Let us explore the habits and lifestyle of happy entrepreneurs to understand how you can become one.  (I have written these tips with entrepreneurs in mind but these can help most of  us to be happy and effective.)

Simplicity & Productivity

1. They single task.
2. They do meetings on specific days and not every day.
3. They do spring cleaning so they have less clutter in life and work.
4. They have a start and end time for a meeting and for their work day.
5. They do not work seven days a week.
6. They are more of 4×4 people.
7. They believe in being transparent.
8. They delegate.
9. They monitor and suggest; but do not micro-manage. For them making mistake is acceptable.
10. They think on paper.

Happiness & Energy

1. They eat right.
2. They exercise.
3. They take daily breaks.
4. They take time to nourish body, mind and soul.
5. For them happiness comes from seeing others happy – clients, family, and friends.
6. For them being happy means keeping their actions aligned with their soul.
7. They sleep with a feeling of having contributed to the happiness or growth of the world.
8. They are always game for fun and look for ways to be happy.
9. They take time to be with friends.
10. They have a happiness ritual – like singing, mimicry, pottery, long walks or exercise.

Self, Reality & Openness

1. They take time to know themselves.
2. Work for them is not something to fill a void in life.
3. They stay in touch with their feelings.
4. For them human touch is important.
5. For them social media is just an extension of their personality and everyday life.
6. They experiment – like a day when they observe silence or when they watch 3 movies in a row.
7. They accept that life has ups and downs.
8. They are open to new ideas and people.
9. They are open to seek help and advice.
10. They are not ashamed of accepting that they made a mistake.

Money, Growth and Success

1. They know the basic – earn more, spend less.
2. They are old world. They use old till it is working and serving the purpose.
3. They are not penny wise and pound foolish.
4. The respect and love money and do not think it is evil.
5. They understand that money is a mean to many goals.
6. They also understand that money is not above relationships.
7. They are in it for the long haul.
8. They believe in giving.
9. They go out to places where they have never been before to gain new perspective.
10. They are not scared of doing the new – trying out new things.

Habits, Character & Communication

1. They do not pull a short one on people.
2. They do not make too many promises.
3. They keep the ones they make.
4. They do not talk about people, they talk about ideas.
5. They know it is human to err but do not use it – as an excuse to commit a mistake.
6. They stand for their word.
7. They try to get into the shoes of other person.
8. They trust people.
9. They are assertive.
10. They do not say yes to everything that comes across.

To our happiness and growth. What do you do to stay happy and calm while your pursue success?

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There is value in this dialogue. If I ask you – what is more fun – chasing your dreams or living them? What do you say? My answer – “I love living dreams but one need to chase them before living them.”

Big ideas first make an appearance in our dreams or thoughts. Then the chase begins. It makes sense to get out of chasing mode soon otherwise many of us will lose the interest in chasing and also the chance of living that dream. Here are some ideas that may help one do that.

Lock yourself in: Literally if it is possible. This will help avoid distractions and expectations. Distractions like possibility of engaging in mindless gossip, or spending an entire day running errands. Expectations come from friends and family about being with them and becoming part of their celebrations. No one should negate the importance of family and friends; but when the stakes are high – you need to make some sacrifices – only for a little while.

In such a situation tell your loved ones that you are taking time off to focus on some big goals and will be back soon. Those who really care will be ok with it. You need not worry about those who are not concerned about your goals. This will also include saying good bye to unwanted communication – online or offline.

You need to invest long chunks of uninterrupted time – to achieve something really big. You can accomplish this better in solitude. If you are working on building a start-up with friends, create a hub at home of one of your friends. Better if you all can live and work at same place.

This is why you see so many successful young entrepreneurs these days. These young entrepreneurs created successful enterprises living in a college dorm, few distractions and almost no expectations – a good mix for success. Facebook is the better known example but there are many. Y Combinator encourages the members of its famous Startup School to stay together. This also works for a group of students working on getting into a big school – say Harvard.

Around 5 years back, I wrote about starting and finishing a task successfully. That writing is more focused on completing a task with an extended timeline – something like writing a book, or seeing a startup through various phases – like launch, growth, consolidation etc. The current piece is more focused on activities like – building an application or a product; or launching a start-up or cracking a big examination. Still the earlier article should give you some worthwhile ideas.

Sweat it off: When working on something really big, you have some expectation from yourself. Such expectations are best avoided as it can get to your nerves. Spend some time out in the woods doing rigorous activity or just take a long walk. This will help you release nervous energy and keep you on track. In such moments you also get some interesting ideas. At least I do. Try it out and see how it works for you.

Live and breathe your dream: One of my seniors at school shared this during one of our regular midnight discussions – “Any idea that lives with you all your waking hours – will become a reality.” I totally believe it – when you are working on something big immerse yourself with the thought of accomplishing it. Before you set out to achieve it, read, interact and do your research and try to learn as much as you can. Being prepared makes sense.

Try to spend most of your time on pursuits you are after and you will accomplish it sooner than later. I have tried it successfully at least once. The success came later than I expected, in fact after I had stopped expecting. Still it worked.

Think on paper: We only have one head – sometimes it finds itself not capable of coping with everyday demands. This single head has – stuff to remember, plans to create, and memories to hold. With the help of this head, we need to hold on to ideas to make them becoming a reality.

If we can free the head of ideas, and things to remember we can give it more space to think, plan and execute. Head can be free if we think on paper – record any useful thought or idea as soon as it gets into your head. When you record – you get free from the hassle of remembering things.  You can also review the ideas you record and move ahead with the ones that you find useful. If you think about a great idea and then forget it – it is wasted time, energy and a possible loss of opportunity.

Focus on shipping: Your only focus should be to ship. Work to a timeline. If you think you can accomplish your goal in 40 days – work to finish it in 30 days. Ship and if possible take your product to market or at least to beta users. Improve as you go along.

Get a mentor: Find somebody who has done it before. Get them on board as advisor or mentor. This will help you stay grounded. You will also be saved of possible pitfalls and mistakes. It is good to be able to get up after falling. Still it is smarter to avoid falling to the extent possible. An experienced mentor can help you do that.

I am sure that you have a big dream that can use some of the ideas above.

Do you have a thought to share? What helped you to accomplish something significant? What is your big idea?

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This post is dedicated to all my workaholic friends who work like there is no tomorrow.

The problem is that in 21^st century – many of us – are so much out of touch of our own being that we do not know what makes us happy. If you do not know what makes you happy – go find your purpose in life first. My purpose is sort of figured out but there is a bit of a workaholic in me so “Mr. Pawar the message goes to you also. Stop for a moment”.

Some of you who are familiar with my writing may ask – when you are suggesting us to stop then why write “Just do it.” You are right. I wrote that. But I did not say that – do it, without ever stopping. It makes sense to stop. It helps you think, relax and be efficient. Let’s explore.

Why stop?

Because life mimics more a marathon than a sprint. I got this perspective while sitting next to a top insurance executive on a flight earlier this month. He was reading “Don’t Sprint the Marathon” by V. Raghunathan. Every day we work to stay ahead in the proverbial rat race. What do you think about it? Do you want to run the race longer or just burn out trying to outdo others in the short run? Rome was not built in a day and if you want to build something remarkable it will take time. Be in it for the long haul and when you do that it makes sense to stop once in a while.

Because life is a gift that needs to be cherish, enjoyed and not wasted. All of us have one life to live. It is too precious to be wasted. It needs to be enjoyed while we are in a vertical position; because there will be no chance when we go horizontal. If we keep on running mindlessly where will be the time to live our dreams?

As a kid each one of us had some wild dreams. Not all wild dreams are unattainable. You got to believe in those childhood dreams; take time to remove the haze from the screen of life and see those dreams clearly again. At one point some of you wanted to become an actor, musician, singer, writer, scientist, entrepreneur, social activist, or a change maker. Stop and take time to live these dreams. At the very least plan it. If today you are busy handling subsistence issues, carve a parallel path for yourself. It is totally possible.

Enjoy small victories – everyday triumphs – smile on the face of your loved ones; inches lost form your overfed belly, your idea that got implemented or the complement you received for the way you looked. When you really want to – you will find many little bundles of joy in your life.

Because it helps you to relax and be productive: When you stop, you can relax, recuperate and work better towards your goals. It is very difficult to think creatively and give your best when tired.

When you stop you give your body and brain a chance to stop, relax and recuperate. When relaxed your brain can function better, it is easy for you to focus and create work that you will be proud of. Many 21^st century professionals get to eat lunch when it is time for evening tea. What is the point in working like that? It is good as an exception but not as a rule.

Because it helps you to reflect: When you reflect, you ask questions.  Then you try to find answers to these questions. It is very important to ask right questions. You can also look and decide whether you are headed in the right direction. You also get a sense of what is right and what can be improved. It is good to reflect by choice than when old age or something similar forces you to reflect.

When you stop you also give yourself a chance to review and build on what you have done before. This is important for healthy growth – and to draw a bridge between past and future. Reviews are a great way to be efficient because they give you a chance to measure and optimize.

How to stop?

Break out your shell and do what your heart tells you to. I endeavor to do that regularly. I got into film school couple of years back to learn how to direct films. Back in 2009 I got trained as a disc-jockey (DJ) with one of the best in business and I am happy that I did that. My writing pursuits also started long back due to a heartfelt desire to express and share.

So go out and learn what you always wanted to. If you are in a job utilize your holidays to do something close to your heart. If your calling is adventure then go out – meet the mountains or the sea and you will be a happier person.

Do not wait for weekend or holiday season to stop. Even if it is a Monday or a weekday and you feel like you do not want to do what you are doing. Then do not do it. Take a walk – long one – if the need be. No need to be too philosophical about it – take a break if you think it is the right thing to do.

Do it every day. Take time everyday – I would say – every couple of hours to stop, reflect and breathe. Think about past couple of hours – and how you have spent these. It is OK if you have spent time – having fun; doing some productive work or talking to friends or family. But it may not be OK – if you spent these hours thinking of doing something and not actually doing it.

This will also help you get out of overwork mode. If you have been working for past many hours glued to a computer screen or working with a tool-box; then it may be a good idea to stop.

Do you think it is a good idea? Then why not stop for a moment to breathe.

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Why can’t individuals do the same and improve? This case has been made earlier also. The idea now is to bring some structure to it. For some people a structured life is boring. But in places where you need to implement a plan it works wonders. Once you have established the basics you can let loose and go with the flow – coming back to check once in a while.

What I am suggesting is a daily, weekly, and monthly review. Annual review is also very important but calls for a separate article. Here we’ll just discuss daily, weekly and monthly reviews.

Many of us – get down to assessing our growth in mind once or twice a year – mostly at the times of major turning points in life – around job loss or marriage etc.

But if you commit yourself to doing regular daily, weekly and monthly reviews it will make a world of difference. You got to give it a try to experience the benefits. First do it for 30 days and later you can add month on month.

All right, now you have committed yourself to regular personal review. This is how you can actually do it.

First you need to set different parameters to base your growth on.

For daily review the parameters can be;

• Working on an important task every single day
• Helping those in need – knowledge, money
• Giving a gift to people you meet – smile is the best gift
• Avoid distraction (like endless emails and web surfing)
• Earning more than spending every day (monthly earnings can be averaged out to daily)
• Writing everyday

For daily review you can set aside 10 minutes every day. At the end of the day ask yourself did the day passed peacefully and as you wanted. Did you do something during the day from among your chosen parameters? Did you do all or some? What was ok, what was good, and what could have been done better? Finally before ending your work day just plan your first important activity for next day. It can be going for a morning walk with family. Write what is important for you.

Weekly review (30 minutes): Here you review you daily success with your chosen parameters and set the course right where any shortfall is experienced. On this day you can also update your chosen parameters.

Use the weekly review to take a broader look at your daily review. How many days you were able to do justice to the parameters. You can also note any new connections made; things like reconnecting with old friends; any new client connections that were made; weekly minimum numbers for exercise finished.

Monthly reviews (60 minutes): You review the impact of daily and weekly reviews on your monthly outcome as seen by yourself. The above listed daily parameters can correspond to monthly outcome in following way. This is just for your understanding.

So get set to get your daily dose of personal reviews. Hopefully this will turn out in a significant success in months and years to come.

Enjoy the journey on the path of life.

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Whatever be the situation, following ideas may help. Of course you need to practice to get better at it.

Write: Writing or more specifically journaling is a very good practice to help get one in the zone, where you are just engrossed in what you are doing and nothing else. Start with writing the questions you want to get the answer to. For a student who is deciding the course of study for next couple of years the question will be what should I study? For somebody looking to buy a car – it will be which car to buy based on looks and money. Sometimes during the course of journaling, you will get the answer to your questions.

Read: If you are confused because of lack of information then the simple solution is to try to know more about the topic. Reading is one of the simplest ways to gain information. What you read can be a leading book on the subject or a good resource on the web. Be commonsensical about how much will you read? Invest time according to importance of the outcome. If you are reading for a big real project then it is ok to invest 10-20 hours. But if it is a class quiz then 1 hour is fine.

Interact: When you are confused because of fear of unknown then talk to somebody who has been there and done that. If you explore sincerely then you will find such persons in your extended network.

Take a break: If you are confused because of being in midst of options take a break. Need to take a decision on hiring. After interviewing the candidates just take a walk. Match your requirements and individual capabilities and take a call.

Do less: You get confused when you are trying to do too much. Work on one project, do email once a day, go shopping once a month, read only one book at a time and you will be a happier and relaxed person.

Think less: Eat whatever is available, wear whatever is comfortable, speak whatever comes to your mind, and write whatever you like (may be edit later). This may not be the best option but it sure is easy and sometimes easy is better than the best.

To a clear mind and pure heart.

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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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You deserve a life of your dreams and acting often on your positive thoughts, correcting course and more action can take you closer to your dreams.

So what is your dream? A dream job, a dream girl or boy in your life, peace of mind, lots of money, becoming a published author or a successful entrepreneur. All this is possible when you take action.

Most of us in this world have a dream – big or small? But I wonder that many people go back to heavens without living their dreams.

When people talk about unfulfilled dreams they talk about destiny and lack of opportunity. But you know it is not true. The world is replete with inspiring success stories of people born in less opportune times than in 21^st century, who made a mark and lived their dreams while they were alive.

The best way to get closer to your dream is to convert your thoughts into action; and the best time to start action is now. Why? Because time is less; you are born with a limited supply of time and it is up to you to spend it wisely. It does not mean your life should only be work and no fun. That is not true. Along with sincere effort, time spent having fun is also a great investment in your own life. By indulging in fun activities, you tend to forget about not so good times and become more focused when you are in action mode.

What stops people from doing it right now? Fear of failure, laziness, procrastination, a haphazard life where a person seem to be occupied all the time with none left to act in the direction of your dreams. Those of you who are exploring ideas to get out this rut should explore – from 24×7 to 4×4.

When you align your life with a “just do it” attitude – good things happen. It applies to most of the areas of life.

• So if you want to write your first book. Write first paragraph today. You can think about the title later.
• Do not wait to tell you parents how much you love them. You want to tell other people in your life how much you appreciate their care and love.  Just do it. Do not know how to say it; write first and say it.
• Wanted to start your venture. Do it now. Moonlight if the need be. Start by booking a domain; it will motivate you further having done something about it.
• Want to get into Harvard or your favorite college; start by exploring their website. Other than browsing do some comparative research. Find out the success stories of people made it through.
• Thinking about telling your life-partner you love them then why wait till weekend – tell today.
• Want to lose some weight, make a plan right now. Sure you tried earlier; but you never know this may be your lucky day. Do not let failures of the past bog your down.
• Want to get into a new job or switch into a totally new career. Start today by making a list of your favorite companies to work with.

Now is the best time. There will be no better time. Just do it.

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Since advent of internet we slowly started moving towards a 24×7 lifestyle. I sometime feel if human beings could somehow manage without sleep they would not even care to sleep. But you know that it is not humanly possible. So thankfully we sleep, get some rest and remain sane.

Many businesses exist today that would not have existed in pre-web era. Google is a prime example of a huge business based on the opportunity that web presented. No doubt web and connectivity helps us. Nobody could have imagined 20 years ago that so much information will be only a click away and that too for free. Though if you look deeper it is not free – there is no monetary exchange but we exchange our attention for the information we get and our attention is limited.

With this limited attention span situation; it was only time before somebody offered a solution to get our lives back from a 24×7 world. Tim Ferriss did that. He offered a solution through his widely popular “Four hour work week (FHWW)”. FHWW suggested that you work only for four hours or so in a week by using outsourcing as solution. FHWW is an interesting idea and most likely will pass test of time.

But we as human beings are mostly scared to jump in uncertain terrains. We are sacred of taking big leaps of faith. What I am suggesting is a middle path – a 4×4 approach to life. When you use this approach you need not outsource. You can do your own work, do the way you want it and still have time to live life to the fullest.

What is 4X4 – it is working 4 hours every day, 4 days a week. Rest of the time you can put to best use as you think is right for you. It is for people who are looking for a way out – who are not ready to convert to FHWW yet. In the end you may convert or become a 4×4 triber for life or as long it suits you.

It is simpler than it looks. If you are somebody who works 9×5 then you will usually take 30 minutes to settle in, 30 minutes for water cooler chit chat, 1 hour for lunch and another 1 hour for coffee, tea, smoke, toilet or whatever breaks. So in a usual 8 hour work day you are already doing only 5 hours of real work.

In a 4×4 situation, you commit to work only 4 hours a day, 4 days a week – with a fixed start and end time. When you know that you are working on a 4 hour day then you will be more energetic, focused and productive. Just cut the breaks to a minimum in this 4 hour period. Make this time either your pre or post lunch time – so no much lunch breaks. You should keep three 5-minute breaks. Chances are that you will accomplish more in a 4 hour work day than in your 8-hour (on face, but 5 hours actually) work day.

Paulo Coelho already does this. He spends mornings doing the stuff that he loves – archery and a walk on the beach and likes. It is only in the afternoon that he connects to the world.

You owe it yourself to give this a try. You will be happy having tried this and may be one day thank me for having shared this with you.

To a good life for all.

Please share your thoughts in comments.

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Do you ever think about the best use of this limited resource? I gave it a thought and realized all of us can use time for following;

To enrich soul: Meditate, spend time in solitude, introspect, do whatever helps you know yourself better. Give some time to your deeds during the day and how they could have been done better. If it suits you then record your thoughts in a journal; volunteer for a cause close to your heart without expecting anything in return. 

To enrich body: Take time to listen to your body, stop when you are tired and exhausted, take time to relax and unwind, learn about food that is good for your body, tale time to cook healthy food or pick up fresh food, eat right and exercise.

To enrich mind: Read books, write, express, create, learn from those who have been there and have done that.

To earn daily bread and beyond: Do not just spend time, focus on being efficient. Avoid procrastination, do more than what people expect you to do. Take a commonsensical approach and your will surprise others and at times yourself with your success.

To fulfill our dreams: Work for something other than money, if you have responsibilities then work in the evening or whenever you get time for it. More than getting it is about finding time to do things that you love doing. It is hard to imagine what you can achieve when you work on your dreams on a daily basis.

To care for those who matter to you: Who is the most important person in your life or who are the most important people in your life. Ask yourself this question first. After you have answered this just ask that are you giving enough time to them.  

To make a difference and to work on what matters:  The world needs less of pollution, the world needs clean water, our generation and the next one needs better health. Underprivileged need more opportunities; youth need education in moral standards and to know that honesty and success can go hand in hand. Some part of the world need better education, others need better healthcare and rest needs less of food (think about a large population facing obesity). Moreover everybody on the planet needs peace. You will be more fulfilled and relaxed once you devote yourself to a bigger cause then yourself.

Sure you will have some thoughts about really good use of time. Please share in comments and help all of us learn.

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So you already know the mantra of success which is simple – generate good ideas and execute these ideas to perfection.

If attaining success is so simple then what stops a majority from achieving what they dream of. The primary reason is that most of us ideate but only a small number execute.

Those who execute and finish the task obviously stand a better chance to succeed that those whose ideas die on the ideation stage itself. If finishing takes you one step close to successes then why not to finish every task that you undertake. It is simpler than you think.

Here are 13 simple ideas that will help you blossom into a great finisher;

1. You need to start something before you can finish it.

Go start it, don’t wait for that perfect moment. Don’t sit on the idea for long, just get started. To put in a different way Just Do It as the Nike slogan suggests.

If you want to write a book, start by deciding a working title and writing that first paragraph. You can also choose to write a one page outline.  If you want to start an online store, decide on the product line and book a domain name.

If you need to submit a report to your boss or to your class-teacher (depending upon what age group you are in); start by collecting information from web, books and whatever other sources you choose. If you are an (aspiring) entrepreneur, start by building a demo (prototype) and go out to take feedback. If you can create a demo, sell and build in typical bootstrap fashion, who knows you can be tomorrow’s Michael Dell.

The idea is not to think too much before you start if it is not a high risk decision.

2.See that you starting with a worthwhile idea.

One word of caution before you start; make sure you are out to live your own dream and not somebody else’s. See that you are really keen and interested in the work that you are taking up. Do not start just because doing it is very cool.

You should have a genuine inclination towards pursuing it, should have skill-set to execute and the resources (physical energy, availability to time, investment if required).

Do not invest in stock market just because your friend made a killing investing in equity. Nothing to doubt intelligence of your friend; it is better to be inspired by legendry investors like Warren Buffet. He chose not to invest in technology stocks during the boom before internet bubble; because he did not understand technology.  Lesson to be learnt here – venture into a field that you understand.

Start something because you are passionate about it and you possess some skill set relevant to the task that you are taking up.

3. See that there are some rewards for you.

Start something which will provide some gain to you. It need not be monetary gain. The gain can be physical (better health through regular exercise); financial (wealth creation through regular saving); mental (clarity of thoughts through regular meditation); emotional (satisfaction due to having a romantic life that you desired). When you will see gain you will be motivated to take action.

4. Convert your task into actionable chunks.

If you want to finish a task successfully just break it into manageable chunks. Think of eating a big watermelon in one bite! What about finishing it one bite at a time.

Convert your task into goals or milestones. It can be done at ideation stage itself. Remember to create SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Tangible) goals and you will inch closer to success day after day.

It is good to get into habit of reviewing your plans and actions. It helps you keep on track. Sometimes en route the finish line you may miss some targets. Do not panic. Just relax for a while and speed up the accelerator. While speeding up just do a small check that you are headed in right direction. Further do not fear to change tracks if you feel that you are not moving in the right direction.

5. Make sure that follow-through is not too complex.

Promise of future gains and goal-setting can take you some distance; but if you want to keep on working make sure that follow through is not too complex.

If you are starting an exercise regimen to maintain good health then there is no point beginning with the most difficult form. Start with basic stretching and gradually move to more complex sets. What is complex today will be simple tomorrow. If exercising calls for extreme sacrifices you are least likely to sustain it. If good health calls for exercising then you should choose a regime that is practical and can be pursued day after day.

6. Focus on productive action.

It is important to note that your majority of your actions are productive. You do not need to be bound by any rules here but just see that your actions are taking you in the direction of your dreams. While you are focusing on productive action, keep allowing yourself regular fun time – time to spend with friends, family and with self (if you like it that way).

7. Celebrate small victories.

Celebrating small victories work wonderfully to take your closer to the goal. Firstly, it helps you realize that you are reaching there. This feeling helps a lot when you are pursuing a goal which is taking some time to achieve. Secondly it makes sure that follow through is not looking too-complex to you, further lowering your chances of quitting.

In most cases people leave a task unfinished when they see no success in sight. There can be other reasons also but this is the primary reason. Some of you may cite dog fight between stakeholders as one reason; but such fight appears when success looks far. If you smell success coming your way you are most likely to stay on track. Celebrating small victories help you realize that success is not very far from you.

8. Stay away from distractions.

It today’s world of excesses it is easy to come across various distractions. Most of these distractions will come in disguise. Internet comes in disguise as a source of useful information but can suck your time like a leech sucks the blood. Outings with friends come in the veil of fun and relaxation; but if done in excess can become a major hindrance and keep you away from your goal.

A useful gadget like TV remote control can take hours of your valuable time; if you choose to sit in couch and continue flipping channel one after another. Food which satisfies hunger and gives you energy to pursue any task can become a distraction if you choose to indulge in eating too much.

Best idea is to stay away from objects, gadgets and individuals that take you away from your goals. Avoid going to extremes with food, sleep and other essentials for life.

9. Make knowledge your friend and not your shield.

Many a times, people keep continue reading and act little. Their logic is to have perfect knowledge before they can start. In these fast changing times, better if you learn the basic stuff and get started.

Books and literature can be a big boost but they should not serve as a shield to keep you away from working on your real target.

When I started this personal development blog the idea was to create a resource where people can find pointers to make a positive difference in their lives. It need not be a big change but just a small idea, a little help.

I could have read 1000 more books in addition to a big chunk that I have already read. It would have provided me with more ideas and perspectives but by the time I would have finished reading my inclination to write may have been lost. It is just a scenario but highly possible one.

I felt that I possessed the skill and life-experiences to share some unique insights with you. There was no point in waiting till tomorrow when I may not have same excitement towards sharing these thoughts with you. I still read books and continue to learn from people I meet. I understand that learning is an ongoing process. There is no full stop in it.

The core idea here that make books and other resources (web) your friends – something that takes you forward on the path of action. How you can do that – read, learn; act to apply what you have learnt.

Yogi Sivananda’s words explain this best – “An ounce of practice is better than tons of theory.”

Somebody has said. “Knowledge is Power”. I say knowledge become power when acted upon. So choose to act and you will stand to gain.

10. Be in touch with your inner self.

Solitude will keep you on track. Find some time to be with your inner self wherever possible. During this period meditate, read out your intentions loud, make and review goals. It will be great if you can just sit silent and feel your breath going in and coming out. Initially this time of solitude can be a bit tough on you but later you will tend to enjoy it as it will be the time of recharge for you. You will feel like being plugged into an energy reservoir and getting charged.

An energized fresh human brain works like a fully charged mobile phone battery. It receives the ideas clearly, processes these ideas to perfection and provides clear output. The (solitude) recharge should provide your brain enough energy to perform its duty effortlessly.

11. Let go.

There will be times when things may not go as you like them to. In such a situation, the best strategy is to keep your cool. Realize that there are certain things we cannot control. We can control our actions, our speech, our association with people; but a natural calamity, unfavorable market condition or death of a loved one is beyond our control.

This understanding will keep you on path when things are not going your way. Be courageous to accept the reality if such a situation arises, do the best you can in that situation and march ahead with faith. I love – Prayer of Serenity – for the message it conveys. It can be your guiding light also. Here is the prayer;

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.

12. Seek advice when required.

Go out and seek advice when you need it. Make sure to check who you are seeking the advice from. The person should be someone who has already lived a dream similar to yours. Such a person will be in the state to answer your queries, clear your doubts and mostly likely will point you in right direction.

If you want to become a swimmer go ask somebody who have excelled at swimming. Similarly if you want to be the CEO of a fortune 500 Company go talk to a fortune 500 CEO – current or past. With today’s means of communication you can reach just about everybody. It is best to start with an email as it is less obtrusive and can be responded to at the receiver’s convenience.

You may say why a big time professional will respond to your query. Make a strong case, show your passion for the work you are doing and most of them will respond. In such situation it helps if you have a strong personal brand.

If you cannot talk to a fortune 500 CEO, go to somebody who is accessible. Go to a person in your town or city who runs a small enterprise or CEO of a small company.

13. Stay on course long enough and you will succeed.

This point as per me – is make or break – when it comes to successfully finishing a task that you have taken up. Make sure that you are in it for the long haul. “Long enough” is the key here. Go on till the time you achieve what you want and success will be yours. I would love to hear if you are able to use the above ideas towards your pursuit of success. Let the success you deserve be yours.

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