dreamer doers

Everything happens for a reason?

It is happening again!

When I was ready to join the neighborhood art school, I was forced into the traditional one. I was ready to accept my masters in Sanskrit, I joined Engineering by sheer peer pressure. I was about to join my dream PG course in Medical Electronics, I was pushed to start a business. I had a great opportunity to present my MBA paper at business sustainability conference in Sweden, I missed the flight! I was about to finish my PhD course, found a bug in the heart! I stayed on… on the sidelines of my moving life!

But in real time, I did not know that – the art school got closed in middle of the year leaving students stranded for a while; only two out of 55 of  classmates in Sanskrit school got paying jobs!; Medical Electronics as a degree is yet to yield good value for the profession; Technical snag on the plane which I missed had a disastrous crash; I get to know the real value of life, thanks to my second birth…

Neither did this stop me from – getting several awards for my performances on & off stage; recognition for best Sanskrit playwriting; 5 patents for work on first generation medical devices; being a resident judge for the annual business sustainability conference at Sweden; guiding 4 students in their PhD work and continuing to climb the mountain of fear, everyday!

I thought this is over. I’m on the mainstream, with life.

But, not yet – looks like.

I met this guy in the evening who wanted me to join his company to take the position of its CEO! I asked him why? He says there is a lot of potential in the company – the right guy can explore to make it the best! I asked him why, me? “Oh, I heard that you are always looking for a cool job that will make you happy.” I asked him, why do you think so? He says it is obvious! Not sure what he meant, though.

After a 30 long minutes of grilling, I had to say the truth – “No! I can’t”. “Why not?” was the question. I told him that it is possible for me to build something from scratch and make it big. But, I’m not good at taking care of someone else’s creation or brain child! That’s my biggest weakness.

Just when he was convinced, I get this call from my VC friend asking to take up the managing director’s role in his new firm called – Nirvana!

I think it is happening again!

Looks like it is good to go with the wind, as always! If I’m strong, will remain on course – if not, off course! As binary as it can get! Every coin has two faces that seem to be different – but part of each other!

Doing/being something is more joyful than trying to be someone!

~ from the dairy of a dreamer doer, I admire!

Dropping the ball!

Mistakes are never welcome! Dropping the ball is considered crime! But often times there are situations in life where we are convinced that the current pursuit is wrong and at the same time, fail to convince the crowd on the same. In such a case, will you carry the baton in the spirit of team play, or drop it and face the consequence? This is a true test of character.

Dropping the ball is other’s interpretation of your action in the proclaimed frame of reference – even though it’s your conscious act! Positive mistakes such as this are not easy to make. Requires a lot of courage and belief on the power of purpose!

Great dreamer doers in the crowd like Gandhiji / Nelson Mandela have shown the power of positive mistakes – that have stood the test of time than any other monument! Every organization/community will have a few such heroes who dare dropping the ball in pursuit of their purpose of life!

It’s worth making positive mistakes even if it amounts to dropping the ball – occasionally? A sign of freedom! As Gandhiji put it:

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes!”

Every journey needs a start. Most of visionary journeys start with an external influence – internalized! – like our friend here:     

A crow once flew into the sky with a piece of meat in its bleak. Twenty other crows set out in hot pursuit and began to attack it viciously.

When the crow finally dropped the meat, its pursuers left it alone and flew off shrieking after the morsel.Okyo_Crows[1]

Said the crow: “I’ve lost the meat and gained this peaceful sky.”

—

When is the last time you exercised freedom to make a positive mistake even though it amounted to dropping the ball?

~

how are you dealing with difficult people?

Dreamer Doers in the Crowd face one very big challenge – effectively dealing with difficult people! It is true that everyone at work in the crowd are fundamentally good. There are no bad people. But there are some type of individuals – who present difficulty due to their characteristic behavior. They are the difficult people.

They come in different forms – customers, co-workers, bosses, team members, suppliers, vendors, officials, coaches, consultants….. If a dreamer doer has to succeed in his/her mission at work, they have to deal with these people effectively.

Dealing with these folks means ability to recognize them and provide/be ready with an appropriate winning response strategy. Behavioral scientists and management gurus have been spending considerable amount of time on researching these behaviors, one such very nice compilation comes in the form of the book: Dealing With Difficult People by Roy Lillely. A Wonderful and practical guide – for everyone serious about their own successes as dreamer doers in the crowd!

Here is a concise mind map of the typical types of difficult people, their characteristics and probable response/strategy. Worth a look….

dealing with

 

Though this provides a good insight, real challenge is to recognize and manage those who come with a combinational type!

This world is colorful so are the people. Being human irrespective of who we have to deal with seems to be a simple mantra!

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