Monday Motivation for Success from Siva (29): Whose counsel do you seek? Beware! It makes a lot of difference.

Hi,

However learned you are, there will be times when you need other’s guidance to make decisions in your life. It has to be from right people. It is important to approach right people so that you get the right piece of advice. The wisdom to find those right people makes a lot of impact on one’s life. While wrong counsel could lead to a disaster, the right one could put you on the road to success. These examples from the Mahabharata clearly illustrate the care we ought to take in times of need for others’ counsel.
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Whose counsel do you seek? Beware! It makes a lot of difference.
Once Duryodhana returned home after attending the pandava’s rajasuya sacrifice and seeing their wealth and prosperity, he became very jealous. He sought counsel from his evil genius Sakuni who gave him the idea of inviting Yudhishthira for playing the game of dice so that he could be defeated in it through mischievous tricks and his kingdom could be taken over. Though Duryodhana won a lot of wealth through this idea, ultimately it led to disastrous consequences of Kurukshetra battle and ended with his death.
On the other hand at the end of the war, pandavas regained their kingdom and Yudhishthira became the king. The great saint Vyasa instructed Yudhishthira to go to the oldest of the Kuru race 'Bhishma' and learn from him about the rules of dharma and governance suggesting that he was the most learned person of all and that there was no matter that he hadn’t known about. At that time Bhishma, having the power of choosing his death at his free will, was lying on the bed of arrows, meditating on Krishna, and waiting for the auspicious ekadashi day to breathe his last. Krishna, who was with Yudhishthira and other pandavas at this time, too suddenly felt Bhishma and turned his mind towards him. Seeing Krishna suddenly becoming silent, Yudhishthira asked him, “Krishna, you seem to have been lost in some thoughts. What are you thinking about so deeply?" Then Krishna told him, “Bhishma knows about all the vedas, the divine scriptures, the use of all the divine weapons, and also the past, the present, and the future. He is a beloved devotee of mine. He is meditating on me even now by lying on the bed of arrows. Once, he leaves the world, there will be no one who could teach you like him. Hence, you must go to him right now and seek his guidance on the rules of dharma and governance. “
Accordingly, Yudhishthira went to Bhishma and sought his guidance. Bhishma’s discourse to Yudhishthira on governance, work, and life is a treatise containing principles, values, and ethics of good governance and righteous living. It is during this counselling Bhishma also revealed to Yudhishthira the Vishnu Sahasra Nama Stotram – the 1000 names of Vishnu. Thus Bhishma’s suggestions and revelations became a guiding light to Yudhishthira then and for many generations later to us even now.
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It is important to take inputs and suggestions from elders who had the benefit of experience with them. You need not wait to learn from your own mistakes. In today’s world, suggestions may come from several quarters. As the wrong counsel seems to be more tempting and attractive, it becomes critical to judge for oneself to filter the right from the wrong. The best thing is to be able to judge correctly and choose for you a right mentor yourself. The students may look for capable teachers, the patients for expert doctors, the keen learners for their gurus and mentors in their field of interest. It is a must. With a right mentor, you can win greatness. And without, you may lose out a lot.

With love and regards,

Siva

B. Sivaprasad

Corporate Trainer and Motivational Speaker

value4value@gmail.com

Monday Motivation for Success from Siva (28): RESILIENCE: A Necessary Trait to Survive and Succeed

Hi,

RESILIENCE – the ability to recover from illness, depression, adversity or setbacks, misfortune or failure – is a common trait of all successful people. Because, after all, who had not gone through such difficulties some time or the other in life? There are ups and downs in everyone’s life. People surrender at times to temptations that may put them down; make mistakes that lead to financial losses or ill-health or disappointment, discouragement, and depression. Then, it is during these times that it is their nature of RESILIENCE (toughness, adaptability) that helps them endure, leave their setbacks behind, and gain the strength needed to stand up again. The story of the Mahabharata is a great example of resilience and its necessity for one to live and succeed.

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RESILIENCE: A Necessary Trait to Survive and Succeed

Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandavas known to have a temptation to play the game of dice, played it and lost to Duryodhana all of his kingdom, wealth, himself, his brothers Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, and his wife Draupadi. As a part of the deal in the game of the dice that he lost, the Pandavas went and lived for 12 years in exile in the forests, and the 13^th year in disguise in the kingdom of Virata. They went through several ordeals of life during these 13 years. The trials and tribulations they underwent during these years only fortified their strength and resilience further.

They overcame with courage and confidence every difficulty they faced during the years of exile in the forest. They took the challenges in their stride and converted them into opportunities. During the process, they acquired several powers, improved their knowledge, polished their skills, expanded their network, and gained new weapons, including those of the celestial weapons gifted to Arjuna by Shiva, Kubera, Varuna, and Indra along with the techniques associated with their use, release and recall. At the end, all these powers helped the Pandavas win the battle of Kurukshtetra and regain their lost kingdom, wealth, and prosperity.

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It is quite natural to feel disappointed and distressed during the times of failure, losses, and ill-health. But it is important to understand that the nature itself provides opportunities to recover and bounce back. Nature had a built-in mechanism for this. Just as the nights are followed by days, sunsets by sunrises, and winters by summers,   the bad times are followed by the good ones. When the brightness comes in, the darkness doesn't exist. All that one needs to do is to be patient, to be hopeful, to be bold and determined to continue to give one's best at what one does despite the odds and obstacles. Be RESILIENT, be strong, and face the challenges with a positive attitude. Very soon, you will notice that the very difficulties you faced are indeed the blessings in disguise for you.

With love and regards,
Siva
value4value@gmail.com

Monday Motivation for Success from Siva (27): Faith is the Key to Success

Hi,
Successful people believe in what they want, whom they partner with, and where they want to reach. They have faith in the people they work with, the organizations they serve, the products and services they offer, the customers they support, and careers they want to pursue.  And, they have faith in themselves and the decisions they make. But still, a lot of people find it difficult to keep faith in others. Why? Are the risks of unknown and the fear of losing making them less trusting? Let us look at this incident from the Ramayana and draw some inspiration.

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Faith is the Key to Success

Rama agreed to leave the kingdom of Ayodhya for fourteen years in order to fulfill the promises made by his father Dasharadha. Neither his wife Sita Devi nor his younger brother Lakshmana was required to leave as per this promise. Yet they both insisted on accompanying Rama. Rama even advised Sita against her wish suggesting that she would find it difficult to live in such a dense and dangerous forest, which was truly entering the unknown. But, they joined him on their own and gladly went to the forest, though the life was going to be difficult there.

Why did they go? Sita Devi explained that they had faith in the order of the one they served. This referred to Rama, and also his father King Dasharatha. They went to that unknown place without fear. They were not expecting anything favorable materially. They were not in search of a treasure chest full of gold. They had faith in Rama, and that was all they needed to gain the courage and to go along with him to the forest.

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It is said, “Faith moves mountains.” Faith gives you courage to pursue and make things that seem impossible possible. Faith builds relationships, while lack of it may lead to break-ups. Faith begets faith and makes people more faithful. Have faith in yourself and the people you are associated with, you will make your world more peaceful and your life much more beautiful.

With love and regards,

Siva

Monday Motivation for Success from Siva (MMFS 26): Success can come at any age: It is never too late to start

Hi,
What is the right age for a person to dream a dream and make it come true? Or to start an endeavour and accomplish it? Or to choose a career and succeed in it, or to even want to become something and become great at it?

Some think that one should start early in order to really make it big and become great in a chosen field of work. Well, it might be of an advantage to start early, but it is never too late. 

Some may say that you have to choose an area of work when you are still a child so that you could focus on it, put in your best efforts at it, and become a STAR. Well, again though it is always the earlier the better, it’s never too late. 

You can decide what you want to become at any stage of your life and become what you want to become. All that is needed in the first place is to have a ‘WANT TO BECOME’. You must first want to become something that you would love to become. You can do it NOW irrespective of your age.

Let us take the example of A.C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada, who founded International Society for Krishna Consciousness(ISKCON) in 1966 when he was 70 years old. Under his leadership and guidance, ISKCON built a series of Krishna temples around the world. And just in a matter of 11 years, by the time he passed away in the year 1977, ISKCON built 108 Krishna temples, and ISKCON became a huge movement with millions of followers worldwide. During the last 20 years of his life i.e. between the age of 61 and 81, translated over sixty volumes of classic Vedic scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam into the English language. In February 2014, ISKCON's news agency reported to have reached a milestone of distributing over half a billion books authored by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, since 1965. CNN cited him on their Top-10 list of "wildly successful people". Yes, It is all truth. What more do we need to convince ourselves that age is no bar to start any venture and become successful at it.

   

Let me give you another example of a modern day successful celebrity and the singing sensation – Susan Boyle, who came to be known to the public only at the age of 47 when she appeared on the “Britain’s Got Talent” show. People laughed at her, when she said that she aspired to become a professional singer as successful as Elaine Paige. But when she opened hoer voice and sang the song “I dreamed a dream,’ the whole audience including the judges gave her a standing ovation. This performance was widely reported and tens of millions of people viewed the video on YouTube. You can watch the video by clicking on the link given below. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS5Om47vsaA

That became a turning point in her life. Her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream in the same year of 2009 instantly became the UK's best-selling debut album of all time. That was followed by many more of her albums that became chartbuster hits.  Over 19 million albums of her were sold worldwide; and she received 2 Grammy Awards nominations too. Her net worth was estimated to be more than £20 million now. And, she is going strong. A true champion indeed!

  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS5Om47vsaA

Yes, it is possible. You too can become whatever you want to become. You can become great in the field of your choice. Listen to your heart, understand what your heart’s calling is, follow you heart, use your intellect, understand what you are required to do, and put in excellence in your every effort, YOUR SUCCESS is guaranteed – 100%.

Go for your greatness! It is calling you! You are born to succeed!

With love and regards,

Siva