge and passion are sourced in one's soul, which in its very virtue is eternal. Business will be gone after you do, but its what you created as an impact on making people's lives better, will stay on for the duration of the universe.

The Corporate Thief

2008-06-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

In ancient times, stealing was a serious offence. And by ancient times I mean less than five years ago. Today’s young generation, especially the young professionals consider anything more than five years old to be ancient. It is even surprising to them that most cultures around the world, had certain principles around morality and that they held the belief, “Thy shall not take what is not yours” which in simpler words means, “You shall not steal.”
Almost all religions preach that stealing was against all moral principles. In some countries stealing bore a death penalty. Even today stealing bears implications of arrest and if you move down the Middle East, your hands could be cut off and hung in the public square should you be caught stealing.

But moralities are principles of the passé. The new corporate professional hasn’t been initiated to the them, and their philosophy is “We can’t follow that which we do not know”. And this ignorance has given rise to the new and improved, socially accepted, Corporate Thief.

The corporate thief is a very slick employee. He has very sharp observation coupled by even sharper hand movements. After all, to be an ace thief you need to have both these attributes.

The corporate thief is the person who steals under the pretext of:
1. If I don’t know who it belongs to, then it must be mine.
2. If it belongs to the company, then it must be mine,
3. If the company paid for a service, then the extras could be mine.
4. If it’s there, then it must be mine.

He is the person, who has no conscience issues in:
1. Packing away the toiletries from the hotel bathroom. The pretext is that these small bottles make good travel kits.
2. He sometimes would not mind even packing up the towels and napkins and bath robes. You will see these people in the gym showering in the Trident Towels and Radisson bath room wear. There is no brand as popular as Hotel Brands when it comes to bath wear.
3. Taking away stationary from office stores and storing that at home doesn’t need a moral check. Pens, notepads, eraser, sharpeners, post its, no one buys them these days, when you can just pick them up at the office. Every one does it. Even the keepers of morality do it.
4. On company conferences, all the extra T-shirts, chocolates and goodies are not worth returning back to the company. The best place to dump them is in your suitcase. After all company t-shirts make good night wear, since your size is always over when you do get to it.
5. And the mint and sugar candies kept on the tables at conferences find their way in ladies bags and men’s laptop bags to maintain their sugar levels even if they don’t suffer from diabetes.
6. They also don’t mind taking away the blankets, cushions, earphones magazines, air sickness bags and anything that they can get their hands on while traveling by air. Even if the things brought back home are utterly useless, the idea of having brought them home is satisfying enough.

A subtle breed of the corporate thief is the one who “asks for the freebies”. This is a very bold genre who won’t steal, but he will outright ask and expect to be given:
1. Before checking out from his hotel room he will ask housekeeping, “Can I have some more soap to take back”. He will ask for “some more” of the soap, and so he is openly admitting that he has taken what was already there. So it isn’t stealing.
2. He will ask for “one more” fortune cookie at the Chinese restaurant, for his son at home. And munch away his son’s fortune on the traffic light on the way home.
3. He is the guy who will ask for discounts and freebies without any inhibitions, on the pretext, “Since I am giving you my company’s business, you give me the freebies. My salary isn’t sufficient for me to buy these useless decorative trinkets anyways.”

Companies today have accepted the presence of the corporate thief and they allow budgets for it. Missing pens and stationary is no longer brought up in board meetings; they are added in “employee expense” budgets. Hotels have now started adding toiletries, cupboard accessories, ashtrays and even cutlery charges to their room charges. They now expect the guests to walk away with them. The corporate thief is now a socially accepted convict.

I guess the idea is that somehow we feel that getting more and for free, is satisfying. Often I see young professionals whacking away the little things from work, hotel rooms, restaurants, which they consider too petty to spend their hard earned money on. They had rather save their money for the things they actually want to buy. The philosophy is “Why spend and waste, when you can whack and taste.”

Dhoni's Success Principles

2008-01-31T02:04:00.000-08:00

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a great inspiration to me. I am always on the look out for people who rise in ranks, faster and stronger than others do.

When India won the Twenty20 world cup, what touched me most despite the fact that the boys played well, was Dhoni’s heart winning performance and speech. Following up on Dhoni I found an underlying success philosophy which can easily be applied by anyone who aspires for greatness in his or her field of endeavor.

Success is the Sweetest Revenge:
Before the Twenty20 world cup finals, Ravi Shastri had expressed his doubts on India’s victory because he felt it was pre mature for Dhoni to be the captain and it was a team of youngsters. This came from the fact that the world cup was lost by a senior team. With the victory at the Twenty20 Dhoni proved Ravi Shastri wrong and took great pleasure in quoting him at his speech after the match. It does not matter what others predict about you, everyone has the right to their opinion, and success is the sweetest revenge to shut people up, temporarily :O)

Take responsibility for your vision:
Dhoni knew that at the Twenty20 no one expected them to win, and so his philosophy was that they could actually play and have fun and make this their best game. I have heard many a professional say that their seniors don’t encourage them or push them forward. They use this excuse to remain where they are and lay the responsibility of their success and progress on everyone but themselves. Dhoni led his team to success, by taking up the responsibility of their victory, when no one else had faith in them.

Respect and Recognize your team:As a captain Dhoni has tremendous respect for his team and his players. Even on winning he addressed Yuvi as the Trump Card of the team. I have seen seniors hog the glory of their teams success by themselves. Dhoni knows that what leads the team to victory is the team, not necessarily the captain. And he is humble and fair enough to put the credit where it really belongs.

Do your job right:
I love Dhoni’s attitude where he was aware that he didn’t have good bowlers like Bentley, but he banked on Jogender Sharma. Even though others said he was slow, Dhoni stuck to his belief that to win you don’t have to be quick or extra ordinary. If one bowls in the right places it will add to the victory of the team. Dhoni is amazing, he believes that you don’t need extra ordinary talent to be a winner; you need to play the right game. When you do your work well, and well enough consistently, victory will always be yours. A lot of people use lack of talent and expertise to remain in mediocrity. They feel they are too old, too young, too slow, too fast, too fat, and too thin, as excuses for their mediocre thinking. If your mind is made up, then nothing else matters. Dhoni’s belief is a true example of that.

Make peace with the consequence of your decision:
I also love the fact that once Dhoni makes a decision he is willing to live with the consequence. He made a decision that Joginder bowl against Harbhajan Singh. He was prepared to win with it and prepared to lose with it. I feel that is an amazing attitude. A lot of people make decisions and then they are not at peace with the results. If you can make peace with failure before you play to win, nothing can take victory away from you.

Convert Pressure into Passion:
At the Twenty20 finals, Dhoni He didn’t want the team to work under pressure. He told his team this in every meeting, “Guys we are out here to enjoy. We will give our 100% and whatever is the outcome, I don’t care about it.” There was no fear amongst the youngsters, which was so refreshing to see. He told Yuvi that even Australia was under pressure because they have the reputation of winning. He took the pressure and converted it into passion, and we saw that so evidently on the field. Take all of your pressure and steam it off in fun. Having fun doesn’t mean being irresponsible, it means working with your best self.

Win more than you lose:
When Dhoni was asked, how he plans to maintain his position of India’s captain, he said, “We will win more matches than we lose.” He didn’t say that he will win them all, because he knows that losing is a lesson towards winning. A lot of us drive ourselves crazy by expecting to win every time we get on with our work. There will be good deals and bad deals, good days and bad days; success is about creating the good ones more often than the bad ones.

Be consistent in your performance:
When you go out and deliver your best, there is a catch. You now have to deliver excellence consistently and it also raises the expectations of your seniors. Dhoni is every aware of that after his mega innings at Vizag against Pakistan. He knows that he gave his 100 percent in that and that it was his BEST performance. He also knows that has raised the expectations of his fans from him to deliver that consistently. And he is working hard on himself to deliver to that expectation. No matter how hard your day, be consistent in your delivery if not better.

All training is useful:
Dhoni started out as a footballer and that training helped him in cricket too. There is really no waste in practice and knowledge, it’s like a universal formula, Success in one area, training in one area always finds use in another. There are no wasted moments or experiences in life. You can use success strategies of one area to help you win in another. Dhoni is an expert in that. You have surely been a success at some area or the other in life, use those principles and duplicate it in your work. One lady won the national level badminton championship, the principles she used to win the championship can easily be translated to her work profile. Try it, if it works for Dhoni, it will work for you.

Physical Fitness is important for success:
Dhoni attributes his success a lot towards his physical fitness. And it is true for anyone, if you are not fit; you can’t be a hit at anything that you do, period. With people taking their bodies for granted, they expect their mind to work magic. The mind lives in the body, to deliver peak performance in any area of work, you need to be physically fit.

Repeat your success:
Dhoni always aspires to out do himself. He sets a record for himself and then aspires to beat it. His philosophy is that if he can score just one more run like he did 148 in Vizag, then he can continue to be his best. He feels that if he can do it once, he can do it again! That’s the spirit. Whenever you deliver work well done, your next strategy should be to repeat that as many times as you can. Repeated success is true success. If you can do it once, you sure can do it again.

Work your way up:
Dhoni climbed the ranks. He is a true example of rising to the top,
Dhoni is an aggressive right-handed batsman and wicket keeper. Dhoni is one of the wicket-keepers who have come through the ranks of junior and India A cricket teams to represent the national team He worked his way up and was consistent in his performance that was the crucial key to his selection in the Indian Cricket team. Don’t be afraid to start at the bottom, that is a more stable way to the top, to have been through every rung.

Constant and Never Ending Improvement:
Dhoni believes in constant and never ending improvement. Success and victory don’t go to his head. When he wins he celebrates and then right after that gets down to practice on how he can do better in order to maintain his score if not beat it. Success is not an accident, it is a planned event, “My mind is constantly working on how I can get better at my game. My mind never stops.” Says Dhoni. Finding better and new ways to do the same thing that you are doing will keep you creative and excited. Either you are improving or you are deteriorating, progress is success.

Exuberate Enthusiasm:
Dhoni is always bubbling with enthusiasm. His spirit is evident in his voice and his face. It’s great to see someone so alive and so passionate about his game. Today what meets the public eye is the glory, but what they cannot see is that there was also a road full of obstacles that led there. It sometimes is a dark lonely road and you have only your own desire and courage that will bring you to the light. Dhoni, a Ranchi boy who through his sheer courage and focus made the country proud is an example of the unshakeable enthusiasm and spirit. Make enthusiasm and excitement a daily practice.

Success takes time:
When Dhoni was given a chance in the one-day series in Bangladesh, though he did nothing extraordinary in the three ODIs against Bangladesh, it was only a matter of time before he exploded on the big stage, and that happened at Vizag . So success doesn’t come instantly. There will be hitches and glitches and bad games and not so good games. You have to be at it until you strike the balance and then maintain it. Life is always a learning experience and success is about putting that experience to get better.

Self Confidence Helps:
Self-confidence has always been a trade mark of Dhoni’s personality. I have always seen him very confident and aggressive. And it applies in his batting as well as wicket keeping. Self confidence is a learnt personality trait; it comes from constantly challenging oneself, winning or losing, not being the criteria. Self confidence comes in facing one’s fears and moving ahead despite any and every odd. Challenge yourself daily, to be bigger and better than you are today.

Be the best in all your roles:
Dhoni is a pro at multi tasking. He is an ace batsman and also an ace wicket keeper. So can you imagine the level of practice he needs to do in order to achieve mastery in both? It’s like having a group of companies under your umbrella and make them all work. It’s like excelling as a CEO and excelling as father. It’s a full game when you excel in all your roles. Dhoni believes that he can't afford to be less than 100 percent in any of the two roles. He feels they complement each other and give him his identity.” Same way, one has to give 100% in any and every role that they play. All roles shape our identity.

Focus on your performance:
When Dhoni aspired to play test cricket, his focus was “I think if I perform well, and maintain my form, I will definitely get a break in Test cricket.” A lot of people want many things in life. Their focus becomes the achievement and they feel that it must be served to them just because they want it. To achieve your desire you need to perform well and maintain your form. You get noticed for your performance not your potential and Dhoni put his potential into performance and earned his space in test cricket.

Have a role model:Dhoni has a role model, the famous cricketer Gilchrist, do you? How arrogant can someone get not to acknowledge that they need a helping hand, a little guidance and a role model? All successful people have had someone they looked up to. They have followed enough to be good leaders themselves. Leaders are not born, they are followers who find their own identity in the journey, and hence lead by their own transformation. In today’s world of abundant negativity and insensitivity, a role model is so important for one to stay focused on his task.

Be superstitious about goodness:
And there is always room for superstition. Superstition that anchors you to success, for that matter anything that anchors you to success is good. About a year ago Dhoni decided to change his hairstyle completely. Besides giving him a distinct personality, he feels the new hairstyle brought him luck as well! It’s ok to have superstitions that support one’s mind towards success. Goodness is any form can never do any harm.

Letting Go

2008-01-22T23:32:00.000-08:00

Letting go is one of the hardest ordeals for many of us, especially me. Forget whether letting go is for the good or bad, just the thought of not having "that" as a part of your life anymore, is a heavy feeling. Whether that "That" is smses in the inbox of an old phone you dont want to throw, or telephone numbers of people you havent called in the past 3 years that you dont want to delete, or an employee you must fire but dont find the heart to, or the abusive partner that you must dump but dont have the courage to, or the mundane job that kills your soul but you dont have the confidence to find a new one. I dont know what the attachment to the dead and useless is, but it is pretty real to cause us pain.

I do firewalks and where I encourage people to confront their fears or things that they feel will deliver them pain. The magical part is when you confront your fears and pain, it miraculously transforms into fun and pleasure.

I tried this with my phone. I have over 4000 sms in my old phone, which I absolutely will not get rid off because I may "need" to refer to those messages. I realised after one month that I had not once refered to my old phone. So in 30 days I have not "needed" something I have considered so important.
A friend of mine who is the M.D. of a company wanted to fire one of her employees, but she feared the "loss" it would create in her organisation. Then one day, the employee resigned and left. Within 3 weeks they found a replacement and there was no real "loss" as my friend had anticipated.

I am led to consider a different perspective. We give too much importance to things around us. We get attached to people, things, places, weather, technology to the point that we interconnect our dependance on them completely that we sometimes forget the power of our own spirit to re-create and move on to higher grounds.
I have begun to consider that life is a journey and people, places, things will not stay in our lives forever. Some will stay longer than others and eventually all will go. So if i can treat people and things with respect and dignity in experiening them while they touch my life and also in letting them go, I will always be connected to my self, which IS the real connection.

When you let go with grace and allow the person or thing their freedom towards their journey, you will never lose them, they will always visit you back. It is when you want to own anothers time and space that you restrict them enough to move away and never return. Letting go is a virtue of allowing.... allowing others a right to their own journey, freedom and learning.

I feel the journey of connection is inward not outward. As long as that connection is strong, letting in and letting go would be an attitude of service rather than possession.
Love always, Priya

New Year Resolutions Busted

2008-01-17T23:05:00.000-08:00

The New Year brings in celebrations and aspirations. I have observed that it is during this time that people are most motivated. It is as though the 1st of January has given them a second chance to life. It is as though what happened in 2007 can be history and the future ahead is a worthy of achievements. This is the time of the year where even the meekest soul steps up and makes a resolution for a better life.
Did you know that fewer than 10% of people who set New Years' Resolutions actually achieve them? How can you ensure YOUR success this time? Try using the Tips below and you will surely move on long enough to make your resolution a reality.

1. Write Them Down. It's a fact: writing down your goals gives you a higher chance of success. A lot of times resolutions are verbal. Writing your goals down brings clarity.

2. Commit. Move beyond the land of "good ideas" to the land of true "commitment". Make the decision that you will show up for your goals. Perhaps you can do a ritual or ceremony to symbolize your commitment. When I made the resolution of getting a fitter body for 2008, I joined the gym. Paying money for your goal is a good commitment sometimes.

3. Tell People. Let your biggest fans in on your new commitments and goals for the year. Telling people about what you want to achieve puts pressure on you to deliver.

4. Get Accountability. Even better than just letting others in on your "secret" dreams and goals-get some accountability. Meet for lunch once a month with a group that will ask you, "So, how's it going with your goal?" Hire a Coach. Talk to your best friend or partner. Get some support!

5. Make a Plan. Ensure success with a step-by-step plan. Work backwards by starting with the end vision of where you want to be and working backwards to where you are today. You'll find an easy action plan to make your goals a reality. Many goals and resolutions fail because there was no plan of action laid down to mark out the steps it would take to achieve your goal.

6. Do a Goal Check-In. Before you decide on what you'll take on for the year, make certain you can answer, "YES!" to the following questions: "Am I the primary reason for setting this goal (vs. your mom, boyfriend, wife, boss, society)? Do I feel alive and energized by this goal? Is this goal in line with my life purpose or mission?"

7. Get Real! If you're contemplating putting a goal down that you always put down and never achieve, take a second look. How will this goal end DIFFERENTLY this year? Is this goal something you need to let go of? What purpose is it serving you each year? What is the good enough reason to truly commit?

8. Focus With Reminders. Once you've got your goals and plan in place, figure out ways to remind yourself. You can post your goals on the bathroom mirror or in the car or you can even put reminders on your cell phone. Figure out what works for you.

9. Believe and Visualize. Do you know the story about the group of basketball players who spent one hour visualizing making baskets, while another group actually practiced? The visualizing players had better seasons! So visualize yourself on days into the New Year with all your goals achieved. What would that look like? How would it feel? Visualize once a day and see the difference it can make in your life.

10. Treat yourself: Every time you take action towards your goal, treat yourself. It is said that true success is in the journey not the destination. So each time you set yourself on the journey, treat yourself.

May 2008 be the year that your goals and dreams reach full flight!

Follow Your Heart - Extended

2008-01-11T01:16:00.000-08:00

Nupur said: I agree following your heart is the best thing...but at times it might not be the smartest thing to do cause it seems that the heart lives for the today, and the decisions made may cause you pain in the future which only the brain can rationalize.
Any thoughts on the same???

Following your heart is the one thing which will lead you to success. When you follow your heart, you are doing the right thing. And you know you are doing the right thing, because all that you do and say is for the highest good. When you follow your heart, you are not the sole beneficiary of your actions and goals. You will see your family, your friends, your colleagues and the society at large benefit. But if what you do is only easing your heart and causing inconvenience or upset to those aroound you, then maybe you need to take a rain check on what is going on and in which direction your contribution and intention is moving.
The rule of the thumb is that when you follow your heart, you spread love, because that is an expression of the heart which will show up in your work. And it not only engulfs you, but affects all those who are connected with you.

Hope this helps.

Follow Your Heart

2008-01-09T23:21:00.000-08:00

I often sit down and wonder, on what really is the purpose of one's life ? What purpose could i possibly have come to fulfill on this planet earth ? And I feel that the real glory of being alive, is to follow your heart.
The heart is the only organ of the body, that when it stops, it brings an end to all other organs, including the body itself. So our heart keeps us alive, and in my perspective our heart also directs our life. Following your heart to me means doing what one feels is the right thing to do. Often times we suppress what we feel is the right thing to do just out of the sheer fear of being judged.
Often people ask me how i made it so far, so young. And I guess I have only followed my heart in all that I do, and in all that I dont do :O) It's a choice that I have made, and not that has been made for me.
I feel that true success lies in living your life your way, on your own terms, following your own heart, not someone else's. Those who spend their lives chasing other people's dreams, following someone else's heart, are the one's who land up with their own messed up.
In my company, we have like minded people. Everyone works because THEY WANT to, and not because they have to, and thats I guess is the biggest reason of our success.
Follow your heart, and you will see that world will open its arms to you :O)
Love always, Priya

Keeping the future safe

2007-11-16T12:28:00.000-08:00

I have been invited to do thousands of seminars in my career, and everytime I felt that my job as a speaker, was to set things right: whatever those things may be, whether it was attitude, perspective or belief, I am paid to deliver and ignite a change, a new found confidence, self belief and passion. And I have always felt honoured and humbled to be in this position.

For 34 years, I have looked around the world and I always felt that the world had suddenly taken a nightmare pill and was headed for disaster. What I didnt see was a movement that is slowly envelopping our planet into goodness, into all that is right and all that is worthy of life. It's a movement I had the honour of being a part of, the movement is AIESEC. The conference that I did in Belgium, the NTMS 2007 on 11th November was like one I had never done before. It was a group of "young delegates" "interns" and "alumni" of this revolutionary phenomenon AIESEC. Headed under the able guidance of Andries and Vishal, the Belgium chapter invited me to do a firewalk session to motivate and inspire their 250 participants. I dont know how much the participants learnt from my 4 hour session, but I sure learnt a lot from the three days that I spent with the AIESECKERS.

Passion: I saw passion on a level that I have never witnessed before. The entire conference was planned and executed to success by STUDENTS. The delivery was flawless. Perfection and Excellence was their trade mark in all the sessions that were conducted. Love: The delegates freely sang songs of gratitude, of appreciation, of honour for their team mates. Four days, 250 young and aggressive delegates, and not a single sour or immature moment. There was heartfelt sincerety and for the lack of a better word, love between the people.

Celebration: Every day seemed a celebration, and the occassion being LIFE. The special reason being LIFE. The achievement being LIFE. The people began and ended every session with a celebration. The energy and the spirit was unbelievable. Knowledge: The 250 young and aggressive bunch of students came seeking knowledge above and beyond their University curriculum. There were sessions on personal development and practical issues concerning careers and people management. I admired the spirit of hunger and thirst to learn and to grow.

Fun: Every day was filled with over 8 hours of knowledgable sessions and at the end of the day, there were fun filled parties. I was amazed to see an intelligent balance between serious work and even more serious fun.

Responsibility: Though the fun marked the perfect way to end a meaningful day, it was also defined by responsibility. I saw the sense of responsibility through the fatigue, responsibility despite the late nights in parties, responsibility for the early morning sessions, the perfect execution, the strong sense of purpose and direction. I have never come across a group of youngsters who displayed a greater sense of responsibility and still maintaining the innocence and mischief of their age.

Purpose: Every AIESECER that i saw was defined by a strong sense of purpose and saw themselves worthy of investing time in building their future at their own cost. This was not a free seminar and every young delegate had paid to learn and grow. I have never been more impressed.

Tolerance: 250 people from over a dozen different countries. There was a mixture of cultures, races, religions, nationalities, but what brought them all together was a sense of tolerance and warmth towards each other. AIESEC believes in NO DISCRIMINATION. They give unity a whole new meaning. They are holding the world together with their love and their spirit.

Respect: There is respect for everyone. No matter who you are, what your opinion is, what your likes or dislikes are, I saw respect. For youngsters to ACT respectful, is a prayer answered, and AIESECERS are truly an answer to every peace lovers prayer. I am so inspired that being a part of the AIESEC conference has ignited in me the belief that our world, our future is in safe hands. To have an able and stable generation, a strong willed and responsible youth is a sure shot bet to a better world.

Firewalk Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guCXyeLipTM

Idiots Guide to Weight Control

2007-10-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

With the festive season drawing close and party invitations pouring in, looking one’s best has become a pre occupation for the young professional rather than achieving the year end targets. I love how people make such a big fuss about their weight, gain and loss both. I believe that the solution to any problem lies with the creator of the problem! In other words, if it is you who created the problem, then it must be you who has the solution.

A lot of people are obsessed about their bodies being out of shape. More people and more people are driving themselves crazy with their weight problem.
So how does one keep one’s weight in control? The answer is so simple some of you may not even try it. To be in control you need to know your strategy of creation. If you ask yourself the question, “How did I gain so much weight?” you will magically find the solution to weight control in your answer.

The general strategy for weight gain is:
1. Eat too much
2. Eat fatty stuff: Sweets, fried foods, carbohydrates etc.
3. Eat the fatty stuff at frequent intervals
4. Don’t exercise

How do you turn that around and get your weight in control and body in shape? Reverse your strategy of weight gain by applying the MAD formula: Modify/ Add / Delete. According to the MAD formula, some eating habits need to be modified; some new habits need to be added while some need to be deleted.

1. Eat too much: Modify - Eat moderately. If you can’t even control what and how much you eat, how do you expect to be in control of your life? Get in control; start with eating two bites less. Drink water
before you eat, that may curb your insatiable appetite a bit.

2. Eat Fatty Stuff: Delete / Add – Delete the sweets, fat and salt in your food. Add the proteins and fiber. Substitute the fried and sweet food with protein rich food, fruits, vegetables and water.

3. Eat at frequent intervals: Modify - Eat at regular intervals (4 meals). Sometimes thirst is guised as hunger. When hungry; drink water. If you are still hungry then eat a light snack but make it non fatty. Fruits or nuts make a very healthy light snack.

4. Exercise – Modify - Modify your lifestyle. Take the staircase instead of the elevator. Catch the bus from the next stop. Run for the train
and walk frequently to the bathroom with all the water you have been drinking to deal with your hunger pangs.

An idiot’s guide to weight loss is about taking responsibility for your own attitude and actions. The fat has been accumulating on the responsibility muscle, work it out. No one can force you to eat. No one is feeding you. It’s you who pays for the large pack of French fries. It’s your hand that moves between your mouth and the plate of pizza with the extra cheese topping. It’s easy to shed those extra pounds and the solution is MAD simple.

Follow Your Heart

2007-09-22T09:49:00.001-07:00

I never knew

2007-09-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

I dont know many things in life, but one thing I never knew was my place in this universe. I never knew that I WAS IMPORTANT. I never knew that everything that I thought, said and did was IMPORTANT and that it had an impact on the world around me.
For instance, this blog started as a hobby. I write a lot and my dear friend insisted that I publish my writing on the blog. I did. It was fun..... BUT I DIDNT KNOW that people would bump into my blog and read it, be moved by it, comment on it, communicate with me. I am shocked that my blog has been visited over 3000 times.
I am shocked that if i cheat and post an old blog again, it would be reported :O)
I am amazed on how a hobby has now become a responsibility. And what I can say is that I now know something that have denied for many lifetimes, that I am important. And that realisation brings a responsibility and I am willing to take it on gracefully.
Thank you for you encouragement, appreciation and your support. I am gonna be more committed to writing, than I was.
In service, always, Priya

The Power of One

2007-09-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

I remember watching the movie Dumb and Dumber. And i loved the character Jim Carrey played in the movie. It was this particular scene where the lady he was in love with, tells him that she is engaged. Jim Carrey, asks her "What are my chances ?" And she looks at him and says, "One in a million !" And Jim Carrey jumped with joy. A lot of people thought that it was really dumb. But i think it was really smart.
People think that quantity is greater than quality, but the exact opposite is what is true.
One is enough all by itself.
I was in Goa once and i was devasted to witness a bus run over a dog's leg. He was howling in pain and was bleeding profusely. It would not survive if he didnt get help. I immediately began to call Animal shelters and vets in Goa. My first call met with an answer, "Sorry we are closed today." Second call, "Your place is too far from where we are." Third call same answer, fourth call same answer. I made 12 phone calls and no one was willing to help. It was the thirteenth call that i was able to get some help.
The dog had one out of thirteen chances of surviving that day, and the fact that "one" was there, he still lives.
Never under estimate what "ONE" can do. The world has benefited from "ONE" Jesus, "ONE" Budhha, "ONE" Mahatma Gandhi and so many "ONE" people.
So Jim Carrey's character knew that as long as he had one chance, out of how many was irrelevant, he still had hope !!

Make Someone's day

2007-09-15T03:14:00.000-07:00

I always have this dream. A dream that the world would be a beautiful place, where everyone would be happy and in love. Where there are smiles and celebration and peace in peoples hearts. Where hands strecth out to help and fold up in gratitude. Where eye's lift up in hope and sparkle in achievement. Where when people talk, flowers bloom. What a wonderful world that would be !
And when I wake up, I ask myself, how can I contribute today. I have found great sense of achievement and joy in "Making Someone's Day ! Everyday !" Its so simple to do it. A smile, a compliment, an unexpected gift, a hand written letter, a wink, a pat on the back, a word of encouragement, a hug, a helping hand, a kiss, anything that is backed by the intention of love and gratitude, qualifies. No act of kindness or encouragement is too small, infact it goes a long.
I will never forget the comment my fifth grade teacher wrote on my report card, "Very Bright Child". I remember it 22 years later too. I remember losing a race and my mother gave me a hug and said, "You looked so pretty when you were running, your hair bounced like a doll". Losing the race suddenly didnt matter, my mothers words lifted my spirit.
I encourage you today to make some ones day. It costs nothing.
If you have a vision of a better world : Here is your chance to contribute. Love to you,
Priya
www.priya-kumar.com

Feel Good

2007-09-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

I often bump into people who seem to be leading a mechanical life. No enthusiasm, no celebration, no thrill or adventure at work or even generally in life.
I love my work but still it seems like a drag, is what most people complain. Life has become a routine and everyday is no different than any other day.

If this is your life, then you must read on. A mechanical life will only lead to mediocre results. To deliver excellence you need to feel good“thrill up” you life, on a daily basis.

If you want to leave the mark of excellence on your day everyday, you must do everything you can, to keep your mind in a peak emotional state. If you feel good, it will show up in your work and your performance. And if you feel terrible, depressed or bored or unmotivated, it will show up as sloppy performance.

Feeling good about yourself, you work, you family or life in general is an ideal state of living. It is after all the characteristic of an emotionally balanced mind and the mark of a creative genius.

Here is your tip number one to hosting a healthy mind that will be evidenced in your overall wellbeing, professionally and personally. Remember this and remember this steadfast, THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN FEELING GOOD. There cannot be a greater prayer than feeling good. I do not say this in a conscientious way, but as a direction towards a creating a healthy mind.

You must know this, our mind can only entertain one feeling at a time. It can host many thoughts, but only one primary feeling.
For example, you cannot feel love and feel hate at the same time. It’s either / or, but not both. You can have a thousand different thoughts of love zooming in your thoughts at the same time but the core feeling is one.

The trick therefore is to feel good. Because good feelings are a result of good thoughts, just as bad feelings are a result of bad thoughts.

Now here is where the magic comes in, if you trick your mind into feeling good for at least 68 seconds, you will start an atomic explosion of good thoughts. And soon your body will react to the vibration of your thoughts by releasing endorphins, which are happy hormones, and soon you will feel the spurge of energy, enthusiasm and power. These endorphins have a “high” effect as in artificial drugs, nicotine and alcohol, and the bonus is, unlike the drugs, they provide resistance towards anti bodies and toxins.

The laughter club is one such feel good community. I always recommend people to have deliberate feel good sessions whether at work or at home. It can be something as simple as writing out an appreciation note, maintaining a gratitude journal, watching funny movies, listening to a beautiful piece of music, reading a joke book, or just saying a prayer.

Let your achievement of today be – I felt good today. And watch the magic of well being flow through you.
Blessings, Priya

I'm Sorry !

2007-08-26T07:34:00.001-07:00

I feel "I am Sorry" are the most powerful three words next to its immediate competitor "I love You". Only a person who has the courage to apologise has the courage to love. Saying I Love You is easy, and saying I am Sorry is one of the hardest things to do.
Saying I am sorry, means, I was wrong and i realise that i was wrong. That is true courage and humility.
Saying I am sorry, means, you were right and i was wrong. That requires power and strength of character.
Saying I am sorry, means, I am willing to change. That is an attitude of a success minded person.
Saying I am sorry, means, I have a conscience and i still listen to my inner guidance. This one attitude has the power to keep you connected to the Lord.
Saying I am sorry, means, I forgive myself, and i seek it from you too.

The word "I" is used as a term of EGO, but saying "I" AM SORRY is one of the most egoless statements ever formed with the letter I.

My grandfather once said to me, if you havent apologised atleast once in a day, it means that you have not been sensitive enough to notice where you need to change, where you need to get better, or where you need to love more.

I am sorry, i took so long to post this blog ! I know you all have been waiting :O)

Lounge Up Your Home

2007-08-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

I love hotel lounges, the ambience is great and it always puts me in a relaxed and creative mood. I would often catch myself visiting five star lounges under the pretext of writing my book. And one day, my mother asked me after taking a look at the massive coffee and sandwich bills, “What is it about the hotel lounge that invites you?” “The ambience mom, the subtle instrumental music, the flowers, the lighting and the service,” I said. Three days later when I came back home from work, I saw the centre table clear of all the clutter, and in the centre lay a vase with beautiful red daisies, Enya played subtly in the back ground, and puffed up cushions lay on the couch. “Let me know when you want some coffee and sandwich,” smiled my mother. That day, I sat home and wrote another fascinating chapter of my book, and I must add, I felt creative and relaxed.It’s so easy to create a change and make a difference in your home. What a gift and joy that would be if you could find creativity and relaxation at home. It is appalling how young professionals seek that comfort anywhere but home. It is evident with the busy lounges and coffee bars that offer just that right ambience to set you in the mood to unwind. You can unwind at home. That’s what a home is supposed to do right? And it’s cheaper.

Here are simple tips that can make all the difference and you would love coming home, just like I do.

1. Add some flowers, and make them colourful. Even a small vase with a solitary rose makes a life of a difference.
2. A scented candle goes all the way in creating the mood. The sight of the flickering flame, as in meditation is a great de-stressor.
3. And some nice instrumental music in the back ground sets the evening up. The sound of the waves and piano are known to have an unwinding effect on the human body.
4. If you can influence the lighting to be dim yellow instead of the energy saving tube lights, you will save much more in coffee shop and lounge bills.

Just these simple elements have such multi fold effects. It encourages family bonding, by reducing the television time. The soft music, and the soft ambience that the candle creates allows for conversations that are so missing in homes today.

So get going, pick a handful of flowers a couple of candles and dish up the music cd, dim down the lights and set up the evening.

My Dog My Teacher

2007-08-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

For that matter, all animals and living beings can be our teachers. What is needed is the humility of a learner. A learner is an earner. All that we learn is evidenced in our attitude which in turn shows up in our personal and professional life. Having an attitude of a learner has contributed greatly to my success. One of the most profound learnings that soared me to success came from my dog.
I have observed that my dog has welcomed me with the same unfailing enthusiasm and excitement for the past 9 years, unfailingly and uncompromisingly. She is always happy to see me, even if I am out for 10 minutes. Now some of us have no reaction when our loved ones come home, others are even worse, they read out their list of complaints on the first sight of a new entrant at home. Imagine how it would be, if tonight you gave a warm welcome to everyone who returned home, Betty Style. Betty is my dog by the way. Imagine when your loved one enters the house, whether it is your son, wife, husband, you actually get up from your chair, walk enthusiastically to him or her and giving a warm hug say, “I’m so happy to see you.” Just this one attitude can go such a long way in personal success.
Another lesson my dog taught me is that when she needs to be loved, she comes and loves. No one can ignore a dog that wants to be petted. She has the knack of lovingly coming and sitting at my feet and rolling over. As if by default, my hand stretches out and strokes her. The lesson is simple, when you need to be loved, go over and love. Its so easy, walk over and give your spouse a hug or a back rub, give your son or daughter a kiss and a pat and watch the love return by default. I have never noticed a dog lying on its back in another room waiting for someone to come and notice and give it a belly rub. I have noted this trait in humans though.
My dog has taught me spiritual lessons such as not making an illness an emotional issue. When my dog is ill, she is quieter and allows the healing. And humans create the greatest rucass and emotional turmoil over an illness. I have found my headaches disappear faster when I was quieter and emotionally neutral. So many lessons and one great teacher – MY Kuttuswamy.

The Power of One

2007-08-13T14:00:00.001-07:00

Traffic as Stress Buster

2007-08-09T06:46:00.000-07:00

Stress is a result of a cluttered mind and traffic is just an excuse. We all know that traffic exists and the infrastructure department is not under our control. Accept it.
We live in the rush age, where no one has time, even to scratch their head. So keep your time in traffic as your time. Use it to serve you instead of stressing you.
Imagine, if you could get 4 hours everyday to spend with yourself! That would be a dream wouldn’t it? Well, it’s time to make it true with these simple tips.
Anticipate the time you will spend bumper to bumper. Make a list of all the things that you wanted to do but couldn’t make time for. Now since I drive 2 hours to work, dancing and exercising obviously didn’t qualify. Chatting with mom daily for 15 minutes surely did. I always wanted to take singing lessons and doing a karaoke with radio definitely added to the fun and enthusiasm. I get to do some planning for the day in the car and even get time to jot down some notes during the long signals. I love meeting new people, so I usually slow down at pool a taxi stand and I have added seven new friends to my list by just offering a ride. I even do my deep breathing exercises from Hajji Ali to Peddar Road daily and that keeps my mind fresh and ticking. Believe me; my greatest creative ideas come at the free stretch on the Western Express Highway against the skyline on the Santacruz flyover.

Now, if I use my habitual lateness to blame the stress on the traffic, I am setting myself on a path to stress in every area of my life. Stress when practiced daily, becomes a habit and soon becomes our personality.
Traffic related stress is as illogical as planning a wedding of your car. You WILL meet traffic, use your time in traffic to your liking, traffic time can become rejuvenation. Traffic is and can be a blessing, which would allow you to evaluate your life differently. Your time is all you own, so how to spend it must be your choice. Don’t allow your attitude of blame to eat it up.
Time is life and both are moving on a countdown. Let traffic give you the opportunity to recharge, re evaluate, rethink and relive.

If God had a Voice Mail

2007-08-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

(I loved this one, and wanted to share it on my blog)

We have all learned to live with "voice mail" as a necessary part of modern life.
But have you wondered, what if God decided to install voicemail ?"

Imagine praying and hearing this:

Hi! Thank you for calling GOD.
Please select one of the following options:
Press 1 for Requests
Press 2 for Thanksgiving
Press 3 for Complaints
Press 4 for All Other Inquiries.
Else wait for our Customer Support Executive.

What if God used the familiar excuse...
"I'm sorry, all of our angels are busy helping other sinners right now. However, your prayer is
important to us and will be answered in the order it as received, so please stay on the line."

Can you imagine getting these kinds of responses as you call God in Prayer:
If you would like to speak to Ganeshji, Press 1.
For Lord Hanuman, Press 2.
For Lord Krishna, Sorry He is on Annual Leave!
For a directory of other God's & Angels, Press 3.
If you would like to hear Narad singing a Bhajan while you are holding, please press 4.
To find out if a loved one has been assigned to Heaven, Press 5,
Enter his or her PAN number, then press the 0 key.
If you get a negative response, try area code 420 for (Hell).
Our computers show that you have already prayed once today.
Please hang up and try again tomorrow.
This office is closed for the weekend to observe a religious holiday.
Please pray again Monday after 9:30 AM. If you need emergency assistance
when this office is closed, contact your local Priest at your neighbourhood Temple.

THANK GOD, HE DOESN'T HAVE VOICE MAIL AND LISTENS
WHENEVER WE PRAY!!!!!

My Grandfather's Legacy

2007-08-04T23:11:00.000-07:00

“We live in a dual reality,” my grandfather, used to say, “a world of opposites, but if you are clever and look carefully, there exists no contrast.” His words have remained in my personality and attitude. I owe my success for the legacy of wisdom he left for me. To share his wisdom with you is one of my greatest joys:
“Be always, strong enough to face the world everyday. But.. Be weak enough to know that you cannot do everything.
Be generous enough to those who need your help. But.. Be frugal enough with what you need yourself.
Be smart enough that you may not know everything. But… be trusting enough to know that you need not know everything.
Be wise enough to know that you cannot know everything. But.. Be foolish enough to believe that miracles do happen.
Be willing enough to share your joys with one and all. But.. Be willing just as much to receive the sorrows of every other.
Be willing enough to lead when you see a path others have missed. But.. Be equally willing to lead even when you are in the midst of uncertainty yourself.
Be willing enough to be the first to congratulate an opponent who succeeds. But.. Be unwilling enough to criticize another who fails.
Be sure of returning love and care when you find it. But…Be especially sure to love more those who do not love you, for they will change, slowly….even as you will.
Above all, be the best you can be. For this is the purpose of your being.
For it is HIS will.”

Try an Experiment

2007-08-02T02:09:00.001-07:00

It was way back in school that we did the interesting experiments in chemistry and some of us did our best to avoid even those. But what a process that is. Put a few things together and then watch what happens. Study the outcome and write out your consequence thesis.
That lesson in chemistry can be a life changing process. Imagine if everyday I were putting things together, living my life as a process and day as an experiment and then being observant of the result. Actually noting the consequence and writing down my thesis or analysis of it. What an adventure life would be if I were to live it in the light of awareness. Everyday is an experiment anyways, we don’t know how things and circumstances will unfold and many of us live daily in ignorance. The spirit of “experiment” adds awareness and adventure, the two most potent elements of shaping up a quality life.
Simple experiments like taking a different route to office, and then analysing which route is quicker or happier, had added to my drive being more aware, than a monotonous routine. I once tried a drastic experiment; I disconnected the cable for a week to see the impact in our family. And what an impact it had, we didn’t get it back for almost 2 months. I must say 2 days were full of arguments and after that e repaired our family bond, went out for dinners, visiting relatives, or just walking.
I am going to go a step further and urge you to try experiments in love, experiments in appreciation, in gratitude and kindness, and you will be amazed at how the consequence and results of it will show up in your life daily.
Be a student of consequences, if you want a peek at your future, don’t go to an astrologer, just put together what you have been doing and thinking in the past few years and you will be able to see the result of all of that manifest in your current reality and specks of that welling up in your future.

Try an experiment today; design the life of your dreams. Try an experiment and observe the result of it unfold in your life. Let the chemistry continue.

The Secret Of Himesh Reshammiya's Success

2007-07-29T02:37:00.000-07:00

When people talk about the mass popularity of the singer icon Himesh Reshamimiya, they attribute it to his nasal singing, that when you probe a little further in to how his career took a magical turn to success, nothing can be far from the truth.
Himesh is a live example of the word “opportunist”. He was showcased in the show “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.”as a mentor and Guru to the fascinating voice of Vineet. In moments of intense emotions, appreciation, encouragement, motivation and upliftment Himesh not only dished out the star in Vineet, but also won the hearts of millions who watched the show. Himesh through his presence really added all the emotional bonding that there was needed to form a connection with the audience. So at the end of the show two names gained mass popularity, the master and the student. From there on the world was waiting with open arms. Himesh wasted no time in launching his album and announcing his movie, and made all possible public appearances. He had already built a home in people’s hearts and they followed wherever he went.
A lot of stars are launched, but they do not capitalise on their popularity after the show so we have seen people become popular and the disappear.
When you are riding high, that is not the time to bask in glory, but to tighten your seat belts, play your cards right and work harder, like Hamish is doing. Hamish is a true example of not taking success for granted but working harder in the face of success.
And of course the cap brings in the additional charm and the nasal pitch makes the difference.

Where's Your Team

2007-07-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

When I talk about team work, people often expect to hear about team work in context of work or sport. Companies call me to do team building workshops for their employees, the objective being greater co-operation and respect at work to meet common targets. Sportsmen and sports organisations call me to do team building workshops towards the objective of uniting people to work in sync towards a common goal. And I believe that there is more to team work than just that. In fact team work is an attitude and way of life.
Your team was formed from the day you were born. In fact, from that day on everyone you meet or come in communication with, is a “your” team player in this game called life.

When you take the taxi to work, the taxi driver is a team player with you. When he does his work well and with dedication, you reach your workplace in time, safely. Your waiter at the restaurant is a team player with you for the duration of your lunch or dinner. Everyone you meet, in whatever context there may be, is a team player with you.

For them to make your interaction enjoyable and productive, all team dynamics of excellence apply. You need to treat all your team players with respect, acknowledgement, encouragement and support. It could be in small gestures such as a smile of acknowledgement, a polite tone in speaking, a verbal appreciation or even support in some cases.

I have had the privilege of meeting some great people from different industries. One thing that I have noted in common about them is that they are great team players, on and off work. I have seen them acknowledge the chef for his food at the restaurant. I have seen them speak to the book seller on the street with respect. I have even seen them direct traffic in a jam situation. Because a team player is a team player wherever he goes. It’s not a role; it’s a state of being.

I see great teams at play when a person offers his seat to an aged person in a bus. I see outstanding teamwork when a person acknowledges the work of a newspaper delivery boy. I see leadership in the person who initiates a conversation in an elevator with a complete stranger.

Your family is your greatest team. To keep your family involved in your mission, gathering their support, earning their respect, and also to encourage their active inputs, sets you up for excitement and love. Your family is the goal keeper, the score keeper of your success, real success. To ensure that success you have to make sure that your family is working towards a common goal.

If you see the entire world as your team mates, and treat them like players of a winning team, your professional success is an effortless achievement.

Treat every moment as a game and every next player as your team mate and watch the excitement take over your life.

Needed Leaders of Courage

2007-07-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Our country needs to see more leadership, more heads rising, more people stepping forward taking creative initiatives. We need more communities in leadership. We need young blood stepping forward to contribute. We are on a mission, a hunt for the leaders our country needs. I can see that millions of potential leaders exist, and are in waiting to stir up a cause. Here is your chance, to emerge, to claim your position, to make a difference that you have always dreamed of creating. If your personality fits the bill and if you have a mission up your sleeve, do something about it now.
India needs urgently, young, dynamic and enthusiastic leaders. You must have an incredibly positive outlook towards life and must be a believer in all that is good. You must have a vision for your life and also for your country. You must have clear intentions and sincerity at heart. You must have a burning dedication to serve and the courage to lead from the front, and by example. You must be passionate about building a better tomorrow by making concrete contributions today. You must be willing to embrace change and evolve through an attitude of learning and humility. You must be an ambassador of love and peace in thought word and action. If you are a person who has respect for all and would not hold judgement or resentment towards all that is not good, and have enough love in your heart to make the shift from what is not wanted to what is most desired, find a way to express it. In small ways, in big ways but express it.
Ours is a mission to lead our people, our country towards the glorified future it so well deserves. Our country stands for peace, for non violence and prosperity and spirituality. It is now time for us to do our country proud. It is now time for leadership.

Always stand tall

2007-07-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Heena Said:"I fear losing hope or more precisely being negative at one point of time in my life because i have often stood bold and positive in every crisis and many times journey of postivilty was really tough but i dont want to change my outlook come what may."

I think what you do is a very courageous stand: Not giving in to negativity and standing tall. I know it takes a lot of inner strength to support you in your position in times of crisis and negativity.

This fear of losing hope comes out of suppressed emotions. Maybe at the time you composed yourself or forced yourself to be positive and strong was also the time you failed to release your own emotions of anger or disagreement. So you are afraid that one day you may explode because all the feelings have collected and piled up.

A good exercise to release any negative emotion that you may be suffering is to maintain a gratitude journal daily
A gratitude journal is a journal or a diary where you write atleaset 5 things you are grateful for before you sleep. Its an amazing way to end your day, with REAL TIME positivity. So in this exercise you not only have to look at the positive side of things and people but also be genuinely grateful for that. Gratitude is the enemy of negativity. They cannot exist together.

When you do this exercise on a daily basis you will feel a sense of relief and as light as a feather and you will never have this gnawing feeling of losing hope of standing tall, in the honor that you are holding with your amazing attitude.
God Bless You always.

Just @sk Priya: Create a stable source of income

2007-07-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

Suraj Said: know i am very good at selling & negotiating, also i am aware that i can conduct a training (Which i have done in past) but i limit myself to selling. I hope now i am bit clear. Please advice.

I will explain this with a personal example. My core business is training and I am very good at it. I have been running my company and my business since the last 11 years. I am also a very creative person and I love to pursue so many areas that interest me. What i have come to understand is that to be rich ( that is why we all work in the first place ) there has to be focus on the area of work, and once money is not the issue, one can pursue other areas that fancy us.
So after moving my business to a level of stability I have now ventured into writing. This blog is such an outcome, my newspaper articles and my online features are my writing assignments. They dont put money in my bank right now, and i can afford to write for free because I have a stable source of income.
If i did not have a stable source of income and i would have started writing along with my work, then i would remain to struggle in both due to lack of focus on either.

If you are good at selling and negotiating, strengthen that skill. Sell your way to success and riches, and once you have done that, train other people to do too :O) That would be a trainer and teacher by example, and that is the fastest way to success.
May Success Be Yours.

Just @sk Priya: Rejected ????

2007-07-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Anuj Said: I am so positive and always know I'll do what I want to do in life. But recently, what I thought, I dint get and I was rejected for something at work. My morale went really low. Although I am looking at it positively and trying to think all the good things it could do, something inside me is making me feel a little less confident. I am starting to doubt things now.. I know this is not right but somehow something inside me has changed.
How do I get rid of this small negative thinking?

Rejection is one of the biggest moral stealers for many people. And it doesnt have to be that way. We must know that everyone is not the same and everyone does not have the same preferences. I love red and that may be a color you despise. And purple may be for you, but i cant stand purple. Does that mean i wont like you ? Or you wont like me ? Imagine if i were to base my judgement about people on the grounds of similar liking, i would be leading a lonely life.
There are many people who do not believe in trainings and feel that attending workshops are a waste of time, and i am ok with that. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And they have a right to not like me, my work or my preference.
Now are you one of those, who has harshly judged or rejected another in a similar way that you feel ? By giving a harsh comment about the way people behave or look or even a contrary opinion on someone's work, we act in the same way.
I remember my friend was upset because his boss critised his work and called it "ridiculous stuff" and just a day earlier my friend was critising a movie "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" and called it "ridiculous stuff". My question is why was it ok for him to critice other people's work and not accept it with grace when it comes back to him ? Why the hard feelings ? He sure felt nothing while saying the unkind words.

And i guess critique is so crucial for one's improvement. If no one is pushing me, how do i get better ? I dont get better when people appreciate, I feel good when appreciate. I look for improvement when people criticise.
I always ask for critique and feedback. I would love to see the loose spots that miss my eye.
Rejection is a good thing. It means being tolerant and being humble enough to seeing anothers point of view and acknowledging it with grace.
Rejection can be a good feedback mechanism. Use it to excel. Use it to reflect and re-think and re-act.

Are You Stuck ?

2007-07-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

We all want to do so many things. Upgrade our lifetstyle, earn more money, start a profitable business venture, find our soul mate, travel around the world and so many more things.
And sometimes looking at our current situation is very disheartening. It makes the future look kind of impossible and we keep stressing ourselves with the unshakeable statement: "I dont know what to do !"
Others appreciate your talent and even give you ideas but somehow you feel stuck with : "I dont know what to do !" "I dont know where to start !" "I dont know how to start !"
If you host such feelings, then i understand you, because i found myself in the same stuck place and trust me, i didnt move for years, until i asked someone for a fresh perspective on my issues.
You know sometimes we are so stuck in our own world that even though the solutions exist, either we cant see them, or we cant make sense out of them. At this point it takes someone out of your stuck world to see your problem and point out the solution to you. And its perfectly ok to ask for help. It doesnt make you small, it only makes you bigger.
I have had the fortunate priviledge of having so many people helping me to the position i have reached today. It wasnt a lonely ride, i had much company and help. As a paying forward to all those people who found the time and heart to encourage, guide and help me, I am offering my time to you.
If you have any area of your life that you are stuck in, write in, comment in or email me on mail@priya-kumar.com. I may not give you a solution, but i sure can give you a different perspective.
Committed to your success,
Priya

Just @sk Priya

2007-07-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

"Whats The Single Most Important Question You Have About Enhancing Your Career, Dealing With People Effectively, Upgrading Your Lifestyle, Nurturing Relationships, Making Work Fun or Increasing Your Chances Of Making it Big ?"

Directions: Just comment or write to me on mail@priya-kumar.com with your question and I will make sure that I send in a personalised response to you.
Stan ASKed: I am doing a job in a multi national company and I want to add another source of income, How do i do that without doing injustice to my job ?

Barkha ASKed: I am expected to stay long hours in office. I am stressed and cranky. I can see I have lost all enthusiasm and creativity. I don't even like myself anymore.

Ali ASKed: I have no friends at work ! Does that really matter ?

Suraj ASKed: I have not done my MBA nor any post graduation. I am wondering if I will ever get the opportunity to rise to the level that my MBA friends are at !

Natasha ASKed: I do translations for a channel and I work from home. It is very convenient but somehow I don't feel the satisfaction. How can I change that ?

Lisa ASKed: My salary is way too low in comparison with my lifestyle. I have no savings at the end of the month. How do I match my income and my standard of living ? How do i upgrade my pay packet ?

Be as specific as possible - There are no stupid questions.

Looking forward to adding value to your life !

Day 7: Whats your vehicle

2007-07-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

We all have set our dreams in place. Whatever it is that you want, I am sure that you are pretty clear about it now.
I want to own a Red BMW convertible. Thats the final destination, but there has to be a vehicle that will take me there.
The vehicle is a medium of income or opportunities that will transport you to your dreams. The vehicle can be your job, your business, your talent, your rich dad ;O) !
It is via your vehicle that you reach your dreams.
So when i become a celebrity trainer and one of the most sought after coaches ( by the end of 2007 ), when i become known as a super columnist and a best selling author, owning a red BMW convertible is a piece of cake. It's raising myself to that level of excellence that requires work ! Otherwise owning the car is effortless ! You get my point ? ;o)
Does your current vehicle have the potential to take you towards your dreams faster and easier ?
Identify what it is that you do, what is the potential of greatness in it and whether you are willing to explore it ?
I was doing a show with CNBC and the candidate who i was helping in a corporate makeover is an IT guy and can provide any level of IT solutions. I personally think that his line of business or vehicle has great potential for greatness. There are 19 year old millionaires in the IT field, the owner of Facebook is such an example. The real question is : Is he willing to explore the potential ? That will require a great deal of work and focus.
But before i talk about that, its identifying the possibilities and limitless potentials your vehicle holds. Only then you will be excited about acting on it.
So get to work with it, we have only 23 days left :O)

Day 6: Routine or Excitement

2007-07-13T05:59:00.000-07:00

The 30 day countdown is a process where you will have to chuck your routine way of thinking and working and you will have to accept the new. After all for you to be a grand success, nothing outside of you will change, it is what is inside that will change.
The world doesnt need to change for you to be great, you need to. For that you need to change the way you look at the world, you will have to find new meanings for the same things and situations and most importantly you will have to try out new approaches and ways of doing things.
Here is your task for day 6: Do something different. Anything !! Anything at all.
It could be taking a new route to work. It could be writing with your left hand all day. It could be not spending a single rupee from your pocket. It could be skipping a meal. It just must be something you have never done before.
The idea is that you need to give yourself a "first time" experience at something, and notice how that makes you feel.
Research has shown that when people move out of their routine way of thinking and operating, they open doors to their creative genius. Genius after all is a mind that thinks out of the box, that dares to explore the new and that thrives in the thrill of adventure.
So go ahead and do something today that you have never done in your whole life !! Prepare your mind to embrace the new, your dreams sure will be a new experience and you better get used to that.
And do post your comment on it. I would love to be a part of your excitement.

Day 5: Mission Statement

2007-07-13T01:42:00.000-07:00

I have seen a lot of corporates invest fortunes in building a mission statement for their organisation. A mission statement is special asssignment that a person or a group of persons takes up.
Everyone does work in their own respective fields. Working on an everyday routine or task is very different from working on a mission.
Making a mission statement is like setting your lifes purpose. This lifes purpose then becomes a driving force in your life.
For example, my work is delivering workshops to people in the areas of Firewalk Seminars, Team Building and Science of Achievement. My work is to conduct workshops. My Mission is to "Make People's Lives Better". The mission drives the direction of the work and adds value to my efforts. So i am not just doing workshops, i am also taking up the responsibility of making people's lives better.
If i had no mission, i would just go do my work and come back home. But having a mission brings me greater satisfaction and joy.

Whatever it is that you have chosen to achieve in the next 30 days, if you can do it with passion and are satisfied and joyous at the end of each day of work, it would certainly make your life and your sacrifice worth the effort.
So go ahead and lay the foundation of love and joy in your work.
Make a mission statement today.
And i would love to know from you what it is !!
God Bless

Day 4: What If ?

2007-07-13T01:12:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyday you are listening to your power album
in the morning. I also hope that you have written down all
that you desire and you have also made your vision board.

Today your task is to write down what will happen
IF YOU DONT ACHIEVE your dream ? You need to know WHY it is
important for you to achieve it ? WHAT have you got to
LOSE ?Human beings are motivated by two emotions. Emotions of
Pleasure and emotions Pain. By instinct we move towards
pleasure and away from pain.

By doing the first three steps of listening to your power
songs, writing down your dreams and making your vision
board, you created some pleasurable outcomes. By
writing down what would happen if you dont succeed at
winning, you are reminding yourself of the pain of staying
where you are. When the realisation sinks in of the price you
will pay in terms of a mediocre life if you dont achieve your dreams,
that itself will push you and drive you to deliver your best.

Infact, you should be so fed up of where you are that you
are willing to give more than your 100% to get where you
want to go.

Lets harness this principle to create the life of our
dreams.

God Bless

Day 3: To The Life Of Your Dreams

2007-07-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

The Vision Board
Several years ago, I made a vision board. This was when i had just started out with trainings. I had stuck on it my picture and words such as "Miss Popularity" "Youngest Millionaire" and several pictures of my dream car, travelling the world over, flying across countries, holidaying in exotic locations, my book being a best seller.... and so much more.
As i sit today and look at my vision board, years later, i have achieved almost everything that i stuck on it, with shocking ease.

Every great structure has a blue print, whether it is an architectural monument or the layout of an organisation or the design of a new car. They all have a blue print, or a sketch of how it would look when it manifests. No great empire or building was built with the picture in the mind. It was always drawn and sketched.

What i would like you to do today is to make a vision board. A vision board, simply put is a collage of pictures of your dreams.

Go ahead and buy a bunch of used magazines and as your browse through them you will find the exact pictures of all your hearts desire. Pick them out and stick them out on a nice poster paper. Once you have this collage ready, hang it on the wall of your room.
Visualisation is a powerful process. The process of laying your eyes on your dreams everyday, helps in creating certainty and belief in it. The more certain you are about your goal, the faster you would move towards it.

Day 2: To the Life of Your Dreams

2007-07-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

The Warm Up: The power of warm up is never to be underestimated. Every morning, before you start off with whatever you do, you must listen to your power songs. Music influences our physiology. It affects our emotions and it also directs our actions. Music influences our thoughts and the images that we hold in our minds. So every morning for the next 30 days listen to your power songs. Your success will depend upon the extent that you are able to keep your thoughts and emotions in peak state.
Today having done that, whenever you find some quiet time, reflect upon this: "What do i want to achieve in the next 30 days ? What do i really want ?" And write this down. Just knowing it or reflecting upon it is not enough. Write it down. And when you write it down, write only the outcome as you see it in your mind. For example, if i want to own a red BMW Z4, I will write: "I am so happy that i finally own my dream car. When i drive it on the roads of Mumbai, i feel a joy in my heart that matches my achievement and i feel extremely proud....."
Just writing that i want a red bmw is not enough. It will remain a want forever. You need to take that want and create it as a reality in your mind. Take that car and drive it and write down exactly what you see, and how that makes you feel.
The more clear you get about it, the faster it will manifest in your life.
Your task for today:
1. Listen to your power songs
2. Write down what you want, as the final outcome of it happening.
Committed to your success,
Priya

Day 1: Restart

2007-07-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

My humble apologies. I was in a roller coaster schedule and crazy days. Work is at it's peak and i found myself unable to operate my blog. I was shuttling between workshops, publishing assignments, airports, and editing my book to send it to the publisher. All is settled now. Phew.
I have some help now and we leap into the countdown towards creating the life of our dreams.
We start from tmw and i hope that you have been making the best of your power album. Lets warm up, trust me the next 30 days are going to take everything you have, to make your dreams a reality.
God Bless

The Countdown Begins: Day 1

2007-07-04T22:49:00.000-07:00

Do you know that even the best sprint runner needs to warm up before the race ! A warm up is a small session of stretching and reaching out which flexes the muscles. It is very necessary for a runner or any sports person to do it before their race or event because other wise the muscles will spasm with the sudden speed when they run the race.
Similarly you need to warm up before you run the 30 day marathon towards the life of your dreams.
Your warm up is gentle preparation to put your mind and body to be receptive of peak performance and to deliver.
The warm up may take in a couple of days to make your mind and body flexible enough to accept and execute new principle so be patient with yourself.

Todays warm up exercise is to make a power album. This album is a list of songs that inspire and charge you up. They pump in you energy and get your mind ticking. These are songs or music that put you in a happy mood.

I know you have the collection scattered in your ipod and laptop or in half a dozen cds. Put it in one place; in one folder, one cd. So next when you do play it, all 12 or all 18 play without you having to add or forward or change the songs.
Get it ?

Music is the one of the most powerful tools for mental warm up and preparation. It is so powerful a tool that every army have their own war song to prepare them to win and to prepare them to die. A power song fills your mind and blocks out any other thought that may have engaged you. It leads you to new visualisation or thoughts.
When i listen to the song "You're the voice" no matter what my original mood was, once the song plays, i am in a different world. In 4 minutes i am in a bright mood and powerful state of mind. As the song plays i can actually visualise myself as an agent of change who is making a difference in world. I feel phenomenal !

Success is so simple, that some people feel that we must do complicated things to be successful. Just the opposite is true. You will be the beneficiary and evidence of it 30 days from now.

Please do write in your power songs ( every one could add and share a few ).
Success is ours !!

The Beginning of a New Beginning

2007-07-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

The day you make the decision to be the creator of your own life and your own future, you have joined the league of the 5% of the world's population. These are the people who create the future for the balance 95%.
These are also the people who take absolute responsibility for their actions. They are as willing to take the credit as they are to taking the blame. These are problem solvers, they find themselves to be a part of the solution and never the problem. They look for remedies not blame.
For you to be an achiever and winner by default, you have to develop the attributes that i mentioned above. Because when you "become" a success minded person, a person who is a cause of events to happen, you will have anything you desire and more.
Change is a painful process, so the next 30 days are not going to be easy but they sure will be fun. And your greatest reward will be not what you achieve as a result of this change, but who you become as an outcome of it.
May success be ours !
I eagerly await meeting you on this side of the world :O)

The Life of Your Dreams

2007-07-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

This is the best time to ever be alive as compared to the entire history of mankind. We can have anything we want. Really anything.
We live in the era of possibilities. Today you can have all that you have ever dreamt of and more. And its not only fast its also easy. You dont have to slog for 10 years to see results of your efforts, you can see it in 10 months, 10 weeks and sometimes even 10 days.
The question is that do you know what you want ?
If the answer is yes, then the next question is, are you committed enough to learning and growing personally to be able to achieve that what you want ?

Desire and committement are two necessary elements for success. You must have the desire and also the commitment to do whatever it takes to achieve it. Often it takes for you to learn, to grow and to develop the attitude of an achiever.

If you know what you want and are willing to settle for nothing less, then the next 30 days are just for you.
Everyday i will post a tip that comes from my course, The Science of Achievement, which will help you in reaching closer to your goals, at a pace so fast you will be amazed.

So log on everyday to the One Minute Coach and help yourself design and live the life of your dreams.

Choose Your Consequence

2007-06-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

"Be a Keeper of Consequence" my grandfather always used to say. And i never understood what he meant until a few years ago.
I meet so many successful people from diverse industries and i always ask them, what is it that sets them apart from the rest of their counterparts. And there is one answer that always strikes out. "I choose my consequence and then plan my action." This sentence has more wisdom than any self help book you would read.
Simply put, if you can choose the consequence or the outcome that you desire today, and then plan your day accordingly, and stick to that plan, you will see that success will rise to meet you."

Here is the formula in three simple steps:
Step 1: Decide your outcome/consequence
Step 2: Plan your action accordingly
Step 3: Execute

A lot of people create the action but they dont stick to the plan. They get DISTRACTED or SWAYED easily into other things. And as a result they get a different consequence at the end of the day, and that consequence is usually, pending work, half done projects, a feeling of dissatisfaction and frustration. Can you now imagine what the next day is going to look like ?

"Be a Keeper of Cosequence" my grand father always used to say. And I owe my success to him.

Mind Your Own Business

2007-06-27T18:11:00.003-07:00

I got a lot of feedback on my blog last two days and I can see that "Mind Your Own Business" is quite a misunderstood concept. People have different meanings attached to it. Some feel that mind your own business means, being indifferent, others feel it is being insensitive.
Mind your business is infact one of the shortest ways to rising to success. To mind your own business means to stay focussed on your work and only on those things that will contribute towards making your work better.
Mind your own business means not being distracted with issues or things that will take your focus away from your duty and your work.
And lastly mind your own business means to define what is expected of you at work and then to over deliver :O)
All successful people mind their own business, and all people with mediocre thinking mind other people's business. They have enough time to keep an eye on what is going on in other people's lives and work and pay no or little attention to what they are supposed to do.
Minding your own business is the only route to deliver excellence and the shortest route to success.
So get to work and mind your own business :O)

Are Corporate Politiks ruining your career ?

2007-06-26T23:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterdays blog created quite a stir with people. And I can also see that some sensitive cords were touched. Have you ever heard of the phrase that we only see what we want to see and that we hear only that which we want to hear ? It's really amazingly true. The emails and the comments that I got prove just that.
I wrote, stay away from politics and mind your own business. I did not say "Dont communicate with your colleagues or dont be nice to them." Trust me negative people are very easy to spot. You just stay away from their negativity and back biting agenda. Be careful when you deal with them. Refuse to comment on negative statements. Refuse to acknowledge when someone wants to tell you "What he or she said about you !" Like Buddha said, if you do not acknowledge a gift, it doesnt belong to you. So acknowledge only that which you do want.
Mind you own business means, do what you are supposed to do. Being nice to colleagues and maintaining a friendly and empowered environment is also a part of your job. Dont worry about what others are doing or not doing, you do your work and deliver excellence.
Like I said earlier, people who part take in politics dont last. It will be a matter of time they will self destruct.
So at work, maintain harmony, maintain fun and maintain a friendly environment. You be it first, and you will influence others.
Have fun :O)

Corporate Politiks

2007-06-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

"There are a lot of politics going on in my office," a friend said to me expressing her frustration. I usually dont pry into people's problems, it serves no good. But this one got me interested, for the use of the word "politics". "What do you mean by politics at office ?" I asked. "The usual," she answered, "Back biting, bad vibes and all."
Imagine what kind of negativity we associate the word politics with ? No wonder all politics is about back biting and bad vibes. And just like in real time politics, the country suffers as a result, so does an organisation.
The question is are you caught up in corporate politics ? If so, it is only a matter of time that you lose your job ! Check the political scenario. How often do the parties change as a results of the politics. So is your fate if you are a "party" to the politics.
The best solution that i could ever give my friend was an advice for any "party" political or corporate, "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS". Mind your business also means, stay focussed on your work, thats what you are getting paid for. If you give your focus to the politics, that becomes real for you. If you dont pay attention to something, it will fade away from your awareness.
Always remember one rule that will take you up to success, "If you dont have any thing good to say, shut up. Like the law says; You have the right to remain silent, whatever you say will be used against you."
And the best part is you can choose, whether to be a part of the politics or not. The choice is made by where you lay your attention and focus. No one can drag you into something against your will.
So next time my friend says, "Im stuck in corporate politics." My answer is, "You must have voted in favour of it."
www.priya-kumar.com

Make a Wish

2007-06-25T20:11:00.001-07:00

Have you ever wished at a "Wishing Well". I have and its an amazing feeling to do so. Imagine you toss in a coin and make a wish, and it comes true. Who ever cooked up this concept, sure had his wish come true, of making a lot of money :O) Thats what my father would say :O)
Here is my offer to you... I do firewalks. And it is believed that firewalks were done to communicate with the ether ( the world of all possibilities ) and all wishes that were prayed upon at the fire would come true. I have personally experienced this principle at work and its fascinating. So here is my offer.... Make a wish. Your hearts deepest desire. Something you must be or do or have in this lifetime, without which your soul would refuse to leave planet earth. That something that you would not settle without. Make a wish, without any limitation or barriers. Free your mind and ask. And i will offer that prayer, your wish, to the fire on your behalf on my firewalk this evening.
It's truly magical. Or best still, I may even send you an invitation to walk the fire holding your wish in your heart yourself :O)in my next firewalk
www.priya-kumar.com

Pain Avoidance

2007-06-24T09:17:00.001-07:00

Why do most people avoid pain ? The first reason for any kind of "mis-deed" is ignorance or lack of proper knowledge. We were never given lessons on our own minds and our own behaviours. Its a pity that in 21 years of education, that which mattered most was neglected - YOU.
Anyhow, we were taught that pain is bad and must be avoided. We were taught that pain is an emotional issue and a learnt pattern of fuss usually follows it.
The purpose of pain is to bring into attention healing.
People avoid pain, because when they are in pain, they feel "out of control". Suddenly, they feel powerless to even perform their daily functions.
For example, I had a severe tooth ache a few days ago. And every one knows that dental problems lead to mental problems :O) I suddenly felt that I could no longer think, the pain was so severe. The first thing that ran in my head was, "How will I handle all the important meetings that are lined up ?" Suddenly I felt out of control and reached out for the pain killer.
Killing the pain is no solution. Understanding whats wrong ? why is it wrong ? how can I avoid this in the future ? are the key questions.
Understanding and Knowledge heals. Pain is the absence of correct knowledge.
Pain is the start point of healing. Allow it. And healing takes time. Allow it.
I went to the dentist, like I normally would, when my tooth hurts. He looked into my mouth and diagnosed that my wisdom truth was the culprit and gave me some anti biotics and pain killers. I would have walked out with the "healing medicines" but the key ingredient that heals the pain is understanding and knowledge. I stopped and asked the dentist, "I dont understand. My wisdom tooth has been there since long, so what is causing this pain ?" "There could be many factors," he said,"Aggressive brushing of your teeth, something that you ate that disturbed your gums and caused an infection. Many reasons. The infection must subside before I decide whether your wisdom tooth stays or not."
On my way back home I realised that sometimes I do brush my teeth aggressively, and the 6 month old tooth brush is no good. I now felt in control. All I had to do was be careful and I could avoid the same pain in the future.
Getting back in control was mentally healing. Being a victim is the attitude of "running away" and "avoidance". Most of us are taught to be victims, and victims dont take responsibility, even for their own pain.
Whenever you are in pain, take responsibility, get in control of your own situation. Understand how YOU caused it, and you will be able to take pain so gracefully.
My wisdom (tooth) is intact and I find myself brushing my teeth with heightened awareness. And all is well.
This is physical pain. But emotional pain, is a lot more challenging to handle. Broke up with a boyfriend ? Had a financial loss ? Couldnt meet your targets ? How does one handle emotional pain ?
Your comments before my opinion ? Thats the game.

Pain:Pay Attention Inwards-Now

2007-06-22T12:36:00.001-07:00

Pain is one experience no one wants to have and most run away from. Psychologists have this whole theory of "Pain Avoidance" where a human being will do anything to avoid pain.
Its so interesting how human beings make an emotional issue of everything, including our own bodies and its functioning. Let me give you an example.
You are driving your car. And you are low on fuel. How would you know ? The fuel meter would flash, right ? Is that a good sign or a bad sign ? You would say "Ofcourse thats a good sign !" Now imagine this. What would happen if you had no fuel meter in your car ? It would be a disaster. You would not only put your life at risk but also the lives of others.
The human body is a vehicle too. And we also have a "wellness meter". The wellness meter works on the principle of pain. Pain tells us, something needs attention. Or some part of the body is hurt. Now imagine this; If there is no "pain" ever. Some of you might dance with joy to even imagine a life without pain, but hold on. Imagine you stub your toe so bad that you cracked a bone and it bled. How would you know if there was no pain ? So if there is no pain, you would not know you are hurt. Your toe would continue to bleed and soon septic would set in, and the infection would spread to your leg and finally your whole body...and you dont want me to continue to where this ends :O)
Because there is pain, you pay attention until it heals.
Pain is a process in the system. Its a design. Acknowledge it. To avoid pain, is to rip off the fuel meter of your car.
Next time you are in pain, stop and pay attention inwards ! Respect that your body supports you in keeping you alive.

If pain by design, serves us, then why do people avoid pain ? Why does everyone run away from pain ? Your comments are welcome before i publish my opinion :O)

Set A Good Example

2007-06-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

Today is Set A Good Example Day !
What that means is that today you will make a decision and do things that will set a good example for others to follow. You see we all wish the world were a better place. And wishes remain wishes, until we do something about it.
We all wish that our city would be clean, but unconsciously we chuck the empty gum packet on the road. We wish that our colleagues were more supportive, but unconsciously we also dont support them. We wish our parents were more understanding, but somehow we never made the time to listen to them and understand their greater concerns. We wish that we would be richer, but we didnt understand that wealth and money are a state of mind and that when we change the way we think and work, we change our income.
Its only a matter of time that wishes will turn into complaints, if we keep doing the opposite of what needs to be done.
You need to ACT upon what your ideal world is. You need to act in the correct direction. So how does one know whether the action is in the right direction or not ? Its simple ! Ask yourself, "Would I want others to do this to me or my world ?" If the answer is "Yes !" DO IT. And if the answer is "No". Dont do it !
So next time, when you get up from the dinner table, ask yourself, "Would a compliment on how delicious the food is, make my day ?" If the answer is "Yes" go ahead and compliment your mom.
Live your life by this principle, and if even a handful of us, vow to set a good example for the rest of our lives, the world WILL BE a beautiful place. Thats my promise.
So, today until next Friday I am celebrating "Set a Good Example Week". There would be an amazing JackPot to win by the most inspiring "Set a Good Example" story that would be submitted by you guys.
Who knows, you may on radio with me, sharing your story :O)
So go ahead, and set a good example. Thats what TRUE leadership is about.

Give Youself Away ....

2007-06-20T11:05:00.001-07:00

The highest point of contribution is in giving of yourself. Giving yourself away, for free, because that is something that will never leave you less, it will only leave you with more, more of YOU.
Imagine, if you are a singer, and you give yourself away, by singing for people, do you become less ? or do you become more ? More ofcourse.
Today is the day when you give yourself away, for free. Give praise, give kind words, give your talent, sing for someone, cook for some one, dance for someone, take someone out for a your favourite movie, treat someone in your favourite restaurant, give away your favourite shirt, or just simply offer someone your time. No action is too small and nothing given away is too big.
Know this, only the wealthy can give away, for you need to have before you give. Here is your chance to feel and know you are wealthy beyond measure, in all that counts !!

Will To Succeed

2007-06-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

I was doing a personality development session at Indo American Society several years ago and I can never forget this 11 year old boy who attended my class.
Here is his story...
This 11 year old boy came to Indo American Society to attend the workshop, only there was a slight problem. The receptionist told him that the workshop was for children who were 13 years onwards, and since he was 11, he couldnt attend. The boy took the brochure and sat down on the sofa, he didnt go away. After 15 minutes he came back to the receptionist and said, "The brochure doesnt mention that only 13 years onwards are allowed." The receptionist was speechless. "Could you speak to the facilitator and check if I can attend, because I dont want to go back as I can see that there is no mention of the age in the brochure ?" The receptionist did not want to accpet defeat and said,"The session cannot be disturbed, maybe you can call tomorrow and I will let you know." "It's ok, I will wait until tea break." he persisted, "I can always catch up with the session".
At tea break, a very sheepish looking receptionist walks into my class and points at the boy, "Why cant an eleven year old attend your class ?" he asked me without an introduction. "Who said you cant ?" I asked amused at his confidence and style. He pointed at the receptionist and said, "She didnt let me in".
Ofcourse, the boy stayed in my class, and he was such a delight to have. His passion towards learning, his enthusiasm and his courage to question the system made him different from the rest."
I dont know what I taught him, but I sure learnt a lot from him. I always remember him whenever someone tells me, "You can't......" and instinctively my answer is "Says who ? Can I have a word with that person ?" And more often than not, there is no person behind the opinion, its just an assumption.
I remember him as an eleven year old boy who attended my class to teach me a valuable lesson of life.

How to get an Agreement

2007-06-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

I was sitting with some friends at a social get together and there was one guy who was being Mr. Know It All. He seemed to have an answer for everything. And even if it seemed like he didnt know the answer, he would get into an argument and with a twist of words get away with it.
I found it rather annoying. How do you get a person who argues a lot, into agreement with you ? Thats an art and before you go out and try out the formula I am about to share with you, I suggest you practice :O)
Here is what you need to do, you need to get the person to agree with you six times, before you hit on the real agenda. For example, I wanted to get an agreement on "my" version of the theory of evolution. And I knew Mr. Know It All would butt in and argue on the subject, even if everyone else on the table agreed. So I asked him six questions to get his agreement.
1. "Would you agree that monkeys and apes evolved into human beings ?" "Yes," he said.
2. "Its the oldest theory of evolution, right ?" "Yes," he agreed matter of factly.
3. "This was almost several thousand years ago, maybe a million years ago, wasnt it ?" "Yes," he agreed.
4. "Did you say, you live in L.A ?" I asked totally out of context to the topic, "Yes," he said.
5. "Ah thats a five hour flight away from New York, right ?" "Yes", he said innocently, and unaware of my move.
6. "Oh Charles Darwin is the one who came up with this theory of evolution. Isnt it ?" I continued. "Yes," he agreed.

The answer to all the questions was a logical yes, and thats when I made the move for the kill, "Would you agree that the theory of evolution is incomplete and there are parts that dont make sense," "Yes," he said impulsively. Hurray, I had an agreement.
I then carried on discussing with my friends without him poking his argumentive nose.

This simple formula has many applications. You can get an agreement on professional and personal issues and avoid unnecessary arguments and resistance. All you need to do is get an agreement six times, any question is ok, as long the answer is "yes". I suggest you try it, and experience the magic.

Jackpot Day

2007-06-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today is Jackpot Day !!Why ? Because I am not supposed to write a blog and you are not supposed to check it.
But as I had siad earlier, Success is a HABIT. And if you have developed some new habits over the past few weeks, you would have unconsciously hit on the blog today. And if you have, and you are the first one today.....you win a jackpot of Rs.1000/-Post your comment, and i will know.
Make success a habit.
Have an outstanding Sunday

I want to be Number One

2007-06-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

"I want to be the best Batsman in the world" this little fellow said to me, while I was conducting a session on personality development for teenagers years ago. I had given the class an exercise on "Who would you like to be 10 years from now ?" And what followed in that session was simply amazing. It was wonderful to know that dreams still live in people's hearts and they do aspire to greatness. Like this fellow who wanted to be the best batsman in the world.
Does he have the capability ? You would say "yes". Infact, not only him, but all of us have the capability to rise to greatness, to be number one in whatever field we choose to be. If this is true, then why dont we do it ?
You know why ?
Because being number one, takes focus, it takes commitment, it takes setting priorities and it takes the courage to be different.
So I told the young man. You will be granted your wish, but in the bargain:
1. You will have to wake up at 4am every morning and go for practice.
2. You will have to workout an hour every day.
3. You will have to eat healthy and no junk.
4. You will have to sleep early, so no late night television.
5. You may have to miss classes for practice and then work extra hard to make up for your grades.
6. You wont be able to hang out with your friends because you will be playing.
7. You may have to travel and stay away from home.
"Are you willing to do this process every day for the next ten years to be the best batsman in the world ?" and all I got was silence and then a faint reply, "I will think about it!"
Think about it ??? If you want to be the best, number one, there is a journey you must make. And it cannot be the same journey you are on today. Because the habits that you have, the things that you are currently doing are keeping you where you are.

To be number one, is a test of "will" power. Its not "can" you be number one ? Every one "can", but they "dont" ! The real question is "will" you ?

Make Someone's Day

2007-06-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

Make Success a Habit

2007-06-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

So many times i have found myself surrounded with people who just dont understand that success is within their reach. It is so easy to be successful. That you will be surprised to know that failing is difficult. But people have developed the habit of doing those things that get them to fail or to make mistakes or just to be negligent. Its a habit, like any other. And its difficult to break, like any other habit.
Success is not built on tips, or more knowledge. You need to be in the habit of doing the things that make you successful. This sometimes is a long and painful process. And sometimes you may need help. A coach or a mentor is ideal who is willing to take responsibility in kicking your butt and making sure you form habits of success.
Will power or burning desire to succeed sometimes takes over the role of a coach. If you have found that in yourself, use it.
The bottom line is, time and hard work being equal, Anil Ambani has different habits than yours. And that is the difference between excellence and mediocrity. That is also the difference between success and failure.
www.priya-kumar.com

Power Album

2007-06-11T13:26:00.001-07:00

Did you know that music affects our emotions ? Out of all the senses that we have, the sense of hearing or auditory sense is highly susceptible to external influence. So many times i see people emotionally upset, and the culprit is the sense of sound. "Its not what he said, Priya, it's how he said it, that hurt me !" my friend complained, truly hurt by her colleague. Is that not true in so many cases ? Its not what was said, its how it was said that evokes an emotion.
So if sound must influence me, i must USE sound to influence me to a position of power. That would be a smart thing to do right ?
Here is what i suggest: Make a power album. This album would contain 18 songs that uplift you, that compel you to tap your feet, or make you spin, or hum, or cheer you up or fill you up with electricity and excitement. And make sure that you play this album for yourself every single day.
I have my power album loaded in my car, and i have it in my car since two years. Each time i get into my car, i come alive with energy, enthusiasm and a zest that peps me up for the day. "I love to drive" I tell people and it shocks them. "How can someone love to drive in Bombay ?" is a curious question I always get back. What I actually mean is, that sitting in my car and listening to my music is what puts me in a peak state and I love it.
I have noticed that whenever I drive, I arrive cheerful wherever I go, whether it is going to work or coming back home, Im inspired and energized.
What a gift to yourself that would make ! To consciously set yourself up for a good day.
Go ahead, make your power album, and hey... do comment on what your power songs are. It would be lovely to have some more in my collection ;o)
www.priya-kumar.com

Visualisation - Jim Carrey

2007-06-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

I have done many workshops on Visualisation. Its a process that i absolutely believe in. For those of you who are not aware, let me introduce it to you. Visualisation is a process in which you "Imagine a result you want to create, as if it were real and has already happened !"
Jim Carrey took this process to another level. He was on Oprah once and said that he wanted to make a million dollar cheque. At that time when he set this goal he was hardly making 20,000$ a year. So he wrote himself a million dollar cheque and he kept it in his wallet. He would see the cheque every single day and visualised "owning" the money. It was 2 years later that he signed the movie Dumb and Dumber and got paid a million dollar cheque. Jim Carrey even showed the tattered cheque that he had kept with him for 2 years.
Sometimes reality is far from our ideal world, and sometimes it may take 2 years for things to fall into place. But the process of visualisation keeps our focus on track, it helps in keeping disappointment, dejection and depression at bay. A person who is a believer, is always an achiever. Even if it takes 2 years to shape up.
"It's not about the million dollars," Jim Carrey said in conclusion, "Its who i became as a result of my pursuit that counts, a bigger and better person."

Jack Pot Day

2007-06-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

Jack Pot Day is a day when you win something that is dear to me.
"Why do you write the blog," my niece asked me. "Because it makes me feel good", i said. And that got me thinking. And the truth is i feel good about writing the blog, because you are at the other end reading it.
And because you are reading it, i feel great that my thoughts were worth your time.
So indirectly, you contribute towards making me feel good about myself and my work.
To show my appreciation towards you, i would like to give you a special gift.
How would i know you read my blog today and you are on Jack Pot Day, simply leave me a comment and you will recieve a special something from me :O)
I love Jack Pot Days too :O) Because i love to give !
www.priya-kumar.com

Share Your Success

2007-06-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have been writing this blog for several weeks now, and it has become a daily habit for me. I know that this habit is going to go a long way in leading towards my ultimate goal of being the finest coach in India, in the area of personal and spiritual development.
I am just wondering whether my initiative has contributed in your life in anyway ?
Have you had any wins / successes as a result of reading my blog ? If yes, then please do share it.
It would be a joy to know your success story.
www.priya-kumar.com

Success is Built On Success

2007-06-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

If you want to know the route to success. Know that success is only built on success. Success is never built on failure.
Imagine this. You are lined up for 5 meetings in a day. You are all fired up and in great spirits as you reach your first appointment. The man makes you wait for 45 minutes, and then when he does eventually meet you, turns down your product as crap. How fired up are you for the next meeting ? Research has shown that the dive in enthusiasm and energy is almost 60% immediately after the first rejection. Understand this, that success is not built on rejection, success is only built on success.
In my research i have seen that successful people have set themselves up for success and unsuccessful people have set themselves up for failure. Its a trap we lay for ourselves.
Here is the trick. When you wake up in the morning, you have to beat yourself and declare yourself a success. For example, when i go to the gym, and i know i can run for 30 minutes. I set myself up to run for 33 minutes. The extra 3 minutes are killing but i feel triumphant after that. Thats success, and now i am in a spirit of heightened energy. You can even do small things such as waking up five minutes early, or cooking breakfast. The point is to do anything which will truly make you feel that you "achieved something" or "you did something worthy" or "you contributed". Come to think of it. Thats true success :O)
Should you find yourself rejected or down in the middle of the day. Play a small game and win. I would challenge myself to arm wrestle with someone skinnier than me and win :O) I would play a 2 minute "let's see who blinks first" game and win ! Its amazing, how winning even a small game on the mobile phone can put one back into the spirit of success.So go ahead and be a winner, today and everyday.
www.priya-kumar.com

When you find yourself in a mess:Clean Up

2007-06-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

I have a friend, who lost her job. And it devasted her. And you know how it goes, sometimes we get hit from all sides. Her boyfriend dumped her at the same time. "My life is a mess," she said to me. And i am sure some of you can identify with that feeling.
So how does one get out of the mess, it's so simple, i bet you wont even try :O) : The answer is CLEAN UP YOUR MESS. "What do you mean by clean up your mess ?" she asked me. And i told her to start cleaning up whatever mess that she sees around her. I personally supervised her clean up her room, her cupboard, her bathroom, her kitchen and her house. At the end of the day, she was in great spirits. "Totally healed," she said.
You see, whatever happens in our emotional world, affects our physical bodies and our physical environment. And the reverse is also true. Whatever happens in our physical environment affects our physical bodies and our emotional state. So if the emotional state is a mess, eventually the body will sicken and the environment will also mess up. By cleaning up the environment, we are indirectly cleaning up our emotions.
According to DHE (Design Human Engineering), our emotions affect our physiology and vice versa. So whenever you find yourself in an emotional dump, start cleaning up. You will be amazed at the healing it causes. And once you are in a stable emotional state, you will look at issues with a different, more objective perspective and any situation becomes "solvable".
So next time when you find yourself low, in a mess, heart broken, sad, depressed, you know what to do :O) !! Clean Up

Whats your logo ?

2007-06-05T12:45:00.001-07:00

I was visiting a friends company and i was quite impressed with what he had built. He gave me his business card and asked me quite proudly, "What do you think of the logo". I looked at the logo, it was a nice design, but i didnt quite understand it. And then he went on to give me a 10 minute explanation on what each line and curve meant and how it reflected the entire value and mission and vision of the company. Its amazing, how a logo represents what a company stands for.
"What is your logo ?" My trainer side welling up, i asked him. And he stood there staring at me, totally blank. "You have put so much mind into what your company stands for, the value, the mission, the vision. What about you ? Where's your logo ?"
I guess the same question applies to all of us. To everyone who is committed to their own success.
When i came home that day, i designed out a personal logo for myself, infact three. It represents who i am and what i stand for. And it was such a delight to draw that. It brought so much clarity into my own life and work is only an extention of that clarity. My room door has my logo, and i am putting the same in my business cards as well.
I urge you to do the same.
Take a few moments out today, and design your logo.
YOU will be the biggest and most magical brand in the world :O)

Check Mate : 2

2007-06-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

I can see so many of you have replied. And I love the clarity and thought that you have put into actually designing your loved one. Its amazing to see, how we all want the ideal person in our lives. Some of you have described physical attributes in great detail and some of you have spent more thought on the attitude of the person. It's great effort, and some of you have even mentioned, that it is the first time that you put so much thought into attracting a life partner of your dreams. I am impressed.
So here is the Part 2. And its a secret that will blow your mind... To attract the person of your dreams, you have to become one yourself. We only attract in our likeness. So if you want a person who is emotionally stable and spiritually inclined, curious and energetic, youthful and ambitious, you have to become one yourself !! People such as your dream man and dream woman exist. They are there, looking for you. But you need to be worthy of that person too.
You need to be the persons dream man or woman too. Are you ?
The real work is within. The efforts you need to put in designing, is in your own attitude. When YOU become that dream person, in terms of attitude and character, TRUST me, you will attract one in your likeness. This is the only truth that is.
So read through what kind of dream man or woman you would like to attract in your life, and know that it will turn into a reality, when those qualities exist in you first.

Check Mate ?

2007-06-03T11:26:00.001-07:00

This blog is dedicated to all the single people who are reading it. This blog is also especially dedicated to all the "not" single people who are reading it.
I am going to teach you how to attract the man or the woman of your dreams. Its amazing and it has always worked.... every single time.
If you are the kind of person who has never settled for less and who is unwilling to compromise, this is your chance. And even if you have a partner, it would be nice to have a perspective, should you find yourself single again :O)
The process is a two part process and you must do it in absolute honesty.
Part 1: Define clearly what kind of person you would want to spend the rest of your life with. Put intention and clear thought in this. Be very careful of what you want, because in Part 2, I will tell you how to attract this person.
I am so eager to hear your comments and response.
Finish Part 1 and read Part 2 tmw :O)

You Can Choose

2007-06-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

If we are made up of a thousand others, is that true for all the negative people we meet too ? was the question I left you with !
Here is how I see it. For one to say that I am made up of a 1000 others and to give them credit and place in his success, is called "Gratitude" and defines a person who is "humble". For one to say that I am made of a 1000 others and to give them credit for his failure and misfortune, is called "Blame" and defines a person who is a "victim".
We will always be susceptible to the influence of everyone we meet. Who we give the power to influence us, lies with us. You can choose to allow yourself to be influenced or not influenced.
I know so many people who are so easily influenced by negativity. And then there are others who just dont seem affected by all the chaos around them.
And I also see people surrounded by goodness, and question it. And others who just accept and take it all in.
So the final take is yours.
You will meet a million people in your life. Some carry a negative vibe and some a vibe of such positive power that it can transform your life. Who you let in, is in your hands.
So we are made up of a 1000 others. Which 1000 you choose to influence you, is in your hands :O)

WHO are you ?

2007-05-26T02:58:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite quotes is, "There is no such thing as a self made person. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success."
I absolutely believe that it is true. A lot of people have contributed to where i am today. My mentor, Dr. Patel, all the geniuses whose work i have read through books and articles, my staff whose dedication has helped me climb to where i am, my family whose encouragement has brought me so far, and all the endless stream of people who through their appreciation emails, letters, phone calls and smses have expressed their gartitude and respect, have contributed to the person i have become.
Alone i would not have achieved what i have today. It is sheerly the result of a thousand of others that have contributed in my success.
This got me thinking, if the positive of it is true.... That my being a success, is a contribution of a thousand of others, then is the reverse also true ? That someone being a failure, is also a contribution of a thousand of others ?
What do you think ?
Do share your thoughts with me and i would write up my answer in the next blog, and it sure would come as a surpise to you !! :O)

The Power of One

2007-05-26T02:56:00.000-07:00

Jackpot Day !!

2007-05-25T00:10:00.000-07:00

A lot of people say that they are surrounded with negativity. And some of the very common dialogues are ; "You dont understand Priya, My mother in law blah blah blah and my boss blah blah !" Truly, we can all pour in our complaints and start a contest on who suffers more. And when you win the contest, you lose in life.
The solution is this. Accept that there are challenges and negativity and be prepared for it. Why complain on something that wont change ? You know that the sun is hot, and that is why sunscreen sells.
Where is your sunscreen to shield you from your daily negativity ?
Welcome to Priya's blog :O). Its a 1 minute read. It will provoke your thoughts towards solutions and give you insights I had paid a lot to learn. And best of all, you can communicate with me.
Im not bragging but I finish my business cards in every workshop. I am so busy that its impossible for me to have a chat with every person one on one. So i decided to get on radio. This way I can speak to millions at the same time. I have also put down my thoughts in the form of articles and I want to be a columinist too. And I also thought that a blog would be a great way to communicate on the net.
If you are reading this today, then you are one of the few who is really committed to taking responsibility to what happens in your life. By acknowledging my words you are expressing your curiosity to learn more and are willing to spend some time on it. And I highly appreciate that, because this is what I do too. Learn and learn and learn.
To show you my appreciation, i have a special gift for you. This gift is for all those people who began their day with my blog and were committed enough to even comment and communicate with me.
If your comment reaches me before 11a.m. India time, i will send you a gift, from my heart to yours.
Thank you for your time. Your attitude towards growth gives my life a meaning, and I have a job to do,,,, to serve.

Money in Exchange of Value

2007-05-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

A lot of people feel that earning a salary is in exchange of the work one does in an organisation. You can work endless hours, and still not add value. Its not the work but the value of that work, that gets you to earn money.How do you calculate the value you are adding with your work ? It's simple. Does your contribution increase profits ? If yes, you should earn atleast 5% on net profit increase as a result of your efforts, as a salary.
So if you are a sales person and you bring in a minimum of Rs. 2,00,000 worth of net profits to the company every month, then your salary should be a minimum of Rs.10,000. The net profit can be reviewed every 6 months.
If you are in PR, be aware of the increase in net profit of the company as a result of your communication and do the math on your salary.
No matter in which department you work, you have a direct impact on the profits of the company.
As i was discussing this, the office cleaner walked up and asked how he contributes towards the profits of the company ? I was impressed with his willingness to step forward. "Save on detergent, and you increase our profit," I said. No matter what you do, you can contribute. Its the attitude of adding value that i want to encourage. Just working is not enough to get a pay raise.
And when you do ask for a pay raise, SHOW the profits you have caused. Your raise should be seen as a re-investment for the company and not an increase in the monthly over heads.
Want a pay raise ? Show me the value :O) And yes, the value must be monetary, because the pay raise is monetary. If the value added is intangible, then the compensation would also be intangible.

What's Your Exchange Rate ?

2007-05-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

I was writing out the salary cheques one day, and one of my employees walks up to me, with her cheque in his hand. "I think i deserve more," she said. I was pleasantly surprised. I like and admire courage to stand up for oneself. "Sure, I said, "How much more do you deserve ?". I think i caught her off guard, coz she replied back "Ummm, I dont know how much, but I know I deserve more." I told her, "Then go back, do the math and come and tell me how much." "And, give me a break up of that !" She didnt come back for two days.
I walked up to her desk on the third day and asked her what happened, and i found out, that she had already consulted with two of her colleagues, on how much more she deserved. End of the story, I gave her a raise, and she is happy. But the real question is, how does one calculate what one deserves when it comes to exchanging work for money ?

This incident got me thinking, and i reached some conclusions. And it helped me greatly because i revised my salary and my professional fee. I now make 4 times the money that i used to since last month. And thanks to my employee, who brought to my attention that "I deserve more."

Before i let you in on my theory, I want to know from, how did you decide your salary ? How did you give your efforts a number ? Or did you even put any thought in it ?
Your answer will bring you riches you cannot even imagine, so do reflect on this and comment !!

What Should You Do ?

2007-05-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

There are certain universal laws that govern our lives. For example, the law of gravity is a universal law. Whether you acknowledge it or not, it exists and we all are at the effect of it.
Such as that, there is a law of give and take. The law very simply states, you cannot give that isnt yours and you musnt take that isnt yours. It also states you cannot give if you havent created, and you cannot take if your havent earned. It also states in your giving, you grant the permission of giving. In taking you must have the permission to take.
If that law is applied to the 500 dirham note at the airport :
1. The note isnt mine, so i cant take it.
2. I havent earned it so i cant take it.
3. The owner did not grant me the permission to take it, so i cant take it.

A quantum physist would explain the law scientifically, and i love this theory. According to quantum physics all matter is energy. And energy is always vibrating and flowing and is either negatively charged or positively charged. An object that is negatively charged will emit negative energy and an object that is positively charged will emit positive energy. How does an object get charged ? Through our thoughts and emotions. When we focus our thoughts and emotions on an object, we influence its energy field.

Money is the greatest form of energy. If you expend your energy in stress, frustration or deciet to earn it, that money earned will serve you negatively. If you expend your energy in joy, love, fairness and delight to earn it, that money earned will bring you greater positivity.

So when one loses money, that money is negatively charged, because the person losing it feels negatively about it. You hold in your hand, an object that represnts someone else's loss. In "quantum physics" that will only cause more loss to you.

In spiritual terms, the law of karma comes to play. If you didnt earn it, it isnt yours. As simple as that.

Now what about our theory of luck ? Luck is used ignorantly by so many of us. If we cant explain it, its luck. If we cant repeat the same success, it was luck in the first place. If you look at the word LUCK closely, it means Labour Under Correct Knowledge. And that means you must live and act with knowledge.

You have some now :O) And thank you for all your comments. I appreciate your interest.

What would you do ?

2007-05-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

I was recently waiting at the bagage claim at the Dubai airport. As i stood waiting for my bags to show up, something on the floor caught my eye. About 20 feet away, i saw what looked like, a 500 dirhams note. Obviously someone had dropped it, unknowingly.
I sat there thinking, 500 dirhams is a lot of money, to have dropped. There were only two questions in my mind. Should i take it ? Or shouldnt i take it ? And as i dwindled from should I to shouldnt I, a man clad in brown pants and a yellow shirt, walked up, between me and the 500 dirhams. Obviously, I wasnt the only one who had seen it. He stood there for 2 seconds and then bent down and picked up the note, looked at it, and saw it was real. He opened his wallet, planted the note in it and walked on by, as though nothing had happened. He didnt look back, he didnt look left, he didnt look right ! He walked on straight to his trolley and waited for his bags to roll by.
500 dirhams while waiting for your bagage, is easy money.
My question is what would you do ? And we often see lost money in places. So what do you do ? Pick up the money or walk on by ? And most importantly why ?
I have some outstanding insight into this. But tell me first, what would you do and why !!

Who Won The Race ?

2007-05-23T09:23:00.001-07:00

So who won the race ? Runner A or Runner B ?
I have interviewed many successful people and tried to find a common thread, a formula to their success. I have found, that ALL of them were under great pressure to achieve. They were not just doing their best, their life depending upon their success.
Design Human Engineering is a science that has proven time and again, that human beings are designed to work under pressure. This is an animal instict. According to DHE, when a human being is under pressure, that is the time when the human mind and body are at the peak of alertness and creativity. The greatest innovations have taken at place at the time of crisis or at the cost of personal tragedy.
Let me give you an example:
A man comes home after work, dead tired. He has not slept in days and has no stamina even to eat. The wife asks him if he would like to eat dinner, the man refuses and says "I dont even have the stamina to stand up," and slumps on the couch, planning to sleep there. As he is about to close his eyes, he sees his 3 year old baby girl, walking towards a boiling vessel of water, kept on the stove on the kitchen floor. What do you think he does ? Does he continue to close his eyes and goes to sleep, or does he jump off the couch like super man, runs at light speed and whisks away his daughter from touching the hot vessel ?
Ofcourse he does the latter. So now the question is, where did that sudden burst of energy come from ? Just 15 seconds ago, the man said he was "dead" tired, too tired to eat, and 15 seconds later he ran a 100 meter sprint for his little girl.
Runner B, when coached to use pressure to win, always does.
Think about it, we are all surrounded by pressure in all areas of our life. Get Coach B to teach you to use it as a spring board to soar you higher towards success.

Coach A Vs. Coach B

2007-05-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

I am quite happy that so many people have put thought into whether they would want Coach A or Coach B.
A lot of us would prefer coach A. Coach A is sweet, chilled out, gives us our own space, and doesnt impose winning as a condition of survival.
On the other hand, Coach B is a lean, mean, success-oriented machine. Coach B, eats, drinks and breathes success. He has no tolerance for doubt and hestitation. He is strict on discipline and practice, and leaves no room for failure.
Now here are a few points to consider before making a choice between the two:
1. You are preparing to run for the Olymics. What is your goal ? To win the gold medal, or just run ?
2. Why do you need a coach ? To chill out with you ? Or to push you to discipline ?
3. What are your expectations from your coach ? When you hide and make excuses, do you want him to give in ? Or would you want him to push you ?

I consider everyday as a race run at the Olympics level. After all, whatever you do, whatever you say, whatever you think, directly or indirectly impacts the entire world ! We are playing on a global level today. Winning is the ONLY thing ! Because to win, you have to have a vision, impeccable focus, incredible courage and self confidence, endless hours of preparation and strategy, burning desire to succeed, and unshakeable discipline. And the biggest glory of these attributes is, that a winner IS a winner wherever he goes.
So think again, which coach would you choose, Coach A or Coach B ?

Winning Isnt Everything

2007-05-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

The Story is of two olympic sprint runners, and their two coaches. Coach A and Coach B, are the two coaches, with their different methods of teaching. At the end of the story, comment on what kind of coach / mentor would you like to have ?
Here is the story.. Coach A and B, trained their respective athletes and after four years of practice, the day of the big race arrived. As the runners were lining up, the runners became nervous, looking at their competitors, the best runners from around the world.
Runner A, went upto Coach A and said, "Coach, I am nervous. Suddenly, looking at all these athletes from around the world, i am wondering, if i will win the race ?" Coach A, smiled and replied, "Dont worry son. Go ahead and give your best shot, and i know that you will make it, after all winning isnt everything !" And Runner A, walks back to the start line.
Runner B, goes up to Coach B and says, "Coach, I am nervous. Suddenly, looking at all these athletes from around the world, i am wondering, if i will win the race." Coach B smiled and replied, "Can you see those 4 men in black, near the finish the line ?", "Yes," Runner B replied, after catching a glimpse of 4 men dressed in black tuxedos. "They are waiting for you at the finish line. If you do not finish first, they will break your legs with the hockey sticks they are hiding in their coats, so that you never run again. You cannot walk up to me today Son, and tell me that you are nervous. I have put 4 years with you. Each time you had to run at 4 in the morning, i woke up at 3 to wake you up ! Your headache was an excuse not to show up for practice, but my grave illness never detered my committment. When your wife threatened to leave you, my wife had already left me for my committment to you. I have put 4 years of my life in serving you, for this day of victory. It wasnt your journey alone, i walked the path with you. I deserve to win, with you. So get back to the start line and win this race. Because Son, Winning is not everything ! WINNING IS THE ONLY THING !!!"
The Runner B, went back to the start line.
Who won the race :O) ?
Wait for tomorrow to know !!!