Ayobowan SRI LANKA

One of those things, which I love to do, is travel. Hence, my wife Arpita and I have decided that every year we will have at least two holidays (which are 5 days or more, and these don’t include attending marriages!) One holiday is compulsory in India and the other can be abroad.

This holiday, we decided to explore Sri Lanka for 11 days. (Yes, you read it right – 11 days only in Sri Lanka) It was one of the most memorable holiday destinations for us. In spite of being such a small country, it has beaches, hill stations, rainforests, mountains, treks, adventure, and, of course, a lively city life! The cleanliness is mind blowing. The roads are excellently maintained. Each and every person we met, be it a restaurant manager, a driver, a business owner, a roadside vendor or anyone for that matter, were so inviting and warm. They all made us feel extremely at home.

As we were waiting outside our gate to board the flight to India, Arpita and I struck a wonderful conversation on this lovely unexplored and understated country! They thrive on tea plantations, some garment industry and tourism. But, by large, the main source of income for them is tourism.

Looking at the way they treat the tourists, I guess they realize that. They know that if the tourists are taken good care of, they will in turn propagate about their country and hence more tourists. In short, tourism is the strength of Sri Lanka, and more importantly they do everything possible to best utilize their strength.

This brings me to ask myself two questions – 

•  Out of all the strengths that I have, which is my CORE STRENGTH?
•  Am I doing everything to ensure that I am BEST UTILIZING it?

Let’s attempt to understand with a few examples –

• “Mr. Dependable” cricketer Rahul Dravid’s strength was to stabilize and hold the innings together. He was most successful batting at No.3 for India, and never really a T20 type cricketer.
• Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Atlantic Airlines comes across as a flamboyant personality. It’s not a surprise that we always see him on the front of everything he does. He is always in the news.
• India’s new PM, Narendra Modi’s strength is encouraging and implementing the growth model, rather than just criticizing other parties. I guess by stressing on it, he was able to create history in India’s politics.
• Ar. Geoffrey Bawa fused the unique combination of western studies and culture with local Sri Lanka requirements to create architectural marvels. 

I understand that in today’s fast paced world, thinking does not come naturally to most of us. Rather, a few of us must be believing – it’s such a waste of time. But, if we can take off a few minutes (now itself ….. than delaying for later) to contemplate about our core strength and match it to whether we are utilizing it or not; it would be such an eye opener!

VIS-À-VIS my life –

I think my core strength is in being consistent in whatever I do. If I decide to take up something, be rest assured I will pursue it until I have achieved it. So, I don’t mind taking up and doing things for which I must work a little longer, rather than expecting immediate results.

Though Sri Lanka was just another holiday destination, it taught me something so important. I knew my strengths. But I had never really thought about which one of them was my CORE STRENGTH and whether I was UTLIZING IT! Thanks to this country, I have learnt a crucial lesson!

Ayobowan Sri Lanka!

(P.S. – Have you thought about your CORE STRENGTH yet?)

Love,
Amit Kothari
…… always upgrading!

KEEPING THE FOCUS RIGHT

I did my Masters degree from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. As I was studying there for about 18 months, I realized that one of the most awaited and exciting event that happens in Melbourne is – F1 (Formula One) race. Melbourne is the place where the F1 season begins. One canalways feel the excitement in the air!

A few of my friends in Melbourne were great fans of F1. They would always make it a point to watch the F1 race. They told me something, which was brilliant. They told me that the cars zoom at the speed of 300 km/hour. (The sound in the circuit is deafening. You need ear plugs to be able to sit and watch it live). Until their focus is on the road ahead, they are always in control of their car. The moment their focus dwindles even for a mini second, they suffer in the race.

How true this is in our lives too! Depending on where my focus is, so are the results for me too. Let’s consider a few real life examples –

·         When I say it is a tough subject for me, how many times haveI scored well in it?

·        When my thought is that I am going to make a call to a customer who is a little tricky, do I actually ever end  up convincing that customer?

·         When I am of the opinion that I don’t think this friendship will last long, have I ever mended that friendship?

·         When I say it is recession time, have I ever grown in my business during that period?

The point I am attempting to make is that when I think of a situation in a negative way (which is my focus), invariably the outcome is never positive. Instead, how about shifting focus–

·   Irrespective of how tough the subject looks, with a little bit of extra studies, I should be able to score extremely well.

·        Though the customer looks tricky, today seems to be my day. I can convert any one into my customer.

·    Even when the friend is not responding the way I would like him to, I will take that initiative to build the relationship and get back to the good old times.

·     Doesn’t matter if it is a recession. Not everyone has stopped buying. Even if there is one customer who is buying, how can I get him to come to me?

VIS-À-VIS my life –

More often than not, I look at any situation with an intent to find a solution to it. Some situations bewilder me; some are fresh challenges; some don’t seem to have a straight solution.But when I set my mindto think – what is the best solution to this issue, a solution pops up automatically. I think this happens because I shift my focus onto – how to solve this?

I firmly believe in this concept and have seen this working for me. When I get my focus right, positive outcomes happen! Hence, I have promised myself to always KEEPMY FOCUS RIGHT …

Love,
Amit Kothari
……always upgrading!