The self-driven mechanisms in most human beings come as a blessing. But, not for everyone. Many a time, the never-ending challenges in our lives dim the light within us. Where one person does not need an alarm to wake up every morning, another may have to fight to get out of bed. So, once in a while, we all need a little ‘pep talk’ or push to move forward and strive for our dreams. However, it is equally important to only take cues from others’ accomplishments and then implement it your own way. Also, you must know if you are listening to the right person by observing their success stories. What better than listening to some words of wisdom by one of the eminent industrialists of the world?
The Indian-American business baron Satya Narayana Nadella, CEO – Microsoft, is known for his intellect and giving stimulating speeches. So, let’s “hear it from the horse’s mouth!”
- The way I measure my life is ‘Am I better than I was last year?’
Growth is defined as a gradual development in the state of being. Similar to the physical changes in a plant becoming a tree or a kid turning into a man, your mind also grows. And the best way to observe it is by looking back. With each passing year, you must observe some kind of advancement in life. If you are at the same place, then learning from hindsight is a good option to proceed. Besides, it is imperative to understand that you are your own competitor. Like Bill Gates once said, “Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world. If you do so, you are insulting yourself.” So, you are your own competition.
- You are defined not just by your capabilities, but by your choices.
“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.” As important as it is to develop skills, it is to utilize them by making the right decision at the right time. So, you cannot accomplish your goals in life unless you learn the art of decision-making. This is where your wit and smartness play a vital role. Here, Mr. Satya wants to highlight the equal significance of making intelligent choices in life along with having the required capabilities.
- When I think about my career, my successes are built on learning from my failures.
Failures can be the biggest teachers in life if you take them constructively. If you look at a successful person, it is not for they have always seen victory but because they always learn from their losses. As mentioned in the first quote, hindsight is necessary to learn from the mistakes in the past and never repeat them. That’s how our Microsoft CEO climbed the ladder of success.
- Our ambitions are bold and so must be our desire to change and evolve our culture.
If you are brave enough to dream big, you should also be wise enough to think bigger. Once you start achieving your ambitions, it becomes your duty to contribute to the welfare of society. Because “with great power comes great responsibility”. The boldness in your aspirations and their accomplishment must bring change and evolution to the entire culture.
- Be passionate and bold. Always keep learning. You stop doing useful things if you don’t learn.
Seems like Satya Nadella has had quite a lot of enriching experiences in life. In this quote, you can feel the importance of being bold and impassioned. But, at the same time, he tells you to learn. At every next step that you take, learn from the previous one. Pick yourself up every time you fall. Because if you stop acquiring knowledge, you will never make progress. And without learning, your journey will be of no use.
- I don’t want to fight old battles, I want to fight new ones. If you don’t jump on the new, you don’t survive.
Progressive is the next trait that one of Mr. Nadella’s quotes unravel about his personality. You must always devise new ideas and seek new opportunities in life. Being entangled with the old and traditional concepts won’t bring out better results. For instance, HR software in India is a new technology which is facilitating work from home in these tough times. Thus, the focus should be on innovation and inception of new possibilities to keep sailing through.
- You renew yourself every day. Sometimes you’re successful, sometimes you’re not, but it’s the average that counts.
Talking about success and failures once again, we know that too much of something is bad. So, one should never let success get to the head and failure to the heart. In this statement, each new day is compared to a new ray of hope and an opportunity to grow. So, the key to success is to embrace both good times and bad and make sure that you at least succeed one time more than you fail.
Although nobody can guarantee success by following anyone’s mantras, positive influence is a big game-changer. So, there is no loss in finding a good source of inspiration and holding on to some golden words like these.