What does success mean for you

Have you clearly identified what are the parameters based on which you will be able to say that I am successful.

For some it could be a house, for some it could be travel to foreign land. For some it could be aspirational – as in – not having to go about life against a clock – its for me – though I haven’t been able to achieve it yet.

I used to have and still have this problem, that my line for defining success keeps changing on a lot of parameters. Which is where my problems start. Due to this I feel inadequate sometimes with respect to people who have more material things than me and keeping up with the Joneses becomes a problem.

On a lot of things, I think I have achieved success when I look back. Where I have come from, there’s a reason to smile. But when I keep looking at the ever moving horizon as I move forward, it does get me a little introspective and low. That’s when I follow Dan Sullivan’s advice – always look back at where you started from and how much you have covered, rather than thinking about what you have not covered. Then make a plan and take action for the next steps.

But defining what success means for you can actually help you in prioritising your life better. I had these visions of taking my family to certain countries on a vacation. Due to that I took a lot of decisions, where I had to hold back on spending on some items which were not aligned with this criteria.

Dean Jackson has actually designed his whole life around this principle. I am still a long way. But I would think you should also start defining what success would mean for you so that you know when you achieve it. Otherwise you will be running after the wrong things. Let me know what you think in the comments section below, would love to hear from you.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Making a Difference

Affirmative action, differentiation, Lifestyle

I was listening to an interview of Sir Richard Branson of the Virginia brand today. It was a fairly dated interview, I think about 10 years old. I found it on ilovemarketing.com.

There were three things which stood out for me in this interview. One was the fact that the whole philosophy around which Sir Richard Branson operates is how can he and his companies make a difference in the world.

Even when someone asked him for advice to entrepreneurs, he mentioned about how you can keep increasing the circle of influence where you make a difference, as your company grows.

The other thing which stood out was his emphasis on protecting his time. These people who were interviewing him had all paid a quite a handsome amount to his charity to get an opportunity to interview him. But on the clock he politely closed the interview.

The last thing which I was amazed about was his focus on his family. I have not known too much about him so didn’t know anything about his family. But the way he spoke about how he always ensured , inspite of the fact that he has such a huge business empire, that the family was together was a delight to hear.

If people who run such huge companies can find time to be with their families and also do good and make a difference, then we should be able to also do small bit to the society in which we live.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Always spring or autumn

Lifestyle, travel

I hate very hot weather and I cannot bear very cold weather either

So I have always had this fantasy that I will always stay in a country in which there is either Spring or autumn all 12 months of the year

My idea is to be in India between January to March, travel to Europe in the mediterranean region between April to June, live in Canada between July to September and travel to Australia between September and December.

On Sunday while talking to my brother , I learned a new word “snowbirds”. This is the term used for people in North America who travel in Winter, from north to states like Florida and other Southern States in the US

I didn’t realise that what I used to think as fantasy, was actually being worked on seriously by people in some parts of the world

So I started doing a little bit of research on these snowbirds and one piece of data which I saw on Google is that the population of Florida increases by about 5% during the Winter months in North America.

These people in most cases live in rented accommodations and cook their own food and maintain their lifestyle the way they do at their hometowns

That got me thinking. I live in India and I would not have the capability to drive my on vehicle with the caravan or RV to different continents to ensure that I was always living in spring or autumn.

The only solution I could think of was to have A matter to share properties In different countries at different points in time. So if there is someone who prefers Very hot summerThen they could take my house for a quarter while I live in their house varieties Spring or autumn.

I saw movie a few years back with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz called Holiday. In this movie the two ladies – one from LA and one in UK, share their houses for 2 weeks 1 in Los Angeles and one in England.

I am not sure if this kind of us thing does seriously take place between different countries but I am intending to explore these options to realise my fantasies.

Do you know if this kind of a mechanism exists? Let me know your comments.

Till next time.

Carpe Diem!!!