Training yourself for better concentration

Concentration means directing one's attention on whatever one intends. We all have a natural ability to concentrate. Have you noticed how difficult it is to get young children's attention when they are playing? Do you remember the time when you were completely engrossed in an interesting novel, a super film, an exciting match or an exhilarating piece of music? You were concentrating then. At this very moment you are reading these words, you are concentrating.

It helps to know what it is like to concentrate, so that you can get back to that state of being.

What is poor concentration?

When people say that they can't concentrate, it usually means that they cannot stay focused on one thing for as long as they would like. Most of us experience lapses in concentration every day. We are not usually concerned about it; we may not even notice these lapses in concentration. They only become a problem when we find that we cannot get things done as quickly as we would like, or when they cause us to make mistakes.You do not concentrate when you allow your environment to distract you, and/or your thoughts and feelings to interrupt you. Your thoughts are scattered; your mind jumps from one thing to another like a monkey. It helps to learn and to practice concentration strategies, to harness your monkey mind, so that it works at your will. If you know the causes of your poor concentration, you can learn to control these factors.

Factors that may cause poor concentration

Lack of concentration is one of the frequent complaints among students mainly due to distraction. There are two types of distractions: external and internal.

External Distractions

External distractions are related to the physical environment of your study area. Once you have identified these distractions, it is often easy to deal with them. Some of the common external distractions are:

a. Noise; conversations

b. Inappropriate furniture; inadequate lighting

c. Interruption from other people; telephone

d. Television.

e.Work: paid or unpaid; housework

f. The Internet; email

Internal Distractions

Internal distractions are related to you: your body, your thoughts and your emotions. Some of them can be easily dealt with once they are identified. Others can be managed with practice and/or with a little help. Some of the common internal distractions are:

a. Hunger; tiredness; illness

b. Lack of motivation; boredom; lack of interest

c. Personal worries; stress; anxiety

d. Negative thinkinge. Daydreaming

f. Lack of organization; dyslexia

Corporate Lessons - Old story, new version....

There was once a washer man who had a donkey and a dog.

One night when the whole world was sleeping, a thief broke into the house, the washer man was fast asleep but the donkey and the dog were awake.

The dog decided not to bark since the master did not take good care of him and wanted to teach him a lesson.

The donkey got worried and said to the dog that if he doesn't bark, the donkey will have to do something himself. The dog did not change his mind and the donkey started braying loudly.

Hearing the donkey bray, the thief ran away, the master woke up and started beating the donkey for braying in the middle of the night for no reason.

Moral of the story " One must not engage in duties other than his own"
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Now take a new look at the same story…

The washer man was a well educated man from a premier management institute.

He had the fundas of looking at the bigger picture and thinking out of the box. He was convinced that there must be some reason for the donkey to bray in the night.

He walked outside a little and did some fact finding, applied a bottom up approach, figured out from the ground realities that there was a thief who broke in and the donkey only wanted to alert him about it.

Looking at the donkey's extra initiative and going beyond the call of the duty, he rewarded him with lot of hay and other perks and became his favorite pet.

The dog's life didn't change much, except that now the donkey was more motivated in doing the dogs duties as well. In the annual appraisal the dog managed a " meets requirement" Soon the dog realized that the donkey is taking care of his duties and he can enjoy his life sleeping and lazing around.

The donkey was rated as "star performer". The donkey had to live up to his already high performance standards. Soon he was over burdened with work and always under pressure and now is looking for a job rotation…


If you have worked in a corporate environment, I am sure you have guessed the characters of the new story.

Job Interview Tips, Techniques, and Skills

The Concise Guide for Job Interviews

The interviewer hopes that YOU are the right person for the job. They are under pressure to fill the position so that they can get back to their own work. Therefore you are in a greater position of strength than you think. Concentrate on what you have to offer in the way of qualifications and experience instead of feeling intimidated.

An interviewer has 3 aims:

1. To learn if you are the right person for the job.

2. To assess your potential for promotion

3. To decide whether you will fit into the company environment.

The key to a successful job interview is in preparation

1. Be prepared: For the types of interview questions you will be asked
2. Be prepared: To ask questions yourself
3. Be prepared: To research the company
4. Be prepared: To look the part
5. Be prepared: To turn up on time

Job interview questions you may be asked

Q - How would you describe yourself?
A - You should describe attributes that will enhance your suitability for the position. Have some ready in advance.
Q - What are your long-term goals?
A - These should be career orientated. Make sure you have goals to discuss.
Q - Why did you leave your last job?
A - This could be for more responsibility; a better opportunity; increased income. Do not be detrimental to your previous employer. He could be the interviewer's golfing partner.
Q - Why do you want this job?
A - Your answer should be: more responsibility or better opportunity or similar. Not: because it is closer to home or the gym.
Q - What are your strengths?
A - You should highlight accomplishments and experiences that relate to the position for which you are applying. Also, give examples of situations where your strengths have been demonstrated.
Q - What are your weaknesses?
A - This should not be a list of deficiencies. Don't mention anything that could make the interviewer question your ability to do the job, for example "I am always late for everything." Instead, discuss a weakness that could also be a strength such as "I am a workaholic!"

More Examples of Good Interview Questions

Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Describe your current / most recent position.
What made you want to make this change?
What do you most enjoy doing in your current /most recent position?
Describe your future ambitions.
How would you describe yourself?

Good interview questions for YOU to ask

Asking questions at interview has a number of positive effects:
1. It helps you find out more about the company and the position.
2. It can be used to divert the interviewer away from a subject you may wish to avoid.
3. It can help build a rapport with the interviewer.
4. It demonstrates an interest in the job and the company.

The questions must be about the position and the company. Avoid questions about salary, benefits and facilities until after you have been offered the job.

You should already have researched the company and it's products and services. Your questions should demonstrate knowledge of the company's history, successes and problems. If the interviewer is a representative of the personnel department the questions should relate to the company and be general. Specific questions relating to the position should be kept for the line manager who will have a more detailed knowledge.

Example questions relating to the position

What are the main responsibilities of the job?
What are the most difficult aspects of the job?
How did the vacancy arise?
What is the career path relating to this position?
How will my work be assessed?

Example questions relating to the company

What is the company hoping to achieve in the next 12 months?
What new products are the company planning to introduce in the future?
Are any major changes planned for the department/company?
Who are your biggest competitors?

Where to find company information

Information relating to companies, financial data, industries and business trends is available in business magazines which often publish on the World Wide Web and allow you to order Annual Reports relating to specific companies.
Companies often have their own web site.
Newspapers – search on-line press reports including archived articles.
Local library.

Interview Tips - Presentation

Obviously you should be clean and smart in appearance but you should also dress appropriately for the position, for example: a student placement that is more expensively dressed than the Managing Director may have a negative impact.

Clothes should be on the conservative side, which is more acceptable to people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds. After all, you are asking to be accepted into the company. Therefore always avoid extremes in hair, clothes, make-up and jewellery. Taking trouble over your appearance shows the employer that the job is important to you.

Interview Tips - Travel

1. Arrive 15 minutes early.
2. Make sure you have the correct address and know how you will get there:

3. Parking? Public transport access?
4. Do a dummy run if you are not sure.
5 Make sure you have a mobile phone and a telephone number so that you can ring ahead if circumstances beyond your control are making you late.
6. Be polite to everyone you speak to, it could be the Managing Director's cousin! Have a copy of your CV with you.

Summary

1. You should show interest in all aspects of the job and the company especially if shown around the premises.
2. Do your homework on the company and the nature of its business.
3. Take care in how you dress for the interview. First impressions still count!

Some of the main influences on the interviewer are:

1. Your experience in other employment or life situations
2. Your personal presentation. How your personality comes across in the interview
3. Your background and references
4. Your enthusiasm for both the job and the organisation.
5. Relevant qualifications for the position.

Quotes on positive attitude...

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995.

Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching? ~Dennis and Wendy Mannering

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. ~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want. ~Oscar Wilde

Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. ~Voltaire

I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet. ~Ancient Persian Saying

If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one. ~Cavett Robert

It's so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to. ~Annie Gottlier

Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left. ~Hubert Humphrey

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. ~Winston Churchill

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day. ~Author Unknown

The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. ~George Santayana

Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same. ~Francesca Reigler

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit

So often time it happens, we all live our life in chains, and we never even know we have the key. ~The Eagles, "Already Gone"

The only people who find what they are looking for in life are the fault finders. ~Foster's Law

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts. ~Samuel Johnson

Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Life's Little Instruction Book

Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious. ~Bill Meyer

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. ~Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan, 1893

Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. ~Attributed to both Jonathan Swift and Benjamin Franklin

To be upset over what you don't have is to waste what you do have. ~Ken S. Keyes, Jr., Handbook to Higher ConsciousnessDefeat is not bitter unless you swallow it. ~Joe Clark

The only disability in life is a bad attitude. ~Scott Hamilton

If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm. ~Vince Lombardi

My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants. ~J. Brotherton

There is nothing so easy but that it becomes difficult when you do it reluctantly. ~Publius Terentius Afer

A thought provoking story

Once a king called upon all of his wise men and asked them, " Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in everycircumstances, in every place and in every time. In every joy, everysorrow, every defeat and every victory? One answer for all questions?Something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me? Tell me is there any mantra?"

All the wise men were puzzled by the King's question. They thoughtand thought. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealled to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on paper, with a condition that the king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no way, only then he can see it.The King put the papers under his Diamond ring.

Some time later, the neighbors attacked the Kingdom. King and his armyfought bravely but lost the battle. The King had to flee on his horse.The enemies were following him, getting closer and closer. Suddenly the King found himself standing at the end of the road - that road was not going anywhere. Underneath there was a rocky valley thousand feetdeep. If he jumped into it, he would be finished...and he could no treturn because it was a small road...the sound of enemy's horses was approaching fast. The King became restless. There seemed to be no way.

Then suddenly he saw the Diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamondand read the message. The message was - " THIS TOO SHALL PASS"The King read it . Again read it. Suddenly something struck him-Yes ! This too will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the Kings. Yet today, the Kingdom and all his pleasure have gone. I am here trying to escape from enemies. Like those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger toowill pass. A calm came on his face. He kept standing there. The placewhere he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never knownthat such a beautiful place was also a part of his Kingdom. The revelation of the message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forgot about those following him. After a few minutes he realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy coming was receding. They moved into some other part of the mountains and were near him.

The King was very brave. He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his empire. When he returned to hisempire after victory, he was received with much fanfare. The wholec apital was rejoicing in the victory. Everyone was in afestive mood. Flowers were being showered on King from every house, from everycorner. People were dancing and singing. For a moment King said to himself," I am one of the bravest and greatest King. It is not easy to defeat me. With all the reception and celebration he saw an ego emerging in him.

Suddenly the Diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded him of the message. He open it and read it again: "THIS TOO SHALPASS". He became silent. His face went through a total change -from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humbleness.

If this too is going to pass, it is not yours. The defeat was not yours, the victory is not yours. You are just a watcher. Everything passes by. We are witnesses of all this. We are the perceivers. Life comes and goes. Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes.

Now as you have read this story, just sit silently and evaluate yourown life. This too will pass. Think of the moments of joy and victoryin your life. Think of the moment of Sorrow and defeat. Are they permanent ? They all come and pass away. Life just passes away. There is nothing permanent in this world. Every thing changes except the lawof change. Think over it from your own perspective. You have seen allthe changes. You have survived all setbacks , all defeats and all sorrows. All have passed away.The problems in the present, they toowill pass away. Because nothing remains forever. Joy and sorrow are the two faces of the same coin. They both will pass away.You are just a witness of change.

Experience it, understand it, and enjoy the present moment -this too shall pass!

Excellent presentations on Communication Skills...

For those who would like to understand and improve their communication skills, we have a few excellent presentations provided as links(please click to download) below:

1. Link 1

2. Link 2

3. Link 3

4. Link 4

"Influence" and "change"

"Influence" and "change"

By Khuzema Jamalee.

When you change your thinking, you change your beliefs.

It begins with the mind. Beliefs are nothing more than a by-product of what you have thought long enough about that you have bought into--always remember that. What you believe is a collection of continual thoughts that have formed themselves into a conviction.

"Although not all change is the same, there is one common element to change, and that is thinking." That is a great truth. When you break down the process of thinking into manageable number of steps, you reduce the perceived risk associated with change. Being creative is when you think about your thinking, being innovative is when you act on your ideas.

When you change your beliefs, you change your expectations.

Belief is the knowledge that we can do something. It is the inner feeling that what we undertake, we can accomplish.. For the most part, all of us have the ability to look at something and know whether we can do it. So, in belief there is power: our eyes are opened; our opportunities become plain; our visions become realities. Our beliefs control everything we do. If we believe we can or we believe we cannot, we are correct. Accomplishment is more than a matter of working harder; it is a matter of believing positively. It's called the "sure enough" factor. If you expect to succeed, "sure enough," you will; if you expect to fail, "sure enough," you will. We become outside what we believe inside.

When you change your expectations, you change your attitude.

I love Ben Franklin's quote: "Blessed is the one who expects nothing, for he shall receive it." I heard a story the other day about a man who went to the fortuneteller who looked in the crystal ball and said, "Oh, my. This is not good. I look in this ball and see that you will be poor and unhappy until you're 45 years old." The guy said, "Oh, that's terrible. Well, then what's going to happen?" The fortuneteller said, "You'll get used to it."

Your expectations are going to determine your attitude. Most people get used to average; they get used to second best. Nelson Boswell said, "The first and most important step toward success is the expectation that we can succeed."

When you change your attitude, you change your behavior.

William James was right when he said, "That which holds our attention determines our action." When our attitude begins to change, when we become involved with something, our behavior begins to change. The reason that we have to make personal changes is that we cannot take our people on a trip that we have not made. Too many leaders try to be travel agents instead of tour guides--they try to send people where they have never been. We give them a brochure and a "Bon Voyage!" And off they go and we wave to them, and we ask them to tell us how it was when they come back.. A tour guide says, "Let me take you where I've been. Let me tell you what I have gone through. Let me tell you what I know. Let me show you what I've experienced in my life."

When you change your behavior, you change your performance.

Leroy Eims said, "How can you know what is in your heart? Look at your behavior. There is no better sign of the heart than the life." The truest test of where a person is going is their behavior. Unfortunately, most people would rather live with old problems than new solutions. We would rather be comfortable than correct; we would rather stay in a routine than make changes. Even when we know that the changes are going to be better for us, we often don't make them because we feel uncomfortable or awkward about making that kind of a change.

Until we can get used to living with something that is not comfortable, we cannot get any better.

When you change your performance, you change your life.

Change makes a person feel alone, even if others are going through it. You say, "Oh, man! Goodness! I know the others are changing, but I don't think they're having the difficulty I'm having.." There is something about the awkwardness and the time that it takes to make proper changes that just seems to isolate you from everyone else, even when a group is going through it together. You just kind of feel, "But my situation's a little bit different, and I think I'm just not quite as fast as the other ones," and there's a tendency to feel isolated, lonely, and withdrawn when you're going through this change.

It is easier to turn failure into success than an excuse into a possibility. A person can fail and turn around and understand their failure, make it a success; but I want to tell you--a person who makes excuses for everything will never truly succeed. I promise you, when you excuse what you are doing and excuse where you are, and you allow the exceptions, you fail to reach your potential. Don't you know some people who just have an excuse for everything? Why they could not, should not, did not, would not, have not, will not. If "ifs" and "buts" were candies and nuts, we would all have a Merry Christmas. It is impossible to turn excuses into possibilities.

Hope is the foundational principle for all change. People change because they have hope. If people do not have hope, they will not change. You are responsible for the changes that you make in your life, but the good news is, you can make the changes you need to make in your life.

Article: Turning the Tables: Smart Questions to Ask the Interviewer

Turning the Tables: Smart Questions to Ask the Interviewer
by Michelle Vessel

Many job seekers have been taught that interview success depends solely on their ability to answer the questions put to them in an impressively professional and knowledgeable manner. However, while the answers you offer up will play a big part in determining how you come across in an interview, they're really only one piece of the puzzle. In fact, some job search experts say that the questions that you pose in an interview can be equally important in helping you make a positive first impression.

A Two-Way Street

Although the hiring manager clearly has the upper hand in most interview situations, that doesn't mean that he or she should be the only one asking questions. According to Tony Beshara, author of Acing the Interview: How to Ask and Answer the Questions that Will Get You the Job, the best interviews are more like lively back-and-forth discussions than one-way interrogations.

By preparing and posing a few pointed questions of your own over the course of the interview, you'll be able to accomplish two important tasks. First, you'll highlight your ability to think on your feet, respond to emerging situations, and analyze information quickly. Second, and perhaps most importantly, the right questions will allow you to get a better sense of what it's like to work for the company - and help you figure out if the position is right for you.

What Should You Ask?

The questions you pose to the hiring manager should include queries you have prepared in advance of the interview, as well as follow-ups relating to topics that come up over the course of the discussion itself. Use these tips and techniques to craft questions that will help you succeed in your next interview.

1. Avoid the obvious.

Although you can definitely boost your profile by posing the right kind of questions, not every query will score points. Don't ask questions to which you already know the answer, or that you should have been able to find out on your own with a little pre-interview research.

2. Involve the interviewer.

Rather than focusing solely on the company as a whole, personalize your questions by targeting the interviewer's experience with the team. Ask the hiring manager to recount favorite experiences or to discuss the company's main strengths and challenges.

3. Delve deeper.

Try to formulate in-depth questions that showcase your analytical ability. Take the information the interviewer provides and use it as a jumping-off point to move towards a deeper understanding of the issues at hand. Rather than responding with surface-level questions, kick things up a notch, focusing on more complex queries that begin with words such as "how" or "why".

4. Put a positive spin on things.

Even when you're asking pointed questions, there's no need to submit your interviewer to the third degree. It's important to come across as enthusiastic and optimistic about the position and the company's prospects, even when you're digging deep for more information. If the company is facing tough market conditions or stiff competition, ask about these challenges in a way that conveys your confidence in the organization's ability to thrive in even the grimmest of circumstances.

5. End with a call to action.

After you've put a number of in-depth, intelligent questions to your interviewer, your last question should always focus on the next steps in the hiring process. Ask about the schedule for making a decision, or whether you can provide any additional information. It's always to your advantage to leave the interview with a clear understanding of what comes next, so take this opportunity to ask a few questions about the way that the process will unfold.

By posing a few questions of your own in your next interview, you can showcase your analytical skills and uncover new insights about the company and the position. If you want to land your dream job, all you have to do is ask!

(Courtesy: Harvinder)

Keys to an Effective Executive Resume...

Keys to an Effective Executive Resume

by Katharine Hansen

Flummoxed by all the "rules" and advice out there about resume writing? As an HR executive, your picture of resume perfection may be even more clouded by your own peeves and preferences in the resumes you've reviewed.

If you can remember the acronym FABUKA, you can remember the key aspects of an effective executive resume.

FABUKA stands for:

Focus;

Accomplishments;

Branding;

Uniqueness;

Keywords;

andAppearance.

Let's look at each element individually:

Focus

Your resume must target your desired career goal with precision. An employer taking a quick glance should be able to immediately grasp the job you're targeting, the need you will fill, and the value you can contribute.The executive resume must focus on key strengths that position the candidate to meet a specific need and target specific jobs/employers. One-size-fits-all resumes are especially ineffective at the executive level. Hiring decision-makers expect your resume to be precisely tailored to the position that is being sought.The reader should never have to guess or wade through copious text to determine what job you want and what you'd be good at.

Accomplishments

The executive resume must -- with a future-oriented flavor -- emphasize results, outcomes and career-defining performance indicators. Using numbers, context and meaningful metrics, the resume must paint a picture of the executive in action -- meeting needs/challenges, solving problems, impacting the company's big picture, growing the business, enhancing revenue and driving profits. Concrete, measurable accomplishments are the points that sell you.

Branding

Today's executive resume establishes an executive brand relevant to targeted employers. The branding expressed in your resume captures your career identity, authenticity, passion, essence and image. "Branding is ... best defined as a promise," says my partner, Randall Hansen,"... a promise of the value of the product ... a promise that the product is better than all the competing products ... a promise that must deliver to succeed."

In an executive resume, you can execute branding through at least three components:

1. The distinctive appearance of your resume, which should be carried through with all your career-marketing communications -- cover letter, business cards, thank-you letters, portfolio and more -- to package you with a consistent, branded look. Every time an employer sees this look, he or she will instantly associate it with you.

2. A branded message woven throughout your resume that remains consistent and does not contradict the image you want to project.

3. A branding statement that defines who you are, your promise of value and why you should be sought out. Your branding statement should encapsulate your reputation, showcase what sets you apart from others, and describe the added value you bring to a situation.

Uniqueness

The executive resume must present a sales pitch that conveys the candidate's distinctiveness, passion and unique understanding of the business environment. It must answer the employer's question: Why choose you over any other candidate?Uniqueness is closely related to both branding and focus. A focused resume enables the reader to instantly visualize you in the targeted position. A branded resume immediately communicates your promise of value. The uniqueness factor takes your resume to the next level by portraying you as not only in the position but as the best person for the position; even as the only logical choice for the position.When you imbue your resume with your uniqueness, you show that you completely comprehend the challenges the organization faces and that you are overwhelmingly qualified to meet those challenges. If you have adequately sold your uniqueness, the reader reviewing your resume should say, "This candidate gets it."

Keywords

As you know, the vast majority of resumes submitted to employers today are handled by applicant tracking systems. Because applicant-tracking software and keyword-searchable databases dominate today's hiring process, successful executive resumes must feature cutting-edge industry jargon.

Appearance

The print version of an effective executive resume (still used for networking, career expos and interviews) must be sleek, distinctive and clean, yet eye-catching, reader-friendly and upscale in appearance.

Here's a quick summary of elements that contribute to a print resume with an executive-caliber appearance:

a) Conservative, easy-to-read fonts.

b) Plenty of white space.

c) A layout/design that goes beyond ordinary, yet is not so far out as to turn employers off.

d) Small blocks of text, most of which are bulleted in a reader-friendly format.

Strive for no more than four lines in a paragraph or two lines in a bullet. Try to keep bullet points for any given job to no more than seven. Large blocks of gray test are daunting for any reader and likely won't get read.e) Attractive graphic treatment of the elements that lend focus to your resume. If you use a headline, for example, be sure it's big and bold enough to get noticed.f) Graphic elements that add interest, such as rule lines, boxes, shaded areas and tables.g) Elimination of clutter. Avoid having too many graphic elements or too much typographic variety in your resume.

[This article is adapted from a chapter of Top Notch Executive Resumes (Career Press), one of seven books authored or co-authored by Katharine Hansen, the creative director and associate publisher of Quintessential Careers as well as an educator and blogger who provides content for Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers and blogs about storytelling in the job search at A Storied Career.]

(Courtesy:Harvinder)

Vision and Values (nice story with a strong message)

A successful businessman sent his son on a long journey to learn about the secret of success and happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through different places for many days in search of the wisest man. At last he was guided to a beautiful castle, atop a hill by some people saying that there lived a wise man. On entering the main room, the lad saw a hive of activity, diamond merchants and other traders came and went, people were conversing in the corners, there was a group of musicians playing instrumental music., etc. The wise man was conversing with people and the lad had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given attention. The lad finally met the wise man and explained to him why he had come. The wise man listened patiently and advised the lad to look around the castle and return in two hours.

"Meanwhile I want to ask you to do something", said the wise man, handing to the lad a spoon containing three drops of oil. "You can wander about the castle, however, you should see that you are not allowing the drops of oil to spill in the ground". The lad went here and there climbing and descending many stairways, keeping his eyes glued to the spoon. After three hours he returned to the wise man. The wise man asked, "How many wall hangings studded with gold you had seen ? How many pictures you had seen in the drawing room ? How many statutes you had seen in the main hall ? Had you visited the nine jeweled royal temple ?" The lad was quite embarrassed and confessed that he had observed nothing as his only concern had been not to spill the oil in the spoon.

"Then go back and observe the marvels of this castle", said the wise man. "You cannot trust a man if you don't know his house". The lad again picked up the spoon and started exploring the castle. This time he observed everything with full concentration, returned to the wise man and explained in detail about the things he had seen in the castle. "But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you ?" asked the wise man. The lad then noticed that there were no drops of oil in the spoon .

"The secret of success and happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never forget the drops of oil in the spoon ." The lad understood the meaning of the two drops of oil the vision and values. Vision is the mental picture of our desired future and values are our emotions based on which we choose and decide things and how we accomplish them."