Lishen Nair's Blog
April 19, 2014
Luck: Chance, Design, or Something Else?
Every person you come into contact with probably has a different understanding of what good fortune entails. Because while virtually everyone agrees luck to be an advantageous alignment or collusion of events; opinion varies on the degree to which such a collusion of events happens by chance or by design.
Optimists say you create your own luck (by design), while the less enthusiastic proclaim luck to be a completely random occurrence (chance). Either way luck must be 'real' because there are cases of individuals and organizations who attain more than their peers do, often with less effort (all other factors being equal). Some simply experience an advantageous collusion of events more frequently than others do.
That said, I believe that people who say nothing ever goes their way are living with an obstinate mindset. Even those who feel they are jinxed occasionally have things go their way. Many who bemoan a lack of fortune are simply unable to recognize or uncover a thinly veiled opportune moment. In her book Maximize Your Potential: Grow Your Expertise, Take Bold Risks & Build an Incredible Career, Jocelyn Glei said: "Lucky people take advantage of chance occurrences that come their way. Instead of going through life on cruise control, they pay attention to what’s happening around them and, therefore, are able to extract greater value from each situation."
But how does one become alert to and increase the frequency of these "chance occurrences"? Exposing yourself to the unfamiliar is a key factor, according to Tina Seelig in What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: "Lucky people are also open to novel opportunities and willing to try things outside of their usual experiences. They’re more inclined to pick up a book on an unfamiliar subject, to travel to less familiar destinations, and to interact with people who are different than themselves."
Lucky moments can be spotted when you look at life through a wider lens. Two people can look at the same thing and one person will see nothing of interest, while the other spots a range of possibilities. Lucky moments cannot be conjured by following a recipe -- if there was such a recipe we would all get lucky at will -- but they can be found when one is willing to venture into unfamiliar territory, and recognized by keeping the mind attentive instead of automated.
New experiences give new perspectives; these new perspectives cause you to view things differently. You can draw different conclusions and create unique solutions when you have a wide angle lens supported by an attentive mind. The ideas and solutions borne out of this mindset will be what the uninitiated call a "lucky idea." This is why immigrants can sometimes make a big impact in a foreign country. Turkish immigrant Hamdi Ulukaya started Chobani Yoghurt in the United States, growing it into a $1 billion company. “The knowledge I had from back home, ” he said, referencing his childhood in Turkey, “you know, working on a dairy farm making cheese and yogurts, and I would never thought one day I would put my knowledge in to work here.” Chobani focus on Greek yogurt. Before their arrival this variety of yogurt wasn't widespread in the United States, or at least, it wasn't as good as Chobani.
It must be remembered however that no lucky moment becomes a life-changing one unless it's acted upon. People who are considered lucky would have taken their chances and committed at some point, usually with little to no certainty of the outcome. Those who call luck a completely random, spontaneous event should therefore assess if they adopt such an understanding of luck to complement a narrow outlook; or if they really feel that life is so unfair that it concentrates all good fortune on a few for no apparent reason.
Optimists say you create your own luck (by design), while the less enthusiastic proclaim luck to be a completely random occurrence (chance). Either way luck must be 'real' because there are cases of individuals and organizations who attain more than their peers do, often with less effort (all other factors being equal). Some simply experience an advantageous collusion of events more frequently than others do.
That said, I believe that people who say nothing ever goes their way are living with an obstinate mindset. Even those who feel they are jinxed occasionally have things go their way. Many who bemoan a lack of fortune are simply unable to recognize or uncover a thinly veiled opportune moment. In her book Maximize Your Potential: Grow Your Expertise, Take Bold Risks & Build an Incredible Career, Jocelyn Glei said: "Lucky people take advantage of chance occurrences that come their way. Instead of going through life on cruise control, they pay attention to what’s happening around them and, therefore, are able to extract greater value from each situation."
But how does one become alert to and increase the frequency of these "chance occurrences"? Exposing yourself to the unfamiliar is a key factor, according to Tina Seelig in What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: "Lucky people are also open to novel opportunities and willing to try things outside of their usual experiences. They’re more inclined to pick up a book on an unfamiliar subject, to travel to less familiar destinations, and to interact with people who are different than themselves."
Lucky moments can be spotted when you look at life through a wider lens. Two people can look at the same thing and one person will see nothing of interest, while the other spots a range of possibilities. Lucky moments cannot be conjured by following a recipe -- if there was such a recipe we would all get lucky at will -- but they can be found when one is willing to venture into unfamiliar territory, and recognized by keeping the mind attentive instead of automated.
New experiences give new perspectives; these new perspectives cause you to view things differently. You can draw different conclusions and create unique solutions when you have a wide angle lens supported by an attentive mind. The ideas and solutions borne out of this mindset will be what the uninitiated call a "lucky idea." This is why immigrants can sometimes make a big impact in a foreign country. Turkish immigrant Hamdi Ulukaya started Chobani Yoghurt in the United States, growing it into a $1 billion company. “The knowledge I had from back home, ” he said, referencing his childhood in Turkey, “you know, working on a dairy farm making cheese and yogurts, and I would never thought one day I would put my knowledge in to work here.” Chobani focus on Greek yogurt. Before their arrival this variety of yogurt wasn't widespread in the United States, or at least, it wasn't as good as Chobani.
It must be remembered however that no lucky moment becomes a life-changing one unless it's acted upon. People who are considered lucky would have taken their chances and committed at some point, usually with little to no certainty of the outcome. Those who call luck a completely random, spontaneous event should therefore assess if they adopt such an understanding of luck to complement a narrow outlook; or if they really feel that life is so unfair that it concentrates all good fortune on a few for no apparent reason.
April 7, 2014
Can you take Advice from Someone that isn't Successful?
Robert Kiyosaki said that you should take advice from rich people, not sales people. He explained that buying financial products from brokers I.e. the salespeople you would earn modest returns at best and instead make the broker rich from the fees you pay him. You are better served listening to a rich person that has actually made money.
Kiyosaki's wisdom resonated with me so much that I proceeded to adopt this attitude towards all facets of life. If someone advised me on money and they weren't rich I would reject their advice and think to myself: If that's true then how come YOU arent rich?
My stance was consistent: be it single people giving relationship advice or scrawny guys sharing workout tips. If you wanted to tell me how to do anything, you had better be at the pinnacle of your game. I firmly held this view until a personal situation saw me sitting on a counselor's couch. (Never thought I would see the day, but sometimes you can only get a balanced, constructive viewpoint from a stranger.) I didn't know anything about her personal life beyond the fact that she was married and had one child. Here was someone I couldn't measure against my standards for success, so I was forced to take her advice without first pouring it through my usual filtration system and instead just practice what she told me (paying for her time was also incentive to try her advice).
The routines and exercises she shared turned out to be very helpful I realized with some shame that the success levels in her life should have had little influence on my assessment of her advice in any case. In fact her situation is irrelevant. What matters is whether her suggestions work for me, not for her.
When a person opens up to you, it's usually out of genuine concern. You have the right to reject what they say and not all advice is properly thought out or fundamentally sound. But one should never dismiss a person based on their situation. So gauge the message, not the messenger. People who cannot make their own advice work for them don't deserve to be ignored because the problem may be in the way they implement their advice, not in the effectiveness or fundamental soundness of the advice itself.
Imagine that a poor friend tells you to invest in real estate when you want to buy a pricey new luxury car. Because he isn't rich you ignore him and buy the most expensive car you can afford. Ten years down the line you cross paths with him and he's now wealthy. You finally believe his advice because he has the results to validate what he told you ten years ago; but you also just delayed financial progress by ten years because for the past decade you felt he wasn't worth listening to.
In the end, your prejudice prejudices you the most. A drunkard can provide valuable insight into preventing alcoholism and a person that's studied many businesses (but not started any themselves) can share pitfalls that a budding entrepreneur should avoid. Try to assess what people tell you against your knowledge, experience and common sense -- not against what you think constitutes a qualified opinion-maker.
Kiyosaki's wisdom resonated with me so much that I proceeded to adopt this attitude towards all facets of life. If someone advised me on money and they weren't rich I would reject their advice and think to myself: If that's true then how come YOU arent rich?
My stance was consistent: be it single people giving relationship advice or scrawny guys sharing workout tips. If you wanted to tell me how to do anything, you had better be at the pinnacle of your game. I firmly held this view until a personal situation saw me sitting on a counselor's couch. (Never thought I would see the day, but sometimes you can only get a balanced, constructive viewpoint from a stranger.) I didn't know anything about her personal life beyond the fact that she was married and had one child. Here was someone I couldn't measure against my standards for success, so I was forced to take her advice without first pouring it through my usual filtration system and instead just practice what she told me (paying for her time was also incentive to try her advice).
The routines and exercises she shared turned out to be very helpful I realized with some shame that the success levels in her life should have had little influence on my assessment of her advice in any case. In fact her situation is irrelevant. What matters is whether her suggestions work for me, not for her.
When a person opens up to you, it's usually out of genuine concern. You have the right to reject what they say and not all advice is properly thought out or fundamentally sound. But one should never dismiss a person based on their situation. So gauge the message, not the messenger. People who cannot make their own advice work for them don't deserve to be ignored because the problem may be in the way they implement their advice, not in the effectiveness or fundamental soundness of the advice itself.
Imagine that a poor friend tells you to invest in real estate when you want to buy a pricey new luxury car. Because he isn't rich you ignore him and buy the most expensive car you can afford. Ten years down the line you cross paths with him and he's now wealthy. You finally believe his advice because he has the results to validate what he told you ten years ago; but you also just delayed financial progress by ten years because for the past decade you felt he wasn't worth listening to.
In the end, your prejudice prejudices you the most. A drunkard can provide valuable insight into preventing alcoholism and a person that's studied many businesses (but not started any themselves) can share pitfalls that a budding entrepreneur should avoid. Try to assess what people tell you against your knowledge, experience and common sense -- not against what you think constitutes a qualified opinion-maker.
September 2, 2013
Create more, tweet less
Whatever your industry, it's the question that inevitably comes up when the conversation turns to marketing and promotion: "What's your social media strategy?" Marketing cannot be ignored, but amidst the social media craze people are forgetting that marketing is a layer that's built on the foundation of a great product or piece of work.
Said Bryan Adams of songwriting: "Social media is a giant distraction to the ultimate aim, which is honing your craft as a songwriter. There are people who are exceptional at it, however, and if you can do both things, then that's fantastic, but if you are a writer, the time is better spent on a clever lyric than a clever tweet."
You and your wares need an online presence for people to detect you -- being off the grid is disadvantageous. People are misplacing their efforts however when they spend more time promoting than creating. If you're garnering 'likes' or 'followers' then you aren't working at your craft. Your can't do both simultaneously and while active promotion is an undeniable pillar of selling your product, it also fragments your concentration when you are trying to create something to actually sell. Social media updates and hype-building are not going to write your song, book or business plan.
Social media activity needs a block of time each week allocated to it. In my opinion it shouldn't be something you spend time on every day. Spending hours 'networking' online can be a low yield exercise. To a degree one must also let serendipity play its role: Where one person finds your work, appreciates it then enthuses about it to their peers and friends. The Internet and yes, social media, are great enablers of this. But the sharing needs to be left to others, because realistically you can't control what people choose to share. This type of organic reputation cannot be bought by posting Facebook updates or tweets, it can only occur when there's something exceptional worth talking about.
Said Bryan Adams of songwriting: "Social media is a giant distraction to the ultimate aim, which is honing your craft as a songwriter. There are people who are exceptional at it, however, and if you can do both things, then that's fantastic, but if you are a writer, the time is better spent on a clever lyric than a clever tweet."
You and your wares need an online presence for people to detect you -- being off the grid is disadvantageous. People are misplacing their efforts however when they spend more time promoting than creating. If you're garnering 'likes' or 'followers' then you aren't working at your craft. Your can't do both simultaneously and while active promotion is an undeniable pillar of selling your product, it also fragments your concentration when you are trying to create something to actually sell. Social media updates and hype-building are not going to write your song, book or business plan.
Social media activity needs a block of time each week allocated to it. In my opinion it shouldn't be something you spend time on every day. Spending hours 'networking' online can be a low yield exercise. To a degree one must also let serendipity play its role: Where one person finds your work, appreciates it then enthuses about it to their peers and friends. The Internet and yes, social media, are great enablers of this. But the sharing needs to be left to others, because realistically you can't control what people choose to share. This type of organic reputation cannot be bought by posting Facebook updates or tweets, it can only occur when there's something exceptional worth talking about.
August 17, 2013
Perseverance is not the same as Stubbornnes
When things don't go to plan it's natural to start questioning whether you are on a feasible trajectory. Maybe this wasn't meant to be, you start musing. People around you will mostly sing the usual chorus that hard work pays off and encourage you to persist. Nobody wants to sound negative even if they have strong doubts inside.
Sometimes though the decision you made at the outset can be wrong. No amount of persistence or creative marketing will yield any sizeable success if you're trying to sell ice to Eskimos. Sell them snow mobiles though and you have a much better footing on which to build further successes. If you want to get to another country as quickly as possible, it's better to step into a plane than to board a cruise ship and persuade the captain to increase ship speed. The initial choice is key.
"Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that's more productive." Donald Trump isn't a likeable person but his words ring true. You owe it to every idea you start to devote all your smarts and effort to it, but if it continues to bear no fruit then you have to think carefully and decide what's best moving forward: persist or abandon ship and start afresh? It may hurt to acknowledge a failure, but your decision must be guided by what's best for the future, not on what has already passed.
Trump adds: "I've learned that there's a big difference between perseverance and stubbornness. Stubbornness involves me forcing things to work, while perseverance requires me to work consistently with what's already working."
Motivational catchphrases like be positive and never give up need to be taken with a pinch of salt. They are emotional without much acknowledgement of the actual conditions, and can inadvertently encourage you to punish yourself as you persist at low yield endeavors.
Making a wrong decision is not the end of the world, but it can be if you refuse to correct it. The hole you're in will continue to deepen. Just as you must be willing to work hard, so too must you be willing to radically adjust course where necessary. Heart and head need equal input.
Sometimes though the decision you made at the outset can be wrong. No amount of persistence or creative marketing will yield any sizeable success if you're trying to sell ice to Eskimos. Sell them snow mobiles though and you have a much better footing on which to build further successes. If you want to get to another country as quickly as possible, it's better to step into a plane than to board a cruise ship and persuade the captain to increase ship speed. The initial choice is key.
"Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that's more productive." Donald Trump isn't a likeable person but his words ring true. You owe it to every idea you start to devote all your smarts and effort to it, but if it continues to bear no fruit then you have to think carefully and decide what's best moving forward: persist or abandon ship and start afresh? It may hurt to acknowledge a failure, but your decision must be guided by what's best for the future, not on what has already passed.
Trump adds: "I've learned that there's a big difference between perseverance and stubbornness. Stubbornness involves me forcing things to work, while perseverance requires me to work consistently with what's already working."
Motivational catchphrases like be positive and never give up need to be taken with a pinch of salt. They are emotional without much acknowledgement of the actual conditions, and can inadvertently encourage you to punish yourself as you persist at low yield endeavors.
Making a wrong decision is not the end of the world, but it can be if you refuse to correct it. The hole you're in will continue to deepen. Just as you must be willing to work hard, so too must you be willing to radically adjust course where necessary. Heart and head need equal input.
July 29, 2013
How to have a Creative Day
Plans require execution if they are to be realized - one needs to be industrious and occasionally be willing to work long hours. Ideas and creativity exist in a non-physical realm and work by a different set of rules though. People who put long hours in may push a lot of work out, but you will find they seldom produce original work - a fatigued mind isn't conducive to creativity.
There comes a point where thinking 'harder' about something doesn't produce anything new because when you try to think hard you merely think deeper along the same limited lines. Often you need to take your brain away from the coalface and let it cool off before it can be creative.
Periodically taking a full day or longer to unplug and indulge higher order thinking will see a rise in new perspectives and fruitful ideas. EBay's president John Donahue shared his view: "In today’s 24/7 work culture, I believe the notion that business leaders need to be connected warriors every day of the year is mistaken. I am very connected 50 weeks of the year, but I try to completely disconnect for 2 weeks.
"I admit that the process of cutting off from email and the internet is frequently stressful in the beginning, but it quickly becomes a very liberating experience. Without a constant barrage of work issues to respond to, I find that my mind calms down and my intuition begins to come alive. I am able to see things through a more creative lens and new ideas often emerge from my ‘time off’."
A creative day is not quite the same as a day off: it's a deliberate process where you lay the platform your brain needs to be inventive. At the beginning of such a day (or the night before), write your key objectives down: it could be a problem that needs solving or something you're looking to create, like a song, movie or book. Keep them simple and few in number. Once listed have a brief look at your objectives then put them aside. You need to direct your creative energy and objectives serve to provide this direction.
Thereafter, how do you spend this creative day? By meditating, sitting still, walking around and doing mundane, undemanding tasks. You can even go for a drive, as long as you keep the radio off. The idea is to withdraw your mind from the usual cacophony it deals with: email, music, television, ringing phones, noisy open plan offices and demands from other people. Give yourself less to do and react to. Ideas start to flow when you give your mind breathing space. As useful thoughts come to you, immediately write them down on the same page that you listed your objectives, because it's very easy to forget an idea or insight.
In the interests of maximizing effectiveness there are some basic disciplines you should observe:
• Ensure you're well rested
• Keep your home quiet - have every electronic contraption except your refrigerator and stove switched off. Have your phone on but switch off all instant message alerts
• If you use a computer or tablet for something like writing or note taking then keep your Internet connection off - no browsing the Internet unless it's for research directly attributable to your objectives
During the course of this day it's okay to occasionally get distracted or feel restless. If this happens, go for a walk or take a small nap but don't switch the television on or log on to the Internet. Music is a gray area but it's preferable not to engage it. While music can feel soothing it also stimulates the mind, and before you know it your mind becomes a swirling pool of uncorrelated thoughts again. As long as your objectives are clear and mind unfettered, the ideas will come forth without much effort. Stillness begets creativity.
There comes a point where thinking 'harder' about something doesn't produce anything new because when you try to think hard you merely think deeper along the same limited lines. Often you need to take your brain away from the coalface and let it cool off before it can be creative.
Periodically taking a full day or longer to unplug and indulge higher order thinking will see a rise in new perspectives and fruitful ideas. EBay's president John Donahue shared his view: "In today’s 24/7 work culture, I believe the notion that business leaders need to be connected warriors every day of the year is mistaken. I am very connected 50 weeks of the year, but I try to completely disconnect for 2 weeks.
"I admit that the process of cutting off from email and the internet is frequently stressful in the beginning, but it quickly becomes a very liberating experience. Without a constant barrage of work issues to respond to, I find that my mind calms down and my intuition begins to come alive. I am able to see things through a more creative lens and new ideas often emerge from my ‘time off’."
A creative day is not quite the same as a day off: it's a deliberate process where you lay the platform your brain needs to be inventive. At the beginning of such a day (or the night before), write your key objectives down: it could be a problem that needs solving or something you're looking to create, like a song, movie or book. Keep them simple and few in number. Once listed have a brief look at your objectives then put them aside. You need to direct your creative energy and objectives serve to provide this direction.
Thereafter, how do you spend this creative day? By meditating, sitting still, walking around and doing mundane, undemanding tasks. You can even go for a drive, as long as you keep the radio off. The idea is to withdraw your mind from the usual cacophony it deals with: email, music, television, ringing phones, noisy open plan offices and demands from other people. Give yourself less to do and react to. Ideas start to flow when you give your mind breathing space. As useful thoughts come to you, immediately write them down on the same page that you listed your objectives, because it's very easy to forget an idea or insight.
In the interests of maximizing effectiveness there are some basic disciplines you should observe:
• Ensure you're well rested
• Keep your home quiet - have every electronic contraption except your refrigerator and stove switched off. Have your phone on but switch off all instant message alerts
• If you use a computer or tablet for something like writing or note taking then keep your Internet connection off - no browsing the Internet unless it's for research directly attributable to your objectives
During the course of this day it's okay to occasionally get distracted or feel restless. If this happens, go for a walk or take a small nap but don't switch the television on or log on to the Internet. Music is a gray area but it's preferable not to engage it. While music can feel soothing it also stimulates the mind, and before you know it your mind becomes a swirling pool of uncorrelated thoughts again. As long as your objectives are clear and mind unfettered, the ideas will come forth without much effort. Stillness begets creativity.
July 10, 2013
Ready your stations
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." Lincoln
Notice how a large manufacturing concern will always take ample time to properly lay out a new assembly line, even if it means delaying production for a few days. Having machinery in close proximity that's laid out in a sequential manner will reduce process times and lower manufacturing costs. Those few extra days taken to carefully lay the line out will be paid for within the first few weeks of production.
This principle of preparedness can be extended to practically any undertaking, be it taking the time to sharpen an axe before chopping a tree, the mechanics of a Formula One team spending hours to meticulously pack and unpack their tools before a race, or a chef laying out all his implements and ingredients before cooking. The time to do these things almost always ends up being time well invested.
Especially when your workload is high and deadlines tight, you may often be tempted to just dive into a task. But taking time to plan and ensuring all your tools are ready almost always ensures you finish sooner than someone who just starts and worries about logistical details later. Tidying up, ensuring everything is in its place and that there's a place for everything feels tedious and time consuming, but once everything is at your fingertips and your workspace is clear you will work efficiently, harmoniously and happily.
It's not so much a question of simplicity or complexity, it's a question of frequency: If you do the simplest, most brain-dead task multiple times then you need to have your workspace clear and the tools you use properly laid out. Because even the smallest efficiency improvement is compounded when you do anything multiple times. This is why an effort to properly prepare pays for itself within a short space of time.
Scientist, Doctor of Medicine and stem cell research pioneer Robert Lanza’s theory of biocentrism has seven principles, one of which states:
Our external and internal perceptions are inextricably linked. They are different sides of the same coin and cannot be divorced from one another.
The mind and physical reality mirror each other, so if there is clutter in your environment then your mind will start to perceive clutter. Therefore having a neat, well prepared workspace is about much more than efficiency or pleasantry; it leads to improved mental well-being too.
