Success Mantras

The Secret to Making Money

2011-06-04T15:39:00.001+05:30

In this series of posts I will be sharing with you the "secrets" of how to make money: serious money for you and your organization.

There can be no denying the fact that knowledge of how to make money is a part of personal development.

Indian scriptures tell that Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha are the four attainments one should strive to achieve in one's life.

Out of them, Artha has to do with finances, and making money is very much part and parcel of the same. It is therefore duty of every person to strive to make money and to acquire necessary knowledge of how to make money.

Let me clarify that the secrets to making money, which I will be sharing with you are not invented by me, nor do I make any such claim. The secrets to making money which I will be sharing with you here in these posts work both for people individually as well as for people trying to make money for their organization.

The secrets to making money which I will be telling you are revealed to me in a book entitled "Big Bucks" authored by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. I already read the book some three to four months back and the ideas contained therein on how to make money really appealed to me. I decided to implement them in my life. To begin with, I found a change in my attitude in this whole affair of making money, and, though to a very small extent, I am experiencing some results.

A wise thinker has rightly said that if you want to learn something seriously, the best way is to teach it to others. I, however, think that a better substitute for the word "teach" is "share" and that is what I propose to do through this series of posts.

In order to intensify my own learning and effective implementation of the ideas and the secrets to making money, I thought it is a good idea to cull out those secrets to making money from the book and share them with my readers. So I again read the book and this time I felt that my understanding of the concepts was more better than when I read the book previously. That made me realize the importance of learning and relearning of the concepts.

Big Bucks

As the authors of the book have clarified, "Big Bucks" is the third in the trilogy which describes the three key factors that determine the long-term success and effectiveness of an organization. That, does not, however, mean that this book is the third part of a series of three books. As I could see it, this book "Big Bucks" is an independent book and can be read as such.

It is, of course, profitable, if one reads the other two: "Raving Fans" and "Gung Ho". Raving Fans deals with the idea that satisfying customers just isn't good enough - you have to treat them so well that they want to brag about you. Gung Ho attempts to teach managers how to develop a totally committed and motivated staff which will help you create raving fans (happy customers). Not reading these two books, I believe, does not come in the way of learning and applying the concepts taught in "Big Bucks" for making money.

"Big Bucks" is in a story form. The characters in the story engage in conversation from out of which we receive the message and learn the principles or "secrets" to making money. The book begins with the problem faced by Len - the central character of the book: how to make more money - lots more money, big money. He feels guilty about not being a better provider at home. He is distressed by taxes, mortgage payments, dentist bills, his wife's parking spot at work, dry cleaning, gas and electric bills ... His money went out as fast, or faster, than it came in. It was a life he is determined to change. He does not just want more money. He wants to be rich - Filthy rich. Here one can relate oneself with Len.

At this juncture, Len happens to meet his mentors who are already successful and are making lots and lots of money. They teach him all the secrets of making money. Nothing is mine. I have carefully culled the message in distilled form and will be making the same available to my readers, at the same time deepening my own learning.

Please note that each concepts builds on another. So it is better to read this series of posts on making money, sequentially to grasp it's message better.

Read, reread, inculcate, chew, digest, enjoy, learn, grow, apply these secrets to your life and make money. All the best.

Enough for the intro. Lets get going in the next post.

Beliefs of Power

2011-06-04T15:30:00.001+05:30

Beliefs play a very important role in achievement of success. Experts in the field of personal achievement have concluded that what you are and what you will be, is determined largely by the set of beliefs you operate with. Beliefs are a great force in a person's life. Beliefs are not just creatures of imagination. Beliefs are for real.

To cite an example. Look at the belief system of Mahatma Gandhi. Because he strongly believed in his right of self-determination and especially in the power of his Non Violence and Civil Disobedience movement, it became possible for him to free India from the clutches of British who had been ruling India since last almost 400 years. From the viewpoint of any other common man of his times, it was just impossible to overthrow British Government who had so tightly gripped India since last hundreds of years. However, Mahatma Gandhi strongly believed in his weapon of Civil Disobedience that he soon had a large following and with their aid he succeeded in getting India freed.

What is true about great people is also true about us : the common creatures. The set of beliefs we hold in our heads goes to determine our destiny. What is a belief after all? The dictionary tells me these meanings of the word "belief "

Noun: belief
1. Any cognitive content held as true
2. A vague idea in which some confidence is placed

Source : WordWeb Dictionary (wordweb.info)

In other words, confidence placed in an idea becomes belief. The confidence in the idea (subject of belief) is based upon certain experiences, observations either personal or those of others. The beauty of this, however, is that what is believed need not always already exist in reality. A confidence is reposed merely in the possibility of something and certain decisions or actions are taken and results achieved. Take for example the belief "I have a good memory". Strongly believing this would certainly lead one to improve his memory whether or not his memory is already good. The reason is: your mind simply acts on the belief held in mind consequently leading you to take actions in the direction of actualizing the belief into reality. No belief is right or wrong. It is either empowering or limiting.

Now there is a good news and there is a bad news.

The bad news first. Whether you choose or not, you mind, by default forms and holds certain beliefs and acts on them. This means that your mind does not operate with a "vaccume". Based on your life experiences, such as your upbringing, your adulthood, you will acquire certain opinions and form certain beliefs. Those default beliefs play an important part in shaping you eventually. In all probabilities the result of what you are today is based on the beliefs you have been holding since years together.

The good news: You can choose your beliefs. You can program your mind to hold your chosen beliefs for your benefit. As I said earlier, the mind simply accepts the long held beliefs as true without actually bothering about whether or not they are true. This fact can be used to our best advantage. Choose your beliefs. Hold them in your mind everyday. Program your mind to hold them permanently for you. You will certainly benefit in the long run.

There are certain beliefs which I practise holding in my mind on a consistent basis. I call them power beliefs. They have really inured to my benefit in the long run. Here are some of them.

I take 100% responsibility for whatever happens to me.
It is possible.
Everything happens for the good.
I can do it. or Yes I can
As you sow you shall reap.
Without God's backing it is not possible to succeed.
There is abundant wealth everywhere.

( I may add more, as I keep on identifying the beliefs)

The point is. Choose your beliefs. Make your destiny. Let the energy of your mind not go waste.

The Power of Creative Ideas

2011-06-04T15:26:00.001+05:30

Has it ever happened with you? You are in the toilet, or you are driving a car, or climbing or descending a staircase, bathing, or reading a book, or doing any routine thing. Suddenly a great creative idea which has the potential to greatly improve your life flashes in your mind. You sense from within that the creative idea which has just flashed in your mind is a very powerful one, and you are quite sure that if implemented, that creative idea has a great potential to improve your life or work area in a positive way. But afterwards you just forget the creative idea and never implement the creative idea which flashed in your mind.

It has happened with me. Unfortunately those creative ideas were not put to use and and were allowed to dissipate. The life simply missed an improvement opportunity.

I pondered over the reasons why, in spite of generation of these creative ideas having a great potential to improve my life in a positive way, were never put to use.

The reason appears to be that the creative idea having a great potential to improve my life was never caught by me in the first place. The creative idea which flashed in my mind was never recorded. Just like when you fail to photograph a great event when the event happens. Only if you take a snapshot of the event, you are able to look at the picture again and again and enjoy it, or do something about it.

The same happens in the case of creative ideas too. Before writing this post, during the course of the day, I had many many interesting and useful topic ideas flashing across my mind, which I feel I should share with the readers through this blog. But then, I suddenly realised that the ideas will simply be gone if I do not record them somewhere , or catch hold of these creative ideas in some way, in some form or the other. So I wrote down the creative ideas on a piece of paper.

Let us not underestimate the importance of creative ideas which flash in our minds. Each creative idea generated in our minds, I believe, is a priceless gift of God. God has so designed this creative faculty in our brain that by taking opportunity to implement these creative flashes in our mind, we can elevate our lives.

Follow these simple steps for recording your creative idea:

1 Make a pocket size note-book and name it Creative Ideas Book. Always carry the Creative Ideas Book and a pen with you whereever you go. Note down any idea which you think is important for you in the Creative Ideas Book. Do not be bothered about the rightness or wrongness of the idea at this stage.

2. If possible, carry a pocket voice recorder (it can be a microcassette recorder or a mp3 player with recording feature) with you whereever you go. Record any creative idea flashed across you mind in it. Later note down the ideas on a paper. Agian, do not be bothered about the rightness or wrongness of the idea at this stage.

3. Make a list of all your creative ideas and think over them.

4. Take steps to work on the ideas which you find are useful to you. Eliminate the ideas which you think are not useful for you.

The famous author, Napoleon Hill, in his timeless classic "Think and Grow Rich" mentions the late Dr Elmer R. Gates of Chevy Chase, Maryland who created more than 200 useful patents through the process of cultivating and using creative faculty. He records as under:

"Dr Gates had a personal communication room which was soundproof and so arranged that all the lights could be shut out. There was a small table on which used to keep a pad of writing paper. When Dr Gates desired to draw upon the forces available to him through his creative imagination, he would go into this room, seat himself at the table, shut off the lights, and concentrate upon the known factors of the invention on which he was working, remaining in that position until ideas began to flash into his mind in connection with the unknown factors of the invention. On one occasion, the ideas came through so fast that he was forced to write for almost 3 hours. When the Scots stopped flowing, and he examine his note, he found they contained a minute description of principles which had not a bad level among the known date of the scientific world. The answer to this problem was intelligently presented in those notes. Dr Gates earned his living by "sitting for ideas" for individuals and corporations. Some of the largest corporations in America paid him substantial fees, by the hour of four "sitting for ideas"."

Such is the power of creative ideas. The greatest asset which we possess, is not the house we live in, is not the car we drive, or the latest electronic gadget that we own. Our greatest gift is our own brain, and the creative ideas generated by it are real diamonds and pearls which we must catch hold of and put to use.

Yoga - The best Personal Development system

2007-11-06T21:10:00.000+05:30

One of the world’s best personal devleopment system in the world is Yoga. Yoga is a holistic system which not only develops, but also overhauls your total being. This helps you achieve Health, Satisfaction, Peace and Happiness in your life. In one of my previous articles “Achieve Overall Physical Fitness” while emphasizing the importance of suppleness, I mentioned Yoga.

Having realized that such a wonderful personal development system is right here under my nose, I decided to enrol myself in a Yoga class. India being a land of Yoga, there is no dearth of Yoga teachers and Yoga classes. In recent times due to popularity of Yoga many so called “experts” in Yoga have mushroomed. So the first task for me was to find out and ensure that the Yoga class I enrol myself in imparts the best yoga training, and has excellent Yoga teachers. With little search, I found one. The training is completely FREE.

One obstacle, however, stood in my way. The Yoga training classes were to start in the morning at Six AM sharp. The place of Yoga training is Eight KMs away from my home and takes approx Thirty minutes to reach there. This meant that if i was to reach there sharply on time, I should wake up at 5 AM. Tough task hmm..

Finally I gathered all my mental might and made a determination to join Yoga training and to reach the place 10 minutes before the sheduled time. While writing this I feel proud to mention that today was the third day in succession (the course will finish on the last day of this month) that I made it. I actually woke up at 5 AM; performed my morning chores including bathing, and reached the Ashram at 5.50 AM. I pray to Lord to continue to givie me such motivation day by day, every day and even beyond that.

The teaching there is doubtlessly wonderful. By now they have taught me Utthit Vivekasana (standing pose in which one performs mental prayer, and also relaxes one's body), Sharir Sanchalan (bodily movements, which frees your body and prepares you for performance of further Yogasanas), Tadasana (a standing pose in which one stretches one's body where a slightly so as to make it energetic).

Yoga basically has eight limbs. Therefore Yoga is called as Ashtanga Yoga. And here lies the reason why I call the Yoga is a holistic personal development system. The eight limbs of Yoga are:

Yamas
Niyamas
Asanas
Pranayama
Pratyahara
Dharana
Dhyana
Samadhi

Yama and Niyama constitute that part of the training which takes care of one’s social well-being. It teaches the individual those principles which which helps him improve his social relationships, develop good conduct so as to make them trustworthy in the eyes of people, develop character.

Asanas and Pranayamas constitute that part of you a training which develops one's physical health, and develops superbly. Asanas are certain bodily movements and postures which are to be performed very consciously and slowly so as to achieve the desired effect. The best part of these is that practice of Asanas and Pranayamas automatically helps and motivates the individual to practice and go for other limbs of Ashtanga Yoga.

Pratyahara and Dharana constitute that part of Yoga training which develops one's mental and intellectual faculties.

Dhyana and Samadhi at that part of the Yoga system which take care of one's spiritual needs. In fact, if one achieves Samadhi, then there is no need to go for anything else, for achievement of Samadhi results in gaining a self-knowledge. It helps the individual to achieve union with God.

Western management gurus and leaders have, on and off said that if one is to achieve total success in one's life, then he needs to master for basic areas of his life. These areas are social, physical, mental and spiritual. Exactly this is what Yoga helps one to achieve. If all the four things fall in place, material prosperity automatically follows. Sometimes it so happens that because of acquisition of divine knowledge through practice of Yoga, the need for slowly and automatically subsides.

This is how one can understand the importance of practice of Yoga in one's life. As I undergo more trading in Yoga, I will be sharing with you my experiences through these posts.

Art Of Dealing With People Effectively

2007-07-06T20:00:00.001+05:30

The most important species you come in contact with on daily basis is people. Unless you are living alone on a deserted island, you cannot escape one reality of life: you have to deal with people everyday. Wherever you go, and whatever you do, there are people and people and people you have to tackle.

The people you come in contact with everyday could be in the form of your boss; business partners; government officers; your assistants and servants; your spouse; your friends, the judges (if you are connected with legal profession); your enemies etc. The examples are unlimited. In addition to the people you are already come in contact with, there are people who will come in contact with you in future.

Unless you are already a ‘people-person’, you might be finding it a bit difficult to deal with people. Previously I was of that type. But then, having realized that the world we are living in is an interdependent world, and especially that the very basis of success in legal profession which I am in, is founded on contact with people, I decided to do something about it and to learn to make me comfortable dealing with people.

Irrespective of the profession or job you are in, you cannot do away with dealing with people. So wisdom demands that we learn and master this art. In this article I will be sharing with you some of my insights on how to be comfortable while dealing with people.

Love yourself first.
Learn to love yourself. The first step I took in the direction of dealing with people effectively was to improve my self-esteem. I realized that for being able to effectively deal with people I was lacking in this basic requirement: a high self-esteem. By operating from low self-esteem it is difficult to deal with people effectively. The reason is obvious. With low self-esteem you always unconsciously put yourself below the person you are dealing with, consequently resulting in making your transaction with the person ineffective. (I am using the word ‘transaction’ not in the restricted sense of commercial transaction, but in a wider sense to include all kinds of social and emotional transactions)

Your Self-esteem level
So check your self-esteem level. If your level of self-esteem is already higher, then congratulations. You already possess one of the most important ingredients for being able to effectively deal with people. Probably the chances are that you are not suffering from this problem at all. But if this is not the case then you should seriously take steps to improve your self-esteem. Learn to love yourself. You need to learn to put the other person in perspective. I learnt this by reading “The Magic of Thinking Big” by Dr. David Schwartz, and “See You At The Top” by Zig Ziglar. In addition I created my own self-hypnosis tapes for enhancing my self esteem and they proved to be of great help.

Each and every person is different
That is undeniable truth. Each and every person is different just as the thumb impression of each and every person born on this plane is different. It is now a matter of common knowledge, and scientifically proved, that the thumb impressions of no two persons on this planet, match. Recognize the fact that no two individuals (including you) are identical and accept this difference. Everyone is different. Engrave this truth on your mind like an inscription on a rock. The difference I am talking about is not just external difference on physical level. That difference is obvious and it does not require an article like this to be written for stating something obvious.

Accept the difference
What is significant to note is that each person is different internally too. What you like, and think that the other person will also naturally like, may not be liked by the other. What motivates you may be a put off for the other. What excites you may be a cause of depression for another. You may like slim girls or slim boys, but that may not be the liking of your close friend. You may be interested in personal development, but your close friend, your spouse or those around you may not find it worthwhile. Examples can be limitless. The point is that we recognize this fact; we accept this fact and we operate on that basis in our daily lives.

Respect The Difference
Having recognized and accepted the truth that each and every person is different, the next and most important thing to do is to respect the difference. Respecting the difference means absence of any contemptuous feelings for the other individual and trying to understand the other person. Understanding the other person is a great way to establish good relationship.

Create Your Own Success Environment

2007-06-23T08:46:00.001+05:30

While it is true that your success largely depends upon how you think (your inner self), rather than your circumstances, yet the importance of the external environment you find yourself in, cannot be underestimated. For achievement of success, the environment you are in everyday has a great deal to contribute. In order to keep yourself constantly motivated and inspired to succeed in your chosen endeavor you need to be in what I call as “success environment”.

Consider this:

what makes you feel sexy and romantic in the privacy of your bedroom;

what makes you feel peaceful when you visit a beautiful location in nature;

what makes you feel sacred when you visit a church or a temple or a mosque, or when you hear the sound of mantras that means divine chants;

what makes you feel excited when you attend a dance party;

what makes you feel romantic when you are with your date or spouse at a candlelight dinner;

what makes you feel meditative when you just sit down and internalize your awareness in a meditation room;

what makes you feel dreadful when admitted in hospital;

what makes you feel sad and introverted when attending a funeral.

Examples abound. My point is: your external environment largely contributes in helping you maintain a positive attitude for success. It keeps you constantly motivated to succeed. How you feel depends greatly upon the environment you are in. Even for achieving a peaceful and meditative state of mind, experts recommend that you choose a peaceful location. The reason is obvious. The external environment definitely contributes greatly in your achievement of deep meditative state.

Same is true of Success. Your achievement of success depends upon the environment you are mostly in. The people you are with daily; the material you read; the words you hear; the words you speak, all contribute in keeping you success oriented. Would it not, then, make complete sense that you always keep yourself in success environment.

How can you do so? The answer is simple. You can ensure to always keep yourself in success environment by creating your own success environment. Lets see how. The factors which go to make your environment are:

What you Read / See

What you Hear

What you Speak

Who you spend most of your time with

What you Read

For our purposes Reading and Seeing are same. After all the words you read are nothing but symbols. Words create pictures in your mind. They are creators of thought. It is essential that you be selective in choosing the material you read if you ever aim to succeed.

Read life-changing Books: You must make it a point to read motivational, inspiring material everyday at least for 15 minutes. There is no dearth of good motivational, inspiring and deeply spiritual material.

Here are a few good books which have impacted my life for the better and which you might consider reading: “Think and Grow Rich” by Napolean Hill, “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” by Robin Sharma, “See You At The Top” by Zig Ziglar, “The Greatest Salesman In The World” by Og Mandino, “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. The list is big. These are only a few examples.

These are not just books but transformation tools. It has been my personal experience that reading these books did not result in just an act of reading. It was a process. A transformational process. The magical part of it is that while reading these books you feel yourself undergoing a transformation. Such is the power of these books. The investment you make in such priceless jewels is never wasted.

Create Motivational Quote Posters: Another way to effectively use reading is to read motivational, insightful quotes. They are amply available. You can nicely print them using your PC and paste them at various places, such as your bedroom, your work-desk, your office, in such a way that you happen to naturally look at them whenever you happen to pass by or sit to work. I have created and pasted such quotes at prominent places in my bedroom, in my office, in my car on dashboard.

Motivational Pictures: A picture is worth a thousand words. The impact of a picture is very great when it comes to motivating you. Cut motivational pictures from magazines. When I wanted to change my external image, I had cut pictures of sophisticated, confident looking executives from magazines and had them pasted all over. When I was doing weight training in my late teen I had cut and pasted pictures of bodybuilders all over. In addition to magazines, now you have a great source available for you: the internet.

What you Hear

Listen to motivational tapes daily. Now-a-days ipods and mp3 players are available in cheap. Make best use of them.

Listen to motivational tapes, CDs daily. Make best use of your commutation time while going to your office. I do this regularly. I listen to motivational tapes when I go to court and come back. I always have a set of “Dynamic Living Seminar” tapes by Skip Ross, ready with me in my car. Its a wonderful seminar running in 6 hours of listening.

Make your home, your car a university of learning and success. I have even purchased a mp3 player. I regularly listen to the downloaded audio podcasts from Steve Pavlina and Robin Sharma. They are wonderful audios and the best part of it is that they are free.

I have even created my own tapes by recording in my voice motivational material from inspirational books, for my own private use, of course. I listen to the tapes daily in my car while commuting. You can use this simple idea. Just one word of caution, Keep the tapes for your own personal use and not for commercial use.

What you Speak

Your speech is reflective of what goes on inside your mind. What you say originates much much before deep inside your mind in the form of thoughts. These thoughts then take the form of speech and come out of your mouth in the form of speech or your talk.

However, by carefully choosing your words to give proper shape to your thoughts you can control a great deal of negativity. Suppose if you feel something is a problem, then instead of using the word “problem” to describe it, use the word “challenge”. The whole tenor of your “problem” instantly changes and you feel like approaching your so called problem in a daring fashion. Now your speech will regulate your thinking by diminishing the original negative thought which had arisen in your mind and by substituting it with the more positive and manageable one.

So watch your words.

Who you are with most of the time

Doubtlessly the people with whom you spend time everyday have a greater role to play in either keeping you constantly inspired or demotivated.

There are certain people in your life who you cannot avoid, such as your own spouse, your children, your parents etc.

However you can definitely take a look and review the kind of people you are required to spend most of the time either in office, workplace etc. If possible avoid the company of unmotivated negative people who are always complaining, and who do not want to achieve anything in life.

Be with those who are if not motivated, then at least are not negative and will not discourage you.

So that’s what goes to create your success environment.

My Mission Statement

2007-06-09T22:57:00.000+05:30

Live Healthily, Wealthily, Wisely, Courageously & Creatively;

Constantly introspect myself and review my personal growth toward becoming a total human being;

Remain a curious Learner throughout life. Be flexible and open to new ideas;

Create a family atmosphere conducive to each member’s personal Growth and Happiness;

Make significant Contribution, both as a Counselor and as a Jurist in legal field;

Connect to various people and create a large productive social network of well wishers;

Recognize the importance of Interdependence & people power;

Succeed and help others Succeed;

Exercise / take Walk daily; Lose weight and maintain Slimness;

Manage stress through Yoga, Meditation and being near the Nature;

Cultivate a poised, balanced and cool temperament;

Perform my work and any task with Excellence;

Become a good Public Speaker, a good Persuader;

Develop Pleasing Manners;

Spread Happiness and Joy whenever possible and wherever I go;

Visualize Your Way to Success

2007-06-03T10:56:00.001+05:30

Let's have some fun with an instant visualization experience? Follow my instructions. Here we go. Sharpen your imagination, and start visualizing as I tell you.

Visualize yourself opening the refrigerator. Visualize yourself taking out a lemon. Hold the lemon in your palms. Feel the texture of it's waxy, yellow peel and its smoothness, and feel the yellow peel ending at a point. Slightly press the lemon in your palm, and feel the presence of fresh juice inside. Take a sharp knife and cut the lemon in two halves. Freshly released molecules of the lemon fragrance hit your nose. Smell the lemon fragrance. Now bite into the lemon.

If your mouth has salivated by now, you just had a powerful visualization experience. You haven't actually bitten into the lemon, yet your mouth salivated in reality. That is the power of visualization.

Visualization is a very powerful technique for achievement of success in life. Visualization simply means actualization of something in mind, though that thing may not exist in reality. Visualization is not something magic. Visualization for success is a technique to be performed based on findings arrived at by experts after research. It is well-known that athletes and sportsmen are taught to practise techniques of visualization for peak performance.

It is now well established by experts in the field that every creation which you see around yourself was an idea first. Everything, such as the buildings, the vehicles, the roads, the furniture, the pen, the paper, the computer, was first visualized by someone in his mind. Every creation, including you and me, has its origin in mind. God first visualized us in his mind and have created us in His own image.

To succeed in any endeavor, therefore, wouldn't it be logical to first visualize your success in your mind’s eye? Certainly it is. Let me tell you how.

I have been practicing this visualization technique in my life since long. When I was a new lawyer, I often used to visualize myself standing confidently in the court, in front of judges, on my feet, and argue out my client's case in the most persuasive manner.

Visualization techniques has helped me greatly in my success as a lawyer. I continue to practise this visualization technique even now. With my eyes closed and while going to bed, I literally see in my mind’s eye, the courtroom in all its details; the Honorable judges sitting on the dais; I hear my case being called out by the Court Reader; me walking confidently and approaching the Bar; and beginning my argument speech in a confident style; facing the court queries in a poised manner and maintaining my poise throughout even then bombarded with difficult questions; satisfying the court and persuading them to my way of thinking; the manner of my pronunciation; the tone of speech; my gestures etc.

You can apply this visualization technique to succeed in any area of your life. You may improve relationships, such as dating the most attractive girl, having wonderful relationship with your spouse. You may be able to learn the new skills such as public speaking, driving a car. You can even learn to be more confident and assertive using visualization technique, such as approaching the boss for a raise/promotion, saying no to something that you don't want to do. You too can practise visualization for achieving success in any area of your life.

Identify the area of your life which you want to succeed in.

Practise visualization every night while going to bed and every morning on awakening.

Close your eyes and create mental pictures during visualization.
Let your mental pictures be in as much detail as possible.

Have the visualization experience through your own eyes. This means that you have to visualize as if you're in the real world. You should not look at yourself from a third person's point of view.

See yourself actually succeeding in your endeavor during your visualization process.

During visualization experience, mix your emotions with the experience.

Believe, strongly believe, that whatever you are visualizing WIIL manifest in reality. Remember your visualization experience is not just the mind’s play. You are actually creating, and placing an order of your desire, intention with the universe.

To achieve best results, internalize the visualized experience. Let it become a part of your being.

Achieve Overall Physical Fitness

2007-05-29T20:36:00.001+05:30

Physical fitness is one of the most important aspects of life. Of all the other areas of personal development, physical fitness would top the list.

Without physical fitness, can you imagine playing with your child, going for a trek, traveling, performing your office work, or even enjoying sex ? Undoubtedly, to enjoy many simple pleasures of life, you need to be physically fit.

Physical fitness is also important because it has something to do with your overall being. The casing in which "real you" resides right from your birth till death, is undoubtedly your own body. Unlike other inanimate casings of goods, your body is constantly in a state of change.

Unless you regulate this change for the better by achieving physical fitness, your body will shape itself by default which may not necessarily resulted to physical fitness.

The beauty of physical fitness is that once you are physically fit, you also possess a healthy mind. This results into your overall well being.

The Three Ss of Physical Fitness

To achieve overall physical fitness, you need to work on these three areas:

1. Strength
2. Stamina
3. Suppleness

Strength: Strength implies your ability to lift things up. For e. g. lifting a child, a bucket full of water, or lifting a bit heavy luggage and to perform such common tasks with considerable ease. Strength, therefore, has greatly to do with your muscular strength.

For the improving strength and you need to undertake systematic weight training schedule on a regular basis.

Stamina: Your ability to climb the tall building using staircase without much huffing and puffing, your ability to run, jog, swim for a longer time and are indications of having great stamina. Performing these tasks without feeling out of breath, implies stamina. After performing such tasks, your breath should return to normalcy within a short period of time.

Improvement of your stamina is connected with the improvement of the capacity of your lungs to take in more air. Step in a can be improved by undertaking aerobic home of exercises such as cycling, running, aerobic dancing, swimming etc

Suppleness: How flexible are you? Can you perform sex in various positions with ease? Can you easily bend down to tie or untie your shoelace. Can you bend backwards? Can you easily stretch yourself to take out the book you want to read from a higher place in the shelf above, without feeling any pain.

Your body's suppleness is flexibility. Flexibility helps you greatly in moving swiftly and in responding to situations with improved reflexes.

Training in yoga, and performing various yoga postures can help greatly improve your suppleness. Yoga will also eventually have an overall positive effect on your life.

To achieve optimal physical fitness you need to balance all the three Ss: strength, stamina and suppleness. You need to undertake certain tasks from each area and to strike a balance.

For achieving maximum physical fitness in all the three areas above, it is a good idea to who refer to various books written by experts on the subjects or to seek guidance from a qualified trainer.

Record Your Creative Ideas

2007-05-24T18:44:00.001+05:30

You are in the toilet, or you are driving a car, or climbing or descending a staircase, bathing, or reading a book, or doing any routine thing. Suddenly a great creative idea which has the potential to greatly improve your life flashes in your mind. You sense from within that the creative idea which has just flashed in your mind is a very powerful one, and you are quite sure that if implemented, that creative idea has a great potential to improve your life or work area in a positive way. But afterwards you just forget the creative idea and never implement the creative idea which flashed in your mind. Has it ever happened with you? It has happened with me. Unfortunately those creative ideas were not put to use and and were allowed to dissipate. The life simply missed an improvement opportunity.

I pondered over the reasons why, in spite of generation of these creative ideas having a great potential to improve my life in a positive way, were never put to use.

Reason : the creative idea having a great potential to improve my life was never caught by me in the first place. The creative idea which flashed in my mind was never recorded. Just like when you fail to photograph a great event when the event happens. Only if you take a snapshot of the event, you are able to look at the picture again and again and enjoy it, or do something about it.

The same happens in the case of creative ideas too. Before writing this post, during the course of the day, I had many many interesting and useful topic ideas flashing across my mind, which I feel I sould be sharing with the readers through this blog. But then, I suddenly realised that the ideas will simply be gone if I do not record them somewhere , or catch hold of these creative ideas in some way, in some form or the other. So I wrote down the creative ideas on a piece of paper.

Let us not underestimate the importance of creative ideas which flash in our minds. Each creative idea generated in our minds, I believe, is a priceless gift of God. God has so designed this creative faculty in our brain that by taking opportunity to implement these creative flashes in our mind, we can elevate our lives.

Follow these simple steps for recording your creative idea:

2. Carry a pocket voice recorder (it can be a microcassette recorder or a mp3 player having recording feature) with you whereever you go. Record any creative idea flashed across you mind in it. Later note down the ideas on a paper. Do not be bothered about the rightness or wrongness of the idea at this stage.

3. Make a list of all your creative ideas and think over them.

4. Take steps to work on the ideas which you find are useful to you. Eliminate the ideas which you think are not useful for you.

How To Lose Weight Using Simplest Weight Loss System

2007-05-18T18:47:00.001+05:30

Desire to lose weight and become thin has been one of the concerns for many people. I am no exception. I am not an obese person. I still need to lose some weight. I have set a goal for myelf to lose weight to 65 Kgs. That is in proportion to my height.

If you are like me, by now, you might have experimented with dieting, followed some exercise program for losing weight but, with no satisfactory success. As for me, on the advice of one of my one well wisher, who had thoroughly studied and tested it, I had put myself on a weight loss program which is popularly known as Atkins diet program.

I scrupulously followed the weight loss program by eating low carb diet. In addition to the weight loss program, I also used to regularly exercise in the gym. I took meals only twice a day, ate only the recommended gap fillers in the intervening period. I hoped I would lose weight and become thin.

While the weight loss program did bring some success in the beginning, and I lost weight 10 kgs., which was quite a motivation for me then, yet in the course of time I regained the entire weight back. The pain of feeling hungry and being unable to eat the food of my choice, proved to be demotivating factors.

While I was wondering whether I was heading rightly in the direction of weight loss, a review published in a local magazine, of the book "I Can Make you thin" written by Paul McKenna caught my attention. The book claimed that by following 4 simplest principles one can lose weight and become thin. And that one is not required to deprive oneself of the foods one enjoys eating. I read the review voraciously again and again.

I, however, could not contain myself with just two page review of the book. My stronger urge to know the simplest weight loss system, and to practice the principles proclaimed therein led me to search the book in the local bookstore. Ultimately my search yielded success. The book was quite expensive when converted into Indian currency. But even more stronger was my determination to lose weight which caused me to buy the book. The book came with a pleasant surprise. It contained a self hypnosis weight-loss CD. The CD is really soothing and I experienced the additional benefit of feeling a sense of complete relaxation.

Having procured the book, I practised the principles of weight loss with all sincerity and earnestness. And listened to the self hypnosis CD regularly for some time (I continue to listen to the CD sometimes even now). The results were astounding. Without having to deprive myself of the foods that I enjoy eating, I found myself getting lighter and lighter day by day. Within approximately a month’s period, I could lose 3 kg of weight.

Having been motivated by the success of the system, I decided to continue with it. The successful results which I got has motivated me to share with you here the main principles contained in the system. (If you are interested in reading the entire book and benefitting from the self-hypnosis CD which accompanies the book – I highly recommend you to do that - then go here. You can download the free self-hypnosis audio trance (not necessarily relating to weight loss) here.

In the beginning the book invites you to look at the secrets of naturally thin people and explores the three main patterns that stop people from losing weight: obsessive dieting, emotional eating and faulty programming.

Paul says :
"You have simply developed some unproductive habits. The good news is that once you learn to re-programme your mind, it will be just as simple to new develop habits of thinking and acting that will guarantee your success. You don't even have to believe that it will work. Just follow my instructions and you will not only lose weight but stop obsessing about food forever."

Throughout the book there are 4 main principles to Paul McKenna's Weightloss System.

1. When You are hungry, EAT

2. EAT WHAT YOU WANT, Not What You Think You Should.

3. Eat CONSCIOUSLY and enjoy every mouthful.

4. When You Think You Are Full, STOP Eating.

lets see them one by one

When you are hungry, EAT.

Actually this principle is twofold. Firstly eat whenever you are hungry, and secondly if you are not hungry, don't eat. Sounds simple enough, right? But thats what we tend to ignore most. We go on stuffing our stomach, whenever we see tempting food. What this principle means, in other words, is that you should respect the need of your stomach. Before you stuff it with anything (howsoever tempting it might be) take its permission.

But at the same time also respect its need to eat by judiciously determining whether it is really hungry or not. Paul explains how starving the body makes you fat and that the secret of thin people's success in maintaining their weight is that they only eat when they're genuinely hungry.

EAT WHAT YOU WANT, Not What You Think You Should.

That was the most appealing part. There was no restriction by the simplest weight loss system in eating whatever I want to eat. What this means is that you can eat virtually anything that you like, provided you follow the system. I am fond of sweets. And this principle, has literally come to my rescue. Therefore this principle was a great respite for me.

What about all the healthy food we're supposed to eat and all the 'bad fats' and 'refined sugars' that we all know are so bad for us? Paul says that as soon as you deprive yourself of something you upset the natural balance of your relationship to them. Making any food 'forbidden' makes them more attractive to you. This has been explained by one of the greatest mystic of our time Osho as the law of reverse effect. The more you try to suppress a desire, the more it troubles you. In this way you will find youself attracted to healthy food.

Eat CONSCIOUSLY and enjoy every mouthful.

I remember when I attended a course in a personal development workshop, a trainer distributed a piece of chocolate to each participant and warned not to eat it without his instructions. The trainer then asked us to take the piece of chocolate out of the wrapper and to place it on the right-hand palm. He then asked us to look at the chocolate and to observe its colour, feel its texture, size, shape and smoothness. After allowing us to do this for a few minutes, he then asked us to slowly take the piece of chocolate and to put it in our mouths and to feel the rush of the saliva, at the moment it touched our tongues. Very slowly I bit into the piece of chocolate and cut it in two pieces. The chocolate mixed and melted in the flow of saliva so naturally and emitted its fragrant flavour. It was a beautiful feeling. We were strictly instructed not to have second bite till the first one completely goes down into the stomach through food canal. I could feel the chocolate go down to my stomach and I could feel a sense of great satisfaction. Before we were allowed to take a second bite, the teacher asked how many participants felt the satisfaction of having eaten two chocolates instead of one. Almost all the participants, including myself, raised their hands.

That's what Paul wants us to do. Stop. Eat slowly, eat without distraction (TV, newspaper, magazine etc). Really TASTE your food. This helps your body to break down the food (saliva) and increases your feeling of satiety (you feel fuller and more satisfied). This principle is about savouring your food and not wolfing it down. You know how you can open a bar of chocolate and the next thing you know it's gone? You can barely even remember eating? Honestly, this tip is the one that had the biggest impact on me.

When You Think You Are Full, STOP Eating.

Since my childhood I have been programmed by the family elders to always clean up my plate by eating each and every particle contained in it. In our society it is considered bad manners to leave uneaten food in the plate. No. Paul says - leave something on your plate (even if it's just a couple of chips) so you get into the habit of not clearing your plate. If you're full, stop eating. If you're hungry later - eat later. It really does make sense.

We're so programmed to clear our plates and only respond to the bloated 'full' feeling that we actually carry on eating way after we're actually full. Paul explains how to measure your hunger on the hunger scale, to avoid waiting until you're ravenous to eat and how to feel whether you're full or not and how to resign from the 'clean plate club'. This really hit me. Why not clear my plate?

You may test the above four principles for weight loss and see the results for yourself. All the best.

How I Started Personal Development Journey Using Success Principles

2007-05-16T12:40:00.000+05:30

Let me share with you how I was initiated into the journey of personal development using success principles.

"When the student is ready, the teacher appears", says Robin Sharma, the author of "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari".

The year was 1986. The classroom was filled with students of first-year law course. Majority of the students ranged in the age group of 16-17, in their late teens. In the corner of the classroom was sitting a boy. Because of his poor performance in the recent qualifying examination he was dejected, disappointed and depressed. The examination was important and had the power to decide the future course of the boy's life.

The teacher was telling the class of 150 or so number of students with great conviction and emphasis, "each one of you has one or the other extraordinary quality. The unfortunate thing is that you don't know it. I have studied psychology well. I have been observing you and I can tell at least one extraordinary quality each of you is possessing. But I will not spoon-feed you. I will leave it for you to discover your own unique extraordinary potential. The only thing I can assure you is that each one of you possesses at least one extraordinary quality".

The teacher's words strongly hit the boy, who having been left with no other option, had joined law course. He was completely filled with feelings of inferiority, low self-esteem, hopelessness and negativity. He felt completely lost. To him future seemed gloomy. He was a rank failure in his own eyes.

And the teacher was telling that the boy had an extraordinary quality. How could that be? The boy silently questioned with disbelief. But at the same time he could not disbelieve his teacher. His teacher was a very eminent, honest and respectable personality. His previous experience with the teacher was that whatever the teacher preached, had substance, and was worthy of serious consideration.

If what the teacher was saying was true, it was actually a matter of great respite for the boy. "Do I possess extraordinary quality too? Am I worthy of being accepted? Which is the unique and extraordinary quality which I possess? How can I find it? Can I overcome my past? Can I do better?..." the boys started pondering.

One day, the teacher gave a list of books to the whole class, with a recommendation to read all the books on the list. The teacher said that the books were not just books, but priceless jewels. Fortunately, one of the good qualities the boy possessed was the habit of reading. He loved to read. Seeing the list, the boy quickly sensed the importance of each and every book on the list. He had developed a vision to understand that the books on the list had immense power to change his life (or anyone's life, for that matter) for the better.

Three things, however, stood in the boy's way. The books were in English language. Till then the boy had not read many books in English, and therefore had no command over the language. The boy had no money to buy the books. The boy did not know where the books were available. What the boy had was a strong urge and longing to change his life for the better; to find out the wisdom of the gurus and to apply the wisdom in his own life. The books on the list had intensified his longing more and more.

It is rightly said by one of the gurus that if you have a dream, the universe conspires to fulfill your dream. One day the boy was wandering through the secondhand books market in his town. The boy had the yearning to raise himself above his prevailing state of affairs and he knew that the books contained the key to what he wanted. Suddenly he spotted one of the books on his list. The book lay there, in the stack of books, ignored by people. It didn't seem to attract anyone's attention. Moreover it was in very old condition. However, it was still readable. And what's more! It was very cheaply priced. No wonder, the boy grabbed the book and purchased it with his saved money.

Though poor in English then, the boy somehow managed to read and understand the book. (Side by side the boy was also on a self undertaken English improvement program). In the course of time, the book greatly changed the boy. It taught him lessons of immense importance. It taught him the power of thought. It offered practical suggestions and methods by applying which he could transform himself and his life from failure to that of success. The boy took full advantage of his new-found guru, the book and greatly changed his life from failure to success.

Today, the boy is successful. He is happily married to a charming woman of his choice and has a lovely kid of six. He has risen to become one of the successful lawyers of his town. He is deeply indebted to his teacher as well as to the new-found guru, that is his book, which he still possesses and continues to draw guidance from time to time even today.

With the reading of the book, began a personal development journey of the boy, way back in the late eighties. In the beginning, the journey was slow and steady, and gradually increased. The journey still continues, and the boy still grows. During his journey, the boy read a lot. He applied the success principles, the success techniques, the suggestions, tips and tricks for personal development to his life. During his success journey, sometimes he succeeded, sometimes he fine tuned the application of the success principles taught by the his gurus, the books to his own peculiar situation. In the process of application of success principles for his personal development, the boy realized that there is always something new to gain and nothing to lose. There was always inner growth inside.

The self growth journey, however, continues. and the boy knows that it will never be completed till the end of his life. While traveling this journey of self-development, on more occasions than one, the boy felt a strong inner urge to share the wisdom of his gurus, the success mantras which he tested and applied to his own life. This first post which you are now reading is the result of that strong inner urge of that boy to share.

Yes you have rightly guessed by now that the boy was none else than the author of this post.

I do not claim to have achieved perfection. I do not assume "I-have-succeeded-let-me-tell-you-how-to-succeed" posture in starting this blog. What has motivated me to start this blog on success mantras for sharing success principles for personal development is the strong inner urge to share the account of marvelous and interesting journey of my personal development with a strong hope and belief that just as I have benefited from the distilled wisdom of success principles, so may you. When I look back in retrospect and think over what I would have been without learning these success principles, the feeling is uncomfortable. There is a vast difference between what I would have been without the success principles and what I am today with, and because of, success principles.

Let me be honest. One of my selfish motives in starting this blog on success principles for personal development is to deepen my own learning and understanding; to gain new insights for success, personal development and self growth, in the process of sharing. Till now I traveled this journey by myself. From now onwards I welcome you to join me as my companion. This is my first post. I look forward to a great companionship with you, and hope that we will have great time in this process of sharing.

Oh yes! Before finishing this first post, I must break your long held suspense by telling you the book which initiated me into my journey of personal development by application of success principles. The name of the book is "Think and Grow Rich", a famous timeless classic by Napoleon Hill. More on that later….