Cordially Yours

Every one of us has spent years and years learning how to communicate but alas! we have learned only to speak or write. Does effective communication consist only of speaking and writing? The fact is that there is another very important element in communication and that is LISTENING. Have we learned how to listen effectively? Truly speaking, effective listening is one of the most essential habits that can help us succeed in all our endeavors. This 5-star habit can catapult you to the success stratosphere. Why and how? What is the purpose of effective listening? The simplest reply to this question is we can understand others or the things they speak about. We all know that there is a world of difference between hearing and listening. When we just hear, we do not imbibe or 'take in' the content in what we hear. On the other hand, when we listen intently , the content gets registered in our minds. This means we understand. The reality that can be uncomfortable to most of us is tha...

That every individual is unique is backed by loads of research findings. This being the case, a question arises as to whether you can emulate or reverse engineer the winning ways of successful performers. Before answering this question, experts make it very much clear that they are not making any dogmatic suggestions that you should embrace all the ways of these high performers.  On the contrary, you should use your cerebral faculties to choose only those habits or ways you think are suitable for you. In fact, these experts hasten to add that it is enough if you incorporate only the following three common habits into your life. Let us dig a little deeper into these. 1. Succumbing to the gravitational power of your bed even after the alarm of your bedside clock rings is dreadful and bubonic. Further, as soon as the alarm rings, your body begins secreting Cortisol, the wakefulness hormone. Waging a war against this hormone and trying to continue your sleep will make y...

"Nobody has a perfect life. Everybody has their own problems" is one of the oft-repeated quotes. But some people seem to know how to solve their problems more easily. You may wonder how they possess this ability while you keep on struggling to come out of the tough situations you are mired in. Experts on personal development suggest that you should ask a few basic questions to change your approach to handling such situations.   1.  What is the situation?   2.  I do not like the situation. I am ill at ease and feeling suffocated. So, what is the preferred situation that can lift me to a "tensionless state," as Victor Frankl puts it in his "Man's Search for Meaning." ?   3.  How can I create the preferred situation?   4.  How can I know that I have succeeded in creating the preferred situation? Unfortunately, there is a caveat. The answers to questions 3 and 4 are very difficult to get, though it is comparatively easier to get th...

That most of us are allowing others to control our life is a painful truth. You have to first acknowledge this in order to bring back the control in your hands . Why are others keen to control your life? Perhaps, they want to get some advantage out of it or they want to pull you down so that they can surpass, outfox or outsmart you. In this context,  should you continue to allow them to control your life?  The result will be disastrous for your personal growth. You cannot pursue your passion, not to talk of focusing on achieving your life goals, career growth,  or success in your business endeavors. So, you should take all possible steps for taking back control of your life. Once you succeed in your efforts, you can see a massive improvement in your life. Let us find out how you can get out of this damned rut of being controlled by others.  The fact is that it is your consciousness about your social image that forces you to succumb to the pressure of...

The question of whether it is possible to become wealthy in life without toiling much may interest everyone including you. The question may sound bananas as well because, since childhood, every one of us has been taught that we should work hard for several years to become wealthy. But according to some modern thinkers, whatever we have learned is nothing but a conservative perspective. The firm opinion of these modern thinkers is that it is possible to get rich without working hard, robbing a bank, stealing, hitting a jackpot, or winning a lottery.  One such modern thinker was Thomas C. Corley, who was just not an author but a financial consultant as well. His research involved a study of the lifestyle and habits of millionaires such as the way they lived, watched TV, their food habits, and so on. The study included self-made millionaires as well. In addition to interviewing millionaires, Corley interviewed those who earned just average incomes also. He found that the f...

That Bill Gates is a different person is an undeniable fact. He is at present the fourth richest person on this planet. Why is he successful? As an entrepreneur, what does he do differently to earn his success?  Those who have watched Gates from close quarters say that he loses patience if he comes across people who waste time. They also point out that he meticulously plans his day and that his schedule covers every single minute of his day. But is this the only habit that makes him successful ? The answer is a big 'No.' Of course, planning the day is important. But there is another habit of Gates that is responsible for his successful entrepreneurial journey.  The habit is: Bill Gates wants to work only with lazy people. Is he crazy? Does he really like to work with lazy folks? To everyone's surprise, the answer is a 'yes.'  Why?  To this question, his answer is: “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy w...

Experts who have undertaken a thorough study of the ways of the most successful people point out that there is one secret that has catapulted these people to such an enviable level. If you know this secret and adopt it diligently, you can achieve success also. Let us find out more about this. It is not that the highly successful people have been achieving success after success in all their endeavors and that they have never tasted failures. In reality, they have committed mistakes and failed many a time as well. After all, they are also normal human beings. There is nothing extraordinary about them. Nor all of them are prodigies or geniuses. So, there may be several occasions during which they may have faltered. But they do not allow these setbacks to upset them or discourage them. Instead, they study their setbacks and find out the reasons that have caused them. They vow to themselves that they will never commit the same mistakes ever again. For example, an athlete who is training fo...