Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders

© 2015 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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.

Monday, 4 May 2026

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : How to Build Your Self-Determination?—Professor M....

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : How to Build Your Self-Determination?—Professor M....: “ Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” —Mahatma Gandhi. Self-determination is a clust...

How to Build Your Self-Determination?—Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.—21st-Century Philosopher & The Father of “Soft Leadership”

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” —Mahatma Gandhi.

Self-determination is a cluster of several skills, abilities, knowledge, beliefs, traits, and talents that enable people to engage themselves with tons of self-confidence. It comes from your inner strength and courage. It helps to take on the challenges and changes in life head-on. It strengthens your inner belief to take the battle to its logical end. Self-determination is something hidden that can be demonstrated through actions, not by external appearance.

Importance of Self-Determination

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” —Vincent T. Lombardi

Self-determination is necessary to succeed in life. Self-determination helps in equipping you with the necessary strength and courage to meet the day-to-day challenges in your life. Hannibal rightly said, “We will either find a way or make one.”

Self-determination is required to break your conditioned thinking. People, by continuous reading and experience, tend to develop a particular mindset that is hard to break. As the world is changing rapidly with changing technology, people have to develop adaptability to survive in the cutthroat competitive world. Self-determination plays a crucial role in breaking the traditional barriers and boundaries.

How to Build Self-Determination?

“Every man is the architect of his own fortune.” —Sallust

Take an ideal and successful person as a role model and draw inspiration.
Don’t let past failures haunt you. Learn lessons from failures and try again with optimism and confidence.
Always look for positive elements in every adversity, defeat, or sorrow.
Be clear about your goals and vision. Find out what you want clearly and create a blueprint to achieve it.
Be sympathetic and empathetic with others.
Concentrate only on your efforts and energies, not on results.
Monitor your progress and take continuous feedback.
Always take care of your mental and physical health.
Never entertain cynicism and pessimism to creep into your mind.
Always look for solutions and don’t brood too much on problems.
Always associate with positive people, as it generates positive vibes.
And finally, trust in God.

Conclusion

“I don't know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future.” —Ralph Abernathy

Self-determination helps you build your hidden potential, and you can unleash the same to achieve all-round success as and when required. It is a magical key to success. It turns your adversities into opportunities. To put it in the words of Edward Gibbon, “The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” To sum up, self-determination helps you become an influential personality, thus making a difference in the lives of others.

Share if you care!

“Things You Don’t Know about Professor M. S. Rao” http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html

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

Note: I had a brain hemorrhage. I was in bed for five months. My right hand has been numb and paralyzed. I am recovering. Thanks for empathizing with me. With gratitude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFJrSRLHPUk&ab_channel=ProfessorM.S.Rao

Life is great!

Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.

Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants, India

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

Vision 2030: https://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professormsrao

Substack: https://professormsrao.substack.com

X: http://twitter.com/professormsrao

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfessorMSRao

Meta: https://www.facebook.com/Professor-MS-Rao-451516514937414

See the Light in You: https://www.amazon.com/See-Light-You-Spiritual-Mindfulness/dp/1949003132

Thanks for reading!

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

This nonprofit blog will share Professor M.S. Rao’s passion and vision to develop one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please do not cut articles from my blog; redistribute them via email or post them online. The use of this material is free, as long as the copyright is acknowledged and a reference or link is provided to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com. Without permission, this material may not be sold, published, or used to offer business services to third parties.

Saturday, 25 April 2026

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : The Significance of Building Bridges—Professor M.S...

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : The Significance of Building Bridges—Professor M.S...: Tips to build bridges to enhance your leadership effectiveness and success “ People never care how much you know until they know h...

Friday, 24 April 2026

The Significance of Building Bridges—Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.—21st-Century Philosopher & The Father of “Soft Leadership”

Tips to build bridges to enhance your leadership effectiveness and success

“People never care how much you know until they know how much you care.” ―John C. Maxwell

Successful leaders know how to build bridges with others to achieve their organizational objectives. They know the importance of building relations for the successful execution of activities and effective interpersonal relations. They spot the barriers and break them, and build relations that bring magical results to their organizations. In this chapter, we will discuss the significance of building bridges.

Bridges are the links while barriers are the obstacles. Life is in your hands and you can choose the way you want to lead. Either you can build bridges or create barriers. As man is a social animal who craves the company of others and wants to move with others, he definitely wants to build bridges.

A bridge allows you to cross to the other side smoothly. You can build bridges with others through love, warmth, friendliness, cooperation, understanding, forgiveness, and a willingness to accept people as they are, rather than how we want them to be. A grateful attitude for the ability to build bridges helps to connect with others easily.

Leaders and Relations

Leadership is all about relationships, breaking barriers, and building bridges. Leaders must walk their talk to build relationships. They must create trust and goodwill among others. Unfortunately, most leaders are currently busy with their deadlines and pressures and do not find time to build relationships. They do not allow others to grow relations. As a result, they find very many casualties; and then they get busy firefighting those casualties rather than building relations. However, if the leaders find time to build relations and exercise patience for a while, they can avoid organizational casualties, thus ensuring organizational excellence. Building relations is like a 'ripple effect', and it takes time for the waves to reach the shore. Leaders must have time to think through and demonstrate their leadership similarly.

Tips to Build Bridges

Building relations is not that easy as people have different emotions, feelings, needs, and expectations. It is essential to know the other person to build relations. There must be a degree of flexibility to adjust and accommodate others. Here are some tips to build bridges:

• If you want to build relations, you must listen to others first. Listening is a great soft skill that connects with others easily. When you pay attention, it indicates respect toward others. While listening, pay attention to eye contact and a warm smile, as it helps to connect with others easily.

• Empathize with others. Empathy is about looking from others’ perspectives. It helps to step into the shoes of another person and view the situation as they would, thus connecting with others quickly.

• Learn to appreciate others. Everyone craves appreciation. It is the biggest tonic for any person. While showing appreciation, make sure that the other person deserves it, and that it should not sound like flattery.

• Remember the names and important dates and events of others and surprise them through greetings. It is the best way to connect with others and also indicates how much you remember and care for them.

• Praise quickly and criticize late. When the other person deserves a pat on the back, praise immediately by specifying the context and situation. And if you want to criticize others, ensure that the criticism is depersonalized and attacks only the specific behavior. Delay the process of criticism as your mind gets reformatted several times with better and more polished phrases, words, and sentences. As far as possible, avoid criticism.

• Attend to and console people when they are in distress. During good times, people might not need support from others. But they certainly need your support when they are in distress.

• Your intentions are more important than actions. Have a clear heart and express your intentions clearly, as it will then last for a longer time. And effective communication is the key to expressing your true intentions.

• Never dig up the unpleasant past as it vitiates a peaceful climate. Let bygones be bygones. Cherish the pleasant days of the past, not the unpleasant ones. Sometimes, recalling the unpleasant past opens a Pandora’s Box, thus breaking relations.

It takes years of effort to build bridges and seconds to break them. In fact, there is a bigger challenge in sustaining relations than in building them. Relationships are essential for leadership effectiveness and success. Hence, leaders must build bridges at the workplace to enable the growth of their people and organizations. In addition, it enhances their leadership effectiveness and success.

Share if you care!

“Things You Don’t Know about Professor M. S. Rao” http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html

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

Life is great!

Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.

Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants, India

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

Vision 2030: https://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professormsrao

Substack: https://professormsrao.substack.com

X: http://twitter.com/professormsrao

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfessorMSRao

Meta: https://www.facebook.com/Professor-MS-Rao-451516514937414

See the Light in You: https://www.amazon.com/See-Light-You-Spiritual-Mindfulness/dp/1949003132

Thanks for reading!

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

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : The Art and Craft of Interviewing Celebrities—Prof...

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : The Art and Craft of Interviewing Celebrities—Prof...: “ The best interviews―like the best biographies―should sing the strangeness and variety of the human race.” ―Lynn Barber There is a...

The Art and Craft of Interviewing Celebrities—Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.—21st-Century Philosopher & The Father of “Soft Leadership”

“The best interviews―like the best biographies―should sing the strangeness and variety of the human race.” ―Lynn Barber

There is an assumption that conducting interviews and giving interviews are easy tasks. They are tough tasks indeed especially when you conduct interviews with celebrities. If becoming a celebrity and giving interviews is one thing, interviewing a celebrity is another thing. Both tasks need the right platforms to share ideas and build leadership brands. In this post, I will discuss interviewing celebrities, etiquette, and tips to interview celebrities successfully.

You must join appropriate platforms to connect with celebrities and use your connections wisely to reach them through various means including email, telephone, and personal interaction. It is advisable to approach them through your reliable connections because they give comfort and confidence to the celebrities. Additionally, celebrities have their apprehensions and insecurities.

How to Interview Celebrities?

“When I was 15, I left school to start a magazine, and it became a success because I wouldn't take no for an answer. I remember banging on James Baldwin's door to ask for an interview when he came to England. Then I got Jean-Paul Sartre's home phone number and asked him to contribute. If I'd been 30, he might have said no, but I was a 15-year-old with passion and he was charmed. Making money was always just a side product of having a good time and creating things nobody's seen before." ―Richard Branson

Prepare a template and customize your questions according to the interests of the celebrities and their profession. Here is a blueprint to interview celebrities successfully.

Research intensively about the celebrity and find out their areas of interest to connect with them before the interview and frame questions accordingly.
Capture the ideas that flash through your mind first. Convert them into questions. Present them in a polished language. Avoid irrelevant questions and repetition. Structure and sequence them. Edit them ruthlessly.
Don’t give the questions to the interviewees in advance to achieve the right outcomes. However, you may share an outline of the interview in advance to enable the interviewee to prepare mentally.
Observe etiquette and respect their privacy.
Avoid close-ended questions. Ask open-ended questions to get the best.
Avoid asking embarrassing, controversial, and personal questions. Instead, hit the bull's eye with the right questions. Don't ask questions based on rumors and grapevine.
Listen attentively and empathetically. Don’t interrupt. If there is a need to interrupt, wait for a pause during the conversation and ask your question politely. Avoid creating an impression that you have cut off the interviewee.
Avoid outsmarting the interviewee. Don’t control the conversation. Let the interviewee speak freely.
Be unique and add value to your audiences by asking innovative and useful questions. Respect the time of your audiences and readers.
Indicate a signpost when you are about to close the interview.

An ideal interview unveils the unknown areas of the interviewee and adds value to the audience and readers.

Conclusion

“Fear has governed my life, if I think about it. I don’t even know why I’m saying this in an interview situation, but I always feel like I’m not good enough for some reason. I wish that wasn’t the case, but left to my own devices, that voice starts speaking up.” —Trent Reznor

Research and preparation are the keys to successful celebrity interviews. Take the liberty to deviate from the questions to have a natural flow of conversation. Take intrapersonal feedback after the interview to improve. Practice a lot and improve regularly to excel as a successful interviewer. To summarize, don't give up if the celebrities don't agree to your interview requests. Be patient and persistent. It is worth trying to add value and stand out from others. Good luck with your successful interviews!

“You need to be prepared for today’s media culture, in which a tweet can become newsworthy and a news interview can become tweet-worthy.” ―Brad Phillips of Phillips Media Relations

“I had an interview once with some German journalist—some horrible, ugly woman. It was in the early days after the communists—maybe a week after—and she wore a yellow sweater that was kind of see-through. She had huge tits and a huge black bra, and she said to me, ‘It’s impolite; remove your glasses.’ I said, ‘Do I ask you to remove your bra?” ―Karl Lagerfeld

Share if you care!

“Things You Don’t Know about Professor M. S. Rao” http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html

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