Successful People 4 ‘

Successful People 4 ‘Lord, let me always desire more than I think I can do.,’— Michelangelo, There is a part of us that will not let us be content until we become all that we are capable of being. Life is not about resting on our past achievements and laurels and residing in our comfort zone. It is an adventure from being ordinary to extraordinary. Rev. Jack Boland urged, ‘Do not let good be the enemy of better.’ Your current situation may be good, but if a greater opportunity presents itself, you must be open to expand. This does not mean you are to run away or violate your integrity. If, however, you can step ahead with honesty, honour, and peace, you will enjoy the benefits of living in a larger Universe. Muscles stay strong and flexible only by use and stretching, and so does our mind. Challenge is the way of the Universe to show us what we can overcome. We should bless our dreams and our desires to identify the opportunity that is lurking as there could be several chances arising round the corner. We need the courage and humility to ask the Universe to provide such opportunities and leave behind all our limitations, step forward to live life as magnificent and gigantic, ordained by the Universe. We need to challenge our minds, so that the mind does not get inured or ossified. In turn, it will produce pathbreaking results. ‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour in your sails. Explore, dream and discover,’ wrote Mark Twain. Achievers stretch their hands and take up responsibility which empowers them to enter uncharted territories. This increases the level of their prana/chi, attention span and nature of work, adding a new dimension to the personality. Successful people are never straight jacketed in their approach and revel in taking risks. Only risk takers become game changers. Rahul Bajaj’s sons, Rajiv and Sanjiv, have embarked upon a fascinating idea to salvage the scrap from the decommissioned INS Vikrant to manufacture scooters. It is an innovative idea, utilizing scrap in a novel manner. While the bottom line of the exercise may be to generate profit, the unattainable thought is audacious. Therefore successful entrepreneurs never KILL an IDEA. An ingenious idea can be a platform for a radical discovery. Developers and achievers keep reflecting upon various possibilities, permutations and combinations and willy-nilly something emerges from some incredible invention. That awesome idea is breathtaking and amazing, stunning and awe-inspiring. When the idea is germinated, something stupendous takes place. ‘Think big and don’t listen to people who tell you it can’t be done. Life is too short to think small,’ writes Tim Feriss. The Universe listens to our deepest thoughts. If the thought is positive, we are blessed with positive results. The cardinal principle in life is to ensure that we receive and circulate only positive thoughts. We should ensure that we are surrounded by efficacious oriented people, keep accepting responsibility and ensure that we possess a YES mind. Successful enterprises ensure that their workforce perform in harmony and synergy, while working in teams. The Universe believes in the Laws of Attraction, Laws of Abundance, Laws of Gratefulness, Laws of Spiraling Effect. All this gets transformed into what Darren Hardy calls the Compound Effect. Next, we ought to always feel blessed and have faith that a superior power is guiding us in our endeavours. There is a superior intelligence which is always creating wonderful opportunities for us and these should be seized with humility. A triumphant individual hinges his belief that the Divine will take care of everything and Thy will be done by simply reposing faith in that Superior Power. Successful Ppeople work on these principles where the football swerves like a parabola and enters the net and we are benumbed in only giving a standing ovation. That is the miracle performed. You may call it the power of the Almighty or the architecture of the Universe. But this works on the premise of the power of positive thinking. Successful People 5 The ability to take risks exponentially increases your chances to win the battle and increases the rate of your success. ‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference,’ says Robert Frost. Success simply implies accomplishment of aim or purpose. Successful people are blessed with a YES mind and are willing to make alterations in their lives . ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,’ wrote Winston Churchill. I can recollect the stories of three people. All were unknown to each other, but had one common strand in their lives. They were all alcoholics and were suffering — physically and emotionally. Their families were distraught, children petrified and relationships with spouses hitting rock bottom. ‘The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand,’ says Vince Lombardi. A posteriori , I recommended they undertake the Art of Living courses. The first colleague, junior to me, agreed to do a three-day course and found undergoing the ‘Sudarshan Kriya’, a breathing technique offered by the Art of Living, to be an exhilarating experience. He did not immediately quit alcohol, but managed to fight the battle with the bottle for yet another day. To begin with, his dependency on alcohol reduced substantially. If only he had continued with the practice of Sudarshan Kriya and also participated in other Art of Living courses unfailingly, he could have managed to combat the problem of alcoholism successfully. It is the vacillating and not the intrepid mind that acts as an impediment to the progress of man, be it materially or spiritually. The second individual did not have the gravitas in him to eschew the habit. He refused to undergo the course or take any other professional help and rather tragically succumbed to the lethal disease. And finally, the narrative of the third person. He kept struggling with dark and gloomy thoughts and a negative shroud enveloped his personality. Fortunately, he listened to me and attempted to do the Happiness Programme of the Art of Living. But destiny willed something else and for reasons beyond human control, he could not do the course. However, he had traveled all the way from Jaipur to Bangalore to have the Darshan of Gurudev as he was sick of the addiction which had numbed his immune system and he had begun suffering from a variety of health problems. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar asked this gentleman to get admitted to the Ayurvedic hospital located at Bangalore Ashram and undertake a rehab, before doing the course. He ignored the sagacious advice at his own peril and fled back to Jaipur. His monkey mind was still not at rest and kept conjuring tricks to continue his dalliance with Bacchus. However, the ways of the Masters cannot be appreciated by the small mind. Only a mind of superior intelligence can grasp the nuances, nods, smiles and acknowledgements of those spiritually evolved. Masters never foresake any needy who approaches and ensures help would be rendered in some form or the other. It so transpired that though this gentleman did not do the Art of Living course, he joined the Alcoholics Anonymous and over a period of time became sober. Ever grateful nonetheless, he always made it a point to have Guruji’s darshan whenever the Master was in Jaipur or Delhi. Thus did the divine grace flow to the seeker. The second case was a tragic one. But, rest assured, 66 per cent success was achieved and that itself was heartening. Those who gave 100 per cent were rewarded with success. That is the Law of Universe . It fulfills all positive intentions, provided they are pure in content and form. These are stories of men like any one of us, who have faced trials and tribulations in their lives. Some try, some struggle and some are successful. The choice is ours and that of our minds. The human mind is extremely important in providing the right course and direction. The mind remains an enigma and its potential is yet to be harnessed. Mind Power can make people successful or failures. However, it is paramount to give one’s 100 per cent. To be successful in our careers or to make a 360-degree shift in lives like those suffering from any debilitating addiction, the individual needs to take risks and not become prisoners of their past or remain stuck in their pigeon holes. Determination, Dedication, Dabbling with something new, Doggedness of pursuit map our minds to believe in the self and its convictions. A successful person and mind invariably lives in the Present Moment to be a harbinger of change. It is important to keep learning and be open to fresh ideas and approaches. Alongside are required hard work, patience, a sense of motivation and purpose and maintaining integrity. Living an ethical life is of immense virtue and unfolds remarkable vistas. The American motivational writer Zig Zaglar sums it up aptly, ‘With integrity you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity you do the right thing, so you will have no guilt.’