BaKhabar, October 2010, Page-8

better light a candle than curse the darkness

Tools for Success, for life!

... Mirza Yawar Baig

Success is something all of truly believe we want, but the path we take to getting it is more hazy. Mirza Yawar Baig, a prominent Leadership Guru and Business Consultant gives us the tools of success we need to apply right away, for life!

I have formulated 6 rules which I call David’s rules. These are for anyone facing the big one – the big apparently insurmountable challenge which the whole world tells you to run away from. But you are among those who are uniquely deaf to the advice of those who are too frightened to think straight. You are among those to whom personal safety is not Goal # 1 in life. You are among those who recognize that everything has a price and that if you want to achieve great things, you have to be prepared to pay the price they demand. It’s not that you don’t recognize the danger. To recognize danger is a sign of intelligence and you are no fool. It is that you are willing to take the risk for the reward. So you ignore the advice and step forward.

David’s Rules
Rule # 1 – Take the first step forward
Unless you take the first step forward, nothing will happen.
Once you take the first step, the universe conspires to make you succeed.
It is safer to stay in the ranks and do nothing but it is only the General who gets to call the shots. And Generals don’t stand in the ranks.
The choice is yours and every choice has a price. You pay, you get.

Rule # 2 – Confound Goliath
Goliath does not make the rules so that you can win.
If you play by Goliath’s rules, Goliath will win every time.
Understand the rules – then break them.
Make your own rules & play by them.

Rule # 3 – Only effort produces results
Talent is what you are given; what you are born with.
Effort is what you make. Effort supports talent. The best talent is nothing without effort.
In the end it is the effort that brings the results, not the talent if there is no effort.
So don’t ask, “What talent do I have?” Ask, “What effort am I making?
David made effort using his unique talent. The rest is history.

Rule # 4 – Strength always overcomes weakness
Play to your strength because you can do that best.
David was a shepherd so he used a slingshot.
Don’t be overawed by competition, because the winning post is only at the end of the race.
In the end, it is not the weapon but whether it scored, that counts.

Rule # 5 – Never compromise your legacy
Stay focused no matter what the distractions.
Remember, winning is all that counts…..and how you win is a part of that.
Winning without honor is to lose in the worst way.
Nobility is a factor of ‘How’ not of ‘What’. Glory is only for the noble.

Rule # 6 – Thank People
Be thankful to all those who helped you.
It is true that you owe your success to your own effort but some of it was made standing on the shoulders of others. And even if you forgot that, they won’t.
Thanks builds bridges; for you never know when you will need one to cross.
Thank people because every ending is a new beginning.

I believe very passionately and firmly in the fact that in the end, it is quality that scores over everything else. I know that every entrepreneur worth the name shares this belief with me. I have met many along the way who cut corners, pretended to be what they were not and compromised quality for short term gain. Most of them no longer exist. Those who do, live with a reputation that constantly sabotages their effort.

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About the Author:
Mirza Yawar Baig is an International Speaker, Trainer, Corporate Consultant, specializing in Leadership Development helping technical specialists transition into Management and Leadership roles. Founder of Yawar Baig & Associates(c) Yawar Baig teaches leadership in the United States, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. He has instilled leadership and management fundamentals within many local, national and global organizations. Yawar Baig has extensive multicultural teaching experience having taught managers, teachers, students, administrators, NGOs and clergy in three continents.
You can reach him on www.yawarbaig.com