Pile On Motivation

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Category: Motivational

  • The DNA of “high performance teams” – The Simon Sinek Way

    The book “Together is Better” by Simon Sinek tells us that human beings by nature love to socialize and try to find like minded individuals “who believe in what they believe”. This has been true right from the caveman times.

    When like minded people form part of same teams , trust emerges , the synergistic benefits get realized , fulfillment happens and astonishing results follow.

    We see numerous such examples in our workplaces as well wherein trusting teams produce much better results and are much more motivated than teams filled with cynicism and distrust.

    The following amazing quote of Simon Sinek summarizes high performance teams , the need of every workplace.

    “A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.” — Simon Sinek

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  • Art of persuasion is all about the “WHY” – The Simon Sinek Way

    At many stages of life , we all would have come across different persuasion skills and techniques.

    The best one till date , I have come across , is the one that persuades a person on the basis of his/her WHY.

    Please see below , one of my most favorite quotes of Simon Sinek that captures the essence of persuasion via the “WHY”.

    “Our minds can be convinced, but our hearts must be won.” — Simon Sinek

  • “Stress” v/s “Passion” – The Simon Sinek Way

    In our work lives we all search for fulfillment but rarely find so.

    There are occasions though wherein at the end of the day we feel fulfilled but we find it very difficult to articulate the exact reason as to why we feel good at times and not at other times.

    After having slogged for long hours at work we sometimes feel fulfilled yet sometimes very stressed out.

    The following quote from Simon Sinek is so clear and crisp that I was able to very well relate to the same , hope this spreads motivation around as well.

    “Working hard for something we don’t care about is called Stress. Working hard for something we love is called Passion.” — Simon Sinek

     

  • Definition of “Success”- The Simon Sinek Way

    Another crisp and crystal clear Simon Sinek quote that is not only inspiring to the core but very realistic as well..

    We all dream to reach a destination but only when we realize that what we have dreamt has translated to reality is when we realize SUCCESS.

    “Success is when reality catches up to your imagination.” — Simon Sinek

  • Difference between “Vision” & “Goal” – The Simon Sinek way

    What fascinates me about Simon Sinek is the ease with which he articulates his thoughts and make them sound so real. This is precisely the reason his thoughts resonate with me.

    One such example is his difference between Goal and Vision.

    The difference between vision and a goal is the finish line.

    A goal is 26.2 miles. You can simply count the metrics and know when you’ve completed your goal.

    A vision is having a crystal clear sense of what the finish line looks like, but no idea of how far away it is.

    — Simon Sinek,

     

  • “Why Discovery for Individuals” – Steps

    “Find Your Why” is Simon Sinek’s follow up to the best seller named “Start with Why“.

    This book teaches individuals as well as groups to find out their respective WHYs in their lives.

    In this blog we will focus on a high level overview of the why discovery related to individuals.

    Finding our WHY is the recipe to achieve fulfillment in our lives. This in turn would enable “Oxytocin“(the fulfillment chemical) to flow through our veins. Once we realize our WHY we can channelize our energies in the right direction to unleash our best in our personal lives as well as work lives.This would enable us to lead a life free of depression wherein we would try and make ourselves a better version of ourselves rather than comparing ourselves with the rest of the pack.

    Realization of WHY cannot happen in silos and would need the help of our acquaintance(s) who are willing to help us and give constructive feedback. This process would take anything between 6 minutes to 6 hours.

    Finding an acquaintance with child like inquisitiveness , one who is a great listener who knows the importance of realizing a WHY is the first most important step  to be taken by an individual in order to realize the WHY.

    In Summary this process would involve the following steps:

    1. Find an acquaintance who can provide unbiased feedback. The person should have the ability to ask open ended questions and should be a great listener.
    2. The individual whose WHY needs to be discovered should be able to SHARE ALL STORIES that can help bring out important themes and patterns from them. These stories and related facts can be unraveled by asking open ended questions and assimilating all important findings that emanate from the stories.
    3. IDENTIFICATION of THEMES from these stories is needed in order to zero in on the WHY of an individual.
    4. All the identified themes from the shared stories would be able to connect the dots and form a WHY statement in the following format:

              TO___________________________________(this blank is related to the contribution of the individual towards the lives of others around him/her) SO THAT______________________(this blank is related to the impact produced by the contribution)

    This is a very high level overview of the WHY discovery of individuals especially for those who have not had the privilege of reading “START WITH WHY” and “FIND YOUR WHY”.To me these books are quintessential for individuals who want to soul search and find a meaning for themselves in their lives in order to make a meaningful contribution to the society.

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  • Simon Sinek Leadership Lesson – “True Leader is one who shows the destination”

    What makes Simon Sinek’s leadership lessons easy to understand is the fact that we can easily relate to them in our daily work lives.

    One such lesson is when he says “Great leaders show followers a destination“.

    This does resonate with me since this has a relation with our human brain as well. When the destination is clear or a semblance of it is imprinted in the mind of a follower , the human mind is creative enough to reach the destination even if obstacles come in the way of the destination.

    True leaders who walk the talk and are “hands on” are willing to slog it out with the followers when they see their team members struggling to find a destination.

    As opposed to this , there are other leaders who feel insecure by the day and for lack of subject matter knowledge , make the destination deliberately confusing to the followers. A hazy destination confuses the human mind and inhibits the use of creativity. Traditionally these are leaders who are leaders only because of their rank/position and lack true respect from followers.

    As per Simon Sinek , the leaders , who are able to show their followers a destination , are the ones who are able to get the best of their team members and in turn the followers are willing to give their blood sweat and tear & are able to unleash their true potential. This results in insanely productive outcomes.

    This being said it must be said that such  leaders are very rare to get and want of such leaders makes our workplaces so suffocating. Most of the times in the presence of micro-managing leaders , who themselves are not clear of the destination , lack the true subject matter knowledge and intrinsic sense of motivation , workers get frustrated and tired of doing mundane work wherein their creativity and accountability are not put to test.

    We all are in search of such leaders who would make us feel safe , have courage and guts to show their followers the destination…..

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  • Why playing “infinite games” is the way to go

    If you follow Simon Sinek , like the way I do , you would have come across the concept of “Infinite Games”. I have watched myriad videos on youtube wherein Simon has preached and explained the meaning & importance of playing infinite games for achieving fulfillment for individuals as well as business entities.

    Please find below the link to a most recent video of his wherein he explains about “infinite games” and also provides a checklist that qualifies any entity to engage in playing infinite games.

    Very briefly let us look at the concept. The individual mentioned below can refer to any individual person , business , education institution , hospital or any such entity.

    Playing infinite games means that we should not compare ourselves with others and should try and create a better version of ourselves by the day. An infinite player knows that sometimes he will be ahead and sometimes he will lag hence he would believe in the journey and not short term benefits. Winning does matter but when we fall behind it makes us realize our shortcomings to help pull up our socks for the days to come.

    This way we would compete with ourselves instead of having to bother and get bogged down by competition. This would help unleash the best in us and as long as we have put our best efforts we should be satisfied. Sometimes we win and sometimes we do not but such lessons learnt would enrich us by the day and indeed help us in achieving greater successes in the future.

    Easier said than done this requires a lot of soul searching , grit , determination and courage.

    The checklist mentioned by Simon in his video consists of the following.

    1. Having a just cause – This is the burning reason or desire of an individual to play and infinite game. Without an intrinsic sense of motivation and associated passion the journey would not be possible to embark on.
    2. Courageous leadership – As mentioned being a true leader needs a lot of sacrifice to win in the long run brushing aside enticements of short term benefits. To have an “abundance mentality”  in order to  achieve this , requires lot of mental strength and fortitude.
    3. Trusting teams – Without winning as a group we will never achieve fulfillment.Having faith in self as well as teams is the basic essence of having the right kind of mentality to be able to play infinite games.
    4. Worthy Rival – A worthy rival or any kind of major hindrance would be one the best inspiration to play infinite games.
    5. Flexible playbook – Not having a rigid mindset , to be able to collaborate with like minded people who believe in what we believe would give us the right kind of energy and zeal to pursue such a difficult journey.

    Infinite game it must be said is a journey and not a destination.The destination may seem near but as we come nearer the milestone would change , destination would get blurred and hence this is not for the faint hearted who would rather back out and settle for some short term gains.

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  • Man’s search for fulfillment

    Having gone through some of the best self-help books as well as blogs & youtube videos, I have tried summarizing some of the key aspects, emphasized by these wise men, to lead a fulfilling life in the modern age of hustle and bustle.

    The following are some of the noteworthy books that I went through, where in the authors have tried zeroing in on these quintessential aspects.

    1. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
    2. Start With Why , Leaders Eat Last , Together is Better & youtube videos by Simon Sinek
    3. Fish Philosophy by Stephen Lundin , John Christensen , Harry Paul
    4. The Power of Positive Thinking – Norman Vincent Peale
    5. The Power of Subconscious mind – Dr. Joseph Murphy

    Based on the learnings as well as the messages conveyed in the aforementioned books as well as blogs/youtube videos please find below an attempt made by me to summarize some of the key aspects that are the perfect recipe for leading a fulfilled life for leaving a legacy for others to follow.

    • Play an infinite game – Thinking of making a better version of yourself over time without comparing with others. Tune your mind and goals in such a fashion that long term gains are given precedence over self-sided short term gains. We need to realize that there will be times when we win and there will be other times when we lose , what matters is winning in the long run. Develop a child-like inquisitiveness to know by the day and hence learn and gain by the day without being too fussy about what the competition is doing. Live in the present and remove any worry habit since time is short always try to make a difference by doing something genuinely good. Being too stressed up in the wake of competition releases cortisol which reduces the flow of oxytocin the fulfillment chemical, through our veins.
    • Choose your job, company that you keep to feel safe and motivated – Try to be in the company of people who are not toxic and entertain positive thoughts. Being in the company of leaders who motivate, inspire and give us a sense of belonging makes us feel safe and encourages us to unleash our best to achieve fulfillment. Choose a job wherein you feel safe in the company of others and where you are inspired to go to office, love your job and get back home fulfilled. Human beings right from their evolution have always been social animals who crave for having social bonds. This is why we feel safe being in the midst of like-minded people who give us a sense of belonging. These are symbols we seek in workplaces and is the very reason why we make true friends.
    • Serve those who serve others and show generosity – Try to make it a day for someone else if you are feeling down to enliven your own spirits since human being is essentially a social animal who craves for human bonds. Doing well for oneself gives us happiness but doing genuinely good for someone else without expecting anything in return gives fulfillment. Generosity by definition means doing something for someone without expecting anything in return. If this is done with the best of intentions then such actions release a chemical known as “Oxytocin” which is known to increase immunity against diseases and enables leading a fulfilled life.
    • Control the flow of “dopamine” by leading a balanced life – In the age of social media and a hyper mediated world we no longer have sacrificed forming true bonds at the cost of virtual relationships. Once in a while, take stock of your life and try to lead your life the way we used to when mobile phones were not there, social media was not that prevalent. Too much of mobile phone , social media addiction releases “dopamine” which is an addictive chemical and can cause serious repercussions if the flow of the same is not regulated. Waking up with the sun, having healthy food, exercising regularly, spending quality time with family and especially kids are certain aspects we have to give paramount importance to. Practice forgiveness and try to flush out negative thoughts from your mind the moment you encounter one. Our human mind is indeed fascinating, it is a very good slave but a very bad master and hence the habit that we inculcate gets ingrained in our brain.

    Pile on motivation!!!!

  • Why “Together” is indeed “Better”

    The following is the book for whom I am writing my review.

    https://www.amazon.com/Together-Better-Little-Book-Inspiration/dp/1591847850

    “Together Is Better” by Simon Sinek is a very nicely written self-help book wherein the emphasis is on winning as a group rather than winning individually.

    The way great leadership, wherein the great leader is chosen by the group to make the group feel safe, has been related with leadership during caveman times is truly fascinating. In the absence of a hierarchy of leader and followers, a chaotic system would have made survival very difficult for the human race. During caveman times ALPHA was given first choice of food and mate by the members of the group with the intention that the ALPHA would go any distance to protect the group from external dangers.

    This is the basic essence why homo sapiens has been able to able to weather all storms and survive the test of time where other species who originated at around the same time , have become extinct. Getting ALPHA status as a leader came at the cost of having to protect others who elected the human being as the ALPHA.

    Severe resentment and ill will arises when the ALPHA is not willing to take full responsibility of the group and is willing to sacrifice others for his/her own benefit. This is precisely the reason why getting qualified and deserving leaders has become such a big deal in the modern age where in the midst of cut throat competition we have lost sight of the basic principles that qualify a leader.

    The basic human instincts of feeling safe in a group are traits that human beings have inherited right from the caveman times. Hence we are still driven to give off our best when we feel secure and safe in a surrounding, where we know someone is there to take care of us. The challenge is to find such surroundings and groups where we can feel safe and secure and can unleash our true potential to achieve fulfillment.

    One such pointer that can serve as a guiding star to be in such groups is to find people who genuinely “believe in what we believe”. We may not find the world believing in what we believe but once we find the initial few ones, the others who do not believe in what we believe will either leave the group or be part of another group. Once we get and feel belonged in the group of our choice we can do wonders and overcome seemingly impossible obstacles since we feel a sense of fulfillment.

    Historically when the human race evolved, countries, societies and communities were formed by having people with the same set of beliefs and opinions. With the advancement of time and in the face of ruthless advancement we have lost sight of these nuances which is why we no longer feel safe in the workplaces we work, societies we live.

    Thus long term fulfillment stems from forming long term bonds with like-minded people who believe in what we believe and give us a feeling of safety and security to help unleash our best…..

    Pile on motivation!!!!