Success is a Greedy Mistress

Success is a greedy demanding mistress. To begin with, she makes small demands - all she is looking for is your passion to be in the game to woo her. But as you gain wins and with It the heart of success, her demands become increasingly greedy - winning not just for the sake of winning,  but for all that it brings in its train - money, fame and status.

This is what I call ‘The Greed of Success’.

Take the example of the Aizawl football club which won this year's I-league championship. To start with, they just wanted to see the best way they play the tournament and lose less. But with time and wins over the giants of football, they became more confident. They started thinking they could finish as the runners-up and ended up winners of the championship and winning the prize money off Rs 1 cr! After the win, Captain Alfred Jaryan said - they don't play for money - ‘money can come in the way of true performance’. ‘We just put our heads down and try to achieve as much as we can’.

Let us pray Dame Success doesn't claim another victim.

Following Your Heart

Do you have this burning desire that you are destined for more? Harsha Bhogle, who graduated as a chemical engineer and has a degree from IIM Ahmedabad, followed his passion for  cricket. He chose to become a cricket commentator, find success and manage to make a comfortable living out of his passion.

But for all those who choose to listen to the voice within and follow it fearlessly,  there are wise words of advice from successful banker-turned successful author Amish Triphati. “You must use your heart  to decide the destination but”, he warns, “... use your mind to plot the journey”.

What Great Work is About

When composing music for a Mani Ratnam film, composer AR Rahman sends melody elements that reflect feelings...like love, passion and so on, to Ratnam for his approval.  When asked how he decides that Ratnam will like a particular tune,  AR says, “It's not about him liking a tune.  When I compose something,  I have to like it first. I have be proud of it and feel, ‘Ah, this is beautiful’ or ‘This chord progression is nice’... If it emotionally moves me, then I am sure he will like it as well.”

And that tells me a lot about what great work is all about!

A Window to Our Souls

The late music great David Bowie was an avid collector of art, which he kept private in his lifetime.Artist and writer Matthew Collins says, “I think he was an absolutely genuinely enthusiastic collector who didn't collect to be swanky or big himself up. He really collected because he had a use for that work and it was a personal use. He looked at those things and they changed his state of being“.

INSIGHT
We can harness our passion either for our personal pleasure, or for personal gain. How we use it, reveals who we are & the manner in which we value it..

Feel For Your Customer

Hard-sell  morticians at the China Dragon Garden graveyard in suburban Beijing set up hundreds for gravestones bearing the names (living) local residents in gold letters. Sales staff would show residents their names, saying, “Look! That could be you.”

Insight
Being close to your product is good, and creative marketing even better, but not at the cost of distancing yourself from customer sensitivities. Know your customer, feel for your customer. #KnowYourself #Connect2Coach

Elevating Your Storytelling

“Elevate your storytelling from just a taxi ride to the story of life and its meaning….While Uber is about transportation you can still inspire people with a good story”. - Uber founder Travis Kalanick

Insight
The key to a compelling story begins not by asking , “What's my product?” but by asking yourself, “What business am I really in?  What am I passionate about?” When your true passion becomes the subject of your communication, it serves to truly inspire your audience.
#KnowYourself #Connect2Coach

The Power of Boredom

Dr V K Kurien arrived at Anand in May 1949. Bored, and with nothing to do in the small sleepy town, he joined a band of tenacious dairy farmers in their  struggle against the exploitative practices followed by the local trade. Little did he know that he was actually sowing the seeds of a revolutionary cooperative movement. It went on to create the White Revolution, making India the largest milk producer in the world.

#MyLearning
Do not underestimate the power of boredom. Activities born of a state of boredom, could transform into passion and produce remarkable outcomes