6 Powerful Questions

6 Powerful Questions: One of the fastest ways to find the solution to an issue or challenge you're facing is to ask the right question. The right question inevitably leads you to the correct answer. Questions matter. In business, remarkable performers are dazzlingly good at getting to the right question. The one that speeds them to the place they need to reach and offers them the missing piece they need to find. And in life, asking yourself a powerful question will allow you to step into a whole new set of possibilities that you may have missed while you were locked into an old way of seeing things. Like the lesson amid a so-called failure, or the opportunity that inhabits a setback.  Here are six questions that I suggest you write them down and then find some time today to answer them in your diary.  1. What one thing-if I did it-would profoundly improve the way I work (and how I live)? 2. What need to happen between now and the end of the next 90 days for me to feel that this is the best quarter of my work and personal life? (Remember, clarity preceeds mastery) 3. Who do I need to express appreciation to? (Make your list long.) 4. What would I like to improve, professionally and personally? 5. What could I be grateful for that I'm currently not grateful for? 6. How do I want to be remembered after I die?And as you make this day extraordinary, I'll leave you with one of my favourite quotes (which comes from Mark Twain): "If everyone was satisfied with themselves, there would be no heroes."

Progress

Progress: The Unreasonable Person"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” That is a quotation from George Bernard Shaw’s writings. People are considered reasonable when they are content with the way things are presently. However, when we encounter people who are dissatisfied with the status quo and endeavour to change it, they are frequently considered to be unreasonable.  This concept takes me back to a time when I was a young boy. My grandmother played an important role in my upbringing. She was continually telling me that I should be satisfied with what I had. My grandmother was a real Angel of God in my mind, but as look back to those days, I realize that there were a number of points she attempted to sell me where she was wrong. This was one of those points.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with being dissatisfied. In fact, there is a lot of good to be derived from a mind which is dissatisfied. It was dissatisfactionby hat caused Edison to light up the world; Ford to give us the automobile;  the Wright brothers to introduce us to a new kingdom; and Bell to enable us to speak to someone on the other side of the globe. All of these great advances were brought to us because their inventors were, as many believed, unreasonable.  The beautiful truth is that these inventors were dissatisfied.  If you are disagreeing with a present situation just to disagree, you are very likely unreasonable. However, if you are diligently attempting to improve a situation, absolutely refuse to permit someone else’s remark that you are unreasonable to dissuade you. Be unreasonable in their mind, but move ahead.  In the long haul, they will very likely follow you. Discontent is the first necessity of progress.

Conquer the Obstacles

Conquer the Obstacles: Obstacles are something everyone encounters in life. The trick of a successful life is to conquer the obstacles as they appear.  I can vividly remember doing my basic training in the navy many years ago. We would get hauled out of bed at a ridiculous hour and marched in the cold to an obstacle course. I was very young at the time and never understood what the navy was doing or why they were doing it. At the time it appeared to me as if my government had hired people who had a sadistic streak in their personality, and paid them to design these obstacle courses.  I honestly believed they were trying to kill us.  Looking back today, hopefully much wiser and certainly much richer from those experiences, I realize that they were trying to toughen us up, make men out of boys. The obstacles were causing my peers and me to get in touch with something within us we didn't even know was there. There is something else of real value I can see today that I totally missed years ago. Although there was always a certain amount of hostility felt by everyone prior to these marches, it was an enthusiastic group that returned- tired, but enthused. We had accomplished something; we conquered the obstacles. The leaders we referred to as sadistic prior to the march suddenly turned into good guys when we returned victorious. They were the same people with whom we were laughing and joking. If you are in the middle of what appears to be an obstacle course today, reach out to meet the obstacles. Conquer them, and I guarantee that you will see yourself as a stronger, wiser, and happier person.  (Excerpts from a Bob Proctor book)

Be Crazily Enthusiastic

Be Crazily Enthusiastic: “Be enthusiastic” indicates the obvious. “Be energetic” sounds dull. “Be passionate” seems boring. Yet Without enthusiasm, energy and passion, you cannot lead your field and an organization cannot get to world class. (I never suggested this leadership stuff was rocket science.) Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Every great and commanding movement in the annals of the world is due to the triumph of enthusiasm.” And Samuel Ullman observed: “Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old  by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” Enthusiasm matters.  The people I love to be around are generally those that have a simple, heartfelt quality: They are enthusiastic. Wildly so. They are open to life. They are curious. They love to learn. They smile when they see me. And they have a lot of fun. Play hard or don’t play at all.Today, show up at work with all the enthusiasm you can genuinely muster. Be outrageously energetic and madly alive. See the best in people. Go the extra mile to delight your customers. See the opportunity for learning and personal evolution amidst a seeming setback. Embrace change as a chance to grow. Have a laugh with a teammate. Tell your loved ones you adore them. Spread some passion.l’ll be the first to agree that you can’t control what happens to you each day. But with an abundance of enthusiasm, I have no doubt that whatever the coming hours bring, you will handle them with grace, strength and a smile.

Guests are GOD

Guests are GOD: I've tried some of the deepest lessons on life from guys driving taxis. Want some big-time wisdom? Jump in a cab. Put away your cell phone and get to know the human being in front of you. He speaks to hundreds of people each day. Very often, he is wiser than you could imagine. I was reminded of that last night.  I was in Mumbai. I love this place. Love the food. Love the energy. Love the people. The driver’s name was Ramesh Sharma. He saw my name on the taxi reservation sheet and started a long chat (Mumbai traffic is crazy- We had lots of time) and really connected. He asked where I am from etc. etc. He laughed like a child—He told me about his family, his passion for reading, his philosophy. And then he said something I will never forget. "In the North of India, where I am from," he noted with pride, "a guest is God. When someone comes to our home, we treat them with the highest of respect and love. Even if we've to miss eating, we make sure they are well fed. That’s our culture. It brings us joy.” Brilliant! In your life, and in your organization, do you treat your "guests like Gods"? Is that idea a part of your personal and organizational culture? And let me also ask you: What would your personal life look like if everyone who visited you and intersected the journey of your days was treated like a God (whether that person was a family member or a stranger on the street)? What would your professional life look like if you treated your customers with reverence and admiration? You’d be World class. You’d be more successful. You’d be  happier. You’d get to greatness.  ( Excerpts from a Robin Sharma book)

The Wow Factor

The Wow Factor: I checked into a hotel on the Juhu beach in Mumbai. I saw it being renovated a few months ago and made a mental note to check it out on my next visit to Mumbai. So here I am, waiting to be impressed, just aching for a reason to tell you something good about this place where so many businesses are rocking. l like trying new hotels when I travel. I observe what to do (and mostly what not to do) when It comes to customer service, study cool design and check out whether the hotel understands that in this “experience economy” we now live in, the customers must be taken on a journey from start to finish that makes them go “wow.”  This place is amazing. Big smile when I entered, from the doorman, and a warm greeting. Ultra cool design inside. Lots of green and fresh colors. Sexy music and vibe. Super nice front desk staff—the smile thing again with a wonderful offer of Evian water with a slice of lime while I was checking in. And since the MTV Video Music Awards are shooting a video down by the pool, the pretty girl at the front desk asked me whether I wanted a room that would allow me to watch all the action. Sure, I don’t need much sleep anyway. The bellman showed me the workout facility and then the spa. Best hotel gym I've seen since long. The room is awesome—art deco, impeccably clean and stylishly put together. Stunning and very impressive. This hotel under-promised and then over-delivered. It had a chance to win me over, and through well-trained staff, unique and superbly kept facilities and excellent amenities, it did. Now I’m going back downstairs to try its food (everyone raves about its restaurant, where the chef has a spice rack of 1000 spices that he uses in his cooking). I bet I'll be wowed.

Two Ears and One Mouth

Two Ears and One Mouth: As we all know we were given two ears and one month for a reason: to listen twice as  much as we speak. Brilliant point. Listening intently to someone is one of the best ways to honor that person and forge a deep human connection. When you listen to someone—not just with your mind but with every fiber of your being—it sends them a message: “I value what you have to say, and I'm humble enough to listen to your words.” So few of us are really good at listening. I’ll sit down next to someone on an airplane, at the start of a six—hour flight, and they’ll still be talking by the time we land—without having even asked me my name or where I’m from or what I do or the books I’ve read. Tells me not only that they lack what scientists call “sensory acuity” (an ability to pay attention to the cues around them) but that they were probably not given much listening as kids. Most people’s idea of listening is waiting until the other person has finished speaking before answering. And the sad fact is that while one person is talking, most of us are rehearsing our replies.  Very famous line that I love: “Never talk when you can nod.” Your effectiveness as a businessperson, as a family member and as a human being will absolutely soar if you get this one right. Listen twice as much as you speak. Become a great listener. Get wildly interested in what others have to say to you. And just watch how people respond. They’ll fall in love with you... Quickly.