29th July 2010 Mohit Pawar Leave a comment

50 tips for happy entrepreneurs

happy_on_spacecraftMost of us pursue success which is a worthwhile cause. Better if success is achieved with your happiness intact. This is possible. You may be aware of some of the ideas below. Use the ones that resonate with you and get started on the path of success with happiness.

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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28th July 2010 Mohit Pawar Leave a comment

Power of an idea

power_of_an_ideaThere is power in an idea; and there is fame, name and untold wealth. More importantly, a powerful idea gives you an opportunity to touch the lives of millions and billions of people of the world. Facebook was once an idea that later became big, helping world connect better. It started with questioning the way the university students connected with each other. Google emerged out of an idea to make search better.

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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About

Hi there, my name is Mohit Pawar. I work with brands and digital media based out of New Delhi, India. In my spare time, I pen my thoughts; organize open-source technology conferences and devote my energies to the cause of entrepreneurship. More