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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World needs big ideas and actions; if you do not come up with these ideas then somebody else will. How can you be the person with the big idea? Let us explore.

Body and mind: An idea emerges in your mind. In a healthy body lives a healthy mind so keep both fit and ready for accepting ideas.

Challenges and solutions: Think about the challenges of the world. Think about an idea that can solve them. Obesity, hunger, information overload all are big challenges that needs to be addressed.

People want clean water, clear air, fresh fruits and vegetables free of chemicals. World want integrated areas where people can both live and work – and spend less time commuting and more time working and being with their loved ones. People want less clutter and more relevant information online.

You can ideate to find a solution to such problems. For example to provide more relevant results online – one can create a layer of search filters on top of regular search engine and help remove content pushed by SEO (search engine optimization).

If possible think beyond your area of work.

Inside and outside: Look within to get in touch with your inner core. Go mediate, find solace; get away – some of your best ideas will come to you when are doing nothing. Seth Godin was struck with the idea of Yoyodyne (which he later sold to Yahoo for USD 30 million) sitting alone after a really bad day at work. Archimedes’ eureka moment occurred while he was bathing in a tub.

Go find some leisure hours. Go to a jungle trail or sit at home and do nothing. Go watch a movie alone, or just look at the expanse of sky and think about its vastness. Just for a moment or some hours get away from your work, be alone in the lap of nature.

Use mind-maps to become an efficient thinker and planner.

Go outside to learn about the needs and happenings in the world. Talk to people, observe and find your big idea. Make friends from different spheres of life. Learn music, become a part-time carpenter or join a calligraphy class. Steve Jobs said (about Calligraphy learning) during a commencement address he gave at Stanford University in 2005.

“It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating….

If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them.”

The idea is not to learn calligraphy because it worked for Steve Jobs; but to learn something for the joy of learning. You never know when your learning will come handy in life and put you in position to bring forth a big idea.

Read and write: When you read you get an opportunity to get in the mind of the writer. Read a mix of books – classics, new and from the times in between. At the end of every year or quarter make a reading list and aim to finish. Further read different types of writing like books, journals, periodicals, online resources. Every fortnight, give yourself some wild surfing time on the web. Just check anything – arts, science, pop culture, and agribusiness. How many of you have heard of Maisonneuve?

Read about change makers and find what got them inspired.

Do not be blinded by social, not-for profit, and for profit ideas. Read about innovation in any place. If you are a scientist then explore how Avatar became such a big hit and the role of studio and director in it. May be it will give you an idea on taking your research to the masses efficiently.

Writing helps you be creative and help you get in flow. Write without restrain. Write for 25 minutes without stopping. Write about “my ideas to change the world” for a beginning.

Conservative and out-of-the-box: Spend time wisely balancing things like work and life; and business and pleasure- doing things the way the world wants of you. Then once in a while do things – which world do not expect you to. If you use diplomacy usually then you can try speaking your heart to people – straight from the heart – the way you think. Spend an entire day without a cell phone and an entire week without internet.

Question and answer: Just get into habit of asking –“Can it be done better?” Then try and find the answer how it actually can be done better. All big ideas and enterprises start with asking a question

Think about better way of delivery or find a new medium itself. Can there be interconnected network of waves that need no mobile phone-like device to enable a conversation between two people.

I am sure this will help you find a worthwhile idea. Do you have a powerful idea that you are already working on or are you still exploring?

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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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It also means that existing businesses have more competition. There are more SPEs running after your business. They also have a chance to win the businesses of clients that you are serving. This is because the low cost of delivery and comparative lesser operating costs for such enterprises.

What do you do in such a situation to retain your clients? The answer is simple. You do it by providing exceptional value and staying ahead of the curve. Following 4 steps help you do that.

Educate: For most of the businesses in services and solutions space; clients are likely to be companies running significant operations that having the capability to outsource part of their needs. These needs may be design, technology, specialized promotion or something similar.

Depending of your clients’ position in the market – leader, followers, new entrants – they are working most of the time to maintain their position, move ahead or setting a foothold. They have little time to learn about new innovations and the basics of the area in which you are helping them. So it makes sense that you to educate them by providing such information in an easily digestible format.

It is your duty to help clients learn the basics and update them on new innovations and possibilities. It does two things – one it helps the client instill confidence in you and your company. Reason being – when you share information you give subtle message that you know about what you are doing. It builds credibility for you. Secondly it gives you an opportunity to up sell. From among new innovations a client may ask you to use one for their benefit.

You can educate your clients in person, through email, blog or an email newsletter.

Inform: Inform clients about both – what you plan to do for them and what has been done for them, through periodic, easy to understand reports. Planned activity can be shared at the beginning of the month and executed work can be shared at the end of the month. Talk in their language. Avoid jargon wherever possible.

Fair pricing: It does not mean under pricing.  In fact you should never under price.  You can win a business by pricing very low; but it is no fun to work with wafer thin margins. In such a scenario you are not motivated enough to provide exceptional service; and it is mostly likely that you will not be able to pay your employees and associates well. Underpaid resources rarely deliver quality work.

Fair Pricing means a cost+ pricing that gives you an opportunity to serve the client in line with his expectations, without letting him feel that he is overpaying. Be commonsensical about it. To explore more just check out this story from Charging by the Project or the Hour: (via Signal vs. Noise)

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him.

“It’s you — Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art.

“It’s perfect!” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”

“Five thousand dollars,” the artist replied.

“B-b-but, what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life.”

Guess you got some idea. It may help to look at demand and supply and the value you are providing. You can afford to charge premium if the offering is unique and of great value to the receiver. And just to reinforce, never be the least price offering in the market.

Trust: Trust comes from credibility and productive action; and also by educating, informing and offering a fair price. In today’s world trust can be a big USP when many businesses are trying to run a fast one on their clients. Be transparent, tell the truth, deliver on time, and make a difference, positive that is. If it makes sense for you – also put a little bit of your heart with your brains – and you will see the difference.

Trust also can come from making an exceptional offer like DemandForce.

From DemandForce website – “We believe that our customers should not pay for a program that has not generated a documented return, so we guarantee our customers will receive $3 in value for every $1 spent subscribing to our service each month, or the next month is free.”

Most of what I have shared above can be used to win new business also. I will share more about that some time in near future; because you need to acquire a client first to retain it.

What are you doing to retain your clients?

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Chances are that those who keep working towards their goals will ultimately succeed. For most of us the success itself is the reward for the work we put in. But it is always better if you celebrate while the success is still fresh in your thoughts.

If you are an entrepreneur, a new client win does not last long in your heart because soon you begin servicing same client. For a student a major success in examination lasts only till she enters next class and gets into the daily rigor. So it is important that you celebrate victories while they are still fresh – however small they may be.

How to celebrate?

Call everybody involved to rejoice in festivities, say thank you – may be with a small gift or personal thank you note; and most importantly – look in the mirror and say congrats to the face in mirror – for having done it. During such celebrations take a vow to meet together again for such a celebration.

Do not hold yourself back thinking that the success will not last long. It may or may not – but you should not spoil your today thinking about tomorrow. In fact, you have more reason to celebrate today because there may be no tomorrow.

Why celebrate?

By celebrating you show that you appreciate what you have got. When you do that you open yourself to even bigger celebrations and successes.

I will go the extent of suggesting that keep a celebration day every month and make it a point to find reasons to celebrate on this day. Why wait for birthdays and anniversaries to celebrate. Let celebrate often, let’s celebrate more; because you deserve a life filled with real joy and not just the hope for a better tomorrow.

What do you say?

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If you ask yourself regularly – “is there a better way?”, you can create a unique space for yourself in whatever area you work in. It works irrespective of your role or area of work. Why it works? Because, not everyone does that; people are too busy running. They prefer running aimlessly – than to stop and think about improvement.

Let us see how people can use this question.

Entrepreneurs (can ask): Is there a better way to deliver a service or design a product? This may have been the question Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs asked themselves – when they started working on what later became a Mac. Google may have asked this question when search-engines like AltaVista ruled and they were just a small entity trying to create better search in a university lab. Established players need to ask this question on a regular basis if they want to stay in the game.

Teachers (can ask): Is there a better way to teach – something that teaches them to question the status quo at an early age. They can share a story or a movie that teaches the value of virtues like truth, humility and compassion. They can use drama to teach the art of better expression.

They can ask themselves – can there be a better method of teaching than just asking students to read the chapters and the answer the question. What if the students start with questions first and find the answer in nature and through fun and interesting discussion.

Writers (can ask): Is there a better way to tell a story – in a way that it touches the heart of the reader, sparks an idea, or simply amuses and entertains.

Father or mother (can ask): Is there a way to a better parent? Ask yourself – what is the way to strike a balance between being overly possessive and being indifferent to the demands of your child? Is there a way that can help you know your child better? Can you create a better environment of growth for your child – by creating a balance – where TV, internet, outdoor activity, spending time with friends, reading, and healthy eating all are part of your child’s life? How to help your child grow by setting an example through your own life? How to help your kids unleash their full potential by not pushing your own desires and unfulfilled dreams on them?

Marketer (can ask): Can I be more truthful in communicating with the target audience. Can I drive my products, service or business by delivering quality, being innovative and inducing trust then by pushing products and spamming people with promotions at odd hours?

The question each one of us can ask?

Is there a way I can become a better human being? By speaking less and doing more; by trying to be more understanding, considerate of the need of other person, by active listening, by giving with an open heart, by being truthful, by helping people and reaching out to those in need; by complaining less. When you ask this question chances are that improvements will touch each and every part of your life. It will help you become a better father, husband, son, friend, marketer, entrepreneur and every role you play in your day to day life.

So if you want to be unique then ask yourself today – Is there a better way of doing it?

Thanks for asking this question. I am thanking you because I want you to be better at what you do.

To your success and growth.

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“Humility makes great men twice honorable.”

This thought emerged in my mind couple of days back while sitting with a group of people over lunch, one of whom was ex-chairman of a large public sector corporation.

I always make an effort to meet people from different walks of life unrelated to whether they are successful or not. I try to help wherever I can and also ask for help if needed; because if you can’t ask for help you cannot give it.

Many people who become successful in worldly sense – heads of corporations, people with more money or with a comfortable life more than many – tend to close themselves to outer world. This change – if you observe closely – does not happened in a single day but over a period of time. No offenses meant to people in this situation as they themselves do not know what they have become.

Such people are personified by following traits;

False Superiority: Such people live cocooned in their own world mostly with people who work – not with them but under them – and who praise them for no obvious reasons – may be whose pay-raise depends on these people with false superiority. This instills a false sense of superiority in these individuals. This is different from having high self-esteem. This is about thinking that you are more important than many in the world.

Living in the past: Such people live in the times that have gone past them and the world. No point resting on one’s laurels and talk about what one did 10 years back or last year.

What is more important is what you are doing now. If you did something great, remarkable and memorable then you will not have to talk about that. People will talk about it themselves. Something what Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates did? You see I love both Apple and Microsoft for different reasons and guess that is ok.

Living in a different world: These people think there are only few people worth talking to in this world – people who are at similar title, with similar wealth or social standing.

Negative body-language: Such people close themselves to others. They sit with cross-folded hands in meetings and in public interactions. They stand with higher than usual heads.

If you are one of the above then you may be missing on many good things of life.

What are you missing?

Love of people: People give their love and appreciation to people who smile at others and convey that they appreciate your presence. If you come across somebody who rather than smiling scoffs at you then chances are that you will not reciprocate with love unless you are a saint.

Joys of life called laughter: Laughing with an open heart brings great joy to people. Somebody who thinks that he is superior to others will not be able to relate and laugh his heart out. When you laugh with people you experience the joy of togetherness which is irreplaceable.

Growth and learning: Really growth-oriented people are always open to learning. I really like this story about the Zen Master and University Professor.

“A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor’s cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. “It’s overfull! No more will go in!” the professor blurted. “You are like this cup,” the master replied, “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Many of us have already heard and read this story at different places. If you come with prejudices and think that you know all there is to know then the chances for you to learn anything new are bleak. At times people think they can do without learning new things – that is to their own peril.

Friends and Happiness: If you live a cocooned life then you will get away from real friend; and those who know about the joy of friendship know that it is an eternal source of happiness.

New connections: When you interact with people from different walks of life, may be not as successful as you – then you open yourself to new connections. Connections open new doors, help you find new partners and collaborators. Truly success-oriented people always are on the lookout for new connections.

I am sure you are somebody who is interested in new connections, wants to grow and want people to love them and unravel in the joy of life. If you want to do all then be open to new ideas and people; and meet people with open heart how-ever successful you may be in worldly sense.

Hope it helped. Give me an opportunity to open my heart to you by sharing your thoughts in comments.

Joy, Peace, Love and Growth to all.

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Entrepreneurs have existed on our planet for a long time. But it in recent times, entrepreneurship has gained popular acceptance as a career choice. Thanks to our transition into knowledge economy where individuals with little material resources could go out in the world and create something really big.  Advent of web has made it really cheap to start a venture. No need to create a factory with millions. Just create a website, see if it works and scale as the need be. Not as simple as the written world but simpler than earlier days.

Media also glorifies entrepreneurship on a regular basis which adds to positive impact. Entrepreneurs are seen as people who drive the change and make something significant out of nothing. At least a part of it is true.

World needs individuals who take an idea; risk their time and money, and convert it into something real. New enterprises are hotbeds of innovation. Even in existing enterprises, changes are driven by individuals with certain appetite for risk and their willingness to do something different.

Despite all these positives, not everyone becomes an entrepreneur. The perceived reasons that keep away people from becoming entrepreneurs are known to most of us – lack of money, fear of failure, no experience etc.

You must have noticed that I have written perceived reasons in above paragraph. There is a way around all these reasons that deter people from becoming entrepreneurs. Also the difference between who makes it as entrepreneur and who don’t – is these reasons. Those who make it somehow find a way to – overcome their fear; find money or start something without it – yes that is possible; and make up for lack of experience through innovation.

I also make a point that young students at business school and at engineering institutions are better positioned to make it as entrepreneurs, as they have many things going for them. Let us explore.

More time

More time (to learn and experiment): As a student your only focus is study – at least for most young students. Of course there will be other things like friends and fun-time. But still you will have more time to yourself than somebody who is in a full-time job.

Once in a full-time career, people find it difficult to find time for their dreams. When you are in studying you have more time to read about topics that interest you and explore options that can be converted to profit making businesses. There are endless list of success businesses that were started on campus. You sure know of Dell Computers and more recently Facebook – both started in campus dorms.

More Time (to fail): A big hindrance for people dreaming to become entrepreneurs – those who keep sitting on the fence – is the fear of failure. When you start early as a student, you need not worry about failure too much; because you have less at stake and time to start afresh.

So when you start early it will be easy for you to take failure as a stepping stone to success. You fail and you still have time to start again. That may not be the case with people who start at a later stage in life.

Get to – 10000 hours – faster: Malcom Gladwell in his book “Outliers” shared 10,000 hours-rule. If you devote 10,000 hours to a pursuit you become highly proficient in that area. This is true for entrepreneurship. If you want to be a proficient entrepreneur, devote 10,000 hours to the cause. While at school you have a better chance of finishing these 10,000 hours within 3-4 years when you totally immerse yourself in the cause.

When you get into a job your only shot at entrepreneurship, will be as a part-timer. This will take you longer to finish 10,000 hours and may be more time to succeed.

Less pressure: Pressure comes from expectations – from your own and of those related with you. As a student – people do not expect much out of you. May be your family wants you to get good grades and that you get a good job after getting out. This set of expectations increases many fold when you go out in the world to make a living.

Fewer expectations mean less pressure on you. In such an environment it is easy for you to be productive and get in the flow. When you are in the flow your ability to create increase and this is an important recipe for entrepreneurial success.

Ecosystems: Most proactive educational institutions offer some kind of entrepreneurship incubator facility. The infrastructure in the incubator can be used to initiate your enterprise. For those who stay off-campus, the apartments also are a form of an extended ecosystem. When you are living with your friends – who are on same line of thinking as you – you can easily bounce your ideas off them and move ahead.

It is also easy for students to form teams and get into various business plans competition. Such competitions offer a good platform to share your idea with wider audience who have been there and done that, get valuable feedback and mentoring. There are also chances to get a head-start in terms of getting prize money and also useful free publicity –for those who make the cut.

Fewer liabilities: When you are young you need not run a house, your parents also may not be your responsibility, and you have no bills to pay. Fewer liabilities also will mean better focus and a good chance of succeeding at whatever you do.

So start early and just do it if you want to have a real shot at entrepreneurship.

Good luck.

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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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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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