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5 Things not to do when things get difficult, Life Strategies for Tough times

April 03, 2020

Things not to do when times are difficult


 Most of us have learned great and good ideas from School, our experience in a job or business and life in general. There are phases when things are great and high, there are times when things are not as great as we expected them to be. 

These moments besides being quite defining moments can be opportunities.  It helps us incorporate all that we have gained from our reflections and learnings to the test. These are moments we should treasure and cherish (though the difficulty).

But to be cautious these are times we can make stupid and regretful decisions. I have made some of those kinds of decisions. But looking back I do see how they have affected my life for the better.

So I thought of sharing some ideas and pointers that can guide us during such moments. 

There is an interesting quote that goes like this 'Tough times don't last, Tough people, do'. But what does it mean to be tough when confusion and chaos rule your life situation. It could be toughness in the sense of having the courage to pull through the situation. Pull through it with all our imperfections and all our hopes.

Here some ideas I would like to share that we should do during such times.

Life is pressing the Reset button

Life sometimes directs our course to a different route. Difficulties could be signals for changes that are going to come into our lives. Changes can be difficult. 

Sometimes 'Why' may not be the question that helps. 

So, how do we respond to such difficult times can help us. 

Our response gets directed by our Perspective and attitude. These are the moments when we need to realize that can be a great opportunity to learn and grow as an individual.

Gratefulness  as a habit

Powerful Quotes on Gratitude

When things are going downhill we get more clarity about our situation. We know what is normal and how valuable the simple things in life are. 

Practicing gratefulness is putting positivity into action. It is gearing up to be solution-oriented.

Gratefulness helps us focus on the better side of life. It helps us realize that life is more than us.

Getting spiritual

Homo Divinicus


The way I understand religion and spirituality is that religion systematizes spirituality. 

Spirituality to me is rising above our current situation. It is practicing purposeful living. It surpasses and is above our belief systems.

I see it as an innate ability every human being has.

Putting on our Creative Hats

It's an opportunity to practice creativity. I am not saying its a silver bullet to solve your problems. 

But you may never know it could be a useful self-discovery tool.

Learning about our own abilities can be enlightening. Difficult situations bring out the best in us. These are those moments that can show us abilities we thought we never had. 

Hang on, do your best...I mean practice creativity. 

Forgetting Self

Self-care is not self-centredness

Yes, All or at least most of us will at times sulk or fret about difficulties and problems. 

But by forgetting self-focus and looking at other people's needs can be a useful strategy. 

Learning how others resolved their problems can get us ideas that can be useful to us. 

It can bring resolutions to our own problems.

So what are things we must not do...

Right Choices for not so Right times

I have seen from my own experience the tendency becomes to react to situations. 

If luck or whatever doesn't favor you, things could get bad to worse. So First things don't Panic.

Freaking out may not be the best or useful thing to do. 

The next on the list is thinking that life has been unfair to you. 

The main assumption here is that my current situation somehow defines us and our future. This is not necessary, things go very differently from what you expect.

Killing this fatalistic thinking can help us get more resourceful and can conserve a lot of wasted energy. 

Another one is self-deception. We can fool ourselves into thinking that somehow the problem will solve itself. 

It won't solve itself, we need to focus and work on them.

Praying and meditating can be useful, God may intervene. But magical thinking may not be useful.

Confusing self-care with being self-centered. ( Since life has not been fair or whatever else) Yes, they are different and it is for another blog post.

In conclusion


I would like to say rather bluntly 'Shit happens'. 

Getting through it and successful is the aim. Beating yourself or throwing yourself a pity party is not. 

If you are facing anxiety or personal difficulties do consider getting help. Speaking to someone you trust does help, But qualified help is much better

Consider speaking to a qualified counselor or professional mental health expert.

Further Reading


https://www.mhanational.org/deal-better-hard-times

https://www.marcandangel.com/2014/04/06/9-things-to-stop-doing-during-hard-times/

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/7-things-people-forget-when-they-are-down-and-going-through-the-tough-times-life.html


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Staying at Home and ideas to kill boredom and make the best of your time

March 18, 2020

Life beyond Boredom

I don't mind living like a hermit for a long time. Just stuck at home. But for a lot of us it can be a challenge 😂. So how do we deal with this predicament as it can be boring and challenging for some of us.

Besides praying for the safety of our loved ones and ourselves included, this can be a great time to reflect on the things that can enhance our lives

I thought of some ideas to kill boredom and do something interesting.

Here are some ideas you could use:


Practicing Resourcefulness



  • Create a Blog
  • Learn video editing
  • Create your first Vlog
  • Watch some interesting TED talk videos
  • Write a business plan
  • Do some free courses online
  • Try some of the D.I.Y. recipes you see on Facebook
  • Pick up some culinary skills
  • Review videos on YouTube and post them
  • Share my articles & like my Facebook Page
  • Give positive feedback to people who made a difference in your life
  • Stay at home and meditate
  • Read books on Investments and Entrepreneurship
  • Play Indoor Games
  • Doodle and post them on Instagram
  • Clean your cupboards and tidy up your room
  • Do Binge watching (YouTube & Netflix)
  • Catch up on some conspiracy theories
  • Yoga
  • Listen to Music
  • Explore Reddit


To sum it up live the moment and Enjoy the Now. 

Update: Please be safe and practice social distancing. 

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Startup Mindset is important to be Successful, 5 interesting points from an Educator

March 08, 2020

Startup Mindset is important to be Successful, 5 interesting points from an Educator


Is Startup just a Buzz word?

A Startup's mindset is not always about the profit motive


Entreprendre is the root word for Entrepreneurship. It is a French word that means to undertake. 'Startup' is more than a buzz word. It is something that is more than just doing business, it is creating solutions and enhancing our daily lives.

A Startup's mindset may not always have a profit motive driving it, but could be more than that. I have seen it as a way of creating something a great value. Value to customers and the market.

I don't think it is a millennial fad. It is actually applying what they have understood about their field and using business to enhance the effectiveness of their venture.

So today, Let's look at five interesting points that I believe are important to a Successful Entrepreneur.


1. Being Action-oriented

Massive Action



This is one interesting aspect of a Successful Entrepreneur. The ability to move beyond the ideating phase to actual execution.

A lot of times it is the overthinking that kills the project.

Moving to action is what is needed. I remember seeing one of my ideas years later becoming an actual product. (I had thought up something similar...Won't tell you what! :))

It made me interested in Entrepreneurship even more. Sometimes we need simple ideas to begin our journey as an Entrepreneur, not a complete roadmap.


2. Moving away from Perfectionism


Perfection can seem like a very noble task as a person. But sometimes it stifles any action.

Rather than getting stuck in Perfectionism, we can move away from it to something more achievable, namely Excellence. 

Now it is more about a journey and not a destination. 

We are now focused on the daily activities and processes that enhance or kill our dreams rather than an illusory event.

3. Always being ready


One thing in life that is constant is change ( I thought Buddha said it...maybe he did). I think it is true and like death all of us experience it.

So how do we prepare for it? We can build a process or a plan for change. A successful Entrepreneur builds processes and systems to deal with change.


4. The Compounding Effect

I found this idea on many books but in this podcast 'The Mindset Mentor'. It got me thinking about it again, but more in the context of Entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is also about a compounding effect of various tasks and responsibilities carried out daily.

Small Steps that we take daily has the potential to add to our success or failure. It is something that we determine.

5. Uncovering the Reasons

Having a Strong Foundation


The reasons behind our actions or even the dream projects we undertake are important.

It should be something as firm as a rock. 

A Successful Entrepreneur understands the benefits he is proving stakeholders and himself by the projects he undertakes.




Conclusion

Entrepreneurs create value and opportunities for a lot of people including themselves. They bring about positive change (most of the time). But it is some important points that I just covered that make them more effective. 

There will surely be some points you find interesting in Successful Entrepreneurs that you see, please share them in the comments section.

If you have come this far, please consider subscribing to our Facebook Page. We share more ideas and content there, Click Here.

Further Reading



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Life goals and Leadership, John Maxwell's Simple and Powerful Solution to achieving your Dreams

March 02, 2020

Working on your dreams is important

Life, Leadership Coaches, and old Dreams

John Maxwell is one of my favorite leadership coaches. I was listening yesterday to one of his podcasts. It was on achieving your dreams.

It reminded me of one of the life-changing decisions I had to make to quit Theater and settle down. 

John Maxwell is one of my Favorite Leadership coaches


I do miss Theater and acting, but having a family is a thing of its own. Sometimes quitting is an art. 

But today's blog post as the blog title suggests is not on the art of quitting. It's on achieving your dreams.

Read this article


Our Childhood Dreams

Children are so hopeful and positive


Think about it, we all have had some fantasy or dream that we wanted to achieve. We wanted to see it become a reality. 

For some of us, it may hold true that our dream has come to the past. 

But for most of us why do we not see our dreams becoming true.

One Simple Solution

John Maxwell's simple solution can help you achieve your dream project. This simple formula will keep you grounded. 

When I heard the solution, it made me realize why people or even myself may have decided to give up on some of our dreams. 

What were the reasons or situations? Was it the difficulties that made us give up. I am sure each of us can know it for ourselves. 

According to John Maxwell, the reason that people leave is pretty simple. People do not have enough reasons to continue. 

We run out of enough reasons to hold on and fighting for what we believe we deserve or want. 

The path to achieving our goals is always faced with challenges or difficulties of its own.

Read this article


Enough Reasons to Pursue your Dreams


Reasons keep us grounded. They fix us on the path to achieving our goals.  

So an important aspect of achieving goals is having enough reasons. 

These reasons must be powerful and must be something that pulls us through our challenges.

So do you have goals? Do you have reasons that ground you? 

Goals that are worth pursuing that have challenges and of course good reasons.

This insight has been quite powerful to me. 

It has helped me realize that besides hard work and good planning in life. 

It is also important to have good reasons.

Putting it to the Test

So what do we do with this new information? Of course, we must use it. 

You could start by taking some time out of our schedule and focusing on some of the goals that you are pursuing.

Try listing down reasons that you find these goals worth pursuing.

Next Step, Evaluate the reasons that you have written and chosen. 

Choose Five reasons from the list.

Remember these reasons when you need some motivation. 



What are your reasons to hold on to your dreams?

Conclusion

Pursuing our dreams and goals gives our life the spice and flavor to it. It makes it more interesting. 

Doing them for the right reasons and the right way is highly essential to have a fulfilling and better life.

Please do join our FB community...Click Here!

Further Reading

John Maxwell Leadership Podcast

P.S. Note: Please note these are not Affiliate links. I am just sharing a resource I find very insightful and useful.


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Gary Vaynerchuk's 5 Powerful Hacks to Starting out as an Entrepreneur

February 06, 2020
"Ideas are shit, Execution is the Game" - Gary Vee


Gary Vaynerchuk is one of my favorite internet marketers. Why Do I Like Him? I kind of resonate with a lot that he speaks about life and especially marketing.

Besides being a successful internet personality Gary Vee is also a successful businessman. He is the founder of many businesses and successful startups.

Today I shall try looking at some of his quotes and try sharing some of the insights we can derive from them.

As an Entrepreneur, we face a lot of ups and downs, moments of ecstasy and moments of discouragement. It is great to hear from people who share some of their experiences that helped them succeed, along the path we are treading.


Entrepreneurship more than a buzz word

As an Educator, it is not uncommon for me to hear and also meet students who have a deep interest in Entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is something that is encouraged and thought of as a great way to develop societies and communities at large.

So whether it is Social or Profit oriented ventures, I am sure Gary has some insights that could help you.


Entrepreneurship and Life

'Work and Play' has become 'Work that is play', people want work that is more than just a routine. Some of us would like to monetize our hobbies or at least make our work a hobby.

We spend so much time honing a skill or mastering a job. Besides this, it eats into a lot of our time.

So Entrepreneurship or start-up culture can be a good route to achieving that ideal work, that incorporates work, business, and self-development. 

But there is no quick formula or path to achieve it ( At least that's what I am aware of )


Powerful Hack #1 Skills are cheap. Passion is Priceless

Of course, the point is not that skills are not important. But to think it is a substitute for being passionate about what you do is a wrong idea. Passion and relevance to people can be monetarily beneficial.

So a successful Entrepreneur tries to combine his passion with what the market wants.

Just being passionate will not make you a successful entrepreneur, if what you are not creating products and services that are relevant to people.


Powerful Hack #2 Hoping + Dreaming will result in nothing. Executing against your skills is the road to success.


Courtesy: Pexels


So As an Entrepreneur, Action is very important, without it we must forget about succeeding or failing. Since to fail you need to first act.

So like our New Year's resolution, we must set a goal and work towards it every day. So if shaping up is your goal, joining a gym or dieting can be the first step. Not doing these activities properly is a different issue. Execution is always key. Similarly in Entrepreneurship, setting proper and well-defined goals is key.


To be honest, a lot of us can be guilty of this ( Lack of Execution). Hoping & dreaming things and having great ideas is something quite common. But if we do not pursue our Goals, it won't be a reality.

It is important to couple our Goals with Execution, it is quite essential for an Entrepreneur to do this to succeed. Execution coupled with constant constructive feedback can have a transforming impact. We must also see that our Goals aligned with our Company's Vision.


Powerful Hack #3 Fear kills Growth

Courtesy: Image by John Hain from Pixabay


You must have heard the acrostic F.E.A.R, False expectations appearing real or this one False expectation about risks? When it comes to entrepreneurship I believe both hold true.

Do, Entrepreneurs not get scared? I think it's far from that. It is important to move beyond  FEAR and allow it to push us towards action rather than stifling us.


Powerful Hack #4 The Best Marketing Strategy ever: Care.


 Finding your niche or developing your product begins by understanding your customer's needs


It can be quite a head spinner to think of what to produce or what business to get into. Finding that perfect niche can be difficult. I think the word 'CARE' ( As Gary suggests) can really help with that one too.

Whether it is finding your niche or developing your product, understanding your customer's needs can take you a long way towards making your product a success. A good marketing strategy will reflect exactly how your offering satisfies your customer's needs and also showing that you care can create quite an impact.


Powerful Hack #5 "Winning" is not defined by me or your parents or even the market...It's defined by you.

Allowing others to define what success means or looks like, is not so motivating. You define what success means to you nobody is there to stop you. 

Define your success and achieve it...Hear it from Gary Vee


What defines success for you? Courtesy: Gary Vee

In Conclusion

There are many quotes, videos, and Content by Gary Vee. It has helped understand people and customers better. I think most of us want to balance our work and personal lives, Some of these ideas are simple and impactful.

Do use them, Let me know in the comments section how they have impacted you.

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A simple Plan and Powerful Personal Insights + Free Bonus Tip to fulfilling a New Year's resolution

January 16, 2020
Personal Insights and Steps to fulfilling your New Year's resolution



Planning and Doing it


Planning can be fun, but the implementation of it really sucks. I have had my share of difficulties planning and carrying them out. 

I think a lot of times rather than the process of planning the difficulty would lie for me in implementing the plan.

So one question would be how to plan...Like where to begin and what focus we need to keep. 

Today I shall deal with some of the questions related to planning and look at relevant areas to help us complete our resolutions and make this year a more fruitful year.


Getting confused solutions


So, before I begin let me tell you a story. Years back I was detected for high cholesterol. I got really worried about it. 

So I decided to reduce my weight. I started speaking to people about weight loss. 

But it soon dawned upon me that I was getting a lot of advice and most of it would contradict each other. This made me think how much of  what I learnt from people was right or even accurate. It was really difficult to discern right from wrong. 

I had to admit it to myself that I just did not know much about nutrition or weight loss. So I approached a professional. 

He planned my diet after doing to various tests. I followed it religiously. 


Losing & Gaining Weight...


The trigger for me to pursuing my New Year's resolution was a health issue I was trying to deal with. 

I needed a concrete solution and so the acceptance of my ignorance in dietetics and nutrition pushed me to getting professional advice.

Sometimes one of the reasons why we get discouraged and do not pursue our goals is lack of proper counsel and support.

You will not believe I lost a lot of weight and cholesterol too. In a months time results were very much visible. Within a year I had my health under control.

All these experiences really encouraged me. 


Some Personal Insights


This experience taught me a whole lot of things.

1. Accepting there is an issue:


Our goals are triggers (quite often) from the things we want to change or improve. So understanding the real issue can be quite a motivator

Just wanting an outcome can motivate one to a certain extent, but also understanding the underlying problem can be of real good help.

It can motivate us to deal with the issue with the right pace and focus.


2. Jack of all trades and mastering none:


Just having the realization that cursory knowledge is not enough can be a humbling experience. 

It can help one to see the importance of getting a mentor or an expert to deal with the problem. Self-help does not mean you have to do it alone.

Joining a community or getting in touch with a professional can be really useful.


3. Sticking to the plan:


I have realised looking back at some of the difficulties I faced while trying to get healthy, 
There was a whole lot of them and religiously being focused and not given up matters.

When you achieve your set goal, It feels really great and it can be life changing.

It builds in you a new confidence and energy. 

Following the plan to fulfill your Goals is worthwhile, so prepare a good plan and stick with it.


Free Bonus Tip


Modifying your plans and Changing course:


Sometimes it becomes necessary to adapt and change. This could be due to new information or feedback. 

Modifying plans should not be seen as abandoning your resolution nor as taking a tangent. It can be seen as a course correction.

Just like how a Rocket course corrects to reach a particular destination, we can do the same.

I believe it should be expected and one should be prepared for the same.

So before I let you go, let me end with this thought.


Insightful Quote on Goals

Don't make your goals just a wish

So don't just make wishes and build hope, Plan and implement it. 

Don't just plan and implement it, learn new ideas and get constant feedback. 

Don't pursue it alone get a mentor or guide, and also if possible join a community. 

But whatever you do believe in yourself and confidently move ahead.


Steps To Building a Simple Plan


 I would summarise my experience into the following Steps for Planning


Step 1:  Be clear about the Need you tackling

Uncover the Need that needs to be dealt with. Try concretizing it a few points or ideas that can be chunked together.


Step 2:  Understand how your Goals relates with the Need

Goals are like journeys that fulfill needs. So be clear and write it down.

Step 3:  Build a plan

Write down strategies and tactics you would be using in achieving those goals.

Step 4:  Consult your Mentor about your plans

Having relevant support and positive criticism can help. Please do not confuse criticism with people who are toxic or discourage you. Stay away from people who discourage you.

Step 5:  Be flexible and adaptable

The very nature of planning assumes changes and so we must include that as a part of our plan. 

We must be clear about the course we must take in case we encounter something very different from that we expected.

Step 6:  Get feedback and change course

While implementing our plans, we must constantly and a regular intervals seek feedback. 

This could be done by keeping targets or setting up a metrics to measure the effectiveness of the plan.


In Summary

A New Year is an opportunity to bring new hopes and aspirations to reality. Let us use to help ourselves and others too.

Please share this article and also your valuable feedback.

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Wishing you an awesome 2020! 3 Vital Life Lessons from 2019 to make this year superb

January 05, 2020

Goodbye 2019


2020 reminds me that it has been 20 yrs since people thought the Y2k bug would end things (Lol). It has been such a long journey since then. Before I start sharing some information and insights, Let me begin by thanking all my readers and supporters for taking the time to be on my website and read the posts and articles I share.


I always started New Year with reading the astrology section to check how my year was going to be ( although, I don't believe in Astrology ) and with keeping a list of things to do for the coming year.


But this year, I thought of doing it differently, I did not read the Astrology section (anywhere) and I did not keep a to-do list or as some may say resolutions. I just started the year being thankful and grateful.


Being Grateful

Power of Gratefulness: Practice Gratefulness in 2019

I prayed and thanked God for all joys and pains that taught a lot of life lessons.

I was joyful and grateful for the time I spent with loved ones who did not make it to this year.

I was thankful for just having the joy to experience life and the joy of just being able to experience things.

.... And a lot more

I am sure that keeping a resolution will work great for a lot of people, and it may not work for many, but just looking back, being thankful feels fulfilling and blessed.

I am sure there have been a lot of great ideas and lessons each one of us carries forward to the next year.

Here are some of the lessons I take to 2020:


# Life Lesson No. 1:  Every Moment is an Opportunity

Every Moment has the potential to change the future


I think this in my experience is something that each of us know very clearly and take it for granted. 

The idea that every moment in the present is an opportunity. 

Seizing the moment, learning from the past and keeping the future in mind can really help us chart ahead with our focus onto our visions. 

Healthy reflection and practicing daily gratefulness can help us mentally and spiritually but it can also help us see how relevant our daily tasks are in fulfilling our goals and visions.


# Life Lesson No. 2:  Life is a Journey


It always got me thinking about what does one do after achieving a vision. The answer is very simple to set a new vision.

 A vision is not something that is static. It is a response to the needs we and others share. It should work towards making the world a better place. 

Now we can think this so abstract. I believe it is not abstract. I think the problem is when we try to fix everything.

 I think one should be focused on a single-core problem and begin to diversify.

So if you are helping someone by creating a product or offering a service start by focusing on developing one product at a time. 

If it works then diversify to other products or services.


# Life Lesson No. 3:  Feedback and Course Correction

Course Corrections is a vital part of achieving goals

Lastly, This is a very important lesson I take to the Next year.

That is how to perceive a victory or a loss.

When we are victorious I think it wise to take it as feedback that your strategies are working (unless it could also be some sort of unexpected streak of good luck) 

and when does not win, it should be an opportunity for course correction.


Concluding Thoughts

One of the gifts you can give yourself is to ponder on some of the lessons life has taught you in 2019 and use it to make 2020 a better one. 

Once again wish you a wonderful New Year and please like and subscribe to our Facebook page

Please do share your thoughts and some of the Life lessons you would be taking to the coming year.


Further Reading

138 New Year's Resolutions for 2020

Benefits of Taking Short Breaks 

Cost of Being too Nice


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Ponder Point - The Reason why Life experiences are essential

December 12, 2019

Dogma cannot compensate for real-life experiences




Life and Dogma

I just came across this quote from Steve Jobs, " Don't be trapped by Dogma...". This got me thinking about Dogma from a Religious sphere and personal growth related sphere they were the same and different both at the same time. In the Religious sphere ( I am referring to Christianity, that is my belief system), it is based on God-given revelation, so logically it cannot be contradicted as God ( All perfect being is revealing it), but the dogmas that we carry about things in our lives or we may say related to personal growth are not revelation and therefore can be replaced. 


Your own experience matters

We may come up with better ideas and ways of looking at things. Sometimes we can get so caught up in other People's experiences that we can hold our selves back from experiencing it ourselves. So like in Religion we need to build our own reservoir of personal experience and learning to grow. We must build ourselves by daily succeeding or failing.


Being Guru or Sophist


Some days ago I was watching a video critiquing a major Internet guru. I won't name him, because I do respect him and I learned a lot of ideas from him. People say he is a scam because his courses are exorbitant and they do not produce the result as they imagined it. This kind of criticism really makes me think whether skills and growth are achieved only in a day, a year or a couple of months.

It is so easy to speak badly about people, but the fact is that Personal growth is a Personal Responsibility.


Importance of Trying

I believe like anything it requires constant learning, application and course correction to achieve positive results.

Imagine if you are learning acting professionally and expect to become a thorough actor overnight it is senseless. Of course, there are prodigies, but the rule for the rest of us is to constantly work at ourselves and learn more so that we can move further down the road to self-development.


The relevance of Healthy criticism

I would like to say that criticism is essential but also healthy appreciation can go a long way. There are a lot of wolves in sheep's clothing ( Fake gurus or Charlatans ) and we must practice critical thinking, but not applying what you learn and not keeping healthy expectations is not healthy and not realistic as well.


In Short

Be Real, Keep Learning and Try it out, If it works for you try to get better at it.

Keep checking this space for more articles. Do join our community on Facebook and share this insight with a friend.

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One Major Reason why you don't like your job: How enjoying your work can increase your Brand value?

November 03, 2019
Photo by Rebrand Cities from Pexels



My love for Theater and Drama

Theater and drama have always been my passion. Years back when Orkut was a thing I joined a Theatre group. I met this guy online and he was very passionate about drama and cinema. So I got in touch with him. He informed me, he was starting a drama club. I met this group of theater enthusiasts. 

We all shared the same passion and more importantly we all valued cinema and drama. We would read scripts together and also do drama. We did a couple of plays at various corporate events and also organized our own Theater play. It was simply amazing. 

So Why am I tell you all this? Its to share an important decision I had to make. The decision of leaving this wonderful drama club. They were going to be different by taking a new route and at that juncture in my journey towards learning more about drama, I felt that I wanted something different for myself. 

So I left and informed that the reason why I could not continue and be a part of their group. My values and vision had changed.

Keeping the important things important

So I joined another theater group, I would practice and watch plays every weekend. The fun continued. What I realized from the entire experience is the importance of aligning work and values. I valued learning and did not want to compromise it.

 My values were like pillars supporting my ultimate goal. I wanted to be a better communicator and educator. It really helped me develop myself and my skillset. A lot of times we don't enjoy our work and this could be for various reasons. I believe one strong reason could be a lack of alignment between goals, values and the work you are doing.

 So aligning them can bring a lot of changes and it can also help you leave a mark not only on your work but also on others.

Enthusiasm and Being an awesome Influencer

During my stint as an Executive with various companies, I loved the experience of working in teams. I shared the same joy in Academics. 

It was amazing to see students succeed in their events, project and other endeavors. I believe it was that shared enthusiasm and values that helped them succeed. Some of the students would become really popular without even trying. 

They were able to lead and influence a lot of team members and colleagues. The way they worked and presented themselves as one of the reasons they had a successful image. 

Importance of Personal Branding to your job

In the day and age of Social Network, Personal image can play a vital role. Presentation of self and our opinions do matter. To think that it doesn't, wouldn't be wise. So I believe it all starts with ourselves. The way we present ourselves depends a lot on our values and how passionate we are about the things that we work and live for.

If we do not enjoy our work, it shows. You may be paid the same, but you could be affecting other things like Personal Brand value. Two questions come to mind when we hear about Personal Branding. 

What is it?
Is it important?

Personal Branding is the practice of using branding and marketing for a person and not for a product or service or business. So let me first explain branding and how it is different from marketing before getting into using it for a person or self. 

Brand refers to the symbol, name, term or design that identifies one product from all other products. So Branding would be the process of creating a brand. 

On the other hand, Marketing involves satisfying customers' wants profitably. So these techniques when applied to ourselves properly can help us grow in our careers. It can help us explore ourselves effectively.

How big Brands influence and how to model them?

One important thing about brands is that they promise something and they deliver them quickly and effectively. They do so through careful planning and execution. So the question is how can we do the same? How can we brand ourselves? 

As employees, we make promises at our workplace. It is important to keep those promises. This can be the first step. We must stand for something, some we must deliver on words quickly. This should not only reflect in our words, but also in our work.

Big brands take measured steps and tie metrics to judge their effectiveness. We should set standards for ourselves as professionals. 

There is a whole lot of steps involved but what guides and keeps the flame of passion for good work going. It is our values and yes, our vision. Focus cannot come without a goal or a vision. One cannot achieve their vision or goals without having the values and passion to carry one through the tough times and difficult situations.

One simple mantra for enjoying your work and leaving a mark is to stick to your values and deliver on your words. Let values build and help to burn the flames of passionate work. Leave a mark by keeping your promises.

Falling for anything

This reminds of a cliche that goes like this, "If You Don’t Stand for Something, You’ll Fall for Anything." When you stand for anything you won't be easily remembered. 

Most of the icons we look up to, may it be technology, religion, politics or culture, they all stood for something. They lived their message and mostly delivered them. Its time to do the same and standout.

Some simple ways to Building a Personal Brand at your workplace

  • Promise and deliver
  • Plan and measure the execution of your plan
  • Let your goals and visions drive your promises
  • Use your values effectively
I hope this article got you thinking, does help you and get you thinking. Do leave a comment and share this article.

Further Reading

Personal Branding Tips
Personal branding in the workplace
Wiki on Personal Branding

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