The Power of Encouragement

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the famous 19th-century poet and artist, was once approached by an elderly man. 

The old fellow had some sketches and drawings that he wanted Rossetti to look at and tell him if they were any good, or if they at least showed potential talent.

Rossetti looked them over carefully. After the first few, he knew that they were worthless, showing not the least sign of artistic talent. But Rossetti was a kind man, and he told the elderly man as gently as possible that the pictures were without much value and showed little talent. He was sorry, but he could not lie to the man. The visitor was disappointed, but seemed to expect Rossetti’s judgment.

He then apologized for taking up Rossetti’s time, but would he just look at a few more drawings – these done by a young art student? Rossetti looked over the second batch of sketches and immediately became enthusiastic over the talent they revealed. “These,” he said, “oh, these are good. This young student has great talent. He should be given every help and encouragement in his career as an artist. He has a great future if he will work hard and stick to it.”

Rossetti could see that the old fellow was deeply moved. “Who is this fine young artist?” he asked. “Your son?” “No,” said the old man sadly. “It is me – 40 years ago. If only I had heard your praise then! For you see, I got discouraged and gave up – too soon.”

Handling Criticism…

By Vinod Bidwaik 

Once upon a time there was a newly qualified painter who painted beautiful scenery. He wanted people's opinion about his caliber and painting skills.

He put his creation at a busy street-crossing. And just down below a board which read -"I have painted this painting. Since I'm new to this profession I might have committed some mistakes in my strokes etc. Please put a cross wherever you see a mistake."

While he came back in the evening to collect his painting he was completely shattered to see that whole canvass was filled with Xs (crosses) and some people had even written their comments on the painting.

Disheartened and broken completely he ran to his master's place and burst into tears.

This young artist was breathing heavily and master heard him saying "I'm useless and if this is what I have learnt to paint I'm not worth becoming a painter. People have rejected me completely. I feel like dying"

Master smiled and suggested "My Son, I will prove that you are a great artist and have learnt flawless painting. Do as I say without questioning it. It WILL work."

Young artist reluctantly agreed and two days later early morning he presented a replica of his earlier painting to his master. Master took that gracefully and smiled.

"Come with me." master said.

They reached the same street-square early morning and displayed the same painting exactly at the same place. Now master took out another board which read -"Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. Since I'm new to this profession I might have committed some mistakes in my strokes etc. I have put a box with colors and brushes just below. Please do a favor. If you see a mistake, kindly pick up the brush and correct it."

Master and disciple walked back home.

They both visited the place same evening. Young painter was surprised to see that actually there was not a single correction done so far. Next day again they visited and found painting remained untouched. They say the painting was kept there for a month for no correction came in!

People always criticize. Criticizing is the nature of human being. People criticize us for few reasons.

1.  They can’t do the better than you,

2. They feel that they are the victim of injustice,

3.  They are really the victim of injustice,

4.  They are jealous to others,

5.  They criticize just because that it is their nature.

Sometimes criticism is justified and it should be taken as an improvement area.

When you get the criticism, just assess the situation. Why the person is criticizing you? Have you done something wrong? People sometimes will not directly criticize you; they may take other modes like gossiping or communicating through other person. It is always better to understand the reality and then have the face to face discussion.

What you have done or said which other person wouldn’t like you to find out about? And then confront on the reason of criticism. If you have not done anything wrong there is no reason to take it unjust criticism.    

It is always easier to criticize, but difficult to improve. So don't get carried away or judge yourself by someone else’s criticism and feel depressed. Take it with Pinch of Sugar! Critics are useful till you limit them to positive lessons only. Always put your heart into your work and do yourself a favour to keep yourself always inspired, since surrounding people are enough to do demotivating job...

5 Things To Avoid When Breaking Up With Your Boss

Quitting a job – quitting well, at least – can be hard work. There are plenty of missteps you can make that can end up hurting your career in the long term. Check out our list of things to avoid when breaking up with your boss.

1. Don't Pull A Johnny Paycheck

It's been the subject of countless daydreams: quitting your job. You rise from your second-rate, back-breaking desk chair. You stride through the maze of cubicles, eyes forward, deftly deflecting queries and attempts at conversation from your colleagues – Forget the expense report, Cathy. No, Bill, I don't have an opinion on the President's jobs plan.

And then you reach the door. It's closed. No knocking today. You grasp the knob. Twist. Throw open the door. Finally, eye-to-eye with your nemesis, you deliver your attack: "Take this job and shove it." (Yes… we know, Mr. Paycheck didn't write the song. But he made it a hit.) Pretty sweet, huh? Yeah. But don't do it.

Instead: You must suppress the rage, stifle the snark, subdue the frustration. Smile. Be respectful. Give notice. Offer to help in the transition. It is, as the animatronic children at Disneyland say, a small world, after all.

People talk… about you. And unless you've recently come into several million dollars and plan on leaving the workforce forever, a less-than-conciliatory exit can come back to bite you later in your career.

2. Don't Annoy Your Co-workers

You're beginning to feel like an inmate –imprisoned unjustly, of course – with a release date just around the corner. All those people you work with, however, are still doing hard time… with no end in sight. Don't talk about all the great stuff you'll be doing once you're on the outside.

Instead: Leaving on good terms with your colleagues is just as important as leaving on good terms with your boss. Don't badmouth the company you're leaving, and don't brag about that great new company you're moving to. Answer questions honestly.

But bear in mind that these people (some of whom you may actually like) are still stuck in the situation that you're fleeing. You want them to have happy memories of you. Who knows, you may need one of them as a reference sometime, or even end up working with them again in the future.

3. Don't Act Like A Short-timer

You've given notice. See that down there, at the end of the tunnel? It's light. Two more weeks and it's on to bigger and better things for you (a new and happier job, we hope). This can be a difficult time. While your body is there at your desk, your mind is far, far away. A little slacking is expected. Anyway, what are they going to do about it? Wrong attitude.

Instead: Do your best to fend off short-timer syndrome. No matter how you feel about the company or your boss, you want to leave on a high note – be a pro to the end. In your final days, you should strive to work at the same level that you have during your entire tenure at the company.

People aren't necessarily going to remember that you put in back-to-back 18-hour days to finish a crucial, last-minute project two years ago. Colleagues – potential references and networking partners – will remember, however, that you came in late, slacked off and left early before abandoning them forever. You can never make another last impression.

4. Don't Get Lured Back

You have a new job lined up, or you've squirreled away enough money to sustain yourself for a job search (we advise the latter). Your mind is made up. You're out of there. So long. Sayonara. See you later. And, then, they hit you with a counter offer to get you to stay. More money, more vacation, better benefits, promises that "things will get better next quarter." Tempting.But don't take it!

Instead: The moment you gave notice, your relationship with your boss morphed into something that resembles the relationship between an estranged couple. Now your spurned boss, whatever his motives, has entered a bargaining phase that often accompanies a breakup (I can change!).

But things won't get better, likely they'll get worse. You've demonstrated your unhappiness and lack of loyalty by accepting a new job (though some say that employer/employee loyalty is, in fact, long dead). Stick to your plan. Just thank your boss for the consideration and inform him that you'll still be moving on. Many sources say that most people who accept a counter offer end up leaving within six months, anyway.

5. Don't Hold A Grudge

And… you're outta there. You cleared your desk of personal stuff, surrendered your iPhone and laptop, said your goodbyes and crossed that threshold for the last time. You strolled – maybe even swaggered – through the parking lot, fired up the car and headed off toward the horizon.

Congratulations. You have made a successful exit. Finally, you can start trashing your former company, boss and colleagues to anyone who will listen. Wrong.

Instead: Let the past be the past. Don't go around badmouthing your former employer, especially not to a new or prospective employer (or through social media). You'll come off as vindictive… and, maybe, even a bit obsessive. It's not healthy for your career or your psyche. And you never know when you'll run into these people again.

Socks and Shoes

Author Unknown

A little boy about 10 years old was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the boy and said, “My little fellow, why are you looking so earnestly in that window?” “I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,” was the boy’s reply.

The lady took him by the hand and went into the store and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with a towel.

By this time the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy’s feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, “No doubt, my little fellow, you feel more comfortable now?”

As she turned to go, the astonished lad caught her by the hand, and looking up in her face, with tears his eyes, answered the question with these words: “Are you God’s Wife?”

Self Motivation

By Vinod Bidwaik

There is a long debate on motivation. Managers, leaders are expected to motivate their employees. Companies introduce Rewards and Recognization schemes to motivate their employees. People are definitely motivated and such schemes also shows good results for time being. But still most of the times people are not enough motivated, they further expect something different.

Motivation is an urge to do something. Self-Motivation is an urge to drive oneself, which pushes him up towards his needs, wants and desires. Nobody can’t motivate you, you yourself has to motivate you. There are lot of theories on motivation. Lot of research on motivation is available on google, but still people are not motivated. People are still not 100% happy. Organizations will ensure the motivation of people, but why people expect external motivation. I do agree that people should be motivated, but where their self motivation goes?

The main problem is they are not aware what they want in their life. So eveybody should ask the question, why I need to be motivated..

Why Self Motivation?

Self- Motivation is needed for following purpose in life.

 We need to be self-Motivated because

a)    We have our goals in life and our goals have to be achieved by ourselves only.

b)   We have our dreams in life and our dreams have to be fulfilled by ourselves only.

c)     We have to make things happen and we ourselves has to do something to make it happened.

d)     To do all in life, we should know how our life going? Nobody will keep a track of our life; we ourselves have to keep the right track of our goals dreams and efforts.

If we are responsible for our actions and our life, the question is how external factors will keep us motivated?

This Is Good

An old story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, “This is good!”

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, “This is good!” To which the king replied, “No, this is NOT good!” and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. “You were right,” he said, “it was good that my thumb was blown off.” And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. “And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this.”

“No,” his friend replied, “This is good!” “What do you mean,’This is good’? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?” “If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you.”

You’re Never Too Old to Dream

Ida Keeling: Record Breaker

In 2012, 97-year old Ida Keeling set a record for the 100 Meter Sprint at the USA Track and Field Eastern Regional Open Championships. She finished the race at 51.85 seconds, beating the previous record of 59.9 seconds for the 90 and over age category. Keeling took up running at age 67 after several personal tragedies in her life, including the death of her husband and two of her sons.

Transformation

By Vinod Bidwaik

There was an animated cartoon on TV.  One of the scenes showed a huge cactus suddenly transformed into a flowering phenomenon. I never forgot how, within seconds, all the buds emerged and turned into colorful, open flowers.

This scene must have photographed in slow motion and was shown in fast motion. At our home, we have beautiful plants of followers. One of the plants is “Bramha Kamal”. There are different opinions about this species. Though this is widely known as “Bramaha Kamal”, few people claim that actually it is a type of cactus. This plant is not beautiful, with stem leaves.  It blossoms only for a day, with beautiful and nice fragrance. When buds comes, we try to catch the moment when a flower opens and it petals start to bloom. We always miss that, and all off sudden we see a big and beautiful follower.           

However for me, it symbolizes how quickly something that represents rigidity and pain can be transformed into beauty.

The same thing happens with human transformation.

You can never find out the exact event when it occurs. You might remember what happened before or after it, but never the moment of transformation itself.

Sometimes, somebody directly appreciates you about your changed behavior and personality which you may not have noticed. We may have spent lot of time and efforts on our transformation, but it revels all of sudden.  As it happens in the NOW we can never track it down. Therefore it is magic.

Contrary to change, transformation is easy; as there is no effort involved; it just happens. Like the tree letting go of the dry leaf or the fruit ripening without struggle.

When you look different, you see what is already there, which you haven’t seen before. It is, therefore, effortless.

Transformation is a process, but it is effortless process. But you need actually to live the transformation like the flower blossoms from buds. Transformation can be small or big. Small learning also can be transformation. When child starts walking, this is also a transformation for him and for his parents. It has impact on their lives.

Our life journey is also a transformation. We become learned, Wise, mature over a period of time. We learn from mistakes and even from others’ mistakes.  Human life is with lot of transformations and transformations should be accepted and celebrated time to time.

But the question is do we allow ourselves to transform?