A self-help guide, written by the well-known founder of Qualified Learning Systems Inc., USA and educator and business consultant, describes the tools required for achieving success and offers blueprints to building a successful and rewarding life. It lists step by step the material or tools required to help one establish new goals, develop a new sense of purpose and generate new ideas about oneself and the future. Convinced as he is that most people fail not because of lack of ability or intelligence but due to lack of desire, direction, dedication and discipline, he helps to create an Action Plan defining three things – what is it that you want to achieve, how to expect to achieve it and when to plan to achieve it.
Shiv Khera says that the foundation of success is based upon attitude, regardless of the chosen field. We may suffer a setback or two initially but we can use it as a stepping stone, remembering that opportunity knocks only once. The next opportunity may be better or worse but never the same and so it is crucial to make the right decision at the right time. Organisations and countries which are more successful than others are so because they think and act more effectively by investing in their most valuable asset – people. People can be the biggest asset or can even be the biggest liability.
Factors which determine a person’s attitude are environment, experience and education. The environment consists of home where one acquires positive or negative influences, the school where one faces peer pressures, the workplace where there is a supportive or over-critical supervisor, the media – television, newspapers, magazines, radio, and cultural background, religious background, traditions and beliefs, social environment and political environment. Culture is a composite of all these movements. It has also been observed that in a positive environment, a marginal performer’s output goes up, while in a negative environment, a good performer’s output goes down.
Shiv Khera lists the eight action steps required to build a positive attitude and these are: take action and make a habit of doing it now, develop an attitude of gratitude, create a continuous educational programme, build a positive self-esteem, stay away from negative influences, learn to like the things that need to be done and start the day with something positive.
(Macmillan Publishers India Ltd, 2/10, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002; www.macmillanpubishersindia.com)
