Personal Innovation

Recently, the “BUZZ” in business literature has been about innovation. However, just as important is innovation for each of us individually. It is not only companies that must innovate, but also individuals must innovate. Here are two reasons:

We are living in changing times. We now compete globally even at an individual level. This is a dramatic departure from eras when only countries and companies were competitors on the global stage. If individuals must now compete globally, then individuals, like countries and companies, must innovate to succeed. Individuals who do not innovate suffer the same fate of companies who don’t innovate: they will be left behind by competition that consistently renews itself.

We must all differentiate ourselves to avoid commoditization. Up until recently, we may have felt “safe and secure” because very few people in our environment had the same skill set. Now, individuals with the same skill set may be hundreds or thousands of miles away. Skills and knowledge can be transferred from all over the world rapidly and easily. This means that we all face the danger of our skill becoming a commodity. People around the world with the same skill set as you are suddenly within easy reach. No matter how far they are, they are actually only seconds away. They can very easily be selected to do your job, especially if they are cheaper than you.

If all this sounds scary, look at it in a different way: instead of only your immediate environment, the world is an opportunity – and what a great opportunity! But the ingredient you need to success is differentiation.

What’s so special about you that other people don’t have?

What makes you different from the others?

To answer these questions we have no choice but to innovate.

It's that time of year for thousands of Seniors across North America. Graduation!

It’s one of the greatest rights of passage and a cause for celebration!  It’s also that time when people we all know and some we have never heard of step to the podium and dispense wisdom and advice. 

 

Without question, some of this advice will be especially meaningful. In particular, consider Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement speech("Connect the Dots") at Stanford University and Randy Pausch’s 2008 address ("We don't beat the reaper by living longer. We beat the reaper by living well.") at Carnegie Mellon University.

This year, however, my favorite so far is Maria Shriver. Take a look.

While I have never been invited to give a commencement address, I have been asked for advice by both my students and young professionals.  Here is a synopsis of what I say:

1. The real key to success is not smarts. It comes from drive, energy, passion, ambition, enthusiasm, excitement, initiative, discipline, and the confidence to keep trying again and again.

2. Don’t worry about what to do with the rest of your life. Like everyone else, you will be a different person five years from now. Instead, think about what you want to do with the next three years. Most careers are a logical progression and in many cases, a series of unplanned, opportunistic choices.

3. Relationships are important. In a romantic partner, looks are nice, brains are nice and money is nice, but character is essential. Ultimately, the same is true in all our relationships: character is the most important thing you should look for in friends, partners of any kind, employees, clients or bosses.

4. The worst thing you can do if you want to get somebody to listen to you is to criticize. As human beings, when attacked we attack back, even when we are wrong. The goal is not to be “right”, the goal is to build a relationship.

Never give up

Dean Karnazes has run over 200 miles. At one time.

Take a moment to fully appreciate that: 200 miles in a single run. Think about the last time you went for a run, it was probably less than an hour.

It’s not because he has bigger lungs or stronger legs. It’s all in his mind. It’s not a physical thing. Now, it’s easy to say that people like Dean Karnazes are “freaks” and that’s why they can do the incredible things they do.

But isn’t that just an excuse?

Doesn’t that give us justification to not attempt the same things? We can sit back in our comfortable chair and say “well if I was Blessed with lungs like his then I would do the same, but I’m not, so I won’t”.

But we’re just kidding ourselves when we do this aren’t we?

Dean Karnazes is not a freak. He is a normal guy who has chosen to do some incredible things. He was nobody before he decided to do this. In fact, there are people with bodies far more suited to endurance running than his who haven’t done anything.

The fact is – anyone can choose to do something incredible.

And ‘anyone’ includes you…

The Importance of Hard Work

You do not come across success just by hoping for it. To achieve true success, you need the strength of mind and body to struggle and work hard to reach your fullest potential. You need the right attitude, self-discipline, and the ability to put your goal before all other desires if you are really driven towards reaching success. There is, after all no substitute for hard work. As Henry Ford said, “The harder you work, the luckier you get”, and the more successful you get!

The truly successful person keeps trying and struggling. Thomas Edison failed approximately 10,000 times while he was working on the light bulb and yet he never dreamed of giving up – this is the hard work and the determination that marks a true success. Indeed, success is not measured by the position that you are in today, but by the amount of hard work you put in and the number of obstacles that you overcome to reach your goal.

There are no short cuts to success. Hard work, complimented with a willingness to struggle to achieve success is the only way to reach your goals.

Remembering Steve Jobs

Like many, I respected Steve Jobs and his genius, and I am deeply saddened by his passing. The reality is that even if you have never owned an Apple product, Steve Jobs impacted all our lives.

There are many lessons we can all learn from Steve Jobs brief, but brilliant life. In particular, if you have not seen his 2005 Commencement address at Stanford, it is time well invested.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

Take these lessons and apply them to your life–personally and professionally. Once you stop setting new goals to strive for, your strategy for your career or your life becomes timid and leads to stagnation and decline.

“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”

You have today. What will your legacy be?

What can your organization learn from a mouse?

It's hard to imagine a place more magical than Walt Disney World. We are heading back to Disney and I’m sure we will have a great time!

On my first trip, I marveled at how clean Disney parks were and how friendly the cast was. How does Disney keep its cast members so motivated?

The motivation, the desire to perform well on the job, the feeling like they can make a difference is not just about training, it's about great leadership. Disney takes pride in having great leaders who create an environment where people want to do their best. Cast members want to do their jobs in 90-degree heat and 98-percent humidity, and keep on smiling while they are doing it because they feel like they are adding value and contributing.

The secret to Disney's success isn't magic pixie dust. It's a secret Walt Disney realized years ago: "You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world but it requires people to make the dream a reality.”

Walt Disney's dream of creating a magic place where dreams can come true has obviously been fulfilled. What can your organization learn from a mouse?

Century Ride for Cancer

Like many of you, cancer has touched my family, many friends, and colleagues. To support ongoing research and new treatments for this disease, I will be riding 100 miles in the in the Century for the Cure cycling event on September 10, 2011, sponsored by The Cancer Institute of New Jersey.

Use the link below to go visit my donor page, and please consider supporting me.

Keep in mind the commitment I'm making to help end this disease. While I’ll be riding, I hope you'll be a part of it with me. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Support me!

What I have learned from being a college professor

As the spring semester draws to a close, I realize I have learned a great deal as a professor, especially from my daily experiences with students. It is from these experiences that I made this list of things I have learned from being a college professor:

• Teaching gives me hope for the future. I am fortunate to work with some amazing students. Their dedication to academic excellence and the pursuit of truth often humbles me.
• I love the “aha” moment. When a student or class has been struggling with an idea and finally grasps it, the satisfaction and excitement is almost palpable. It is addicting.
• Teaching (like leading) isn’t just about the classroom or the lecturing; it is about being a model for your student. Modeling is another type of teaching that we do with students. Modeling is often times more effective than the lecture.
• Freshmen seem like they are getting younger and younger, and, no, it is not because I am getting older.
• It’s okay to say, “I don’t know.” Really.
• Don’t start a question with, “This is probably stupid.” or any similar self-deprecating statement. The only thing stupid is that phrase.

At Tax Time: Money and happiness

Many people associate money with happiness. However, thinking about money frequently is likely to make us less happy. With money always on our minds, we work more and spend less time with loved ones. To increase the richness of our life experience, time, not money, should be our focus.

A series of surveys and experiments examining the effect of focusing attention on money or time found that people who focused on money, no matter how much they had, were more likely to work more and socialize less.

This work was conducted by Professor Cassie Mogilner at University of Pennsylvania. She commented “passing the hours working (although productive) does not translate into greater happiness.”

On the other hand, focusing on time motivated people “to spend more time with friends and family and less time working; behaviors that are associated with greater happiness.”

Long work hours decrease happiness by cutting into time that could be spent with partners, friends, and family. “Simply increasing the relative salience of time (vs. money) can nudge someone to spend that extra hour at home rather than at the office, there finding greater happiness” says Cassie.

The Pursuit of Happiness: Time, Money, and Social Connection Psychological Science 21(9) 1348–1354, Mogilner, Cassie

Show Me Your Friends; I Will Show You Your Future!

Many people have various formulas for success in business and life. One lesson that I have learned (sometimes painfully) is “Show me your friends, I will show you your future.” The idea of this is not new. The notion of being guilty or successful by association has been around for centuries.

Over the years, this has led me to ask a question if my own friendships were propelling me forward and enhancing my life. Fortunately, I am now surrounded by a circle of friends and associates that challenge me. Sadly, this was not always true and it is not everyone’s situation. While some have a great support system, many do not. For whatever reason, there are people that do not want to see others succeed or accomplish their dreams. Many people have surrounded themselves with these people.

Most of us spend too much time holding on to bad or damaged relationships. If you are loyal to people who are not loyal to you, you must move on. If every time you share your dream and they kill it, you must move on.

I am not trying to influence you to end all your friendships. However, you should be asking yourself what your future will look like based on those you call friends. I (of all people) know that you can’t change your friends, but you can CHANGE your friends.

What are you thinking?

A study of twenty-one ultra endurance triathletes revealed that experts and non-experts think differently during performance. These triathletes were classified according to finishing times: experts, middle of the pack, and back of the packers. After competing, these athletes viewed videoed segments of their performance and asked to recall their thoughts during periods of high decision making.

An initial analysis found the athletes’ thoughts to be a) passive, b) active, or c) proactive. Expert triathletes reported a greater emphasis on thoughts related to their performance, while middle of the pack and back of the pack triathletes reported a greater number of passive thoughts.

Furthermore, experts were more proactive in their approach to performance situations than mid- and back-pack triathletes. Proactive thinking refers to the ability to identify opportunities and act on them to bring about significant change.

Compared with non-experts, it appears that experts are not only more focused on factors affecting their performance, but also are more proactive in making decisions to achieve greater results from their efforts.

REVIEW: The Way We're Working Isn't Working

Tony Schwartz, Jean Gomes and Catherine McCarthy have written a provocative book that takes a serious look at the one area in business that seems immune to change -- the human costs of doing business in the digital age.

Schwartz is also the co-author of The Power of Full Engagement. In this new work, he, Gomes and McCarthy provide a proven prescription for making positive changes in the way we work. The book is an extension of ideas that Schwartz and McCarthy introduced in a Harvard Business Review article Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time in 2007.

The premise is simple: “The furious activity to accomplish more with less exacts a series of silent costs: less capacity for focused attention, less time for any given task, and less opportunity to think reflectively and long term.” In other words, less energy. More importantly, less sustainable energy.

Like Dan Pink’s book, Drive (highly recommended), this book challenges the notion of what truly works in today’s business environment. While Pink focuses on motivation, Schwartz, Gomes and McCarthy challenge the idea of how to enhance the performance of employees -- and much of it is counter-intuitive to how we do business. “A growing body of research suggests that we’re most productive when we move between periods of high focus and intermittent rest. Instead, we live in a gray zone, constantly juggling activities but rarely fully engaging in any of them -- or fully disengaging from any of them.”

Within the first 10 pages, they make a persuasive case. “Most organizations enable our dysfunctional behaviors and even encourage them through policies, practices, reward systems and cultural messages that serve to drain our energy and run down our value over time.

They make a make a case that we’re at our best not when act like computers running at high speed for long hours, but when we pulse rhythmically between expending and regularly renewing energy across each of our four needs.

If you want to make positive change in your organization and want to move beyond the status quo, The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working -- is a working blueprint for any company’s future.

Happy Birthday Peter!

Born in Vienna on November 19, 1909, Peter Drucker had a profound impact on how people around the world organize themselves in the realms of business, government and civil society.

In this book, The Daily Drucker, you will find 366 daily readings harvested from Drucker’s lifetime of work. At the bottom of each page, the reader will find an action point that spells out exactly how to put Drucker’s ideas into practice. It is as if the wisest and most action-oriented management consultant in the world is in the room, offering his timeless gems of advice. The Daily Drucker is for anyone who seeks to understand and put to use Drucker’s powerful words and ideas.

Now, if your looking for the online version, you'll find it here.

Motivation

“Motivate them...” It was an off the cuff remark from one of my students, but it stopped me cold. I stopped the presentation (Training and Development) and said “It’s time for Prof. Wright’s talk on motivation. “ Now, if you have not had the pleasure of listening to me:

A) go on and on and on about motivation and/or

B) talk about why Intrinsic motivation is so powerful and/or

C) say “You can’t motivate anyone to do anything, but you can influence and sway their behavior by changing their environment”

or you don’t believe any of it this, take a look at this great YouTube clip:

Did You Know 4.0...

If you watched the original 'Shift happens' video, you may be interested to know that a newly updated version, Did You Know 4.0 has now been released. It tends to focus on convergence, rise of social media, fall of traditional sources and comes with lots of facts and figures (with citations!). It's certainly interesting and I assigned it to my class. Always thought provoking…

Book Review: Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Robert Cialdini, Noah Goldstein, and Steve J. Martin

Authors Noah Goldstein, Steve Martin, and Robert Cialdini provide what they promise: 50 case studies where science determined the difference between “yes” and “no” responses.

The book is a quick read and the 50 chapters are short and the writing style familiar. But Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways To Be Persuasive stands out for two reasons: everything is backed up by hard data and there is a prominent focus on the ethical use of the techniques.

Yes! does not get bogged down with numbers, but the authors are very clear about the research and testing that goes into their conclusions. For example, let’s imagine that your business relies on your employees making deals. In one of the Yes! experiments, when one group of test subjects was asked to mimic a negotiator’s physical behavior, they reached a deal 67% of the time. Think about your imaginary business for a second. How much would a 10% decrease in deal-making hurt you? What about 20%? Non-mimicking pairs of negotiators reached a deal only 12.5% of the time – a difference of more than 54%. Perhaps that’s enough for you to start considering the authors persuasive techniques.

We also like this book is because the ethical ramifications of the work are never hidden away. The authors advocate that not only is unethical persuasion distasteful, but that it’s less profitable too. The authors contend,

“Often the first influence strategy that comes to mind will not be the most ethical – or the wisest, as was demonstrated…as ethical persuaders, we can take comfort in knowing that those who do choose to wield social influence as a destructive weapon, rather than a constructive tool, will inevitably end up pointing that weapon at themselves and shooting themselves in the foot”

This isn’t a perfect book . A few of the stories are boring and some of the humor falls flat. Nonetheless, we recommend it. It’s perfect for a business trip and quick enough to be read in a weekend.

Pomp & Circumstance

Yes, it’s that time of year. Pomp & Circumstance is pounding in many heads and mortarboards are flying. Graduation season – the commencement of a new stage of life. This year, my stepson Brian is graduating from High School and my niece and nephew are graduating from college. So, in their honor of their considerable achievements, here are a few lessons from my journey I’d like to share. And for those of us whose commencement was a bit in the past, it’s a nice reminder.

Life is supposed to be fun, so laugh - A Lot! Take your school, your homework, and your career choices seriously, but always take yourself lightly! People like being with people who smile and make them laugh. Remember that the safest target for your humor will always be you. When you laugh at yourself before others do, you win!

Life can be difficult and sometimes unfair. College is more difficult than high school; life is more difficult than college. Every increase in the degree of difficulty lets you experience the satisfaction of mastering that next level. Stretch your mental and relationship muscles and they will work better. Maturity and true optimism comes from overcoming increasingly tough obstacles. While you may not believe it right now, you have what it takes to overcome life's difficulties. The hard part is proving it to yourself.

Your attitude is the biggest choice you will make. You are going to make mistakes. However, instead of beating yourself up, ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?” Then stop looking in the rearview mirror and start looking ahead and use the lesson to make your life better.

Develop a sense of gratitude. Be thankful for what life gives you every day. The next time you feel like hosting your own “pity party”, write down your blessings instead of your problems.

Be nice to all the people you meet along the way. It's not only what you know that will get you ahead, but also how you treat others you live and work with. Not everyone you meet will be nice in return. In the end, however, nice people do get ahead.

No one I know is good at all these lessons, least of all me. I’m still working on them, but they are worth learning and remembering. So whatever stage of life you are commencing, make memories, make a difference and enjoy the journey.

Setting an Example...

A commonly offered definition of leadership is accomplishing results through people doing things they might not ordinarily want to do. Setting an example is perhaps the most basic way that leaders get effective results. In Peters and Waterman’s classic, they talked extensively about “management by walking around.” Certainly, this is one way to get out and set an example.

However, a recent CBS News piece on Haruka Nishimatsu, President and CEO of Japan Air, gives a superior example of this concept:

Nishimatsu provides a great example of someone who will not only run a company, but how to encourage people to take the initiative, giving them a feeling of job ownership. Put in the context of the economic meltdown, the majority of these steps should be a no brainer, something all leaders, at every level others need to take a long hard look at.

Every day there are countless ways, both positive and negative, in which leaders set an example. The leaders conduct, the way they treat other people and the attitude they bring to work every day is an example of what they want their team to do.

So, what kind of example are you setting?

Attitude...

Many people believe that their attitude is not their own choice. For many, attitude depends upon people and circumstances. If people are nice to them, then they have a good attitude. On the other hand, if someone treats them unfairly, then they have a bad attitude.

Awhile back, someone sent me this email. You may have read it too. It certainly brings home the point of attitudes.

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'

He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'

He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.'

'Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or ... I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.' Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.'

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.

'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said. Soon after that, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?'

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my kids,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked

He continued, '...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.'

'What did you do?' I asked.

'Well, there was a nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity.' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything. And, your attitude is your choice.

We can blame circumstances for our attitude. We can blame the actions of others for our attitude. We can even blame the dog. But the truth is, we decide, we choose and we determine our attitude at any given moment.

The attitude that you have right now, at this very moment, is the one you have chosen to carry around. It is determined by your thoughts.

Think about it. When was the last time you had a lousy attitude and a great day? Do you think that a connection exists between attitude, thoughts and physical realities of the day you are having? Of course it does!

Undoubtedly, there will days with circumstances that we cannot change. There may be people we deal with that act like jerks. Yet, regardless of what we are faced with each day, we can choose to let it affect our attitude, or we can choose to not let it affect our attitude.

What will be your choice?

Change...

With all the events of the past few months, I thought this inspirational speech given by Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro Corporation, at the 37th Annual Convocation 2002, IIM, Ahmedabad. Through his thought provoking speech, he shares his guiding principles to stay afloat in a changing world. While his speech was given seven years ago, it seems so relevant today.

11 Lessons on Change Management: Azim Premji

While change and uncertainty have always been a part of life, what has been shocking over the last year has been both the quantum and suddenness of change. For many people who were cruising along on placid waters, the wind was knocked out of their sails. The entire logic of doing business was turned on its head. Not only business, but also every aspect of human life has been impacted by the change. What lies ahead is even more dynamic and uncertain. I would like to use this opportunity to share with you some of our own guiding principles of staying afloat in a changing world. This is based on our experience in Wipro. Hope you find them useful.

First,be alert for the first signs of change. Change descends on every one equally; it is just that some realize it faster. Some changes are sudden but many others are gradual. While sudden changes get attention because they are dramatic, it is the gradual changes that are ignored till it is too late. You must have all heard of story of the frog in boiling water. If the Temperature of the water is suddenly increased, the frog realizes it and jumps out of the water. But if the temperature is very slowly increased, one degree at a time, the frog does not realize it till it boils to death. You must develop your own early warning system, which warns you of changes and calls your attention to it. In the case of change, being forewarned is being forearmed.

Second, anticipate change even when things are going right. Most people wait for something to go wrong before they think of change. It is like going to the doctor for a check up only when you are seriously sick or thinking of maintaining your vehicle only when it breaks down. The biggest enemy of future success is past success. When you succeed, you feel that you must be doing something right for it to happen. But when the parameters for success changes, doing the same things may or may not continue to lead to success. Guard against complacency all the time. Complacency makes you blind to the early signals from the environment that something is going wrong.

Third, always look at the opportunities that change represents. Managing change has a lot to go with our own attitude towards it. It is proverbial half-full or half-empty glass approach. For every problem that change represents, there is an opportunity lurking in disguise somewhere. It is up to you to spot it before someone else does.

Fourth, do not allow routines to become chains. For many of us the routine we have got accustomed to obstruct change. Routines represent our own zones of comfort. There is a sense of predictability about them. They have structured our time and even our thought in a certain way. While routines are useful, do not let them enslave you. Deliberately break out of them from time to time.

Fifth, realize that fear of the unknown is natural. With change comes a feeling of insecurity. Many people believe that brave people are not afflicted by this malady. The truth is different. Every one feels the fear of unknown. Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to manage fear without getting paralyzed. Feel the fear, but move on regardless.

Sixth, keep renewing yourself. This prepares you to anticipate change and be ready for it when it comes. Constantly ask yourself what new skills and competencies will be needed. Begin working on them before it becomes necessary and you will have a natural advantage. The greatest benefit of your education lies not only in what you have learnt, but also in working how to learn. Formal education is the beginning of the journey of learning. Yet I do meet youngsters who feel that they have already learnt all there is to learn. You have to constantly learn about people and how to interact effectively with them. In the world of tomorrow, only those individuals and organizations will succeed who have mastered the art of rapid and on-going learning.

Seventh, surround yourself with people who are open to change. If you are always in the company of cynics, you will soon find yourself becoming like them. A cynic knows all the reasons why something cannot be done. Instead, spend time with people who have a “can-do” approach. Choose your advisors and mentors correctly. Pessimism is contagious, but then so is enthusiasm. In fact, reasonable optimism can be an amazing force multiplier.

Eighth, play to win. I have said this many times in the past. Playing to win is not the same as cutting corners. When you play to win, you stretch yourself to your maximum and use all your potential. It also helps you to concentrate your energy on what you can influence instead of getting bogged down with the worry of what you cannot change. Do your best and leave the rest.

Ninth, respect yourself. The world will reward you on your successes. Success requires no explanation and failure permits none. But you need to respect yourself enough so that your self-confidence remains intact whether you succeed or fail. If you succeed 90 percent of the time, you are doing fine. If you are succeeding all the time, you should ask yourself if you are taking enough risks. If you do not take enough risks, you may also be losing out on many opportunities. Think through but take the plunge. If some things do go wrong, learn from them.

I came across this interesting story some time ago: One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and begin to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that fell on his back, the donkey was doing some thing amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and totted off! Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick is to not to get bogged down by it. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping. And by never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Tenth, in spite of all the change around you, decide upon what you will never change - your core values. Take your time to decide what they are but once you do, do not compromise on them for any reason. Integrity is one such value.

Finally, we must remember that succeeding in a changing world is beyond just surviving. It is our responsibility to create and contribute something to the world that has given us so much. We must remember that many have contributed to our success, including our parents and others from our society. All of us have a responsibility to utilize our potential for making our nation a better place for others, who may not be as well endowed as us, or as fortunate in having the opportunities that we have received.