Those who have read Jeffrey Archer’s bestseller, ‘The Prodigal Daughter’ will recall the character of Miss Tredgold with a sense of awe. For those who haven’t, Miss Tredgold, a true blue British governess achieves her dream of teaching a child of destiny. Her passion for teaching bears fruit when her student goes on to become the President of the United States. Despite her continual quest for excellence, Miss Tredgold would vanish for a few hours every Thursday afternoon. Consumed by curiosity, her young student follows her successfully to see her prim and proper English governess, clad in tweeds and enjoying a game of golf.

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SWOT Analysis is a management tool that corporations use to analyse matters concerning resources, capabilities and products. This tool helps them to understand their inherent strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis the threats and opportunities confronting them, owing to competition and new technologies. So, if organisations can gain so much out of this useful tool, why don’t you use the same to enhance the capabilities of your most valued product ——you, yourself

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'Are you under stress?' is an oft-repeated question to MBA aspirants. In fact, the very question creates stress in our lives! Now that we are through with most of the SimCATs and the trauma of a not-so-very-good performance is staring at us in our faces, stress levels are steadily rising.

What is this stress and why are we under its ubiquitous thumb most of the times?
Stress is a physiological phenomenon. It is the non-specific response of our body to any demand made on it. All the demands that we make on our brain, our liver, our muscles and our bones or whichever part of our body - contribute to stress in our lives. It is the state of reaction of our body to an external agent called a stressor. Common physical elements like cold and heat are also stressors

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Great philosopher and educator J. Krishnamurti once remarked, “Time is the psychological enemy of man.” What it implies is that we psychologically undermine our true potential because we feel that we have no control over time. In the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Batman’, Jack Nicholson mouths this immortal phrase, “So much to do and so little time!” This phrase (in many variations) is the new anthem for most of us. We always feel as though the time is running out.

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For a minute let’s go back to our anecdote of the archery test held by Dronacharya to test the archery skills of his disciples. As archer after archer lost their mark, they began to grumble. Some said the target was too far off while others complained that it was too high up. After Arjuna successfully completed the test, Dronacharya called all his disciples and told them, “My boys, failure to hit the bulls-eye is never the fault of the target. When an archer misses the mark, he turns and looks for the fault elsewhere. The secret is to look within. To improve your aim, improve yourself.”

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How many times have you done something that you are not happy about? Is there something you still feel guilty about?

These feelings keep us in a perpetual ‘victimised state’ and result in low self esteem. How hard are we with ourselves? How judgemental? How unforgiving? How critical are we about our efforts, our looks, our entire persona? Must we be so hard-hearted or should we give ourselves another chance? Must we take ourselves so seriously?

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Never do today what you can put off for tomorrow.
Better yet, never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether!

Do these lines resonate with you? Is that how you live your life? What makes you procrastinate?

It is so easy to say, ‘I’ll do this tomorrow.’ But that tomorrow never dawns. Soon the deadline creeps on us and we begin to panic. Does this scenario sound familiar? Procrastination is an easy habit to fall into. Why do we fall into this procrastination trap from time to time?

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It sounds kinky to chat with yourself but I guess that’s one of the most effective techniques of improving the thought process and language too! Talk to yourself, rehearse conversations and explanations; play back in your mind, language that you just heard, mimicking intonation, emphasis and rate of speech. This will help you to think in English, improve your fluency and reduce your anxiety about speaking the language.

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Entrepreneurs have certain attributes, which enable them to be pioneers, overcoming unforeseen obstacles and achieve success. Becoming an effective leader requires single minded dedication and focus, but most importantly one needs to be able to identify that key quality needed to succeed and cash in on it. Those who have made it, Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro Ltd., Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, Chairman and CEO of Infosys Technologies, B. Ramalinga Raju, of Satyam Computer Services, to name a few, have not just been able to recognise their traits but have used their traits but have used their skills to grow IT empires from zilch. But our story is not just about IT magnates. It is not easy to become a Tribhuvandas Zaveri, excelling in making gold ornaments, nor a Ritu Kumar gaining international repute in the fashion industry.

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