Motivation Archives - Page 5 of 8

Top Ten Career Quotes from Hollywood Movies That Inspire

by sincera | Dec 25, 2015 | Career, Managing Yourself, Motivation, Productivity, World of Work

In the world of work, we all have our good days and our bad days. On those days when we feel like we are just ‘hanging in there’, it seems as though inspiration is miles away. The secret is, inspiration is never miles away, it is always right there. All we need to do is to push ourselves to reach out, and what could be a more fun source than movies? So, here are our top ten career quotes (or the “Eureka Moments” as we call them) from some great Hollywood movies. In case you’ve missed watching these, follow the IMDB links we’ve put in, to get an idea about why you should tick each one of these off your ‘must-watch’ checklist of Hollywood Movies.

Career Quotes #1: That’s right, keep going and never stop –

“Don’t ever let someone tell you you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Period. All right?”

– The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Career Quotes #2: The sooner the better, indeed –

“My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work. The sooner the better.”

– Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Career Quotes #3: When you are self-motivated you will never run out of gas –

“Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.”

– The Imitation Game (2014)

Career Quotes #4: There is always hope –

“There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.”

– The Theory of Everything(2014)

Career Quotes #5: You will never know unless you try –

“Most people live life on the path we set for them. Too afraid to explore any other. But once in a while people like you come along and knock down all the obstacles we put in your way. People who realize free will is a gift that you’ll never know how to use until you fight for it.”

–The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

Career Quotes #6: Perhaps we’ve forgotten we are still pioneers –

“We’ve always defined ourselves by the ability to overcome the impossible. And we count these moments. These moments when we dare to aim higher, to break barriers, to reach for the stars, to make the unknown known. We count these moments as our proudest achievements. But we lost all that. Or perhaps we’ve just forgotten that we are still pioneers. And we’ve barely begun. And that our greatest accomplishments cannot be behind us, because our destiny lies above us.”

– Interstellar (2014)

Career Quotes #7: It is all in the little things –

“I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay.”

– The Hobbit (2012)

Career Quotes #8: Say Nay to the Naysayers!

“Don’t tell me I can’t do it; don’t tell me it can’t be done!”

– The Aviator(2004)

Career Quotes #9: Be passionate about ideas –

“What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient… highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed–fully understood–that sticks.”

– Inception (2010)

Career Quotes #10: One step at a time –

“There are many points in life when we cannot see what awaits us around the corner, and it is precisely at such times, when our path forward is unclear, that we must bravely keep our nerve, resolutely putting one foot before the other as we march blindly into the dark.”

– The Hundred Foot Journey (2014)

Mostly, inspiration finds us. Sometimes though, we need to find it. And we hope if today was one of those days for you, this post came in handy. Let us know which of these is your favorite and if we’ve missed out on some amazing flicks. Go ahead, seize the day!

5 Simple Life Hacks to Help You Write Better

by sincera | Dec 9, 2015 | Career, Communication, Communication Skills, Content Writing, Managing Yourself, Motivation, Productivity, Writing

Being a writer is a full time job. You are not on vacation even when you are on vacation because you are constantly thinking about what to write next! Being creative 24*7 is quite a challenge and a very difficult one to live up to. We, at Oorja Biz Ops have been brainstorming about changes we can bring about in our daily life, to help refuel the creativity. Here are five hacks that will work for you to write better (they certainly did, for us !):

Write Better Hack #1 – Start your day early

Being an early riser has a lot more advantages than you think. This is the best way to give your day a head start. Schedule the first 45 minutes of your day to write five hundred words of anything you can think about. With consistent practice you will see your writing skills improve significantly in just a matter of weeks. Accomplishing a task right at the beginning of the day is also a great confident booster and keeps you pumped up all through the day.

Write Better Hack #2 – Replace the caffeine

Did we hear a collective gasp? We know what coffee means to writers. For many, it can be impossible to start a day without a cup. However, it is a proven fact that a regular dose of caffeine is not a very healthy thing for your body. Caffeine also causes anxiety and restlessness which may not be what you need when you are already on the edge due to work stress. Try and replace caffeine with healthier options like green tea or even regular tea or some other healthy beverage. Might be worth it to give it a shot and notice the difference!

Write Better Hack #3 – Find ‘me time’

Gifting yourself some time is the healthiest thing you can do for yourself and the best hack to trigger your writing creativity. Set aside about 45 minutes of your day, every day, to recharge your soul simply by indulging yourself. Cook, bake, garden, sing, dance, paint – whatever helps you connect with your inner self and makes you happy. Finding ‘me time’ can be a tall order given the lifestyles we lead. This problem may be solved by going back to what we said about waking up early. That way, you will have more time than you usually do. Even if it’s just an hour earlier, it still gives you some space to fit ‘me time’ into your otherwise cramped day.

Write Better Hack #4 – Read Often, Read More

Read as much as, or more than you write. Reading helps recharge your intellectual resources and keeps those brainy ideas flowing. Reading fires your imagination – the stuff writers are made of. As Stephen King wrote in “On Writing”:

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut. . . .

It’s hard for me to believe that people who read very little (or not at all in some cases) should presume to write and expect people to like what they have written, but I know it’s true. If I had a nickel for every person who ever told me he/she wanted to become a writer but didn’t have time to read, I could buy myself a pretty good steak dinner. Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.

Just like a balanced diet is essential for a healthy body, balanced reading is crucial for a healthy mind and will make you think in different directions. Make sure your reading list consists of a mixed dose of current affairs, fiction and non-fiction. What you read, reflects in what and how you write.

Write Better Hack #5 – Be Honest with Yourself

While it is crucial to have expectations from oneself, at the same time, it is important to have goals which are practical and achievable. Setting long term targets on a high-on-red-bull day, probably isn’t a good idea. What we mean is, enthusiasm is vital, however, a lot of times we tend to become over enthusiastic with our goals and go on over drive trying to achieve them. Being honest with yourself about what you can and cannot achieve in a given period of time does not mean tardiness, it means being practical. But then, a little pressure now and then does help to shoo the devil called Procrastination away!

And finally, after putting our neck on the line, we leave you with the words from our idol and mentor, Seth Godin :

The biggest takeaway for anyone seeking to write is this: don’t go looking for the way other authors do their work. You won’t find many who are consistent enough to copy, and there are enough variations in approach that it’s obvious that it’s not like hitting home runs or swinging a golf club. There isn’t a standard approach, there’s only what works for you (and what doesn’t).

We hope you enjoyed our post. We would love to hear from you on what you do to help you write more and write better!

5 Top Leadership Quotes of All Time to Help Us Decode Great Leadership

by sincera | Nov 19, 2015 | Career, Leadership, Managing Yourself, Motivation, World of Work

Being a leader means different things to different people. We all have our own thoughts on what good leadership entails. Some say it comes with what title one is vested with in the hierarchy of a company, some say it is about seniority while some firmly believe it is attributes like confidence, charisma and power that make up a good leader. But would we get a great leader even if we put all these qualities into one person? No, not necessarily. There is no one definition of great leadership and who a great leader is, so here are some of our favorite top leadership quotes by some of the world’s greatest leaders themselves to help us understand what leadership is (and isn’t) better.

Top Leadership Quotes #1:

Being a leader does not mean brute force, a sheer show of muscles (even metaphorically):

I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Top Leadership Quotes #2:

No matter what your position on the hierarchy is, whether you have the responsibility of leading a team or whether you are to be led, you are the CEO of You, Inc. Leadership starts with leading yourself first.

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent ~ Douglas MacArthur

Top Leadership Quotes #3:

Because with great power, comes great responsibility.

Power isn’t control at all – power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others that they may have the strength to stand on their own ~ Beth Revis

Top Leadership Quotes #4:

Leadership may be a paradox, but it is a paradox worth understanding and practicing:

I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men ~ Lao Tzu

Top Leadership Quotes #5:

A great leader does not “lead”, (s)he empowers and enables. A critical attribute for being a great leader is to have 0% Hubris and 100% Humility:

In my experience, leadership is about three things: To listen, to inspire and to empower. Over the years, I’ve tried to learn to do a much better job listening actively, making sure I really understand the other person’s point of view, learning from them, and using that basis of trust and collaboration to inspire and empower. [It’s about] setting the bar high, and then giving them the time and resources to do great work ~ Larry Garfield

And to conclude the post, here is a bonus quote to sign off with, by Dan Shoenbaun that sums up our views on leadership very well. Even if you are a leader, be aware of your weaknesses, as you are of your strengths – “I define leadership as knowing when to be in front to lead and guide a team during the journey, and when to step back and let others take the lead. Much like an athlete who knows exactly what position to move to on the field at any given time, a true business leader understands the delicate balance of how to help others become leaders, fuel career ambitions, then give them the chance to shine.”

Knock, Knock! Who’s There? Inspiration – Top 5 Inspirational Short Movies

by sincera | Nov 9, 2015 | Career, Communication, Managing Yourself, Motivation, Productivity

At Oorja Biz Ops, we understand that some days you just can’t get out of bed. All you want to do is stay under the sheets and feed the “I am feeling existential” monster, literally and metaphorically. We have those days too. But as a team, we have our ways of dealing with them and love to share them with you. We have a secret treasure chest where we store all the inspiration we come across, and if you were wondering, our posts on the movies, books and Ted talks are from that secret store. If you don’t have a long time to obsess about life’s worries and get ready to face the world again, and need a quick fix, here is a list of five Inspirational Short Movies which will leave you feeling motivated and up and ready even before you’ve finished watching them.

1. Glory Days (11 minutes) –

You feel like a hurricane has wrecked your life? Well, watch this movie and find out what it is like to really have a hurricane wreck everything you hold dear to your heart. But you never give up on what is dear to you, and no matter how tough the going gets, you get up and start building again. A truly inspiring movie on the football team of the Warren Easton High School of Louisiana and how they rebuilt their football program post the catastrophe of hurricane Katrina.

2.Rosa – These Storms (11 minutes)–

All about living, and living your dreams. Nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it and Rosa proves that to you. The movie is about a young Mayan woman, Rosa, and how she overcomes her past to live her dreams – what she thought was impossible being a woman in rural Guatemala.

3. Never Give Up (8 minutes) –

An award winning short film, it features a man with a partial disability with his legs, his struggle to overcome the disadvantage and his victory. A truly classic example of “where there is a will, there is definitely a way.” You can move mountains if your will power is strong enough, and here is an example of a man conquering a disability that medicine gave up on, through his sheer will power. Time to kick away the blanket then?

4. Vincent (6 minutes) –

This classic animation short film made by Tim Burton back in 1982, is still one of the best in this genre. Psychedelic, funny, yet thought provoking. This wonderful creation will leave you confused between what’s real and what’s imagined, and if we complicate our lives simply by imagining problems that don’t even exist!

5. The Gift (5 minutes) –

Portrayed against the backdrop of a futuristic Moscow, this movie also bagged an award at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. What is “the gift”, is it the redemption that humanity desperately needs? Watch to find out!

We hope you feel all better after watching some of these and are back to believing that there is no problem which is insurmountable. After all, as we keep reminding ourselves and you, all you need to do is be #HappyInTheNow! Onward!

The Top Five Ted Talks on Leadership

by sincera | Oct 13, 2015 | Career, Leadership, Managing Yourself, Motivation, Productivity, World of Work

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – John F. Kennedy

The Ted-Talks series which turned 30 in 2014, began as a one-time event and has evolved into a platform of sharing and receiving for professional and personal development, indeed a “star making factory”, by those who have been there, done that. Motivation and inspiration cannot get more real-time than this. With technology at our fingertips, we are now able to view these tremendously powerful talks, sitting miles away from the real venue and without any cost. We have written about must-read books on leadership, must-watch inspirational movies and now it is time for TED – a fantastic source for life-long learning, something that we at Oorja Biz Ops deeply believe in. To be a great leader, you have to be ready to evolve continuously, to learn and grow every day. We have picked our favourites here for the top five Ted talks on leadership. Read on and make sure you watch them, because they are all ‘real’ leaders, in the ‘real’ ‘world of work’, therefore trust what is coming straight from the horse’s mouth!

Rosalinde Torres: What it takes to be a great leader – http://www.ted.com/talks/roselinde_torres_what_it_takes_to_be_a_great_leader

Leadership expert, Rosalinde Torres summarizes 25 years of her work experience of leading people, and seeing great leaders at work in 3 succinct questions for aspiring company chiefs, which are potentially questions they might as well lives their professional lives by. Indeed, “The world is full of leadership programs, but the best way to learn how to lead might be right under your nose”! [1]

Simon Sinek: Why good leaders make you feel safe – https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe

“I try to find, celebrate and teach leaders how to build platforms that will inspire others.” — Simon Sinek. Which is exactly what he does in this brilliant talk. Sinek speaks about the qualities that make a good leader, the most essential quality being the ability to create trust in employees, or as he says, “being able to draw staffers into a circle of trust, especially in an uneven economy”. He talks about the importance of making your employees feel secure, and how it is directly proportional to their personal and professional productivity.

Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off – http://www.ted.com/talks/stefan_sagmeister_the_power_of_time_off

The great poet William Henry Davies couldn’t have summed it up better – “What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.” Designer Stefan Sagmeister speaks exactly of this, only connecting it to our professional productivity and how “time off” affects our leadership skills. He speaks about how it is important to step back every now and then, take stalk, re-assess and re-plan. He talks about how every seven years he closes his New York studio for a year-long sabbatical and how this break re-ignites his creativity and helps motivate those working with him.

Derek Sivers: How to start a movement – http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement

And entrepreneur Derek Sivers shows you how to do that in just 3 minutes and 9 seconds with the help of the video of a funny man dancing in a park. He speaks about how important it is for a leader to be uninhibited, which is possible only if he believes wholeheartedly in his own idea and is ready to face ridicule and sarcasm. More than that, it also teaches us about the importance of the “first follower” and the importance of treating the follower more as an equal, and the idea then becoming about “them” rather than “his”, or “hers”. A brilliant talk to start your day with!

Kare Anderson – Be an opportunity maker – http://www.ted.com/talks/kare_anderson_be_an_opportunity_maker

For someone who was diagnosed as “phobically shy” in her childhood, Kare Anderson has sure come a long, long way. In this incredibly powerful talk, Anderson talks about how she helped herself develop by helping other people. How she discovered her talents and passions by helping other people discover theirs. A truly noble and symbiotic insight into how more people should understand the concept of “leadership”.

Have your own favorite talks to share which we’ve missed? Do let us know what they are so that we can listen to them too! Happy Leading!

Five Career Strategies to Maximize your Potential and Performance on your Job

by sincera | Oct 12, 2015 | Career, Leadership, Life, Management, Managing Yourself, Motivation, Office Etiquette, Performance, Productivity, World of Work

Do you believe that the Performance Appraisal systems in your workplace actually work for you? Chances are that you don’t and you are in “good” company here. A study done by Sibson’s Consulting found that Only 30 percent of the study respondents (750 individuals, primarily senior-level human resources (HR) professionals) reported that their employees trust the performance-management system. Given that formal performance appraisals don’t seem to be working as well as they should to give employees their due, one needs to take charge of his/her career and have a self performance management system in place to ensure career growth and commensurate rewards. Just being good at your work, efficient and cooperative is not enough – it takes more than that to grow and be successful at the workplace today no matter what your job role or level is.

So how does one take charge of their own performance management and hence the rewards arising out of it? What practical steps and behaviors are needed at the work place to ensure a positive outcome at the job? Here are five career strategies drawn out from my experience and analysis with my team and peers of what works:

Career Strategy #1: Work Hard AND Smart – Yup, there is no escaping working hard if you want to be successful. People on the outer edges of the performance bell curve are usually workaholics. But you also need to be smart here – learn to say no to work or assignments that do not fit into your goals early on. Else you are sucked into the vortex of work alcoholism with no real benefit to yourself – doing work that you do not enjoy doing helps no one in the long run. If your heart is not in it, you will not be performing at your best levels. So choose wisely and then be 100 % dedicated to your work.

Career Strategy #2: Promote yourself – This was a hard-earned lesson for me. I had always believed that my work will speak for itself and rewards may be delayed but will never be denied. But then, who has time to wait? You cannot afford to be shy if you want your work to be recognized. Be aware of your worth and don’t settle for less. You have to be your own marketing manager and actively market the value that you bring in to your manager, department and organization. Make sure people know who you are and what you do. Make your achievements and contributions visible as and when they happen and not just list them at appraisal time. A good way to keeps track of your achievements is also to make your resume a work in progress document that you keep updated as when you achieve a milestone.

Career Strategy #3: Get a mentor or two or three – The advantage of having a mentor at your work (or outside) is multifold. A mentor can help you see a situation differently, identify your key skills and where you need to develop yourself and be someone in your corner when you need some additional support. Look around you to find people who you admire and are role models for where you want to be. Don’t limit yourself to one mentor. You might look to one for domain expertise, to another for industry expertise, and yet another for personal scenarios when you need practical and helpful advice or brainstorming. And if you are lucky to find a great mentor, invest in that relationship and make sure that you too provide support when your mentor needs it.

Career Strategy #4: Build a network early on – “No man/woman is an island” as they say and in the work scenario, this is amplified. Build a strong and trusted support system of peers at your work place. Draw upon each other’s strengths to get ahead and for back up when you need it. Stay close and vent, strategize and have plain and simple fun within your group. I have also found this to be a good antidote to fight against any negativity (read office politics) in the environment. As you move up in your company or switch jobs or roles, be proactive in building your contact base and staying in touch. You never know who may be of help in boosting your career (and this works both ways) and serendipity often strikes when you are prepared for it. Social media makes this easy nowadays and LinkedIn is a great place to achieve this. There is rich content on the web on maximizing your returns from LinkedIn and here is one from an expert to get you started (http://dngraham.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/five-points-to-consider-before-participating-on-linkedin/).

Career Strategy #5: Keep Learning and Stay Positive – Being a lifelong learner is essential for your career success when skills, technologies and market requirements are changing so rapidly. Not only do you need to be open to new experiences and keep learning to convert your weaknesses to strengths but also to be current and relevant in today’s job market. Set your own training goals for the year and make sure that you keeping adding new skills and knowledge to your repertoire. Limit your exposure to negative environments and people – these are energy suckers and if you are not careful, you would soon be working on fulfilling someone else’s agenda instead of your own. Remain positive and true to your own performance plan and keep moving forward on the goals that you have set for yourself – so much more productive than being distracted by negative office politics or complaint-sessions.

Maximizing your performance and potential on your job needs you to take control of your own career plan – be the CEO of YOU Inc. Be fiercely intentional about where you want to be, know your worth and be BODACIOUS (one of my favourite words – meaning a combination of Remarkable, Courageous, Audacious, Spirited) at work.

I leave you with these words from Abraham Lincoln: Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.

What would you add to the list above as necessary strategies to Thrive and not just Survive at work? What has worked or not worked for you? I would love to hear back and learn from you.

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