Push Your Luck.

I believe that luck is a matter of intention, strategic action and abundance of outflow. If you really want it and are willing to work on it and if you create enough outflow on it, you will get the results you desired. Luck isn’t really an act of randomity. Getting something for nothing is the general definition of luck by the people who have convinced themselves that circumstances are bigger than their ability to overcome them. There sure are people who were hit by that stroke of luck but they don’t survive long with it.

So how does one get lucky? By pushing it. Push your luck. What is the worst that can happen that isn’t happening already? If you want work, ask for work. What is the worst that can happen? You wont get it. But then you don’t have it anyway so asking isn’t going to make it any worse.

Luck Formula #1 – Outflow equals inflow: If you want to create more clients, if you want to sell more, if you want to earn more, go out and create a bigger outflow. If twenty no’s bring you one yes, then if you want ten yesses, you need to wade through two hundred no’s. That’s the only math you need to be good at to see success. When you see the guy who got ten yesses, you think he is lucky. If you look close you will find the one hundred and ninety no’s he discarded to get to the success you so envy today.

Luck Formula # 2 – Negotiate, push your luck: Even when you are in a tight spot, negotiate. Don’t settle for less without pushing your luck first. If the client doesn’t want to buy what you are selling, ask for a reference. If he asks for a discount, push for him to buy two to justify the lowered price. If the client doesn’t want to buy from you at all, make a friend. Either way get something out of that interaction. Put yourself in the habit of pushing your luck and you will get lucky more often.

Luck Formula # 3 – Positivity is the breeding ground for luck: Don’t compare yourself with failures and negativity. Use pitfalls and discouragement to find points of improvement. Don’t trap yourself with the question, “What did I do wrong?” the question that will get you lucky is “How can I do this better the next time around?” Dig for betterment, fish for positive correction, go for higher standards and you will be ahead of your own expectations.

Rooting for your success, always!
-Priya Kumar.

The Final Countdown.

2017 is nearing the end, the last 60 days to go. The pressure is mounting professionally and personally to close the year with a bang. Let the end of the year mark a celebration of achievement and victory. And bring in the New Year with the certainty to take that accomplishment to newer heights.

Hope rests on the able shoulders of performance. If you can perform and perform to win, then there is hope for the future. Hope is not an idle phenomenon that delivers results to those who wait. Take charge. Take action. 10X your energy and output and put your performance on a power drive.

The game gets exciting when the goal seems tougher than the time left to achieve it. The adrenaline gets going when the pressure is high. Creativity comes to its best when the stakes are rising. And you discover a new side; a winner’s side in you when you are pushed to deliver beyond what you think is possible.

The good news about your goals is that the time is not up yet. If you stretch beyond yourself and march out with an unwavering determination to accomplish that which you had set for yourself, it can still be yours.

Cut the distraction. Put a DND on things that you want to do but are not in alignment with your goals at the moment. Put the parties, the long weekends and other indulgences off by a month. You will wish you had if you don’t meet your own expectations.

Build a laser sharp focus. The only thing that should exist for you should be your goal. That’s all you hear, see, breathe, eat, sleep. Energy flows where attention goes. What you put your attention on grows, and vice versa.

Collaborate, synergize and team up. If you have wavering confidence in your own ability to deliver in this last lap, don’t hold yourself back from collaborating with others. Reach out to your colleagues, seniors or even friends who will help you or maybe just push you and encourage you to stay on track and reach the finish line.

Success builds on success. And therefore ending the year on a note of victory is imperative. You would then step into the New Year with renewed self- confidence, eager to create a new game to win.

Remember, its not over till its over. There is redemptive power in making a decision. And it’s never too late. Decide to win, and you are already half way there.

My 52-week Workshop on YouTube, called the ‘Creators Of The Future’, deals with just that. Now that we are down to the last 10 weeks of 2017, it’s time to buckle up and get ahead in the game while it lasts.

Rooting for your success,always.

-Priya Kumar.

Change or Be Changed.

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading”                                          -Lao Tzu.

With the amount of self help books that occupy shelf space in people’s houses and with the amount of personal growth initiatives that do the rounds in conferences, the world should have been a magical place by now. So where is the ‘life of your dreams’ as promised by the best selling authors and programs?

The truth that persists and yet eludes most people is that for things to change, you have to change. Even if one didn’t read a single book, we know right from wrong, we know what we must do and should do and yet don’t do. What is needed is—change and application of what one knows to be right. So the real issue here is that with so much inspiration and guidance at our disposal, why don’t we change?

When change is optional, we opt out of leaving our comfort zone and adopting a new way of thinking or working or living. It is when change is no longer an option that people wake up and smell the coffee, and often, when that bell of change rings—it’s too late. The guy won’t quit smoking, even with the alarming propagandas and increasing restrictions, and not to mention the soaring tobacco prices. But one medical report gone wrong, he has no option but to change. If you are waiting for a ‘no other option’ report on your life, that change won’t bring you pleasure. Give yourself that ticket anyway. If your life is far from the one you have in your vision, you don’t have an option but to act now in accordance.

When pretense has become a habit people fool themselves that their life is okay and that they are on the right track. Ask someone “how are you doing?” and the rote answer that comes through is, “life is good”, whereas his bank balance, his children, his bosses can testify the contrary. Keeping a social image is one thing, but many have started lying to themselves on a daily basis that their life is okay. Okay in today’s world sucks. Why would anyone want to live an okay life and give an okay performance at work and be an okay father at home and bring back an okay paycheck? One has to stop pretending that everything is okay and gear up to make their lives better.

When people are afraid to lose they refuse to change. And by lose I don’t mean lose out on delivering results—people are actually afraid to lose their familiar ground, they are afraid to lose their friends, their comfort zone and their habits. They are not able to adjust to the idea of moving out of their familiar territory. That’s what they are afraid of. They are not afraid to lose in the future! If they had their eyes on the future, then they could also see alternate realities. They say they are looking at the future, but their sight is stuck on what they would lose in present time. Let me tell you this—whether you are heading for progress or not, times will change, your friends will change, your work will change, heck, everything will change, it already is changing. But because that change is so gradual, you don’t feel it. You will lose your health, your youth, your friends and your family, and you will also lose your life one day. Loss is inevitable. But don’t let that come in the way of the gains you can have.

There is enough material, enough inspiration and enough goodness in the world at your disposal. Getting to the petrol station is not enough, fueling up and then putting your car into gear is what will take you places. It would be quite foolish to not make power and passion a part of your life and steer it in the direction where abundance is your inheritance.

Take that step today to break through the inhibitions and the self-doubt that has been holding you back.

Commitment to your dreams is the key. I am here to help.

Rooting for your success.
Priya Kumar.

Do Whatever It Takes.

“If you’re interested in something you will do what is convenient.
If you are committed to something, you will do whatever it takes.”
~ Murray Smith

We make things happen, we all have made things happen—the impossible into possible, we all have such stories of victory where we moved against all odds and delivered. And the common thread weaving through these stories is that you did not have an option but to deliver. When the heat turns up and excuses are no longer acceptable, where the stakes are high, we move into “do whatever it takes mode” and deliver.

If your baby girl was in ICU, you would do whatever it takes to get whatever there is to be done to save her life. Allow me to let you in to this fact, your family, their dreams and their hopes are already in ICU. Serving them and nurturing their dreams and securing their future is not easy. You have to do whatever it takes to get whatever needs to be done.

There are no shortcuts to make it to the finish line. You will be disqualified in the race and in life if you make that attempt. History stands witness in every industry where people that take shortcuts may get away with it for sometime but you will also find that those people slip back to ‘start’ in time. People resort to shortcuts when they are no longer willing to do whatever it takes. And they will keep cutting their dreams short in that ratio.

Do whatever it takes means that when things are not working, you have to speed up, find alternate routes, make adjustments or simply do what needs to be done to get your results back on track. If 10 calls are not working and not getting you to connect with the people you need, make 20 calls. If 20 calls are not working, make 40 calls. If 40 calls are not working, hit the road and catch the people in their offices. If that is not working, ask friends for references, if that is not working, consult your boss, if that doesn’t work…. Basically, you stop when you get the job done.

I attended the inauguration of a children’s hospital one time. The CEO of the hospital told the story that the night before the inauguration, the walls of the corridor leading to the main wing were not painted. With the workers gone and the contractor not traceable, he gathered his team and they came together and painted the corridor all through the night. Its not a piece of perfection but it carries the scent of their attitude and still serves as an example for them that no one and nothing can stop you from achieving what you want, if you are willing to let go of your inhibitions and step up to do whatever it takes even if that means doing things that you have never done before and doing things that are not expected of you.

How would your life change if you embraced challenges head on and did not shy away from problems especially when they compelled you to leave your comfort zone and try something new? That is the definition of a problem; it instills apparent fear. You break that with self-confidence, with self-belief, with passion as your driving fuel, where you dreams are more important to you than the temporary struggles that you have to move past. A personal breakthrough awaits you at the helm of every challenge. Reclaim your confidence, put a plan toward your future, put together your faith in your abilities, that you are enough, all by yourself to accomplish your goals.

I am committed to keep you committed to your goals. Come make it happen. Invest in the power that is innate to you and make memories of achievement that will constantly fuel your confidence each time it takes a negative hit.

My 9th Book, ‘The Wise Man Said’ is out! Order NOW on Amazon, Flipkart or on my website: http://www.priya-kumar.com/

Learn, Apply, Teach.

“Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on your job you’ll make a living, if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.”
~ Jim Rohn.

When I was interviewing candidates for the position of ‘Sales Head’ for my company, I met this girl whose claim was that there was no one else who knew more about the training industry than her. And sure enough, two questions later, it was established that she had more information and latest happenings in the training industry than me. I hired her on the spot. Seven years later, she still continues to grow and still continues to amaze and surprise me with the insights and actionables that she comes up with on how we can expand and grow.

How high you can fly in your career depends upon how deep you can dive in your subject of expertise. The height is proportional to the depth. Now add to it some width, know what is happening on your left and right and how that impacts and affects you, and how that can be harnessed to push you further, you become indomitable.

How much do you know? Do you know all there is to know about your job? Have you still left a lot of room for improvement or are you constantly upgrading your skill and knowledge? The economy is changing so fast that today the customer has more or equal information about you, your company and your product as you, or sometimes even more than you. Does your knowledge supersede that of your customers, your seniors, your competitors? When you answer that in affirmative, you are on the super fast track to success.

Make a habit to learn. Make it a morning ritual to study, to learn, to observe, to fill in your intellect with data, with information and the ideas and energy will drive you through the day. You don’t need any one’s permission to learn, all you need is a burning desire to be ahead in the game that you have chosen to play. Remember, how much you earn, is hidden within how much you L(earn).

Make a commitment to apply what you have learnt. Put your information to use and it will give you results beyond your expectations. Knowledge without application is like a pen without ink. It is potential that never saw performance. Principles that lead the Indian Team to victory in cricket can be utilized to align the performance of your department. Knowledge is applicable and results are duplicable.

And once you have applied it, make it your duty to teach it to others. If you can teach what you have learnt and inspire others out of the results that you gained from that application, boy, you are on the fast track to success. When you share and teach, you have achieved mastery over that subject, because the best student is always the teacher. You cannot teach that which you have not fully understood. When understanding is the final result of your learning, genius shines.

Commitment to your dreams is the key. I am here to help.

Boss — Your Key to Success.

People who are at perpetual loggerheads with their bosses and seniors have set up a failing model of progress for themselves. It’s like having the Ferrari as your dream car while expressing your dislike for its functions on a daily basis. How can you aspire for a position you detest or have no admiration for, or have no acceptance for? It’s a failing model, for one, you will never arrive there, and even if you do, you will be subject to the same negativity that you held for it.

A boss-subordinate relationship is not only vital to the progress of the organization but is even more critical to the growth of the individuals involved. By rank the boss is supposed to be a mentor and a more experienced colleague who can push you towards a more flourishing future. The boss does not need to be a terror and certainly not the man you wish was dead.

The problems in the professional relationship arise when the subordinate fails to understand his boss’ position and temperament. It would pay you far beyond your imagination to make an investment in understanding your boss, his working style, his experience, his achievements, his drive and more importantly his vision with you. His chair is your future destination and so you have to keep your eye on that goal, in this case, him. His position is your future promotion and so you have to be a student of his personality, his journey, his responsibilities and his skills. Your boss’ existence is evidence for your future aspirations.

Adapt to your boss’ style of working, it will serve you speed up your progress. “I know my boss is a perfectionist,” says Sandeep who is a banker, “and I know very clearly that I have to make an adjustment in my professional dealing with him. My ex boss was an easygoing guy, and somehow I have carried that expectation into my new bosses attitude.” Adaptability is one of the keys to success, and if you can use that to unlock your equation with your boss, you are on the fast track to success.

Work closely with your boss and demand inputs to improve your performance. If your boss is constantly unhappy with your performance, find out what you are doing wrong or what you are not doing that should be done. When people don’t perform well, they just turn their backs on their boss’s comments and on the ownership of their poor performance. Don’t wait for the boss to criticize or recognize you. On a monthly basis present your performance for his feedback for improvement. And chances are that in doing that, you yourself will become aware of your progress. I would say go a step ahead and demand inputs on improvement. Get ideas on how you could perform better. It’s a profitable perspective when it comes from your boss.

Discuss your career growth with your boss. Express your interest in getting ahead. People on the top welcome company. Chat up with your boss to understand what you would need to do in order to deserve your next promotion. Don’t wait to be promoted, work strategically toward it. Most bosses in organizations are under utilized by their teams—they don’t speak to them, they don’t approach him, they don’t work with him. Pick your bosses brains and help him help you; he after all holds the chair you aspire for.

The major complaint that professionals confess to is that they are starved for recognition. “I don’t mind the hard work and the erratic working hours, but not being appreciated is something that steals my motivation to continue giving more.” Is a common complaint in the corporate circuit. It’s nice to let your boss be aware of your motivation buttons. “I work better when I know I am adding value and I am appreciated,” my employee once told me, and I have made it a point to use recognition as her carrot to keep her motivated when she is slow. And moreover recognition is a two-way traffic, your word of appreciation works wonders on your boss just like his word works on you. I have almost never seen people publicly appreciate their bosses or give them credit in their success. Appreciate and give credit to your seniors where due to guarantee your deserving share.

A boss-subordinate relationship is like an arranged marriage. You don’t even get to see your boss until you are hired. To nurture that relationship, to establish the affinity and a healthy communication, to adjust, accept and accommodate becomes your responsibility because your future in the company depends on it.

 

Wouldn’t it be nice, If…

Games are fun. They shape our character. They set up our personalities and also impact the way we think. Thats why its encouraged for children and adults alike, to enagage in sports and games as a part of their life.

There is this game I like in particular and playing it regularly will have a deep impact on the way you think, the way you manage your emotions, and the way you set the course of your dreams.

It’s the game called “Wouldn’t it be nice if…”. Rules are simple, and can be played at any point of the day and other partners or players are not necessary, but sure helps in creating the some fun. The best time however to play this game is when you wake up to the world in the morning, and also at times when you feel low, lost or stuck.

Here is how it goes, when you wake up in the morning, spend about a few minutes playing and contemplating… “Wouldn’t it be nice if……….” and you can complete the sentence with your hearts desire. This way you are acknowldeging all that you desire and also releasing it’s hold on you by giving it away in a game. It’s not a prayer, it’s not a strong need, it’s a game. You have fun, you imagine, you let it go,,, and by the way that’s a very strong intention set in motion.

Try to play this game as a cheer yourself up tool when you are lost in your own web of worries. Worry is a game which is the exact opposite of “Wouldn’t it be nice if..” Worry is a game that says, “Wouldnt all be ruined if….” The rules are the same, the impact is inevitable. Only one pushes you forward and the other pulls you down.

Wouldn’t it be so nice if, everyone who read this finds happiness in the little things, such as the coincidence of this blog. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone greeted each other with a smile. Wouldn’t it be nice if today I would be kinder and more tolerant. Wouldn’t it be awesome if today I chose to forgive someone I had a longstanding grudge with. And wouldnt it be divine if today I chose to live in gratitude of all that have and more.
Wouldnt it be nice if you…. were lead to your own divinity.

_____________________________________________________________

My 9th Book, ‘The Wise Man Said’ is out now! It encapsulates the magical, ethereal journey of Sammy, an 80-year old billionaire, who embarks on journeys that give him the answers to all the questions he has ever had. Order it on Amazon, Flipkart or on my website, and feel the magic yourself!

When people say ‘NO’.

The 10% rule in sales says that if you reach out to 10 people for your services or product, at least one will say yes. Well, some people may be happy with the 10% but my focus is on the majority 90%. My curiosity is how I can take this bulk and nudge them from a ‘no’ to a ‘yes’? The answer I found lies in the basics.

People say ‘no’ when they have no need for your product or services. That for you is critical feedback because you obviously got in touch with them because you thought that they were potential clients but they think they don’t need what you have to offer. Work at bridging that gap. If you can close that divide, you have a conversion. Investigate, question, learn and understand your potential clients better. Maybe you need to change your pitch. Maybe you missed to highlight some features about what you do. Maybe you need to win their trust. Find out and fill that blank and you will move closer to a ‘yes’.

People say ‘no’ when there is no urgency to buy. This is even more dangerous for your performance because you have probably created the need and delivered the information but since you failed to create the urgency, they will probably buy at a later day, and that probably will not be from you. Create the urgency for the sale. Give a discount if that is allowed. Make a special allowance. Give them an extra perk if it is permissible to urge them to buy. Use your creativity to create urgency.

People say ‘no’ when they do not have the authority to say ‘yes’. They may not even bother to tell you that they are not the right person to make that decision. Find out who is and contact that person. It is important to speak to the decision makers if you want to make a sale. And what would be smart is to get some tips about the decision maker so you have a selling advantage. “Can you tell me a little more about your boss?” will open doors for you for more opportunities than the one you have at hand. If that fails too, what stops you from asking for references? Please understand that people don’t like to say no. There is a certain inexplicable embarrassment that goes in telling someone off. So if you ask for references you are giving an opportunity of relief for the other person to help you.

And when ‘no’ means ‘no’, don’t give up. For whatever reasons unexplained or unavoidable, a ‘no sale’ today does not mean a ‘no sale’ forever. Keep the person in view and keep in touch. Find ways to add value to the person. Find ways to be a part of their purpose. The returns that you will eventually get, even if that means having made a good friend, will outweigh the temporary loss you felt under the disappointment of the ‘no’.

With three weeks to go for the year-end, gear up with all your strengths and energy and make the magic happen—because you can—because the persistent always win.

-Priya Kumar.

Destiny is a daily thing.

Each one of us has our fair share of ‘potential’ destiny, just as the seed has the ‘potential’ of a tree. Unlike the seed, which is at the mercy of its environment to grow, we are blessed with the gift of choice, which gives us power over our environment. In other words, what that means is, we can create our own circumstance.

Life is a perspective. When you change your perspective, you change the way you think. When you change the way you think, you change how you feel. When you feel better, you perform better. And when you perform better on a daily basis, you see magical results.

A lot of people feel that the past shapes the future. If you look carefully, today is a result of your past. Today will be the past for tomorrow. So in a more intense perspective, it is today that will eventually equal to your future. Don’t use your past mistakes and mishaps as the foundation of an unfortunate future. You fail tomorrow if you fail today. You don’t fail tomorrow because you failed yesterday.

You can have a shot to success everyday. A lot of people quit on their lives because they feel that their past has been too messed up. Success eludes them because they continue to live their life ‘everyday’ in the same mindset of helplessness. At some point or the other, we have all made mistakes, we all have been beaten, we all have been cheated, we all have all fallen short of our own expectations. At some point or the other, we have wronged ourselves and wronged others. But the only point where destiny is shaped is the point where you stand now. It is ‘now’ where you choose what you will do about all that has happened to you and all that you can make happen for yourself. It is in your choice today, that you will set a whole series of events and intentions in action for the future. Today is a chance for you to set your past right. Learning from your past is a smart thing to do, but only the ignorant live their past everyday.

I do personal breakthrough workshops and use the firewalk as an analogy to make this point. I often tell people that just because they got burnt in the past does not mean that they will burn today on my firewalk. Burns like accidents happen when one is not paying attention, when one acts out of ignorance and when one lacks intention. When people do walk on fire, they do so with full attention, awareness and intention. Is it then magic that they did not get burnt ? Certainly it is magic. There is magic in paying attention, there is magic in awareness and there is magic when actions are done intentionally. So what role does a past burn have to play in the decisions you make today ? Every burn, every loss, every hurt teaches you one lesson: “responsibility”. If you learn to take responsibility of what happens to you, then you become a powerful person. Destiny is not about what happens to you, destiny is shaped in what you do about it here from.

All people who rose to greatness had pasts they were not proud of. They have also had their share of misfortunes. They became great because no matter what happened to them, they made choices of greatness on a daily basis. Whether it is Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Mahatma Gandhi, your next door neighbour, or you, all alike, have some parts of their past that could potentially destroy them. And all alike, have equal opportunity to create a better life. And that opportunity knocks your door daily in every choice and in every decision you make.

You too can create your own destiny, and you can start today. As long as you are alive, you have your shot at creating your world the way you want it. Your destiny is giving you a chance daily. Grab it.

 

The Future is ‘Now’

The quality of your journey is a clue to your destination. If you don’t feel satisfaction, fulfillment and pride in what you do today, then where are you heading to in the future?

The future is NOW. It is made on what you do and how you feel about yourself today.

If you don’t find happiness in what you do today, then the destination clearly holds the promise of misery in the future. If you aren’t honest today, how will your lies serve you in the future? If you aren’t in love with what you do, then frustration waits for you wrapped under layers of achievement that don’t matter.

If money was not the objective, are you happy with what you do? are you happy with who you have become? are you proud of yourself and your work? If not, then ‘check engine’ light is ON, indicating for you to take a good look at your life and where you are headed. It would be a disaster to arrive at the end of life’s journey only to realize this is not the destination you had in mind.

Today is the future of yesterday. If today is not where you had wanted to be, your future dreams will be ever elusive as they are in your present.

The future is NOW. Do what makes you happy. Take your time and do that what brings out the best in you, that makes you smile, that makes you special, that makes your purpose a service to others. Isn’t that what you had in mind in the first place, before it got infected with what other people think and want from you?

Your life is slipping into the past daily. Today and tomorrow are all you have. If today is a life well lived, the future can’t but be a consequential honor of your purpose.

Have a great week!

-Priya Kumar.