Be prepared

To achieve success, as per your own definition of this abstract thought and feeling, if it is considered by you as a matter of destiny or the consequence of toil, labour and hard work, will determine your outlook towards self development. While stars, fate, and fortune have a role in our lives, hard work and the resolve to get where one wishes to go is equally critical. Here, I shall dwell only upon hard work, attitude and courage to improve oneself. Once armed with these, even Dame Fortune, is forced to befriend, you.

There is no person, who doesn’t wish to succeed in life, regardless of the vocation or pursuit. All the new joiners at the entry level aspire to be the president/ CEOs of the company they start their career with. Some make it by hard work, while some don’t, largely due to lack of personal attention and focus.

A university degree gets you to open ajar or break upon the latch to the world of opportunities -a first class degree does not guarantee numero uno position on the hierarchical chart. So, what is it required, beyond the university degree, to achieve success? Stated simply it is, personality development. And how does one explain and achieve personal development?

In this piece, the focused addressees are those readers, who are in the age band of 25years to 50years -a limiting factor of 50 years of age is clamped only to indicate, that if until that age an individual has not clarified to his/her self, of what they want from life, then the task to reset life is arduous and difficult, but not impossible. Recall, Ronald Reagan, the ‘great communicator’, became President of USA at the ripe age of 72 years. And in history, such examples are aplenty.

So, what exactly should this age group concentrate on for attaining a personality, that is found ready, willing and able; appropriate and appealing, to the board for placement as say, the managing director; fine, since such positions are a few, so let us focus on the desire to being, “manager” of “people and business”.

The attention has to be on few fundamentals. I am identifying only a few here; there may be numerous others that will give an enabling environment, for personality growth and success in the corporate sector and per se at the job assigned.

The most formidable of traits required is the development of the habit of reading. It allows you to remain abreast with the latest developments in the market and enables opportunities for improvement in skills. The knowledge you acquire must be of relevance to the assignment and not ‘general in nature. “Reading maketh a man".

All leaders have to be dreamers, first. So is true for the manager. The destination has to be in mind. Again have a plan and strategy in place to get where you wish to go. Develop with clarity the blueprint of a well-thought out vision, preferably that is timeless. If the goal posts are not known, team members will make a spectacle of themselves, not knowing which side of the arena they are playing. Strategy, goals and targets are set by dreamers. Be a dreamer, with faith, in your potential and abilities. This confidence dawns only where there is self-belief. This belief must not be imaginary, but has to be for real. You must have an attitude, sans arrogance, and you will find that colleagues and team members begin to acquiesce. In doing so, it is important to discover the seen and the unseen of the colleagues’ personality. What must not be obscured from any analysis of an individual is that a man of action will possess a strong dosage of pride, egotism and an air -no harm, only if it is confined within the traits self-restraint. In the improvement of personality, the element of smart approach, hard work and application, cannot be underestimated. In life there are no short cuts. The midnight lamp has to be burnt all through the night. Hard work and its results are usually in sync. One has to learn to do, rather than be in mere possession of knowledge, on how to execute. Execution is the crux of the usability of any knowledge. You can do, only if you think, you can.

As part of personality development, to keep time management in focus, is of critical significance. Set, your schedule every day, with definite key results to achieve. Those who can’t master their control over time are bound to find themselves being captive to a rudderless and listing life. Because of its inelastic nature, one has to develop ability to pack 25 hours of productivity in a twenty four day. This requires a regime of following strict discipline. Apportion your time wisely, between investing in the future and enjoying the pleasure of present time. The past has value, limited in nature, it is to be looked at only to ensure, the errors of past aren’t repeated.

The speed of technological revolution is a thing to contend with. Spend enough resources to keep yourself aligned with the latest developments on how to improve one’s productivity through the use of the platform of technology. This scribe does not believe that being active on the mostly ridiculous social media apparatus is akin to being proficient technically. In fact, it is a major distraction to many -and such don’t realise, until it is late in the day. Acquire knowledge and expertise in new software and hardware that allow you to catapult into being a higher source of productivity.

To succeed, you have to be courageous. Courage is the most lethal attribute of a great leader. A person possessed of courage and character is always a formidable competition to all. Bravery is not possession of knowledge of the cowardice of colleagues; it is about compassion and ability to utilize others strengths, without compromising one’s own values. Courage is the antidote of fear. Those possessed of fear will fail in taking new ventures with confidence. The vulnerability that strikes through fear leads to the undoing of the resolve.

A man is known by the company he keeps. Choose your friends with caution. People generally judge by the adage, birds of a feather flock together. If you spend time in the company of losers, you will soon be classified as one. The habits of successful people are deadly contagious, that is possible, only if you consciously make an effort to befriend them.

Develop, with consciousness, a pleasing disposition. At the workplace or otherwise too, exercise strict control over stress and anger. Laugh often -it helps in keeping good health too. The blood pressure remains in the normal range, helping you to keep your clam even in the tensest situations. It creates happiness in the environment; increases immunity to viruses of diseases, both of medical nature and corporate viruses.

Be of a forgiving nature. Holding retaliation, especially when possessed of power to do, is a great personal victory, over the negative self. Let forgiving be your nature. It is no sign of weakness. Only the brave forgive. Expunge fear from your dictionary. Let the self-propelling wheels of internal motivation override feelings of fear. Fear is an enemy of innovation, creativity and action. Bid it good-bye. Remember, no fence of fear, separates between the greener and the less green grass. Failure is never irrevocable. The revocability of all factors is the most important belief to be had for attaining success. Retreat is not defeat. Learn to demonstrate strong ethical, moral, and cultural standards.

The writer is a senior banker and a freelance columnist