all it takes is a minute by anand kumar padmanaban

7/28/2019 All It Takes is a Minute by Anand Kumar Padmanaban

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All It Takes Is A Minute

By

Anand Kumar Padmanaban


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Dedications ............................ 4

Introduction ........................... 5

Review ................................ 11

Chapter 1 ............................. 13

Maturity The Buddha In You ......... 13

Chapter 2 ............................. 16

Successful People Motivate Self ...... 16Chapter 3 ............................. 25

Taking Risk Is Not Risky ............. 25

Chapter 4 ............................. 30

Time Works For Success ............... 30

Chapter 5 ............................. 36

Success Always Loves Being In Action . 36

Chapter 6 ............................. 40

Urgent Vs. Critical .................. 40

Chapter 7 ............................. 45

Positive Thinking Is Good, Doing Is

Better ............................... 45

Chapter 8 ............................. 52

Make Common Sense Common ............. 52

Chapter 9 ............................. 56

Communicate, Bi-Directionally ........ 56

Chapter 10 ............................ 59

The 2 Ears, One Mouth Formula ........ 59


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Chapter 11 ............................ 68

Change Is Positive Energy, Not Trauma 68

Chapter 12 ............................ 75

Emoting or Being Emotional? .......... 75

Chapter 13 ............................ 77

The Spring Effect / Affect ........... 77

Chapter 14 ............................ 80

Who Said Life Is Fair ................ 80

Chapter 15 ............................ 85Take In A Big Dose Of Reality ........ 85


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DEDICATIONS

This book is dedicated to my parents

and to my family who have always

taught me to do whats right even

though doing the right thing would not

lead to a personally favorable

solution.

I also wanted to thank my friends who

helped in review of the book.

- Anand Kumar Padmanaban


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INTRODUCTION

Let a man learn thoroughly whatever he

may learn, and let his conduct be

worthy of his learning.

-Verse 391, Thirukkural

Let me start by clearing the air by

stating that I am no expert, nor a

wizened individual, I am somebody who

is very much like you. The only

probable difference is that over the

course of time I have worked with

incredible people all across the globe

who have shared their knowledge and

wisdom with me which I have penned

into this book.

Constant learning and success often go

hand in hand and reflecting on what

success means I am repeatedly reminded

that winning and being successful is

very subjective and it means different

things to different people.

For some, success conjures up the

image of having better living

standards than others and coming in

first place.


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For others, it means obtaining

promotions or getting salary hikes at

a fast pace. For still others, success

may mean enjoying life in a grand

scale or perhaps for a few being able

to drop out and live a simple,

unencumbered life.

Putting myriad interpretations aside,

as we live our lives, we all want tofeel like a winner and to feel that we

are successful.

However, in this game called life, no

one can really be termed successful

and a winner; all we can do is play it

and play it well.

To me, winning is playing it right

playing it in such a way that your

life is peaceful, comfortable, happy,

enjoyable, positive, rewarding, and

fun.

If those elements of life appeal to

you, this book should help you get

some needed perspective and if youre

already in that state, this book

should help you stay there and deal

with what life throws at you with

little effort.


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When playing the game of life to

compete and win and be successful, you

must first know the rules of the game.

After knowing those rules, the next

step in winning and being successful

and it involves developing the right

approach and way to move forward. That

means embracing the right mental

framework. It entails figuring out howto use the rules to your advantage.

Following the rules does not involve

taking shortcuts or doing things which

may harm others. Instead, the winning

strategy involves positioning yourself

to win by focusing on self.

In fact, in my definition of winning,

adopting the strategy and mindset to

compete with you first and foremost is

an essential and critical step.

Wanting to be better, knowing you and

demonstrating self-control is the

first winning mindset

Of course, besides knowing the rules

and having a mindset to win, you still

have to get out there and execute and

many of us falter. From what I have

seen in terms of executing or


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implementing, people typically fall

into three categories: (1) those who

cannot be moved irrespective of what

may come up, (2) those who can be

moved, and (3) those who do indeed

move and do things.

I sincerely hope this book will help

you make the right moves. Its

objective is to help you move in theright direction by giving you simple

steps to take every day that will

place you in a successful position.

These steps will enable you to quickly

prepare yourself every day for moving

forward and will help you get othersto want to work harder for you as

well.

A fort holds itself and defies the

attacks of encircling foes.


Changing your life begins with

changing your mind set and all you

need is 1 minute a day to get Started

just 1 minute a dayto read a page

and then follow through with the

suggestions given.


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The rules, guidelines and action-plans

presented in this book, if adhered to,

are guaranteed to change your life and

make you a winner and help you be

successful.

I always have been fascinated with the

Thirukkural, a non-religious text in

Tamil written about 2000 years ago,

which delves into nearly every aspectof ethics and moral philosophy. It

still is a great reservoir of everyday

living values and I decided to use

couplets from the Thirukkural in every

chapter to highlight the objective of

the chapter.

For ease of follow up, I have created

a one-minute pointer list at the end

of each chapter, which will help the

reader implement success principles.

The translations have been adapted

from the books Thirukkural with

English couplets translated by Yogi

Sudhananda Bharathi and Thirukkural

English translation and commentary by

Rev Dr.GU Pope, Rev WH Drew, Rev John

Lazarus and Mr. FW Ellis.

My philosophy in writing this book has


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always been about being learned in the

true sense.

Most people think its hard to reach

the pinnacle of success or it is

written in their fate but thats not

true. The one biggest secret is that

anybody can be successful if they are

diligent and focused.

- The Author


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REVIEW

My Dear Kumar: I have gone through

All It Takes Is A Minute your first

book before going to print, concise

and practical suggestions, easy

approach with dedication, careful

analysis of the problems one faces;

confidence, self-esteem and hope forsuccess etc. these are clearly and

competently analyzed and detailed in

this book.

Quotations from Thirukkural besides

other books, one minute pointers at

the end of end chapter on varioustopics add richness and variety to the

book. A useful guide to students,

scholars, professionals and others for

use in daily life.

Despite heavy professional work you

have taken to writing, you have

brought out an eminently readable

book. I am happy to see that you have

followed my legacy of writing which as

a poet and author; I have been doing

for decades.


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May you continue writing more books

drawing from your rich and variegated

experience.

Hearty congratulations and best

wishes.

Dr. A. Padmanaban I.A.S.(Rtd.)

Fmr. Governor, Mizoram State, Former

Member UPSC & Chief Secretary,

Government of Tamil Nadu


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CHAPTER 1

Maturity The Buddha In You

Ponder well its value, and secure the

friendship of men of virtue and of

mature knowledge.


Maturity what a word! It immediately

brings up images of being staid,

boring and rigid, Yes? It is not true.

In the realm of the world of

successful people, maturity has

nothing to do with age, education, or

even experiences in life.

It is also a known fact that maturity

has nothing to do with being staid, or

plain. Thats because the elements of

maturity involve reason; and the

ability to reason takes time to

develop.

Maturity means possessing the

ability to reason


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The happiest times in our lives are

times when we are thinking the most

motivating, intelligent, and

productive thoughts.

Therefore, as we grow in years, we

really get happier, as long as we can

understand how to live a productive,

motivating life with a degree of

reason and intelligence behind it.

ONE MINUTE POINTERS ON INCULCATING

MATURITY

The ability to do a job withoutsupervision and without constantly

being reminded.

The ability to carry money in yourpocket without having to spend it

on something.

The ability to carry an injusticewithout feeling the need for

revenge.

The ability to anticipateto seedown the road. To see the forest

for the trees

The ability to be discreet, to be


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tactful.

The ability to think about therepercussions and consequences of

your actions or inactions.

The ability to take blame whenwarranted.

The ability to learn fromexperience.


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CHAPTER 2

Successful People Motivate Self

Why do those who cannot live with

praise, grieve those who despise them,

instead of grieving themselves for

their own inability?.


Motivation is the psychological

feature that arouses an organism to

action toward a desired goal, that

which gives purpose and direction to

behavior when you want to be

successful and it has to be internal

motivation.

Even if it was possible to find

someone else who could be in charge of

your motivation, that would not be

very useful since you are dependent

externally for doing something.

High dose of motivation and spirit

is evident in successful people


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It would only allow you to develop

into relinquishing control of

yourself; it would also not be good to

build inner confidence which is needed

to feel worthy.

Many of us wait for external support

or motivation but the best way is to

grab the bull by the horns, take

charge, and start rebuilding

ourselves, NOW...immediately.

Always realize that eventually

everything is up to you and the onusrests squarely on you and nobody else

is responsible and accountable for

you, except you.

Successful people realize that

everyone gets worn down from time to

time and things are not fair sometimesbut thats the way it works. Being

able to pull yourself back up, being

able to reboot yourself, being able to

energize yourself, helps you develop

an important trait that nobody can

help develop. Its called your

Internal Motivation is a key trait

to be successful


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motivational spirit.

ONE MINUTE POINTERS ON DEVELOPINGMOTIVATION

As soon as you wake up, spend halfan hour in quiet solitude without

thinking much, just listening to

the sound of silence

Listen to music as youre gettingready for work in the morning

Start collecting motivationalsayings or quotes that are

meaningful to you. Showcase them

around your home. I rely on the

serenity prayer to help me get

through the day, its perfect and

helps bring perspective clearly.

When you walk around, make aconscious effort to be active and

move briskly with your head held

high and your shoulders pushedback, remember to walk as if your

back is made of hard board and

cannot bend.


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Deliver a genuine compliment tosomeone every day. The act of

complimenting has a reciprocal

benefit. It makes the compliment-

getter as well as the compliment-

giver feel good.

Successful people know that life isa game of reflections, whereby

their beliefs and behaviorstheir

thoughts and their actions

eventually reflect back to them

with amazing impact. Therefore,successful people know the

incredible significance of the

words they speak to themselves,

about themselves.

Action is what counts in life; itall starts with your thoughts. So,

monitor those thoughts, as they

will dictate your actions. Then

Smile a lot

Do fun things to de-stress and keep

yourself positive


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watch your actions, because they

turn into your habits. Of course

you must examine your habits,

because they work together to

determine your character, and your

characterwithout question

eventually determines your life

line and fate as they call it.

Always be in the process oflearning something new. It doesnt

matter if its something

unimportant or something fanciful,

just make it a point to keep

learning and doing something new.

Smile as you wake up and start yourday. You really can make a choice

to be happy as you start the day.

Then, as you take your first look

into a mirror, smile again and

enjoy it.

Start getting into the habit ofdealing with the most stressful

things as early as possible each

day. In other words, get it over

Do the tough things first


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with so you can feel a sense of

accomplishment and move on and get

to the easier things later so that

your mind is calm and clear before

you end the day.

Work really hard at staying awayfrom negative conversations like

gossiping, bad-mouthing or

complaining. I do know its hard to

do and for some of us, its the way

we stay connected and becomepopular but believe me when I say

this, by avoiding negativity ,

you will become much more focused

and chilled out.

Glisten with enthusiasm. Make sureyou show genuine interest in

anything that you do, look at it as

a learning opportunity.

Surround yourself with good

intentioned people


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Birds of same feather flocktogether. Successful people always

connect with someone who is

supportive, positive, and

successful and typically stay away

from negative people.

Examine the negative forces in yourlife and do everything in your

power to eliminate them. For

example, make a conscientious

effort to avoid dwelling on andperpetuating bad news, hanging

around with chronically negative

people, associating with

consistently angry co-workers.

Change your if language to whenlanguage. Its not, if I get

through this, then my life will be

great. Its when I get through

this, my life will be great.

Write down Your Goals and Plan

ways to reach your goals

Avoid negativity


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Check your goals and understandthat if one goal area of your life

is lagging or faltering, you can

concentrate, for now, on getting

closer to achieving success in

another goal area. Remember if all

your about is your work, you cant

be good at your work. So, recheck

your goals in becoming a holistic

person. Look at money,

spirituality, mental faculty

development, physical fitness,

social circle and having fun.

Cultivate a hobby or start readingor writing or doing something which

will get you off the work aspect

which so dominates all our lives.

Successful people work on SMARTgoals and objectives; they look for

simple, measurable, attainable,

relevant and timely goals and

objectives and work on them withfocus.

Simple, Measurable, Attainable,

Relevant and Timely Goals


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Its an extreme waste of time towait for your ship to come in if

you have neglected to send one out

to begin with. Sending out your

ship begins with setting those

personal and professional goals.


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CHAPTER 3

Taking Risk Is Not Risky

No Fool Equals the fool who learns

knows, teaches but spurns self-

control.


Belief is a very powerful thing. Do

you realize that your beliefs activate

your responses? Your beliefs control

what you do.

Your beliefs determine how you act and

how you react. Your beliefs govern the

path you take, the choices you make,

and how you look at life. Your beliefs

control your destiny.

The really frightening thing about our

belief system is that, unfortunately,

they do not distinguish between fact

and fantasy, between truth and lies,

or between reality and imagination.

Beliefs define action and reaction


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Your beliefs are critical. Your

beliefs are the key that unlocks the

winning or losing door, no matter what

challenges you face. Since your

beliefs rule your life, it is almost

horrifying to realize that so many

beliefs, particularly those about our

abilities, have been formulated by

others.

However, let us go back to those

untruths that are more personal innaturethose untruths that can affect

you deeply for the rest of your life;

those untruths that can influence what

you think of yourself, your

aspirations, your plans, your

expectations, your hopes, and your

dreams.

Successful people make certain that

what they have come to believe,

Challenge Assumptions, make your

rules and empower yourself

Surround yourself with positivity


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especially about themselves, is self-

created, positive, encouraging, and

non-restrictive. Successful people

challenge assumptions and often make

up their own rules. Successful people

empower themselves.

To start getting rid of any faulty and

restrictive beliefs that might be

holding you back, do what successfulpeople do

ONE MINUTE POINTERS FOR POSITIVE SELF

BELIEF

First, recognize the fact that youmay have been made to believe

things about your own capabilities

that can be untrue. Understand that

those beliefs may be keeping you

from getting where you want to go.

Make a conscious effort to fightany negative explanatory habits

that you may be harboring.

Successful people give themselves

Expect things to go well


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credit for things that go well, and

in fact expect things to go well.

Successful people think that good

is the norm and bad is the

exception.

Negative people tend to think inreverse. They think that if

something good happens to them, it

was a fluke. But if something badhappens, it was inevitableit was

the way things go, it is the story

of their life.

Fight the clichs and go for it.Realize that many parents, well-

meaning relatives, and businessassociates, perhaps to protect you

against lifes disappointments, may

have planted a seed in your mind

that made you think that you were

not bright enough, savvy enough or

astute enough to venture out.

Successful people go for it. Theytake calculated risks.

Evaluate the people you spend timewith, because friends tend to share

the same beliefs.


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CHAPTER 4

Time Works For Success

As moves the world, so move the wise

in tune with changing times and ways.


Some say these are the good times;

some say these are the bad times. Some

say these are the right times; some

say these are the wrong times.

Successful people understand that good

times, bad times, right times, wrong

times are incorrect assumptions and

that this is the only time they get,

and they make the best use of currenttime.

Successful people know that these are

the good old days; these are the days

of their lives.

It seems that technology has not

Where there is an up, there is always a

down


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really given us more time; instead it

has just allowed us to do more each

day with our time.

In fact, many people today are so

pressed for time that they are caught

up in a vortex. They spin from thingto thing, staying in constant motion

and trying to do as much as possible

in a single day.

Actually, I have discovered that one

of the most significant distinctions

between successful people and losers

has little to do with the actual

amount of work they do, but with the

actual amount of smart work they

ONE-MINUTE POINTERS FOR TIME

MANAGEMENT

Successful people commit to makingtime for what they want to do and

what they most enjoy doing.

Work smart


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Successful people know that balancegives you perspective and is

critical for long-lasting success.

They enjoy the moment of NOW and

live in the present moment.

Successful people actually scheduledowntime to simply chill out

alone. Setting some time aside

every day for you can prove to be a

powerful tonic in todays frenzied

world.

They also believe in the phrasehealth is wealth and make sure

that they are healthy first sincethey believe a healthy body makes a

healthy mind.

Successful people tackle smallproblems before they grow into

bigger ones and nip the problem in

Be productive in terms of time

spent

Make time work for you


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the bud; they also know that the

longer a problem exists without

being addressed the more expensive

and time consuming it will be to

fix.

Successful people are aware thatconsidering problems (Positive) and

worrying (Negative) about them are

two different things andprocrastination is an absolutely

worthless thing to do.

Successful people try to livebetter and better and try to find

satisfaction in their daily lives

rather than constantly waiting forthat something great to happen.

Most successful people have a goalto have as much pleasure every day

as possible.

Successful people know how to fightprocrastination. Do remember that

procrastination has many different

causes: monotony, fear,

Plan well, act fast


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perfectionism, boredom, unclear

goals, and so on.

Successful people are flexibleenough with their time so that they

can act quickly when a good idea

comes to mind.

Successful people know that theyshould make hay when the sunshines. To make sure the idea gets

realized; they discuss it with

someone or make notes.

Successful people do not get boggeddown and organize well.

Successful people know thespecifics of their job and dont

waste precious time duplicatingother peoples work.

Successful people give themselvesthinking time thats separate from

their working time.

Successful people stay focused.

Focus and Prioritize on every

aspect of what you do


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Though successful people know how

to be flexible, they also

understand the importance of focus.

That delicate balance needs

practice and must be developed.

Successful people try to act onevery item the first time they see

it, hear it, or read it.

Successful people do not createbusy work to avoid doing what needs

to be done.

Successful people help othersprioritize so they can work better

themselves

Successful people are not stingywith their time when it counts and

it counts in importantrelationships.

Successful people ground themselveswith solid principles and have a

strong moral compass.

Be morally correct


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CHAPTER 5

Success Always Loves Being In Action

Friendship brings gain, but action

pure does every good thing we desire.


Living in an interdependent world, we

always need others not just because

were social animals by nature, but

also because we rarely can do

everything that needs to be done

alone.

Yes, we need others to help us make

things happen, we need others to work

with us and for us.

We need others to help execute our

ideas, to encourage our projects, to

support our endeavors, and to do the

tasks we need them to do.

Therefore, in the work arena or on the

We need to tap into the strength of

people around us


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home front, knowing how to help move

others along, knowing how to fan that

motivational flame within others,

knowing how to get others to do as you

want them to do, is a vital part of

winning.

Fear as an inspirational tool is not

entirely worthless. In fact, it may

indeed work initially. However, it hasproven to work only for a short time.

Fear, used to incite better

performance, has four downfalls:

Firstly, Fear is external it comes

from outside while true motivation, as

I noted earlier, must come from

within; Secondly, It is negative;

thirdly, those working under its

threat soon become numb to it,

rendering it ineffective; and Finally,

criticism and punishment may work to

eliminate specific unwanted behavior

but sometimes employees reactions to

it are erratic and unpredictable.

Fear is not inspiring


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In other words, though fear may

prevent unacceptable behaviors in one

arena, it usually encourages and

justifies an equally unacceptable, or

even worse, behavior in another area.

Successful people dont fool

themselves into thinking that such

rewards will ensure or inspire peak

performance.

Sure, those extras will most likely

enhance a companys recruitmentefforts, and that benefit cant be

dismissed. However, successful people

know that those prizes will not

guarantee employees who will work with

conscientiousness, self-discipline,

initiative, loyalty, dependability,

energy, and enthusiasm.

Put High Value on ethics and integrity

Praise Often and provide feedback


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ONE-MINUTE POINTERS ON TEAMING FOR

SUCCESS

Successful people praisefrequently. Reprimands tend to be

specific and praise tends to be

general and in public.

Successful people make sure thatothers are taken care of andconsider themselves successful when

others are too.

Successful people are direct whencommunicating and treat all fairly.

Successful people provide all withan opportunity for self

enhancement.

Successful people are high onintegrity and walk the talk all the

time and stay successful with the

help of others.

Be Fair and Honest


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CHAPTER 6

Urgent Vs. Critical

Money and means, time, place and deed

decide these five and then proceed.


Did you know that there is a positive

correlation between people who quit

and poor starters?

In other words, those who tend to

abandon a project or give up on it

easily usually were not those who were

anxious or eager to begin the job in

the first place.

If you also analyze people who are

poor starters you will see that they

represent the classic case of not

managing their time properly.

Time management =

Priority +

Planning +

Avoiding procrastination


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There are the 3 Ps in time

management, first P Priority, second

P Planning and 3rd P

Procrastination. You will find that

people who are quitters or poor

starters fail miserably when it comesto planning, prioritizing and often

procrastinate a lot.

Currently, we live in a fast and

impatient world.

The future overlaps with the present

and the old clich about being in the

right place at the right time has been

changed: today, you have to be in the

right place ahead of the right time.

Having a sense of urgency helps you

use your time to the fullest extent,

and in an earlier chapter I discussed

how important that is. Yes, in life,

time is the one constraining factor.

Conversely, having a sense of urgency

can enable you to have a fuller,

richer life since you start valuing

Develop a Sense of Urgency


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time and make sure you spend the right

time doing the right things quite

simply you will be able to accomplish

and experience more.

A sense of urgency also accelerates

ones state of readiness.

ONE MINUTE POINTERS ON MANAGING TIME

Plan a start date and ensure youstart the work you want done by the

planned start date.

If there is a conflict in terms ofwhat needs to be done, prioritize

and see what objective is more

important to you.

Be prompt and do everything 100%.

Make sure that you plan forobstacles along the way. Smart

people know that obstacles are part

of everything we do.

Understand that working on what has

If you have the time to work on

the task, do it NOW


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to be done is not nearly as tiring

and exhausting as thinking about

what has to be done.

Dont focus on all you have to doto bring the project to completion,

or to reach your goal. Instead, get

into the habit of breaking that

first step down.

Remember you cant do a goal; youcan only do the behaviors that will

lead to that goal. Ask yourself,

what is one behavior I can do now

that would get me closer to my

goal?

Not knowing where to start is amain cause for procrastination.

Break the project or work down intoa list of baby steps that you can

approach one at a time. When you

get started on the job, begin by

doing something where the results

of your efforts can clearly and

easily be seen.

If the task is organizing youremail, first start by cleaning off

the spam and junk mail rather than


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CHAPTER 7

Positive Thinking Is Good, Doing Is Better

In doing work don't break and shirk,

The world will quit who quits his

work.


A positive mental attitude is

typically an important aspect of

successful people.

It is known that people who are more

affable, more constructive in

approach, more tuned towards looking

at positive signs, and more optimisticare also more likely to be able to

grasp, to be offered, and to

capitalize on opportunities than

people who are negative, destructive

or condescending in nature.

We have all grown up either listening

CAN is more important thanCANT


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to stories or have read ourselves

stories that demonstrate how important

a positive mental attitude and

aptitude is.

Tales from the Ramayana and

Mahabharata also abound with the same

themes as do stories from the

Panchatantra.

Successful people know that a positive

mental attitude alone is not enough to

make any significant change in your

life.

Successful people know that having a

positive mental attitude is just the

beginning.

It alone will never turn your lifearound, change your current situation,

or make your wishes come true.

You can live life with a better

outlook and successful people know

that a positive mental attitude needs

Have a balanced approach towards

success


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good implementation plans as well.

Successful people do not set

themselves up to suffer from

unrealistic expectations.

They know that expectations can be

altered, helping them to find

fulfillment rather than frustration

and dejection in life.

They also have this wonderful ability

to be agile and to flow with the water

as well.

I have always wondered how so many

people who are top leaders and

managers in their profession are still

are not able to appropriately manage

their lives.

They have a positive mental attitude

about their potential advancement in

their company, but it is not at odds

with the reality at the workplace.

They have convinced themselves that

Live in Reality and always

have specific goals


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they are great at what they do.

They often dont look outside and see

reality. Hence, even successful people

need to accept the fact that insteadof trying to revive an old dream, they

should continue to invest their effort

into building a better, brighter, and

a newer dream.

Successful people understand that

confidence, motivation and self-worth,

are essential, but one must make

certain that it reflects reality.

They typically take advice of friends

and well-wishers who provide objective

feedback to them when things are on a

downslide as well.

Successful people also know that it is

Humility is essential for a

leader and a successful person

Confidence, Motivation and Self

Worth are essential traits


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critical to show respect for others

and treat others as human beings and

it is essential to be civilized.

In the current situation around the

world, there is a huge

misrepresentation that being

successful means being arrogant or

brash or loud but that is really far-

away from the truth.

Successful people are always in the

know that there is a fine line between

confidence and arrogance.

Often people with a positive attitude

take it one step too far and instead

of having that can-do mentality, theydevelop a can-do-anything-and devil

may care mentality. So learn to

strike a balance between confidence

and arrogance.

They start letting their ego rule and

that is a sure sign of decay. They

Always Know The Difference

Between Arrogance and

Confidence


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also know that they need to keep

learning and improving since everybody

has to learn and improve as no one is

a master of everything.

Successful people understand that

humility is a critical trait to be

successful.

Loss of humility often leads to a lossof understanding perspective and that

leads to losing your feet and

successful people know that.

It is absolutely essential to be

grounded all the time and to sustain

success in our life.

Remember that a positive mental

attitude is a great and necessary

foundation; however, it must be

accompanied by hard work, a sense of

perspective rooted in reality, high

levels of empathy to others and a

positive, motivated action to drive

and be successful.


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ONE-MINUTE POINTERS ON POSITIVE

THINKING

Being confident, having self-worthand being motivated is essential

Humility is a critical trait,especially if you want to be a true

leader

Positive thinking is immenselyhelpful to move forward and face

lifes challenges

Respect, Courtesy, Humility are

hallmarks of a successful person


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CHAPTER 8

Make Common Sense Common

No merit can be held so high as

theirs, who sense and deny self.


Do you agree with the statement common

sense is usually not commonplace?

Successful people realize the

importance of exercising common sense,

and work at making common sense common

practice.

Successful people understand how

performing the obvious, how engagingin the elementary, and how paying

attention to the seemingly mundane can

give them an enormous edge in life

today.

Successful people stand out from

others by doing the ordinary in an

Make common sense common in your

life


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extraordinary way.

Both in the personal and professionalarena, the little common-sense things

have a big effect on our lives. Yes,

it is the obvious thats so often

overlooked in favor of the more

complex and more pressing issues. But,

doing the little common-sense things

well can make the biggest attention-getting difference.

Successful people know how often the

obvious is overlooked.

They know that the mark of an

exceptional person is the ability to

pay attention to both the big picture

as well as the details.

They also stand out from the crowd,

and in many cases actually disarm

others when they stand during

introductions as a sign of respect,

are courteous and say please, thank

you, and you are welcome.

Smile. It increases your face

value


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They look at others in the eye when

they speak, look for ways to

demonstrate acts of basic kindness,

hold doors for others, display a

unique finesse and tact and

demonstrate a lot of empathy withevery person they meet.

Most successful people have the

ability to approach strangers and make

them quick acquaintances even when the

situation may be somewhat awkward.

Successful people are prompt in

returning phone calls and

correspondence.

Successful people know that an easy

way to separate themselves from

others, to gain the attention of

employers and customers, is simply to

be prompt in this manner. Successful

people like humor. They like to laugh

Laugh and welcome Humor

Pay attention to the details


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and project a happy persona.

ONE MINUTE POINTERS FOR SUCCESS

Smart People feel more empoweredand act more invigorated.

Smart people experience and projecta greater sense of hope and pay

better attention to minute details.

Smart People consider themselvesmore capable and put things in

better perspective.

Smart people work more like a teamand make everyone perform better.

Smart and successful peopleobserve, study, and copy other

successful people and their

approach to success.

Watch and Learn From Observing

Other Successful People


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CHAPTER9Communicate, Bi-Directionally

Who know the art of speech shall suit,

Their chosen words to time in fact.


In an increasingly interdependent

world, successful people know the

important role that communication can

play in fostering, maintaining,

strengthening or destroying a

relationship.

The fact of the matter is, if you can

talk to one another easily, you mostlikely have a good relationship with

that person, and if you cant

communicate easily, you dont. This is

just the way it is.

Communicate well verbally

and non verbally


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Successful people know that the

preferences people have in terms of

who they choose to deal with, who they

want to associate with, and who they

seem to gravitate toward, are heavilyinfluenced by the perceived similarity

or differences in the communication

style and process used by that other

person communicating with you.

Understanding communication styles is

critical for success nowadays.

Successful people understand how

important those concepts are and how

positive communication can powerfully

affect relationships.

ONE MINUTE POINTERS ON COMMUNICATION

One of the greatest obstacles incommunication is the illusion that

Understand other peoples

communication preferences

Understand that others may

have a different point of view


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it transpired the way you intended

it.

You cannot over communicate. Words have power, but other

elements of speech have power as

well, Tone, Pace, Pitch,

Projection, Pauses and Physical

posture w.r.t body language arecritical aspects of communication.

The greater the need tocommunicate, the more challenging

it becomes, hence it is better to

talk in a simple manner and get to

the point.

Make sure that you are a positivespeaker and that you are not

inadvertently sending out negative

messages or vibrations

Change your wording to be moreoptimistic and positive.


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CHAPTER 10

The 2 Ears, One Mouth Formula

Wealth of wealths is listening's

wealth,It is the best of wealth on

earth.


God has given two ears and one mouth,

probably because he wanted us to

listen more and speak less.

Listening to another person is a sign

of respect and courtesy for a fellow

human being and that core idea needs

to be imprinted in your mind.

Listening is hard because we have

not been formally taught to listen

Put yourself in the other persons

shoes all the time


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Listening is fundamentally different

from hearing and typically good

listeners are hard to find, and

demonstrating or developing that rare

listening ability can be a huge asset

in personal and career aspects.

Being a good listener can reap many

rewards, and successful people know

that once a relationship has been

formed, demonstrating those important

listening skills will not only keep it

going but also keep it strong and

solid.

In fact, successful people know that

listening is the single most important

Listen with heart and soul

Highly successful people are

almost always great listeners

Listen, its very different from

hearing


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thing they can do in any relationship

they have.

Listeners are hard to find but most

people will agree that people who talkother peoples ears off are everywhere

and in plentiful in the world today.

Perhaps, the complexity of living

makes it easier for people to develop

speaking skills than listening skills.

Conceivably its also because if you

dont ask, you dont get. philosophy

which has become prevalent today.

People today seem to have a lot to say

and they want to be heard.

Unfortunately, most dont understand

that being heard does not necessarily

mean they are actually being listened

to.

Remember, we hear with our ears, but

we listen with our minds.

Real listening, listening with the

Active listening is an important

habit to learn


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purpose of gaining insight and

understanding, listening with the

purpose of showing concern and

interest, is called active listening

as opposed to passive listening.

Passive listening, however, does occur

when perhaps we listen to background

music or a radio talk show more for

the company value rather than for themessage.

Typically we fail to listen because we

are already working up our responses

to what is being said.

These include aspects like working

out a response even before the other

person has stopped talking, completing

the speakers sentence for them,

trying to hear with a filter on when

you are constantly reading for a

hidden message, it could also be a

case where you believe the person has

nothing important to say and you

ignore what is being said or it could

be about already concluding the

Have an open mind when listening


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message of what the other person is

saying since it sounds so much like

what you have heard or experienced

before.

ONE MINUTE POINTERS ON IMPROVING

LISTENING SKILLS

Remember that listening reallymeans hearing others.

It does not count if, after thefirst few sentences, you start

giving advice or adding your own

personal opinion or feedback.

Do not assume that when someonewants you to listen, they also want

your solutions and feedback.

Often what people need when theyengage you in conversation is an

interested and concerned ear.

Theyre not necessarily looking for

a problem solver.

Listening is actually a motivator.When others realize that you are

truly attentive and interested in

what is on their mind, they often

feel compelled to follow through


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with their verbalized intentions.

Listening is a time saver. Yes, ifyou engage in active listening,

youll save a great deal of time.

Though repetition may in fact be

the mother of learning, getting

that message the first time its

sent out puts you ahead of the

game.

Though many people, especiallyafter years of schooling, have

become quite adept at faking the

listening process, most people

today can tell whether your

interest in listening to them isgenuine or not.

Its been said that if you listenmore than you speak, you will

usually be perceived as more

intelligent than you really are.

Always let others finish theirsentences. Interrupters do more to

demonstrate their lack of patience

than their understanding and

interest.

Fight the urge to make assumptions.


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You may miss a great deal of

important information by

prematurely jumping to conclusions.

From time to time, take notes asothers talk.

Pauses, as I mentioned earlier, canbe used for punctuation and drama.

Theres a space between stimulusand response. Let it stay there. In

fact, often when listening to

others, you will note that a very

important point is madeeither just

prior to or right after that pause

was taken.

Make eye contact. This isnt aseasy as you think. On the other

hand, beware of course, of getting

into a staring mode. Glance at your

notes occasionally, and when

looking at the speaker, instead of

looking directly into both eyes,look at one eye, then the other. It

keeps the effect of eye contact

going without the potential feeling

of intimidation, discomfort, or

threat.

Offer nonverbal encouragement


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through an interested facial

expression and appropriate head

nodding.

Physically lean in toward thespeaker. Unfortunately, most people

tend to lean away or lean back when

another is speaking. The distance

you put between yourself and

another unconsciously says a lotabout your interest level.

Refrain from clicking your pen,drumming with your fingers, or

fidgeting when others are speaking.

Not only do these acts show

impatience, but they also serve asa distraction to the speaker as

well as to you, the listener.

When the time is right, always takea moment to summarize whats been

covered. This promotes clarity as

well as progress.

Listen for the emotion beingexpressed while the words are being

said.

From time to time, withoutinterrupting, repeat something that


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the speaker said. This is a quick

way to demonstrate your listening

ability and interest.

Dont be afraid to ask clarifyingquestions when appropriate.


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CHAPTER 11

Change Is Positive Energy, Not Trauma

Who adapts not, outsteps measure and

brags himself-his fall is sure.


Successful people know that change is

going to happen with them or without

them. They know that change is here to

stay, that its the only constantphenomenon in the universe.

Successful people know that change is

inevitable.

Successful people also know that if

you cant get out of a changed

situation, you had would better plunge

into it remembering that change is one

of those things no one can escape

from.

Change is ubiquitous and ever Omni

present.

Understand and manage change


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In any event, successful people know

that a company, an organization, an

industry, or an individuals ability

to recognize change and then to react

quickly and appropriately to that

change is the key to staying on top.

They also know, however, that its

much, much easier to get on top than

it is to stay there.

Staying on top requires not only

seeing change and responding tochange; it involves embracing change,

keenly adopting change, and eagerly

assimilating it.

There are typically four basic types

of changes that we encounter in our

lives:

Firstly, Changes that we anticipate

and want to occur. Examples of this

are accepting a new job offer, making

a new friend, visiting your native

place etc.

Recognize the type of change and

manage it


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Secondly, Changes that we anticipate

will happen but dont particularly

want to occur. Examples of this are

completing college and parting with

friends, restructuring at the

workplace, going to hospital forcheck-up etc.

Thirdly, changes we dont anticipate

will happen but would like to occur.

Examples of this are getting a sudden

promotion, getting tickets to the

cricket match etc.

Lastly, changes we dont anticipate

will happen and dont want to occur.

Examples of this are a sudden death of

a relative or friend, finding that the

flat you have booked has suddenly

become more expensive etc.

ONE MINUTE POINTERS FOR MANAGING

CHANGE

Realize that people tend tosupport what they had a hand in

creating. Therefore, those who

Adopt and Adapt to Manage


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you want to change must be made

to feel they want to change

Make certain that those who mustchange are not kept in the dark.

Gather people as a group so

everyone is hearing the same

thing at the same time. This is

critical, in that mutual

understanding of what that changeentails, quells rumors and

uneasiness.

Always begin by giving the big-change picture first. People

digest and learn information best

when it is presented from thebroad to the specific.

The first step of communicatingchange is the what aspect of

change.

Second step is the why. Explainwhy this decision to change has

been made.

Third step is to explain thehow. Explain how this change

will benefit the company, and if

possible how the change will


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benefit people individually.

Before you progress to the whenyou expect the changes to start

occurring, take the time to

demonstrate your awareness of

your teams feelings.

If warranted, discuss what newtraining will take place toprepare the team for the change.

Be specific here, as it will calm

many anxieties down the anxiety

that many are suffocating with.

Since change does not just happenovernight, talk about how the

change will progress. It is

important to tie in the present

with the future. Use connected

words and sentences such as,

Here is where we are now, today,

and this is where we want to be

by such-and-such a date. Again,a timetable is critical in giving

people transition-target dates.

Then proceed by asking for theteams suggestions and ideas

relative to how they feel the

change could be best executed.


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This step again serves to bring

the team into the picture and

help them to feel involved.

Phony participation will onlymake the change more difficult to

implement. The teams interest

and enthusiasm will grow as they

are encouraged to express their

ideas. A change in behaviorbegins with a change in ones

mind. This step starts that

process.

Point out areas that will not beaffected by the change. For many,

this creates a psychologicalcomfort zone.

Reflect openness and honesty. With respect to personal changes,

always know in your heart that

you cant change another person.

If it necessitates a change, you

can change to the situation or a

person, instead of trying to

change another.


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With respect to changing a groupor a community know and abide by

the rule you be the change that

you want to see in the world.


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CHAPTER 12

Emoting or Being Emotional?

No frightful evil shocks the wise,

Who guard themselves against surprise.


Employees who have a high Emotional

Quotient (EQ) have an elevated degree

of emotional intelligence: They have

brain power, are better team players,

are more productive, enhance the work

environment, bring a sense of

responsibility, stability, and

commitment to the workplace and reduce

costly turnover with their high Social

Quotient or SQ.

ONE MINUTE POINTERS FOR EQ MANAGEMENT

Express feelings clearly anddirectly Dont be afraid to express

feelings and not dominated by

negative emotions

Read non-verbal communication.


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Balance feelings with reason,logic, and reality.

Act out of desire, not because ofduty, guilt, force or obligation.

Be emotionally resilient. Be interested in other people's

feelings.


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Sometimes a downturn is not always a

sign of bad times. In fact, downturn

means below normal output. Of course,

when that downturn happens with no

specific cause, we get concerned,

self-doubt creeps in, frustration and

anxiety becomes our friend and

introspection often enters the picture

and this gets you into a bigger funk.

Successful people typically look at

down situations with an analytical and

logical mind, they also know that to

control their own destiny they must be

able to get out of that slump,

whatever the cause, on their own and

as quickly as possible.

Firstly, recognize the source of theslump and then take steps to get back

to where you want to be as quickly as

possible and on your own.

When you are in a hole, stop digging

and work your way up


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ONE MINUTE POINTERS FOR FACING TOUGH

SITUATIONS

Examine the situation in arational and logical way and also

understand how you feel about it.

Talk about your slump with yourclose and trusted friends.

Use the extra time you now haveto get organized

Experiment and try some newinnovative approaches

Jump-start your attitude. Check out your goals in all areas

of your life.

Count your blessings.


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If you dont know what you want and

where you want to be, youre missing

out on the opportunity that living

presents itself to you.

For some people, it may take a

lifetime to realize that life is not

fair. For others, they may never learn

that life is unfair.

Successful people, however, seem to

understand that message early on in

life and work within that context and

maximize the opportunities that life

presents itself.

When they have an opportunity, they

seize the opportunity and make sure

that they have extracted the maximum

out of the opportunity.

Successful people also know that any

opportunity which comes their way has

to be respected, analyzed and acted

Know what you really want

Respect every opportunity


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There is a wrong notion that

successful people are just plain

lucky.

Many think that successful people are

those who happen to be in the right

place at the right time.

Many others think that successful

people were fortunate enough to simplyhave the right connections. That may

be true to some extent, but most of

the successful people work and make it

happen, and they do that by honing

these two critical traits: Commitment

and Discipline.

Discipline is about harnessing the

mind-set and exercising the self-

control necessary to turn a thought

process or an action into habit.

It involves creating a behavioral

routine or defining process frameworks

and implementing a regimen.

Discipline is mechanical in nature

while commitment is about having the

Be focused and disciplined


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burn, the desire, the motivation, and

the passion to relentlessly pursue, to

keep at it, to prevail.

These two traits will help turnover

difficult situations into winnable

situations.

ONE-MINUTE POINTERS MANAGING WHEN

THINGS DONT FALL IN PLACE

Move on and do what needs to bedone, dont blame anything on

fate.

Take responsibility for your lifeAlways look for the brighter

side, even in bleak situations.

Luck is nothing but beingprepared

Cultivate discipline; it helps tohandle tough times better.


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success and firmly believe that

success can only be obtained by being

reliant on self.

GOLDEN RULE 4: What got you here is

not going to get you where you want to

go

Successful people dont rest in on

their present accomplishments, Theyclearly understand that change is the

only constant and work towards

upgrading their skills and

capabilities as they know that the

future is a new game and they need to

have the right tools to play the

success game in the future.

GOLDEN RULE 5: Keep working out new

ways to better yourself and the work

you do

Kaizen or continuous improvement is

one of the buzz words of successful

people. They believe that there is so

much to learn and so much to do and

are never complacent.

GOLDEN RULE 6: Birds of similar

feather do indeed tend to flock

together.


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Successful people believe that a

person can be judged by the company

they keep and they truly believe that

to be successful you need to be in the

company of positive minded successful

people.

GOLDEN RULE 7: Destiny always favors

the prepared individual

Successful people believe that being

lucky is all about being prepared.

They believe in the maxim that success

is all about preparation.

Focused hard work will always get you

long term reward, this follows the law

of nature people intrinsically believe

in the karmic law and believe that

hard work will always get you rewards,

this is akin to planting seeds and

waiting for the food crop to grow and

be harvested. Whatever you do, you

cannot harvest the crop until it is

time to do so.

GOLDEN RULE 8: Be honest and ethical,

even when no one is watching you

Successful people most often have an

internal moral compass which dictates


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every aspect of their lives. They are

honest and ethical, even when nobody

is looking or watching over them,

since they believe that they have to

uphold their principles for

themselves, not because somebody else

is watching.

GOLDEN RULE 9: Self Esteem is seldom

misunderstood

Successful people seldom misunderstand

the importance of self-esteem and

always ensure that their self-esteem

is always high. They also realize that

the world presents challenges and

bottlenecks and it is important forthem to have a high opinion of

themselves and their capabilities.

GOLDEN RULE 10: Count your blessings

every day

Sounds corny?, its true that we dont

look at what we have and always aspire

for what we dont have. Successful

people always count their blessings.

This leads to a clearer mind and that

helps in developing razor sharp focus

on what they are currently pursuing.


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all it takes is a minute by anand kumar padmanaban

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