2. Training : The Only Key to
Success! - by Arnold
Mascarenhas
"I hear and I forget! I see and I remember! I do and I
understand!!" is a Chinese proverb.
Child's Play
When I turned 15 , my father asked me, "Son, what is your
five-year plan?" "Five year plan! I gasped. "I don't know what
I'll be doing in the next 5 minutes!" He asked me, "What do you
want to do in life? "I want to be happy and successful" I
replied. "Well, what will make you happy?" he asked "I don't
know!" I said and that ended our conversation for the time
being.
At that point of life, I did not know what I wanted, when I
wanted it nor did I have the slightest idea of what would make
me happy. Like most young people I thought I would try different
things and when I hit upon what made me happy, I would know. And
as with most people I had a mixture of successes and failures.
Eventually I discovered the concept that my father had being
trying to communicate to me years ago:
If I know what I want and when I want it, I can then work
backward to achieve my objective.
So starts the book, Big Things Happen, When You do the Little
Things Right by Don Gabor.
Plan Your Growth
Do you want to make things happen? Of course you do! There is
only one way to do so. Go about it in a planned manner. Start at
the very beginning. First, take stock of your life. Where do you
want to go? Whom do you want to become? A successful
professional who is known for qualities of competence,
dedication and hard work! Yes! To achieve anything in life, you
have to begin well. You must make a plan for self-development
and growth.
Secret of Success
How many of you have read 'The Magic of Thinking Big' by David
Schwartz? This is a book that you must read. Here the author
says that once you decide what you want then you must take steps
to get it. You must decide that you are going to do what it
takes.
Now is the time to take the first bold step. You must put a plan
in action. Look at any successful student, sportsperson, athlete
or filmstar. How do they achieve their goals? By following a
daily schedule. They prepare hard for regular periods. For long
hours following a strict discipline. Yes! they know that the
secret of success is training.
Three Areas of Training
For training to be effective, it must follow three areas: First,
What to Do, second, How To Do It and finally, It Must Get
Results.
What to do?
The What of your personal training programme for success is
built on the attitudes and techniques of successful people. How
do they manage themselves? How do they overcome obstacles? How
do they earn the respect of others? What sets them apart from
the ordinary? How do they think?
How to do?
The How of your plan for development and growth is a series of
concrete guides for action. You must read books of famous
achievers and see what lessons you can learn from them. Read
authors like Stephen Covey, Anthony Robbins, Daniel Goleman,
Norman Vincent Peale, Dale Carnegie, and Napolean Hill. When you
read these book take a pencil and notepad and write down points
that you find relevant. Then later go over your notes and
re-read them often. These principles will become part of your
daily practice and you will internalise and make them your own.
Reaping the Results!
Finally can you get the required results?! Yes! You can! By
constantly applying the principles that you have observed in
successful people and your own observations from reading books
of famous achievers, you will begin to shape your life to reach
your goals and achieve what you want to. Broken down into
different parts, your training programme will bring you a series
of rewards. The reward of deeper respect from your family. The
reward of admiration from your friends and colleagues. The
reward of achieving something in your life.
Standing on Our Feet
You must also remember that you are your own Trainer. There will
be no one standing beside you telling you what to do. You have
to set your own time and command yourself to apply what you are
learning. But you have everyone around you to support you.
How many of you are fond of gardening? Look at how plants react
to sunshine and water. Everyone feels happy when plants respond
to their care. But this is not even one-tenth as fascinating as
watching yourself change to your self-administered management
training programme. You feel yourself growing more confident,
more effective and successful. day by day, month by month.
Nothing, absolutely nothing in this life gives your more
satisfaction than knowing you are on the road to success and
achievement.
Discipline - Leads to Success
A very important aspect of training yourself is Discipline. Make
a daily schedule and follow the time strictly. This helps you to
focus on the task at hand. Set aside a fixed time for you to
pursue your daily training programme. Either before you begin
work or at the end of the day take a break. Look inwards and see
how you are progressing. Evaluate yourself in terms of input and
out put. You must be able to judge yourself objectively.
There is no short cut to success. The person who succeeds is the
person who has put in the most effort. With your training, this
will become a daily practice. You will always put your best
effort in everything you attempt.
Remember the words of the famous athlete Jesse Owens who said:
"A LIFE TIME OF TRAINING FOR JUST 10 SECONDS."
Contributed by Arnold Mascarenhas
Arnold Mascarenhas is the CEO of Bull's-Eye Communications. He
is an alumnus of the IIM-B, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and the XIC
(Mumbai).His Bangalore based company conducts Corporate
Training in Soft Skills, General Management, Behavioural
Science, HR and Sales Management areas. Their clients include
Infosys Technologies, Phoenix Global Solutions, I-flex
Solutions, BAE Systems, KPMG and Ernst & Young.
He is a Visiting Faculty at the T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI),
Manipal. Arnold may be contacted at:
arnold1@vsnl.com
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