Monday Morning Blues in Bangalore

- Late night flight, lack of sleep...
- Misplaced car key prompted me to look for Uber. The app showed ten minutes.
- Checked Ola, not available!
- Went back to Uber, waiting period was now 22 minutes. These are "official" indicators only. The actual may be much different.
So, decided to opt for "ola share".

With Bangalore likely to cancel the "share" option by Ubers & Olas of the world, I was more "aware" of the option to 'share'.

Ola has introduced two options within the share! Ola keeps bringing in new initiatives frequently. At times the add-ons become 'too many-too soon'! I finally opted for 'Fast Share' and decided to walk to the main road - "just 6 minutes", indicated the app. But not the heat & dust of the stretch, from apartment to the 'State Highway', not a 'stately' highway though.

I kept waiting... several cabs passed by, not the 'share' cab assigned to me.

A passing auto driver (smartly) sensed a business opportunity and stopped. In spite of all taxi options, auto drivers stick to their pricing strategy, continuing to demand exorbitant fares. I demanded a 25% reduction. He readily agreed. I knew I would be paying a cab fare for a bumpy, noisy, dusty/non-AC ride. But reaching the workplace quickly was more important. As the auto driver, a gentleman (except for his pricing) in his fifties took off, I canceled the Ola-share!

What should ideally take 15-20 minutes, took a full hour. As the cars patiently waited in a line, my auto-guy, a veteran on Bangalore roads, took short-cuts to move ahead. He mostly got away with all his histrionics, except a traffic cop. The latter let off with a big shout at the auto guy. I 'compensated' by paying him what he had originally asked for. He had to endure a 60 minute ride too. But for him, I would have taken longer.

It is a normal day at work for both of the cop & the auto guy, but not for me... Monday morning can't be so 'cruel'

An audio book kept me going. I saw so many professionals on the way to their office, badly stuck - in buses/cars/company transport vehicles, two-wheelers.

Many of them already had their ID cards around their neck or clipped on to somewhere on the body, shirt to belt. Most of them, almost all of them (yours truly included) had an expression of frustration & anger on their faces.

I wondered... 'are we living our life-purpose? Is all this worth it?" 

4 reasons why you may need an executive coach - The Business Journals

Great post. The author lists out the benefits of Executive Coaching for a business leader (at all levels, not just CEOs, I may add) in simple words. 


- None, just no one, can give unbiased assessment, if part of same organisation. That is how organisations are!!  Not even the popular tools such as, 360 degree feedback or any poor cousins thereof. A Coach can...



- Same with feedback. Being not part of the system, a coach can give valuable feedback, esp after interacting with other members of organisation, across different levels. A certified coach is trained to ask the 'right questions' to go to the core of the issue/opportunity. 



- External guidance for reflection and self-analysis  is the core of any coaching intervention. It is both external and also passive. Not prescriptive, advisory or consultancy/mentoring. You are already a leader. All solutions to problems & opportunities are within you. You need external guidance to just tap into THAT ! A Coach can help... 


- Coaching, being an outsider's perspective, is as such appropriately 'detached' too, at a very practical & philosophical level.



Of course, it is for the client/organisation to use the information and derive the benefit of Coaching, at a very holistic level. 



On a lighter note, why is CEO of financial services co is being singled out ?:)) 

All the friends in banking/financial services in leadership roles, this may be very valuable information... 

Hire a Coach..Become a coach. Sharpen Coaching skills, whatever you do at work!



4 reasons why you may need an executive coach - The Business Journals

What is your Legacy?

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Legacy is anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor.

For, what I do for myself is gone when I am gone, but what I do for others remain my legacy. 

As we move up the corporate ladder, and every other such ‘ladders’ in family & society, when get ample opportunity to do good to others. Or at least resist doing evil. Through our thought, word and deed.

At the end of our sojourn on earth, only one thing matters. How much love we have shared. Unconditional, selfless, pure love… which is divine. And this is not some exotic concept, beyond our reach. It is well within our reach. That is actually our natural state of being. We just avoid the truth, unknowingly!

My passion becomes my legacy when I serve others being who I AM, doing what I love.

What is your legacy? This is a question that comes up often in a coaching situation.

Beyond our worldly needs & wants, at some stage, this becomes an important element of our journey. The sooner we reach that stage, the better for us. We will have that much extra time to make a difference.

What is important is to ask ourselves. Then take responsibility and move in the right direction. It would help immensely to reach out to a Life Coach.

 

Coaching celebs for life

Celebrities are hiring coaches…. YOU are a celebrity too, are n’t you? Every one of us is a celebrity. We may not be ‘visible’ like some of other contemporary celebrities! But, I personally would rather be an invisible celebrity. Which is also being one in the eyes of Master/Guru/God/Creator!

Thus I also get to coach celebrities to reach the level of #RegalUnlimited!

Royal, Kingly by tapping into our unlimited potential.

http://www.asianage.com/bollywood/coaching-celebs-life-956

Life coaching business to cross Rs 1,000 crore mark in FY15 - Economic Times

Wonder how did ET arrive at value of industry at ‘Rs. 1K Cr FY15, from Rs, 200 Cr a few years back’!  The life coaching community is scattered & fragmented. Hence, difficult to compile the figure accurately!

Let us not reduce Lie Coaching to a mere “business”. It is far deeper and holistic to be compared to a business.  If we look at as yet another business or training, the intervention ceases to be “Life Coaching”.

I am ‘scared’ of being in a profession, which is ‘becoming a rage in India’!! I would prefer to be in something, which is less swanky!

Yes, Life Coaching helps the coachees to achieve their objectives, holistically. Also, virtually anyone can become a coach, irrespective of background, gender, experience, location, etc. It is important the coaches go through the rigorous process of

- Learning (credentialing/certification): as the coach will touch the life of the coachee, at all levels

- Unlearning: not to confuse with directing, mentoring, managing, consulting, training, etc.

Just as coaching borrows heavily from areas as diverse as psychology to spirituality, exposure to areas such as NLP will help immensely.  It cannot be one more certification, as we do in corporate or academic world. But, something to which we can connect to and help us in coaching.

Life Coaching then becomes a blissful journey!

Life coaching business to cross Rs 1,000 crore mark in FY15 - Economic Times

AmI ready to take the first step ?

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140429160324-8416598-am-i-ready-to-take-first-step?trk=object-title

Seth's Blog: Deconstructing generosity

Just brilliant... Seth Godin at his best... Must read (sharing the entire post below.. Highlights are my take-aways!)

The connection economy is based on generosity. After all, why would someone want to connect to a selfish organization? But the critical need for generosity as an element of our new economy is easy to get lost because it leads to the question, “what is generosity?”

The obvious answer, I think, is the wrong one. Generosity is not merely giving a discount, or giving what you make away or creating a race to the bottom. It’s far more complex than that. Some thoughts:

It’s understandable that generosity creates trust, but also worth noting that trust is required to provide generosity. If a well-meaning person started leaving sandwiches all over the airport departures lounge, her goal probably wouldn’t be achieved, because we just don’t trust random unwrapped sandwiches left anonymously in public places.

That’s one reason why it seems so difficult to give ideas away online. We don’t know you, so we don’t trust you, perhaps not even enough to invest the time to find out what it is you’re trying to give us or how you're working to help us. Earning this trust, in an effort to be generous, is time consuming and dissuades some from going down this path. Sometimes this effort leads marketers to spam, to take shortcuts, to lie, all in a self-justified but ultimately doomed and deluded effort to be generous.

Sacrifice is a crucial element in our perception of generosity. When someone takes the time to share a finite resource, one that they cannot hope to be repaid for, generosity happens. So favors can’t be generous, because favors imply a sort of gift economy of repayment being due.

Kindness also rides along with generosity. When someone is generous with us but does it begrudgingly, just this one time, don’t ask again, face scrunched with tension, then no, it doesn’t feel generous.

Danny Meyer has revolutionized restaurant culture around the world (starting with Union Square Cafe and then with many other eating places) by placing an emphasis on generosity. Not the (sometimes unwanted) generosity of huge portions, nor the discounting approach of charging ever less, but in the generosity we feel when we’re waited on by someone who treats us with genuine humanity, with kindness and with care.

A variation on kindness is design. It’s entirely possible to create buildings or signs or products that are brutally efficient, where no effort is put into grace or style or beauty. But when the creator of the thing also donates the extra time and care to make it magical, it feels generous, a generosity that scales to all who use it.

There is also the generosity that we feel when someone comes with right intent. People likeBernadette Jiwa, Tina Roth Eisenberg and Mitch Joel have no ulterior motive in the work they share online. They share because they can, because turning on a light for themselves also turns on a light for others. This is not the trading-up version of selfish networking, it’s merely generous.

Vulnerability, as Brene Brown and others have written about, is a key element of what it is to be human, to make art and thus to be generous. The vulnerability of showing up and caring and connecting, even if this time, it might not resonate. And yes, vulnerablity builds trust, all in an endless cycle.

And the killer of generosity is bitterness. You may have noticed while traveling on airlines like American that many of the employees you encounter act as though they’re trapped. Trapped by a race to the bottom in efficiency, trapped by a long history of bureaucracy that offers no control and no room for humanity. In those situations, it’s easy to give up, to shrug one’s shoulders and to soldier on, just doing your job. It’s not surprising, then, that any attempt at organizational kindness instead feels like a poorly constructed marketing come-on, not the human act of generosity we seek.

We long to connect, all of us. We long to be noticed, to be cared for, to matter. Generosity is the invisible salve on our wound of loneliness, one that benefits both sides, over and over again.

PS: My thoughts, though I feel I am incapable of adding anything to this thought provoking post. There is a quote from Indian scriptures. 'Paropakarartham idam shareeram'. It means 'our physical body is to serve others'. If every thought, word and deed is performed with this awareness & firm belief, then you are not just being generous. Not just human. But, Divine... and that is our true entity! (that is the destination of my journey... miles to go!)

Seth's Blog: Deconstructing generosity

W-A-T-C-H

Master says, "Watch your Words, Action, Thoughts, Character and Heart" 


Words : We often discuss the current affairs, stories we read, soaps we watch on idiot box and sheer gossip... by doing so, we are spreading negativity into ourslves, into others and beyond... thus The Universe!

To be aware ('watch') of every thought-word-action, (= trikarna shuddhi) also means being mindful. Be in the Here & Now. 

Good to 'watch' what we say to others....what others tell us. Also, think... as the Universe picks up the energy of the thought, positive or negative....

#Mindfulness !

Let us Spread Positivity, only!

Master's words... to conclude: 
Your thoughts, words and vision should be filled with love. This is Divine Love in action.


Blissfully!

health - Prevention is the key

'..."The health industry is essentially a sickness industry ....
My prediction for the near future for those interested in health and well-being is that physicians, nutritionists, health practitioners, physical therapists, nurses, massage therapists, counselors, LIFE COACHES, yoga teachers, and all those who are able to improve the health of their clients will be in high demand.' 
- Dr Deepak Chopra

That is for physical, emotional, mental or spiritual health! 

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140324232243-75054000-state-of-health-prevention-is-what-matters?trk=eml-ced-b-art-M-0&midToken=AQHTHoKbeIbjjg&ut=0gKB5vd_sZcSc1

Why It's So Hard to Turn Fickle Millennials Into Leaders

The millennial want face time. Is that not essence of leadership? Total communication, through active listening & empathy?  

They are fickle, in the right way.   

The leader got to become one like them, to lead them (don't even try to manage!).  As the Master says, 'be a child among children, man among men & women among women...' That is beyond empathy too. At that level, no need to lead... things happen.  

Our current leaders are not equipped to handle this new, unique different. They blame it on the clichéd generation gap. 

http://www.inc.com/adam-vaccaro/young-talent-leadership-development.html?cid=em01014week12b

Pricing Dilemma

Came across this post on 'Pricing'.... Pricing is an art & science...

Seth Godin puts it beautifully. 

My 'pricing strategy' is more than my banking days, it is question of commitment!, from client, of course... 

For all my current & prospective clients :)

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/03/better-than-free.html

One Habit that will Guarantee Success

A client recently made a beautiful point. 

All of us are either 'givers' or 'takers'. While most of us are hard-nosed 'takers', very few are blessed to be 'net givers'! Through Coaching, he felt, I had the opportunity to be a net giver! I was overwhelmed to hear that. What a powerful thought. And, what a great opportunity, to be a net-giver. 

This has remained with me at 'top-of-mind' and keep inspiring. 

Every time I enhance my Coaching skills, I try to remind myself how I can 'give' more, with humility & prayers. For, what I am 'giving' is not mine, but belongs to Higher Consciousness/God. As such, no scope for my bloated ego or anything even vaguely related thereto :) 

I was reminded of it when I read a similar article on Inc. http://www.inc.com/michael-schein/one-habit-that-improves-sales.html-

Meditation

Master's Voice: 
If you start practicing meditation, it must become an integral part of your life. You cannot assume you are meditating by merely closing your eyes. You must progress until you feel united with the God present within your heart. Along with meditation, you must acquire the knowledge and skills to lead your professional life. You must always maintain the same discipline and strength of character , wherever you are.

Best Advice: Always Do the Right Thing, Every Time

Got this from a friend, located the link here.

Had attended a discussion on 'Corporate Governance' last evening. At the end of the session, I walked out wondering, where/when does one pick up the right/ wrong, ethical/unethical values?!! 

At home/primary school (formative years) or high school/college or during Masters? Management degrees, medical or legal, are all today victim of drop in value-quotient.

Early, formative years at home play a critical role, surely. But it gets reinforced positively/negatively depending on our environment. It becomes critical at work, depending on corporate culture, leadership, peer values, etc.

But then, it is a choice we make & reap the benefits thereof!

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140225111110-33102502-best-advice-always-do-the-right-thing-every-time

How Negative Energy Affects Your Life and How to Clear It

"Nobody likes to hear that. It takes courage to accept that you create your life experience!"



Must read...



How Negative Energy Affects Your Life and How to Clear It

Change of heart - challenge | Appetite for life | theguardian.com

'William Cook was sceptical about receiving life coaching,

but it hasn't taken him long to discover the benefits.' He is a normal guy,
like us..


Check out benefits of Life/Executive Coaching at  www.regalunlimited.com/coaching.html

Link to the original article in The Guardian:

Change of heart - challenge | Appetite for life | theguardian.com

Life Coaches for the Entrepreneurial Set - NYTimes.com

• Even a successful 'type A entrepreneur' (Ali spoke his search
  tech firm to Microsoft) can benefit immensely from Coaching
  (Life/Career/Leadership/Entrepreneur, whatever we chose to call it!).
  For the opportunities/problems are universal, common to all! Only magnitude differs, awareness differs.
• 'No time' is just a matter of getting priorities right. If ' I ' am
  not 'my' priority, then nothing else is as important. At a holistic
  level, not at a selfish, mean level. I have seen many potential clients saying, 'I have just not been able to apply my mind', etc. We are being unfair to ourselves, to our families, colleagues and everyone else connected, directly or indirectly.
• Selection of The Coach is the key. As the article rightly points
  out, be very thorough in your search for the coach. Ensure you trust him so that you can discuss freely. For the outcome depends purely on how
  much the client is willing to go... and of course, the coach willing to go along...
• For people like Riaz, life is 'good'. It should be at least 'Great',
  to borrow from Phil Collins. But the real joy is when life moves from "good to Great to GOOD" (At the third phase, bliss is the outcome). It is within our reach, we just need to 'reach out', to experience the bliss. 
• As such, Coaching does not 'try to make you something you’re not...'. Then it is not Coaching. Period. The opposite should ideally happen. Make the coachee realize the true self. 

'Vulnerability is indeed very powerful'. It has to be experienced!



Life Coaches for the Entrepreneurial Set - NYTimes.com

The Mindful Revolution - TIME

Great that ‘being mindful’ is going mainstream, slowly, but surely...

The world badly needs it. Also each one of us!

Next time when I pick up raisins, I will be lot more ‘mindful'. (Eastern philosophy talks about chewing 30 times. It helps not only digestion, but also be in a state of mindful)

It could actually be ‘equipping us with skills to survive in 21^st century’.  (I would add, not just ‘survive’, but also live fully, holistically & blissfully. It is a possibility, but we often do not make a conscious choice.)

Beautiful thought: ‘we try to be in different places at once– but at the cost of being unable to inhabit where we want to be’! It is a proven fact, multi-tasking is quite impossible. (We fail to be Here & Now, most often…) 

World is indeed waking up to the ability of our brains to adapt & re-wire. Of course, we have given it a flamboyant jargon, ‘Neuroplasticity’ :)

5,000 year old techniques, when supported with this new jargon and of course, research & experience, becomes more acceptable. We are still reluctant to associate it with spirituality. But then, we forget or are unaware, ‘we are all spiritual being on a human
experience, not vice versa’

It is not ‘paradoxical that Silicon Valley has become the hotbed of mindfulness classes &
conferences’. For, the need is the most in those workplaces.

Tim Ryan’s experience is a good testimonial. Thankfully, he is making efforts to take it to more people. But it is still our choice to make – whether to carry two mobile phones or distracted by any other screen, incl laptop or TV.

Vipasana meditation technique mandates 10 days’ silence for their advance program.

Using a watch may be recommended at an early stage, but at deeper levels, I know of folks who have discarded watches. When we are connected within, we don’t need to ‘manage’ time or be ‘managed’ by time.

If ‘silicon valley entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 Titans, pentagon chiefs and more’ are taking up these exercises, is it not high time we looked at the techniques, with an open mind and humility?

Blissfully!

The Mindful Revolution - TIME