Category Archives: Motivational

Being an Ideapreneur — Is that enough?

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Recently I came across a YouTube video of one of India’s biggest software IT companies that glorified the concept of “Ideapreneurs”. I found it particularly intriguing because the ideation is usually the preliminary step of any creative activity.

Let’s take a close look at what the word “ideapreneur” means :-

An ideapreneur is a person that is continuously initiating innovative ideas which are centered around the core goal of solving problems and acting upon them.

Now contrary to popular belief,ideas are easy to come by,it is the discipline required to follow through with an idea resulting in a viable product/action plan that is commendable.

The word ideapreneur is generally used in corporate circles to encourage ideation amongst their employees and to make employees feel valued about their participation in brainstorming sessions.

An ideapreneur can never assume satisfaction and should strive towards becoming an intrapreneur or an entrepreneur to enjoy wholesome satisfaction in the realization of one’s capabilities.

So,if you are someone who is basking in the glory of your ideas, don’t fall into the trap of complacency… there is a long way to go to achieve your full creative potential

2 Reasons Why Taking Risks Can Transform Your Life

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Here why you need to let go of that ‘stable’ mentality

Dhoni –who is arguably India’s most popular cricketer till date (barring Sachin Tendulkar) –radiates a kind of aura that few can replicate.In an age where most celebs have nervous breakdowns at the slightest hint of success or clutter,Dhoni is a model for those who are clueless about controlling the adulation. I have taken Dhoni as an example for this post as he is a shining example that many people can relate to and his name is synonymous with risk-taking.All his success stories seemingly stem from wild gambles but there is a method to his madness. In the recently concluded Test at Lord’s in England,Dhoni employed an unusual tactic of standing back to a spinner inviting the batsman to come down the track and possibly play a false shot.Most commentators were clueless about the strategy and only understood the significance after Dhoni explained about his tactics after the match. In the same match,Dhoni’s advice to Ishant Sharma to bowl bouncers to bait the batsmen into playing hooks/pulls was regarded as a master-move because India won the match.

 

Dhoni

This is the takeaway from this post for those of you who don’t understand the first thing about cricket  :–

1.Taking risks can be rewarding :There are always people who will praise you when you did something that they would never have dreamed of.Once in a while,one of the risks you take might not pay off and you will face a lot of criticism, but atleast you did something.

2.Risk Taking increases the fun-quotient in your life :If you closely look at people who take risks continually they have a lot of fun in their lives.Most self-actualized people are risk-takers.The rush that you get –when you see something materialize from a half-chance that you took–become a huge success,is something that has to experienced.The feeling is addictive and lends meaning to your life.

 

So..there it is my 2 reasons..Rewards and Fun….If you have any other reasons,please let me know in the comments section.

Photo Credit : jaymantri.com

Could ‘Over-Motivation’ be bad for you?

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A look at why you need to control the dosage of motivational stuff in your life

Person A has decided to take control of his cluttered life,stop procrastination and to be healthy(read muscular).He figures that to start positively, it would be wise to learn from the experts and buys a few books — How to Win Friends and Influence People ,The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari and How to Think and Grow Rich (just naming a few here) – and decides to transform his physique via YouTube videos,exercise and a clean diet.Facebook posts are full of motivational stuff to let the whole world know that he is ‘changing’.

At first,Person A spends a lot of time learning about positive stuff and exercising,he barely gets time to execute his goals for the first few months and then when he does start taking action on urgent matters,he loses his grasp of the “transforming techniques” and “goes with the flow” by justifying his actions by complaining that “Real life is different”.

Does this sound familiar?

This pattern of backsliding has happened to several people(including me).The one thing which helped me to fix this problem was to identify that motivational stuff could be addictive,time-consuming and needed monitoring.

Change is gradual and should be introduced in incremental steps for a long lasting benefits.

Do not try to proceed by taking giant leaps.Read only a few chapters of whatever book you have chosen to enrich your life daily.

If you are working out,stop fantasizing too much (anything over 5 min a day is not OK)about how you will look in the future and focus only on that day’s workout.

Spend 30 – 45 min daily for your “Motivational High”. Constantly review the results and if you don’t see measurable changes, a few tweaks are needed.

If there is no visible output,the inputs are useless.

Have you had similar experiences?If you have different strategies,please share your insights in the comments section.

Photo Credit :Folkert Garter

 

 

Flush It Down!

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Going from ‘stuck’ to ‘unstuck’

There are times in the past when I constantly went into a self-convincing mode to justify my continuance with a person or a habit that seemed to cause a lot of heartburn (not the acid reflux type)and waste a lot of time.

After a while,I trained myself to visualize something which has helped me to “let go” easily .I don’t know if you will feel comfortable with it,since it is a crude analogy….well,here it is—after I finish my toilet routine in the morning, I look down at the toilet bowl before flushing (I just look at it objectively :-),not the way Robin Sharma advocates people to gaze thoughtfully,full of love at flowers,plants etc in the morning to kick-start an influx of positive energy ).

What I see,is something which slightly nauseates me (obviously!) and reminds me that what I was looking at, was part of my body a few minutes ago and that it resulted from the food —delicious or nutritious—-that I ate and that those are the remnants of something which was supposedly beneficial hours ago.

AND THEN, I FLUSH IT DOWN!

This is the way I deal with unpleasant situations,toxic people and bad habits.I reflect for a moment about the positives gleaned from the experience,thank them in my mind and then flush them out of the recesses of my mind.

“Continuously looking back is a sure-fire way to slow down progress” —Unknown

Photo Credit: Stuart Miles, freedigitalphotos.net

 

Directionless?

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A 3 step concept to help you make sure you are “on course”

 

Have you ever had problems coping with changes in your life?It may have been a new job where you had problems making sense of the new responsibilities (or)you were trying to fit in to the lifestyle of the city you just moved to.Some people just say things will eventually work out and that you don’t need to necessarily go out of the way to acclimatize. However,having a strategy helps you save the time and energy you may lose when you “go with the flow”.

I have an analogy for the uncertainty you may be experiencing—Imagine you are in a boat that is out at sea and you have to no way of steering your boat(just think that you are in a basic boat without the GPS ,radar,motor etc).Your boat will be moved according to the wind and the tidal currents.You need SOMETHING to help you steer to your desired destination.

Introducing..the OAR..the simple tool that will give direction.

OAR (in this case)is an acronym forObserve,Assimilate and Reinvent/Replicate.

The first step to dealing with any new situation/problem is to perceive correctly the change that you are faced with.This is the ‘Observe’ phase where you identify the situation that you want to master and see how others have dealt with similar situations.

The next step is to ‘Assimilate’ by analyzing the pros and cons of the situation.During this step,you look at your situation from various angles and focus on maximizing the positives.

The final step is ‘Reinvent’ or ‘Replicate’.Depending on the nature of your skill-set,situation or experience you can reinvent (example finding a different way of doing a job)or just replicate the success methods followed by others.

So,the next time you are caught in the troubled waters of your mind,make sure you use theOAR to give you direction.

“The Good Life is a Process,Not a State of Being.It is a Direction Not a Destination” —Carl Rogers

 Photo Credit:Caleb George Morris