5 Secrets of Success
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Success is an attitude, not a phenomenon. Business and spirituality are complementary like the in-breath and out-breath. When you breathe in, that is a passion; but you cannot hold it for too long; you have to breathe out, and that breathing out is dispassion. Tough situations come in every business and every organization, and you need skills to handle them. All this comes from our inner space which I call the Spiritual Space. Here are 5 secret ingredients for success.
A congenial atmosphere: Peace and prosperity are interlinked. You need to function as a team. The prerequisites for growth are patience, perseverance, clear intention, clarity of purpose and flexibility to accommodate errors. Have a sense of respect for all team members, and not indulge in blame games. Furthermore, team leaders need to create an atmosphere of celebration, trust, cooperation and a sense of belonging. Nothing can last if it focuses only on productivity and net result. Only inspiration and motivation are effective tools. Learn from the past, have a vision for the future and sustain enthusiasm.
Skill in action: The whole essence of the Bhagwad Geeta (ancient Indian scripture) is to act without being attached to the fruit of the action. If you can manage your mind in the worst scenario or a situation like war, then you can manage any situation. This skill in action is called Yoga. In life, it is this wisdom of Yoga that transforms one from arrogance to self-confidence; from meekness to humility; from the burden of dependence to the realization of interdependence; from limited ownership to oneness with the whole. When performing an action, if the attention is only on the end result, then you can’t perform. Just give yourself fully with 100% sincerity and commitment.
Be a lion: Have a dream and passion but not with feverishness. With feverishness, desires and cravings your mind loses clarity, and you don’t get right ideas, thereby reducing your ability to perform. Whatever you need always comes to you. When you don’t crave for abundance, it comes to you. There is a saying in Sanskrit that says, “Great wealth comes to one who has the courage of a lion and who puts in all his efforts.” Have the confidence and the sense of the majesty of a lion, put in your 100% efforts with courage, and that is when wealth comes to you.
An atom of Luck: If all this is needed for prosperity is one’s own effort, then why are there so many people who put effort but don’t become prosperous? This area which we don’t know is what spirituality is about. The whole material world is run by a certain vibrational world which is subtler than what we see. Spirituality enhances Intelligence and intuition. Intuition comes to you when you balance your passion with dispassion; profit with service; aggressiveness to get things, with a compassion to give back to society. Intuition is the right thought at the right time, and it is an important component for success in business.
Meditation: The greater responsibilities and ambitions you have, greater is the need for you to meditate. In ancient times, meditation was used as a way to find the Self, for enlightenment and to overcome misery and problems. Today’s stress and tension in society also call for meditation. Meditation not only relieves you of stress and strain, but it also enhances your abilities, strengthens your nervous system and mind, releases toxins from the body and enhances you in every way. We are made up of both matter and spirit. The body (matter) has some material needs and our spirit is nourished by spirituality. Stress is too much to do, too little time, and no energy. You obviously can’t reduce your workload, or increase the time, but you can increase your energy level. With a higher energy level, you can do the job easily. Meditation and breathing techniques help to increase this.
