Sunday, October 21, 2007

Quote of the day

"Everything can be taken from a man but ...the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

-Viktor Frankl

Friday, October 12, 2007

Power of Teams (Quote)

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world . . . Indeed it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead

Love + Vocation = Success

"And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy."
-Khalil Gibran

The only way you can be successful is by finding a vocation you love and are passionate about. Otherwise it will be very difficult for you achieve high levels of success. If you do not know what your true calling is, it may be beneficial to stop everything you're doing and lock yourself in a room until you find out. Spending a week locked in your room is nothing compared to wasting years engaging in meaningless activities.

Integrity and Business Success

There is strong correlation in the level of integrity one has and their net worth. An excellent example is Warren Buffet. He is one of the only Billionaires to make his billions investing in stocks through not only sound business fundamentals (value investing) but through strong moral judgements of character. Money is invested in corporations that are not only profitable but whose management possess high levels of integrity and respect for both their employees and shareholders.

Warren puts it very nicely in the following quote:

“You can't make a good deal with a bad person”
-Warren Buffet

Warren Buffet is one of many examples that prove morality makes good business sense. The books by Thomas Stanley that document his research of Millionaires are filled with numerous examples. I am by no means saying that you should be “good” so that you can get money but that money is actually a bi-product of being good and having a high level of integrity.

We at cameesa (our new venture) possess a reverence for our customers, investors and anyone our company touches and hold them in the highest regard. Our product’s ultimate goal is to create opportunities for others that were not present before by leveraging community based business models. We believe in sustainable, team-oriented business models where everyone in the community benefits and that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We also believe that the only way to conduct business in today’s competitive landscape is with honesty and integrity. It is extremely hard for us to believe it can be conducted in any other fashion.

If any of the aforementioned beliefs are corrupted, the business should cease operations immediately regardless of growth or profitability because it won’t survive the test of time.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Relationship between Courage and Confidence

I was recently listening to "On Being A Man" by David DeAngelo and heard something very interesting. He mentioned that a person cannot gain confidence and competence, if they don't encounter courage in their quest.

This makes perfect sense. When we do something for the very first time in our life, we have no experience, thus low, or no, confidence in it. Think of the first time you got onto your bicycle, you were not confidet that you could ride a bike. Thus, if it wasn't for courage, you would have never climbed up onto that seat. Courage put you in the face of danger, learning, pain, and ultimately experience in bicycle riding. Then, as your experience grew, so did your confidence, and you were a bicycle-riding maniac.

What are some other situations where you had used your courage? Did they improve your confidence? Where do you stand with these types of situations today? One recent experience in my life was the writing of this blog. I had zero experience, and low confidence in writing a Self-Development blog. But, as I gained couraged and put myself out there, I began to open up to people. Today, I am writing regular posts of how I am improving and what I am learning on a daily basis.

So, if you're scared or not confident in something, you must find courage first. Then, just do it.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Stop Being Average

Just a quick point : people go through their mundane/boring lives with no direction and no improvement. What did you learn today? Who did you meet today? Stop being average.
In which part is your competitor lacking? Take that and execute on it like it's nobody's business. What does your competitor not know? Learn that and use it to your advantage.
Stop being like every one else. Model someone/something that is very successful, and even excel on their goals. Period.
Stop sucking, and start kicking ass. (This includes me at this moment)