This ebook is the consolidation of

everything I have learnt on Success,

Management, Life and Love

Maximise

Potential A-Z of Success, Leadership,

Management, Life and Love

Shyam Ramanathan

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Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 2

A - Z of Success – 26 tips to attain all the success you want ..................................................................... 3

A to Z of Management – 26 Tips to be at your Managerial Best ............................................................. 11

A to Z of Leadership – 26 tips to be at your Leadership Best .................................................................. 16

A to Z of Life – 26 tips to get the most out of life .................................................................................. 22

A to Z of Love – 26 tips to be at your loving Best .................................................................................. 29

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 35

About the Author ................................................................................................................................... 36

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Introduction

My mission is to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs. I have

consolidated all my A-Z blog posts into one place. It has everything you need on

success, leadership, management, life and love. Hope you enjoy reading these. The

views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.

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A - Z of Success – 26 tips to attain all the

success you want

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 high 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.

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

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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 on a daily basis. 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 achieve. The key is the desire has to 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

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“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.

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.

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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 have to 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 also those around us. “Wherever there is a

human in need, there is an opportunity for kindness and to make a difference.”

Kevin Heath

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

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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 have to 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 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

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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

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

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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.

V for Victory: Victory is what everyone wants in business and personal life. You

have to 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,

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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

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 actually be the first step on our journey towards success. Success is personal

but eminently achievable. It is very much a journey worth taking.

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A to Z of Management – 26 Tips to be at

your Managerial Best

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.

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 also 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.

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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 also

have the ability to 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 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.

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.

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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 high

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.

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 have to 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 has to 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.

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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 as

long as you are able to listen without interruption and showcase your decision

making capability the team will support you.

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.

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A to Z of Leadership – 26 tips to be at

your Leadership Best

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 identify 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.

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

have to 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 success happens only when we

have a burning desire and determination of something we want to achieve. The key

is the desire has to be your own and not something someone else wants for

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you. There will be setbacks when you have a strong vision but if you have

determination you can follow through to success.

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 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 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 are able to 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.

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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 leadership. 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 have to be

committed to the journey of life. Leadership requires a certain toughness that

cannot be taught but it can be learned.

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 also those around us. “Wherever there is a

human in need, there is an opportunity 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 have to 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. 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

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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.

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. 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.

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 focus and you

will be successful as a 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 have to 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

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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 of that is Darwin Smith who said "I never

stopped being qualified for the job."

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. 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

have to 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 ultimate goal will ensure your ultimate victory.

W for Well-being: Ultimately your well-being is very important to 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 particular

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 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

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"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 of our jobs we can be rest

assured that great leaders will always be needed to take us to new frontiers.

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A to Z of Life – 26 tips to get the most

out 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 one.

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.

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

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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 high 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 are able to

project into the future on all possibilities and they can take action 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 weekly or monthly basis. As Tom Hopkins said “Goals

are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.”

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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 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

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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 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

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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.

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.

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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 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.

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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 Love – 26 tips to be at your

loving Best

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 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.

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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 in temperament then it actually

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 a long period of time

without developing the ability to forget and forgive. First forget every silly 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.

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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.

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.

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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 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

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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.

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 has to 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.

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Avoid Xtreme positions – There are no black or white situations in love. There is

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 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.

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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 have to believe in our

potential and do whatever is required in maximising our potential. I wish you all

luck in maximising your potential.

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About the Author

Shyam Ramanathan has been working in the Quality Assurance world for over

15years, 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.

Connect with Shyam on LinkedIn -

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Connect with Shyam on Twitter - @shyamvirtusa https://twitter.com/shyamvirtusa