There once was a farmer who realised that he had lost his watch in the barn.

It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him.

After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside.

The children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire stack of hay but still could not find the watch.

Just when the farmer was about to give up, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance.

The farmer agreed and sent the little boy back into the barn.

After a while the boy came out with the watch in his hand!

The farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed.

The boy replied, “I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction.”

A peaceful mind can think better than a worked up mind.

Allowing a few minutes of silence daily, builds concentration and focus.

So let's stay calm and composed while handling any task and... make it a great week ahead!

Once, Buddha and his disciples stopped for rest near a lake.

Buddha asked one of his disciples to fetch him some water as he was thirsty.

The disciple went to the lake however, he saw that there were some people washing clothes in the lake, others were washing animals and one man was taking a bullock cart across the lake due to which the water had become muddy.

The disciple returned to Buddha saying that it was impossible to drink the water from the lake.

After sometime, Buddha sent the disciple once again to bring him water from the lake.

This time, the water was clear and looked clean. The disciple thus brought some water for Buddha.

Buddha asked the disciple, “What did you do to make the water clear?”

The disciple said, “Nothing, I just let the water undisturbed and it got cleared on its own”.

Similarly, we should never take any decision when our mind is in a disturbed state because it will settle down on its own when left alone, enabling us to take the precise decision.

Ponder over and make it a great week ahead........

Once, there was a bunch of tiny frogs who gathered to arrange a competition - to reach to the top of the highest mountain. As the date for the competition was announced, the news spread everywhere and crowd in large numbers gathered around the mountain to see this interesting competition and cheer the contestants. The crowd did not really believe that any of these little frogs were going to make it to the top of the mountain. Yet they were curious.

The competition began, the frogs quickly started to ascend and the crowd cheered! As a few moments passed, someone from the crowd shouted, "Not a chance that they will succeed! The mountain is too high!" Another spectator said, "Yes, they will never make it to the top. It's too difficult!" As the competition continued, some of the tiny frogs began collapsing one by one. But the race continued as those who still had the fight left, passionately continued to climb higher and higher. In excitement and anxiety, the crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult. No one will make it!"

Most of the tiny frogs got tired and gave up except only one little frog who continued to climb higher and higher. This tiny frog, after a big effort was the only one who reached the top!

Naturally, everybody wanted to know how this tiny frog had found the strength to reach the goal while everyone else thought it was impossible. And after inquiry it was found that the winner was deaf.

Be deaf when people tell you that you cannot fulfill your dreams and goals. Focus on your goal and march in confidence. Do not pay any attention to them.

And make it a great week ahead…

One day while walking in the woods, a king was stuck with a query - What is the routine job of the creator?

He then immediately called the minister and asked him the same question.

The minster too didn’t get the answer.

The king got angry and told him that if he did not get the solution by next day, his head would be cut apart.

The minister was worried and while he was returning home, he met a farmer who was gardening.

The farmer looked at the worried face of the minister and asked him, “What happened?”

The minister explained him the scenario, the farmer laughed at the minister and asked to take him to the king.

The next morning both went to the king.

The king was sitting on the seven stepped golden throne with pride, he laughed at the farmer and said, “We scholars are unable to answer this question and you being an illiterate, how can you solve this query?’’.

The farmer humbly asked the king to get down from the throne, climbed all the steps slowly, sat on the throne and replied, “This is what the creator does, pulls down the people who become blind with pride and uplifts the humble”.

So, always be humble…

…Make it a great week ahead !

4 Ways to Motivate Employees That Will Actually Work

Motivating employees to do their best has been a struggle for organizations since the beginning of time. The most common solution has been extrinsic rewards, such as more money, more time off or an award.
Those techniques are great, but they generally only increase a person’s extrinsic motivation, i.e. the motivation to do something to reach a desired outcome. And while extrinsic motivators are critical – few of us would come to work if we didn’t get paid – they often are overused, and put too much emphasis on the outcomes themselves.
Compare that to intrinsic motivation, which is motivation driven by enjoyment of the work itself. If you can improve a person’s intrinsic motivation, you’ll cause them to take more pride in their craft and bring out their best work.
So how do you increase an employee’s intrinsic motivation? (https://www.linkedin...), LinkedIn Learning Instructor and Leadership Guru Todd Dewett explained four techniques any organization can adopt to make that happen.
They are:

1. Make your organization a purpose-driven one. A mere 30 percent of employees consider themselves purpose driven. And yet, employees who fall in that category experience 64 percent higher levels of fulfillment with their jobs and are 47 percent more likely to be promoters of their company.
The point? Purpose-driven employees are intrinsically driven and care more about the work they do, as opposed to how much they are paid for it. Therefore, one way to motivate your employees is for your organization to have a clearly defined purpose and to explain how its actions fit within it.
For example, LinkedIn itself is a purpose-driven company, with the goal of creating economic opportunity for all of the world’s professionals. And whenever a new product is released – for example, LinkedIn Learning – it’s to further that mission (in LinkedIn Learning’s case, by giving people the skills they need to reach that opportunity).
It’s far more intrinsically motivating to work on a project that furthers a mission, as opposed to one seeking to merely increase the bottom line. 

2. Make positions as autonomous as possible, so employees have a sense of ownership.In a previous article, we outlined Dewett’s solution (https://learning.linkedin...) on how to manage without micromanaging. That’s critical, because people who feel like they have a true sense of autonomy at their jobs generally have a higher sense of ownership over their work and greater intrinsic motivation.
For example, if you tell someone exactly what to do and exactly how to do it, they’ll likely be focused purely on just getting the job done to get the reward that comes with it. However, if you tell someone what needs to be done and give them the freedom to do it how they want, they’ll care far more about the final product.

3. Give employees a feeling of competence through positive reinforcement.Imagine every time you performed karaoke, the crowd would either be obviously disinterested or outright boo you. How many times would you perform karaoke?
Probably twice, tops. Nobody wants to do something they think they’re terrible at.
Conversely, imagine that whenever you performed karaoke, the crowd went wild. Chances are, you’d be planning karaoke trips every weekend, just hoping someone would “drag” you on stage.
The point is people want to do something they feel they’re good at. Hence, managers providing sincere gratitude to their employees for a job well done goes a long way to increasing their intrinsic motivation.

4. Employees need a sense of progress.This means two things. First off, often employees work on projects that can take months to complete, and goals can seem far away. Managers should highlight their progress and express confidence that the project will reach its goals.
Same goes for an employee’s individual progress, as people want to know they are getting better. If a manager calls out how an employees has improved, it’ll serve as powerful positive reinforcement that they are becoming better professionals and closer to reaching their career goals.

Tying it all together: There’s an expression that says if someone comes to you for the money, they’ll leave for the money. There’s some truth to that, and if you focus solely on extrinsic motivators, your organization will never breed the type of loyalty and rigor it needs to be great.
Instead, by utilizing the four tactics Dewett mentioned, you emphasis the work itself, instead of what that work can get an employee. And that makes for more motivated people who care far more about the work they produce.

Source : LinkedIn
Author: Todd Dewett

Diwali: The festival of Light and knowledge...

Diwali, the festival of lights, celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. Lamps not only decorate homes, but also communicate a profound truth about life - when the darkness within is dispelled through the light of wisdom; the good in us wins over the evil. 

Diwali is a reflection of our ancient knowledge which explain; तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय (Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya) that means lead us from darkness to light.


Diwali, in essence, is celebrated to kindle the light of wisdom in every heart, the light of life in every home, and bring a smile on every face. Diwali is the shortened form of Deepavali, which literally means rows of lamps. Life has many facets and stages to it. It is important that we throw light on all of them, for if one aspect of our life is in darkness, we cannot express life in its totality. The rows of lamps lit on Diwali remind us that every aspect of life needs our attention.

Though Diwali celebrations have undergone a significant amount of change over the years with a great degree of modernism and commercialisation entering the festival, the underlying message remains the same. 

Let’s have a glimpse on symbolism and deep learning from this great festival.

Symbolism of Lamps:
Every lamp that we light is symbol of a good quality. There are good qualities in every human being. Some have forbearance, some have love, strength, generosity; others have the ability to unite people. When all these qualities are lit, awakened, that is Diwali. Don't be satisfied with lighting one lamp; light a thousand! If you have the value of service in you, don't be satisfied only with that. Light the lamp of wisdom in yourself and acquire knowledge. Awaken all the facets of your being.

Symbolism of fireworks:
Another profound symbolism of Diwali is in lighting firecrackers. In life, you often become like a firecracker, waiting to explode with your pent-up emotions, frustration and anger. When you keep suppressing your emotions, cravings and aversions are bound to reach a point where they explode. Bursting crackers is a psychological exercise from ancient times to release bottled-up emotions. When you see an explosion outside, you feel similar sensations within as well. Along with the explosion, there is a lot of light as well. When you let go of these suppressed emotions, the light of knowledge dawns.

Symbolism of sweets and gifts:
Diwali means to be in the present - dropping the regrets of the past, the worries of the future, and living in the moment. The sweets and exchange of gifts symbolise forgetting the bickering and negativity of the past, and renewal of friendship for the times to come. A true celebration means dissolving all differences. Happiness and wisdom have to spread in society, and that can happen when all come together and celebrate. Even if one member of the family is shrouded in darkness, you cannot be happy. You need to kindle wisdom in every member of your family. Extend it to every member of society, every person on the planet.

Symbolism of New Year:
Diwali is a time when you throw light on the wisdom you have gained and welcome a new beginning. When true wisdom dawns, it gives rise to celebration. Celebration is the nature of the spirit and every excuse to celebrate is good. Any celebration is incomplete without the spirit of service. Whatever we have received from the Divine we should share it with others, because by visualisation of giving, we are actually receiving more. That is true celebration of New Year.

Symbolism of vows:
For the one who is not in knowledge, Diwali comes only once a year, but for the wise, Diwali is every moment and every day. The Diwali, celebrate with knowledge and take a sankalpa (vow) to serve humanity. Light the lamp of love in your heart; the lamp of abundance in your home; the lamp of compassion to serve others; the lamp of Knowledge to dispel the darkness of ignorance and the lamp of gratitude for the abundance that the almighty has bestowed on us.

With this message wishing you all Happy Diwali :)