Quantum Physics of Beliefs - Purpose

Continuing the topic from the last week's article ("When Helping Others is Your Life Purpose") let me discuss a little bit more deeply on what exactly is the 'Life Purpose'. I was actually driven to continue to write more about it while thinking about a question that I received on one of the Facebook groups in response to a VoARadio talk that I broadcast couple of weeks ago on the Quantum Physics of Beliefs - Power of Intentions Part1 and Part2. The question was "How do you know if it is your intention or someone else's?" In my response, I suggested to look at the classical meaning of the word intention - 'to have in mind a purpose or plan, to direct the mind, to aim' - and examine if it is indeed your plan/purpose to do something or someone else's? But, then I realized that there is more to 'purpose' than just a plan. So, let's delve into it...

LIVING YOUR PURPOSE

The original Latin meaning of the word purpose is derived from the word intention; (there you have it - intention and purpose go hand in hand) meaning that your purpose is there by (your) design and is something that you intend either consciously or unconsciously. When you intend for something to happen you are the one that makes it happen; it is not something or someone outside of yourself.

It's been said that great minds have purpose while others just have wishes. At some point in your life you have probably asked yourself the question "why am I here?" Or "what's the purpose that I am living in this world?" I think that most people with a healthy mind often ask this question and mostly at points in their lives when they are forced to take a time out. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living and it is from examining our lives that we can look at it afresh and get a new perspective on why we are really here.

I believe that we all have a purpose for being here. There is a reason why you are here in this universe and that there is a specific role for you to fulfill. Even though this is a belief, I do think that anyone who is in touch with their spirit (or soul or inner self or whatever name you want to give it) will know that there is a part of you that long for more than just the day to day physical needs of life. We all dream for more and this desire, in a sense is fulfilled by your purpose. Your purpose in life is not a pre-assigned role, but rather a decision that you make as a result of introspection. There is no black board in the sky on which your purpose is written. There is however feelings and experiences that you long to experience while you are here and your purpose is what will cause you to experience, feel and be that which you long for on the deepest level of being a human "being."

Most people spend all their lives waiting for "a sign" as to what their purpose is. They spend all their lives trying to find their purpose instead of just deciding and using the power of intent to make things happen. Mahatma Gandhi as a young man saw things he did not like in South Africa and he decided that his purpose in life will be to get equal rights for all. Later on, when he returned to India, his purpose transformed to liberating his mother India from Colonial rule and establish democracy and self rule for the people. These became the very reason for him living and even though his purpose lead him on a very rocky road, his purpose did not change. All this was born in a truly committed decision. His committed decision lead to a definiteness of purpose; something that did not change, despite all the odds being against him. He found a purpose that was much bigger than himself that gave him leverage to achieve the impossible.

With a strong sense of purpose you can achieve virtually anything. Purpose is what gives you the reasons for doing something. In life there is a big difference between what you can do and what you actually do and the results usually come down to your motivation. Motivation is nothing but having a strong sense of purpose; a sense of knowing why you do what you do. When people don't know why they are doing something they will rarely do it and they will rarely stick with it long term. Purpose is the engine of human motivation. Purpose gives you the reasons why and with strong enough reasons "why to" you will find the "how to" - reasons come first and the answers come second as a result of the why.

Purpose therefore gives you power. It gives you the power to persist and take action until you succeed.

When you say that someone did something "on purpose" you are actually saying that he was responsible for doing it and that it is because of him that it happened. When you use your mind, your body and your emotions you have the ability to bring into being virtually anything on purpose. By intending for it to happen you can make it real. With a strong purpose you are able to tap into the unlimited resources that are within you; resources that become available because you feel compelled to make it happen. When it is a must you will find within yourself the resources to make it happen. When what you want is merely a wish, it is only a "should" that might only come together when it is convenient. Musts happen regardless of your circumstances or situation for it is your very purpose. It is your reason for being. Gandhi was able to change the way a whole nation thought and acted upon. With a strong enough purpose nothing can hold you back.

Discovering and living your purpose is all there really is for you to do in this life. It is like the axis of the wheel of your life and it holds everything in your life together. Your purpose gives meaning to everything you do and provides you with an inexhaustible well of resources to truly achieve whatever you set out to achieve or accomplish. The ironic thing however is that when you are on purpose all the "things and stuff' do not matter as the feeding of your purpose is what you truly long for and it needs no external satisfaction other than the experience.

Great minds have a purpose and it is usually a purpose that goes beyond themselves; beyond what they will "get". With their purpose they serve humanity. You can only find that much drive to serve and uplift yourself, but when you turn your attention to a cause much bigger than yourself you can find a purpose that has immense power to propel you to do virtually anything; even that which most people think of as impossible. The human spirit is truly one of love as we will do more for others than we will ever do for ourselves. When you find something that you can serve that goes beyond your personal gains you will discover that life's greatest joys is in giving; in giving the gift that you are.

Holding People Accountable

Does this little story sound familiar?

“This is a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.  Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”

But, how to avoid this? How to create a culture of accountability and hold people accountable?

Actually, it’s SIMPLE:

S = Set Expectations
I = Invite Commitment
M = Measure Progress
P = Provide Feedback
L = Link to Consequences
E = Evaluate Effectiveness

Let’s explore a little further on what these actually mean?

S = Set Expectations

• The success of any organization comes down to one thing: how well it organizes its members to focus on and work toward the same purpose
• The employees need to know what is expected of them before they can be hold accountable for anything
• The more clearly the expectations and goals are set up front, the less time will be wasted later clarifying – or worse, arguing about – what was really expected

I = Invite Commitment

• Just because your employees know what to do doesn’t mean they will do it. After goals and expectations are set, employees need to commit to achieving them
• Employees are more likely to do this when they understand two things: how the goals will benefit them personally, and how the goals will help move the organization forward
• Once this connection is made they are more likely to buy into the goals, and actually welcome you holding them accountable for the results

M = Measure Progress

• Information is needed to hold your employees accountable. Measure their ongoing performance and gauge whether or not they meet the goals and expectations to which they had previously committed
• Goals are only measurable when they are quantified. Measure the results and compare them to the employees’ goals to discover the gaps that require further attention

P = Provide Feedback

• Feedback won’t solve problems by itself, but it will open the door for problem-solving discussions and follow-up actions
• The employees need feedback to do a good job and improve in areas where performance is falling short of expectations. Most of the time, giving objective, behavioral feedback is all it takes. Setting expectations followed by quality feedback is the backbone of holding someone accountable for results

L = Link to Consequences

• Sometimes employees need a little external motivation to live up to their commitments. When they struggle to reach their goals, they can be helped by administering appropriate consequences

E = Evaluate Effectiveness

• Review how the process has been handled
• Put a systematic and consistent method in place and you’ll find that when people are held accountable for the work that must get done, it gets done

For goals to be meaningful and effective in motivating employees, they must be tied to larger organizational ambitions.

Employees who don’t understand the roles they play in company success are more likely to become disengaged. No matter what level the employee is at, he should be able to articulate exactly how his efforts feed into the broader company strategy.

High performance and success are not dependent on one simple factor or as a result of one or two things. The entire context you operate in greatly impacts your results.

How do you hold your team accountable?

Source: Dilbert

2 Parts of 7

“The plane leaves on Monday. It’s only Friday. So why are you already packing?” That was a question my son used to ask me whenever I prepared for my business travel (2 or 3 years ago before I stopped doing that). I’d respond by telling him that I started packing early so that if I remembered something later on, I could always pack it. Being somebody who usually packed his backpack to school while the school bus is honking from the street, he probably thinks that was the most ridiculous idea.

But, then I was amazed last week when he made a startling statement that I remember it even today. I was helping him with his math homework, and we were sitting on the floor with his advanced algebra book sprawled out in front of us. We were working on an odd-numbered problem and the answer was a fraction — 2/7ths. My son exclaimed, “Oh! The weekend syndrome!” I asked, “What?” He said, “You know, as you always say; how 2 parts of 7, defines who we are, the teenagers!”

Let me explain... As humans, we usually have to have something to look forward to in order to get us through the days, and more often than not, that something we look forward to is usually the weekend. We push ourselves through the week to get to the weekend. We push ourselves to the point where we have become 2/7ths people, only really living 2 days out of the 7 in a week.

Sure, blood is moving through our veins and yeah, oxygen is flowing through our lungs in those 5 weekdays as it is on those 2 weekend days, but it is not the same. We are not the same. In those five days, are we really living or are we living on auto-pilot?

Things can be different, though. We can look forward to those 5 weekdays just like we do the weekend, and thereby become 7/7ths people. And thereby become whole. Daily life can be a lot more interesting and meaningful if we take risks, shed our fear of failure, chase our dreams, and spend more time with one another. If we just do that, we will find ourselves becoming more invested in the Here and Now instead of looking at the clock and counting down time.

One way we can move closer to becoming 7/7th people is by taking risks in our daily lives, whether big or small, personal or professional. So take a risk. Say hi to that person in the hallway instead of making brief eye contact then choosing to glance away until you pass each other. We have all done it. In the moment, you are thinking: “Will he say hi?” — “Should I initiate?” — “Will it be awkward if I don’t?” Just say it. Human beings are creatures of emotion, attachment, and attention and you hold the power to make someone’s day. And if worse comes to worst, remember that awkward is nothing but a state of mind.

Take a risk. Next time you are sitting in a meeting and something doesn’t make sense, ask a question. Who cares if people think it’s dumb? Who really cares? Because in a few weeks or even in a few moments, they will forget and you will have learned the material. More importantly, the best way to move ahead is to focus on asking the questions along the way. It sometimes amounts to placing more importance on the question than the answer. Something as simple as asking yourself what you are really looking for is often missed, but it becomes evident how important it is when you realize that once you have a very clear idea about what question is, the answer is often just sitting there waiting for you.

Becoming 7/7ths is not only about taking risks, but also about confronting the natural human fear of failure. The world has spoken and has decided to mark failure as something only associated with the lowest of the low in society, the rejects, and the losers.

But when we see successful people in life, we see what’s close to a finished product. We don’t see the process, we don’t see the countless shots the stud basketball player missed or the numerous soufflés the chef messed up before getting it just right.

Really, when you think about it, failure in life is inevitable. It is going to happen unless of course you live your life so carefully that you very well may have never lived at all. And if that is the case, then you have already failed.

Failure will teach you things that you can learn no place else. You may find that you have a great work ethic, a strong will, an extra gear, and a network of friends who love you. Really, how else will you know yourself or the strength of your friendships until both have been tested by adversity? That is why we cannot fear failure. We must risk failure in order to live. And it is in these moments of risk that the greatest memories are made, that life takes on a greater meaning. If you take a moment to think about your own defining memories, I bet more than a few of them would be about how you conquered your fears or did something daring and courageous together with your best friends. We hold the power to make more of those memories.

We also hold the power to turn our dreams into reality, which is another part of achieving 7/7ths. Some of us may know what we want to do in life, and even those people may find a new inspiration along the way. But, for the many of us still trying to figure out what we want to do, just give it time, and you’ll find your dream or maybe it’ll find you. And when you find that dream, you gotta get after it, protect it, and dare to be idealistic. Just like with failure, though, society has turned us against that word — idealism. But make no mistake about it; we desperately need more idealistic thinkers in the world today. At the heart of every great goal is idealism, and at the heart of every leader, every risk taker, every go-getter, is the ability to change our definition of what idealistic is.

Moreover, your dreams and goals take on a whole new meaning if you have someone to share them with, which brings me to my next point: being 7/7ths is about being together. The purpose of life is to live a fulfilling one and to spend time with loved ones. Because in life, what we are about is being in the moment and making the moments count. And we make the moments count by enjoying one another’s company, by sharing our stories, laughs, goals, aspirations, and memories with one another. In the end, life is about the big and small things. My hope is that we become 7/7th people.

Are you going to take that one small step now?

To many, success seems to come suddenly. When you observe others and what they have achieved you usually don’t appreciate what it has taken for them to get where they are. Ultimately, in failing to do this you also fail to learn what it would take for you to attain the same level of achievement and success.

But, if you take the time to truly think about it, you will find that success is usually only a small step away. Yet despite that it eludes most people. It is always so near and yet so far.

The journey of a thousand miles...
takes small steps to success all along that hike. Together, they add up to hundreds of thousands of small steps. But we might have chosen not to take the first step. We might have stopped at any point along the way. That would have meant that we would not have gotten to our destination.


There are also obstacles along the way. But with each small step they are overcome.


There are frustrations, fears and uncertainties. But with each small step they are crushed.


There is hardship and danger, but with each small step and focus on the desired destination it is conquered. Success is no mystery.


It takes only one small step to succeed.


So, have you taken that one step today?

We are what we repeatedly do

At the last week’s Time Strategies webinar, I made a recommendation to define your values, purpose, and goals in order to achieve what you need to accomplish in the time that you have in a given day.

There are relationship, career, personal interest, family and social demands… all screaming for attention in our lives. Each of us has the same amount of time available to us as we begin a new day. Twenty four hours to use or abuse as we see fit. There never seems to be enough.

Sometimes we accomplish a great deal, and time just seems to fly by when we notice the lateness of the hour. When we work at challenging and stimulating projects directly related to our goals, our achievement level skyrockets and time flies.

On other days, everything seems to be going in slow motion. When we are bored or doing something we don’t like, time drags and our productivity and our level of accomplishment drops. When we feel under the gun or out of control, time seems to go too fast. We feel out of control, stressed, unable to get done what we need to accomplish in the time allotted, and are continually behind schedule.

The quantity of time doesn’t really change. Only our perception changes and our perception is our reality. Since we cannot increase or manufacture more time, we must get more out of the time we have.

If most of us know how to manage our time and if we realize the value of becoming more effective at managing our time, why don’t we do a better job of it? We all know what we should do. Why don’t we just do it? For most of us, what is easy to say is more difficult to do. So what’s the solution? We must first look at the key factors that influence our behavior.

The first step in changing any habit is to identify the habit you want to change. Therefore, in order to change your time management habits, you must evaluate your present use of time by analyzing your attitudes and behavior in relation to outcomes. An accurate time analysis will help you to pinpoint who and what occupies your time. Look for time wasters and peak performance periods. Pinpoint precise behaviors that are incompatible with your goals.

Define the new habit that you wish to develop and be as specific as possible. Negative habits in our lives are destructive. Positive habits are uplifting and they help us achieve our goals. In order to build better habits, we must define precise behaviors for change and perform them at specific times. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.”

You will get more out of your time when you learn how to get more out of your life. After you determine what you want, what you value, what you believe, and where your priorities lie, determining how to spend a given day or hour becomes easy. In order to get more out of your time, know what you want and what you want to get out of it. That seems very simple and most people overlook the real purpose of their lives. They fail to define their values, purpose, and goals. They become so immersed in their daily activities that they fail to think about what they really like to do.

That brings us back to the webinar’s recommendation as to why it is so critical to define your values, purpose, and goals in order to achieve what you need to accomplish in the time that you have in a given day.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this...

In Leadership, Identifying Dreams That Lead To Great Results

History teaches that when people needed to do great things, a leader first had to gather them together and speak from the heart. This heartfelt speech was often connected to defining and reinforcing a dream shared by both the leader and the people.

Drill down through goals and aims and aspirations and ambitions of the people you lead, and you'll hit the bedrock of human motivation, the dream.

For instance, Martin Luther King did not say, "I have a goal." Or "I have an aim." The power of that speech was in the "I have a dream".

A dream embraces our most cherished longings. It embodies our very identity. We often won't feel fulfilled as human beings until we realize our dreams.

If leaders are not tapping into the power of people's dreams, if leaders are simply setting goals (as important as goals are), they miss the best of opportunities to help those people take ardent action to achieve great results.

But what do people dream? How can we discover their dreams? After all, people usually won't tell you what they dream until they trust you. They won't trust you until they feel that you can help them attain their dreams. Knowing and sharing their dream can cement a deep, emotional bond between you.

Here are three things you can do to get at what people dream:

1. Be helpful. 
2. Be hopeful. 
3. Be scarce.

Be helpful. Follow the Leadership Imperative: I will lead people in such a way that they not only achieve the results we need but they also become better as people and as leaders.

The relationships cultivated by the Imperative lend themselves to dream sharing and dream motivation.

Be hopeful: "Hope," said Aristotle "is a waking dream". Nobody wants to be associated with a leader who thinks the job can't get done.

In the face of dire circumstances, there is usually hope to find and communicate.

A great leader I knew who consistently had people get more results faster, continually, had a refrain: "You may think you can't meet the goals I set for you. But I believe in you and I believe you can and I'll support you in every way possible so you can."

That hopeful refrain had the power of a dream; and in the relationships he established, he was able to identify and share in their dreams.

Be scarce: Cultivate the art of being scarce. In other words, give them space to get results.

Use this art the way a homeopathy doctor prepares medicine by diluting drugs to produce symptoms in a healthy person similar to those of the full-blown disease.

The full-blown disease in this case is total scarcity -- meaning the leader is never around. Not being there for the people can be a leadership pathology. After all, in the historical example, a leader had to gather people together -- leader had to be with the people.

Many leaders are absent without leave. One secretary described her seldom seen CEO as follows: "He's like Elvis -- There are rumors of sightings of him. The only time we know he's around is when we smell his pipe smoke."

But being with the people can be a fault, if the people resent it. They may think you're trying to micro-manage them or are snooping around trying to get the goods on them.

The art of being scarce is predicated on your giving them the space to do well. The coach of a great Arkansas basketball team said, "I don't want to hamper them by coaching them." Likewise, don't hamper the people you lead by leading them in a domineering way.

People's dreams are pathways to their inner heart and their most ardent desires. However, most leaders don't know how to go down those paths. Be helpful, be hopeful, be scarce will help you walk your talk, letting people get great results though the gift of their dreams.

What to Do When my Dreams are Not Coming True?

This will be my last article for this month as I mentioned in my previous posting, I will be starting a series of articles on Self-awareness beginning on October 1st.

What to Do When my Dreams are Not Coming True?

We have all experienced this at one time or another. You sit each morning and evening, visualizing your dreams and goals. You really start feeling it in your life. Every cell in your body seems to be vibrating in alignment with your desires. But when all is said and done, that pile of money is not sitting in your lap. "Well," you say, "I guess this doesn't really work—at least, not for me."

So what happened? Does ‘Success’ only work for some people some of the time? Or does it only work for small things—like finding a parking space—but not for manifesting a new car? The answer is that the dreams come true, all of the time, but—and this is key!—we must allow it to operate in our lives.

For example, if I want to attract more people buying my new book, but I am constantly talking about how slow it's going, I am not in vibrational alignment with my desires.

If I want to attract more wealth but spend my days lamenting about how broke I am, it is unlikely to happen. Be grateful for whatever financial abundance you have. That energy of gratitude will put you in a vibration to attract more of the same—namely, more wealth. "To he who has, more is given."

It's like a situation, years ago, with a coaching client. She wanted to conduct a seminar. She was lamenting to me one day how she "only had three people signed up." I pointed out that she had three people and that she should be thankful that they showed enough faith in her work to invest their time and money, and that she should focus on that and be grateful for it.

Within a few days, she had several more people and by the day of the event, she had attracted the ideal number of people to fill her seminar. As I've said before: "If you are praying for rain, carry an umbrella."

Another way we sometimes undo our desires is by speaking and acting in ways that are inconsistent with what we want. For example, people who are working on attracting more financial wealth, but walking around saying things like "Oh I'd never spend that much for a suit."

This is one of the reasons why I advise people who want more wealth to get into the energy of luxury. Go visit a four-star hotel or restaurant—even if you just buy a cup of coffee, soda, beer, or a glass of wine—and get into the feeling of that as your new lifestyle. Start getting comfortable in those surroundings.

If you want finer clothes, walk around the better stores and feel that energy of being around quality merchandise.

If you want to attract a relationship, get off your couch and go where there are people. And if you do meet someone who is not quite right, don't use that as an excuse to quit. Acknowledge that, even though this was not your ideal person, you are out meeting people and you're in an environment to meet your dream mate. These things happen in God's time, not ours; however, it's important to never give up. Don't quit before the miracle happens.

The more you focus on the evidence of what you want showing up in your life—while being grateful for what you already have—the more you're in vibrational alignment with your desire and the more likely it will grow.

__________________________________

Surya M Ganduri, PhD. PMP. is the founder and president of eMBC, Inc., an international firm specializing in strategic and executive leadership development processes that Help People Succeed in an Evolving World. His company is dedicated to helping organizations and individuals manage strategic change, innovation, cultural transition, and goal achievement. Surya has over 27 years of business experience in management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, process improvements, organizational development, personal development and youth leadership. Contact Surya at s6ganduri@eMBCinc.com. For more information, visit www.eMBCinc.com or contact eMBC, Inc., directly at (630) 445-1321.