Sport the mindset of success!

Do you step out into the unknown regardless of whether trying something new may make you win or lose? How much fight do you have in you to achieve something even if others around you tell you it can’t be done, or if the odds are insurmountable? Here is an interesting anecdote on the topic:

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922) was an Irish explorer who is best remembered for his Antarctic expedition of 1914-1915 in the ship Endurance, described in his book South.

The journey over the frozen deep was fraught with danger. The Endurance became trapped in pack ice and was ultimately destroyed by it. The crew had to abandon ship. After trekking over the ice, dragging three of the ship's lifeboats they had salvaged from the wreck, they managed to get to Elephant Island.

From there, Shackleton and four other men set out to summon help. In the largest of the three boats, they journeyed 750 miles (1200 km) through rough seas to the southern Atlantic Ocean island of South Georgia, where Shackleton and two others crossed glaciers and razorback ridges to reach a whaling station.

Following this, Shackleton made one last expedition, from which he did not return. But the point is that despite all odds against him in his initial attempt, he had the guts to try again whether he succeeded or failed.

In life, and in work, this is a quality we all need. Whether it is starting up a new business, or launching into a new product or aspect of your existing one, we all need strong characteristics that will make us snub our noses in the face of difficulty and set out to accomplish their dreams even if it means facing the risk of failure.

Article excerpts from activated.org

By POST A RESUME (http://www.postaresume.co.in)

Realize you are rich!

Has the recession hit you so hard you’re reeling under its attack? Are you wondering what there is left for you to look forward to or value? Here’s an anecdote of a man who’s life was full of worrying and disillusionment, until one day, something changed his life and he began to realize that looking at things positively can make you realize that you are rich!

Harold Abbot was a chronic worrier. That is until one spring day in 1934 when, as he was walking down the street, he saw something that put an end to all his worries. "It all happened in ten seconds," he told friend years later, "but during those ten seconds I learned more about how to live than I had learned in the previous ten years."

At the time, Harold had been trying to run a grocery store--not easy in the middle of the Great Depression. He had gone heavily into debt, and had been forced to close his store a few days before. Now he was on his way to the bank to try to borrow some money so he could go to a nearby city to look for a job. Harold had lost all his fight and faith. He walked like a beaten man.

Then he saw a man coming down the street--a man who had no legs. The man was sitting on a little wooden platform equipped with wheels from roller skates. He propelled himself along with a block of wood in each hand. Harold met him just after the man had crossed the street and was starting to lift himself over the curb and onto the sidewalk. As the man tilted his little wooden platform to an angle, their eyes met and the man greeted Harold with a smile. "Good morning! It is a fine morning, isn't it?" he said with spirit.

As Harold stood looking at him, Harold realized how rich he was. He had two legs. He could walk. He felt ashamed of his self-pity. "If that man can be happy, cheerful, and confident without legs," Harold said to himself, "I certainly can with legs." He could already feel his self-esteem returning. He had intended to ask the bank for one hundred dollars. Now he had the courage to ask for two hundred. He had intended to say that he wanted to go to the city to try to get a job, but at the bank he announced confidently that he wanted to go to the city to get a job. He got the loan, and he got the job.

For years afterwards, Harold Abbott kept the following words pasted on his bathroom mirror, and read them every morning as he shaved:

I had the blues
Because I had no shoes,
Until upon the street,
I met a man who had no feet.

Recession hits hard, but the absolute worst thing one can do is to buckle down under its pressure. The best weapon any of us have against the negativity of a harsh recession is a positive attitude. All the best with your focus on thinking positively!

Article excerpts from activated.org

By POST A RESUME (http://www.postaresume.co.in)

The Art of Presentation

Different presentations affect our reactions, communications and interactions with others. It's our presentation that counts.

Two people may be trying to get across the same idea, but they may do it in completely different ways. One presentation may have negative overtones, carry with it a whole range of negative emotions, and incite negative reactions, whereas the other may be just the opposite. Almost without exception, the one who does it in a kind, considerate way will have the greater success.

Positive presentation makes people feel good, it makes them feel cared for, it makes them feel that you like and respect and have confidence in them, and that nearly always wins their cooperation.

If people feel that you care, that's what will matter most to them and go the farthest in strengthening your relationship. Let friendship and trust come through.

Actually, the words we say are not always as important as how we say them. Sometimes we do need to point out problems or say things that we know will be difficult for the other person to accept, and even be direct in doing so. But people can overlook our being frank if they see that we sincerely care about them.

Even if we fail to say exactly the right thing in exactly the right way, if people feel that you care, that's what will matter most to them and go the farthest in strengthening your relationship. Let friendship and trust come through.

Part of mastering the Art of Presentation is to try a little tact.

A word that seems out of place or is said at the wrong time or to the wrong person is often thought of as a lack of tact. The dictionary defines tact as "the ability to say and do the right things; skill in handling difficult situations or dealing with difficult people without giving offense; delicacy; diplomacy." Delicacy means "fineness of feeling for small differences." The word "tact" is taken from the Latin tactus, which means "touching."

So the art of having tact and saying the right things to people at the right time is really just to be sensitive to the way they feel, to have that personal touch that helps us to be aware of what might hurt their feelings and to avoid doing so.

How do we learn to be more tactful? Be more sensitive to people's feelings, and cultivate the habit of thinking twice before you speak.

Article excerpts from activated.org

By POST A RESUME (www.postaresume.co.in)

Nothing is Impossible

Sometimes the challenge set before you may seem insurmountable, but there are no impossibilities to men and women who believe.

I can't remember ever seeing a flea circus—the classic sideshow event in which fleas are the performers—but I came across a fascinating article about how the fleas are trained.

Fleas can jump extraordinarily high, relative to their tiny size. Training fleas involves putting them into a small box or jar. Without a lid, the fleas could easily jump out, so the flea trainer puts a lid in place and waits.

Inside the container, the fleas jump up in order to escape. They hit the lid and fall back down. Again and again, the fleas will jump, hit the lid, and fall back. Then, after some time, the fleas don't jump so high. They jump up almost as high as the lid, but not quite.

Eventually, the trainer will remove the lid. The fleas could easily escape now, but they don't even try. They've become accustomed to only jumping to a certain height. They have more or less decided that's their limit; they are going as high as they can go, and they don't attempt anything further. Freedom is just a jump away, but it's a jump they don't make. "Stupid fleas," we say. "So void of intelligence that they don't realize the lid has been removed."

But come to think of it, we too sometimes allow ourselves to be limited by barriers that exist only in our minds. We tried and failed at something, and our confidence was shaken. The next time around, when an opportunity arose to try something new or bigger, we didn't rise to the challenge because we didn't think we were capable of doing it.

Life is full of new beginnings and fresh possibilities and the lesson of the fleas should not be lost on us. We don't have to let setbacks or mistakes of our past hold us down, like the nonexistent lid on the fleas' jar. No imaginary limits for us! We can rise to new heights.

By POST A RESUME (www.postaresume.co.in)

Just Try!!!

By POST A RESUME (www.postaresume.co.in)

By POST A RESUME (www.postaresume.co.in)

Demand for Senior-Level Manpower to dip by 50 percent!!!

There will be a 50 percent fall in requirement of senior-level manpower across sectors in Indian companies in 2009, compared with 2008, according to a survey by Gallup Consulting, commissioned by Executive Recruiters Association (ERA), an association of around 210 human resource consultancy firms in India. Senior-level manpower includes people with designations above vice-president and general managers.

The requirement for middle and junior level employees will fall by 23 percent and temporary manpower requirement will be down 21 percent, the survey says.

But there’s some good news for job-seekers. The engineering, infrastructure and construction sectors will require 64 percent more senior staff this year compared with 2008. The second highest requirement is from telecom companies, which is 16 percent more than in 2008. Business process outsourcing (BPO), knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and ITeS sectors will require 44 percent more manpower in middle and junior level management this year, says the Gallup survey.

“The infrastructure projects are mid-way. The companies need employees for the projects to continue. The telecom sector is seeing a few new entrants. Also, some of the existing companies are entering new circles, so there is a need for manpower,” said Vipul Varma, secretary, ERA.

According to Mario Lobo, managing director of Ray & Berndston, an executive search firm, “Acquiring talent from outside the company will be expensive. Companies will change employees only when they think that a particular domain or business division is not doing well.”

Joy Nandi, client partner, Korn/Ferry International, another executive research firm, said, “There is a freeze in many companies when it comes to hiring. Typically, in a situation of downturn, companies relook at their manpower to check if they have a right person for a right job. If not, they coach and retrain people or move them into different departments with different responsibilities. It is also important to note that critical hiring is an ongoing process................

Article by Shilpa Shree, Mumbai, Financial Chronicle.

By POST A RESUME (www.postaresume.co.in)