365 Days of Inspirational Thoughts for Practising Managers

Subhashis Das Gupta

January 1People forget things because they don’t concentrate .They worry because they don’t concentrate . Buddha uses the word “mindfulness” . Whatever you are doing give it full attention. When we are fully in the present we will not do anything unkind

January 2 When our attention does not retreat to the past or wander into the future , we are delivered from time to the eternal now . To rest completely in the present like this is infinite security and infinite joy .

As per the Upanishads ,the sages compute material satisfaction as one measure of joy . One million times is the joy of the person who rests completely in the present , for every moment is full of joy

January 3Read only what is worthwhile ,and then take time to read it carefully .Read slowly and with complete attention . I would much rather read one good book with concentration and understanding than to skim through a list of bestsellers which I will not remember and which will have no effect on my life or my understanding of life .

January 4Most of us are careful about

the food we eat ,but in terms of what our senses eat ,we exercise little judgement at all .

We forget that we are eating constantly ,especially whether we are reading a book , watching a movie ,or listening to music –through our eyes and ears

January 5 Cultivate time with people whose company elevates you . It is especially helpful to spend time with others who are basing their lives on the same spiritual values . Share your times of entertainment with such people too .Relaxation is an important part of learning to slow down .

January 6 You need to concentrate on contribution .Giving begins the receiving process . By rallying around a worthy cause and constantly asking how can we serve ,the reward flows in degrees you cannot imagine .

When you link paycheck to purpose ,you connect people to a cause higher than themselves .Your people will start to feel good about what they are doing .And when your people feel good about the work they do ,they will begin to feel good about themselves .That’s when real breakthroughs start to happen

January 7 The Law of Diminishing Intent says that the longer you wait to implement a new idea or strategy ,the less enthusiasm you will have for it .

Whatever you can do and dream you can do begin it . Boldness has genius ,power and magic .

German philospoher –Johann Von Goethe

January 8 The leader with integrity will never let his lips betray his heart and will always let his principles guide his actions .

Priciples are to people what roots are to trees . Without roots ,trees fall when they are thrashed with the winds . Without principles , people fall when they are shaken by the gales of existence

January 9 When asked by a follower the secret to bringing change around him , Gandhiji thought for a moment and said – YOU must be the change

January 10When you are rude to an employee , you implicitly give him permission to be rude to someone else . When you lie to someone ,you condone your lying to someone else .

When you are late for a meeting ,you silently say that punctuality is not important . All these messages powerfully shape the corporate culture that serves as the framework for everything you and your followers do .

January 11Get out of that palatial office suite you have barricaded yourself into and go talk to the people that really count –the men and women who look to you for leadership .Listen to them .Find out what makes them tick . Listen to their hopes and their dreams and their frsutrations .

The fish is often the last to notice the water in which it swims

January 12We listen at the rate of 500 words per minute , yet we speak at a much slower rate of 100 to 125 words per minute.With all that space left to fill ,our minds tend to wander Cultivate the skill of asking superb open ended questions and then really listen to the response

Employees felt that they were being listened to which further enhanced morale and environmental trust Management receives free advise about how to streamline and enhance the operation from people who best know its weaknesses rather than from an expensive outside consultant

January 13Avoid doing two or more things at once ,even if they seem trivial and you know you can manage it When you are reading and eating at the same time ,part of your mind is on what you are reading and part on what you are eating

When talking with someone , give that person your full attention

Everything you do should be worthy of your full attention

Practice working cheerfully with someone you think you don’t like

January 14 Non forgiveness implies a heavy burden of psychological time Non forgiveness implies a heavy burden of psychological time

January 15Make the NOW the primary focus of your life .

Whereas before you dwelt in time and paid brief visits to the Now ,have your dwelling place in the Now and pay brief visits to past and future when required to deal with the practical aspects of your life situation

January 16 Always say YES to the present moment….and see how life starts working for you rather than against you When every cell of your body is so present that it feels vibrant with life ,and when you can feel that life every moment as the joy of Being ,then it can be said that you are free of time

To be free of time is to be free of the psychological need of past for your identity and future for your fulfilment .It represents the most profound transformation of consciousness that you can imagine

January 17Listen to melodies that have an uplifting influence.For some melodies fill the heart with happiness,whereas others fill it with sorrow .Shun as poison any melody that makes the heart restless or negative . Music , more than any other art form ,penetrates the mind and affects it from within

January 18Face your trials cheerfully ;don’t shrink from them .For trials are like dogs . They lose heart when we confront them ,but give eager chase the moment we turn and flee

January 19Communicate with others thoughtfully ,never absentmindedly.Do things that are uplifting; don’t merely pass the time.For time is an inheritance:However little or much has been alloted to you , spend it wisely , or it will be frittered away

Be silent at your centre.Excess speech is anesthetizing.Instead of thinking up ideas to communicate to others ,think up ideas to communicate to your own higher self .

January 21You are the same today that you are going to be in five years from now except for two things : the people wih whom you associate and the books you read – Charlie “tremendous” Jones

January 22The guy who gets ahead is the guy who does more than is necessary – and keeps doing it .No matter how rough the path ,you cannot fulfill your destiny on what you intend to do

January 23Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others

January 24 As the sun makes ice melt , kindness causes misunderstanding , mistrust and hostility to evaporate

January 25Remain always even minded and cheerful .To rise and fall with the waves of emotion is to sacrifice mental clarity for confusion View your problems dispassionately ,as if from a mountain peak .Perspective is lost in the narrow valley of personal involvement

January 26Be silent at your centre . Excessive speech is anesthtizing . Instead of thinking of ideas to communicate to others ,think up ideas to communicate to your own higher self

January 27To do a thing well , concentrate on every detail while at the same time exerting the will to keep your full purpose always in mind . This constant tuning of the details to your underlying purpose is one of the secrets of your genius . Another is to draw on Higher Consciousness for your inspiration ,and not to depend on the vagaries of human intelligence.There is no such thing as a genius quotient of intelligence .

January 28Burn away the moods by the blazing power of your will , concentrated fiercely at the forehead between the eyebrows – the seat of higher consciousness in the body

January 29Adopt a serviceful attitude . Far from demeaning you , it will expand your self identity ,and will greatly increase your stature before others –not those ,perhaps, who are steeped in worldly pride ,but all those gifted with sensitivity and understanding

January 30Be dignified , but not proud . Develop an awareness of the divine power within you to accomplish all things .

January 31To develop your powers of memory , concentrate one-pointedly on everything you do . To develop the power of soul-memory , concentrate on the things you do but without attachment . Knowledge depends on the power of memory , but wisdom comes with soul memory