If the answer is “YES”, take a step back and see what you understand about the role of parents and teachers in life….

Before getting started let’s acknowledge that we are, where we and what we are because of our parents and teachers. Our parents and teachers lay the foundation for our lives. Without foundations, no building can stand therefore always have the greatest of gratitude and respect for parents and teachers. The one who does not regard parents and teachers can never be successful and happy in life.

Trust you all understand that nothing comes for free in life, if not no better time to realize than now. Everything you are getting free in life is not free but because of your parents efforts. Your parents work hard and make sacrifices to send you to school for education.

Sun gives you light during day time and moon, lights and candles can give you light during nights but “knowledge” alone has the power in this world to give us light for life, be it day or night. Without education and knowledge our lives would be filled with darkness even in the brightest of sun and greatest of lighting. Therefore, always remember the sacrifices of your parents and teachers if you want to be successful in life. If you are convinced with the above and looking forward to enjoy your schooling and life like a sport you love the most, take the journey ahead….

Take a look at the picture below for a couple of minutes and see what you can make of it?

Success and leadership is a package not just a few traits.

Foundation of success and leadership - Be yourself (Right motives)

Question: What in your view is the most fascinating aspect of this world? World has produced so many leaders and successful people but not a single duplicate. Hence never ever try to be like somebody. Do not try to ape or copy somebody. Always, be yourself. Every person is unique and this very uniqueness & variety is the essence of this creation.

*Always, learn from every person, thing, incident and experience but be your-self. Being self and conducting with right motives forms the core of great success and leadership. As long as all your actions are guided with right motives, you will be on the path of ascent and growth. The moment you deviate, you get on the path of descent /degradation. You may still become famous while you deviate but you will be known for wrong reasons e.g. Hitler. It is better not to become famous for wrong reasons than to become one. It’s ok not to guide people than misguiding and setting a wrong precedent. *Remember, the choices you make, makes your life (good or bad).

This hand guide is an attempt to make you think & reflect on your “Self”. It’s important to know where you are, to be able to get to where you want to. From known you can reach the unknown, never the other way round.

Carve it in your mind & heart: The path of conscious & continuous learning combined by actions guided with right motives is the only way for growth. Remember, all your actions must be guided with good intentions.

Let’s now talk about some of the other elements of success and leadership. I will use success & leadership as synonyms during the course of this hand guide. There are many elements to success and leadership and the % of these elements varies from person to person, leader to leader.

1. Self-Belief - Unless you believe in yourself, nobody else will believe you. Self-belief is the quintessence of all successful people. Leaders and successful people never doubt their abilities no matter what situation they pass through. Look at any successful person you will see this element in an overwhelming percentage. Not having the skill or competency to deliver something is different from doubting one’s potential. Any skill andsubject can be learned by training and practice. Doubting one’s potential and thinking I may not be able to do something is two different things because of lack of knowledge and experience.

Question: Did you ever face a situation where you doubted your potential and abilities? If yes, how often do you get into situations where you start doubting your potential? What do you do in such situations of self-doubt?

Carve it in your mind & heart: If you want to be successful, never ever doubt you’re potential. Remember, “Every human being is blessed with infinite potential; it’s a matter of realizing and believing in that”.

2. Creativity -

The ability to think different is a critical element to be successful in life. All successful people and leaders’ think different and act on what they believe, even if it’s a 360 degrees opposite view to a vast majority of people around them.

Life is all about what we think and what we believe. What we think & how we think determines what we believe. Creativity in simple words is the ability to think differently. Let’s see if creativity / thinking different works!!

Question: How many of you think you can prove 1=10? (*By not bringing math into this; using only creativity) 1=100? 1=Infinity using creativity?

Answers / Audience poll: Normally 10- 20% people in any audience feel they can prove 1=10, less than 5% feel they can prove 1=100, less than 1% feel they can prove finite = infinite

Let’s take the example of a fruit seed (Apple / Orange / Grape). Sow the seed & cultivate it. After 6-12 months the apple seed will grow into a tiny little plant. Continue to cultivate the plant and that same plant potentially can grow into a tree in 3-5 years. Take good care of the tree; give it all nourishment, water, resources it needs to grow.

1st year the apple tree can give you 10 apples (everybody must have seen a plant with 10 fruits), which is 1=10;

2nd / 3rd year the same apple tree can give you 100 apples which is 1=100;

*That is the potential of a tiny seed which is less than 1/100th of human beings. Think optimal, think independent and creative. Always, think objectively with right motives to be on the path of success. "Creativity is nothing but thinking different".

Carve it in your mind & heart: Resources are limited, creativity is unlimited - Prithwis Mukherjee

Question time again:

How many of you think you have potential of 10 people?

How many of you think you have potential of 100 people?

How many of you think you have infinite potential?

Normally less than 15% people of the audience in the sessions feel they have potential equal to 10 people, less than 5% feel they have potential equal to 100 people, less than 1% feel they have infinite potential.

Want to know about your true potential...???

Want to learn how to think different and make it work wonders for you...???

Read the complete leading self hand guide for this and much more.....

3. Mental virus - What is mental virus and why do you need antivirus for your mind?

Any negative thought entering your mind is a virus and can potentially destroy your life for good. A bad thought is like a seed which can grow into a tree and before you even start realizing you will be in the middle of eating the bad fruits which gets into your blood and system. You got to be ever alert with your thoughts. Unlike computers, you cannot buy an antivirus for your mind. We all need to develop our own antivirus which is strong and ever alert 24/7. The virus could come from any quarters i.e. people known and unknown, TV, posters, news, commercials, voice from inside, outside for various known and unknown reasons. It’s not from where it comes but how you deal with it!

Examples of viruses are>>Confusion, Indecision, Laziness, Inaction, Procrastination, Indiscipline, Wrong motives, Temptations, Shortcuts, Greed, Anger, Impatience, Lack of concentration & focus etc.

Your mind is your greatest asset and only you can guard it. If you don’t protect,

it will become your greatest liability.

*Exceptions are ok once a while but they should not become a norm. You must always be alert. As soon as such thoughts come to your mind, kick it or block it vigilantly. They keep coming at you stronger and you got to keep blocking and kicking harder. There are no two things in life, either you control virus or let virus control you. It’s a continuous tussle in your head and you got to play football with those negative thoughts. If you miss one of those balls it will be a self-goal for you. Even one thought penetrating your antivirus will cause harm to you. It’s like one bad fish which can spoil the entire lake. *Unless you develop a robust and strong antivirus the chances of you staying success are slim. Your mind is your greatest asset and only you can guard it. If you don’t protect, it will become your greatest liability.

Thoughts which have the seeds of potential virus>>Thoughts of unhappiness, sorrow, fear, disbelief, frustration, lack of confidence, lack of self-belief, lack of self-esteem, lack of direction and purpose, not now, not today, maybe tomorrow, have a lot of time, it’s ok to break it once, not in the mood, let me sleep, exercise is no priority, I’m in good health; it’s ok to eat & drink junk, studies is no big deal for a few days etc. contain inherent seeds of virus and act as decelerating agents so be mindful of these all the time.

*There are no two drivers in life; either you drive virus out or let virus drive you.

Antivirus for the mind: At a given time mind can hold only one thought; that is how the mind works. Just say to yourself “no virus please” when such thoughts happen to you or alternatively replace a virus thought with a good thought, a positive thought. You got understand and watch how the mind works and play the sport by the rules. When people throw demotivating comments at you; your antivirus must be alert to detect and block them right there at the entrance. Just make it habit to not accept unnecessary and junk gifts from people with a smile. Remember, getting angry and losing your balance is also virus (negative) hence a “No thank you” must be handy in your mind to such thoughts. Replacing negative with positive thought(s) is the simple remedy if you fail to detect some virus but a little hard to implement in the beginning. It’s more or less same like learning to ride a bicycle. Initial few times it seems so tough to ride the bicycle but eventually with practice you learn. It’s the same with blocking and replacing virus as well. Play it as your favorite sport because that is the only way you can play it all your life.

*Remember, it’s either you or virus which is in control of your life. Without antivirus protection, your life will get corrupt and lose direction and purpose.

Building antivirus for mind is like a marathon run or a 24/7 football match, play it like your favorite sport and enjoy; health, happiness and success will follow.

4. Guru or Teachers - Guru is a Sanskrit word and is formed by the syllables gu and ru. Gu indicates darkness, and ru indicates destruction, guru means "dispeller of darkness". Without guru's, our lives will be filled with darkness even in the brightest of sun. Always, have the greatest of gratitude and respect for parents and teachers.

Creator cannot teach everyone, everything hence he created teachers.

5. Purpose and direction in life - Find a purpose and direction for your life. It is fine to take extra time to make this decision but be clear in your mind about the purpose and direction you want to head for the rest of your life. It will be one of the biggest and best decisions you would ever take in your life. Know what you want in life and where you want to see yourself. Knowing what your interests and priorities are and what you love to do in life is fundamental to success.

Knowing ones interests, likes and priorities early in life and sticking to it all thru is the simplest way to success and happiness

The biggest irony about human beings is; everyone knows where they are going and why, when they step out of their homes everyday but when it comes to knowing where one wants to go in life, most people are unclear and have no answers. When it comes to journey of life, most people are just hopping from one road to another with no clear vision and direction in their mind. They are taking the road which is convenient and easy to pick without giving it serious thought. This is one of the biggest reasons why most people are unhappy and miserable.

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others, And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them” – Dalai Lama

*For more, read the complete “leading self” hand guide and presentation for schools. Thank you for joining the leading self moment.

Quotes:

1. Knowing and believing in self is the first step to the path of success.

2. I equals to Infinite in potential.

3. Know your areas of inherent interests, likes and priorities.

4. Choices we make, makes us (good or bad).

5. There are no short cuts to success but many to failures.

6. Everything comes with a price, to grow; you must labor and cultivate self.

7. All your actions must be guided with right motives to be on the path of growth.

8. Path of conscious and continuous learning is the way to realize one’s true potential.

9. If you don’t believe in yourself nobody else will.

10. All negatives thoughts in mind are viruses which can destroy your life.

11. Building antivirus for mind is a like marathon run or 24/7 football match,

play it like your favorite sport and enjoy; health, happiness and success will follow.

12. Your mind is your greatest asset; protect it else it will become your greatest liability.

13. Without antivirus protection, your life will get corrupt and lose direction and purpose.

14. It’s not what we have but what we do with what we have.

15. No substitute for self-effort, smart work & creativity should complement hard work.

16. A life without purpose and direction is a life without a meaning.

17. Happiness is a choice; learn to be happy and positive by choice.

18. Being healthy, happy & positive is fundamental to everything we do in life.

19. Not just the end goal but the path you chose is equally important.

20. If you don’t respect & tolerate people for what they are, people won’t respect you for what you are