Success attitudes beyond money

The roulette of change has spun India’s Silicon City Bengaluru in the decade beyond the expectations of most; some satisfied and others dissatisfied. From a quiet and peaceful city, the growth and change has not been planned and managed, leading to chaos, congestion, lack of good infrastructure and the woes with it. Many attribute this to the human greed and the attitudes that drive it, leading the dissatisfied to blame it on money as the root cause of all ills. Such thinking exists within people across organisations.

“Success should therefore be measured by your yardstick of happiness; by your ability to remain in peaceful harmony with cosmic laws. Success is not rightly measured by the worldly standards of wealth, prestige and power. None of these bestow happiness unless they are rightly used.” — Paramahansa Yogananda, the author of Law of Success

Money has become the visual image of success to one who does not see beyond it. So, when someone is described as successful, they usually mean that the person is wealthy. If that alone is success, then, money must be good. But they say money cannot buy happiness. So, it must be bad. Philanthropists contribute billions every year to worthy causes. So, it is got to be good. People blame money is the root cause of all evil. Then it must be bad. People who are not rich criticise those who are, but would like to become rich themselves. So, which is it - good or bad?

Money is not the problem, but people’s attitude towards it is

Money is neither good nor bad. The key is how it is earned and what one does with it. When honestly acquired and well-spent it can do much good. Whoever said that money cannot buy happiness probably did not have enough, for it will buy more happiness than poverty will. There is not anything immoral or illegal about being rich, but it is not everything about one being successful.

It is necessary for leaders to develop an attitude and understanding of success beyond just money and then help those they lead to understand the other domains of success too. Blame games, lack of motivation, losing control to others (to competitors or within a hierarchy), lack of effective planning, financial issues, loss of jobs, lack of smart and lean thinking, underachievement, inability to manage change, poor understanding of costs, etc surface, and this happens when an organisation performs under par. Never having learnt to manage money properly, appears to be the issue that brings to the surface the very attitudes of success & thinking prevalent within the organisation. Yet…

Money is not everything to being successful

The boom of this century has created many millionaires and billionaires. The greed of some has even driven them to prison, while there may be those who escaped that indignity. Various corporate scandals stand testimony. When we lose perspective on money, life becomes distorted. If one was to interview all the senior executives today, it is possible that nearly three quarters of them had neglected family lives to pursue professional goals. And, these were the people who had money, property, power and status.

Yet why are they not happy? Simply because achieving those is not the same as being successful. When one loses sight of what is essential they become addicted and turn slaves to big money and the things that go with it. In the process it is possible that they damage their lives and those of others. Success is more than making money. One must not over-emphasise on it and lose out on other factors that make life much more interesting, meaningful and rewarding.

Life challenges us everyday to develop our capabilities to the fullest. For an apt definition of success we can refer to what the philosopher Thomas Carlyle once wrote; “Let each become what he was created capable of being.” We are successful when we give the best that is within us and reach for the highest that is within us – truly internalising kaizen.

The quote by author Wynn Davis - “Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is in the doing, not the getting – in the trying, not the triumph” - says it all and asks that we do our best at each level of experience. Let us look at what successful people do in some of the important areas of life:

• They accept life with its challenges and difficulties. They do not complain, instead they adapt to it. They do not make excuses, but accept responsibility for their own lives. No matter what the circumstances, they say ‘yes’ to life inspite of its negative elements
• They maintain a positive attitude towards life. They look for good in others and find them. They see life as a series of opportunities and possibilities and always explore them (Read ‘Power of Possibility Thinking’ – Modern Machine Tools, December 2007)
• They build good relationships with people at all levels. They are sensitive to the needs and feelings of others; they are considerate and respectful towards them. They possess or have developed the ability to bring out the best in others
• They know where they are going; they possess a sense of goal and direction. They set goals, accomplish them and then set new goals. They also accept challenges and enjoy them
• They see learning as a joy and have a strong desire for it. They learn new things and enrich their lives. They are constantly discovering and growing
• They do not waste time, are action-oriented and get things done. Using this ability in constructive ways, they do not get bored with what is on because they are looking for new experiences
• Honesty is the main ingredient in the character of a good person, and they maintain high standards of personal conduct. They are consistently truthful in their public and private life
• They understand the difference between existing & living and always choose to make a life & not a living. The reason they get most out of life is because they put most into it and enjoy it to the fullest

Our potential

Today, a large number of people never fulfill their potential. Their environment may be such that it does not stimulate such fulfillment. This will stunt their growth. Any country’s or organisation’s strength, creativity and growth depend on its capacity to develop the talent and potential of its people. Instead we are bombarded with too many negative messages that have nothing to do with real success. Instead of looking inside we search outside for quick fixes. If we do not look, we will not find and that is how our capabilities remain hidden. As a result we end up seeing limitations instead of possibilities.

The good news is that once we are aware of this we can take action. Tim Hansel, the author of You Gotta Keep Dancin’, writes, “The good news is that the best season of your life can be ahead of you no matter what your age or circumstances – if you choose to make it so – because 90 per cent of your potential is not only untapped and unused, but also undiscovered. That is not just good news, its incredible news!”

If we look inside, we will find all the resources needed for success.