Free Sample Chapter ― Professor M.S.Rao’s Award-Winning Book “Sharing Knowledge on Career, Leadership and Success: Improve Your Attitude and Personality to Excel as a Leader”

Dear friends,

Here is the sample chapter of my award-winning book, “Sharing Knowledge on Career, Leadership and Success: Improve Your Attitude and Personality to Excel as a Leader” (ISBN: 978-93-84872-26-7) (Laxmi Publications Pvt. Ltd) Dr. Soumitra Dutta, the Dean, Samuel Cutis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University wrote foreword for this book. Here is the link to buy this book: .  You may share your thoughts about this book on social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. Also, I appreciate a review on your blogs, websites, Amazon or other online bookseller sites.  

Dream to Achieve Great Success

“The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Welcome to Sharing Knowledge on Career, Leadership and Success: Improve Your Attitude and Personality to Excel as a Leader!  During my leadership development training programs the participants me ask a number of questions.  In fact, I encourage my audiences to raise questions and I enjoy responding to their questions with passion. I have the practice of jotting their questions at the end of each session. I convert them into articles and save for my future training programs. In this book, I share various aspects on career, success, and leadership apart from ideas and insights on my personal and professional life. It will help you acquire breadth of knowledge in various aspects in your life to achieve an amazing success in your life.

Knowledge Grows When Shared

“Sharing will enrich everyone with more knowledge.” ― Ana Monnar, Cuban-born, founder of Readers Are Leaders U.S.A.

I am a continuous learner since childhood and I enjoy sharing my knowledge with people around me. I strongly believe that people must acquire knowledge continuously and share with others constantly to build a better society. Hence, I created three blogs for three kinds of audiences to share my knowledge. I created the blog ‘Where Knowledge is Wealth’ - URL http://profmsr.blogspot.com for general readers;  ‘Knowledge Grows When Shared’- URL http://professormsraoguru.blogspot.com  for educators; and ‘Professor M.S.Rao Born for the Students’ URL http://professormsrao.blogspot.com  for students to accomplish my lifetime vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030.

Whenever ideas pop up in my mind I jot down them as I have the habit of carrying a notebook and pen with me. I work on those ideas during my leisure time and write articles and post them on my three blogs depending on the type of audience the message should reach. It gives me an immense satisfaction that I am sharing my knowledge and building a better society.  Also, whenever I get an opportunity I enjoy sharing my knowledge with participants during my training programs. I strongly believe that knowledge should not stay in one place.  If water stays in one place, it stinks. Similarly, if knowledge remains with one individual, it doesn’t serve anybody. Hence, water must flow, and knowledge must be shared.  

Dream versus Daydream

Some people dream while some daydream and both have pros and cons. The dream has more pros while the daydream has more cons. It is a well-admitted fact that everyone wants to achieve success in this world. However, a few people dream and many daydream. In fact, what is essential is to dream more to achieve more success in life. Here is the difference between the dream and the daydream.

Dream is the one that doesn’t allow you to sleep. It enhances your inspiration to accomplish great things in your life. In contrast, daydream is a mere fantasy and beating around the bush in an imaginative world without any outcome. Although daydreaming is good in some aspects it is bad in many aspects especially when you want to achieve success in life. 

Daydreaming is a state of undisciplined mind which is often attributed with laziness. At the same time, some of the scientists are daydreamers who used it productively to unlock their creativity. Research shows that people who are in creative careers such as composers, novelists and filmmakers daydream to develop new ideas.  For instance, Thomas Edison used daydreaming for his creative work. Dr Jonathan Schooler, psychologist at the University of California once remarked, “For creativity you need your mind to wander but you also need to be able to notice that you’re mind wandering and catch the idea when you have it. If Archimedes had come up with a solution in the bathtub but didn’t notice he’d had the idea, what good would it have done him?” That means people from creative careers daydreamed and tapped their ideas for invention and execution.

Ken and Ben ― A Story on Dream versus Daydream

Here is an inspiring and striking story of two Indian students. Ken and Ben were good brothers who loved each other.  Ken always dreamed and worked very hard to accomplish his goals. He was committed and dedicated. Whatever the task was assigned to him, he did with excellence. He was highly ambitious and focused. He wanted to pursue his higher education ― Master of Science (MS) in America after completion of his engineering education in India. He started working hard and scored higher marks and grades. He passed in the tests in India to get an entry for higher education in America. He got scholarship to pursue MS in America. In contrast, his brother Ben always daydreamed without any focus on studies. He mostly lived in his imaginative world rather than in the realistic world. As a result, he failed academically. Finally, he realized that daydream doesn’t work and started working hard academically. Ben cleared his backlogs of exams in his engineering education and managed to acquire his engineering degree. He finally settled for higher education in India. From this story, it is obvious that to dream is good, and to daydream is bad.

Here is the difference between Ken and Ben.  Ken had a stable mind while Ben had an unstable mind. Ken foresaw the future while Ben realized it later. Ken worked with focus while Ben had a wavering mind. The only solace is that Ben realized his mistake and fell in the academic track quickly to achieve success in life.  Do you like to be Ken or Ben? The answer is obvious that everyone likes to be Ken.  

To dream is good, to aim high is great. But laziness and lack of focus are the biggest enemies to success which are often associated with daydream.  Hence, dream but don’t daydream to achieve great success to provide meaning to your life.

I Play three Roles in a Day Like Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva

My typical day starts with waking up at 3 A.M. I start the day by taking one liter of water. I drink lots of water throughout the day to fuel my body and enhance my energy levels. I author books on leadership, executive education and executive coaching and my lifetime vision is to build one million Indian students as global leaders by 2030. I enjoy total tranquility and my creative juices start flowing. At around 5 A.M my wife Padmavathy wakes up and gives me warm water to drink, honey along with a few cashew nuts, almonds, dates and walnuts. Subsequently she brings milk and I enjoy drinking and writing. Around 6 A.M I go for a walk and then hit gym. I have been doing it for the last 35 years when I was 15 years old. After I return from gym, I read three newspapers, take bath, pray to Sun God and offer prayers to God.  I take breakfast which is mostly salad or South Indian Idli or Dosa. I provide training programs, if there are any. I enjoy spending my quality time with my students and followers to share my knowledge. Otherwise, I read books on leadership and executive education which are my areas of interests. I take lunch on time. I read quality books to acquire knowledge, associate with good people to keep my mind healthy and eat home food to keep my body healthy. I am basically a home bird. In the evening, I take fruits and plan for the next day. I also remove unwanted and irrelevant information from my mind and from the computer system.

Precisely, I am the creator in the early morning like Lord Brahma as I author books; up to night, I am the generator like Lord Vishnu where I acquire knowledge; and I am the destroyer like Lord Shiva in the night as I delete unwanted information and irrelevant individuals from my mind. Hence, I play three roles in a day to make a difference to the world. 

In the following chapters, I will share with you various aspects of career, success and leadership to grow as a successful professional and leader.

"The key to happiness is having dreams; the key to success is making them come true." ―James Allen

References

Sharing Knowledge on Career, Leadership and Success: Improve Your Attitude and Personality to Excel as a Leader (ISBN: 978-93-84872-26-7) (Laxmi Publications Pvt. Ltd)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBCO-gWmTRk

Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html  

Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao, India

Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India

Listed in Marquis Who's Who in the World in 2013

Vision 2030: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in

Vision 2030 Webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBCO-gWmTRk

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/professor-rao/34/11a/b52

Twitter: @professormsrao  

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+ProfessorMSRao 

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/profmsr7  

Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com

Blog: http://professormsrao.blogspot.com

Blog: http://professormsraoguru.blogspot.com

Global Top Gurus 30: http://www.globalgurus.org/leadership/upcoming.php

Speakerpedia: http://speakerpedia.com/speakers/professor-msrao

21 Success Sutras for Leaders: Top 10 Leadership Books of the Year (San Diego University) Amazon URL: http://www.amazon.com/21-Success-Sutras-Leaders-ebook/dp/B00AK98ELI

Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.

Copyright©2015 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Free Sample Chapter - “Soft Skills: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Overcome Workplace Challenges to Excel as a Leader”

Dear friends,

Here is the sample chapter of my book titled “Soft Skills: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Overcome Workplace Challenges to Excel as a Leader.” It is published by Motivational Press, USA. I appreciate your comment and share with your connections. 

Treat Your Failures as Experiments to Excel as a Leader

“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

In 2014, I was invited as a keynote speaker by an eminent educational institution. I treated it as an opportunity to share my vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030 URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html and to inspire students to dream big.

The students belonged to engineering and management education. I was so amazed at their enthusiasm in the campus. I recalled my past when I worked as a professor in various educational institutions, and delivered my speech as follows:

It is essential for every individual to fail in life. If you don’t fail, you have not tried enough in your life, and you have not explored anything in your life. People have various kinds of fears - fear of criticism, fear of ill-health, fear of old age, fear of poverty, and fear of failure. Among all these fears, the ‘fear of failure’ is the biggest stumbling block for human growth.  Although most people are ambitious and aspire to rise high in their lives, they are scared of failures. They are scared of what others will think if they fail. They also have apprehensions that who will hold their hands if they fail.

We all have one life, and we must explore and experiment maximum to unlock our potential. It helps us lead a satisfying life leaving this world without any regrets. At the same time, we must learn lessons from each failure. We must treat each failure as an unsuccessful experiment, learn lessons for the reasons of failure to explore and experiment better next time. Such attitude and approach paves the way for success. Hence, what everyone must do is to list out the failures they encountered during their lifetime. They must also find out the reasons for those failures. What lessons they learned from such failures. What corrective action they can take in future to minimize their mistakes and maximize their success. Having such a systematic and scientific approach helps people overcome the stigma associated with failures, and to achieve success in life. Remember, to fail is not bad, but not to learn lessons from failures is bad. Hence, treat your failures as experiments; learn lessons; explore and experiment regularly to unlock your hidden potential to achieve an amazing success in your life. 

"The leader wonders about everything, wants to learn as much as he can, is willing to take risks, experiment, try new things. He does not worry about failure but embraces errors, knowing he will learn from them." - Warren G. Bennis

Never Give Up. Be an Optimist

"Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees all the others." - Winston Churchill

There are several leaders who did not give up and lived like legends during their lifetime. They inspired the world with loads of optimism. They provided hope for many people across the world. Here are the three great leaders who were held captive but escaped with their tact, intelligence and courage.

In 1899, Winston Churchill headed to South Africa as a newspaper correspondent to cover the Boer War between British and Dutch settlers. He was captured by Boer soldiers. He escaped by climbing the prison wall when prison guards turned their backs on him.  He walked in the night with hopes of finding the Delagoa Bay Railway. He jumped onto a train and hid among soft sacks covered in coal dust. He went to the home of John Howard, British who helped him to escape. Finally, he reached Durban in South Africa and became a hero.

Shivaji, the great Indian Maratha leader was at war with Mughuls. He met Emperor Aurangzeb in Agra and was insulted in the court. When he questioned, he was jailed along with his son, Sambhaji. He pretended sickness for a few days. He along with his son concealed themselves in two of the baskets covered with flowers and slipped out of the gates of the house and out of the walls of Agra.

Subhas Chandra Bose, fondly known as Netaji, was India’s freedom fighter. During the Second World War in 1939, he mobilized Indians to fight against British rule. He was jailed by British and subsequently kept under house arrest. He grew beard and escaped his house dressed as a Pathan to avoid being identified by British. He founded Indian National Army.

Ordinary people would have given up their hope under those circumstances. But these leaders escaped and provided a ray of hope for others. Life is full of challenges. Face them squarely. Never give up. Remember, faith is the force of life. Have faith in yourself. Be optimistic to take on the challenges to come out with flying colors.

“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and the oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” - Winston Churchill

Reference

https://www.amazon.com/Soft-Skills-Overcome-Workplace-Challenges/dp/1628653035

“Why are Authors and Publishers Struggling Globally for Selling their Books Currently?” ―Professor M.S.Rao

“There are three difficulties in authorship: to write anything worth publishing, to find honest men to publish it, and to find sensible men to read it.” ― Charles Caleb Colton

Presently publishers and authors are struggling for their survival globally. Publishers are concerned about the declining sale of books, and authors are worried for not getting royalty for their published books. Some of the eminent authors are struggling to publish their books. The situation is worse for the upcoming and ambitious authors who are passionate about authoring books. What are the reasons for the present scenario? Is it due to the declining interest in reading books? Is it due to the availability of free online content? Let us look at the present global scenario objectively and analytically.

First of all, the reading habit in people has not declined as opined by a few section of people. People read books due to various reasons including to acquire knowledge. Some people read books as a pastime activity. For some people, reading is a passion.

One of the main reasons for decline in sales is the rapid changes in technologies. The digital era has changed the face of the publishing industry. People prefer reading books online. There is a shift from physical books to e-books globally. Secondly, too much of information is available through online resources. Hence, people read free content available online. There are many blogs sharing knowledge apart from LinkedIn offering their members to post their ideas and insights through articles.  People also share their knowledge on Facebook and Google+ and other free websites including various forums. Therefore, when information is available free, readers don’t spend money on buying books. Readers have become very choosy in selection of topics and content. However, the authors who have credibility and visibility need not to worry about the availability of free knowledge online since they have a fan following globally. They must strive hard to write books that are innovative and relevant in the present context. They must reinvent as per the expectations and aspirations of the readers. They must write simple and short books rather than bulky books as the readers don’t have time and patience.  The readers want the essence in a distilled format. They can read it while travelling or during their leisure time.

The upcoming authors must be more careful while writing books as they don’t have any fan following. They must build their brands gradually by posting articles on their blogs and sharing them on social media. Over a period of time, they can enhance their visibility and build their fan base.

The publishers must reinvent in the digital era. They must emphasize more on publication of e-books. They must change the means and methods of marketing. 

Remember, only when the publishers survive, authors can survive in this world. Hence, both authors and publishers must work together to ensure quality content to the readers to ensure sales successfully. They must trust each other and promote and market together to provide value for money and time to the readers. There must be synergy between the authors and the publishers.  Marketing is not the sole task of publishers. Authors must also take keen interest in promoting their work and books on social media and various forums to help publishers achieve the desired objectives.

Conclusion

To conclude, there is no death for reading and no dearth of readers globally.  People enjoy reading books. Only thing, the present condition is only a correction for both authors and publishers to reinvent with changing times and technologies to add value to the readers who invest their precious time and money.

“To read a book, to think it over, and to write out notes is a useful exercise; a book which will not repay some hard thought is not worth publishing.” ― Maria Mitchell

If you like this article, Like and share Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414

Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html  

Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao, India

Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India

Listed in Marquis Who's Who in the World in 2013

Vision 2030: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in

Vision 2030 Webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBCO-gWmTRk

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/professor-rao/34/11a/b52

Twitter: @professormsrao  

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+ProfessorMSRao 

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/profmsr7  

Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com

Blog: http://professormsrao.blogspot.com

Blog: http://professormsraoguru.blogspot.com

Global Top Gurus 30: http://www.globalgurus.org/leadership/upcoming.php

Speakerpedia: http://speakerpedia.com/speakers/professor-msrao

21 Success Sutras for Leaders: Top 10 Leadership Books of the Year (San Diego University) Amazon URL: http://www.amazon.com/21-Success-Sutras-Leaders-ebook/dp/B00AK98ELI

Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.

Copyright©2015 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.