Highly effective people

People are different -'Man is more than he appears to be.'

Realistic, hands - on people - practical, straight forward.
Artistic people - creative, imaginative.
Social people - patient, emphatic, generous.
Conventional people - orderly.
Enterprising people - competitive, energetic, extroverts.

People can also be categorized as 
Metal type people - brave, strong, chivalrous.
Water type people - smart, mobile, flexible.
Wood type people - kind, sympathetic, sharing.
Fire type people - expressive,energetic, easily excitable.
Earth type people - slow, steady, trustworthy

People can be classified based on their relationship with their environment

Ecosystem people - the people depend on the natural environment to meet most of their material needs. for example rural people grow food, gather wood to cook their food and build their homes with bamboo or sticks.

Biosphere people - the people who enjoy the produce of the entire biosphere e.g., people from developed countries.

People are different in their learning modes
Feelers - people -oriented, emphatic, open to feedback
Thinkers - Ideas or logic oriented,never mind about people and feelings.
Doers - best in active experimentation, involved in  projects
Watchers - keen observers, analytic,

People are evaluated and classified by FOUR things(Dale Carnegie, 1956):

• By what they do (ACTION).
• By how they look (APPEARANCE).
• By what they say (KNOWLEDGE).
• How they say it (TONE/VOICE).

Excellent Tips from Warren Buffett

Warren Edward Buffett is an American business leader and is one of the world's wealthiest persons. Buffett described him as "I am 15 percent Fisher and 85 percent Graham." Warren Buffett is known for his valuable and inspiring thoughts on life, generosity, money management and investments. His life is one of extraordinary wealth built on exemplary character traits.

  Personal finance tips from Warren Buffett

1. Spend wisely - "If you buy things you don't need, you will soon sell things you need."
2. Don't borrow money - "If you're smart, you're going to make a lot of money without borrowing."
3. Think long-term and be patient - "No matter how great the talents or efforts, some things just take time."
4. Overcome your fear of risk - "Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing." "Never invest in a business you cannot understand."
5. Save for the unexpected - "Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."

Meaningful quotes of Warren Buffett:

'Price is what you pay.
 Value is what you get'.

'The rich invest in time;
The poor invest in money.'

'Without passion, you don't have energy.
Without energy, you have nothing.'

'Life is like a snowball. The important thing is finding wet snow and
a really long hill.'

'The happiest people do not necessarily have the best things.
They simply appreciate the things they have.'

Tips for financial planning

1. Budget - If you do budgeting  as part of your financial planning and you will realize saving is not so hard.
2. Spend less than you earn - discipline yourself to spend within what you earn. Make savings an important part of your financial planning.
3. Invest - Financial planning means you are saving for the future. So invest for a better future.
4.Mind your debt - Credit  card debt is one of the biggest obstacles in financial planning.
                             ('Debt is the slavery of the free'  - quoted by Publilius Syrus).

Financial Independence 

"To become financially independent, you must turn part of your income into capital;

  turn capital into enterprise; turn enterprise into profit;turn profit into investment; and

  turn investment into financial independence."         - Jim Rohn

Food for thought

"It is not your salary that makes you rich
 it's your spending habits."  - Charles A. Jaffe.

"We make ourselves rich by making
our wants  few." - Henry David Thoreau.

"A man's treatment of money is the most
 decisive test of his character - how he makes it
 and how he spends it." - Moffat.

"A wise man should have money in his head,
  but not in his heart." - Jonathan Swift.

"The art is not in making money, but in keeping it." -Dutch proverb.

"Money grows on the tree of patience." -Proverb.

"Money without brain is always dangerous." -Napoleon Hill.

"Money is the barometer of a society's virtue." -Ayn Rand.

Life lessons for a leader

A leader is an inspirational figure and leading is a complex activity involving planning, organizing, directing (or leading) and controlling. Leadership is the ability to inspire confidence in and support among the people. Leadership is often regarded as a partnership or collaboration between leaders and group members. A leader creates a vision to direct the organization.

Definition

Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Leadership is the process of inducing others to take action toward a common goal.

Dimensions of a leader

Leadership has five dimensions.Leadership is a trait, which often inherited. Leadership is considered as the capacity or ability to lead and can be acquired by practice.Leadership is a skill or competency developed to accomplish a task effectively. Leadership is also a behavior that can be observable in an individual. Finally leadership is a relationship centered on the communication between leaders and followers. Leadership is a relational concept. Leadership exists only in relation to others - namely followers. Leadership is a process. In order to lead, the leader must do something. Leadership requires inducing others to take action.

Types of leadership

Leadership can be of two types such as transformational and transactional. Transformational leadership has been  defined as leadership that involves changing the organization (change focussed). Such leadership typically involves passion and self-sacrifice, confidence and determination. Transactional leadership has been defined as leadership that maintains or continues the status quo.

Central formula of leadership( Max Landsberg 2000)

Leadership = Vision X Inspiration X Momentum

The essence of leadership is the ability to create vision, inspiration and momentum in a group of people.

The Are-Know - Do model of leadership attributes

Who leaders are - Character and personality- values, motives, abilities, traits, commitment, honesty, courage, imagination.
What leaders know - Competencies and skills (people skills).
What leaders do - Habits, behaviours,style, leading by example.

Attitude is everything for a leader. The  attitude of a leader determines his  altitude. As Victor Pacini said,"Your attitude determines your success." Leader has the drive to take initiative. He  should have good organization skills. He should have the ability to handle emergencies. A leader should be adaptable. A leader  should have problem-solving abilities. A leader  should not buckling under pressure  and manage under stress. Leadership is a highly creative activity. No leader can survive for long without generating his or her own ideas. Leadership is an intrinsically interpersonal activity. Effective leaders typically spend at least 80% of their time actually talking to followers.

Inspirational quote on leadership

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and
shows the way".        -John C.Maxwell.

"A leader is a dealer in hope." -Napoleon.

"Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women
  to a common purpose and  the character
  which inspires confidence." -Bernard Montgomery,British Field Marshal.

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." -Warren Bennis.

Life lessons from Buddha

Quotes of Gautama Buddha:

"we are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts.

With our thoughts, we make the world".

"The mind is everything; what you think, you become."

"Our life is the creation of our mind."

"Do not dwell in the past;Do not dream of the future;
 Concentrate the mind on the present moment."

"Heath is the greatest gift. Contentment the greatest wealth.
faithfulness the best relationship."

Life lessons from Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is considered the father of the Indian independence movement.  He was born in Porbander, India on the 2^nd of October 1869. During childhood, Mohandas Gandhi was a shy, soft-spoken and a mediocre student at school. Gandhi learned from his mother the Indian Maxim, “There is nothing higher than Truth.” He also learned the powers of truthfulness (Satyam)and non-hurting (‘Ahimsa’). In September 1888, Gandhi travelled to England to study law at University College London. Gandhi accepted the post of law consultant at South Africa in April 1893.   Having spent 21 years in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India in 1915.His life at South Africa transformed him into a freedom fighter. In 1921, Gandhi became involved with the Indian National Congress. On March 12, 1930, Gandhi began his historic 24-day Salt March as a protest against a tax on salt introduced by the British government. Gandhi used passive non-violent resistance (“Truth Force”) against the British to fight for India’s freedom. During the fight, Gandhi’s focus was on Indian Self-rule (Swaraj). Gandhi founded Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmadabad. Rabindranath Tagore, the poet Nobel laureate of India described Gandhi as “Mahatma” (“the Great Soul”).  In 1942, Gandhi launched ‘Quit India Movement’. On August 15, 1947, the British government granted independence to India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru became the first president of independent India. On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse at the age of 78. Gandhi’s principle of Satyagradha (pursuit of truth) has inspired great democratic activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948) - My life is my message.

'
"Where there is love, there is life."

"Love never claims,it ever gives;
Love never suffers, never resents,never revenges itself.
Where there is love there is life;
Hatred leads to destruction."

"Happiness is when what you think,
  What you say and what you do
  are in harmony."

"Satisfaction lies in the effort,not in the attainment,
full effort is full victory."

"Strength does not come from winning.
Your struggles develop your strengths.
When you go through hardships and
decide not surrender, that is strength."

"The future depends on what you do today."

Life lessons from Albert Einstein (1879 -1955)

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Wurtemberg, Germany on March 14,1879. He had his education in Germany, Italy and Switzerland. He served as a professor in Bern, Zurich and Prague. Einstein was awarded a Ph.D by the University of Zurich for his dissertation entitled 'A New determination of Molecular Dimensions." He was appointed as the Director of Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin in 1914. He became a professor in the School of Mathematics in Princeton in 1933. Albert Einstein was one of the most brilliant Theoretical Physicists and a great Philosopher - Scientist. His most famous mass- energy equivalence formula E=mc2 has led to nuclear power, radiation therapy and much more. This formula states that matter can be converted into energy. Albert Einstein developed special and general theory of relativity and established quantum theory. He  laid the foundation for the photon theory of light.He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his explanation of the Photoelectric effect.Einstein published more than 300 scientific papers and more than 150 non-scientific works.

 Quotes of Albert Einstein:

"If you want to live a happy life,tie it to a goal,
  not to people or objects."

"There are only two ways to live your life;
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle."

" Life is like riding a bicycle.

 To keep your balance you must keep moving"

"Work is the only thing that gives substance to life."

Mind - body connection in health and illness

Mind is the master of human body. It directs and controls every function in human body. Every condition, every experience of life is the result of our mental attitude. The mind creates 50,000 thoughts a day. Every person has a powerful mind. The mind is the forerunner of all actions(Buddha).Human beings use only 10% of their mind power. Mind is a great Big magnet. The greatest discovery of all time is the mind.The mind can be consciously built-up, cultivated, developed and used. Meditation, reflection or prayer can quiet the restless nature of the mind. Optimal health is a manifestation of harmony within the body, mind and spirit.Psychological health, which encompasses both our emotional and mental health, is instrumental in determining physical health. Mind – emotion- behaviour interconnections of health and illness are going to fundamentally change our approach to health care.

The mind has 3 aspects:
1. the aspect being or substance.
2.the aspect of thought with the subdivisions of reason, feeling, emotion, desire, will.
3.the aspect of acting.
The mind has 3 divisions:
1.The conscious mind - the center of human thoughts, emotions,feelings, sensations, behaviours.
2.The subconscious mind - the center of habits, skills, behaviours, reflexes, conditional responses,
   emotional reactions.
3.The higher conscious mind / universal mind - it controls the 'awareness of awareness.'

Definitions

Emotional well-being is defined as the ability to feel and express the entire range of human emotions from anger to love and to control them, not to be controlled by them.

Mental well-being is the ‘psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioural adjustment.’

Physical well-being is defined as the optimal condition of each of the body’s physiological systems.

The mind - body concept 

The mind body concept is defined as the interaction that takes place between our thoughts, our body and our external world. A new science that studies this link is called psychoneuroimmunology (PNI).  Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) seeks to understand the complex communications between and among the nervous system, the psyche and the immune system and their implications for health. PNI describes ways in which our emotions and attitude, can affect our health and also the outcome of medical treatment.

Psychosomatics

The term ‘psychosomatic’ refers to the connection or interaction between the body and mind. The terms psychosomatics (meaning that the mind can influence the health of the body) and psychogenic (meaning that mind can causes diseases in the body) interchangeably. Well-being integrates mental health (mind) and physical health (body) resulting in more holistic approaches to disease prevention and health promotion. In terms of health and wellness, the whole is made up of four components: mind, body, spirit and emotions. The holistic wellness is composed of the integration, balance and harmony of these four components.

Power of emotions

Emotions are very strong feelings within the human mind. Emotions are states of mind that arise as a result of specific life experiences. Emotions are critical to our survival. There are 5 basic emotions: anger, fear, gladness, sorrow and shame. These main emotions branch into secondary emotions, and then branch into a third set, called tertiary emotions.  Emotions have many facets: they involve feelings and experience, they involve physiology and behaviour and they involve cognitions and conceptualizations. Emotions change the way the human mind solves problems. The emotional system changes how the cognitive system operates. The emotions are neuropeptides that affect the functioning, reproduction and health of the cell.  Positive emotions tend to open us up to our environment for exploration and discovery. They encourage us to discover a purpose and seek intimacy. They help us to understand others through empathy and compassion. They teach us our beliefs, desires and values.  Negative emotions can cause disease. Negative emotions can cause disease. Anxiety, depression, anger and frustration are some of the mind’s negative emotions that greatly affect the body’s health. Chronic stress may prevent body’s homeostasis and lead to ill health.

                         Stressà FatigueàExhaustionà Lowered immunityà Ill health.

Mind –body medicine

The intimate connection between mental and physical health has long been recognized; mental health can affect illness and disease while illness may affect mental health. The mind-body medicine has provided evidence that psychological factors can play a major role in reducing the risk of most major diseases. There are four interacting information processing systems in humans: the mind (the functioning of the brain), the endocrine system, the nervous system and the immune system. These information processing systems become the part of the mind-body network—nervous, hormonal, digestive, and immune— and they communicate with one another via peptides and their receptors. The mind-body network is composed of neuropeptides, short chains of amino acids that extend “to every molecular corner of the body” and transmit messages across organs, cells, tissues, and DNA.  Over 100 molecules of neuropeptides have been identified that carry messages between the brain, the endocrine system and the immune system. Neuropeptides therefore act as a type of informational molecules that units and coordinates all the cells, tissues, glands, organs and systems of the body.  Their unique ability to modulate chemical and physical responses in the body has earned them the title ‘healing molecule’. Peptide rich areas are not only present in the brain, but also in the gut, that is why many of us experience emotions there as “gut reactions.” Since there is undoubtedly bidirectional communication between the brain and the body, thoughts and feelings may manifest as physical symptoms. Our mind and emotions play a critical role in our health. Mind-body therapies can help to improve psychological functioning and quality of life and may help to ease symptoms of diseases. Mind-body medicine focuses on treatments that promote health including relaxation, hypnosis, visual imagery, meditation, yoga and biofeedback.

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"There is no illness of the body apart from the mind." -SOCRATES

“Mind moves matter.” –VIRGIL, the Roman poet.


"A sound mind in a sound body is a short but full
  description of a happy state in this world."   - JOHN LOCKE, 
                                                                            Philosopher, 1693.