Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become – Hal Elrod
Stories
Yuval Novah Harari is a fabulous story teller. One of his masterpiece is “Sapiens”. In it, he tells a masterful story about stories! That, humans are so different from rest of the species on the planet just because we have the capability to make and believe stories. We can make meaningful stories which other believe and all then have a common cause towards something. This, Yuval contends, is not a trait that is seen in other species. This is seen only in humans. And he also contends this is the only trait that made humans stand apart from the rest of the species.
This is such a sensible statement. All the systems that humans have today are just stories. But their power lies in the rest of the people believing them and striving towards them. And a very important consequence is that one who does not have any story to believe cannot thrive in this world which runs mainly because of stories. So, have a story for yourself, believe it by all means and stick to it. Not having a story may look like wisdom, but it is dangerous for survival!
QOTD
“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” Winston Churchill
QOTD
“There is no such thing as overnight success, so it’s important to “fall in love” with the process”
Some Beautiful Quotes…
All the benefits in life come from the power of compounding (money, success, health, relationships)
Every day is new, and memory and identity are burdens from the past that prevent us from living freely in the present. Resembles with bruice lee’s – Be like water
Fear begets more fear and courage begets more courage
We are what we repeatedly do; Excellence, then is not an act but a Habit.
The more you learn, the more you can learn
On Setting Positive Goals
here:
“Any sort of avoidance is going to trigger inhibition systems, whereas positive goals are going to trigger approach and reward motivation.”
Six Qualities of an Engineer
From Jolly Good Fellow:
- A strong achievement drive
- Ability to influence others
- Conceptual thinking
- Analytical ability
- Initiative
- Self-confidence.
Words of wisdom from Harish SivaramaKrishnan, the techie rockstar:
Time is in your mind, man. When you have a harmony and equilibrium about what you do, every minute is worth more. For example, I don’t think of the gig I have to play, when I’m working on a UX problem. You just need to compartmentalize these things.
Think of entrepreneurs. They are the busiest people in the world. I for one think of my mom – she gets so much done in a day. It is so much more than what I do and it is without the luxury of having someone to ask you how you do it. Just remind yourself that there are people getting a lot more done with their time, than you.
Advice on Happiness
There is this TEDx talk by Sam Berns on “My Philosophy for a Happy Life” – the kid has progeria (some rare disease) and still he finds his way to happiness. Some sound advice:
- Be OK with what you can’t do because there is still so much you CAN do.
- Surround yourself with people who have a positive influence in your life
- Keep moving forward
- Never miss a party!! 🙂
On Confidence..
A nice article on confidence and its positive side effects:
Think about the last time you did not speak up in a meeting or did not apply for a new position at work. Now, think about why you chose not to act. It was most likely your hesitancy was laced with a sense of under-confidence.
Confidence is the fuel that drives us; it is life’s enabler. And, if that’s the case, it is better to believe a bit too much in your capabilities than is called for, because then you lean toward doing things instead of just thinking about doing them
Confidence stirs in you the ability to act; productivity gives you the tools to act well. Confidence is linked to doing and productivity is about efficient, effective execution. Confidence is what turns thoughts into actions and it is this “action” side that relates to productivity. The natural consequence of under confidence or insecurity is inaction which often manifests itself as procrastination—the antithesis of productivity.
Confident people are productive and, it’s a self-catalyzing cycle. Confidence leads to productivity which leads to confidence which leads to productivity in an ongoing cycle.
- Confidence is a choice. It’s a choice you make to act or do or decide. Create an environment that supports you taking action. For example, make a list of tasks that can be completed in 15 minutes or less and when you feel the pull of procrastination, the natural byproduct of under confidence, just complete one item on your list. The action will beget more action.
- Take small incremental steps towards your goals. Small steps prepare you to take more meaningful risks which will increase your confidence.
- Remember the growth mindset—a willingness to learn—this can be a confidence booster.
TPTM 