Solid steps and advice on how to get your circle of friends, family and peers in order and decide on who is lifting you up and who is holding you down. It’s okay to cut people out.
How do you define yourself?
In this article I just read, I realized again the power of opening up and letting people into your life. Great accomplishments happen every day but very few happen through the efforts of a single person. If you get out of your head, be present and engage with those around you, you can emerge as a strong leader or simply free yourself in any endeavor you are involved with.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141021051158-2022319-stop-defining-yourself-as-a-jerk
Manage Perception or Suffer Career Death
Move up the corporate ladder the way you are meant to.
Manage Perception or Suffer Career Death.
Manage Perception or Suffer Career Death
After reading a funny article about Samsung losing a court judgement and paying Apple $1 Billion in nickels, delivered to Apple headquarters using 30 giant trucks, I thought about how quickly the perception of how Apple has positioned themselves in terms of marketing would quickly be altered.
Apple being perceived as a “cool” and trend-setting company would in turn be looked at by many as a giant behemoth bully of a company “nickel and dime-ing” other competitive companies through lawsuits at every turn. Samsung would certainly also gain some major cool points and change their perception in the market as well for being so bold, taking on the giant, and making it difficult for law-suit wielding companies to collect on their winnings. Of course we all know, this story is bogus and was confirmed as false by Snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/samsung.asp).
Regardless of the veracity of the story, it got me thinking about perception and how important of a role it plays in one’s workplace, as it does in the eyes of the global marketplace for large companies like Apply and Samsung.
Most people do not understand how important perception is in the workplace and even for those who do, I find that a majority do not know how their perception affects them in a company, or how to leverage its power to achieve goals, such as moving into management. Whether you are a hard worker, a smart worker or just keep your head down and do the bare minimum, you as a whole (your actions, image and everything about you) is being judged. That’s right. Believe it or not, humans judge other humans, especially in the corporate environment.
In the workplace, how you are judged by others (their perception of you) has a direct affect on your ability to move up in the corporate ladder. If you think that you have been in the company a long time, and therefore you deserve a promotion, you may be in for a surprise. Did you graduate from college and therefore you know you should be made into a high-earning manager within the next five to ten years of your career? Time to wake up. If you think that you are the best in your specific production environment, and therefore you’re next in line to be promoted, sometimes this won’t be enough. If you have all the right connections and feel that you can leverage them into moving you ahead of the pack, that may also not be enough if your not perceived as a caring leader, an educated motivator and someone who can make strong decisions and manage to get the buy-in of your peers or management. Don’t get frustrated by this simple truth. Instead learn, adapt, and evolve your thinking.
Manage your self-perception first (how you see yourself should be a positive and empowering thing), and then the perception others have of you. This is a gradual process and cannot be strong-armed or fit into some timeline you have set in your mind. In order to manage perception, you first have to analyze, and most importantly, accept the perception that others have of you in a constructive way. Think of it as an opportunity to see yourself from a brand new perspective (kind of watching yourself on TV).
Question: Who are you from your colleagues’ eyes? How about your boss’s, your family’s, and your friends’ perspective?
Wait! Did you just answer those questions all on your own?? I hope not.
You can’t simply know other’s perceptions of you by thinking about it. You have to step out of the shell of your own ego and be willing to put yourself out there. As you go forth, know that you may hear and learn things that you do not want to hear about yourself, as well as things you know or believe is not true.
The best way to go about figuring out what others think is to be honest, find someone in each circle that is approachable, ask those people for private one-on-one meetings, explain what you are attempting to find out and ask them to be brutally honest and hold nothing back. Then keep an open mind, do not argue or rebut their statements. Also, do not judge others for giving you honest and enlightening opinions that you asked for. Write down notes about everything you learn from each meeting. After conferring with several people from the various circle in your corporate and personal life, read those notes with a clear mind, when you are alone, and in a quiet place. Reflect of each interview and picture yourself the way others see you. Write down how each external perception makes you feel and see which ones you must change right away and which ones require more long term changes from you. Mainly focus on the perceptions that do not characterize what makes up a leader in your company or environment. These are the specific areas you will need to hone in on, in order to transform the image others have of you into the image you need them to have of you to support your growth into a manager, a supervisor, a leader, etc.
Managing perceptions requires the desire to do so along with continuous attention, care and effort. A willing to change core parts of who you are is also a critical element. That will not mean that you will 
lose the wonderful you that you are on the inside. Just as true martial artists spend a lifetime perfecting only a few effective techniques to become a master, you must must also see the management of perceptions as as a corporate science and philosophy to master. Once you have started to drive the shift in yourself, the perception others have of you will start to change in the direction you want them to. You will begin a phase of transformation that will allow your dreams and goals of becoming a leader to turn into a reality in your career. Take the next step this week and never look back.
You are Dull and I Know Why
I love websites like Ted.com and today I just learned about http://ed.ted.com/. It’s an excellent and cool learning platform for people of all ages. There are so many topics from many of the leading minds in our world.
What about you?? Do you have a favorite method you can easily say that you love and learn from? If not, maybe you are becoming duller than you were in your past. Others around you notice but you do not, and most likely it’s a gradual change. Your friends may never say something to you out of courtesy.
But I will tell you what’s up! And that you are not alone. This is happening; to more people than you can imagine. 
I meet a lot of people in my profession, through my travels and through all the networking I do. It astounds me how many people who, as adults, simply stop learning new skills and are amazingly ignorant of this habit growing into their lives. They are simply unaware, and it’s their minds that will continue to suffer over time… along with those around them.
Personally, I live by the Japanese term Kaizen. It represents a philosophy of making small improvements to one’s life, for the entirety of one’s life. I picked up the term a long time ago when training in Okinawan Karate. One of the many impacts of living by the Kaizen philosophy is that I learn new skills and actionable information every day that I am alive. I am focused on this way of thinking and the consistent practice, among other things, has led to an enriched and fulfilling life. This is true for me and for those around me who become motivated by my mindset and the successful results I drive in their lives, as well as mine.
I read, write, study, research, plan, calculate, analyze, discuss, debate, ponder, philosophize, meditate, and execute. All these actions happen daily and honestly, without a lot of effort. I am known as a motivated, energetic, social and learned person, and I find that when I meet someone who I can’t hold engaging conversations with for more than a couple of minutes, it usually boils down to lack of intellect on their part or their ability to contribute effectively into a conversation. This holds true more than poor personality or other factors one may have. Not to say that I am always someone that every person should or does want to communicate with however I am writing from my personal experience and from information I have gathered across thousands of conversations with people from all walks of life.
As adults, our brains are degrading and unless fed and challenged in the many ways I listed above, our ability to think and grow as intuitive, capable individuals shrinks rapidly. Let’s start with this…. if you don’t read, you won’t be a good writer. And not having good writing skills is a direct indicator of one’s ability to communicate. Communication is an expression of the mind and poor communication indicates there is a disconnect between what is happening in that powerful brain of yours, and your mind’s ability to translate your thoughts into words, verbal or written.
If this is true, you have allowed yourself to become a DULL PERSON!
And now it’s time to grow out of the dullness. Here’s how: Learn new things. That’s it. There is no secret.
Learning, regardless of which medium you use, will jump start the information-intake processes in your brain. If you focus on learning just a couple of new things that you knew nothing about every week, before you know it your brain will start absorbing material and craving more. You can use this jump start in the same way you may jump start your car. At first you are just standing still and absorbing power from another source. However very soon, you can take the little power you have cultivated and start moving forward, generating more and more power for yourself as you go. Your brain will begin to gain insight and new information from many new sources that are already around you. And soon enough you will begin the important habit of reading. It may start with some awesome blog posts, like this one, or even articles in a magazine. But if you keep at, keep the Kaizen philosophy applied to learning new skills, then your mind will eventually lead you into a few books. Then your reading skills and reading speed will improve and so will your ability to retain information and increase intellect. And the domino effect will continue perpetually onward, bringing you out of dullness into a bright world in which you have new knowledge, opinions and fresh ideas; and you will be able to once again effectively communicate what is in your mind to others.
“Being dead is better than being dull, being dead is better than not being aware.” ― Ray Bradbury
Now that you read this post, first things first. Follow my blog of course! Then visit a website like www.ted.com, watch a educational or inspiring video, pick up an interesting magazine or book. and begin your personal mental renaissance. If you need other ideas or guidance on how to succeed, I am always available to discuss.
Email me at: ron@ronghoshal.com or contact me on LinkedIn using the button to the right of this post.
There is No Such Thing as Work/Life Balance
“Work/Life Balance”
Why do I hear about this concept every week? Why do people place so much emphasis on this phrase, allowing it to influence so many important decisions? 
Major organizations related to health and wellness, including WebMD and MayoClinic, promote articles about this all over their websites. Almost every person who is applying for any job thinks about this concept and for most, it plays as important of a factor in their decision to take a job as commuting distance, salary and health benefits. While I certainly understand what the phrase means I do not understand the need to create this distinct separation between “work” and “life.”
If you really think about the implications of buying into this concept, you can see that it creates an immediate and negative perception of work within your mind. After all, in this context, doesn’t life represent what you enjoy doing outside of work, such as spending time with family, friends, your hobbies, along with other things you enjoy? So then your brain subconsciously associates your work to something that takes you away from the activities and people you enjoy. Where as this is essentially true, why allow this type of influence to reign silently over yourself and your mind? All that happens is that you develop and validate an inner dialogue that causes you to associate a consistent and every building, negative connotation to work.
Sure most people understand that one must go to work even if it takes you away from your “life,” and they certainly don’t stop going to work because of this inner dialogue. However, how many people do you know who are happy about waking up and going to work daily? How many people do you know who complain about their job on a regular basis or see it as a something they are forced into doing? US News’ online Career & Money section posted at article stating that , “the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than 2 million Americans each month are flying the coop—leaving their positions—despite the high unemployment rate. And the number is continuing to increase.” Their article was about how to be happy at work and in it, the author, Robin Madell, writes, “Avoid the negative. There’s nothing more demoralizing than negative talk at the office.” What about negative self-talk and the influence it has on your perception of reality? That is far more dangerous than the negative colleagues you may face at work because the thoughts in your mind stay with you all day and continue to process while you are sleeping, day in and day out. In a WebMD article reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD, it states, “Self-talk isn’t just mindless chatter. It has a way of creating its own reality.” With this in mind, one can agree that reducing subconscious, negative connotations in one’s mind is a necessity, and will help people gain greater happiness and fulfillment in their lives.
Why not take a step toward appreciating your work by eliminating a concept that continuously programs your mind into hating your job by segregating your job from anything you associate to joy in your life. The truth is that your job is a part of your life. Whether you like it or not, you end up going there to earn a living and to support the ability for you to spend time with the family, friends and hobbies you enjoy. So why not consider this simple fact: There is no work/life balance. There is only life. Your life. Enjoy all parts of it including your job. Start by eliminating your focus on the phrase “work/life balance” because truthfully, you will never attain it. You cannot balance life against itself. It is just a singular thing and all of it can be enjoyable if you can stop seeking the impossible, negative and never-achievable concept of having a work/life balance.
Now, live every day as a whole day and feel the difference it will make across all areas of your life.
Pic Source: http://www.dadatwork.com
Business and the Individual 