The Chanakya Psyche : Hip-Hop for the soul

A whirlwind of thoughts engulfed Natalie. Her recent breakup with her boyfriend of two years, the looming vision of layoffs at her workplace, a tiff with her family; there was nothing she could find solace in. It almost felt like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She needed to calm her nerves and fast!

She gulped down a small vodka to take the edginess off her mood. J-lounge had been her favourite haunt for quite some time. She almost had a mini fan-following there. Always smiles, always courteous, she was the kind of person who could make people feel warm inside merely by smiling at them. She understood this aspect of non-verbal communication just too well. Notwithstanding her current state of mind, she carried herself with a calm and confident gait onto the dance floor.

The music rippled across the enclosed room. She gave herself up to the beats, swaying to the tune of the ascending tones. Meanwhile, a couple directly across her seemed to be having a heated conversation. The guy seemed in no mood to dance and his girl tried her best nonetheless to coax him onto the dance floor. She finally gave up. Several people round Natalie had given her a wide berth and seemed transfixed to her rhythmic moves. The girl, who had just failed to get her guy onto the floor, joined Natalie and both reverberated to the beats together. They were soon joined by another gang of girls and took the spotlight on the tiny floor. The DJ played his best mixes, the crowd cheering everytime Natalie showcased a complicated Hip-Hop move. Natalie knew she had gotten way past her previous nervous self.

Perfume a scorpion?

Not making sense? Well, that's what analogies are made of. In essence, it relates to handling fear and my ramblings particularly relate to successfully racing the last lap.

It may be so hard that it makes your knees buckle with fear. The idea that you have nourished for so long requires one last burst of speed to take off. And you feel that you are beat, after all those pain-staking efforts. Sounds familiar?

You may submit to yourself and shed a few tears in private but that won't lessen the gravity of the final lap. Instead, embrace your fear as positive energy. Remove the fear-story and instead focus on the fear-feeling itself. Do you see yourself feeling heady or gasping a little. Whatever is the physical manifestation of fear that you experience, it's most definitely energy in its purest form. So don't perfume the scorpion, instead focus on the inherent energy. And turn it outward. It wouldn't seem much difficult to channelize it effectively.

The bumpy rise

There are hiccups in almost every endeavor. What matters is how you manage those slight bumps in your growth path. Feeling distraught comes naturally. But your future growth is determined by how efficiently you manage your own negative emotions when you fall down unexpectedly.

Your growth path may have some severe bumps. Not to worry, even those can be managed constructively. You MUST have a confidant or two whom you can bare your soul to. People who can hold your back, always. Their candid feedback will help you weed out futile knee-jerk reactions and incorporate decisive actions into your comeback plan.

It's a wonder how big a role your network can play during such delicate phases. Imagine what a houseful of chocolates can do to a economically deprived child. You get my drift.

It's actually that simple. A small networking attempt can give you your hope and focus back at a time when you desperately need to be on track. Contrary to popular expectations, the bumps can be the best parts of your growth chart.

Unseen to Reality - Part 2

Last time round I threw some random tips for getting started on your big plan. If you have taken your first baby steps already, you would understand how crucial a role your attitude plays in determining your success.

When you start out on a new initiative, there are a lot of factors that act as stirrups. You have your own drive, the challenge and exultation of doing something new, myriad encouraging voices and a few despicable naysayers who further fuel your ambition. But as you take your next steps, expectations go up as you build trust and credibility. This itself can become a huge obstacle if you are unable to manage the excessive trust. People all around you start expecting you to always perform at your best and the slightest deviation has the potential to kill your reputation. Now, how do you stay at the precipice without so much as batting an eyelid and continue to plot your onward climb?

Keep a cool head. Easier said than done. You would need a daily dose of stress-busters to keep your mind in shape. It's possible to hang on to your superstardom if you take care of your mind. Indulge it, stimulate it by interacting with intellectually curious people. There must be some sort of an activity that breaks your daily routine, gives you a chance to explore your potentialities without being judged. The derived joy can only further fuel your passion in all your other endeavors. As J.K. Rowling would say, always have a Patronus charm handy.

What kills creativity?

The most serious affliction of modern times - Internal drama.

How many times do we catch ourselves thinking that life couldn't get any worse. Most of our problems are compounded not by the magnitude of the problems themselves but our negative attitude towards solving them. There is always an answer. If not, there has to be a workaround.

Look within. If you still dont get it, change the face you see in the mirror. Change nurtures creativity. Don't be afraid to experiment. Don't let failure get to you. Persistence and tenacity are the only things that count if you wanna have the last laugh.

Unseen to Reality - Part 1

Can you translate the unseen into reality? Well yeah. Dreamers are made of such stuff. But it takes a lot more than just wishful thinking to realize your true dreams. Unseen - what do you make of this one word? Can you see beyond the obvious? That's one trait that comes naturally to good physicists. The capacity to imagine and pen their thoughts into concrete formulas. No reason why that can't be applied to daily life.

Most of us are stricken by poverty thinking. I wouldn't label it as 'Thinking Small' but as a dearth of courage to take a giant step into the unknown without knowing what's in it for you. So we bargain for the next increment in salary, we keep our options open when we are looking for a life partner because we believe we can't get the best. It is right in a way because we 'believe' we can't get there. It makes all the difference in the world.

So, what if one fine day you decide to give it a shot. Take the first tentative step, falter, take two more steps, realize you are no good because you don't have the resources and cut it out. Each step where you fail is an opportunity to know where all you went wrong and amend those flaws before you take the next step. When it comes to resources, if they are aplenty they'll make you complacent and if they are scarce they make you doubtful. It's all a question of perspective though. The best wizards do the most with the least resources. Infact, some people force themselves out of their comfort zone by creating an illusion of lack of resources. They are the ones you read about in business magazines, they are the magicians who create value and they are the ones who enjoy each single moment to the fullest knowing that they have the power to make things happen. Were they lucky or were they just the most brilliant chaps on the face of this planet? Nah, they were just dreamers who used a good combo of clarity, vision and perseverance to achieve what they wanted. They were just too stubborn to let go of their goal and settle for something less. They were the ones who thrived on challenges and failures.

First things first, you can't get ahead without getting some external help. How do you get that much required dosage of the right connections, credibility and the push. Trick question but a one word answer - Networking! Networking doesn't mean flaunting your achievements or sucking up to someone else to gain their patronage. It's about helping other people out. It's about showcasing the real you, no inhibitions, no dilution but a little bit of discretion.

Enough to think about? Will keep this thread going in my next post. So long...

Personal success plan

This is one of those abstract recursive formulas that will always hold you in good stead, in good times or bad. Even if you choose to follow just one single path out of the umpteen road-maps laid out here, the changes in your life will be imminent. You will be shocked at how much more you can be in the shortest time possible. The icing on the cake, each single block above is a huge stress-buster. Stress, so to say, will be one of those longtime foes who withered away on your road to progress. Let me know if you find something else that makes this diagram more worthwhile. All the best!