WINNERS’ PODIUM

—

EVERYONE FITS ON IT

An invitation for essential and

successful living Anchit Barnwal

V&S PUBLISHERS

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© Copyright: Author ISBN 978-93-815885-1-2 Edition: 2012

The Copyright of this book, as well as all matter contained herein (including illustrations) rests with the Publisher. No person shall copy the name of the book, its title design, matter and illustrations in any form and in any language, totally or partially or in any form. Anybody doing so shall face legal action and will be responsible for damages.

Printed at: Param Offseters, Okhla, New Delhi-110020

To that Supreme Power

which rests within all of us &

My parents, for being with me as a force to reckon with, always. Dad and Mom, I love you forever.

Acknowledgements

Today, I am elated to present my work

to the world at large, but

calling this book solely mine would be a

gross injustice to the efforts and insights of

those who have, directly or indirectly, been

in-

strumental in making this book achieve its

present form. This book

is the result of collective effort of my

friends, relatives, teachers and

many more people who have, in one way or

the other, facilitated the

process of writing it.

I would also like to acknowledge the

heterogeneous nature of people—mostly

their individuality—which inadvertently

led to sharpening of my observational skills

beyond the normal and made me capable

of seeing things differently from others.

At last, I humbly thank the folks atV&S

publishers for helping this book see the light

of day.

I have talked more through stories,

quotations, illustrations

and day to day observations than

through words alone, so that

everyone—young and old—finds this book

an engaging read—so

effortlessly.

Thank you!

PREFACE

Our actions totally depend upon our thoughts and our

thoughts are

nothing but the sum total of our attitudes. This book attempts

to

infuse in each one of us the kind of attitude required to excel in

all the spheres of life, be it personal or professional.

We always hear people complain of something missing from

their

lives, without being able to exactly pin-point that very „something‟.

This „something‟ could be a spark, which we miss on our way

to

success; or could be the satisfaction post achievement of that

success;

or it could be anything to do with a pleasing personality, having

a

better attitude or a wish for a more balanced life. Or, simply it

could

be a lack of happiness in our lives. This book intends to tackle

this

very „something‟; to surface that which we miss in our lives and the

ways to fill that vacuum.

Success, satisfaction and happiness complement each other.

They

must go hand-in-hand in order to avoid a feeling of

worthlessness

or having led an unworthy life, which will pinch us more in

our

deathbed than any kind of tangible loss that we may have

suffered

during our life time. This book offers elaborate guidelines in

terms

of chapters for a balanced, successful and happy living.

Happiness was designed to be natural to us but with today‟s fast-

paced and ever busy life, we are steadily and gradually losing

touch

with it, and today it is one thing which is not natural to majority of

us. Happiness has now become a subject of learning which

everyone

must master before taking his plunge into the so called „mad-

world‟.

Life is an art; you cannot learn to live it without actually living it.

Earning more year by year doesn‟t mean you have become wiser,

for

you were busy learning how to earn and not how to live. So,

let‟s start

living by understanding the finer prints of this life and by

actually doing rather than plan and postpone endlessly and die

feeling sorry for a life full of regrets.

Satisfaction and willingness are the two pillars of life. If we are not

willing, the easiest job will seem to be the toughest. And if we are not

satisfied, no amount of wealth or comfort would be of our use.

Sometimes just a small change, a simple choice can let our life

go

from nowhere to somewhere and from somewhere to

everywhere;

just one incident can infuse that spark within us which not only

let

us glow but also let us glow others; which not only show us the way

but also let us show the way to others. Remember, it was just a post-

battle sight which led Ashoka change from a bloody warrior to

a

messenger of peace, and transform into „Ashoka the Great‟.

This book could be your chance not only to attain that

most

awaited and desirable success but also to hold on and grow

both

internally and externally with it. In other words, this book is

an

earnest attempt to transform you into a complete individual.

To Whom is This Book Targeted? This book is not for them who claim to be fully aware of their

own self and the finer prints of this world and human life in

general. This book makes an effort to make people realise their

own self and corelate their life with the various stories, facts,

anecdotes and day to day practical examples and observations

given in it.

This book is for people who want to unleash their true

potential;

are in search of their talent and a success—which is satisfying. This

book is also for them who have a brush with success and wish to

hold

on and grow with that success. And finally, this book is for

people

who want to lead a wholesome life—a life worth living.

In total, this book assures a more balanced, oriented, fulfilled

and

enriching life to everyone who decides to take a plunge into its

pages.

Notwithstanding, I welcome you all for a joyful experience ahead.

Throughout the book, I have used masculine gender,

only to

facilitate the reading experience. All the principles apply to both

the

genders.

Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Preface 11

Chapter 1

Talent (Finding your niche) ............................................ 15

Chapter 2

Attitude (You are worth your attitude - how to enhance it) 32

Chapter 3

Goal Setting (The completeness of your goals) ............... 51

Chapter 4

Motivation (How to motivate yourself) ............................ 65

Chapter 5

Success (The winning formula) ...................................... 77

Chapter 6

Idea (How to capture and turn them into a reality) ........ 109

Chapter 7

Happiness (Its importance in life) ................................. 119

Chapter 8

Steps to Happiness ........................................................ 129

SAMPLE Page no.35

Excellence is Not a Skill, It’s an Attitude Before people pass or get through a competition, their

attitudes had already passed the requirements to sustain that

competition.

There’s always a better way

David, a twelfth passed out, was looking for a job, but

on being unable to find a decent one, he joined a match box manufacturing unit. His job was to count the matchsticks; make a bundle of 50 and then arrange them into empty match boxes. For every match box prepared, he received half a rupee.

No matter how fast he did, he could never complete more

than 30 match boxes per hour and eventually, never earned

anything more than 150 rupees by the end of each day.

Few weeks later, when David was receiving his payment,

he saw a new man standing in his line. This man was John,

who seemed more relaxed and energetic than others present

there.When John‟s turn came, he was handed over a sum of

300 rupees. Seeing John receive the double his pay, David

was mystified. He asked himself, “Is John more laborious?

Or, has he managed to bluff his way? And above all, how can

he look so fresh at the end of the day?” David‟s mind kept

brimming with various questions.

A day came when John secured a better job somewhere

else. Knowing this, David went to John thinking that he

would reveal some of his job secrets, to which John agreed

and told, “Neither am I more skilled nor ever I bluff my

way. My work involves counting of matchsticks,………………..to know more read

the book.

Sample

Page no.103

Time

Time is a resource which we all have in equal measure and yet

we never seem to have our fair share of it. It is the only factor which works as a limitation to every activity and has no substitute.

There are infinite ways to spend or even lose it, but not a single way to retrieve a lost hour. It openly makes us aware of its speed and

yet we never seem to catch up with it.

An old adage says, “Health is wealth,” but, if today, I am permitted to re-modify it, it would be: “Time and health is wealth.”

For success, effective time management is inevitable.

Learn to manage time

A juggler was once asked, how he could manage so

many balls at one time, to which he was quick to point

that it wasn’t about managing so many balls at one time; it was all

about fixing and shifting of priorities, while effectively managing

and utilising the time that he gets while he throws a ball up in the air!

How true! Your willingness, mood and

prioritising skills have much to do with

how you manage and use your time.

The more willing you are, the lesser time

y

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.

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healthier is your mood, the more

productive you will be.

Sample

Page no.117

7

HAPPINESS Its importance in life

One day the blind Robin, who had newly joined an old age home, overheard Martin reading jokes aloud

from a magazine. He came and seated by Martin to hear him more closely. Both enjoyed each other's company. Now they would daily meet and talk endlessly. Gradually, they became friends.

Martin would daily narrate the jokes and stories to Robin from the magazine. He would often add his own gesture and modulate his voice to make the stories sound as real as possible. But he always pretended that he himself engineered what he narrated and never read from anywhere. He did all this to make his blind friend laugh more and more. And in this way, by being able to laugh along with Robin, he had also started enjoying his own life.

All went fine until one fateful night when Robin suddenly

passed away in his sleep. Martin stood clueless about his friend‟s sudden demise, but he was even more perplexed with the presence of photographers and journalists, who had hovered around the dead Robin. On enquiry, a photographer revealed him, “Robin was the person whose columns on jokes and stories used to appear in the weekly

magazine, „Funtaara.‟ His work was very much appreciated by the readers.” Martin was pleasantly surprised to hear all this, as the named magazine was same from which he used to narrate the jokes and stories to Robin.

He was now in tears and was extremely moved by the fact that his friend, Robin could laugh at his own jokes. He muttered to himself, “I thought I was able to make him laugh, but it was he who always made me laugh through his published jokes and stories.

Both Robin and Martin wanted to make each other laugh, oblivious of the fact that both had the common objective of sharing their happiness.

What is the message of the story?

Happiness is within and around us; we need not go

looking

for it too far.

It is simple to achieve.

It‟s meaning differ from person to person; it‟s upon us

how

do we choose to remain happy.

Happiness has always been uncomplicated, de-clustered and free

from any kind of baggage. It was always designed to be a part of a

natural human life. But today, due to our growing complex, fast-

paced nature, we are gradually, knowingly or unknowingly, losing

touch with it. For many, it has already become an alien subject. And

worse still, our frequently changing happiness quotient has led us to

seek it in all the wrong places.

Is Happiness Elusive?

………………..to know more read the book.

***Resource: WINNERS’ PODIUM—everyone fits on it (Anchit

Barnwal)