When I was speaking in Tajikistan some time ago, I complimented one of my participants on the ‘sleek’ shirt he was wearing. The next day, he brought me a new shirt exactly like the one he was wearing. I later learned that it is a Tajik tradition to give away the item someone likes and compliments you on. We are talking about one of the poorest countries in the world—now that is true richness!

Using your power

The Corporate Sufi believes that everyone is blessed with power. Some use power wisely and some don’t; many never use their power at all.

Imagine that your Creator offered you the power to have anything you wanted and to do whatever you wanted. What would you ask for? What would you do? Stop thinking about it, because the truth is you already have all the power you need to fulfil your wishes.

If you only want to achieve business success, then all your actions will gravitate towards that single goal. If you also want to achieve balance and to journey beyond, your actions will reflect those goals. The path you choose is up to you.

Your potential challenges to implementing this commitment may include:

• Not knowing how to find your innate gift
• Conditioning from childhood that stifles your gift
• Lacking a goal larger than yourself
• Missing a purpose and focus that will engage your gift
• Fearing the thought of leaving the status quo
• Having an inferiority complex or a lack of self-belief
• Worrying about giving of yourself and being taken advantage of
• Being self-centred.

You have been born with an innate gift. It is the one thing that allows you to live up to your highest potential. When you are using your gift, you are the best you can possibly be, free from fear and other constraints, and full of abundance and life. However, many people go through life without realising what their birth-day gift is, and many die without ever having opened it. It seems a terrible waste to go through life without opening your gift.

The Sufi philosophy affirms that we have all been born with a great gift, although most of us never open it because we are distracted and tempted by dazzling toys and the complications of life, which are only temporary. We forget the real purpose of why we are here and what we need to accomplish.

The Corporate philosophy is similar. The more people focus on their natural strengths, the more excitement and joy they find in their work. The more you focus on employees and on building corporate strength, the more productivity is achieved. However, not all organisations recognise or understand how to champion this philosophy in the workplace.

The Corporate Sufi philosophy leverages your inherent talent or strengths—your gift to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

You are a miracle

You are a miracle! A unique, special and precious human being! There is no one like you in the entire world. No one can smile like you, think like you, walk like you, talk like you or serve like you. From billions of people who have come into this world, no one has been like you. You are special, precious and powerful.

My cousin Asheef and his wife, Denise, were blessed with a baby boy recently. Denise, after being pregnant for nine months, underwent a C-section after 30 hours of labour in hospital before the baby was born. My wife, Farzana, my daughter, Sahar, and I went to see mother and child. While holding the baby, I noticed how alert he was, despite being less than a day old. His big eyes and expressions left me marvelling at creation and how a baby comes into being from the mother’s womb…so full of potential even as early as day one on earth!

When you reflect on creation, witness the birth of a child, observe how the day turns into night and night into day or see the seasons changing, you begin to appreciate the miracle of life.

You are a miracle, and you possess enormous power within, but you need to open your innate gift before you shine. William James, the father of modern psychology, said, “The average person rarely achieves but a small portion of his or her potential.” You may be scared to jump into your inner calling—but if you are stuck in the pond, you will never experience the bounty of the water in the ocean.

In Fihi Ma Fihi, Rumi, the Sufi giant, says, “You have a duty to perform. Do anything else, do a number of things, occupy your time fully, and yet, if you do not do this task, all your time will have been wasted.” In other words, you can do hundreds of things, but if you do not do this one thing that you have a duty to do, you have wasted your life. What is this one thing you must do?

Finding your calling

How do you find your true calling and gift? If you feel it is not practical to find and utilise your gift because of outside constraints, then you are ‘dead’ even before you start. Which means you will never find it because you do not believe it is possible. To find your calling, ask yourself these questions:

• What makes you tick?
• What kind of work makes you lose track of time?
• What kind of work would you do if you won a $40-million lottery? How would it change your life?
• What would you dare to do if you knew that you would not fail at it, no matter what?
• Where can you make the most difference?
• On your deathbed, what is the one regret you would have?
• Reflect on your funeral—what would you like people you care about to say about you?

These questions bring a deeper understanding and perspective about what is important to you.

Meditation is one powerful vehicle to connect to your inner self. Through this practice, you gradually gain insight into your innate gifts. Keeping a daily journal heightens your awareness and brings clarity about who you are, not who you think you are. The cause that excites you the most will give you an indication of what you are passionate and care about.

I wrote this as part of my eulogy: “Azim was a loving father, son, husband and human being. He shined his light and inspired others to shine their light. He lived and worked to his full potential and made a positive difference to one and all, especially those who were less advantaged. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Amen.”

By being clear about what you aspire to be, it becomes easier to invite and attract the right circumstances to lead you to it. Looking back from your deathbed also puts things in perspective and attracts attention to your purpose in life and the accompanying gift you were born with.

The post Sufism at work: Discover your innate gift appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Hundreds of thoughts go through one’s mind at any given time. Your work may be challenging, or you have been fired, or you are facing problems in a relationship. These thoughts often have no particular direction. You need to rise above your thoughts, to become the “sky” in the metaphor. That way, you become the objective listener to your thoughts. This sets you on the path of self-awareness.

Awareness is the starting point of every quest. Without awareness, we flounder along the path. Awareness removes digressions and shows a clear path ahead.

However, being aware is not a goal—it is an ongoing practice of mindfulness. So how do we increase our awareness?

Awareness demands that we have greater clarity and honesty in all aspects of our life. We understand what others are trying to communicate to us at a deeper and more realistic level. We’re able to be honest with ourselves about our faults and our positive traits, and we have a greater ability to lead. The benefits of heightened awareness include accepting that we are responsible for our actions, expectations and beliefs and how they influence what we do. It helps us notice our patterns [good and bad] and work towards channelling our negative emotions into constructive actions.

Why we judge others

People often judge others, yet most people don’t really know themselves. It is difficult to know yourself, and almost impossible to know another person completely. This is why so many people are intent on judging others—they’re afraid to learn about themselves. Aristotle has thus rightly said: “To know thyself is the highest wisdom.”

Heightening awareness can seem like a tall order for those of us who block out the world in order to focus on our own life. But heightened awareness won’t take your attention away from the necessary tasks in your life. On the contrary, there is a huge upside to this in terms of progress in the corporate world, and you getting more respect from your colleagues, clients and family.

A simple way is to write a regular journal. It can be as little as jotting down a few bullet points before you go to bed. Ask yourself: What did I learn about myself at work today? What did I learn at home? What made me happy and what made me unhappy today and why? What are my goals?

Heightened awareness also helps us differentiate between reality and wishful thinking. Many people lead an illusionary life [a life built on how they wish things would be, but not how they are], which prevents them from getting to the root of problems. As a result, they fail to deliver. For example, when you get angry with another driver, you believe your anger has been triggered by his poor driving. But in reality, you are stressed out because you have missed the deadline for an important project. Awareness allows you to be mindful of what is really going on and why you are reacting the way you are.

Do you listen actively?

Awareness is also practised through active listening—listening with your eyes, ears and heart. Give your undivided attention and remain non-judgmental. Your relationship with your family can be tenuous without active listening because a deep understanding of each other is missing. The same applies to business relationships; with customers, colleagues or other stakeholders. You can enrich every relationship with active listening.

In the corporate world, being aware of the moods of individuals and teams can offer valuable insights. You need to know if your employees feel valued or de-motivated. Heightened awareness helps you fix situations where your employees may feel less than great.

Awareness also means you have a deeper understanding of what is going on in your business. You are aware of what is most important to you. Being aware means not only that you are clear about your vision, mission, values and strategy, but also whether your team and your actions are aligned with them.

Ways to develop a heightened awareness

1. Accept that your awareness can always be enhanced.

2. Ask yourself: What frustrates me? What bothers me?  What excites me? What do I do well? What can I do better? What does success mean to me? What makes me happy? What takes me away from who I am?

3. Have one-to-one meetings with associates, customers, family members, colleagues and your spouse to find out how they’re feeling. Keep an open mind during discussions and listen actively. When you’re upset about something, ask: what else could it be?

4. Sharpen your awareness of your team members: are they putting in their best? What are the gaps between actual outcome vis-à-vis the expected outcome? Who are the performers/non-performers? What will take them to the next level?

5. Deepen your awareness of your business. Evaluate what is being achieved from a qualitative and quantitative standpoint, and have a mechanism for evaluation. Then determine the one thing you can do which gives you the highest leverage on your time, and focus on it. Set weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly goals and evaluate your progress regularly.

6. Develop a deeper awareness of your offerings: What are their strengths and weaknesses? Which products and services do clients really like and which do not add much value?

7. Be aware of your customer mix: Who are the 20 per cent customers giving you 80 per cent of the business? Give special attention to those customers.

8. As noted earlier, write in a journal—about what’s going on in your life—to get to the root of any problem. Write in a journal before addressing a problem directly with the person concerned, or read your journal before going for an important meeting. Soon after you begin writing, you’ll find that you’re more aware of your behaviour, your business and people around you. As little as 5 – 10 minutes a day spent writing can help clarify issues.

The post How fine-tuning your awareness can make you more successful appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Have you noticed that when you’re thinking about choosing a particular brand of car, you keep noticing that brand everywhere you go? Or if you are expecting a baby, you seem to see more pregnant women than you did before? Brian says in his seminars that you are a “living magnet”, you invariably attract the right people, ideas and opportunities into your life that are harmonious with your goals.

Focus boosts positive coincidences

When you focus on a goal, the reticular activating system [RAS] a part of your brain that functions as a filter to process over four hundred billion bits of information per second that you are exposed to every single day, searches for people, places and circumstances to support what you are thinking about. Simply put, if you have well-defined goals, RAS will direct your attention towards people, events and opportunities that can help achieve your aspirations.

David Letterman, the late-night funny man, started his career with a flop. After a string of guest appearances on comedy shows, sitcoms and game shows, Letterman finally landed a hosting gig for a TV pilot called The Riddlers.

The series was a bust. But Letterman got noticed by the producers of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He soon became a regular guest, and eventually a TV talk show host who earned $40 million a year.

Jazz musician James Morrison and his brother were trying to make it big in New York, but ended up playing music on the streets. They made enough money to get a burger from Burger Boy, and within hours of eating his burger, James was flying business class, eating smoked salmon on his way to Europe for a major jazz tour. It turned out that a waiter at Burger Boy spotted his trumpet and put the Morrisons in touch with an agent who urgently needed a replacement for a sick soloist.

Examples of coincidences often appear to be simply accidents. However, as Albert Einstein said: “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

Have you never experienced positive coincidences?

If you have faith that the Universe is there to help you, you will find this concept easier to accept. But if you have never experienced positive coincidences, you may be wondering why. Here are a few reasons:

• You have goals but no burning desire. You do not make enough effort to succeed, giving the Universe mixed signals and confusing the outcome
• Your desire is not consistent
• Your actions and desires are not aligned
• You are not grateful for the good things that happen to you
• You accomplish many things but don’t acknowledge or are shy to acknowledge your successes or are too self-critical, leading to weakening of morale and enthusiasm
• You have poor awareness. You fail to see the connection between your desires, actions and results, eventually leading to missed results
• You do not affirm and visualise your goals regularly.

Problems are stepping stones

Many of us avoid uncertainty because we fear negative outcomes. However, even a negative outcome can lead us in the right direction. An unhappy experience in your life, like losing your job, can open new career avenues for you. But if you ignore the learning and instead just focus on the negative experience, you will invite more of the same. On the other hand, if you treat them as another chapter in the narrative of success, you’ll find it easier to draw positive solutions.

The important thing to remember is that problems affect everyone.

Steve Jobs could have felt victimised after he was fired from Apple. He chose to react differently. After his dismissal, he saw opportunity where others couldn’t. He went on to lead a small animation company and turned it into the juggernaut that is now Pixar. When The Walt Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006, Jobs became the largest shareholder in Disney. Moral of the story: when unwanted changes happen, look beyond them and see the opportunity they might contain.

Learn to recognise coincidences

Challenge yourself with the following “How to” exercises

1. Become aware of what is going on in your life and start actively looking for the coincidences. You strengthen what you focus on.
2. Record all the coincidences you observe in a week and analyse them to see how they brought you closer to your goals.
3. Express gratitude for every event that brings you closer to your goals.
4. Set clear goals—yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly and visualise them twice every day. The clearer your goals, the more you invite positive coincidences.
5. Align your goals with a larger selfless purpose. When you want to help others, the Universe wants to help you.
6. Trust that all coincidences are there to help you, even though you may not think so at the time.
7. During each encounter, ask yourself: How does this incident bring greater awareness into my life?
8. When you face obstacles, view them as learning opportunities.

What is important is that you learn to recognise coincidences, and use them to help you reach your goals. You then begin to look at every setback as a stepping-stone to success.

The post How to create positive coincidences in your life appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Contrary to what we may think, striking a work-life balance doesn’t make us less effective. In fact, it only makes us better workers than those who burn themselves out by focussing on work at the cost of family, health and harmony. Many senior executives complain that they have too many demands, too many interruptions and distractions. They struggle to prioritise and end up firefighting despite their best efforts. For them, work-life balance is an aspiration, albeit an elusive one. They often feel that if they eke out time for their family and personal needs, they will fall behind in their careers.

All of us are blessed with the same 168 hours in a week. However, while a few achieve breakthroughs in life, the majority merely trudge along, wondering why they can never find time to do the things they want to. It is not just that harmony benefits your life—lack of harmony hurts it, in real tangible ways. The ability to concentrate and use your time well is important if you want to succeed in business or in other areas of your life, and a well-balanced life is the best tool for that. When you are spiritually, mentally, physically, socially and economically balanced, then you’re successful in the real sense.

The key is to look after your business, your balance [work, health, social circle and family] and your beyond [spirituality, giving, purpose]; and not prioritise one over the other. Paying equal attention to all three aspects will strengthen you as a person.

The World Health Organization estimates that stress costs American businesses $300 billion a year. The 2012 Workplace Survey released by the American Psychological Association suggests that many Americans report chronic work-related stress. Around 41 per cent said they “feel tense or stressed out during the workday,” an uptick from the previous year’s 36 per cent. In its annual wellness report, Employee Assistance Program provider ComPsych found that 38 per cent of employees can’t stop thinking about emotional, health, financial or job concerns.

Work-life balance not only results in happiness and personal success, it can even lead to business innovation. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, has noted that some of his best ideas come when he engages his children in conversations about his work.

Melinda Gates sums it up well: “The only thing I care about on the day I die is that people think I was a great mom, family member, and friend.”

Challenge yourself with the following “How to” exercises to

• MAKE balance a personal priority and be clear what balance means to you. As Dr. Stephen Covey puts it, “first things first”: making sure that business, balance and beyond all play their parts.
• SPEND time with loved ones; also set aside time to improve your health and do things that matter to you, like pursuing a hobby. If you don’t spend quality time with yourself and your loved ones, someone or something less important will take up your time.
• PREPARE a “not to do” list, not a “to do” list. This will remove non-essentials from your life. How do you make it? List everything that must be done in your life; delegate as much as you can; next, eliminate what is not necessary, then prioritise and execute what is left.
• PRACTISE the Hour of Power: 20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes of reading and 20 minutes of meditation each morning.
• OBSERVE the Power of the Hour: schedule an appointment with yourself midday to regroup, reflect and reprioritise. This will make your afternoons more productive.
• RECORD how your time is spent. When you do this, you become more aware and alert, thereby improving your focus and allocation of time.
• REMEMBER that slow is fast—when you slow down and spend more time with your family, you notice a lot more about them, and have time to actually hear them out. Consequently, your relationships get better as your attention and care create impact. Or, as another example, if you start eating slowly, you can enjoy your food better and feel full faster.
• FOCUS on the 20 per cent of things that give you 80 per cent of value.
• WRITE the top three goals you want to accomplish the next day before you go to bed, and work on them exclusively [at least till 2pm the next day]. Then you can take care of smaller tasks.
• SPEND quality time with business partners, colleagues, customers, spouse, children and parents.
• DEFINE what a successful day and week means to you. Then set about achieving it.
• DEVELOP the attitude that you will manage time, and not that time will manage you!

The post The effortless way to work-life balance appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Rather, they “were constantly testing themselves through real-world experiences and reframing their life stories to understand who they were at their core. In doing so, they discovered the purpose of their leadership and learned how being authentic made them more effective.”

Are you living a lie?

A lot of people fear being themselves because they feel they won’t be liked or accepted. If someone likes you when you are living a lie, he may stop associating with you when he finds out the real you; because sooner or later, truth reveals itself. By pretending to be someone you are not just for garnering attention, you are most likely to end up attracting the wrong people.

Not being yourself can also lead to a no-win situation. If you are not a genuine expression of yourself, the acclaim of your colleagues and your friends will amount to little. It is important that you like yourself first, and that can only happen if you allow yourself to be true to your inner being.

Authenticity is not just the key to a long-lasting career; it is the key to developing real, meaningful power

Costco co-founder and former CEO, Jim Sinegal, answered his own phone line, maintained a small office, paid himself a salary far lower than that of his peers and wore a nametag that simply said, “Jim”. This made him wildly popular with his employees, and left him with the lowest employee turnover rate in the retail industry.

McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc expected all employees to keep McDonald’s clean and did not exempt himself from the job—he picked up the garbage found in the parking lots of every McDonald’s outlet that he visited.

Authentic leadership is the only leadership that endures, because it exists as a function of the individual rather than a crowd of borrowed opinions.

The key to real power

Authenticity is not just the key to a long-lasting career; it is the key to developing real, meaningful power. Charisma, though an important quality of leadership, can lead to destructive behaviour if it’s not tethered to authentic values. Jordan Belfort [the stockbroker whose crimes were dramatised in the film, The Wolf of Wall Street] and Bernard Madoff used their charisma to swindle people out of their life’s savings. Both these men had power but it was not tethered to good, authentic values. Real power comes from authenticity.

If you want your success to be sustainable, if you want it to have a strong foundation, if you want it to have purpose and meaning, there is no other way than to be authentic.

Be careful about judging others because you do not know what they are going through

Your inner light shines through you when you are credible and trustworthy, and honest enough to admit to your limitations. The reality is that even with all your limitations, you are still unique and special. Embrace who you are, flaws and all. If you try to be someone else, you only become a ‘second-best someone’. As they say: “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”

Challenge yourself with the following ‘How to’ exercises:

ACCEPT and realise your imperfections. Shortcomings are part of who you are. Accepting this makes you powerful because now you can understand and relate to others. You will also be more open to feedback, guidance, and constructive criticism.

LIVE a life of honesty and integrity. It’s likely that you will succeed in some areas, but not in others. View every gap as an opportunity to grow.

KNOW that being different is good. Your USP comes from being different and unique. Achievers like Michael Jordan, Steve Jobs and JK Rowling were often regarded as eccentric or reckless.

RADIATE confidence. When you are authentic, you can be confident that you are doing the right thing. You can also have confidence that the people in your life who are not aligned with you are not supposed to be in your life anyway.

BE non-judgemental. Be careful about judging others because you do not know what they are going through.

ADMIT mistakes and apologise because this builds trust. This may seem hard because we fear that we may appear incompetent. However, small inadequacies in life are normal and can be accepted by almost everyone. Dishonesty and cover-ups are far worse.

PRACTICE courage. Speak the truth and allow yourself to be vulnerable. For example, in a staff meeting, ask for help if you need it, ask a question, speak up about a concern you may have. Don’t worry about what others may think. By expressing yourself authentically, you inspire others in your team to be real and take timely action.

BE true to yourself. Before embarking on something, ask: Does this feel right to me? When you are true to yourself, you are generally true to others.

The post Are you being an authentic leader? appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Studies show that people who multi-task are less effective at their work, as compared to those who focus on one task at a time. Attention requires mental and physical energy that your body can create only in limited amounts. Focussing on anything consumes a considerable amount of glucose from your body and brain. This means distractions take a mental and physical toll on us.

Research also indicates that distractions take up almost two hours a day for most employees, most of whom only spend 11 minutes working on a project before they become distracted by something else, after which it takes them 25 minutes to refocus. So, in addition to affecting you at a personal level, distractions also have an adverse impact on your daily business targets.

Why do we get distracted?

Why do we get distracted so easily? Well, aside from distractions created by others, most of us become distracted by thinking about the past, the future… any time but the present. You have a limited amount of energy, especially for tasks that are not uplifting or relevant. Therefore, whenever you engage in less important tasks, you deplete your energy.

When you are in the present moment, you’re able to powerfully engage with those around you. Being alert and aware of the present moment, besides enhancing your productivity, also functions as an excellent tool for gleaning critical insights from your environment, and this helps you to make well thought out decisions at work.

For example, when you meet with your team, you can have two different types of meetings. One is where you are alert and open to both the verbal and non-verbal cues of your team, which helps you gather critical information to decide the next course of action. The second is where you have already made up your mind, and the meeting is held merely to manipulate others to accept your point of view; hence, you receive no valuable feedback from team members, which leads to sub-par performance.

How to come back to the present

During the course of your work it’s easy to miss the present moment and get overwhelmed with the demands of the day. Here are a few simple exercises that can help you regain your present-moment awareness. Use them at every opportunity.

1. Every hour, stop and ask: Am I really present in this moment? If not, what are my thoughts focussed on? Doing this often will help you return to the present moment.

You may wonder how to practise this if you are already doing an activity that is very engaging. Taking a moment to reflect on these questions will help you assess if you are really present and focussed on the priority task—which is good—or if you are focussed on a less important task.

2. Spend a few minutes each day with Nature; it will calm you. Watch a tree’s leaves move when the wind blows, reflecting non-resistance. While looking at the ocean, see the abundance, neutrality and oneness of the Universe. Nature has many messages for us and this practice will help separate your good thoughts from the cluttered ones. Spending some quiet time alone each day is essential to your inner wellbeing.

3. When in the moment, look at difficulties you have and ask: “What can I learn from this problem?” How is this problem affecting you in the larger scheme of things? Think about one thing you can do to minimise the problem and act upon it right away.

Why this approach? Because, it takes you away from worrying about the problem, which is pointless. Instead, you can view the problem from a distance and the objectivity will help you act on the problem. This will minimise the mental energy you invest in it and also offer a realistic perspective on the situation.

4. Ask yourself: “What can I do in the present moment to create a positive impact?

5. Say thank you a few times in a day for all the good things in your life. As you count your blessings, they multiply.

6. When driving, observe your surroundings, listen to music or an educational audio to stay in the present moment and avoid fretting about the serpentine traffic.

7. Forgive someone in the present moment by giving them the benefit of the doubt. This is liberating! Start with small things, such as when someone does not thank you for a favour you did, or when someone fails to apologise when they accidentally push you. As you get good at this, you will realise how much negative energy you stave off. This will help you forgive bigger transgressions, such as pardoning someone for taking away some of your business or cheating you on an investment deal.

8. Think of someone you care about and send loving thoughts in the present moment.

The post 8 simple ways to bring yourself to the present moment appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

A few years ago I was in Tajikistan, where I worked with a company that was struggling with both finances and motivating its staff. I was forewarned that the staff members did not have business sense because they had become accustomed to the Soviet system in which the state did everything. The private enterprise system was foreign to them.

My job was to motivate the staff, and I was given two full days to accomplish this. After flying to Tajikistan and getting a VIP welcome at the airport, I was brought back to reality when I travelled by jeep to the company’s headquarters. What was supposed to be a 12-hour drive in the mountains turned out to be a 19-hour commute with four flat tires and no real washrooms or restaurants along the way.

We reached our destination at 3am. The view of the mountains was nothing short of spectacular. Getting out of the car, high in the mountains, I was greeted by thousands of stars, each seemingly bigger than the earth. I was watching with my entire five-foot-seven-inch height. If I’d ever wanted to learn a lesson in humility, it was right there.

Getting out of the car, high in the mountains, I was greeted by thousands of stars, each seemingly bigger than the earth

“I won’t motivate them”

At 8am the CEO was knocking on my door, saying, “Hey, Mr Motivator, please come and motivate my people.” I told the CEO that I was not doing that. He was surprised because that was the purpose of my engagement.

I told him that what I wanted to do was spend the first of my two days interviewing his top 25 people. He didn’t think that was going to help because they had no idea about business. I told him that didn’t matter because I needed to understand the challenges from their perspective before I could motivate them. I did not leave him much choice.

I spent the entire day interviewing his top 25 people, many of them with the help of a translator. I asked them three questions:

1. Do you have a clear idea of the vision and mission of your company?
2. What are the big roadblocks preventing you from working at your best?
3. If you were the CEO of the company, how would you run it differently?

As they responded, I made notes and ended up with about 30 pages. In the evening I asked the CEO to assemble these top 25 people at 8am the next day. He asked me when I was going to start motivating. I told him, “Sometime tomorrow.”

I woke up at 2am and summarised the 30 pages into 10 key areas, which I wrote on a white board. At 7am I went through these 10 points with the interviewees to confirm that I had captured the essence of what they had stated the previous day. They studied the list hard and confirmed that the points encapsulated our individual discussions.

I woke up at 2am and summarised the 30 pages into 10 key areas, which I wrote on a white board

rom my interviews, I learned that no one had a clear picture of the vision and mission of the company. I decided to put them into groups of four to brainstorm about where they would like to see the company in five years’ time. I gave them approximately 30 minutes to do this.

Subsequently, I had one member from each group present their findings. As we went through each presentation, they were not only able to articulate a powerful vision and mission but also came up with a logo and branding proposition. Incredible! I had never seen any group that I have dealt with come up with all of this in a matter of an hour and have consensus around it. This was a group that supposedly had no business background. Absolutely amazing!

This example illustrates two key points. First, we underestimate people’s capabilities. We all have innate gifts. Second, without clarity of purpose and direction, there is no motivation.

Importance of clarity

If you don’t have a clear sense of your purpose and goals, you cannot use your innate gift well.

A few years ago, Harris Interactive, the originators of the Harris Poll, polled 23,000 American residents employed full-time in key industries and key functional areas. Among other things, they reported the following findings:

• Only 1 in 5 was enthusiastic about their team and organisation’s goals.
• Only 1 in 5 had a clear “line of sight” linking their tasks and the team and organisation’s goals.
• Only 15 per cent felt their organisation fully enabled them to execute key goals.
• Only 17 per cent felt their organisation fostered open communication that was respectful of different viewpoints.
• Only 10 per cent felt their organisation held people accountable.
• Only 20 per cent fully trusted their organisation.

In his excellent book, The 8th Habit, Stephen Covey explains these findings as follows:

If, say, a soccer team had these same scores, only four of the eleven players on the field would know which goal is theirs. Only two of the eleven would care. Only two of eleven would know which position they play and exactly what they are supposed to do. And all but two players would, in some way, be competing against their own team members rather than the opponent. Can you imagine the personal and organisational cost of failing to fully engage the passion, talent and intelligence of the workforce?

A shared vision is an absolute must

Is everyone aiming at the same goal? If not, there will be scattered energy. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, often shared with his teams the GE philosophy for the organisation: Either they were #1 or #2, or they would fix, close or sell. His blueprint for transforming GE’s performance was to keep it simple. That is the power of mission and focus. It is important to have a common or shared vision. Once people buy into a vision, it is easier to implement. You need the contribution of everyone who is part of the vision.

Part of good leadership is to set a clear direction, find your employees’ innate gifts and encourage them to use those gifts. By doing this, you encourage your employees to work to their potential. You may lose some employees when they realise they do not belong in your team—but better to get them off your team early rather than late.

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Life is not a race to be won but a journey to be savoured. We forget that the path has no value when you arrive. It is the journey that counts. When we enjoy the ride and we are relaxed, we see the signs around us. In the frenzy of life we miss the signs. Also, when you are calm you get insightful ideas from within.

I used to drop my children to school every morning. It was a big job getting them both aboard and in time for school. It was a struggle and stressful. Driving fast in the rush hour while changing lanes was not the best way to start the morning for me or the kids. It was a humbling experience, especially for a guy who teaches others how to be calm and collected under pressure.

I decided that I would do my best to get the kids in the car and once we were in the car, I would not look at the watch. Instead, we would start our journey by saying our morning prayers together followed by a game I played with my son, who is the younger of my two children. The game included teaching him quotes from different philosophers and authors ranging from Shakespeare to Rumi. The number of quotes we would learn or discuss would coincide with the date of the month. By age 14, my son knew at least 50 quotes by heart and came up with his own quotes. Whilst praying and playing en route to school, I had no time to change lanes or compete with fellow drivers. In fact, I was gentle enough to let others overtake me. Guess what? We were hardly ever late to school and even when we were late the odd time, we enjoyed the ride and had a great start to the morning!

Stay focussed

Being attentive and focussed makes you connect to your deep power, which gives you signs that you follow sometimes unconsciously!

When JK Rowling first had a sudden idea in 1990 of Harry Potter and the wizard school, she was so excited and sure from within that she never let that idea slip away despite going through abuse, miscarriage, the death of her mother who was only 45, divorce, being fired from her occupation—all after she began writing her book. She kept the idea and never let go of it even though it took her more than four years to complete her first book. Today, she is the richest author in the world. She followed and acted upon the ‘sign’ that came from within!

In a corporate setting, employees are most alert and provide the best service when they are wholly present. You are more tuned to all your faculties when you are fully present, being 100 per cent focussed gets you the best results. Think of a basketball player going for a three pointer with a second left on the buzzer. The crowd is shouting, the players are shouting, the coach is shouting. What is the basketball player going to do? Think of dinner at night? Or what his spouse said three years ago? Of course not! His mind, body and soul are all going to be 100 per cent present for him to get the three points to win the game. Imagine being present like the basketball player with your body, mind and spirit completely attentive. Can you imagine the power we can create with that kind of attention and energy? Most people have their thoughts so engrossed with their past and future, scattering energy and losing focus and power.

Invite positive results

What you give attention and energy to, you invite in your life. If you put your attention towards things you want, you invite ‘signs’ that lead you to what you want. If you put your attention and energy towards things you do not want, you invite ‘signs’ that lead you to what you do not want.

To invite positive results and get the ‘signs’ that lead you to these results, focus on what you want. The less the doubt, the quicker the results!

There are 24 hours in a day which make it a level playing field for all of us. You can probably do anything in life, but not everything! Try preparing an ideal budget of 168 hours for one week. Record where your time goes and evaluate your productivity from a quantitative and qualitative standpoint. Do this once every three or four months. This will be very helpful in making important adjustments to how you manage your time.

Life is not a race. It is the quality of your time that matters, not the quantity!

This was first published in the May 2014 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Giving is not a burden or an inconvenience! We are all connected: when we give to others, we give to ourselves; when we hurt others, we hurt ourselves.

The Power of Giving Is Immediate

Think a good thought for about 30 seconds right now. How do you feel? You will feel lighter and happier! On the other hand, if you think a bad thought, you will feel worse. As you send out good thoughts, you invite goodness—it is instantaneous.

When you have too much on your plate and you need someone to give to you, it is hard to give. But if you lighten up and give even a smile, you will feel better. I was doing a seminar for a bank in India that employed 12,000 people, when someone asked me the question: “How do I give and be kind when I have already done that for 12 hours and yet another customer comes in?” I replied, “You have two choices about how to treat the customer—either with a frown or a smile. A smile requires you to use two muscles, while a frown requires 63. You decide: how many muscles do you want to use when you are tired?” A simple smile is instantaneous and yet can have a lasting impact.

The Power of Giving is Continuous

If you close your fist, you cannot receive. When you open your hand and give, you can also receive. When you stop giving, you stop creating!

The more in the flow of giving you are, the more giving flows through you. The more you are in the flow of abundance, the more abundance flows through you. Abundance can be in many forms: in wealth, spirituality, relationships, and health. It can be yours if you make giving an ongoing part of your life.

The Power of Giving Is Eternal

“Give when the season of giving is here so that your coffer is not empty when you die.”
— Kahlil Gibran

When you die, you do not take what you have, you take what you gave! An anonymous wise man appropriately said that a hundred years from now, it will not matter how big your house was or what car you drove or how much money you had in the bank, but the world will be a different place if you were important in the life of a child. Or, if we take it more literally, donating your body to science can have a profound impact on generations to come.

Giving to Oneself

Sometimes we forget that receiving is also a form of giving. If there is so much joy in giving then by receiving from someone we are also giving them a chance to experience the beauty of giving. Whom would you give to, if there was no one to receive?

Also it is important to give to oneself. When you look after yourself—your body, mind, and spirit—you are rejuvenated and are able to give to others. This is not selfish, but selfless. I recommend 20 minutes of meditation, 20 minutes of exercise and 20 minutes of uplifting reading every day. I call that the hour of power.

Corporate Giving

Corporations are usually formed to create profits. Their mandate is not to give! However, surprising as it may sound, giving is still one of the key ingredients of corporate success. Corporations who give to customers, employees, community and environment reap rewards in terms of customer and employee loyalty.

Thomas Edison, the founder of GE said “I never perfected an invention that I did not think in terms of service it might give to others.” Without the service [giving] element not much can be achieved with the customers.

The foundation of any business is giving to the customers. Looking after their needs, solving their problems, keeping them happy is all part of giving to customers that creates loyalty, repeat business and word of mouth. Enterprise Rent-A-Car grew from a small leasing company in Missouri into a $9 billion global powerhouse. Their motto was to keep customers not just satisfied but completely satisfied!

It is becoming harder to find and retain talented employees. Also, harnessing the potential of employees is crucial as it is the most important asset any company has. To attract and retain good employees requires a giving culture. Looking after their needs, and providing an enabling environment, which fosters learning, growth and contribution, is part and parcel of that giving.

Companies such as UPS, Hewlett Packard and Starbucks, who have had some sort of employee ownership either by way of stock purchase plan or stock options, have seen great growth in their business. Giving a piece of the pie to their employees has paid off.

Walt Disney’s mission was “to bring a smile to a child’s face” and he was able to persevere through a lot of struggle and challenges to make his dream a reality. Of course there was a profit motive, all corporations have that, but notice the link to giving—bringing a smile to a child’s face.

Giving in Uncertain Times

In today’s uncertain times, many shy away from giving. They complain about lack of time and resources. They become busy working, commuting, and being caught in the activity trap. There is little time for exercise, relaxation, family, introspection, meditation or financial planning. Stress and dissatisfaction are widespread.

The conventional solution is to work hard, work fast and concentrate on self. Is that working? Not really! There is lack of fulfillment, unhappiness, relationship challenges and negative energy. So what is the solution? Giving!

The more you give to your family; you will enjoy better relationships at home. The more you give to your colleagues, the better camaraderie you will have at work. This enhances your productivity and performance. The more you give to your customers, the better loyalty you will create leading to a better bottom-line. The more you give to the community, the better environment you will create for you and your family to live in.

The more time you invest in others, the less time you need getting things done. In addition, when you give you tap into your creativity, innovation and potential. Also, when you are gentle and give to others, you are also gentle with yourself. Thus the more you give, the more you have!

The best time to give is today! Today is a new day, a fresh beginning! Practicing daily dose of giving to self and others rejuvenates you! Here are seven powerful tips for you to get started:

• Give gratitude everyday
• Shine your light and inspire others to shine their light
• Be a loving human being and family member. Sometimes we forget the people closest to us
• Give people the benefit of doubt—remember everyone is fighting a battle. Also, give every situation the best possible interpretation
• Be a little bit better everyday in every way
• Marry your audacious goals with living in the moment! Direction is important, however, it is execution in the moment that creates the results
• Enjoy the ride—remember, the destiny is in the journey!

Giving is a grace. It comes to people who are blessed. Givers are spiritually kindled and understand the power of giving.

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Were these people born with excellence? Absolutely not! Excellence is an acquired skill that comes from nurturing and mentoring. Our parents, teachers, peers, and mentors, as well as the environment all play important parts in achieving this. The good news is that it is never too late to achieve excellence—as long as you are committed and are prepared to exercise the discipline and action required.

It is much easier to be excellent than not to be excellent. This may be difficult to believe, but consider how good you feel about your work when you are striving for excellence. And how this leads to your team feeling good, as well as your customers. In fact, striving to excel can give you many rewards and can create a positive energy chain. The reverse is true when you do half-hearted work.

Excellence is a game of inches. Every one thing you do a little bit better creates excellence. So become an inch better—as a parent, spouse, employer, employee, professional, or friend—and see what a difference that inch makes. Remember, the difference between the person who wins the race and the person who comes second, is only an inch!

Aristotle said: “You are what you repeatedly do.” Excellence is thus not an act, but a habit. Most of us do things unconsciously most of the time. So once you form a habit of striving for excellence, it will become second nature and you will perform excellently unconsciously.

Giving extraordinary service is one way of achieving excellence. The more you put into the bowl of service, the more you get back in the bowl of rewards. If you want to increase your rewards in life, increase your service. Do common things uncommonly well and see how your rewards increase.

Striving to excel means going the extra mile in everything you do. Many people settle for expediency: doing just enough to get by. What they don’t realise is that they are taking a shortcut to failure. Going the extra mile is a long-term approach. It takes effort, and often requires you to sacrifice short-term pleasure. However, once you go the extra mile, you find that there is less competition and the road becomes clearer.

Keeping an open mind and embracing lifelong learning are stepping-stones to achieving excellence. So learn from every encounter, every experience and every person, every defeat, setback and opportunity. You’ll discover that instead of being frustrated with differences, you are enriched and enlightened by them. What a brilliant approach to learning! As you learn, you keep on growing. And as you keep on growing and learning, you embrace excellence in your life.

Excellence means being well-rounded. It means living a balanced life with time for your family, service, health and spirituality. Leading a balanced life can create synergy and avoid burnout, allowing you to sustain your excellence and continue reaping long-term rewards without compromising your family, health or spirituality. In fact, by being well rounded, you will start to display excellence in all these areas because excellence has become a habit!

You can demonstrate excellence by having a passion for what you do. When you love what you do, you do your work with gusto and enthusiasm. Generally, this comes about when you align your work with your personal mission. You may need to do some soul searching to discover your noble calling and purpose in life. Try exploring your personal mission through meditation and reflection. By going into silence you connect with your spirit and trigger your intuition and gut feeling—your sixth sense.

Excellence is displayed in the moment of choice. How do you handle yourself when you are tested and challenged? How do you choose your priorities when put to task? Do you resort to your higher self when given the temptation to stoop low? These are choices you make in the moment of integrity, and they can separate the great from the mediocre.

Have faith in what you do. This will pave the way for you to persist and get better at what you are doing. If you keep jumping from one thing to another, you seldom excel. Being excellent requires that you stick out whatever path you have chosen. When you dilly-dally in making decisions, you send out a message of lack of confidence and foresight, which are intrinsic to excellence.

People who strive to excel exude confidence and stand out from the crowd! They are admired for the results and spark they create!

This was first published in the September 2013 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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