Success Mantras of Leaders - 2

Before I continue with the Part 2 of my previous blog - Success Mantras of Leaders - 1, I would like to share another blog I wrote - Lost Your Legs? Don't Crib. Find, And Climb Your Own Everest with you. This blog was based on my meeting with, and listening to another truly inspiring person - Mark Inglis - the only double amputee to have scaled Mt. Everest.

The above quote is attributed to Mark, and beautifully designed by www.geckoandfly.com.

Following is a summary of a few more mantras by Seth Godin, Narayana Murthy, Ben Horowitz, and Vinod Khosla that may lead you to that elusive thing called success.

1.     Think twice before you decide: The most difficult thing about doing something is to decide (and choose) to do it. The first step is always tough – but if you take it – you are ready for a long walk. Once you decide – continue.

2.     Tell Your Story – in your own way: Almost everyone has a unique story to tell. And it is this story that sets them apart – should they choose to tell it in their own way. If you want to succeed, let your story be yours – do not let it get corrupted by others thoughts and inputs. Follow the path you want to tread – not the short cut that a friend, peer, or a neighbor suggested. If you really want to succeed, you need to stand out – not blend in.

3.     Do not doubt yourself: It is important to be aware of the pitfalls of what you want to do – but don’t let this awareness turn itself into a fear or make you lose confidence. Don’t doubt your decisions – whatever your background, howsoever difficult the initial phase, don’t develop cold feet – who knows how close you are to achieving success!

4.     Keep innovating – be flexible: When people start working on an idea, they usually do not have an idea of the actual impact the idea may have. The journey of a million miles starts with a small step. For example, Amazon that just started with books, now sells everything. Once you begin, continue to innovate with an open mind, and build on top of it.

5.     Expand your boundaries: More often than not, the only thing that keeps us from doing great things in life, is ourselves. We create these imaginary boundaries that never let us be bigger than what we think of ourselves. And almost always, we think of ourselves much lesser than our true potential.

6.     Be persistent - sail through your crests and troughs: Persistence pays. Clichéd as it may seem, it is an undeniable fact that if you continue persevering persistently towards a goal, you will achieve it for sure. When someone said "Try and try until you succeed" - it was not meant to be a joke. The challenge is that you must not stop after achieving just a single goal. Surge ahead and create your next goal, and then the next. Define your goals such that your success never has a finish line – but is rather an ongoing journey.

7.     Do not settle for average: The moment you make a conscious choice to be above average, you create your path to success. Do not settle for anything that is less than average or mediocre if you really want to achieve exemplary success in your life.

8.     Try and fail, but don’t fail to try: One of the major obstacles in the path to success is the willingness to try. Unless you try out something, you can never know whether or not it will succeed or fail. Moral – do not be afraid to try. The worst that may happen is failure – but you may never taste success unless you try out your idea!

9.     Contribute to the society: If you just want to succeed and make some money, believe it – that’s all you will get. However, when you start contributing back to the society, mentoring people, sharing your knowledge, etc., your success will rise to a different level as everyone will respect your making a contribution.

10. Spread Your Ideas: Unless you talk about your idea or invention, or market it in some manner, no one will know – or be impacted by it. It will thus be as good as an idea that never came to exist. As they say, “Ideas that spread, win.”

11. Respect Your Competitors: Competitors must be respected. For all their knowledge, for their experience. If you can learn from the mistakes and the good calls of your competitors and apply them for your own idea, you are a lot closer to win the race.

12. Start Mentoring: In the words of Steven Spielberg, “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” A leader is only successful if he can create leaders who in turn create more leaders. Mentor the leaders of the future, for it is in this that your biggest success lies.

If we are able to apply even a bit of these thoughts, ideas, and practices in our life, I am sure our lives will see a huge positive change.

That said, with the new year approaching, it's the best time to reflect back on the year and carry forward good thoughts.

Looking forward to your thoughts and comments! :)

A side note for those who believe in Numerology

2016 marks the end of a 9-year cycle which began in 2008.

In the last 9 years, "we all have experienced many lifetimes upon the earth. Now one must sit back, remember and think about the behaviors they have come to experience and exhausted. The patterns, the cord connections from the rituals, ceremonies, contracts, vows, links, or any other attachments made to another. We develop these cords when in relations with another being. We place and receive these attachments in these lifetimes that develop karmic connections to our soul. Many times we place them ourselves. Some of these attachments are in good standing and some are not. Many serve no purpose for us anymore and it is time for the removal of them." - https://www.lovehaswon.org/

"The experience of 2016 is going to be one of purification – for surely the 9 will do that for us as one overriding theme of the 9 is “Out with the old, in with the new”. Old ways and old behaviors are leaving and the landscape will be changing on so many levels that it will boggle your mind." - https://numerologycoach.wordpress.com

It's the time to leave behind what is not serving any purpose in our lives, and begin afresh on a new plate.

Wishing you all a year - and the new 9-year-old cycle - that's blessed, prosperous, and successful.