Maximise potential ebook a to z of success, management, leadership, life and love

This eBook is the consolidation of
everything II have learnt on success,
leadership, management, time
management and life
Maximise
Potential
Get the Most out of yourself
ShyamRamanathan

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1
Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................2
A to Z of Success................................................................................................................................2
A to Z of Leadership.........................................................................................................................10
A to Z of Management......................................................................................................................19
A to Z of Time Management.............................................................................................................24
A to Z of Love..................................................................................................................................29
A to Z of Life...................................................................................................................................35
A to Z of Happiness..........................................................................................................................42
A to Z of Personal Development........................................................................................................50
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................57
About the Author..............................................................................................................................57

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Introduction
My mission is to maximise my potential and help others maximise
theirs. This eBook consists of the A to Z of Success, Leadership,
Management, Time Management, Love, Life, Happiness and Personal
development. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing
it.
I hope you enjoy this short eBook and find use in what is presented. Let
us begin. The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my
organization.
A to Z of Success
Success is a wonderful word that all of us want to be associated with. In
my opinion, everyone should define their success and it is for the
individual to decide if they are successful or not. For example, the
French chef Bernard Loiseau would be a success by anyone’s standard.
However, he committed suicide because of a news report that hinted his
restaurant may lose its 3-star status.
While setting lofty standards for our work and life is always a good sign,
it is not good if we are never happy with what we achieve. This is why
success requires a balance between striving for more and enjoying the
current success.
I believe the recipe of success can be baked with the following
ingredients. Here is my A - Z of Success.

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A for Ambition: To achieve success you need a lot of ambition. The
people who have made a mark in this world have all been highly
ambitious with a compelling vision for the future. Ambition shouldn’t be
confused with greed. When you have ambition, it creates a blueprint for
your success. Without ambition, you won’t have the motivation required
to persevere on the journey towards your dreams.
B for Boldness: Be bold with a touch of audacity. One of the examples
of this is Steve Jobs decision to go ahead with the Apple Stores concept.
In fact, one of the comments from Business Week at that time was
“Sorry Steve, Here’s Why Apple Stores Won’t Work.” Despite all this
Steve Jobs had the audacity to proceed with his vision and see ultimate
success. This is truly boldness in action.
C for Confidence: Ultimately your success boils down to the
confidence you have in your abilities. One of the best ways to be
confident is to do an analysis of your strengths. The other method is to
write down all your accomplishments till date including things you
achieved in school and look at it daily. Keep adding to that list as and
when you accomplish anything. Sometimes we look outward to get
appreciation but I think instead of waiting for approval we can
acknowledge ourselves for a job well done.
D for Desire: As Napoleon Hill said, “There is one quality which one
must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge
of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.” True success
happens only when we have a burning desire of something we want to

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achieve. The key is the desire must be your own and not something
someone else wants for you.
E for Enthusiasm: As Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Enthusiasm is one
of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with
all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own
personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you
will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without
enthusiasm.” Your success will directly be a result of the enthusiasm
you have for your vision and the actions you take to achieve that vision.
There is no charisma without enthusiasm. As documented in Inc.
Magazine back in the 1981 cover story “When Steve Jobs speaks it is
with “gee-whiz” enthusiasm of someone who sees the future and is
making sure it works.”
F for Forgiveness: Most people carry a burden concerning other people
who have hurt them for far too long resulting in a heavy heart. One of
the success habits is to forgive everyone for anything wrong that has
been done to you. If we think about it nobody in general purposely hurts
another and if we understand that it is easier to forgive. It is also
important that we forgive ourselves and it is a reminder that we are not
perfect.
G for Gratitude: If you want to enjoy your success then you need to be
grateful with what you have. Staying grateful helps you have joy which
is one of the keys to a successful life. Writing down everything that we
are grateful for is a great starting point towards all the happiness we
desire.

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H for Hope: I like this quote from Tom Bodett “They say a person
needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love,
something to do, and something to hope for.” Only when we have a
compelling future vision can we be truly successful. Having hope is a
great antidote to fear and worry. Of course, hope alone is not enough but
when married with hard work it can be dynamite.
I for Indispensable: In our interconnected world where we are
constantly competing with the best of the best we need to become
indispensable. This means you need to carve a niche for yourself and
stand out from the crowd. The great news is that there are many avenues
to do this currently. There is more scope to showcase your talent than
ever before in the history of humanity.
J for Journey: Life is not a destination; it is a journey to be enjoyed all
the way. It is how we bounce back from seeming setbacks that truly
measure our heart for exceptional success. The journey is an
adventure and an example of this is the life of Steve Jobs. He got fired
from the company he founded and still managed to make a great
comeback. It just shows to anything can happen but we must be
committed to the journey of life.
K for Kindness: Be kind to everyone you meet. Everyone has enough
problems on their plate and your kindness could be the best experience
they have had for that day. Kindness improves our mood and those
around us. “Wherever there is a human in need, there is an opportunity
for kindness and to make a difference.” Kevin Heath

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L for Love: All of life ultimately boils down to love. We work because
of love; we have personal relationships because of love. Love is the
great energizer of life. If we organize our life around love we cannot go
wrong. “Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless
garden when the flowers are dead.” Oscar Wilde
M for Mortality: Connecting with our mortality is essential as it
creates the urgency for us to achieve more with the understanding that
we are not going to live forever. I think this quote from Steve Jobs goes
to the heart of dealing with our mortality and the fact that our time is
limited. “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's
life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other
people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your
own inner voice and most important, have the courage to follow your
heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to
become. Everything else is secondary.”
N for Noticeable: For you to be successful you must be noticeable in
your organization. You need to sell yourself with your talents and make
people notice you. As Steve Martin said, “Be so good they can’t ignore
you.” Unless you show others what you are capable of nobody is going
to know. I think we should learn to sell ourselves not in an abrupt
manner but a classy manner. This requires practice but this will pay off
in spades.
O for Optimism: The key to success lies in optimism. It’s not what
happens to us but how we respond to what happens to us that matters.
For example, Steve Jobs believed in his products even when he was the

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only one with the vision. He was not even sure if it will be accepted in
the market but he showed undying optimism to see success till the end.
Even in his professional nadir he showed enduring optimism and show
what one can achieve with optimism and belief.
P for Peace of mind: Ultimately you will enjoy your success only if
you have peace of mind. Without it no amount of outside success will be
satisfying. You can attain peace of mind when you are grateful for what
you have and don’t have a need to constantly compare with others. Set
your own sails and go forward confidently in the direction of your
dreams. Don’t allow critics to rob your peace of mind.
Q for Quality: Vince Lombardi put it beautifully when he said,
“The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment
to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Go for
quality in every area of your life and you will be successful.
R for Resilience: Angela Lee Duckworth of the University of
Pennsylvania says that grit is the single quality that guarantees success,
based on her ground-breaking studies. As Napoleon Hill famously
observed “Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent
benefit.” There are going to be setbacks like we may not get the
promotion we wanted but having patience and perseverance never goes
out of fashion. Talent will not take the place of persistence and
resilience. One of the strategies to develop resilience is to develop a core
set of beliefs that nothing can shake.

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S for Self-Esteem: Self-esteem is the cornerstone of a healthy
personality. It is important to be comfortable in your own skin. Self-
esteem is defined as your reputation with yourself. You are unique and
have talents that can help you succeed. The key to self-esteem is to write
down the qualities you admire in yourself. Maybe you have passion or
discipline, and by acknowledging your positive traits you can enhance
your self-esteem. When setbacks occur while you may feel bad it doesn't
reduce your self-esteem. Write down all your successes till now and
keep track of your accomplishments. This surely enhances self-esteem.
When you have high self-esteem you generally feel more positive about
life and do better at work. “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your
abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own
powers you cannot be successful or happy.” Norman Vincent Peale
T for Teachable: Continuous improvement is the minimum
requirement for success. One of the keys for this is to have a teachable
spirit. We should always keep in mind that there are better experts out
there who know more than us about our field and this attitude will
ensure a nurturing environment for learning that is a necessary
requirement for success.
U for Unique: You are unique and there is no one else like you in this
world. This uniqueness enables you to provide services that enable you
to stand out and show case your talent. Keep developing your talents and
understand where your strengths lie. If you understand your uniqueness
and go forward in developing the required skills success will follow.

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V for Victory: Victory is what everyone wants in business and personal
life. You must take a no prisoners attitude towards your life and go for
broke. There are no guarantees in life but taking calculated risks in the
direction of your dreams will ensure your ultimate victory.
W for Well-being: Ultimately your well-being is very important to
your overall success. Unless you are healthy you cannot enjoy your life
to the fullest. Take care of your health by exercising, eating right and
most importantly getting adequate sleep. Only when you take care of
yourself physically and mentally you can enjoy the fruits of your
success.
X for Extreme focus: Success requires extreme focus on one area and
committing all your energy to improving in that specific area. This quote
from Orison Swett Marden addresses this “The giants of the race have
been men of concentration, who have struck sledge-hammer blows in
one place until they have accomplished their purpose. The successful
men of today are men of one overmastering idea, one unwavering aim,
and men of single and intense purpose.”
Y for Youthful: Being youthful is a state of mind. As a lot of people
say age is just a number. Don’t allow your age to restrict yourself
from dreaming and going after what you want in your life. Examples of
people still achieving at older ages are all around us. Two of them whom
I admire a lot are Warren Buffet and Henry Kissinger who is still writing
books at the age of 92. This quote from General Douglas MacArthur hits
the message home "Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of
mind. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People

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grow old by deserting their ideals.. You are as young as your faith, as
old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear;
as young as your hope, as old as your despair."
Z for Zest: Finally, you need to have an undying zest for life. If you
love your life and live it to the fullest you will achieve all your dreams.
Here is the final quote from Normal Vincent Peale “The really happy
people are those who have broken the chains of procrastination, those
who find satisfaction in doing the job at hand. They're full of eagerness,
zest, and productivity. You can be, too.”
To conclude all of us can define what success means to us. In fact,
defining that could be the first step on our journey towards success.
Success is personal but eminently achievable. It is very much a journey
worth taking.
A to Z of Leadership
Leadership is the most important need in our society and organizations
alike. In my opinion, everyone should define what leadership means to
them and it is for the individual to decide if they are successful in
meeting that definition or not. I would suggest identifying the leaders
who have impacted you and find out how they led their teams. In my
opinion leadership is ability to be stay inspired and inspire others to
action. Leaders help others perform even when they don’t feel like doing
it.

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I believe the recipe of leadership can be baked with the following
ingredients. Here is my A - Z of Leadership.
A for Attitude: Attitude is the first requirement to be a great leader. A
leader’s attitude is contagious and spreads like wild fire across the
organization. Jack Welch has a 4E formula which is having high energy,
ability to energize, execute and having the edge. A leader needs to be
personally energetic first and then they must be able to energize others.
All this boils down to the attitude of the leader.
B for Boldness: Be bold with a touch of audacity. One of the examples
of this is Steve Jobs decision to go ahead with the Apple Stores concept.
In fact, one of the comments from Business Week at that time was
“Sorry Steve, Here’s Why Apple Stores Won’t Work.” Despite all this
Steve Jobs had the audacity to proceed with his vision and see ultimate
success. This is truly boldness in action.
C for Character: Ultimately your success as a leader boils down to the
confidence people have in your abilities and their trust in you as a
leader. All failure in leadership boils down to lack of trust. The first step
towards great character is absolutely honesty in all your dealings with
everyone in the organization. As it has been often said leadership is not a
popularity contest and a strong character allows the leader to be taking
tough decisions when the situation demands it.
D for Determination: As Napoleon Hill said, “There is one quality
which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the
knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.” True

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success happens only when we have a burning desire and determination
of something we want to achieve. The key is the desire must be your
own and not something someone else wants for you. There will be
setbacks when you have a strong vision but if you have determination
you can follow through to success.
all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own
enthusiasm.” Your success will directly be a result of the enthusiasm
There is no charisma without enthusiasm. As documented in Inc.
Magazine back in the 1981 cover story “When Steve Jobs speaks it is
with “gee-whiz” enthusiasm of someone who sees the future and is
making sure it works.”
F for Foresight: The ability to see into the future is something only the
leader can do. The ability to anticipate crisis situations and take
necessary preventive action is one of the hall marks of a true leader. As
Jim Collins and Morten Hansen say in Great by Choice “Keep asking
the question how much time before the risk profile changes.”
G for Gratitude: If you want to enjoy your success then you need to be
grateful with what you have. Staying grateful helps you have joy which
is one of the keys to a successful life. Writing down everything that we
are grateful for is a great starting point towards all the happiness we

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desire. When you are peaceful with who you are you can lead your team
with greater focus.
H for Hope: I like this quote from Tom Bodett “They say a person
needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love,
something to do, and something to hope for.” Only when we have a
compelling future vision can we be truly successful. Having hope is a
great antidote to fear and worry. Of course, hope alone is not enough but
when married with hard work it can be dynamite. As Napoleon said, “A
leader is a dealer in hope.”
I for Inspiring: In my opinion, a leader’s first responsibility is to be
inspired and the second is the ability to inspire others. If you can inspire
others their work will also be first class. Inspiration is oxygen to the
soul. The reason there is disengagement in the work place is lack of
inspiration. Once you inspire others to action work that seems
insurmountable gets done.
measure our heart for exceptional leadership. The journey is an
committed to the journey of life. Leadership requires a certain toughness
that cannot be taught but it can be learned.

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for kindness and to make a difference.” Kevin Heath. Leadership is all
about getting the most out of your people. A kind leader is a blessing for
the people whom they lead.
L for Lead by Example: All of leadership ultimately boils down to the
leadership philosophy of the leader. If you want your team to be
energetic you need to be energetic. Leadership begins with the leader
being absolutely leading with the way by setting an amazing example of
honesty, courage, integrity and competency. Leading by example will
ensure you have followers irrespective of your position.
M for Management: I don’t know why there has been such a
separation of management and leadership. Of course, everyone wants to
be known as a leader and we have never heard anyone called a world
manager. However, I don’t think you can go far as a leader without any
management skills. Management is the ability to carry out the vision set
by the leader and execute flawlessly getting the most out of everyone in
the team. It is imperative that as a leader you develop your management
skills if you want to be known as someone who gets things done.
N for Noticeable: For you to be successful you must be noticeable in
your organization. You need to sell yourself with your talents and make
people notice you. As Steve Martin said, “Be so good they can’t ignore
you.” Unless you show others what you are capable of nobody is going

Maximise Potential
15
to know. I think we should learn to sell ourselves not in an abrupt
manner but a classy manner. This requires practice but this will pay off
in spades. A leader needs to be visible and unless they are noticeable
there is no way they can get people to do things which they normally
would not have done without their intervention.
O for Optimism: The key to leadership lies in the optimism of the
leader. It’s not what happens to us but how we respond to what happens
to us that matters. For example, Steve Jobs believed in his products even
when he was the only one with the vision. He was not even sure if it will
be accepted in the market but he showed undying optimism to see
success till the end. Even in his professional nadir he showed enduring
optimism and show what one can achieve with optimism and belief.
dreams. Don’t allow critics to rob your peace of mind. Only when a
leader is totally peaceful inside they can lead their teams to market
success. If you are having internal issues you cannot lead your team
effectively. Don’t do anything that will rob your peace of mind.
quality in every area of your focus and you will be successful as a

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leader. Once the leader sets the example everyone in the team will
follow as well.
R for Restlessness: Jim Collins says that deep restlessness is the key
quality of a leader. For example, Winston Churchill and Steve Jobs both
were deeply restless. You must be slightly discontent with the status quo
to really bring change to whichever team or organization you lead.
S for Self-Esteem: Self-esteem is the cornerstone of a healthy leader. It
is important to be comfortable in your own skin. Self-esteem is defined
as your reputation with yourself. You are unique and have talents that
can help you succeed. The key to self-esteem is to write down the
qualities you admire in yourself. Maybe you have passion or discipline,
and by acknowledging your positive traits you can enhance your self-
esteem. When setbacks occur while you may feel bad it doesn't reduce
your self-esteem. Write down all your successes till now and keep track
of your accomplishments. This surely enhances self-esteem. When you
have high self-esteem you generally feel more positive about life and do
better at work. “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities!
Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you
cannot be successful or happy.” Norman Vincent Peale
T for Temperament: One of the best examples of a leader with good
temperament is Rahul Dravid. He treats both victory and defeat with the
same attitude. This requires enormous fortitude and you cannot imagine
a well-rounded leader who is always fretting and fuming. As Jim Collins
mentioned in his seminal work "Good to Great" Level 5 leaders all
displayed humility while having a ferocious resolve. The best example

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of that is Darwin Smith who said, "I never stopped being qualified for
the job."
and go forward in developing the required skills success will follow. At
the same time since leadership is a contact sport you need to really
appreciate the uniqueness of everyone in your team.
V for Victory: Victory is what everyone wants in business and personal
life. You must take a no prisoners attitude towards your vision and go
for broke. There are no guarantees that the vision will be achieved but
taking calculated risks in the direction of your goal will ensure your
ultimate victory.
your overall success as a leader. Unless you are healthy you cannot lead
your team with energy. Take care of your health by exercising, eating
right and most importantly getting adequate sleep. Only when you take
care of yourself physically and mentally you can enjoy the fruits of your
leadership.
X for Extreme focus: Leadership requires extreme focus on one
unwavering aim and committing all your energy to ensure everyone is
focused on that area. This quote from Orison Swett Marden addresses
this “The giants of the race have been men of concentration, who have

Maximise Potential
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struck sledge-hammer blows in one place until they have accomplished
their purpose. The successful men of today are men of one
overmastering idea, one unwavering aim, and men of single and intense
purpose.”
from dreaming big for your organization and going after what you want
your leadership to stand for. Examples of people still achieving at older
ages are all around us. Two of them whom I admire a lot are Warren
Buffet and Henry Kissinger who is still writing books at the age of 92.
This quote from General Douglas MacArthur hits the message home
"Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of mind. Nobody grows
old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting
their ideals.. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as
young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your
hope, as old as your despair."
Z for Zest: Finally, you need to have an undying zest for your vision. If
you love your life and live it to the fullest you will inspire others to
follow your example. Here is the final quote from Normal Vincent Peale
“The really happy people are those who have broken the chains of
procrastination, those who find satisfaction in doing the job at hand.
They're full of eagerness, zest, and productivity. You can be, too.”
To conclude all of us can define what leadership means to us.
Leadership is of paramount importance and even if robots take over a lot

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of our jobs we can be rest assured that great leaders will always be
needed to take us to new frontiers.
A to Z of Management
Management is getting the work done through others. It is the ability to
ensure that the vision set by the leader is achieved through proper
staffing, monitoring and performance. Leadership gets all the fame but it
is the managers who are responsible for the ultimate day to day activates
and resulting output. Here is my A - Z of management which can help
you towards becoming a great manager.
Advance planning – A successful manager plans ahead. They are
always planning against the schedule while maintaining the budget. It is
not the plan that is important but it is the planning which is. The thinking
that goes into the planning ensures excellent results.
Boss – Though a lot of managers consider themselves as bosses it has
been observed that all great managers don’t boss around. They invite
input from everyone in the team and ensure team harmony is
maintained. The 21st century boss is always available and open to the
team fostering human bonds while ensuring ultimate responsibility rests
with them.

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Clarity – All successful managers absolutely know why they are on the
payroll. They are also clear in their direction to the respective team
members on why they are on the payroll. Without crystal clear clarity
you cannot be a successful manager. Be clear on the objectives, vision
and mission of the organization. Propagate that clarity throughout the
team.
Discipline – Management is a discipline and as a manager you should be
disciplined as well. All successful managers are disciplined with respect
to meeting the schedule, managing their time and ensuring no
unnecessary cost is incurred by the projects.
Engage with your team – The old model of management was to
maintain a distance between the team and the manager. The 21st century
manager is willing to engage the team at every point of interaction. They
also take an active interest in each member of the team from an overall
perspective.
Friction – The main job of the manager is to ensure there are no barriers
to communication within the various teams. They ensure there is no
friction and lubricate a smooth communication within the team.
Gauge – The job of the manager is to measure, estimate and judge the
team performance. How the manager does these is the real test of their
competence. They need to provide constant feedback with appreciation
on good things and can identify areas of improvement as well.
Halo-effect – All great managers have a halo-effect on their team. This
means they are good finders and with their presence they make sure

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everyone in the team feels great about themselves. Once everyone feels
great about themselves performance automatically improves.
Impact – The job of the manager is to create an impact on the project
and organization they are leading. They do this by taking everyone with
them on a journey towards achieving the mission and vision of the
organization. If you have positive impact on your team you will be a
great manager.
Join – The job of the manager is to join the team and provide all the
resources needed for the team to win. The main point here is the
manager becomes a part of the team and does not lead in isolation.
Key – The great managers ensure that they are always having the key to
the way the team operates. They have the key to the team and once they
ignite the flames of potential within each team member performance
automatically follows.
Landmark– This can also be considered as milestones. Once a certain
landmark is reached all great managers ensure that the team is given
credit and acknowledged for the great work done. Without celebration
management becomes a dry activity.
Manage – Of course the job of the manager is to manage which means
to control, run, supervise and conduct all the activities required to
complete the project successfully. Management is both an art and
science.

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Negotiate – In order to be a great manager, you should be able to
navigate any storm successfully. Developing negotiation skills is
necessary especially when you are dealing with multiple stakeholders
and you need to buy time for your team with respect to any roadblocks
faced.
Obsolete – The only skill that will not be obsolete is the ability to learn
new skills. As a manager, you need to be up to date on industry trends,
should be able to talk about varied subjects and lead by example for your
team. If you are not learning continuously your position will become
obsolete.
Particulars - One area where leaders and managers part ways is in
particulars. While a leader can operate at a higher-level, managers have
to get into the details of everything. Without this knowledge managers
cannot fully function effectively.
Quality – All great managers go for quality in everything they do. They
set lofty standards for the team to reach and they ensure all work is of
first rate quality. Only excellent quality leads to ultimate customer
satisfaction which is the purpose of a business and management.
Recognize – The ultimate reason people leave an organization is mostly
due to a bad manager. In order to avoid this and become a great manager
you need to be constantly recognizing everyone for the good work they
are doing. Never take credit for something done by your team.

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Serve – If you want to be a great manager then you need to have the
mindset to serve your team. When you take an attitude of service your
team responds with the highest quality of work possible.
Transparent – You must be totally transparent with your team for you
to be a successful 21st century manager. Be clear, unambiguous and
make sure all your communication is easily open and understandable.
Upbeat – As a great manager you need to maintain an upbeat attitude.
You can do this by smiling, being enthusiastic in your communication
and maintaining an overall optimistic stance. Only when you provide
hope the team will follow through to execute flawlessly.
Vision - I know vision is always associated with leadership but to me all
good managers have a great vision on where they want their team to be
in the future. They begin with the end in mind by executing flawlessly to
reach the ultimate vision of the organization.
Win - Win – In management your thinking must be Win-Win. If you are
competing with your team or stakeholders and trying to score points it
will result in disaster. Look for options where all teams agree. Look for
the third alternative and at times yes sacrifice for the larger cause.
Avoid Xtreme positions – There are some gray areas in management.
Be prepared not to adopt any extreme positions. You may disagree on
some decisions but if you are able to listen without interruption and
showcase your decision-making capability the team will support you.

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Yardstick – As a manager you need to have a measure against which
the team will be managed. Metrics are the key to successful analysis.
Have yardsticks defined for every phase of the project and provide
constant status updates to all key stakeholders.
Zenith – Your job as manager is to ensure the team reaches the zenith
which means reaching the ultimate summit. Once you reach the
predetermined outcome you have defined then your success as a
manager is assured.
There you have it the A –Z of Management. Of course, this is not easy to
implement but a gentle reminder on what is really required to manage
well can help us on our management journey. Great managers will
always be in demand and with them a lot of insurmountable obstacles
can be overcome.
A to Z of Time Management
As it is often said time is an equal opportunity employer. There are so
many time management books and with the advent of technology we
thought we will get more control which may not be the case. Here is my
A - Z of time management which can help you towards getting the most
out of the 24 hours we get every day.

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Attention – You get in life what you pay attention to. It is important to
pay attention only to the important things to you and ignore everything
else. The more attention you pay to the things that matter to you the
better control you have over your time.
Be focused – We all have 100 things pending. We have books we want
to read, articles we want to write and multiple hobbies that we want to
pursue. However, with limited time we need to be focused only on the
things that matter.
Clarity – All successful time managers absolutely know what they want
out of their lives. They are also clear on their personal and
organizational mission. Without crystal clear clarity you cannot be a
successful time manager. Be clear on the objectives, vision and mission
of your life.
Discipline –Time Management is a discipline and you need to view time
as a perishable commodity. All successful time managers are disciplined
with respect to meeting their schedule, managing their time and ensuring
no time is spent on meaningless activities.
Energy – To get the most out of life with the time available you need to
have a lot of energy. We have multiple demands with work, family and
friends. To meet all those demands with a smile we need to maintain
high energy levels. To maintain high energy sleep well, take adequate
rest, exercise and eat well.
Forget Yesterday – This is the key as we will always have things which
we could have completed yesterday but didn’t. If we keep thinking of

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the things that we didn’t complete we won’t have the energy to complete
what is needed today.
Gift – View every 24 hours as a gift as it is indeed. Once you have this
perspective you will automatically make sure you use your time
effectively. The only question you should answer is “Is this the most
valuable use of my time now.” If the answer is no you should change
that activity with something more important.
Hours – Some people advise that most productive people consider 24
hours in terms of minutes and plan accordingly. However, I think
planning in hours is better. I believe you can concentrate on one thing
for a maximum of 90- 120 minutes. So, break down your tasks into 2
hour segments and block distraction. When you are working intensely
block out social media and all notifications.
Interest – Develop interest in whatever you do for a living. If you don’t
have that interest then work becomes drudgery and you won’t have the
motivation to manage yourself well.
Joy– If we don’t have any joy in whatever we do there is no point in
managing ourselves with the time available. Make sure every day you
engage in activities that provide joy.
Don’t Kram – Don’t schedule every minute of the day because that’s
when you feel overwhelmed just looking at your calendar. Make sure
you have those unscheduled down times daily if possible to do the things
that make your heart sing.

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Love life – If you love life there is no need for time management as you
will automatically want to make the most of the time available. So, love
your life and as mentioned earlier see it as a gift to showcase your
remarkable talent.
Manage yourself– We all get 24 hours but how we manage ourselves
within that time is the key. Make sure you know what you are after and
focus only on that. Warren buffet reportedly said “Write down 25 things.
Then choose the top 5 and ignore the rest of the 20 things.”
No – No is the best word in your vocabulary of time management. The
best thing to do is to never compare yourself with others. You might
think others are doing much more than you but going down that path is
not useful. You must say no to the things that don’t move you towards
your larger vision.
Overlook – If you have not used your time well in the past there is no
point in brooding over it now. Just overlook all the things that happened
in the past and just focus on getting the most out of yourself this very
day.
Prioritize – As Stephen Covey says “Don’t prioritize your schedule.
Instead schedule your priorities.” Make a list of items to be completed
and then focus only on the top priorities for that day. Doing this
consistently will eventually lead us to achieve all our important goals.
Quiet – In order to get the most out of every day you need spend some
time being quiet. When you are quiet you get great ideas and your mind

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becomes clear. You also feel like you have more time when you have
some quiet time rather than moving fast between task to task.
Reflection – This is best done through a journal. Every week note down
what went well, what can be done better. Your life is worth recording. In
the weeks when I do this I feel better about myself. There is always
something we have done well in any week.
Stop doing list – We all have to-do lists but to be effective you need
stop do lists. I think Peter Drucker was the first to mention this idea. For
example, you might have something like I don’t want to drink every
week. This helps in ensuring you stick to your agreements.
Teachable – When you have a teachable attitude you are open to
innovative ideas. This helps because if you are flexible and learn
something new you will save some time implementing the new solution.
Upbeat – As a wonderful time manager you need to maintain an upbeat
attitude. You can do this by smiling, being enthusiastic in your
communication and maintaining an overall optimistic stance. This will
help you have more joy with the 24 hours you are blessed with.
Vision - I know vision is always associated with leadership but to me all
valuable time managers have a great vision on where they want to be in
the future. They begin with the end in mind by executing flawlessly with
the time available to reach the ultimate vision of the organization.
Work – In time management you must view your work in such a way
that you are paid hourly. If you prioritize your work with the 9 hours per

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day and complete all the work then you free up sometime for other
personal pursuits. Work must be planned.
Avoid Xtreme positions – There are some gray areas in time
management. Be prepared not to adopt any extreme positions and be
open to change in schedule. Being rigid will create internal discontent.
Yardstick – As a time manager you need to have a measure against
which you will be managed. Metrics are the key to successful analysis.
Have yardsticks defined for every part of your life and reflect on those
weekly.
Zenith – Your job as an effective time manager is to ensure you reach
the zenith which means reaching the ultimate summit of your potential.
Once you reach the predetermined outcome you have defined then your
success is assured. Once you reach the summit you will know you have
used your time well.
There you have it the A –Z of Time Management. Of course, this is not
easy to implement but a gentle reminder on what is really required to
manage ourselves well on our life journey. Time management is the key
to get the most out of life.
A to Z of Love
Love is one of the best human emotions of all. When you are filled with
love everything else seems to fall in place. More importantly when you
are in love you have peace of mind. Love need not only be of a romantic
nature as it can also be defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. I

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have tried to deconstruct on what it takes to thrive on love with the A-Z
of love. Here are 26 tips to be at your loving best.
Accept the other person – Always accept the other person as they are.
If we understand how difficult it is for us to change ourselves we can
imagine how tough it would be to change someone else. Accept
everyone as they are. If you want to change someone change yourself.
Be there for the other person – Love is demonstrated only when you
are there for the other person in times of need. It is great to be around
when things are going well but it is in moments of crisis that true love is
demonstrated.
Count your blessings – If you want to be in a state of peace and love
the only way to achieve that is to be in a deep state of gratitude. Count
all the blessings you have in your life. Give thanks for your life partner.
Life is designed and it is exactly as it should be.
Desire should be there – Desire is one of the strengths of love. In the
initial phase of love, we all do things for the other person which we
normally would not do once we have won over the person. This is not
easy but at times we should think what will happen if the other person is
not there. This puts things in perspective and increases the desire to
satisfy the other person.
Engage with your partner – There are two schools of thought here. In
love, they say compatibility is very important. Some say opposites
attract while others say similarities attract. The key is if you are opposite

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in temperament then it helps. Engaging with the partner means finding
common ground in activities that both are interested in doing.
Forget and forgive – There is no way to sustain love over an extended
period without developing the ability to forget and forgive. First forget
every silly or bad thing you have done and forgive yourself. Next do the
same thing with your partner. Forgetting and forgiving is the key that
unlocks the hidden love while lubricating trust.
Goodness – There is a nice joke that says all day I have been nice and
when I come back home let me be myself and throw tantrums. The key
is to treat your partner the way you would a prized customer. This is
easier said than done but it is a good metaphor which if implemented can
remove the minor irritants that all relationships encounter.
Help – For love to thrive you need to be ready to help the other person
through any setback. Everybody at some point in life goes through a
crisis. This is the chance to showcase your true love by helping the other
person when in need.
Invigorate – You need to invigorate which means being the energizer
bunny and constantly radiate warmth through positive thoughts and
inspiration.
Joy – Love is one of the great joys of life. When you are in a state of
eternal joy love follows automatically. Being grateful and happy with
what you have can lead to joy.

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Kindness – There is nothing that improves a relationship more than
kindness. Be kind to your partner and show empathy. Empathy is the
key to the kingdom of love.
Listen – All of us struggle with this but listening without interrupting is
the best booster to maintain love for the other person. Listen with
complete concentration, paraphrase what is being said and keep your
criticism to yourself.
Money – You might think what does love have to do with money.
However, I believe it does as if both parties are not open about their
financial situation and hide things from each other it can result in big
disagreements from which there may be no return. A lot of broken
marriages are due to money issues. It makes sense not to make it an
issue.
Nice – Be nice to the other person. Being nice never goes out of fashion.
When we look at the movies we might believe that love happens one
person plays hard to get and is sometimes obnoxious. However, I think
in real life love can thrive only when you are nice to the other person.
Overlook – The key to love is to overlook the mistakes of the other
person. It is so easy to be a fault finder as if there was a reward for it.
However, the best way to maintain love is to be a good finder and
overlook all mistakes.
Practical – Negative emotions of jealousy, envy and anger are the seat
bed of incompatibility resulting in relationship distress. If you want love
to thrive you need to be more practical and less emotional. If a situation

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looks like it is snowballing get out of that place immediately and take a
5 -10 min break before coming back to the discussion.
Quick-witted - This means having the creativity to quickly come with
solutions for any problems. This also means having a sense of humor
and the ability to laugh at misfortunes. This attitude can foster love.
Resilience – No matter how strong the love is there will be times when
everything seems to go wrong. The only way to overcome these
situations is by being resilient and the ability to understand that setbacks
are normal when you are working on a long-term relationship.
Satisfy – By all measures the overall strength of the love is measured by
how satisfied the other person feels in the relationship. In other words,
throughout your marriage you are the relationship manager and job
number 1 is to make sure the other person feels satisfied to be with you.
Is this easy of course not if it was there would be no problems.
Take the other person for granted – This is a sure sign of the love to
be in trouble. Never take the other person for granted. Yes, it may seem
like nothing will happen but at times we need to remind ourselves that
those closest to us are the ones we need to shower more love to. Again,
this is easier said than done.
Understand – As Stephen Covey said, “Seek first to understand then be
understood.” You need to really engage in empathetic listening and
understand the other person from their point of view. This one
suggestion if implemented successfully can solve a lot of problems in
love.

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Vagulate – This word means to struggle, to waver, or to be clumsy and
stumbling. The point is at any time when you are in love there will be
struggles, there will be times when you are totally clumsy and there will
be times when you feel like you are stumbling. The key is to understand
when you face such situations and get over them as early as possible.
Win - Win – In love or marriage your thinking must be Win-Win. If you
are competing with your partner and trying to score points it will result
in disaster. Look for options where both parties agree. Look for the third
alternative and at times yes sacrifice for the larger cause.
Avoid Xtreme positions – There are no black or white situations in
love. There are only gray areas so be prepared not to adopt any extreme
positions. You may disagree on which political party you support but
does it make any sense to argue over this and affect the relationship. I
don’t think so.
Yesterday – Forget what happened yesterday or in the past. The past is
dead and that is the truth of life. You can keep track of all the bad things
that happened to you over the entire relationship and the only result of
all this will be plain misery. Forget yesterday to live happily today and
in the future.
Zappy – Love can be sustained only if you are zappy and full of energy.
Be lively and make sure you love life. Nothing is more impressive than a
person who loves life. Being zappy ensures love can be sustained.
There you have it the A –Z of love. Of course, this is not easy to
implement but it is a gentle reminder on what is really required to

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maintain a long-term relationship through which love can be sustained
over decades. Happiness is the result of love. Love is the ultimate
meaning of life.
A to Z of Life
Given the opportunity of life is one of the gifts that can be put to great
use. I like this quote “Our life is god’s gift to us and how we live it is our
gift to god.” That is a great quote and shows that we have an opportunity
to use this gift to contribute. Here is my A - Z of life which can help you
get the most out of life for you and your loved ones.
Accept Reality – Life is not easy and even the most optimistic person
will face hurdles. Even if you have all the money in the world you would
still have some problems. The starting point of getting the most out of
life is to accept reality as it is. Once you do that you can handle anything
life throws at you. It is how your respond to a crisis that determines what
you get out of life.
Boldness – We get one chance at life and none of us know if we will get
another chance. This means this is the chance to showcase our brilliance
and bring all our talent to the table. Being bold doesn’t mean in my
opinion doing scuba diving or jumping from a plane without a
parachute. To me it means constantly getting into your zone of
discomfort and getting better every day in progress towards your closely
held dreams.

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Clarity – Develop an absolute clarity for every area of your life. What
do you want your life to stand for? What do you want your career to
stand for? What do you want your friends to say about you when you are
not there? What do you want your family to say about you? If you are
clear in every area of your life you can get more out of yourself.
Discipline – As Jim Rohn said “Discipline is the bridge between goals
and accomplishment.” All successful people are disciplined with respect
to their ultimate vision of what they want their life to stand for. If you
have absolute clarity on what you want then discipline will follow.
Energy – To get through life you need elevated levels of energy. There
is no way we can get through modern stresses without high energy. This
has been repeated a million times because it is true. Take care of your
physical, mental and spiritual lives. Sleep well, exercise and eat well.
This is the best way to maintain energy and avoid negative input at all
costs.
Forward thinking – If you are stuck in the past there is no way you can
get the most out of life. All successful people are forward thinkers. They
can project into the future on all possibilities and they can act now to
prevent any unfavorable outcomes.
Goals – We all have goals in our official lives but to really build
resilience and get the most out life it is important to set goals in all areas
of your life. Set goals for your physical health, financial, contribution
and have personal hobbies. Review the progress of your goals on a

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weekly or monthly basis. As Tom Hopkins said, “Goals are the fuel in
the furnace of achievement.”
Happy – If we are not happy with who we are it doesn’t matter
whatever achievements we stack up. Only we can define what makes us
happy. I have defined my happiness project and what it takes to be
happy for me. They are accepting yourself as you are, defining your
purpose, having personal activities you enjoy, setting goals, having solid
relationships, creating a positive environment and finally staying
grateful for everything in your life. So, define what happiness means for
you and it does help you on your journey of life.
Impact – Each one of us want to have an impact with the time we have
to live. You can do this by becoming totally passionate about what you
do and see how you can help others succeed. The only you can have true
impact is if there are others involved in your picture of success.
Journey – While Steve Jobs said death is the destination we all share I
still think we should view life as a journey. Yes of course it will end but
I don’t think we can always think it is going to end and expect to get the
most out of ourselves. Even if we have some bad days we should
understand there will be another day. Your past cannot determine your
future. You will encounter obstacles and speed bumps during the
journey but overcoming that is our main job.
Kool – All great leaders have been found to be calm and collected in
terms of crisis. So be as cool as a cucumber. Think will this matter 10

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months from now. If it doesn’t matter get that situation or problem out
of your mind immediately.
Love – To get the most out of life love it. Love your life and everything
will fall in place. If you love your life you will be happy irrespective of
outcomes. Not all outcomes are in our control but the actions leading to
the outcomes are in our control. As long as our actions are good we can
love life for what it is.
Manage yourself – All of us have the same 24 hours. It is how we
manage ourselves within the available time that makes all the difference.
One of the best ways to manage yourself is to use the 4D formula. For
any activity decide whether to do it, delegate it, defer it or dump it. To
manage yourself better also learn to say no. Only if you have a burning
yes you can say no to a lot of unimportant things.
Never say die – Think like Novak Djokovic and have a never say die
spirit towards your life helps increase joy. No matter what happens
never give up. Keep coming back. Study the examples of J K Rowling
and Steve Jobs to get inspired and never give up. No one can keep a
good person down. Keep picking yourself after every setback. As
Winston Churchill said, “Success is going from failure to failure without
any loss of enthusiasm.”
Obsolete – The only skill that will not be obsolete is the ability to learn
new skills. To get the most out life you need to be up to date on industry
trends, should be able to talk about varied subjects and keep expanding
your horizons on a regular basis. If you are not learning continuously

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you will not have the skills necessary to thrive in a future workplace
where excellence is only the entry fee into the battle field of
competition.
Practice – Decide what area of excellence you want to target and then
focus only on that area by practicing relentlessly. Focus is critical to get
the most out of life. Keep practicing in one area till you attain mastery.
When Pablo Casals (then age 93) was asked why he continued to
practice the cello three hours a day, he replied, “I think am getting
better.” That is indeed a great attitude to have and showcases the
importance of practice.
Quality – All successful people go for quality in everything they do.
They set high personal standards to reach and they ensure all work is of
first rate quality. Only excellent quality leads to ultimate customer
satisfaction which is the purpose of a business and management. As
Vince Lombardi, famously said “The quality of a person’s life is in
direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their
chosen field of endeavor.”
Resilience – Resilience is one quality which can help you bounce back
from any setback quickly. The important steps in developing resilience
are developing a personal mission statement, having core beliefs which
are unshakable, trying to find good in anything negative, maintaining a
positive outlook, and reach out to people who can help you.

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Serve – The ultimate aim of life is to serve others. To get the most out
life we need to serve others with our products or our time. Contribution
towards a larger cause increases personal happiness.
Talent – To get the most out of your life believe in your talent.
Everyone has unique potential and most of it is untapped. Perform a
strengths analysis and find your area of expertise. Focus on that and
keep getting better every day. Tapping into your talent increases your
love of life. When you are exceptional in anything you do you feel great
about yourself and love life as well.
Upbeat – If you want to get the most out of life you need to maintain an
upbeat attitude. You can do this by smiling, being enthusiastic in your
communication and maintaining an overall optimistic stance. Have
positive expectations for all areas of your life.
Visualization – All top athletes visualize the best possible outcome
before they enter the competitive arena. In the same vein, we can all try
to picture ourselves succeeding in whatever we do. For example, before
an important event or meeting we can imagine ourselves doing our best
and getting the outcome, we want. You can create a vivid picture of the
outcome you want. It doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen but if you
have done all the preparation needed then with visualization the
probabilities of success are increased.
Work Hard – There is no way around it and the fact is we can’t get the
most out of life unless we work damn hard. Hard work married with
competence is dynamite. If you have talent and if you combine that with

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hard work then your life will be exactly the way you want it to be.
Working hard will always be a requirement for a successful life.
XFactor – What is your XFactor meaning what is the one thing that is
unique about you. What one thing differentiates you from your
competition and peers. Find that and keep developing that. Once you
know what is unique about you it makes you feel great about yourself.
Your true value – Just being alive means you are a truly valuable
person. Develop intrinsic value and understand that your life matters. As
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without
your consent.”
Zeal – Finally have complete zeal for your life. Once you have a mighty
cause there is a great enthusiasm for life. This will result in a deep-felt
happiness that cannot be bought with money or any external possessions.
“Experience shows that success is due less to ability than to zeal.”
Charles Buxton
There you have it the A –Z of Life. If we follow these tips we can get
the most out of our lives.

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A to Z of Happiness
As Earl Nightingale said, "Happiness is the progressive realization of a
worthy ideal." In other words, you feel happy when you are progressing
towards something important to you. This is very important because
happiness is a journey not a destination. If you will be happy only when
you achieve something it is going to be tough most of the time.
Most of our life is invested in the process and if we wait for the result to
be happy we will be striving for the elusive pot all the time. Happiness is
a state of mind and you can be happy just to be alive.
While setting lofty standards for our work and life is always a good sign,
it is not good if we are never happy with what we achieve. Therefore,
happiness requires a balance between striving for more and enjoying the
current success.
I believe the recipe of happiness can be baked with the following
ingredients. Here is my A - Z of Happiness.
A for Attitude: Your attitude is the true barometer of your happiness. If
you have a positive mindset you are usually happy. If you are expecting
good things to happen you will be more positive which leads to greater
happiness. So, keep track of how you feel throughout your day and catch
yourself when you feel down. Do anything that works for you to get
your attitude back to a sunny disposition.

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B for Being: Most of the time we are in the process of doing something.
We are always striving for something more but true happiness can also
come from just being. Just be happy where you are with who you are.
Accept yourself unconditionally and just love life for what it is. This will
promote your happiness levels. One of the tools for this is to maintain a
journal where you can record all your thoughts and it promotes inner
peace. Solitude is another tool for just being.
C for Clarity: If you are totally true to yourself and your values you
will be happy. That is what clarity is about. Whenever I have
experienced stress in my life it always comes when I am not clear on
what I want or where I am going. Sometimes this lack of clarity can also
come from comparing ourselves to others who we think are more
successful. That is a path which will never result in happiness. So really
become clear on what you want your life to stand for and where you
want to go in your life. This clarity will increase your sense of control
which will elevate your happiness levels.
D for Discipline: To me discipline can promote happiness. The type of
happiness I am talking about runs deep. It comes from a state where you
are putting more into your life. It also comes from living by your
principles. If you do take care of yourself through disciplines like eating
well, continuous learning, being an excellent time manager, sleeping
well and exercising your happiness levels will soar to great heights.
all you might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own

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enthusiasm.” Your happiness will directly be a result of the enthusiasm
When you are enthusiastic you are happier.
F for Forgiveness: Most people carry a burden concerning other people
who have hurt them for far too long resulting in a heavy heart. One of
the success habits is to forgive everyone for anything wrong that has
been done to you. If we think about it nobody in general purposely hurts
another and if we understand that it is easier to forgive. It is also
important that we forgive ourselves and it is a reminder that we are not
perfect. Forgiveness is a great antidote to pessimism.
G for Gratitude: If you want to increase your happiness levels instantly
you need to be grateful with what you have. Staying grateful helps you
have joy which is one of the keys to a happy life. Writing down
everything that we are grateful for is a great starting point towards all the
happiness we desire.
H for Health: Health is different for every individual. Considering
whatever situation our health is in we should take appropriate steps to
ensure we take care of ourselves well. If it means going for a physical
every year or regular dental checkups we need to do that. So, taking
charge of our health depending on our situation can help us on our
happiness journey.

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I for Inspiration: Inspiration increases not only our energy levels it also
increases our happiness levels. Stay around whatever makes you
inspired. It is different for every person. A book that may inspire me
may not inspire you but find the ones that inspire you. Being in a state of
inspiration does increase our happiness.
measure our heart for exceptional success. The journey is an
committed to the journey of life.
for kindness and to make a difference.” Kevin Heath
L for Legacy: Sustained happiness can come when you align your
actions to your legacy. This term has been talked about by the great
philosophers of all time and a lot of authors have popularized the
concept of leaving a legacy. Think about what you want to be
remembered for and write it down. Look at this written paragraph or
document daily. Once you connect with that deeper purpose of your life
you will feel happier.

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M for Meaning: One of the causes of stress is a lack of meaning for
life. So, the first step is for us to discover something in our life that we
are passionate about. When we find the meaning of our lives we will be
happier. We cannot chase happiness and in fact the more we chase it the
less of it we have. Happiness is a byproduct of doing things that we
consider meaningful for our lives.
N for Nice: This is a simple tactic but surely an effective one. Be nice
to everyone you meet and always treat people with respect. Everyone
deserves recognition in one form or another. When you are nice to
everyone you meet they are happier. When you see others happy your
happiness is taken care of.
O for Optimism: The key to happiness lies in optimism. It’s not what
happens to us but how we respond to what happens to us that matters.
For example, Steve Jobs believed in his products even when he was the
only one with the vision. He was not even sure if it will be accepted in
the market but he showed undying optimism to see success till the end.
Even in his professional nadir he showed enduring optimism and show
what one can achieve with optimism and belief.
dreams. Don’t allow critics to rob your peace of mind. Inner peace leads
to happiness.

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quality in every area of your life and you will be happier.
R for Recognition: Recognize yourself for all the good things you have
achieved. One of the ways to be happy is to recognize that you have
achieved a lot in your life and you are doing well in the overall scheme
of things. You also need to recognize others for their accomplishments.
Recognizing others also leads to your happiness.
S for Self-Esteem: Self-esteem is the cornerstone of a healthy
personality. It is important to be comfortable in your own skin. Self-
esteem is defined as your reputation with yourself. You are unique and
have talents that can help you succeed. The key to self-esteem is to write
down the qualities you admire in yourself. Maybe you have passion or
discipline, and by acknowledging your positive traits you can enhance
your self-esteem. When setbacks occur while you may feel bad it doesn't
reduce your self-esteem. Write down all your successes till now and
keep track of your accomplishments. This surely enhances self-esteem.
When you have high self-esteem you generally feel more positive about
life and do better at work. “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your
abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own
powers you cannot be successful or happy.” Norman Vincent Peale
T for Temperament: Having a calm, cool, collected outlook promotes
happiness. One of the people I admire greatly is Rahul Dravid. He was
the epitome of someone who treated defeat and success with equanimity.

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Even when a bowler says something to him he just talks with his bat. We
should all try to follow that. Getting angry usually never leads to good
solutions.
V for Values: Defining the values for your life is the starting point of
happiness. Values could be passion, discipline, integrity, creativity and
humility. Living by your highest standards and values will promote
greater personal well-being.
your overall happiness. Take care of your health by exercising, eating
right and most importantly getting adequate sleep. Only when you take
care of yourself physically and mentally you can enjoy the fruits of your
success. Of course, consult your personal physician for a health program
that works for your situation.
X for Excellence: Happiness also comes from being excellent in the
work you do. It can also come from being good in a hobby that you like.
Being excellent in any activity makes you fulfilled. So, choose
something that you want to master and your happiness will be taken care
of.

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49
from dreaming and going after what you want in your life. Examples of
people still achieving at older ages are all around us. Two of them whom
I admire a lot are Warren Buffet and Henry Kissinger who is still writing
books at the age of 92. This quote from General Douglas MacArthur hits
the message home "Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of
mind. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People
grow old by deserting their ideals.. You are as young as your faith, as
old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear;
as young as your hope, as old as your despair."
Z for Zest: You need to have an undying zest for life. If you love your
life and live it to the fullest you will be happy most of the time. Here is
the final quote from Normal Vincent Peale “The really happy people are
those who have broken the chains of procrastination, those who find
satisfaction in doing the job at hand. They're full of eagerness, zest, and
productivity. You can be, too.”
To conclude all of us can define what happiness means to us. Once we
define it we can take proactive steps to ensure we stay on that journey to
happiness.

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50
A to Z of Personal Development
Jim Rohn said work harder on yourself than on your job. He also said
formal education will make you a living while self-education will make
you a fortune. So, personal development can serve as a spring board to
your greater success.
Here is my A - Z of personal development.
A for Acceptance: Personal development doesn’t mean there is
anything wrong with who we are. So, the first step is to unconditionally
accept ourselves just the way we are. Accept everything about you and
that will serve as the spring board to further success.
B for Blueprinting: It is like the carpenter’s motto “Measure twice cut
once.” The basic point is visualizing in minute detail the person you
want to become and take daily steps to be the person you visualized. The
first image is the mental creation and then follow it up with action.
C for Continuous learning: There are two types of learning
maintenance learning and shock learning. Shock learning is when
something happens in your industry that disrupts your world. We need
both these types of learning in the current turbulent environment. Stay
connected with the experts in your field, read their blogs, listen to their
podcasts, read their books, document what you have learned and share
what you have learned.

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51
D for Discipline: To me discipline is a must to execute the vision you
have set for the person you want to become. It is the opposite of
procrastination. Here you take the action required to be the best you can
possibly be. Discipline promotes freedom and enables you to live the life
on your terms.
E for Effectiveness: It is not an effort contest. It is about working smart
and making the most of what you have. It is about getting more out of
yourself with the available time. You can be more effective by managing
your time well. Maintain a list of items to be done and focus on the most
important first. Learnt to say no to the non-essentials.
F for Focus: Focus is the key to your overall success. During your
workday do not check social media or have few times in a day where
you check it. Don’t have any notifications for your apps. In my case I
don’t have any apps for Facebook, LinkedIn, and twitter. Therefore, I
must go to the browser and log in every time. This ensures I check when
I want to and I don’t get distracted with notifications.
G for Goals: Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. It has
been well established that you can develop yourself by setting goals for
every area of your life. Set goals in your personal, business, social,
health and contribution life. Goals really help us stay excited on the life
journey.
H for Hours: Everyone has the same 24 hours but it is the management
of the 24 hours which is the key. If you use the 24 hours to move
towards your ultimate vision you will feel a lot happier and more

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52
purposeful. Hours are the change with which the achievers play the
game. The hours you utilize for your best work will payoff big time.
I for Imperfection: Personal development doesn’t mean we should
strive for perfection. In fact, how much ever we try we will never be
perfect. No one is perfect and there are no gurus in this world in my
opinion. All of us have issues but getting used to being imperfect is
another key to feeling fulfilled.
J for Journal: Your life is worth recording. One of the keys for personal
development is to take the time to know yourself. One of the best
methods for that is recording your thoughts in a journal. It doesn’t have
to be anything fancy just dumping your thoughts. You can also write
your plans, goals and maintain gratitude lists. Every week you can write
down what went well and what can be done better. Self-awareness is the
key to personal development.
K for Kool-Aid: What I mean by this is keep your input positive. Read
positive books, listen to educational podcasts and keep learning.
Immerse yourself in the Kool-Aid of inspiration and you will feel great.
L for Legacy: Sustained happiness can come when you align your
actions to your legacy. This term has been talked about by the great
philosophers of all time and a lot of authors have popularized the
concept of leaving a legacy. Think about what you want to be
remembered for and write it down. Look at this written paragraph or
document daily. Once you connect with that deeper purpose of your life

Maximise Potential
53
you will feel happier. You can check out my article on how to live your
legacy. 9 Ways to Live your Legacy
M for Mastery: One of the keys for personal development is to master
whatever subject you have decided to learn. Mastery is painful and it
does take a lot of effort. The good thing is since not everyone will take
the journey towards mastery if we decide to take it we will be more
fulfilled. You may never reach mastery and it is more a process than a
result. With the leveling of the playing field all of us have access to the
same information now that was only available to a few in bygone eras.
We can learn anything we want with the abundance of information
available. At the same time, this also means ignoring the subjects we
don’t have an interest in.
N for Negotiate: Learning how to negotiate is one the keys to a
successful career. Negotiation skills are a primary requirement as you
move upward in your field. Never split the difference is one book I liked
on this subject.
O for Overlook: We all have areas that we need to improve on.
Additionally, we also have certain areas which may not change. I would
suggest we need to overlook some of our flaws if we want to rise to our
best. We need to focus on our strengths and work on some of the
weakness areas. Overlook other areas where you are not making
progress and complement your team with diverse skills.
P for Persistence: Persistence is the holy grail of all achievers. It seems
like how much ever we try sometimes things don’t go as fast as we

Maximise Potential
54
wanted. We might be doing everything right and sometimes we still
don’t get the results. It is now that we really need to keep the ultimate
end prize in mind. Never lose sight of your ultimate victory.
Q for Quit: In personal development, the problem is we try to change
too many things at the same time. This is surely not going to work. Even
starting an exercise program, it is better to do something that will work
for our situation than trying to do everything. If learning a piano is
painstaking and quitting it will give you joy then go ahead and quit it.
However, if you must do something at work persist there. The main
thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
R for Responsibility: Take personal responsibility for your personal
development. This is totally within our control and only we can make
the decision on what to focus on. Taking complete responsibility for the
way you are leading your life will give a greater sense of control which
promotes self-motivation.
S for Service: Only by providing greater service than required will we
feel completely fulfilled. Servant leadership is the name of the game.
The only way we will be truly fulfilled is in the service of others through
our work and contribution to the larger humanity.
T for Teachable: Having a beginner’s mindset will serve us well as we
enter an era of disruption. Learning how to learn is probably the main
skill we need as we navigate through turbulent waters. Keep your mind
open to innovative ideas and take in idea from various sources. You may
not like the messenger but learn to the listen to the message instead.

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55
V for Vision: Defining the vision for your life is the starting point of
personal development. What would you like to do with your life? This is
a question only each of us can answer in our lives. Creating an exciting
vision for our lives will ensure we stay excited on this journey.
W for Work hard: While working smart is essential it is also vitally
important that anything of significance was never achieved without
challenging work. Hard work simply means giving your best every time
and trying to do it better next time. If we learn to get more out of
ourselves with what we have we can do better.
X for Excellence: Commit to being excellent in the work you do. It can
also come from being good in a hobby that you like. Being excellent in
any activity makes you fulfilled. So, choose something that you want to
master and your happiness will be taken care of.
Y for Yearn: Yearn to have a great life. Have a powerful desire to do
something significant with your life. Yearning to create a great life can
keep you excited. Begin with the end in mind and enjoy the journey.
Z for Zeal: You need to have great zeal for your life. It is brining that
great energy and enthusiasm to everything you do. As Ralph Waldo
Emerson said, “Every great triumph in the annals of this world was due

Maximise Potential
56
to enthusiasm.” Having high energy will keep your relationships
energized as well. Ultimately the real gain is how you will feel about
yourself when you are at your best all the time.
Personal development is the springboard to launch you on the success
journey. So, get on the rocket of personal development and enjoy the
journey.

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57
Conclusion
I believe all of us have the potential to become outstanding in whatever
we do. If we practice relentlessly to keep getting better in whatever we
do then we have the chance of becoming great in something we truly
desire.
The only thing we need is a bigger vision for our lives. We must believe
in our potential and do whatever is required in maximising our potential.
I wish you all luck in maximising your potential.
About the Author
Shyam Ramanathan has been working in the Quality Assurance world
for over 18 years, where he has developed a breadth of knowledge and
experience in Test management, Test execution, Test Planning, Test
Design, establishing global delivery teams across geographies and
building Test Center of Excellence. Experienced Leader in QA/testing
services and successfully executed many large engagements. Shyam has
focused on the Insurance industry, his clients include Fortune 500
companies. His responsibilities range from business development,
project management, program management, QA management,
relationship management and partner strategies to technical oversight
and delivering creative solutions. He has also a PMP, Certified Six
Sigma Green Belt, Associate In General Insurance and Associate in
Commercial Underwriting certifications. He has run 5 half marathons
and one 25k run. He is an avid blogger and loves reading business
books. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering from University of Madras
in India.
You can follow him on twitter https://twitter.com/shyamvirtusa
You can follow him on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shyamsundarramanathan/recent-
activity/posts/

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