10 Business and Leadership Lessons - From Machiavelli

In any case, he predates us all by a few centuries, which makes these 10 Business and Leadership Lessons from Machiavelli remarkable, to say the least:

1. “Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.” As I wrote just the other day, “Leaders must learn to adapt in a fast-changing world to avoid corporate or political disaster.” That is, after all, why most companies fail.
2. “Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.” An entrepreneur’s first and most important goal is to find a unique and innovative solution that solves a big customer or market problem. Without obstacles, there are no opportunities. And those same obstacles provide barriers to competitors, down the road.
3. “Never was anything great achieved without danger.” I’ve often said that willingness to take risks is a critical success factor. In Irreverent Career Advice for Up-and-Comers, I encourage young folks to, “Take big risks … now!” since, “It gets much harder as you get older and begin to ‘acquire’ things you don’t want to risk losing.”
4. “Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.” Finding your passion is not only the key to happiness, but also the key to business success. As Apple CEO Steve Jobs once said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone
   else’s life. The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” Amen.
5. “I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.” Most of you know that I abhor the status quo. In Why Skeptics Make Great Leaders, I wrote, “Cynics question common wisdom and those in authority. [They] aren’t just okay with the status quo. [They] seek a better way to do things. [They] break rules and break molds.”
6. “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.”
   Weak leaders surround themselves with weak lieutenants. Strong leaders always hire the best at what they do … assuming they can afford it.
7. “The distinction between children and adults, while
   probably useful for some purposes, is at bottom a specious one, I feel.
   There are only individual egos …” In Are You a Dysfunctional Manager?
   we discuss how dysfunctional managers get stuck in one stage of human development and “look just like ordinary adults, but actually behave a lot more like children, acting out, throwing tantrums, and generally making life miserable for everyone around us.”
8. There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. So true. It’s also true of startups, mega-mergers, and big corporate change initiatives.
9. “The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.” I’ve always favored decisive action versus over-planning which, in dysfunctional organizations, often results in analysis paralysis.
10. “The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” Regarding Google’s recent announcement that co-founder Larry Page will become CEO, I concluded that Founders Do Make Good CEOs … When They Grow Up. We’re all getting older, but are we also becoming wiser? Let’s hope so.

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It’s Not How Smart You Are, It’s How Motivated You Are

So, there’s good news for the common person: It’s not about your innate intelligence, it’s about how motivated you are. Or, more likely a combination of the two.

We’ve known for years that people with high IQs do better in school (duh) and work, but it turns out that what an IQ test is measuring may not just be intelligence, but how motivated you are.

Angela Lee Duckworth, from the University of Pennsylvania, has found that intelligence may just be overshadowed by motivation in IQ testing and general success in life.

She looked at films of 12 year old boys taking IQ tests. While the test results were able to predict success (or not so successful behavior, like prison) 12 years later, the tests were given one-on-one, orally and videotaped.

Duckworth recruited three independent researchers to review the footage for signs of low motivation, such as refusing to take part, or wanting the session to end. The team found that boys with lower IQ scores were also less motivated when they took the test, and their degree of motivation also predicted the course of their lives. Accounting for motivation weakened the link between IQ and life-success, especially for employment and criminal convictions.

So, what does this mean for you and your career? You may not be able to change your genetic intelligence level, but you sure as heck can change your motivation.My BNET Colleagues have some great suggestions for increasing your motivation, and therefore your chances at success.

Jeff Haden writes:

Don’t let today be a day you will look back and regret.
Whatever you’ve been planning, whatever you’ve imagined, whatever
you’ve dreamed of — get started on it today. If you want to start a business, take the first step. If you want to change careers, take the first step. If you want to expand or enter a new market or offer new products or services, take the first step. Get started. Do something. Do anything.

This BNET Video, with Rob McKelvey, explains how to maintain motivation.

And Steve Tobak tells managers what employees need to be motivated.

their work is appreciated, recognized, and challenging;


they’re compensated appropriately;


their management is competent, hard working, and doesn’t have its hand in the cookie jar, more or less.

Whether you are an individual contributor that wants to push yourself forward, or a manager who wants success for herself and her team, you’re not stuck based on what nature gave you. Increase your motivation and increase your chances at success.

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DEALING with INSULT....Lord Buddha

(This is a great article shared out by one of my colleague, who is patient and kind enough to listen to my whining. Thanks !)

The Buddha explained how to handle insult and maintain compassion.

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teaching others," he shouted. "You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake."
Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?"
The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift."
The Buddha smiled and said, "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."

"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy."
The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Buddha. "You are right, o Enlightened One, "he said. "Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower."

The Buddha answered kindly, "Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me."

Beautiful Quotes

If you are right then there is no need to get angry
And if you are wrong then you don't have any right to get angry.

Patience with family is love,
Patience with others is respect,
Patience with self is confidence
and
Patience with GOD is faith.

Never Think Hard about PAST,
It brings Tears...
Don't Think more about FUTURE,
It brings Fears...
Live this Moment with a Smile,
It brings Cheers.!!!!
Every test in our life makes us bitter or better,
Every problem comes to make us or break us,
Choice is our whether we become victim or victorious !!!

Search a beautiful heart not a beautiful face.
Beautiful things are not always good
but good things are always beautiful.

Remember me like pressed flower in your Notebook.
It may not be having any fragrancebut will remind you of my existence forever in your life.

Do you know, why God created gaps between fingers?
So that someone who is special to you, comes and fills those gaps by holding your hands forever.

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梦想再遥远，也要启航；换个角度，得失只是一瞬间，也许机会之门正等你打开。

Another year passed, I am still holding the key to my dream in touch. Though it was a good year for to experience spiritual extra-ordinary and I did learned from the experience, seeing and feeling how's a real yogi body really is. It's an eye-opening experience for me. It give me a chance to know more about myself and my body, to be a yogi.

Again it's still up to me whether to make the breakthrough or not. It is still a seeding stage for me. Just too many commitment at this moment. Settle the car, then comes the house renovation things. Just too many things on the list that keep dragging me away and away again, from my plan.

But I am still keeping up with my dream. I plan to start something small and simple from my kids first, organizing yoga class for them, rather than keep waiting for the chance of teaching. My yoga teacher remind me of something, that have I practise/teach my kids on yoga at home ?

Recently my brother in law started some new programme for kids as well and again it's a good opporturnity for me to review my plan again and knocking on my back head again. Just like something suddenly hit hard on my head and remind me of myself.

Most likely the journey is going to be like the song title 'The Long And Winding Road' song sing by The Beatles, full of windy and curvey path but still with faith.

Remember the Purusartha you learned before, things will come as long as you have faith and be patient, try your best effort and smile on every challenge that you face.

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Sādhanā

(Quoted From Wiki)
Sādhanā (Sanskrit साधना, literally "a means of accomplishing something")^[1] is spiritual practice.^[2] It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.

Kinds of Sādhanā

ādhanā or spiritual practice need not be directed towards a higher cause like enlightenment or moksha. Sādhanā can be done by individuals for lower aims like obtaining worldly pleasures. Sādhanā is also done by a group for the society at large.

Sakām sādhanā

Sakām sādhanā (Devnagari = सकाम, sa = yes / with, kām = desire) is spiritual practice done for worldly pleasures. This is the lowest form of sādhanā. There is no spiritual progress with sakām sādhanā. Examples of sakām sādhanā are praying for any worldly goals like getting money, a job, marriage or any other aim which are temporary and will not last beyond death.^[7] In Ramayana it was mentioned that though Ravana and Kumbhakarna were great devotees of Shiva and performed various tapas, they were performing sakām sādhanā as their main aim was to become powerful and rule the world.^[8]The fruits of this kind of spiritual practice are used to fulfillthe worldy desires of the individual and no spiritual progress takes place. Thus it is not possible to reach enlightenment, moksha or even heaven as the merits needed to achieve this are used up. So sakām sādhanā provides only temporary happiness and no spiritual progress.^[9]

Niṣkām sādhanā

Niṣkām (Devnagari = निष्काम, niṣ = no / without, kām = desire) sādhanā is spiritual practice done for higher aims. It is done to achieve the aim of enlightenment or moksha. It is done for the spiritual upliftment of the individual so that he is taken out of the cycle of life and death (samsara).^[10]

Vyaṣṭi sādhanā

This is niṣkām sādhanā done for one's own spiritual upliftment. No one else is benefitted except the person doing vyaṣṭi sādhanā. Thus this form of spiritual practice is an individualistic practice. This form of sādhanā is very important if one wants to do samaṣṭi sādhanā.^[11]

Examples of vyaṣṭi sādhanā

Chanting God's name (nāmjap)

1. Meditation
2. Karmayoga
3. Hathayoga
4. Reading books on Spirituality

Benefits of vyaṣṭi sādhanā

1. Spiritual Progress
2. Increase in Sātvikta
3. Increases Bhaava(faith)
4. Increases the talmal (Desire for God)
5. Lower level Anubhuti (Spiritual Experiences)

Pitfalls of vyaṣṭi sādhanā

Note: These pitfalls exist if the sādhanā is done without a guru and if not accompanied by samaṣṭi sādhanā.

1. Ego can increase
2. Needs a lot of time for little spiritual progress
3. One can lose motivation as fast progress is not achieved

Samaṣṭi sādhanā

This is the kind of niṣkām sādhanā which is done collectively for the spiritual progress of entire humanity. It is the highest level of sādhanā. For samaṣṭi sādhanā to be maintained, vyaṣṭi sādhanā is a must. The same logic that a teacher must read the book first before teaching the students can be applied to this.^[12] In Kaliyuga, samaṣṭi sādhanā is important as the people do not know the significance of sādhanā. This kind of sādhanā is more difficult and increases the sātvikta of the entire area. Samaṣṭi sādhanā is not possible without a guru.

Examples of samaṣṭi sādhanā

1. Taking satsangs
2. Helping in organising satsangs, meditation camps, etc.
3. Telling others about spirituality.
4. Helping others overcome ego by telling them their mistakes from the point of view of spirituality.

Benefits of samaṣṭi sādhanā

Samaṣṭi level sādhanā is more difficult compared to vyaṣṭi but it has added benefits.

We become closer to God

1. Faster Spiritual progress
2. Love for all living beings (prīti) increases
3. Superior level spiritual experiences (anubhutis)
4. After death we go to higher planes of existence ( swarga or heaven and beyond )
5. Ego and Personality Defects can be easily removed
6. Movement from saguna to nirguna

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Yoga for anxiety and depression

Benefits of controlled breathing

A type of controlled breathing with roots in traditional yoga shows promise in providing
relief for depression. The program, called Sudarshan Kriya yoga (SKY), involves several types of cyclical breathing patterns, ranging from slow and calming to rapid and stimulating, and is taught by the nonprofit Art of Living Foundation.

One study compared 30 minutes of SKY breathing, done six days a week, to bilateral electroconvulsive
therapy and the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine in 45 people hospitalized for depression. After four weeks of treatment, 93% of those receiving electroconvulsive therapy, 73% of those taking imipramine, and 67% of those using the breathing technique had achieved remission.

Another study examined the effects of SKY on depressive symptoms in 60 alcohol-dependent men. After a week of a
standard detoxification program at a mental health center in Bangalore, India, participants were randomly assigned to two weeks of SKY or a standard alcoholism treatment control. After the full three weeks, scores on a standard depression inventory dropped 75% in the SKY group, as compared with 60% in the standard treatment group. Levels of two
stress hormones, cortisol and corticotropin, also dropped in the SKY group, but not in the control group. The authors suggest that SKY might be a beneficial treatment for depression in the early stages of recovery from alcoholism.

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Full Moon - A Night Full Of Compassion...

It's 2nd day of my Sri Sri Yoga course, something happened at the end of the course. When the teacher instructed us to lay down for relaxation pose, with some breathing exercises.  One of it is to roar like a lion when exhale. I was laying down there, follow the instruction of the teacher. I cannot remember how mant times we do it but when I was doing the roar sound, the man laying down beside me making some screaming sounds, which making my heart trembled and suddenly I shedded tears silently without even me knowing it. But I know the reason why. The sound making by the man laying down besides me seems letting out all the pains in his body and scream out. Just like a soul crying out in pain. So many souls being released to this earth and learned how to finding the right path back to the source. I was touched by my own thought.

Maybe it's just because of it is full moon night, that my emotions is more sensitve. I remember my yoga teacher told me before that during full moon, you can get injury easily during yoga, I guess she forgot to mention about emotion as well.
It's a good release for me at least and seeing another softer side of me.


 

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