Let us be more specific. Think of a business situation – will you hire and work with a person with your capabilities and attitude as a boss, colleague or client.

Enterprises – big or small – are an important part of world’s economy. They always have been. Only the form changes moving from big traders to factory model to knowledge economy.  An enterprise or a company runs on profits. It has to make profits if it wants to stay long enough in business.

What is a company’s route to profits? Providing a solution to a customer pain point, offer better solution than others in the marketplace for the same pain point; proper communication (branding and marketing); taking it out to market (sales channels – online, offline or both).

Who drives all these – finding pain point, delivering solution, communicating and getting stuff to market? Individuals – You and I.

Without competent individuals in a company, the company will not turn profits, and chances are, will struggle to stay in business.

Companies like SEMCO of Brazil have made a mark and thrived in turbulent economic environment because of individuals who continuously question the status quo, the way things are done; and continue to move into unchartered territories with courage, hope and success.

Going back to where we started. If you were a business owner or a supervising officer, will you hire somebody like yourself?

Will you work with somebody who struggles to deliver on time, goofs up at work often, smells bad, goes to client meeting without preparation, fails to meet reasonable targets very frequently, fails to connect,  somebody who cannot deliver work as per specs and to the satisfaction the receiving party.

Or somebody who is on time mostly, over delivers or matches the targets, speaks with a smile on face, is good to talk to you, easily comprehends and executes on what is expected of him.

The answer is simple for anybody with a little commonsense.

Businesses should work with people who care and who can deliver – a creative person capable of bringing new ideas to the design, a sales person who can revive a low-performing territory, and strategists who can find blue oceans and define a new course of action. Business also need front office executives who smile an lot and are courteous and housekeeping staff member who takes pride in looking at sparkling clean office floors. It is not about title it is about involvement, attitude and capabilities.

Agreed, nobody is perfect. But your capability is a mix of many traits not one. So of 10 traits – if you are good at 5, ok at 2-3 and even poor at 1-2; you will sail through a situation with flying colors and most of the people will be happy with you and your work.

Many a times, employees scoff at their bosses and business scoff at their clients for being unreasonable, demanding too much. Stop next time you do that and think about what we have just explored. If you are ready to recommend yourself then chances are there will be only a few people who can be unreasonable with you. For such people, take action, document your progress, share and let the results speak.

If you have an iota of doubt recommending yourself then go enrich yourself, learn new things, get new attire, work on your communications kills and be the person that you will recommend to yourself and it will make all the difference in the world.

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The ideas shared here are good for students, start-up entrepreneurs or people who are staying away from family for extended period of time for work on some long-term assignment.

Find a house that you will be happy calling your home: When you are with family, love fills the gap for everything. You may be living in an old house but when you go home you will know that there are people who care for you. But when you are way then your house will be your friend. Look for a place that you are comfortable in. Check out for neighborhoods that you like and house that have amenities that you are used to. If you are leasing it is good to check with property owner for basic guidelines. Look out for any restrictions on time or bringing friends home. Do not look for perfection but see that most of the facilities that you need are provided.

Find friends: It is good if you already have a friend living in the place that you are moving to. If that is not the case then find friends who have some common interests. During my stay away period I made many good friends.  One of those friend and I recently worked on organizing a local TEDx.

Have fun and live your dreams: Many a times when we are living close to our families, we are fully immersed into social obligations. Take time away to do what you always wanted to do. You enjoy dancing and want to take professional training. Go ahead and do that. I did exactly the same. I loved the mornings that use to start in the dance studio with the sound of ‘Aicha Aicha’. Live your dreams and not somebody else’s – but just do it, this is the best time.

Focus and step towards success: if you want to create, solitude is a necessity. No need for 24 hours of solitude but it is good to have couple of hours in a day to create. When you are staying alone there is nobody to bother you. Of course you will have errands to run; but you can batch those and set your own schedule. In a way you will have more control on how you choose to spend your time. So enjoy your time and work on something that you always wanted to do. My times away from roots gave me an opportunity to write more, speak to diverse audiences in different settings. You can use this time to focus and do your thing. Steve Jobs created Apple in similar situations and many more heroes big and small made their success using focus and solitude.

Work to a schedule: When you are living your life on your own there is also risk of going overboard. Because nobody is around to talk to you about things – right or wrong. So get connected with your conscience and do what you feel is the right thing to do. It will develop your ability to take decisions. If you observe outcome of your decisions and learn from it then over a period of time you will learn to take decisions that work.

Also when you are working or having fun – know when it is time to stop. Of course no point stopping when you are – in the zone – and going with the flow while writing, hacking, painting or designing. But keep some time aside to eat well, exercise and sleep when you feel sleepy.

Learn to cook: It has two benefits. One is that you will save money; second that you will eat healthy. With a diet of pizzas and burgers it is really to put of extra inches around your waist. Not healthy and does not do anything good for the way you look.

Become involved in community: By doing so you open your mind to new experiences through which new opportunities emerge. This also helps you hone your leadership skills and you get to know right people.

In a similar situation, I founded a group of existing and wannabe bootstrap entrepreneurs. The effect was two-prong. I got to know the community; people appreciated what I was doing and opened their homes and hearts for me. I learned new things and also got opportunity to share ideas and thoughts. There were many ideas that we discussed in those days. One of my good friends and I used to meet over lunch regularly then and talk about doing things together. Later we went on to do our own things but those discussions shaped our current lives in some way. So go out, start a movement, meet with people on the same path and see if you can move on the journey together. Two better than one – is true most of the times.

Stay connected to your roots: When you are away make an effort to stay connected to your roots. Once in a while say hi to your old friends; because it is always good to stay in touch with your childhood friends. These are people who knew you since you were without worldly masks. They know at least a part of who you really are. When we will grow old, it will be good to sit with these friends and talk about good old days.

I am sure you have some experiences to share. Take a chance and share your thoughts in comments. Your simple experience may be profound for others.

Bonne Chance.

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I am sure you have some view point about this website. Either you think it is a valuable free personal development resource or you take it as a waste of your time. Probably, some of you are waiting, to see where it is headed. Rightly so, the content is very less at this point in time to create an opinion or view point.

But I am sure in coming months you will find interesting content in this space. Then, for some of you it may become an inspiration to start your own website. I will be happy to see that happening.

I see this website as a passage to future. A future where there will no crime, no hunger and everyone will live life to the fullest and live up to one’s true potential.

If you want to live life to the fullest, an understanding of relative nature of time will help. What is future in the current moment will become present tomorrow. Similarly, the very next moment, the current moment will become past. At the core is the moment we are living in. This moment some time back was future, now it is present, later it will be past.

So if you want to glorify your past or desire a shining future; focus on the current moment. Give your best to the present moment. If you are living present moment to the fullest i.e. you are giving your best to it; you are building the foundation of a great future.

For example, if you are trying to loose weight in order to become a model; sometime you will fancy yourself walking on the ramp. This will only happen if we you will focus on proper diet and exercise in the present moment.   

Rather complex introduction for simple facts that I am going to share with you. In the following lines you will find a review of the past month (July 2006) and plans for the current month (August 2006) in terms of my personal development goals.

This type of entry normally goes in my personal journal. Then, why I included it here? Probably, it can help some of you if you are contemplating similar pursuits. That said, such entries will be far and less between as I plan to write mostly timeless essays and articles here.

July 2006 was an exciting month for me where I tasted small success on many fronts.

Success

Website Launch: July was the lucky month when I was finally able to launch mohitpawar.com; a move which I had been contemplating for many months. The motivation behind this website is to give a vent to my thoughts, bring regularity to my writing and create a single window for all my current and future projects.

Fitness: I managed to stick to a fitness schedule for more than 30 days. I am still on it. Starting June 28, I started a morning fitness routine which includes basic warm-up, stretching and strength training. During past 40 days (June 28 to August 8), I went from 0 to 80 sit-ups. I further plan to add push-ups and chin-ups to this schedule in a phased manner.

Meanwhile, for cardio-vascular fitness I started walking regularly. Currently I am averaging at 5kms per day. Most of the days, I walk for 5-6kms; on some days I walk for 3kms with an occasional rest day. The maximum distance I have covered recently is 12kms.

This combination of cardio and strength training is doing a lot of good for me. I can feel the increase in energy levels which results in increased productivity at work.

Flip side is that it leaves me with less time for writing, reading and pursuing other interests; but I do not mind it because fitness is my top priority these days.

Restarting a regular exercise schedule is like homecoming to me.  As a kid, I used to run long distances. I used to get up really early then, mostly at 4 am or latest by 5 am depending on the weather. Soon after, I used to be out for a jog. Currently I am not focusing on getting up early. My current normal wake up time is 6:30 am.

Plans

During August, I plan to focus on improving my fitness level and writing skills. I also plan to be regular on reading front.

Fitness: I currently weigh around 97 kg. I want to reduce it to 91 kg till October 28, 2006. This suggests a reduction of 6kgs over a period of 3 months. It leaves me with a weight-reduction target of 2kg for August. I am sure of achieving it.

Reading: Some wise person has said if you want to write better, then you should read more than you write. I totally agree. That is why I plan to read following books during August.

1. Getting Things Done – David Allen (259 pages)
2. The Quick & Easy Way to Effective peaking – Dale Carnegie (221 pages)
3. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (136 pages)
4. Elements of Style – William Strunk., Jr. (40 pages)
5. The Tipping Point – Malcom Gladwell (272 pages)

In all 928 pages are to be read. I will have to finish reading these in 25 days if I want to be on target. It calls for average 38 pages per day. Given my current traveling schedule, I will have to read at least 65 pages on the days when I am not traveling to achieve it. Looks like, it can be done.

Writing: I communicate to you through my writing. I want this communication to be simple, something which you enjoy reading and which is capable to bringing value to your life. It needs to be practiced to be perfected. Hence, I will be writing 500 words on the days I am not traveling.

I will also like to share with you, my intention of writing 6 articles or long posts during August 2006.  

So now, I have shared all my plans with you and this leaves me with the responsibility of being on target. Hopefully I will be able to do so.

To know the results, we will have to wait till the first week of September 2006; that’s when I will post the review of August and plans for September.

Meanwhile, regular articles will follow.

Until next time, peace.

I can’t owe my learning to one single person. I owe it to the parents I was born to, the society I live in, my friends at school, and the people I come across and interact with, on a day to day basis. Everybody has taught me something, some through their love, some through their advice, somebody by sharing and others by asking for help. They have pushed my thoughts into a new territory and I end up interacting with them and interpreting things in a certain way. That’s learning for me.