Yasim's Blog

3 Exercises to Improve Your Relationships and Life Balance The only true measure of wealth or success is relationships , and polls show that more than 90 percent of Americans agree. This doesn’t mean achievements in other areas are not important, but it does suggest they are the means to the end—the end being happiness and fulfillment in our families. We work hard, we build companies, we make money…. but we do it for our families so we can enjoy our relationships more. But let’s be honest. Our lifestyles and our expenditure of time and energy don’t always reflect the priorities we claim. Why do we pay more lip service than real effort to putting family first? Why do we give so much more time and mental energy to our achievements than to our relationships? Could it be that we have become more skilled at achieving than at relating? Are we better at setting goals for our work than for our home? And does the fact that we get more kudos and recognition for career accomplishment than fo...

When I joined the Harvard Business School faculty, I received cards and letters from friends and family congratulating me on achieving one of the ultimate brass rings of academics. I felt pretty good about myself until I visited my assigned office in Morgan Hall. In an adjacent office was a colleague who had written something like 12 books and was an internationally recognized scholar in the area of organizational innovation. He had a beautiful summer house near Cape Cod. In addition, he was gracious and supportive. There wasn't much to dislike. So every day I came to work and walked past his office door, I felt like I was behind in the race. Compared with my colleague, I had accomplished so little over such a long career; my two measly books were more like an embarrassment, given his output. When I passed his office and he wasn't there, I was sure that he was meeting with Jack Welch or someone famous. And as much as I wanted to dislike him, I found myself disliking me becaus...

There are quite a number of motivational speakers and self-improvement books out there with a surprisingly simple message: believe that success will come easily to you, and it will . There is one small problem in this argument, however, which unfortunately doesn't seem to stop anyone from making it: it is utterly false. In fact, not only is visualizing "effortless success" unhelpful, it is disastrous. This is good advice to give only if you are trying to sabotage the recipient. It is a recipe for failure. And no, I'm not overstating it. But how can this be? Isn't optimism a good thing? Yes it is. Optimism and the confidence it creates are essential for creating and sustaining the motivation you need to reach your goals. Albert Bandura , one of the founding fathers of scientific psychology, discovered decades ago that perhaps the best predictor of an individual's success is whether or not they believe they will succeed. Thousands and thousands of experiments l...

I believe that what comes first is family I believe in making the most of a beautiful day And it’s not the end until everything’s okay I believe absence makes the heart grow fonder I believe you will lose if you sit and wonder I believe every experience teaches you a lesson And nothing cures better then a drinking session I believe that the sun shines after the rain I believe if you don’t get hurt you’ll never gain I believe in not doing things the easy way I believe that being selfish doesn’t pay I believe there is nothing better then a good laugh I believe the whole world is a stage I believe we only get better with age I believe that dreams do come true I believe there’s destiny for me and you I believe that good things come to those who wait I believe something good comes from something bad I believe that for tears of happiness there are tears of sad I believe the good you do will be rewarded well I believe sometimes there is no explanation I believe mone...

The transformation from a firebrand speaker to a crowd pulling speaker was in focus and intention. At first, my focus was all on me: "I'm going to screw this up so bad." "I have nothing intelligent to say, and this guy will see through me in about three seconds." "I'm Italian. I'm dumb. I can't compete with these smart people." But over time I decided I wanted to win. And to win I was going to have to convince the judge — to move him or her somehow. And then it became fun. Because it was no longer about me. It was about my audience: getting listeners from here to there — changing their mind — actually having them leave the room thinking differently than when they entered. And that's powerful. It's been a blast ever since. Here's some of what I've learned in my years of public speaking. If you have to knock it out of the park, follow these basic rules: Know your goal. When the speech is over, what do you want the audience sa...

- I am grateful to have started a new project a day after I landed. Thanks AV, GL and Deloitte - I am grateful for my wife and son to come and pick me up from Airport. I so missed you guys - I am so grateful to hear that my son's top 3 things today were - Soccer, sleeping with Dad and picking dad from the airport. My son is a remarkable and loving kid. I am so blessed as a dad. - I am so grateful for my little sis for staying back and taking care of Uppa. You are doing an enormous sacrifice. Thank You, Thank You and Thank You. about 16 hours ago · Reply · Awesome! Menu - I am grateful to Ashraf Moothamma for brining us breakfast and dinner - Thank You. We misunderstood our relationship and realize your importance in the event of a need. - I am grateful to Daddy for constantly taking care of Uppa and his needs. A lot of times your value is not given enough appreciation as it should be given. You never seek glory and always did the right thing. You are a true great person and I nee...